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2nd person found dead in eastern Washington wildfires, hundreds of structures burned

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:37 GMT

A second person has died in wildfires in eastern Washington state that ignited on Friday during red flag conditions, burning hundreds of structures and closing a section of a major interstate for days, fire officials said.A body was found in the area burned by the Oregon fire north of Spokane on Sunday afternoon, fire officials told The Associated Press on Monday.Another person died in connection with the Gray fire that started Friday west of Spokane, officials said on Saturday. Gov. Jay Inslee visited the burned areas Sunday and declared a statewide emergency because of those fires — which have destroyed at least 265 structures — and others that combined have burned more than 53 square miles (137 square kilometers) around the state this year. Inslee said Monday he had talked with President Joe Biden and Federal Emergency Management Administrator Deanne Criswell about securing federal dollars to help with firefighting efforts. “I appreciated President Biden’s call this morning to sh...

San Francisco Archdiocese declares bankruptcy amid hundreds of lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:37 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco’s Roman Catholic archdiocese filed for bankruptcy Monday, saying the filing is necessary to manage more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by church officials.The Chapter 11 protection filing will stop all legal actions against the archdiocese and thus allow it to develop a settlement plan with abuse survivors, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone said in a statement.“The unfortunate reality is that the Archdiocese has neither the financial means nor the practical ability to litigate all of these abuse claims individually, and therefore, after much consideration, concluded that the bankruptcy process was the best solution for providing fair and equitable compensation to the innocent survivors who have been harmed,” Cordileone said.The San Francisco Archdiocese is the third Bay Area diocese to file for bankruptcy after facing hundreds of lawsuits brought under a California law approved in 2019 that allowed decades-old claims to be filed by Dec...

Manager with Colorado cannabis business is tapped to lead New Mexico’s team of marijuana regulators

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:37 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A manager with one of Colorado’s largest cannabis companies will serve as the next director of New Mexico’s Cannabis Control Division. New Mexico announced the hiring of Todd Stevens on Monday, saying he has years of experience working in Colorado’s marijuana industry. He most recently served as the manager of training and development at Native Roots Cannabis Co.Stevens’ appointment follows a year of turnover at the division and comes as regulators try to ramp up enforcement against non-compliant businesses. Most recently, a state district judge granted the division’s request to halt operations at an Albuquerque business that regulators claimed was unlawfully selling out-of-state cannabis products and manufacturing extracts without a proper license or permit. Stevens said in a statement that he wanted to help the industry become an economic driver while protecting consumer safety.“In the past year, New Mexico has established a thriving new industry, licensed mo...

Knicks suing Raptors over ex-employee taking proprietary information

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:37 GMT

The New York Knicks say they have sued the Toronto Raptors organization as well as several members of their staff for taking and using proprietary files, an MSG spokesperson told Sportsnet on Monday.“The New York Knicks have sued the Toronto Raptors and several members of their organization, including a former Knicks employee after the former employee illegally took thousands of proprietary files with him to his new position with the Toronto Raptors,” MSG said in a statement.“These files include confidential information such as play frequency reports, a prep book for the 2022-23 season, video scouting files and materials and more. Given the clear violation of our employment agreement, criminal and civil law, we were left no choice but to take this action.”The Raptors said they were made aware of the initial complaint last Thursday in a letter from MSG but have not been advised that a lawsuit has been filed.“MLSE responded promptly, making clear our inte...

Arkansas education secretary says state to review districts’ AP African American Studies materials

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:37 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas’ top education official on Monday told school districts offering an Advanced Placement African American Studies course to send in their course materials for review, citing concerns the class may not comply with a state law restricting how race is taught in the classroom.Education Secretary Jacob Oliva sent the letter to the five districts that have said they will continue teaching the class after the state said it was not an approved course and would not count toward a student’s graduation credit. Oliva has said since it’s a pilot program, the state has not been able to vet the course to determine if it complies with the law prohibiting “critical race theory” from being taught at schools.The state had previously said the districts could offer the course as a local elective. The districts have said they’ll continue teaching the course at six schools and that it will count toward students’ grade point averages.“Given some of th...

