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UN Security Council approves sending foreign forces to Haiti

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:36 GMT

(CNN) — The United Nations Security Council has greenlit the deployment of an armed multinational force to Haiti, as the Caribbean nation wrestles with rampant gang violence and political paralysis.The decision follows repeated calls for military assistance by Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the United States have also strongly urged the international community to back such a mission.Thirteen members of the council voted in favor of the resolution, with Russia and China abstaining.Though approved by the powerful UN Security Council, the force would not formally be under UN control. It is expected to be led by Kenya, which has pledged 1000 police to spearhead the mission. Several of Haiti’s Caribbean neighbors – Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, and Jamaica – have also offered support to the mission.The “multinational security support” force will have a 12-month mandate in Haiti. The tim...

Abortion and gender affirming care focus of new unit in AG Campbell’s office

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:36 GMT

Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced her office will establish a new unit focused on “reproductive justice” after the Supreme Court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade.The AG’s announcement her office will now include a Reproductive Justice Unit aimed at issues like maternal health and abortion access also came with the introduction of its director, former University of California Los Angeles Sears Clinical Teaching Fellow and ACLU fellow Sapna Khatri.“This unit will serve as an important tool to ensure Massachusetts continues to lead the way when it comes to accessing the full suite of sexual and reproductive healthcare. That includes, but is definitely not limited to abortion care, maternal health care, gender-affirming care, and preventative care,” Khatri said during a press conference held at Campbell’s Boston offices.According to the AG, the need for the unit comes as states across the country work to ban or sharply curtail access to abortion within their jurisdic...

Advocates ask Healey to prevent planned private jet hangars at Hanscom Field

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:36 GMT

A planned expansion to the number of private jets potentially housed at Hanscom Field is facing stiff resistance from Bay State residents, many of whom have asked the governor to stop the move by Massport to grow the small airfield.Hundreds of people representing a coalition of impacted locals and environmental groups gathered on the steps of the State House Monday morning to ask for Gov. Maura Healey’s intervention ahead of the proposed construction of 27 private jets hangars at the quasi-state run airport sandwiched between Bedford, Concord, Lexington and Lincoln.Armed with a petition apparently signed by over 10,000 Bay State residents and protest signs, and joined by state Sen. Michael Barrett, the group listened and occasionally shouted in concurrence with several speakers who explained why they felt it was important for Healey to help.“In seriously entertaining a proposal to build multiple new hangars for super-polluting private jets at Hanscom Airfield, MassPort is on the ver...

Washington state minimum wage moving up to $16.28 per hour

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:36 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state’s minimum wage will increase 54 cents to $16.28 an hour next year. The Washington Department of Labor and Industries made the announcement Friday, The Seattle Times reported. A full-time worker making that wage would earn nearly $34,000 per year. The 3.37% increase is a cost-of-living adjustment based on the federal Consumer Price Index. Washington’s minimum wage of $15.74 an hour is currently the highest state-level minimum wage in the nation, according to state labor officials. At least three Washington cities already pay more per hour. Seattle’s minimum wage is $18.69 an hour for most workers, and the Seattle suburb of Tukwila is at $18.99. In SeaTac — where the Seattle-Tacoma International airport is located — the minimum wage is $19.06. West Hollywood, California, claimed the highest minimum wage of any U.S. city after pay rose $19.08 an hour during the summer.The federal minimum hourly wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2009.Employers in Washingt...

A Florida death row inmate convicted of killing a deputy and 2 others dies in prison, officials say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:36 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida death row inmate convicted of killing a deputy and two other people more than 40 years ago has died in prison, officials said.Paul Beasley Johnson, 74, died Saturday while receiving ongoing medical treatment while in the custody of the Union County Correctional Institution in north Florida, a Polk County Sheriff’s Office news release said. Officials didn’t provide details about Johnson’s illness.“Three innocent people were violently and viciously murdered that night in 1981 during an all-night meth-induced crime spree, and I personally lost a good friend in Deputy Theron Burnham,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. “Johnson was captured by SWAT during a manhunt, and I had the pleasure of being one of two deputies to take him to jail.”Johnson was convicted in 1981 of three counts of first-degree murder and several other charges. In January of that year, Johnson shot and killed cabdriver William Evans and then...

