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100,000 Massachusetts children at risk of hunger under shutdown, White House says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:57 GMT

The Biden White House is warning that bickering in Congress over the budget could result in more than 100,000 Massachusetts children and babies losing access to food assistance funds.According to the Biden Administration more than 7 million women and children nationally are at risk of going hungry if House Republicans don’t approve a budget in time to avoid a government shutdown.“During an Extreme Republican Shutdown, women and children who count on WIC would soon start being turned away at grocery store counters, with a federal contingency fund drying up after just a few days and many states left with limited WIC funds to operate the program,” the White House said in a Monday statement.According to data provided by the administration, in Massachusetts alone, a shutdown could impact 24,995 women, 76,851 children, and 24,075 infants who depend on the program for their nutritional needs.Congress has until the end of the month to come up with a plan to fund the government. Hard-line la...

San Diego files petition to push Supreme Court to hear homeless camp bans case

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:57 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The City of San Diego has officially joined a federal case out of Oregon that is looking to get the U.S. Supreme Court to review rules that govern how cities can address homeless encampments after filing a petition with the court on Monday.The city, which voted 6-2 to participate during a closed City Council session last week, is one of a growing list of other metro areas, public officials and local groups to ask the highest court in the land to take up the case, City of Grants Pass v. Gloria Johnson, et al.The lawsuit, which was brought by three unhoused residents in the small Oregon town of Grants Pass, sought to overturn city ordinances that restricted camping and sleeping in public through fines and other regulations. Monday marks 45 years since PSA Flight 182 crash in North Park Last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the homeless plaintiffs, saying in its decision that it was a violation of the Eighth Amendment to punish people for sleeping in p...

5 dead, including one child, after 2 private planes collide in northern Mexico

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:57 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Five people, including one child, were killed when two private planes crashed Monday morning in the Mexican northern state of Durango, state authorities said.The crash occurred on a small dirt airstrip in the town of La Galancita, in western Durango. Two planes, both Cessna light aircraft, collided while one was taking off and the other was landing, the state’s Security Secretariat told The Associated Press.After the collision, both aircraft caught fire.All five passengers were killed in the accident, the state agency said.State authorities are investigating the cause of the fatal crash.The Associated Press

Man brings gun and knives into a Virginia church service after vague online threats, police say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:57 GMT

HAYMARKET, Va. (AP) — A man posted vague online threats of violence and images of a Virginia church before going inside with a loaded handgun and two knives during Sunday services, police said Monday.The man was arrested and no one was hurt after officers rushed to Park Valley Church, having been tipped off by someone who saw his “suspicious and concerning online postings,” the Prince William County Police Department said in a news release. The investigation involved three police departments across two states, beginning with a Maryland resident’s tip and ending with the man’s arrest in Haymarket, Virginia, which is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Washington, the news release said. Authorities did not offer a possible motive. But it comes at a time when faith leaders in the U.S. are ramping up security at some houses of worship. In recent years, there’s been a stark uptick in concerning episodes at churches, synagogues, temples and mosques. Rui Jiang, 35, of ...

Bahrain says attack by Yemen rebels kills a Bahraini officer and a soldier on the Saudi border

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:57 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A drone attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed a Bahraini officer and soldier who were patrolling Saudi Arabia’s southern border early Monday, Bahrain’s military command said.The statement, carried by the official Bahrain News Agency, says “a number” of Bahraini soldiers were also wounded in the attack, without elaborating.The tiny island nation of Bahrain is a close ally of Saudi Arabia, which has been at war with the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels for several years. A cease-fire had largely stopped the violence, and the two sides have appeared close to a peace agreement in recent months.It was unclear if the attack would derail those efforts or prompt retaliation by Saudi Arabia and its allies. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis or Saudi Arabia.“This terrorist attack was carried out by the Houthis, who sent aircraft targeting the position of the Bahraini guards on the southern border of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia despi...

