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Chris Christie outlines his national drug crisis plan, focusing on treatment and stigma reduction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:34:22 GMT

ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Calling the latest wave of the nation’s drug crisis “a test of our national resolve,” Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie returned to a New Hampshire recovery center Wednesday to outline a people-focused, not punitive, policy plan.“This is a test to see who we want to be as both a people and as a country,” he said at the Hope on Haven Hill wellness center, which services pregnant women and mothers struggling with substance use disorder. “We need an approach that remembers and reflects on the very basic humanity of every single one of those 100,000 victims, as well as the treasures each one of them could have brought to this country.”Christie led a White House commission on opioid misuse in 2017, and he praised former president Donald Trump for endorsing all 56 of its recommendations. But only about half have been enacted, and both Trump and President Joe Biden have treated the problem as a crisis in name only, Christie said. Meanwhile, other Republi...

Naloxone to be available for free at certain South, West Side gas stations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:34:22 GMT

CHICAGO — A new effort to save lives by reversing opioid overdoses has been unveiled in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the city's West Side.An initiative to deliver naloxone, the life-saving opioid overdose-reversal medication, was announced Wednesday morning outside the Amoco gas station at 4402 W. Roosevelt Rd. That location and 14 others across Chicago's South and West sides will now be stocked with free-of-charge naloxone, delivered via Zimhi.Zimhi is a naloxone injection intended for emergency use. According to its website, Zimhi "offers the highest dose of naloxone available as an intramuscular injection to get into the blood fast."Officials say gas stations are often "hot zones" where opioid overdoses occur. Used effectively, naloxone can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and potentially save someone’s life. Officials say the Zimhi injections that will be stocked at gas stations and available for free are being paid for through a donation by a medical company to t...

Surburban driver suspected in deadly head-on crash was allegedly high on cocaine, deputies say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:34:22 GMT

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. — A Crystal Lake man suspected of being under the influence of drugs amid a deadly head-on collision last February now faces multiple felonies in connection with the crash, the Lake County Sheriff's Office announced on Wednesday.Traffic crash investigators conclude that Craig B. Muzard, 74, was under the influence of cocaine while driving on Route 59 south of Route 132 in unincorporated Lake Villa the night of Friday, Feb. 3. Investigators said the influence of drugs played a "direct role" in the crash and death of George V. Giannakakis, who was 73 years old at the time. Man, 55, hit by 2 different vehicles while crossing street on Northwest Side Muzard was arrested on Wednesday and charged with aggravated driving under the influence of drugs, resulting in death and reckless homicide.Deputies say Muzard was driving a GMC Acadia northbound on Route 59 when, for unknown reasons, the vehicle veered into the southbound lanes. The GMC struck a Kia driven by Giannaka...

Ed Burke trial: Third day of jury deliberations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:34:22 GMT

CHICAGO — Jury deliberations continue for a third day in Ed Burke's federal corruption trial.A jury of nine women and three men have been discussing the case for nearly 13 hours across three days.They are spending time going through a complex list of charges that include racketeering, extortion and bribery. The main question the jury is asking on each count is whether the government met its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.Burke is accused of four different alleged schemes of using his public power to enrich himself and win favors for friends.On Tuesday, the jury sent three written notes to Judge Kendall. One note requested more copies of the indictment. The other involved questions on how to interpret the law in specific cases.One of Burke's co-defendants, Peter Andrews, was hospitalized Tuesday. He is back at the Dirksen Federal Building Wednesday. Ed Burke trial: Previous coverage from Tuesday The jury is scheduled to deliberate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. this whole week un...

Trump blocked from Colorado ballot: 5 takeaways

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:34:22 GMT

The Colorado Supreme Court’s extraordinary decision disqualifying former President Trump for office under the 14th Amendment ignited a firestorm among politicians and legal observers, who now stare down the possibility of Trump being removed from the ballot next year. The full ruling, which includes the majority opinion and three separate dissents, spans 213 pages filled to the brim with analysis of the amendment’s text and the use of Colorado election law to enforce it. Trump and his allies have broadly attacked the ruling, which marks the first state to kick Trump off the ballot, as unconstitutional and partisan. Trump’s team has vowed to take the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s ruling. Decision wades into ‘uncharted territory’ The Colorado Supreme Court’s landmark ruling raises the possibility that a major candidate for the presidency could be left off the ballot. In their decision, the state justices made clear tha...

