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Huge number of asylum seekers at US-Mexico border as COVID-19 restrictions end, new rules begin

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:16:53 GMT

By MARIA VERZA, COLLEEN LONG and MORGAN LEE (Associated Press)CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — The Biden administration on Thursday will begin denying asylum to migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without first applying online or seeking protection in a country they passed through. It marks a fundamental shift in immigration policy as the U.S. readies for the end of a key pandemic restriction.Asylum seekers have been showing up at the border in huge numbers in anticipation of this week’s end of the use of a restriction known as Title 42. That rule has allowed the government to quickly expel migrants to Mexico. U.S. officials warned of difficult days ahead as the program tied to the COVID-19 pandemic expires this week.The rule announced Wednesday is part of new measures meant to crack down on illegal border crossings while creating new legal pathways. Families who cross the border will face curfews and monitoring; the head of household will wear an ankle bracelet as...

New law requires Colorado’s nonprofit hospitals to explain their “community benefit” in greater detail

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:16:53 GMT

BOULDER — Next year, nonprofit hospitals in Colorado will have to report more specific information about how they spend their “community benefit” dollars, following criticism that they weren’t meeting public needs.In his State of the State address, Gov. Jared Polis said he wanted to see nonprofit hospitals held “accountable” for meeting local needs. On Wednesday, he signed a scaled-down bill mandating that they report their spending to the state in greater detail.The original HB23-1243 would have set a floor for community benefit spending, among other changes.The bill was among a number of health care measures the governor signed Wednesday.“What they are supposed to do with their immense profits, since they don’t pay taxes, is invest that in the community,” Polis said in a brief statement before signing the bill at Out Boulder County, a nonprofit serving the LGBTQ community. “We don’t know if it’s going to the c...

After betting on himself, Zach Blackwood relishes opportunity with CU Buffs

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:16:53 GMT

New Colorado transfer commit Zach Blackwood, who played at Garden City (Kan.) Community College. (Courtesy of Zach Blackwood)Even when he wasn’t getting opportunities to play big-time college football, Zach Blackwood believed he was capable of reaching the big-time.Last week, he finally got that opportunity and on Tuesday, he committed to Colorado as a transfer.“It’s exciting for me,” said Blackwood, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound defensive lineman from Garden City (Kan.) Community College. “I always knew that I could be where I’m at now. I played at schools that were always under-looked and stuff like that.”After recording 123 tackles and 10 tackles for loss during his time at Desert Edge (Ariz.) High School, Blackwood went to Northern Arizona as a freshman in 2021, but wasn’t there long. Blackwood spent that year at NAU dealing with some things off the field and didn’t play a game for the Lumberjacks before he left for Garden City.“I just knew that I could go bigger, so I bet it on myself,...

MVP Joel Embiid leads All-NBA team; runner-up Nikola Jokic lands on 2nd team

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:16:53 GMT

By TIM REYNOLDS (AP Basketball Writer)Denver’s Nikola Jokic now knows how Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid felt during two previous NBA award seasons.Second in the MVP race — but only second-team All-NBA.Embiid — the newly crowned MVP — headlined the All-NBA team unveiled Wednesday night. He was the first-team center, while Jokic was the second-team pick at that position. It was a reversal of the results from 2021 and 2022, when Jokic was MVP over Embiid, who then had to settle for the second-team All-NBA center spot.And this should be the final time such a quirk happens. Starting next year, the All-NBA team will no longer be broken down by position — meaning the presumed second-best player in the NBA one season, such as Embiid in 2021 and 2022 and Jokic now, will not have to be relegated to second-team anything.Joining Embiid on the first team were Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo at forward, and Dallas’ Luk...

Border Patrol dealing with huge influx of flowers at LAX

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:16:53 GMT

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists are working overtime to ensure that imported flowers arrive on time for Mother’s Day, but they must be free of pests and diseases first. According to industry statistics, around 80% of cut flowers sold in the United States are imported from across the world. CBP says that the weeks that lead up to Mother’s Day are some of the busiest of the year, when millions of cut flower shipments arrive from Ecuador, Colombia, the Netherlands, Thailand and Australia. “It is critically important not only to consumers, but to the vitality of the U.S. economy that cut flower imports are carefully inspected by CBP agriculture specialists,” said Carlos Martel, the CBP Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles. “Some of these flowers may carry hitchhiking pests and diseases that could cause millions of dollars in damage to the U.S. agriculture sector.” U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at L...

