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Homeless encampment ban passes committee, moves to city council

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:48 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The ordinance to ban homeless encampments in certain areas the city deems to be high risk of public health and safety is now moving on to the city council.It passed Thursday after a more than four-hour discussion and more than 100 public comments by a vote of 3-1.The ordinance would change the city code and ban tent encampments around the city considered to be high risk of public health and safety. What’s happening with the Balboa Park Botanical Building? That includes:Within two blocks of k-12 schoolsWithin two blocks of a homeless shelterAlong trolly tracks and transportation hubsCertain parks including Balboa Park, Mission Bay parkWaterways including the San Diego riverThere were about 114 public comments, with people in favor of the ordinance, and against it. “I walk my children we've been chased by people foaming at the mouth," one downtown resident said during public comment Thursday.“The crisis is complicated but the city is looking for an easy solution and tha...

Fire truck towed out of North County sinkhole

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:48 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A fire truck was towed out of a small sinkhole after the emergency vehicle had become stuck Thursday in the Escondido area.Around 5:10 p.m., SkyFOX aerial footage over a parking lot at 1001 Country Club Lane captured video of a truck from Escondido Fire Department stuck in about a one-foot deep sinkhole, according to Escondido police.The fire truck was exiting the parking lot when some of the asphalt gave out, authorities said. ALDI to open first El Cajon location When SkyFOX was over the parking lot, first responders were able to tow the fire engine out.No other information has been provided at this time.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Powerful Cyclone Ilsa lashes Australia’s northwest coast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:48 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s most powerful tropical cyclone in eight years lashed the nation’s sparsely populated northwest coast with winds gusting to 289 kilometers (180 miles) per hour Friday but was weakening fast and no injuries were immediately reported.Cyclone Ilsa crossed the Pilbara coast of Western Australia state as the most severe Category 5 storm, but it quickly weakened to a Category 3 system as it moved inland, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said.Damage was still being assessed in the path of Ilsa, which made landfall in the early hours between the iron ore export town of Port Hedland and Wallal Downs Station, a 2,020-square-kilometer (780-square-mile) cattle ranch to the northeast.The remote Pardoo Roadhouse and Tavern, 150 km (93 miles) northeast of Port Hedland, had “extensive damage,” Department of Fire and Emergency Services Superintendent Peter Sutton said.But his department had received no calls for assistance. “It appears the larger po...

Saunders aims to change ‘culture of safety’ with TTC security plan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:48 GMT

Safety on the TTC has been top of mind for several candidates currently running for Toronto mayor. On Wednesday, former police chief Mark Saunders released his plan and it takes a much harder stance than others when it comes to combating violence. In January, Toronto police boosted patrols on the transit system in response to safety concerns following several high-profile attacks. Officials said officers made 314 arrests during their two months of added patrols while the TTC said safety incidents were down in February following the increased police presence. The TTC says it is also adding 50 contract security guards and 20 outreach workers to the system as an interim response.Saunders says as mayor he plans to increase the number of Special Constables to at least 200, taking them “out from behind the desk and on patrol” so they will be more visible on subways and platforms. He would also transfer responsibility for the Special Constables program from under the TTC to the...

Russian court fines Wikipedia for article about Ukraine war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:48 GMT

A Moscow court on Thursday again fined Wikipedia for a Russian-language article it refused to remove about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the latest in a series of government moves to silence objective reporting or criticism of the war and restrict the Russian public’s access to information.The court fined Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that runs the free, publicly-edited online encyclopedia, 2 million rubles ($24,464) for not removing a Wikipedia article titled “Russian occupation of the Zaporizhzhia region,” a reference to one of four Ukrainian provinces that Russia annexed last September. Most countries have condemned the annexation, as well as that by Russia in 2014 of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, as illegal.The state Tass news agency said the Wikimedia Foundation had failed to heed the demands of Russia’s state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor to remove articles containing “false information.” Tass said a Wikipedia representative asked the ...

