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California lawmakers still need to decide on these bills

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:14:12 GMT

Like school-aged children nationwide, lawmakers too are returning in Sacramento, though they are coming back to work to debate multiple bills, including high-profile ones like the so-called “Skittles ban.”Here is a collection of some bills lawmakers must decide on before sending some off to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk. California bill aims to limit renters’ security deposits “Skittles ban”Introduced by Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel (D-Woodland Hills), AB 418 proposes that California stop allowing the manufacture, sale and distribution of foods that contain Red Dye No. 3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, brominated vegetable oil, or propyl paraben.The bill would ban the sale of Skittles, Hot Tamales candy, Dubble Bubble Twist Gum and other food items the sponsor says contain potentially dangerous and toxic chemicals.The bill passed the California State Assembly in May and was sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee in July.California Student Teacher Support Grant ProgramThe bill, ...

Walmart in Aurora evacuated after threat, man arrested: Police

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:14:12 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A Walmart location in Aurora was evacuated Sunday morning after a man allegedly threatened to shoot up the store. The store, a Walmart Neighborhood Market, is located in the 10400 block of East Colfax Avenue. The evacuation began just after 9 a.m.Police said a man bought something at the store on Saturday. He allegedly didn't get a receipt for it but felt he'd been overcharged. He got into an argument with store management about it.Police told FOX31 the man threatened to come back and shoot up the store.He had another verbal argument with store management after returning Sunday and allegedly made another threat to shoot up the store. Deputies in Douglas County investigating robbery and kidnapping Police told FOX31 that management evacuated customers and sent employees to a secure location inside the store as a precaution.The man ended up leaving and was found at a nearby bus stop by police around 9:12 a.m. He allegedly had an active warrant for an unrelated charge...

Man killed in Dorchester shooting

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:14:12 GMT

One man died from a gunshot wound in Dorchester late Saturday night, Boston police reported Sunday.Around 11:40 p.m. Saturday, the department said, officers responded to a report of a person shot at Old Road and Michigan Avenue in Dorchester.At the scene, cops found an adult man suffering from gunshot wounds, BPD stated. The man was taken by Boston EMS to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.The victim’s identity was not released immediately on Sunday.The incident is being investigated by the Boston Police Department’s Homicide Unit. In a release Sunday, the department urged anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit at (617) 343-4470 or text or call the anonymous CrimeStoppers Tip Line.“The Boston Police Department will stringently guard and protect the identities of all those who wish to help this investigation in an anonymous manner,” BPD said.The shooting follows a mass shooting which injured eight people and a sweep of gun arrests at the Car...

Orioles activate Jorge López amid roster moves: Aaron Hicks returns, Austin Voth DFA’d, Colton Cowser optioned

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:14:12 GMT

Jorge López is back.The Orioles on Sunday activated the 2022 All-Star reliever after claiming him off waivers from the Miami Marlins on Saturday.López joins a bullpen in need of high-leverage arms, and the right-hander could use a change of scenery after struggling with the Minnesota Twins and Miami Marlins this season. The right-hander saved 19 games with a 1.68 ERA before the Orioles traded him to the Twins last August. However, if he does return to form with Baltimore, he is not able eligible to pitch in the postseason because he was not in the organization before Sept. 1.López’s activation came amid a series of roster moves before Sunday’s series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Reliever Austin Voth was designated for assignment to make room for López on the 28-man roster. Outfielder Aaron Hick was reinstated from the 10-day injured list after recovering from a lower back injury, and outfield prospect Colton Cowser was optioned to Triple-A...

Montreal Oratory says no fire or noise reported, believes social media video is fake

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:14:12 GMT

MONTREAL — A Montreal church says it believes a video appearing to show a fire on its front steps is completely fake.Danielle Decelles, a spokeswoman for Saint Joseph’s Oratory, says no one at the church — including nuns who live on the site — heard or saw any signs of a fire on Saturday evening.She says the Oratory’s security team looked for signs of a fire this morning after seeing images shared widely on social media and found no evidence that one had taken place. Decelles says the church believes the video was assembled by splicing footage from different sources.The video, which has circulated on social media, appears to show people playing drums and chanting north African soccer cheers around a fire on the church’s front steps.It appears to show a large crowd in front of the church, a major tourist site, including people entering and exiting through its main doors.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2023.The Canadian Press