SiriusXM accused of trapping customers in unwanted subscriptions in New York lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:34:22 GMT

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — New York's Office of the Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against SiriusXM, accusing the company of trapping customers in subscriptions.New York AG Letitia James said in a statement released Wednesday that SiriusXM forces customers to call the company or chat online with a representative to cancel a subscription. She added that the process is intentionally long to stop customers from canceling.According to James, SiriusXM representatives have been trained to "not take 'no' for an answer when customers try to cancel." Through their investigation, New York's OAG said it also found agents are trained to keep customers on the phone when they try canceling subscriptions using a "lengthy six-part conversation." During that conversation, authorities said agents make as many as five retention offers to keep customers. Parents sue Michigan school district over pronouns The OAG also found that while SiriusXM can cancel a subscription with a "click of a button,"...

Florida man arrested after tossing 16-year-old dog in dumpster, deputies say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:34:22 GMT

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man has been arrested after deputies said he tossed his 16-year-old dog in a dumpster last week.Deputies said employees at a Lehigh Acres Family Dollar found a trash bag inside a dumpster with something moving inside it on Thursday, Dec. 14.Stuffed inside the trash bag was Xyla, a 16-year-old Shih Tzu, with a rope around her neck, the sheriff's office said.(Lee County Sheriff's Office)The employees rushed Xyla to Blue Pearl Pet Hospital for evaluation and called the sheriff's office to report the incident.Investigators with LCSO's Animal Cruelty Task Force and East District detectives were called to the scene and were able to find surveillance footage of what happened.Deputies said the video showed the suspect remove a bundled-up trash bag from his trunk and toss it into a dumpster from several feet away, deputies said."You can see on this video that he has absolutely zero regard for Xyla," Sheriff Carmine Marceno said during a news conference. "N...

Analysis suggests Texans work longer hours than workers in any other state

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:34:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Everything is bigger in Texas, including an employee's drive to work long hours, apparently. According to an analysis of 2022 data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, folks in Texas clocked more time on average than any other state.The analysis by personal finance website Wealth of Geeks showed that employees in Texas work around 34.42 hours a week on average. Louisiana came in second with employees working 34.37 a week, and then West Virginia at around 34.11 hours weekly. These findings come soon after Financial Buzz published an analysis showing Austin as the third most overworked city in the U.S. The finance website looked at factors like hours worked per week, percentage of active workers over 65, and percentage of workers with two plus jobs in the analysis. In its study, Financial Buzz found that Austin had a high number of households where more than one person worked a full time job and that Austinites worked a high number of hours per week ...

Wimberley's New Year polar plunge returns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:34:22 GMT

WIMBERLEY, Texas (KXAN) — The City of Wimberley's Parks and Recreation Department announced Wednesday its annual Polar Bear Plunge & 5K event returns Jan. 1.The 5K course begins at Blue Hole Regional Park — located at 333 Blue Hole Lane — and travels through downtown Wimberley before ending with a plunge into Cypress Creek. Event check-in begins at 9 a.m. Jan. 1, with a 5K start time slated for 10 a.m. The polar bear plunge is set to wrap at 1 p.m.Festivities include music, food and drink vendors, games, prizes and a warming fire pit visitors can gather around, the release added.Regular registration costs $35 a person, while day-of registration goes for $45 a person. Those interested can sign up online. Registration includes access to the 5K, an event t-shirt, drink tickets and a swag bag, officials said."We're thrilled to invite everyone to join us for the Polar Bear Plunge & 5K – an event that symbolizes the spirit of adventure, community, and a fresh start in the New Year...

Minnesota Ice Festival canceled because of warm weather that could turn structures ‘hazardous’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:34:22 GMT

The 2024 Minnesota Ice Festival has been canceled. Organizers said that unseasonably warm weather raises safety concerns for both ice construction workers and visitors.The festival, which would have run from Jan. 5 to Feb. 11 at Viking Lakes in Eagan, was set to have included the world’s largest ice maze, plus other structures and sculptures. These can become hazardous if temperatures are too warm, organizers said.If you already have tickets, the festival is issuing automatic refunds that should be processed within seven to 10 days.“We were really looking forward to celebrating the beautiful Minnesota winter with everyone, but the weather hasn’t cooperated, and we won’t be able to deliver the experience we had hoped for,” said Robbie Harrell, the CEO of ice company Minnesota Ice, in a statement Wednesday. The festival plans to return next year, he said.As for the ice itself, it has already been delivered to the festival site in Eagan, so organizers are keeping it under insulation fo...