Bermuda premier says ‘sophisticated and deliberate’ cyberattack hobbles government services

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:57 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A major cyberattack has hobbled government operations in Bermuda, with officials struggling to restore service.Premier David Burt said Monday that the government is trying to identify what happened and how, adding that he could not provide details because it was a matter of national security.“It is clear that this was a sophisticated and deliberate attack that has resulted in unprecedented stress on basic government systems,” he said.The attack occurred Wednesday night and was noticed Thursday morning, Burt said.He said critical areas like transport, education and the island’s hospital have been operating as normal. But he added that it could take a couple of weeks for all services to be fully restored.“The size, scope and nature of this is significant,” Burt said of the attack.It wasn’t clear if sensitive information was compromised, and Burt said the investigation is ongoing. It’s also unknown if those responsible for the attack are demanding ransom. B...

First of thousands of Lahaina residents return to homes destroyed by deadly wildfire

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:57 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — The first of thousands of residents who lost their homes in the wildfire that destroyed the Hawaii town of Lahaina returned to their devastated properties Monday, with some stopping for a moment of reflection and others searching for mementos among the ruins.“They’re very appreciative to get in here, something they’ve all been waiting anxiously for,” Darryl Oliveira, interim administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, told reporters gathered outside the burn zone. “People who haven’t been here since the fire are taken aback by the amount of and extent of the destruction.”In the days following the Aug. 8 wildfire, some people were able to return to their properties to evaluate the damage. But since then, the burned area has been off-limits to all but authorized workers. Authorities opened one small part of it on Monday, allowing residents in for supervised visits from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. By midday, about two dozen vehicles carrying residents had entered...

Three fishers die after boat sinks off Quebec coast, three others rescued

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:57 GMT

MONTREAL — Three people are dead after a fishing boat sank off Quebec’s Lower North Shore early Monday morning, provincial police say.The Canadian Coast Guard said six people were aboard the Silver Condor, out of Blanc Sablon, Que., about 1,300 kilometres northeast of Montreal.Spokeswoman Emilie Proteau-Beaulieu said in an email that the coast guard received a distress signal from the boat around 2:30 a.m.Two coast guard vessels and an Armed Forces CH-149 Cormorant helicopter were dispatched to the scene, and all six of the fishers were recovered. Lt.-Cmdr. Len Hickey said three of the people recovered were “unresponsive” when transferred to paramedics.“The six occupants were recovered jointly by (the coast guard) and (Armed Forces), and were cared for by pre-hospital emergency services once ashore,” Proteau-Beaulieu said. She said three other nearby vessels assisted in the search.She said the cause of the sinking — which took place around 37 kilometres...

Canada names new ambassador to Armenia amid Nagorno-Karabakh tensions

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:57 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s government has announced the ambassador who is to helm a new embassy in Armenia at a time of escalating military conflict in neighbouring Azerbaijan.Career diplomat Andrew Turner will be posted to Yerevan, where Canada is set to open an embassyas soon as next month, as the Liberals try to form closer ties with countries moving away from Russia’s orbit.Turner’s background primarily involves postings in the Middle East, though he has also helped shape Ottawa’s response to tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.Canada has a large Armenian diaspora, and the Liberals have made a point of raising issues related to Armenia in the House of Commons.In April 2022, ambassador to the European Union Stéphane Dion, who is also a former foreign affairs minister, issued a report on how Canada can better support Armenia’s “fragile” democracy.The report, weeks after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, argued the country’...

Jury selection opens in terrorism trial of extended family members dating to 2018 New Mexico raid

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:55:57 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Jury selection began Monday in federal court as members of an extended family confronted kidnapping and terrorism charges stemming from the search for a missing 3-year-old boy by agents who raided a squalid New Mexico encampment in 2018.The boy’s badly decomposed remains were eventually found in an underground tunnel at the compound on the outskirts of Amalia near the Colorado line. Authorities allege the family engaged in firearms and tactical training in preparation for attacks against the government, tied to an apparent belief that the boy would be resurrected as Jesus Christ and provide instructions.An exact cause of death was never determined amid accusations that the boy, who was sickly, had been deprived of crucial medication linked to disabilities. Federal prosecutors opted for kidnapping charges.The two men and two women on trial have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to support planned attacks on U.S. law enforcement officers, milit...