Police raid on Kansas newspaper appears to have led to a file on the chief, bodycam video shows

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:36 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Body camera video from a central Kansas police department’s raid of a weekly newspaper shows that an officer rifled through a desk drawer of a reporter who was investigating its chief and then beckoned the chief over to look at the documents he found.The police chief leading the August raid on the Marion County Record then says, “Keep a personal file on me. I don’t care,” the video shows. He’s briefly seen bending over, apparently to look at the drawer, before the other officer’s clipboard blocks the view of what the chief is doing.Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody obtained warrants for raids on the newspaper’s offices, the home of its publisher and a City Council member’s home by telling a judge that he had evidence of possible identity theft and other potential crimes tied to the circulation of information about a local restaurant owner’s driving record. But the newspaper and its attorney have suggested he might hav...

Search continues for stolen Porsche, puppy in North York carjacking

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:36 GMT

Toronto police continue to search for a two-month-old puppy that was stolen during a carjacking in North York this weekend.Investigators say the car owner was exiting the vehicle near Downsview Dells Park just after 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1, when they were approached by a suspect, who demanded the keys to the car at gunpoint.The suspect then fled the scene in the car with the victim’s dog, who was still in the back seat at the time. Police describe the dog as a two-month-old Rottweiler/Pitbull named Bella.The car is a 2021 Porsche Cayenne SUV, and while police initially listed the Ontario licence plate as CYLC 981, they corrected that to CYLY 981 on Monday.Police tell CityNews there have been no reported sightings of the dog or vehicle as of Monday morning.If the Porsche is located, police are urging members of the public not to approach the driver and to call 9-1-1 immediately.Investigators say the car owner was exiting the vehicle near Downsview Dells Park just after 8:30...

Las Vegas police report reveals more about arrest in Tupac Shakur murder case

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:36 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- Las Vegas Metro police arrested Duane “Keffe D” Davis early Friday morning as he walked down the street near his house, according to an arrest report the 8 News Now Investigators obtained.Last week, a Clark County grand jury indicted the 60-year-old in Tupac Shakur’s murder. The panel voted around 9 a.m. on Thursday to return an indictment on a charge of murder with a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement.Metro’s Criminal Apprehension Team was then notified about the warrant, documents said.Booking photo of ‘Keffe D’ Davis provided by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police DepartmentThe team took Davis into custody around 7 a.m. near the end of his street in Henderson, records said. Officers then brought Davis to Metro Headquarters for an interview. It was unclear Monday if Davis told investigators anything. He declined the 8 News Now Investigators' interview request.In court documents, witnesses said Davis, a longtime gang member, was a known drug trafficker. Witness...

Rapper Blueface gets probation in Las Vegas strip club shooting

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:36 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- A judge sentenced rapper Blueface to probation Monday for a shooting last year outside of a Las Vegas strip club, the 8 News Now Investigators have confirmed.Police arrested Blueface, 26, whose real name is Johnathan Porter, last November. The shooting happened around 4 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2022.Judge Kathleen Delaney had accepted the plea deal over the summer, which stipulated a probation-only sentence. On Monday, Delaney sentenced Porter to a suspended sentence of 2-5 years in prison, meaning he will only serve probation, his attorneys Kristina Wildeveld and Lisa Rasmussen said.The victim said he was shot in the hand outside of Euphoric Gentlemen’s Club on Windy Road off the Las Vegas Strip, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained. He recognized Porter in the venue and had spoken “with him earlier in the night.” The victim said he made a joke about Porter “speaking with some females in a cheap vehicle,” documents said.Prosecutors initially charg...

Why did Gophers running back Zach Evans not play to start season?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:16:36 GMT

Gophers running back Zach Evans spun out of a tackle, kept his feet and picked up 11 yards for a first down during Saturday’s game against Louisiana at Huntington Bank Stadium.Where was that over the first month of the season?Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck received questions on the whereabouts of Evans a few times as the redshirt freshman didn’t carry the ball a single time over the opening four games.The simple answer is Fleck relied on who won the running back competition in preseason camp. That’s how Western Michigan senior transfer Sean Tyler started the season-opener against Nebraska and had the most carries in the win over the Cornhuskers.Then, after Tyler had fumbling issues against Eastern Michigan, true freshman Darius Taylor took on a much bigger role. After one carry for three yards against Nebraska, Taylor put up 529 yards on 86 carries over the next three weeks and won three consecutive Big Ten freshman of the week honors.Taylor took over the lion’s share of ...