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Kansas City to hire 2 overdose investigators in face of rising fentanyl deaths

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:09 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City will hire overdose investigators as part the Missouri city’s effort to lower the number of fentanyl deaths. An ordinance passed Thursday by the city council allows the city health department to hire two investigators and requires overdoses to be reported within 24 hours, the Kansas City Star reported. The health department now has access to overdose data that sometimes is up to two years old. A Kansas City police official told the newspaper that the agency has confiscated more than 61,000 grams (about 134 pounds) of fentanyl so far this year, and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said there was a suspected overdose every day but one in 2022 in Kansas City emergency rooms.“Overdose deaths are at an epidemic level in Kansas City and fentanyl is driving the epidemic,” Lucas said. “Overdose death numbers surpassed our homicide numbers in 2021.”The new ordinance also calls for the creation of a review board tasked with reviewing real-time dat...

10th arrest made in Mississauga kidnapping, Canada-wide warrant still active for wanted man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:09 GMT

Peel Regional Police have charged a 19-year-old man, the tenth person arrested in an ongoing kidnapping investigation from this summer, with a Canada-wide warrant issued for a suspect who remains at large.Authorities said at around 8:45 p.m. on August 24, a Toronto woman was attending a nightclub in the area of Britannia Road East and Dixie Road in Mississauga when she was kidnapped and forced into a stolen vehicle and held for 48 hours.The female victim was taken to several locations in Owen Sound, Ont., before being released in the Toronto area. She was not physically injured, police noted.In October, police announced the arrests of nine people in connection to the alleged kidnapping. On Friday, investigators said a tenth person is now facing charges.He was identified as 19-year-old Dmani Cummings of Brampton, who’s facing multiple offences, including kidnapping, five counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and five counts of failing to comply with a sentence, among...

Local artists work to beautify L’Amoreaux neighbourhood through public art program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:09 GMT

Public art downtown is plentiful, but not all local artists have the same access to the resources everywhere in the city, including the Scarborough neighbourhood of L’Amoreaux. One organization, Next Generation Arts, is looking to fill that gap with its popular mural painting program.VIEWS — or Vision of Inspiring and Empowering Walls in Scarborough — is a free mural painting program hosted weekly at the L’Amoreaux Community Recreation Centre near Kennedy Road and McNicoll Avenue.Local artists from ages 15 to 29 create murals representative of the area to beautify L’Amoreaux  and to increase the amount of public art on display in Scarborough’s north end.Aswani Siwakoti, a participant in the VIEWS program, stands in front of the mural wall. (Julia Lawrence/The Green Line)“When it comes to the arts, it’s very centred in downtown Toronto, and it takes a long time to get there. So it’s very inaccessible for people especially if it’s after school or af...

Florida deputies struck intentionally by man driving car recovering after surgeries, sheriff says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:09 GMT

BRANDON, Fla. (AP) — Two Florida sheriff’s deputies remained hospitalized Friday after surgeries for injuries they suffered when a man intentionally plowed into them with his speeding car, authorities said.Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a video message that deputies Carlos Brito, 39, and Manny Santos, 31, “are on a long road to recovery” after suffering severe leg injuries. The sheriff’s office posted a photo of Chronister with a smiling Santos and his wife in a Tampa General Hospital room.“These deputies’ lives are changed forever,” the sheriff said.The two were answering a call Thursday from a woman who said her son, 28-year-old Ralph Bouzy, was acting irrationally and kicking in doors at their home in Brandon, a suburb east of Tampa. When the deputies arrived, Bouzy took off in his car and then quickly raced back down the residential street and struck them, Chronister said.He was arrested outside the home by another deputy who used a stun we...

Single mother evicted, left to pay for damages after police search home for suspect who wasn't there

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:09 GMT

STILLWATER, Okla. (KFOR) – A single mother of two young girls has been left homeless after the Oklahoma home she was living in was at the center of a standoff Wednesday night.Brittany Fent, of Stillwater, said police arrived at her home in search of a suspect who wasn't there — and hadn't been, for around a month."I was pleading with them that they could have the keys and that he wasn't in there," said Fent, who has lived at the home for three years. Now, she says the management company is planning to evict her, and make her pay for the damages caused by authorities during the search.Stillwater Police said they had gotten word Wednesday afternoon from Lincoln County Officials that Lewis Bearden III, Fent's ex-boyfriend, was inside the home. Police said he had felony arrest warrants for burglary and robbery, and that they had information he was inside."He wasn't there and I told them several times that he wasn't," said Fent. "I kept begging them to use my keys and get inside if neede...