UN: As many as 400,000 migrants may cross Darien Gap in 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:48 GMT

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Two U.N. groups said Thursday that the number of migrants crossing the dangerous Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama could soar to as many as 400,000 this year. That would represent a huge increase from the 250,000 migrants estimated to have crossed the roadless, jungle-clad route in 2022. The U.N. agencies for refugees and migration said in a report that nearly 100,000 people may have already made the crossing so far this year, six times more than in the similar period of last year. If that trend keeps up, it could mean many more migrants seeking to reach the United States through Central America and Mexico. The groups called it “an unprecedented movement (of people) through the Americas.”The United States pledged its forces will assist their Colombian and Panamanian counterparts with intelligence gathering to dismantle smuggling rings operating in the Darien Gap, which is a key route for migrants heading to the U.S. from South America, a senior Biden administ...

Motorcycle rider seriously injured after crashing into pickup truck in Aurora

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:48 GMT

A motorcycle rider suffered serious injuries following a crash Wednesday afternoon in Aurora. Provincial police say a group of motorcycles were travelling at a high rate of speed and lane splitting in the northbound lanes of Highway 404 between Bloomington Road and Wellington Street East when one of them collided into the back of a pickup truck. The injured rider was taken to a nearby hospital in serious condition. Police are asking anyone who may have been in the area at the time of the crash and has dash cam video to contact them.

Missouri to limit gender-affirming care for minors, adults

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:48 GMT

COLUMBIA. Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s attorney general announced new restrictions Thursday on gender-affirming care for adults in addition to minors in a move that is believed to be a first nationally and has advocacy groups threatening to sue. Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced plans to restrict health care for transgender people weeks ago, when protesters rallied at the Capitol to urge lawmakers to pass a law banning puberty blockers, hormones and surgeries for children. But the discussion was focused on minors, not adults. Missouri Attorney General spokeswoman Madeline Sieren clarified in a statement later in the day that adults also would be covered. “We have serious concerns about how children are being treated throughout the state, but we believe everyone is entitled to evidence-based medicine and adequate mental health care,” Sieren said. The rule, which incudes a required 18 months of therapy before receiving gender-affirming health care, is set to take effect April 27...

3 people shot, 1 critically, in Chicago's South Shore

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:48 GMT

CHICAGO — Three people were shot, one critically, while they were walking Thursday afternoon in Chicago's South Shore.According to police, two women were walking behind two men around 3:10 p.m. in the 2100 block of East 71st Street when someone got out of a car and started firing shots at the men. School bus damaged by gunfire during attempted carjacking on West Side The two women, ages 22 and 33, who took cover behind a car in an alley, suffered graze wounds and refused medical attention, according to police.An 18-year-old man was shot in the shoulder, thigh and the back and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, according to police.Chicago police said an additional person, a man, got out of a gray car and started shooting at the person who was shooting at the man.No one is in custody yet and the incident is still under investigation by Area One detectives.

VIDEO: 7-foot gator finds new home under Florida man's truck

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:48 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida father was shocked when he came across a 7-foot alligator hiding under his truck on Thursday.Joey Quinlan told WFLA.com he was working at his home in New Tampa when he got a phone call from his next-door neighbor. It was alarming enough for Quinlan to race out the door, phone in hand. RECALL: A/V carts sold since 1980s have killed 3 kids "It's big," a woman can be heard saying in a cellphone video as Quinlan cautiously edged further from his front door.It was an alligator — 7 feet long to the mark.With no pond in sight, Quinlan was curious as to how the scaly suspect wound up underneath his Toyota pickup.Quinlan said he and his family had moved from Illinois about three-and-a-half years ago. Since then, they had not seen anything like the beast which sat before them. The occasional snake or large insect, maybe, but nothing like the 80 conical-shaped teeth staring back at them. Walmart closing 4 locations in Chicago Quinlan said they had received an...