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B.C. nurses contract aims to recruit, retain and increase nurse-to-patient ratio

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:23 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia will become the first Canadian province to adopt a nurse-to-patient ratio as part of its plan to improve workload standards in public health. The move is a key plank in the tentative contract reached between the province and the Nurses Bargaining Association last week.Health Minister Adrian Dix said Tuesday that setting a nurse-to-patient ratio is “the leading international practice” for retaining nurses and delivering quality health care. Dix said the government will also work with the B.C. Nurses’ Union on a “national and international” recruitment plan, backed by $750 million in new funding to support the higher nurse-to-patient ratio over the next three years.Premier David Eby said the new model will transform the way people are cared for and allow nurses to do what they do best. “They want to provide better, more people-focused services and that’s what this tentative agreement allows. It sends a strong messag...

Indigenous anti-mining activist found slain in Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:23 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — An indigenous anti-mining activist has been killed in a dangerous part of western Mexico, authorities confirmed Tuesday.The killing of Eustacio Alcalá comes just over two months after two other community anti-mining activists disappeared near where Acalá’s body was found. It reinforced Mexico’s reputation as the deadliest place in the world for environmental and land defense activists, according to a report by the nongovernmental group Global Witness, which said Mexico saw 54 activists killed in 2021.Alcalá was found dead days after he disappeared while driving on a highway known for violent incidents.Alcalá had led a largely successful fight to prevent an iron ore mine from opening near his Nahua village of San Juan Huitzontla. Resident argued the proposed mine would pollute waterways and damage the environment.The village is near the townships of Aquila and Coalcoman in the western state of Michoacan. The area has been on the front line of drug cartel turf...

Undercover Los Angeles police file claims in photo backlash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:23 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — More than 300 undercover Los Angeles police officers filed legal claims against the city and police department Tuesday after their names and photographs were released to a technology watchdog group that posted them online.The watchdog group Stop LAPD Spying Coalition posted more than 9,300 officers’ information and photographs last month in a searchable online database following a public records request by a reporter for progressive news outlet Knock LA. Hundreds of undercover officers were included in the database, although it’s not clear exactly how many because the database doesn’t specify which officers work undercover.The officers were not given advance notice of the disclosure, and the backlash has roiled the department. The inspector general is investigating Chief Michel Moore and the agency’s constitutional policing director Liz Rhodes after an officers’ union filed a misconduct complaint.While the city attorney’s office determined ...

Strong quake rattles Panama’s coast; no reports of damage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:23 GMT

PANAMA CITY (AP) — A strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Tuesday off Panama’s Pacific coast near the town of Boca Chica. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake hit at 5:18 local time (22:18 UTC) and its epicenter was about 44 miles (71 kilometers) south of Boca Chica. The earthquake occurred at a depth of eight miles (13 kilometers).Panama’s civil defense office said there were no immediate reports of damages. But the office said the quake was felt on nearby Coiba Island. National Civil Defense Director Carlos Rumbo told local press that his office had not received reports of damage or injuries, but was continuing to check with people in the provinces along the Pacific coast.The Associated Press

Various weather alerts span southern Ontario as Toronto braces for heavy rain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:23 GMT

While the City of Toronto has avoided weather warnings thus far, a strong storm front with heavy rainfall is expected in the next 24 hours.Whether it’s blizzard-like conditions in Thunder Bay or freezing rain in the Sudbury area, the latest Ontario storm will be wide-ranging in terms of outcomes, depending on the region.For areas spanning southern Ontario, heavy rain and a severe thunderstorm threat will be the story, which will see temperatures rise to as high as 16 C in Toronto on Wednesday.“It’s a Colorado Low that is bringing in some severe weather,” CityNews chief meteorologist Natasha Ramsahai says.“It’s going to be location dependent that will determine what you’re going to get. If you’re in eastern Ontario, like Ottawa, Belleville, or Peterborough, you will be hit with significant ice. Some areas could see upwards of 15 to 25 mm of ice accretion.”A significant freezing rain event/ice storm is setting up Wednesday for part...

