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More sanctions for deadly fentanyl if bill wins passage

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:23:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the past year, the U.S. Treasury Department has used its sanctions powers to impose wide-ranging financial penalties on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine — turning Russia into the most sanctioned country in the world. Now, the federal agency is facing increasing pressure, including from legislation being introduced in the Senate, to use those tools with similar vigor against the people, financial institutions and companies that have participated in the explosion of fentanyl use and distribution in the U.S.“As a matter of policy we are dealing with drug cartels who have tremendous economic gain to be made,” said Paul DelPonte, executive director of the nonprofit National Crime Prevention Council, which is pushing for tougher action against those behind the scourge of drug overdose and death. “There are a lot of hands involved in this crime.”Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in the U.S. today. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimat...

‘Missing in action’: gun-control groups chide NDP over noncommittal stance on bill

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:23:19 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal New Democrats are coming under pressure from gun-control advocates to support the Liberals in enacting a permanent ban on assault-style firearms.In a pair of open letters, various groups pushing for stronger restrictions on guns urge the NDP to come out decisively in favour of enshrining a definition of firearms that belong solely on the battlefield.In response, NDP public-safety critic Peter Julian says the party will always be a willing partner when working to keep people safe from gun violence.Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is set to appear Tuesday afternoon at the House of Commons public safety committee, where MPs are studying gun-control legislation introduced almost a year ago.The appearance comes two months after the Liberals withdrew a late November amendment to the bill that would have spelled out in law the various models covered by the assault-style gun ban.The Liberals billed the definition as an evergreen measure that would cement in legisl...

Autopsy: Parents, kids in burning Oklahoma home were shot

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:23:19 GMT

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Preliminary autopsy reports show eight members of an Oklahoma family found dead inside their burning home were each shot.The bodies of Brian Nelson, 34, his wife Brittney Nelson, 32, and their six children were found in October inside the flaming home in Broken Arrow, a Tulsa suburb. Police at the time called it a murder-suicide.Authorities say all six children — Brian II, 13; Brantley, 9; Vegeta, 7; Ragnar, 5; Kurgan, 2; and Britannica, 1 — were found in a burning bedroom, while their parents were found in the front of the home.The autopsy report says Brian and Brittney Nelson each suffered a gunshot wound to the head and lists the manner of death as unknown.Four of the slain children had multiple gunshot wounds, with the eldest child, Brian Nelson II, suffering at least six.Each child also suffered burns to their bodies, but the manner of death for each of the six is listed as homicide due to gunshot wounds.“Broken Arrow police investigators have reviewed...

Tokyo company loses contact with moon lander in likely crash

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:23:19 GMT

A Japanese company lost contact with its spacecraft moments before touchdown on the moon Wednesday, saying the mission had apparently failed.Communications ceased as the lander descended the final 33 feet (10 meters), traveling around 16 mph (25 kph). Flight controllers peered at their screens in Tokyo, expressionless, as the minutes went by with no word from the lander, which is presumed to have crashed. “We have to assume that we could not complete the landing on the lunar surface,” said Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of the company, ispace. If it had landed, the company would have been the first private business to pull off a lunar landing.Only three governments have successfully touched down on the moon: Russia, the United States and China. An Israeli nonprofit tried to land on the moon in 2019, but its spacecraft was destroyed on impact. The 7-foot lander (2.3-meter) Japanese lander carried a mini lunar rover for the United Arab Emirates and a toylike robot from Japan design...

Changes planned for College Board’s Black history class

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:23:19 GMT

After facing criticism for removing topics including the Black Lives Matter and slavery reparations movements, the College Board announced it will be making changes to its new Advanced Placement African American studies course.The company did not say what the changes will be or when they will be made public. In a statement Monday, it said a development committee and experts charged with developing the course will “determine the details of those changes” over the next few months.“We are committed to providing an unflinching encounter with the facts and evidence of African American history and culture,” the company said.The course gained national attention this winter when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2024, said he would ban the course in his state because he believed it pushed a political agenda.“In the state of Florida, our education standards not only don’t prevent, but they require teaching Black history, all the important things. That...

