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Alberta moves to decentralize health-care delivery, 15 years after centralizing it

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:13 GMT

EDMONTON — Alberta’s new health minister has been given the go-ahead to decentralize the entire health-care delivery system — 15 years after the province completed a multistage, multiyear process to centralize it.In a mandate letter released Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith directed Health Minister Adriana LaGrange to reform the management and structure of Alberta Health Services to spread out decision-making to improve front-line care.“We need to foster an environment within AHS and the entire health community that welcomes innovation and incentivizes the best patient care,” the United Conservative premier wrote.LaGrange, speaking in a radio interview on QR Calgary, said it’s not clear yet what the reforms will be.“I do see some challenges and some gaps that have been created over time, over decades,” said LaGrange.She said the focus will be on primary, acute and continuing care, but said, “all of this will involve structures, and it’s too early to say what those will lo...

An alleged Chicago brothel operator is sentenced to probation, home confinement

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:13 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A 35-year-old woman who prosecutors said operated a multistate prostitution business from a three-story Chicago building that functioned like a brothel was sentenced Tuesday to probation.Jessica Nesbitt pleaded guilty in February to a federal conspiracy charge.U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly told Jessica Nesbitt she must serve nine months of her two-year probation in home confinement, news outlets reported. “It’s difficult to look upon this as a crime that had identifiable victims who suffered significant harm,” Kennelly said.A federal indictment unsealed in 2019 said Nesbitt took in millions of dollars through prostitution services that she and her employees provided in Illinois, California, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.Nesbitt admitted arranging prostitution services with herself and employees at rates of $300 to $1,000 per hour. She admitted in a plea agreement with prosecutors that she took in more than $1 million in payments ...

1-year-old dies after being shot by 3-year-old sibling in California

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:13 GMT

FALLBROOK, Calif. (KSWB) - A 1-year-old girl was shot and killed Monday in Fallbrook, California by her 3-year-old sibling who got ahold of an unsecured handgun, authorities said.Deputies received a call around 7:30 a.m. reporting that a 3-year-old had accidentally shot their 1-year-old sibling, Lt. Joseph Jarjura with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a news release.When law enforcement arrived on scene, they found the 1-year-old with a head injury.Officials confirmed the 3-year-old shot the 1-year-old after finding the gun. The victim was taken to a hospital but later died due to her injuries, per the sheriff's department. Investigators: Guns, life-sized doll found in accused Gilgo Beach killer’s home "The Sheriff's Department extends our sympathies to the family and those affected by this death. Sheriff's Homicide investigators are working to gather more information to determine the circumstances of the death," Jarjura said.The investigation is ongoing as there ...

Jason Aldean defends 'Try That in a Small Town' as CMT pulls video

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:13 GMT

(The Hill) – Country music singer Jason Aldean sought to defend his latest single "Try That in a Small Town" on Tuesday after Country Music Television (CMT) pulled the song's music video from their air.The song, which was released in May, has been heavily criticized in recent days after the release of the video, which was filmed in the front of a courthouse in Colombia, Tenn., where a Black man was famously lynched in the 1920s. In the video, the courthouse is projected with images of violent protests and criminal acts, including demonstrations from the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020."Cuss out a cop, spit in his faceStomp on the flag and light it upYeah, ya think you're tough," Aldean sings."Well, try that in a small townSee how far ya make it down the road."A CMT spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that the video “has been removed,” but did not offer additional information on the decision to pull it. Country singer Jason Aldean dropped by PR firm following backlash over...

Kim Foxx: 'We're on the right side of history' with Illinois becoming first state to eliminate cash bail

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:13 GMT

CHICAGO (WGN/AP) — Illinois became the first state in the nation to eliminate cash bail as a condition of pretrial release from jail on Tuesday when the state Supreme Court upheld the constitutionally of the law abolishing it.The 5-2 ruling overturns a Kankakee County judge's opinion in December that the law violated the constitution's provision that “all persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties." Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis, writing for the majority, decreed that the law honors the constitution's balance between the rights of victims and defendants."What I am celebrating is a system that is designed to keep our community safe, where people who are a danger to the public don't get to get out simply because they have access to cash and people who are not a threat to the public are not incarcerator because they are poor," Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx said. Illinois Supreme Court rules cash bail can be eliminated Proponents of eliminating cash bail describe it as a...

