US Supreme Court maintains abortion pill access for now as legal fight continues

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:04:40 GMT

US Supreme Court maintains abortion pill access for now as legal fight continues Access to a widely used abortion pill will remain at current levels for the time being, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Friday in a decision staving off sweeping restrictions ordered by lower courts.The high court’s decision keeps the drug, mifepristone, available for now, but the legal battle over the drug, which has become the most common method of abortion nationwide, could drag on for months if not years to come.Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the Supreme Court’s action, which prevents earlier rulings from a Texas-based judge and a federal appeals court from taking effect.Those rulings would have suspended several policies the FDA enacted since 2016 to make mifepristone more accessible — including telemedicine prescription, mail delivery, retail pharmacy dispensing and the approval of a generic version of the drug. The lower-court action also would have scaled back the federally approved use of the drug from 10 weeks of pregnancy to seven weeks — ...

Police investigating Avon crash that left driver dead

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:04:40 GMT

Police investigating Avon crash that left driver dead A Randolph man died early Saturday morning after a collision in Avon between his car and a tractor-trailer, according to Massachusetts State Police.Richard Maurice, 30, rear-ended the Freightliner heading southbound on Route 24 around 2:30 a.m. His car went into the median where it caught fire, while the tractor-trailer struck the guardrail to the right.Maurice was pulled from the car before it was ablaze and was transported to the hospital after first responders performed “attempted life-saving measures,” officials said. He was pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton.The 44-year-old driver of the tractor-trailer, of New Bedford, was transported to Good Samaritan with minor injuries.All lanes of Route 24 southbound were closed for around three hours following the crash, which is still under investigation.

Single-use plastic is wreaking havoc on the planet. Here’s what you can do to minimize your impact

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:04:40 GMT

Single-use plastic is wreaking havoc on the planet. Here’s what you can do to minimize your impact   (CNN) — The life cycle of plastic begins underground, where oil and gas are extracted from deep below the surface of the planet. These fossil fuels are then refined in facilities, using extreme temperatures and significant amount of water and energy, where they are transformed into pellets that are eventually melted and molded into things like water bottles, packaging, garbage bags and clothes.And the widespread use of single-use plastic — the stuff we use once and then throw away — is only made worse by its disposal. Plastics do not break down once they’re thrown into nature. And, alarmingly, only around 9% plastic in the United States is actually recycled, according to the Environmental Protection Agency — even the stuff you specifically threw into the recycle bin.What you might not realize is this isn’t just a pollution problem. It’s a climate problem. And by the time we start talking about...

Baseball/softball notebook: Foxboro star shines at plate, at 3b, on mound

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:04:40 GMT

Baseball/softball notebook: Foxboro star shines at plate, at 3b, on mound Over the last three years, Foxboro’s Sean O’Leary has developed into one of the top players in all of Eastern Mass. as the six-foot-one, 205 pound left-handed hitter tortures opponents both at the plate and on the mound.His emergence as a superstar has been in direct correlation with Foxboro’s newfound contending status.“He’s the centerpiece of putting this program in the direction we have wanted to get it going in the last four-plus years,” Foxboro coach Derek Suess said. “The impact he has had on and off the field is hard to replicate.”Suess began hearing about O’Leary’s potential as a player back when the third baseman was still in middle school but was wary about the prospect of him taking off for private school. O’Leary, however, remained steadfast to the Warriors community. After a freshman year that was wiped away due to the COVID-19 pandemic, O’Leary started every game at third base his sophomore yearThe...

Eat, drink & dance all weekend at San Diego's Tequila & Taco Music Festival

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:04:40 GMT

Eat, drink & dance all weekend at San Diego's Tequila & Taco Music Festival SAN DIEGO -- Looking for weekend plans? It's time to get the gang together to eat, drink and dance all weekend at the Tequila & Taco Music Festival in San Diego.The two-day festival is being held at Gallagher Square in Petco Park from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Music festivals in San Diego this summer: A complete guide for concertgoers Attendees can expect a full music lineup featuring artists Lil Jon, Baby Bash, Outlaw Mariachi, Adelaide, Upstream, Sambada and La Sonora Dinamita.While jamming out in the sun this weekend, festivalgoers can sip on an assortment of margaritas and eat some delicious tacos. Event organizers say there will be an array of food and craft beer vendors as well. More interested in blue agave? Tickets are available for the "Tequila Experience," which includes entry into the festival, six half-ounce samples of tequila, and a souvenir tasting cup. Tequila lovers who are over the age of 21 can snag this deal for $49.99.For ...