Knicks sue Raptors, accusing foe of using ex-Knicks employee as ‘mole’ to steal scouting secrets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks sued the Toronto Raptors, their new head coach and a former Knicks scouting employee on Monday, saying the defendants conspired to steal thousands of videos and other scouting secrets over the past few weeks.The lawsuit in Manhattan federal court seeks unspecified damages and a ban on the further spread of the Knicks’ trade secrets. The lawsuit claimed that secrets including scouting and play frequency reports, along with a prep book and a link to valuable software, had they been downloaded thousands of times by Raptors employees.“This material consists of secret, proprietary information critical to the Knicks’ efforts to maintain a competitive advantage over their rivals, including the Raptors,” the lawsuit said.The Knicks said the theft occurred in recent weeks after the Raptors hired and recruited “a mole” within the Knicks organization. The lawsuit identified him as Ikechukwu Azotam, who since August 2021 had directed the planning,...

North Korea tells Japan of launch plan, a possible 2nd try to put up spy satellite, Japan media say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:37 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has told Japan it plans to launch a satellite in the coming days, possibly a second try to put a military spy satellite into orbit, Japanese media said Tuesday. In late May, North Korea tried to launch its first spy satellite, but the rocket carrying the satellite plunged into the sea soon after liftoff. North Korea vowed to make a second attempt after studying what went wrong with the first launch.Kyodo News cited Japan’s coast guard as reporting it was notified that North Korea intends to launch a satellite between Thursday and Aug. 31. Kyodo said the plan is believed to be the North’s retry of a military reconnaissance satellite launch.Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed related government agencies to analyze the plan as much as possible and coordinate with the United States and South Korea to urge Pyongyang not to carry out the launch, Kyodo said.Japan’s coast guard said it was notified that North Korea would designa...

Biden says federal government will help Maui 'for as long as it takes' to recover from wildfire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:37 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii, (AP) — President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Monday viewed the devastation wrought by the flames that ripped through the western part of the Hawaiian island, seeing for themselves the hollowed homes, structures and singed trees left behind by the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.The Bidens lingered briefly on the tarmac after arriving at Kahului Airport to console Hawaii Governor Josh Green and his wife Jaime Green as well as members of Hawaii's congressional delegation who came to the airport to greet them. The president and first lady embraced each of their greeters before boarding Marine One for an aerial tour of the devastation caused by the fires. Maui town ravaged by fire will ‘rise again,’ Hawaii governor says of long recovery ahead Biden later got a close up look of the wreckage in Lahaina, a historic town of 13,000 people that was virtually destroyed by the flames. His motorcade wound through the community of block upon ...

New school year, new challenges as CPS students return to classroom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:37 GMT

CHICAGO — Monday was the first day of school for thousands of Chicago Public School students as the district continues to deal with many challenges, from teacher shortages to a lack of bus drivers.As the 2023-24 academic year began, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and city school administrators visited various institutions, looking to challenges ahead while exploring new growth opportunities. Parents and kids said they felt optimistic about the new school year despite some setbacks. 2 CPS students killed days before start of new school year "I'm glad the first day is here because I wanted to come back and see my new friends," said fourth grader Lyric Ollins.Johnson, a former teacher with three children attending CPS, presented Home Run Inn pizzas to students at Jackie Robinson Elementary in North Kenwood.  "Investing in our young people, investing in families, and strengthening education, that is the pathway to success," Johnson said. An immediate challenge faces the mayor and...

Senators deciding Paxton's fate have history of campaign donations for, against him

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:37 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — On Saturday, former GOP appellate judge Marc Brown declined a prestigious appointment by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to assist in presiding over suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial. He had a history of political donations that could harm the public's trust, he said, after donating $250 to Eva Guzman — one of Paxton's 2022 primary opponents who campaigned on assertions that the now-suspended Attorney General was unfit for office."The proceedings... are far too important to the State of Texas for there to be any distractions involving allegations of favoritism or personal bias on my part," he said.Patrick accepted his declination. Yet former campaign contributions have not impacted the ability of others to decide Paxton's fate.Multiple state senators have contributed money to political campaigns both for and against Paxton. They will now decide whether to permanently remove him from office.Campaign donations from Paxton jurorsMayes Middleton (R-...