Suburban father charged with first-degree murder of infant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:09 GMT

LANSING, Ill. — A man was charged with first-degree murder after his 2-month-old daughter was found dead from alleged abuse at a Lansing motel.Just before 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Lansing police were dispatched to a Motel 6, located in the 2100 block of Bernice Road, for an unresponsive subject.Authorities at the scene found an unresponsive 2-month-old baby girl. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.The Lake County, Indiana Medical Examiner's Office handled the cause of death and it was determined to be homicide.Police allege following an investigation, the infant's father, Joshua McGhee, 24, formerly of Lansing, was responsible. He was charged with first-degree murder and failure to register as a sex offender.McGhee was charged in Cook County.

Republicans demand immigration reform be included in national security package

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:09 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - Immigration reform is emerging as a top issue in Congress's battle over spending. Senate Republicans say they won't approve funding for Ukraine without funding for border security, as well."We have a broken immigration system. We have a chance to do something on the border," Senator Lindsey Graham said.Republicans are demanding immigration reform be part of any larger security package.Sen. Rick Scott says it's about prioritizing US national security."I don't think we ought to be doing anything with Ukraine, if we're not willing to do the same thing with ourselves: Defend ourselves, secure our border," Scott said.Specifically, Republicans want to restart border wall construction, change asylum laws, and increase border agent pay.Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says border reform is a sticking point for his party."Border security needs to be a part of this package if it's going to move out of the Senate," McConnell said.Many Democrats say they'd also love...

Calumet Fisheries closed after failing inspections; dead mice, hundreds of droppings found

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:09 GMT

CHICAGO — Calumet Fisheries has been closed by the Chicago Department of Public Health due to failed health inspections.The Chicago institution, located at 3259 E. 95th St. in front of the Calumet River, is known for smoking its own fish.According to public health data, the health officials visited the restaurant on Oct. 31 and found numerous violations, including dead mice and rodent droppings.Around 400 mice and rat droppings were found in several areas of the restaurant, data shows. Dead and decaying mice were found at the motors of the front-display coolers in addition to several other violations, data shows.Health officials conducted another inspection on Nov. 6 where around 150 mice and rat droppings were discovered in the storage area and other areas, according to data.The City has closed Calumet Fisheries for the time being as a result of the violations.WGN News requested comment from Calumet Fisheries and have not heard back at this time.

Shark exhibit swims into the Bullock History Museum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:09 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new limited-time exhibit on sharks, "the ocean's most magnificent and misunderstood species," opens at the Bullock Texas State History Museum on Saturday.A model of a Megalodon, an extinct species of shark. (KXAN Photos/Cora Neas)Bullock Museum curator James McReynolds explains that several factors go into selecting temporary exhibits like "Sharks.""We want to have the highest quality exhibitions that we can on display here at the Bullock Museum," McReynolds said. "We think about our audience, what would be best for Central Texas in this community. And then we also like to mix it up."The museum has already planned the next few years of special exhibits."Sharks" is one of the fun ones for the museum — previous temporary exhibits have included guitar collections, themed art collections and more. The new exhibit comes from the American Museum of Natural History in New York."This is one of those exhibits where you come through the door, and your jaw drops because the q...

Texas House committee advances school voucher bill, overcoming key hurdle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:36:09 GMT

AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — A Texas House committee has advanced school voucher legislation that could be key to ending the protracted stalemate over the issue this year at the Capitol.By a vote of 10-4, the House Select Committee on Educational Opportunity and Enrichment approved House Bill 1 on Friday. It is a wide-ranging education bill that includes a voucher-like program known as education savings accounts that lets parents use taxpayer dollars to subsidize private schooling costs.Gov. Greg Abbott has pushed all year for the proposal, prompting four special sessions. The committee approval marks the furthest a voucher bill has gotten in the House in recent history."We are excited to see a Texas House education committee pass school choice for the first time since 2005," Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children, said in a statement. "It's time to get this done."The legislation now goes to the House Calendars Committee, which is responsible for routing bi...