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Invasive fruit flies have been found near Los Angeles, prompting a produce quarantine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The discovery of nearly 30 invasive fruit flies has prompted a produce quarantine affecting over 79 square miles (204.6 square kilometers) of Los Angeles County as state and local officials try to stop the fly from spreading and hurting California’s fruit and vegetable industry.It’s the first quarantine ever in the Western Hemisphere for the Tau fruit fly, which is native to Asia, agriculture officials said. The fly was discovered on June 6 in the unincorporated area of Stevenson Ranch, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of downtown Los Angeles, and was likely brought by a traveler bringing uninspected produce into California, officials said.The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced the quarantine last week.“We’re a big conduit in terms of shipping and trade,” said Ken Pellman, spokesperson for Los Angeles County’s Agricultural Commission. “We want to keep an eye out and prevent stuff from coming here in the first place, and if it c...

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy leaving vacation early after death of lieutenant governor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:00 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is cutting his Italy vacation short and returning to the state Thursday after the death this week of Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, his spokesperson said Wednesday. Murphy, a Democrat, will depart Italy Thursday morning and is expected back in New Jersey by the afternoon, spokesperson Mahen Gunaratna said in a phone call. He was set to be in the country, where he owns a home, until Aug. 13. Oliver died after a short stay at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, for an undisclosed medical issue. She had been serving as acting governor when her hospitalization was announced. She died the next day. No cause was given, and her family has asked for privacy. Oliver was the first Black woman to hold statewide elected office in New Jersey, winning the vote alongside Murphy in 2017 and again in 2021. She was a well-known figure in state government and made history in 2010 by becoming the first Black woman to lead the state Asse...

Editorial Roundup: South Dakota

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:00 GMT

Yankton Press & Dakotan. July 31, 2023. Editorial: Could South Dakota Repeal Its Medical Cannabis Law?A proposed ballot initiative has materialized that would scuttle South Dakota’s new medicinal marijuana law.To be clear, this is only a proposed measure and has a long way to go to get to a vote, and if it should get on the ballot, it would theoretically have a lot of momentum working against it.Still, the prospect is there and must be treated with a degree of seriousness.The ballot measure proposes to repeal 2020’s Initiated Measure 26 (IM26), which established the legalization of medicinal cannabis in South Dakota. IM26 passed with nearly 70% of the vote.Despite that outcome, a Newell man, Travis Ismay, is preparing a petition drive to get a repeal measure on the 2024 ballot, according to the office of Attorney General Marty Jackley, which released a draft ballot explanation last week.This can be viewed as frustrating on several fronts.First, the proposed measure is trying to ...

Man whose body was found in a barrel in Malibu is identified by authorities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities on Wednesday have identified the man whose naked body was found inside a barrel in Malibu, California.The man was identified by the coroner’s office as 32-year-old Javonnta Marshann Murphy, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.No additional information was immediately provided.Murphy’s body was found inside a black plastic 55-gallon drum on Monday and homicide detectives are investigating.The barrel was first spotted over the weekend floating in a Malibu lagoon and brought in with a kayak by a maintenance worker, but was not opened.The Sheriff’s Department said the barrel was opened Monday morning by a lifeguard at Malibu Lagoon State Beach, who had retrieved it after it washed back into the lagoon.It was not immediately known how long the body had been in the drum.The Associated Press

Investigators recall surreal moments during years-long investigation in Mexico’s missing students

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:00 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Independent investigators leaving Mexico after eight years searching for answers to the 2014 disappearance of 43 students from a teachers’ college say they experienced a “double reality” unlike anything they ever encountered in other international missions.“It’s like you’re in a movie, things are happening and you say, ‘This isn’t real,’” said Spanish physician Carlos Beristain. He said they had to figure out together what was true and what wasn’t to make quick decisions and avoid being fooled.“It was a constant exercise, very tiring, very stressful,” he said, adding that often the most documented purported details in the case ended up being false.Beristain and former Colombian prosecutor Ángela Buitrago, who were interviewed by The Associated Press just before they left Mexico on Monday, were two members of the team sent by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2015 to help clear up the so-called Ayotzinapa case. On Sept. 26, 2014, the 43 students in t...