FACT FOCUS: Fake Trump mug shots spread in lieu of real one

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:23 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump staring directly at the camera in a black T-shirt. Giving a side-eye in a suit and striped tie. Scowling in an orange jumpsuit.A slew of such images claiming to show the former president’s mug shot spread online Tuesday — even though Trump didn’t actually take one during his booking and arraignment in a Manhattan criminal court.The fabricated images, at least some of which were created using artificial intelligence text-to-image generators, fooled some social media users looking to track down the visual symbol of Trump being charged for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.Trump, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, also raised money off his own fake mug shot, which his campaign plastered on a T-shirt in an email to supporters Tuesday.Here’s a look at the facts.CLAIM: Images circulating on social media show mug shots of the former president captured on Tuesday.THE FACTS: These images were created or manipulated to look like booking photograp...

North Carolina lawmaker signals party switch with big impact

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:23 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Speculation is rising in the North Carolina legislature that a Democrat is about to switch parties and give Republicans a complete veto-proof majority in the General Assembly, a move that could affect legislation on immigration, abortion and voting. The GOP scheduled a Wednesday news conference at party headquarters with Rep. Tricia Cotham of Mecklenburg County. House Speaker Tim Moore said Tuesday that Cotham and chamber leaders will “make a major announcement.” If the Democrat does switch parties, it would be a major political setback for Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and allies in their attempts to block conservative initiatives during the governor’s final two years in office. It could make it easier for Republicans to enact bills that would force sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration agents and prevent counting absentee ballots received after Election Day. The GOP is also debating if and how to place further restrictions on abortion. While Republ...

Flight data recorders found after deadly Black Hawk crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:23 GMT

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) — Investigators recovered “black boxes” from two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters that crashed last week in Kentucky, killing all nine soldiers aboard, the military announced Tuesday. A U.S. Army aviation safety team from Fort Rucker, Alabama, found the flight data recorders, which are commonly referred to as black boxes in civilian aircraft, from the HH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, a news release from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) said. The helicopters crashed near Fort Campbell during a nighttime training exercise on March 29. The recorders have been sent to Fort Rucker for further analysis.“The duration of the investigation is determined by the thorough analysis of all factors,” division spokesman Lt. Col. Tony Hoefler said in the news release. The pilots were using night-vision goggles during the exercise, Army officials said. Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the 101st Airborne deputy commander, has said the accident occurred while the helicopters w...

5th arrest made in mass shooting at Georgia teen house party

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:23 GMT

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A fifth suspect has been arrested in a March 4 mass shooting at a 16th birthday party in suburban Atlanta that killed two teens and wounded seven other people, authorities said Tuesday.Tahkel Marquise Beverly-Smart, a 21-year-old resident of Dallas, Georgia, was arrested Saturday in connection with the shooting at a house in Douglasville, Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds announced.In addition to two counts of murder, Beverly-Smart is facing 40 counts of participating in gang activity, nine counts each of aggravated assault and aggravated battery, and 20 counts of being a party to a crime, jail records show. Beverly-Smart, like the four other suspects arrested so far, was denied bail. It was not clear whether any had lawyers who could speak on their behalf. Arrested earlier were Kingston Cottman, 17, Timothy Coleman, 18, and twin brothers Chance and Chase McDowell, 17. They all face murder and gang charges, while Cottman and Coleman also face aggravated assa...

LIVE BLOG: Tracking the Chicago mayor runoff election results

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:23 GMT

CHICAGO — It's Election Day and the race for Chicago mayor will be decided in a runoff election.The race pits former Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas, a moderate Democrat endorsed by Chicago’s police union and several trade unions, against progressive Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and union organizer backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and several public sector unions. Tuesday's runoff election is due to no candidate receiving over 50% of the vote on the Feb. 28 election. On that day, Vallas, 69, was the majority frontrunner. Johnson, 46, followed and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot finished third in the polls. The soon-to-be-ousted Lightfoot was the first city mayor in 40 years to seek reelection and lose.Vallas has been endorsed by at least 20 council members, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and three of his rival candidates; Willie Wilson, Ald. Sophia King (4th Ward) and Ja’Mal Green. He has raked in big campaign cash since Feb. 28, getting nearly $10 million from bu...