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Ousted Massachusetts pot boss Shannon O’Brien sues Treasurer Deb Goldberg

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

After weeks of silence, the state treasurer has finally explained her reasoning for removing Cannabis Control Commission Chair Shannon O’Brien from her $181,722 post atop the pot board, just hours before the former gubernatorial candidate sued the treasurer over her ouster.O’Brien, who was appointed by Treasurer Deb Goldberg last year, was unceremoniously suspended, with pay, by Goldberg in mid-September. Until Thursday, no reason was given, except veiled assertions by the current acting chair to reference the state law governing why a commissioner might be removed.Now we know why.“Several serious allegations were made by a Commissioner and CCC staff about the Chair’s behavior and the CCC initiated an investigation, hiring an outside law firm. The law firm undertook an investigation and has returned with a report. According to the CCC’s employee handbook, suspension with pay is the only allowable remedy at this point, as the findings are being reviewed and action is considered,” Gol...

Worker dies after being trapped under 8 feet of dirt in San Francisco

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A worker has died after being trapped in a collapsed trench under an estimated 8 feet of dirt in San Francisco, the San Francisco Fire Department said Thursday. Fifty rescuers were on scene to assist in the search and recovery of the person.The incident was reported at a worksite in San Francisco’s Lower Haight neighborhood. An emergency response and technical trench rescue was in progress by 10:35 a.m. Thursday morning at the 1100 block of Divisadero Street. The worker was trapped in the collapsed trench for two hours before they were found dead by fire officials, SF Fire said. Video from SFFD (above) shows fire crews near a hole in the ground with ropes nearby and rescuers digging dirt.At the scene, heavy rescue technicians, trench collapse experts, Department of Public Works crews, the SFFD Medical Director, and search and tracking K-9s assisted in the recovery. Fire officials said specialized tools such as tripods, shoring equipment and a vacuu...

Military police under investigation over handling of sexual assault case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

OTTAWA — The Military Police Complaints Commission is investigating the way officers handled allegations of sexual assault against a soldier who took his own life, the commission announced Thursday. Military police charged Maj. Cristian Hiestand, a flight instructor in a Royal Canadian Air Force flight training squadron, with two counts of sexual assault in November 2021. The complainant alleged that Hiestand sexually assaulted her twice, after they had just ended a relationship. Hiestand died by suicide two months later, and his parents and sister filed separate complaints with the military police, saying they “rushed to judgment” and didn’t take a statement from the accused before laying charges. A military police officer has also filed a complaint alleging the investigating officers didn’t record the woman’s interview even though they could have, and that an off-duty sergeant tried to help with the investigation while intoxicated. The commission deni...

Saskatchewan to use notwithstanding clause over pronoun policy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

REGINA — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says his government will use the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Constitution and pass legislation this fall to ensure the province’s pronoun policy remains in place.More coming.

Catholic Bishops say $30-million reconciliation fund on track to meet new deadline

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

OTTAWA — Canadian Catholic leaders say they are almost halfway to their fundraising goals for a reconciliation fund formed after the church failed to meet previous financial obligations.The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops held its annual meeting in Toronto this week, where church leaders were told the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund has raised $11.5 million so far, nearly 40 per cent of its goal. The Canadian bishops made a commitment in 2021 to raise $30 million in up to five years. They expect to raise at least $14 million by the end of the year.The Catholic Church was under pressure to properly compensate survivors under the Indian Residential School Survivor Agreement after it was reported that less than $4 million had been raised out of a $25-million goal.Forty-eight Catholic church entities had signed on to fundraise through “best efforts” as part of the compensation package under the settlement that was struck in 2006 with Ottawa, former residential school ...

Man arrested in shooting at Lil Baby concert in Memphis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A man has been arrested in a shooting that wounded one person at a Memphis concert headlined by rapper Lil Baby, police said Thursday. Kevin Young, 22, was arrested Wednesday on charges including reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of weapons and drugs at a home in Memphis, police said on social media.Police responded to the Sept. 7 shooting at the FedExForum, located just steps from the popular Beale Street tourist destination in downtown Memphis. The 19,000-seat arena is home to the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and the University of Memphis men’s basketball team. The arena is also used as a concert venue.Lil Baby was rushed off the stage when shots were fired. A man was wounded and taken to a hospital. No other injuries were reported.The concert was canceled and the building was evacuated. Police have not said how the suspect was able to bring a gun into the arena, which contracts with a private security company to screen people for weapons. The arena ha...

State officials in Michigan scratched from lawsuit over lead in Benton Harbor’s water

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed state officials from a lawsuit related to past lead contamination in a small southwestern Michigan city’s drinking water but said the case could proceed against city officials, including the mayor.Lawyers for residents compared Benton Harbor to Flint where lead contaminated the city’s water system in 2014-15. But U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou said there were significant differences.The state had a hands-on role in switching Flint’s water source to the Flint River and then failing to order treatment to reduce corrosion from old pipes. But such a role wasn’t present in Benton Harbor.State regulators “did not create the city’s water problem,” Jarbou said.Jarbou said the lawsuit, which claims violations of federal rights, can proceed at this early stage against Mayor Marcus Muhammad, the city and former water plant director Michael O’Malley. They deny misleading the public about water quality.For...

Blinken meets Indian foreign minister as row between India and Canada simmers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Thursday with India’s foreign minister amid a simmering row between New Delhi and Ottawa over allegations of Indian government involvement in the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada. Blinken and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met Thursday at the State Department as the U.S. tries to navigate the dispute between its northern neighbor and the South Asian country critical to its Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China’s rising influence in the region. Neither man spoke to the controversy that has disrupted Canada-India relations in very brief comments to reporters. U.S. officials had said they expected the topic to be raised. “We have consistently engaged with the Indian government on this question and have urged them to cooperate,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.Earlier Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had been told Blinken would address the matter and encourage the Indian government to coop...

GOP senators sharply question Pentagon nominee about Biden administration’s foreign policies

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate hearing Thursday on the nomination of the official to be the Pentagon’s top policy adviser was dominated by Republicans expressing their frustrations with the Biden administration’s foreign policies, from the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan to Ukraine funding and climate change.Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee grilled Derek Chollet, who has been serving as the counselor for the State Department, about mistakes the administration made in leaving Afghanistan and whether enough is being done to control the U.S.-Mexico border.Chollet has been nominated to be the next undersecretary of defense for policy. He served previously in the Pentagon as assistant secretary for international security from 2012 to 2015.Chollet urged continued support for Ukraine, said it is crucial for the United States to learn from the 20-year war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal, and agreed that America needs to have a safe and secure border, which is...

Mom of Colorado man killed by police after taking ‘heroic’ actions to stop gunman settles with city

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado city has reached a $2.8 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by the mother of a man killed by police in 2021 after taking heroic actions to stop a gunman who had shot another officer, a law firm announced Thursday.Kathleen Boleyn filed the lawsuit in June 2022, a year after the midday shootings in the main square of Olde Town Arvada, a historic shopping and entertainment area about 7 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of downtown Denver.Boleyn said her son, Johnny Hurley, ran toward danger and shot the gunman, Ronald Troyke, who had just fatally shot Officer Gordon Beesley. An investigation found Troyke, who died after Hurley shot him, was intent on killing as many officers as he could that day.The lawsuit said Hurley was crouched down with a rifle pointing down and not in a threatening position when he was shot, adding that a witness said Hurley was taking the magazine out of a rifle that he took away from the shooter.A district attorney investigation cleared...