Conservatives ran on similar media policy as Liberals, but now claim it’s censorship

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Liberal legislation aimed at social media platforms is ushering in censorship, despite his party running on similar policy in the last federal election. The Online News Act will require tech giants to enter into agreements that compensate Canadian news outlets for content shared or otherwise repurposed on their platforms. Poilievre claims the new law will make news disappear from the internet, and ban people from seeing news.The Opposition leader’s remarks come after Meta announced it will permanently remove all news in Canada from its social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, in the coming weeks in response to the law. However, the Conservatives’ 2021 campaign platform proposed a similar policy, calling on tech giants to fairly compensate media for the content they create through an arbitration process. Meta has collaborated with a digital literacy expert on a guide to teach Canadians about other ways they can get...

Pope Francis blasts ‘scandal’ of clergy abuse in Portugal as he arrives for World Youth Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:00 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis blasted Portugal’s Catholic Church leaders for the “scandal” of clergy sex abuse Wednesday as he kicked off a trip to the European country, saying their actions had helped drive the faithful away and ordering members of the Catholic hierarchy to change their ways and treat victims better.Francis waded head-on into the scandal roiling the Portuguese church upon his arrival in Lisbon, where he is spending five days for the first World Youth Day Catholic festival since the COVID-19 pandemic. A panel of experts hired by the Portuguese church reported in February that priests and other church personnel may have abused at least 4,815 boys and girls since 1950. The report represented the latest reckoning by a European church with its legacy of abuse and cover-up.Prior to the report, Portuguese church officials had insisted there had only been a handful of cases. After its release, they initially refused to remove named abusers from ministry or to compen...

ATCEMS: Body found near south Austin dog park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin-Travis County EMS medics responded to a call Wednesday morning of a body near Edgecliff Terrace in south Austin, ATCEMS said.An adult was pronounced dead at the scene near the Norwood Estate Dog Park, ATCEMS said. That's in the 1000 block of Edgecliffe Terrace, near Interstate 35 and Riverside Drive.The Austin Police Department received a call to check in on someone there at 9:50 a.m. Officers found someone who had died. APD said it is not investigating it as a homicide.The Medical Examiner's Office will determine the cause of death, APD added.

Crash in Leander causes outage after vehicle knocks down power pole

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:00 GMT

LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — Officials in Leander reported a power outage was caused after a vehicle crashed into a power pole in the area.The crash occurred at US 183 and Crystal Falls Parkway, according to the city.“The power outage is estimated to last two to three hours. PEC reports that 2,550 meters are affected,” the city said.According to the Pedernales Electric Cooperative, crews were on-site working to restore service as safely and quickly as possible.PEC’s outage map showed the outage occurred at approximately 10:45 a.m., and it was estimated to be restored by 2:15 p.m.Leander Police said the intersection where the crash occurred was shut down. Travelers should expect delays until 1 p.m., according to police, and motorists in the area were asked to find an alternate route.

Austin pharmacy braces for possible late summer COVID, flu spikes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Austin Public Health predicted a possible late summer wave of new COVID-19 cases last week, one Austin pharmacy is beginning preparations for any early respiratory illness spikes.Staff with the Austin-based Tarrytown Pharmacy said they are already seeing plenty of people coming in and seeking over-the-counter cough and cold medicine or complaining of respiratory symptoms. While that doesn't necessarily mean those symptoms are the result of a COVID-19 case, it does support the CDC and APH's concerns that more respiratory cases are emerging. RELATED: CDC predicts late summer COVID wave. What are levels like in Austin? Part of that emergence could come down to the extreme, extensive heat wave Austin has been experiencing this summer, said Rannon Ching, president and chief pharmacy officer at Tarrytown Pharmacy."It's so hot outside that people are actually crowding indoors and they're going to mal...