Minnesota prison on emergency lockdown after about 100 inmates ‘refuse’ to return to cells

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:14:12 GMT

STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota prison has been placed on emergency lockdown and members of a crisis negotiation team has been activated after about 100 inmates in one housing unit would not return to their cells, the state Department of Corrections said Sunday.The Special Operations Response Team was also deployed “out of an abundance of caution,” a spokesperson said in a statement, adding the situation is “currently stable” and the reason inmates “are refusing to return to their cells remains unclear.”Two officers at the Stillwater correctional facility were reported to be safe in a secure control area and in contact with facility staff. No injuries had been reported.In total, about 1,200 inmates are at the facility just southeast of Stillwater, according to department records.The Associated Press

Biden and Trump are keeping relatively light campaign schedules as their rivals rack up the stops

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:14:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Their rivals are busy answering voters’ questions at town halls across South Carolina, glad-handing with business owners in New Hampshire and grinding to hit every one of Iowa’s 99 counties.But the front-runners for their party’s nomination, former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden, are barely campaigning in crucial early-voting states as the primary season enters the fall rush.Biden is attending a union parade in Philadelphia on Monday. But he has held just one campaign rally in the four-plus months since he formally launched his 2024 reelection bid. Trump, who complained of his Biden’s “basement strategy” in 2020, has not campaigned for three weeks now, last appearing at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 12. The schedules underscore the reality that Democrat Biden and Republican Trump, despite underwater approval ratings nationally, are the dominant front-runners. Biden faces only token opposition in anti-vaccine activist Robert F. ...

Disney wants to narrow the scope of its lawsuit against DeSantis to free speech claim

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:14:12 GMT

Disney wants to narrow the scope of its federal lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis to just a free speech claim that the Florida governor retaliated against the company because of its public opposition to a state law banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades.Disney on Friday asked a federal judge for permission to file an amended complaint focusing just on the First Amendment claim and leaving to another, state-court lawsuit questions about the legality of agreements the company signed with Disney World’s governing district, then-made up of Disney supporters. The agreements were signed before DeSantis and the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature took over the governmental body in the spring.The agreements shifted control of design and construction at the theme park resort from the new DeSantis appointees on the board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD) to Disney. The DeSantis appointees are now challenging the legalit...

Jimmy Buffett died after a four-year fight with a rare form of skin cancer, his website says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:14:12 GMT

SAG HARBOR, N.Y. (AP) — Jimmy Buffett, whose sun-drenched songs celebrated life by the shore, died of a rare, aggressive skin cancer, according to a statement on his website. Buffett, 76, had Merkel cell cancer, according to the statement, which was posted after initial news of his death emerged Saturday. The statement also disclosed where the “Margaritaville” singer died: at his home in Sag Harbor, New York, near the Hamptons. He had been fighting the cancer for four years while continuing to perform, the last time making a surprise appearance in Rhode Island in early July, the statement said.Merkel cell carcinoma, as it’s known in medical literature, is very rare and tends to spread quickly, including to parts of the body beyond the skin, according to the federal National Cancer Institute and the Mayo Clinic. Risk factors include a lot of sun exposure, a weakened immune system, a history of other cancers, and being light-skinned and over 50. Buffett conjured an easygoing, sa...

Metallica postpones Arizona concert after James Hetfield tests positive for COVID-19

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:14:12 GMT

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Metallica postponed Sunday’s concert in Arizona after the band said lead singer James Hetfield tested positive for COVID-19.The band has rescheduled the second night of its tour stop at Glendale’s State Farm Stadium for Sept. 9.“We’re extremely disappointed and regret any inconvenience this has caused you. We look forward to returning to complete the M72 No Repeat Weekend in Glendale next Saturday,” the band said in a statement, noting that “Covid has caught up with James Hetfield.”Metallica is currently on its M72 tour in the U.S. and plays two concerts in every city.The Arizona Republic reported that Metallica has been playing 16 songs every opening night since this tour hit the U.S., following “Seek & Destroy” with a set-closing “Master of Puppets.”The newspaper said fans at Friday night’s show in Glendale got a 14-song set with no “Master of Puppets” and then announced Hetfield’s illness on Saturday.The Associated Press