Drug for rare form of Lou Gehrig’s disease OK’d by FDA

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:23:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Food and Drug Administration regulators on Tuesday approved a first-of-a-kind drug for a rare form of Lou Gehrig’s disease, though they are requiring further research to confirm it truly helps patients.The FDA approved Biogen’s injectable drug for patients with a rare genetic mutation that’s estimated to affect less than 500 people in the U.S. It’s the first drug for an inherited form of ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a deadly disease that destroys nerve cells needed for basic functions like walking, talking and swallowing. Approval came via FDA’s accelerated pathway, which allows drugs to launch based on promising early results, before they’re confirmed to benefit patients. That shortcut has come under increasing scrutiny from government watchdogs and congressional investigators.The FDA is requiring Biogen to continue studying the drug in a trial of people who carry the genetic mutation but do not yet have ALS symptoms. The drug, tofersen...

FACT FOCUS: COVID vaccines are not in the food supply

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:23:19 GMT

Anti-vaccine advocates have for years used foreboding imagery of syringes to paint immunizations as dark and dangerous. But recent vaccine conspiracy theories are casting an air of fear around more mundane things — like cows and lettuce.In widespread posts online in recent weeks, misinformation purveyors have spread an erroneous narrative that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are being quietly added to the food supply, threatening staunch vaccine holdouts.In some cases, users misrepresented the limited use of RNA-based vaccines in animals. In others, they distorted a company’s research into using plants to grow proteins used in vaccines.But experts confirm there are no COVID-19 vaccines in your steak or salad. Here are the facts.CLAIM: COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are being added to the food supply through livestock and produce.THE FACTS: COVID-19 vaccines are not being passed along through livestock or produce, and experts say that would not be an efficient way to immunize someone. A flurry of soc...

US officials seek to crack down on harmful AI products

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:23:19 GMT

The U.S. government will “not hesitate to crack down” on harmful business practices involving artificial intelligence, the head of the Federal Trade Commission warned Tuesday in a message partly directed at the developers of widely-used AI tools such as ChatGPT.FTC Chair Lina Khan joined top officials from U.S. civil rights and consumer protection agencies to put businesses on notice that regulators are working to track and stop illegal behavior in the use and development of biased or deceptive AI tools. Much of the scrutiny has been on those who deploy automated tools that amplify bias into decisions about who to hire, how worker productivity is monitored or who gets access to housing and loans. But amid a fast-moving race between tech giants such as Google and Microsoft in selling more advanced tools that generate text, images and other content resembling the work of humans, Khan also raised the possibility of the FTC wielding its antitrust authority to protect competition.“We all...

Russian spy intrigue fizzles as Hawaii stolen ID trial nears

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:23:19 GMT

U.S. prosecutors who introduced Russian spy intrigue into the case of a couple accused of living for decades in Hawaii under identities stolen from dead babies are now saying they don’t want jurors to hear about photographs showing them wearing foreign uniforms.A U.S. judge granted the request last week, ruling that the uniforms are not relevant to the upcoming trial for charges involving identity theft and passport fraud. Defense attorneys have said from the start those uniforms were worn once for fun.When the former U.S. defense contractor and his wife were arrested last year, prosecutors suggested the case was about more than just identity theft. According to prosecutors, Walter Glenn Primrose and Gwynn Darle Morrison are the real names of the couple who have been fraudulently living for decades under stolen identities Bobby Fort and Julie Montague. Prosecutors say Primrose spent more than 20 years in the Coast Guard as Bobby Fort, where he obtained secret-level security clearanc...

WATCH LIVE: Kim Foxx says she will not seek reelection

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:23:19 GMT

CHICAGO — Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced Monday she will not seek reelection. In an email to her staff, Foxx said, "While I will not be seeking a third term, it doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere.  The good, hard work we began in 2016 will continue through the end of my term in 2024."Foxx delivered remarks in an address to the City Club of Chicago Tuesday.Foxx won a second term as Cook County state’s attorney in 2020.Her tenure ushered in sweeping changes in how the Cook County prosecutor handles crime and punishment.For several years, amid a rise in crime in the City of Chicago, critics have labeled her social justice reform as failing the community.Foxx has faced criticism from the Chicago Police Department, and from Mayor Lori Lightfoot on charging decisions, home monitoring, as well as the handling of high profile cases like Jussie Smollett. Previous Coverage: Police: Officers called to Kim Foxx’s home for report of domestic dispute Those close to her also say th...