Neighbors mourn family lost in El Cajon house fire

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:04:40 GMT

Neighbors mourn family lost in El Cajon house fire EL CAJON, Calif. – The three people who died in an El Cajon house fire late Thursday night have been identified by neighbors as a couple in their 80s and their grandson.“We’ve all been very sad. It’s shocking," one neighbor, Reagan Seymour, told FOX 5. "All three were just there yesterday and now they’re all three gone.”Seymour and her brother live right across the street from the home on North Anza Street that was ravaged by the fire.Firefighters arrived on the scene after reports of a "high volume" structure fire at the 900 block of North Anza Street came in shortly before midnight. Four people were inside the home at the time of the fire, according to San Miguel Fire & Rescue. First responders pulled two people from the house who were taken to the hospital, but died shortly after. A third was found dead inside, as crews battled the blaze.“That’s something I mentioned on the phone with 911 that there were people inside. They tried their best, but they only got two out before t...

OPP search for hit-and-run driver in fatal two-vehicle crash in Mississauga

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:04:40 GMT

OPP search for hit-and-run driver in fatal two-vehicle crash in Mississauga Provincial police are searching for the driver of a car who fled the scene of a fatal two-vehicle crash early Saturday morning in Mississauga. OPP say at around 2:30 a.m. a 29-year-old man from Cambridge was going westbound on Highway 401 when the Mazda he was in was struck from behind near Mavis Road by a white Audi S5 which witnesses said was travelling at an extremely “high rate fo speed.” The force of the crash sent the Mazda into the guardrail before coming to rest on the exit ramp to Mavis Road. The driver of the car was taken to hospital with critical injuries where he was later pronounced dead. According to witnesses, the driver of the Audi continued on, slamming into the concrete barrier on the left side of the highway. The driver then fled the scene towards Mavis Road. Anyone with information is asked to contact Mississauga OPP.

Sudan army says it will help foreigners leave amid fighting

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:04:40 GMT

Sudan army says it will help foreigners leave amid fighting KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The Sudanese army said Saturday it was coordinating efforts to evacuate foreign citizens and diplomats from Sudan on military aircraft, as the bloody fighting that has engulfed the vast African nation entered its second week. Army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan said he would facilitate the evacuation of American, British, Chinese and French citizens and diplomats from Sudan after speaking with the leaders of several countries that had requested help. The prospect has vexed officials as most major airports have become battlegrounds and movement out of the capital, Khartoum, has proven intensely dangerous. Burhan “agreed to provide the necessary assistance to secure such evacuations for various countries,” Sudan’s military said.Questions have swirled over how the mass rescues of foreign citizens would unfold, with Sudan’s main international airport closed and millions of people sheltering indoors. As battles between the Sudanese army led by Burhan an...

Two still in critical condition after plane crashes into house southwest of Montreal

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:04:40 GMT

Two still in critical condition after plane crashes into house southwest of Montreal MONTREAL — Quebec provincial police say two people are in critical condition after a small plane crashed into a home southwest of Montreal on Friday night.The small plane crashed into a private residence in St-Remi around 7:30 p.m. Authorities say two men in their 30s were taken to hospital where they remain in critical condition today.No one on the ground was injured.Police say the plane hit a home, hydroelectric lines and a parked vehicle before hitting a second home in a residential neighbourhood in the town about 45 kilometres south west of Montreal.Major crimes detectives from the police force will collaborate with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to determine the cause of the crash.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2023.The Canadian Press

Longtime Trump ally Laxalt joins PAC supporting DeSantis

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:04:40 GMT

Longtime Trump ally Laxalt joins PAC supporting DeSantis DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a longtime Donald Trump ally, will help lead a political action committee encouraging Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.Laxalt, who roomed with DeSantis at the Naval Justice School, will serve as the chairman of the Never Back Down super PAC, the organization confirmed Saturday.Laxalt chaired Trump’s campaign in Nevada in 2020 and has repeated Trump’s false claims of fraud about that race, won by Democrat Joe Biden. Laxalt was a public face of many of Trump campaign’s lawsuits in the swing state that challenged election rules and results. Trump endorsed Laxalt in the 2022 Senate race won by Catherine Cortez Masto, who was considered the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the midterm elections.But Laxalt has remained a close friend of DeSantis, who is widely expected to announce a White House campaign soon. Both were Navy judge advocate generals and served in ...