Mommy blogger Heather Armstrong dead at 47

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:16:53 GMT

The pioneering mommy blogger Heather Armstrong, who laid bare her struggles as a parent and her battles with depression and alcoholism on her site Dooce.com and on social media, has died at 47.Armstrong's boyfriend, Pete Ashdown, told The Associated Press that he found her Tuesday night at their Salt Lake City home.She had two children with her former husband and business partner, Jon Armstrong, began Dooce in 2001 and built it into a lucrative career. She was one of the first and most popular mommy bloggers, writing frankly about her children, relationships and other challenges at a time that personal blogs were on the rise.She parlayed her successes with the blog, on Instagram and elsewhere into book deals, putting out a memoir in 2009, “It Sucked and then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown and a Much Needed Margarita.”That year, Armstrong appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and was on the Forbes list of the most influential women in media. In 2012, the Armstrongs announced t...

Man arrested on assault with deadly weapon, child endangerment, probation violation charges

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:16:53 GMT

A Cathedral City man was arrested on multiple charges, including assault with a deadly weapon and child endangerment, after authorities spent two days searching for him. According to a release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, deputies from the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station responded to a residence in the 19000 block of Ford Avenue in the unincorporated community of Sky Valley after gunshots were heard around 3 a.m. on Sunday morning.  Deputies arrived at the residence and identified the suspect as 34-year-old Ryan David Sargent, who had an active felony probation violation warrant out of San Bernardino County. Sargent fled the scene before authorities were able to apprehend him.  Combative, knife-wielding man arrested after standoff in South Los Angeles “The investigation revealed Sargent fired a shotgun multiple times in the direction of the victims, one being a 7-year-old juvenile, prior to fleeing the scene,” RSD said in a statement. “A search warrant of the resi...

Rivertown Wine Walk, artisan fair is Saturday in downtown Antioch

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:16:53 GMT

You can sip some local wines and walk amid an artisan fair in historic downtown Antioch on Saturday.The Celebrate Antioch Foundation will host its annual Mother’s Day weekend Rivertown Wine Walk & Artisan Faire from noon to 4 p.m. along Second and G streets.This free, family-friendly event will feature art and handmade crafts from more than 40 local artisan vendors along with live music by Project 4 Band performing R&B and dance tunes.To participate in the wine walk, the fee is $20 in advance and $25 at the door, subject to availability, which includes 12 local wines. Participants must be at least 21 years old and present valid identification.For more information, visit celebrateantioch.org online, where tickets can be purchased at eventbrite.com/e/546892689757.

Speed cameras in San Jose and Oakland? Lawmakers try for the fourth time to get tech on roads.

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:16:53 GMT

Drivers with lead feet in San Jose and Oakland may no longer see police lights flashing in their rearview mirrors if a landmark legislative bill gets the green light. Instead, they’ll get a speeding ticket in their mailbox.The roadway bill — which the state legislature could consider by the end of the month — would bring automated speed cameras to San Francisco and the two Bay Area cities, marking the first time the technology is deployed in California. Cities claim the cameras can efficiently combat the rising number of traffic fatalities and decrease the chances of a bad encounter between motorists and law enforcement. Civil liberties groups, however, have raised serious privacy concerns about the cameras.If approved, AB 645 would add the first of about three dozen cameras in San Jose’s school zones and high-risk intersections starting next year. The law would require cities to send warning notices to residents during the first 60 days of their installation...

Despite scandals, Jen Louis lands Berkeley police chief job

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:16:53 GMT

The Berkeley City Council has officially appointed Jen Louis as the city’s top cop — the first woman, Asian-American and openly gay person to lead Berkeley’s police department — despite controversy during her tenure and two pending misconduct investigations.Tuesday’s decision deeply divided both the council and community, coming nearly six months after damning allegations of arrest quotas, racial profiling and a targeted focus on homeless people first jeopardized efforts to confirm Louis, a 23-year department veteran who spent the past 26 months as interim police chief.Her appointment is clouded by controversies — one involving a racist arrest scandal among officers, the other past allegations of sexual harassment against Louis herself. Results of two investigations of misconduct within the department won’t be made public until early July.City officials, however insisted that Louis’ appointment be finalized, saying that continuing to delay the app...