Should some veterans be blocked from buying guns?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) -- Illinois Congressman Michael Bost said his bill to require a court order before the Veterans Administration can report vets to the FBI National Background Check Database and block their gun purchases is aimed at protecting the 2nd Amendment rights of veterans.The Republican lawmaker said veterans rights are being violated because some who are appointed a trustee to help manage their benefits are also blocked from buying guns."We're punishing our veterans for simply seeking help," Bost said. "The VA should not be able to take away a veteran's 2nd Amendment rights because they need help managing their benefits."But Democrats like California Rep. Mark Takano say the current process is saving lives. The VA agrees."They have 8 times greater likelihood of suicidal ideations," Takano said. "At least a third of veterans in the fiduciary program are identified as potentially schizophrenic. Nearly as much are identified as with serious bipolar."Statistics show 17 veter...

Investigators: Guns, life-sized doll found in accused Gilgo Beach killer's home

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:13 GMT

(NewsNation) — Investigators have been searching the home of Rex Heuermann, the man charged in three Gilgo Beach killings, with no sign of finishing soon. Officials have pulled more than 200 guns from the home, as well as a life-sized doll in a glass case. Criminal justice experts told NewsNation the doll inside the home could indicate a fetish — many of the victims discovered on Gilgo Beach were sex workers.Heuermann, 59, was arrested last week and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, and Amber Lynn Costello. 2011 suspect profile matches Gilgo Beach arrest: criminologist The women make up three of the ten people whose bodies have been found in the Gilgo Beach area in New York. It was an investigator with the New York State Police Department who initially identified Heuermann as a potential suspect in March 2022, according to a New York State Police Long Island troop commander. That investigator, whose name...

WATCH: Wynonna Judd brings Kentucky girl, 9, on stage to perform song

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:13 GMT

SOMERSET, Ky. (WDKY) — No one else on earth could close out the 30th annual Master Musicians Festival like Wynonna Judd, organizers say.Emily Bhatti, 9, and her mother, Melissa Bhatti, knew that they had to attend MMF in Somerset, Kentucky, this year when they heard that Judd was coming to town. Melissa said that Emily knows every word to most of the icon's songs.“We wouldn't have missed Wynonna for the world,” Melissa told Nexstar's WDKY. Las Vegas police search home in connection with Tupac Shakur murder Emily arrived at the festival field carrying a hand-painted poster that read, “Can I sing with you?” She toted it proudly on the railing for over four hours, awaiting Judd's headlining set. Before she knew it, she was on stage with a microphone in hand.“She was star-struck at first,” Melissa recounted. “It may have helped that I was dancing like a fool behind Emily.”Wynonna caught a glimpse after a song or two and started to motion for Emily to join her on stage. Emily awaiting ...

Michigan AG charges 16 'fake electors' in 2020 scheme

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:13 GMT

Michigan’s attorney general Tuesday charged sixteen "fake electors" for their alleged roles in a plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Each defendant faces six different charges, from conspiracy to commit forgery to conspiracy to uttering and publishing. Prosecutors in court filings alleged the individuals met in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party headquarters and signed documents claiming they were the electors for the state, which was won in 2020 by then-presidential candidate Biden, and later showed up to the Michigan Capitol.“That was a lie,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) said in a video announcing the charges.“They weren’t the duly elected and qualified electors, and each of the defendants knew it,” she continued. “They carried out these actions with the hope and belief that the electoral votes of Michigan’s 2020 election would be awarded to the candidate of their choosing, instead of the candidate that Michigan voters actually chose....

Washington County commissioner to undergo open-heart surgery

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:13 GMT

Washington County Commissioner Fran Miron will be out of commission for the next few weeks as he recovers from quadruple bypass heart surgery.Miron, 69, of Hugo, is scheduled to undergo surgery early Wednesday at St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood. Miron told his fellow board members on Tuesday that the timing of the operation was good because the board does not meet on June 25 and other meetings have been canceled due to the annual meeting of the National Association of Counties Friday to Monday in Austin, Texas.Three members of the board — Karla Bigham, Julie Clasen and Stan Karwoski — will be attending NACo.“I wish I was going to NACo, but I’m going to be laid up for a while,” Miron said. “It’s going to be, hopefully, a short recovery, but obviously there is going to be a period of time that I won’t be able to be in attendance for things that they’ve got scheduled. I would appreciate any prayers and support during that time.”Board Chairman Gary K...