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The Supreme Court refuses to block an Illinois law banning some high-power semiautomatic weapons

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to put on hold a new Illinois law that would ban high-power semiautomatic weapons like the one used in the mass killing of seven people at a 2022 parade in a Chicago suburb.The justices did not comment in refusing an emergency appeal from a gun rights group and others.The law prohibits the possession, manufacture or sale of semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines. It takes effect Jan. 1.Last month, a three-judge panel of the 7th District U.S. Court of Appeals voted 2-1 in favor of the law, refusing a request by gun rights groups to block it. The Illinois Supreme Court separately upheld the law on a 4-3 decision in August.At least eight other states and the District of Columbia have some sort of prohibition on semiautomatic weapons, and several cases challenging those laws are making their way through the federal courts, relying at least in part on the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 that expanded gun rights.The...

Dakar Rally winner Austin Jones has extensive resume after just 5 years of racing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

CONGRESS, Ariz. (AP) — The hands are in constant motion, yo-yoing the wheel left, right, left in small corrections and full turns. The feet dance in the cramped space above the floorboard, stabbing between clutch, gas and brake.The eyes dart back and forth across the desert landscape, detecting rocks, dips and humps, variations in sand color flashing into view like a real-life scene from “Mad Max.” The brain deciphers the signals and takes action in milliseconds — a process completed every second or so for 12 or more hours a day.A professional rally racer by trade, Austin Jones looks more like a conductor while driving his car, tuning in to fluctuations in terrain so rugged a miscalculation could end in disaster.“That’s the thing with racing, especially rally racing: you lose focus for one second and that could be the difference of you ending up on your roof in a ditch or making that turn and going on to the next one,” said Jones, who goes by “AJ” to friends and family. “You c...

USA Today ranks Coloradans as 3rd most efficient air travelers in the U.S.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A recent survey from USA Today suggests that getting through security checkpoints at airports might be less stressful if you are behind a Colorado resident.USA Today surveyed Americans in each state about their habits when it comes to air travel to find where travelers are the most and least efficient. How to reserve a spot in the security line at DIA The survey looked at many aspects of air travel including security, boarding, deplaning, stowing and finding luggage and more.Coloradans were ranked as the third overall most efficient air travelers in the U.S., behind Wisconsin and Alaska. A handful of neighboring states were not far behind Colorado. New Mexico was ranked fourth, South Dakota fifth, Montana sixth, and Arizona ninth. TSA checkpointsColorado travelers ranked as the fifth most efficient at security checkpoints. New Mexico was ranked as the most efficient state, and North Carolina was the least efficient at security checkpoints.The survey also determin...

US judge to decide Friday if Colorado can reintroduce wolves over cattle industry objections

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A federal judge said she would decide by Friday whether to temporarily halt the impending reintroduction of gray wolves to Colorado under a voter-approved initiative, after representatives of the state's cattle industry went to court to try to stop the predators' release.If the judge sides with the industry, the decision would scramble Colorado Parks and Wildlife's plans of searching for, capturing and transporting up to 10 wolves from Oregon starting Sunday. The wolves are supposed to be released by Dec. 31, the deadline imposed under a 2020 ballot proposal that passed by a narrow margin. The animals would be among the first gray wolves in Colorado in decades.The Gunnison County Stockgrowers’ Association and Colorado Cattlemen’s Association filed a lawsuit Monday against Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to halt the releases.Attacks on livestock would impose “significant costs on the livestock industry and the communities that depend o...

‘He set up his own little store’: Miami man charged after drug bust in Miami reveals organized retail theft ring

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

A Miami man is facing serious charges one day after police officers serving a narcotics search warrant at his home uncovered what they described as an organized retail theft ring.Miami Police arrested 59-year-old Leonardo Ruiz on charges of cocaine trafficking, money laundering and possession of drug paraphernalia, among other offenses.City of Miami Police Chief Manny Morales spoke with reporters Wednesday evening.“We’re glad that he’s off the streets,” he said.Ruiz’s arrest followed the execution of the search warrant at his home in the area of Northwest 24th Avenue and 14th Street.The investigation revealed that Ruiz was not only involved in drug-related activities, but was also the ringleader in an organized retail theft ring. “He set up his own little store here,” Morales said. Chief Morales said that hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of stolen property — including drills, impact windows and a large quantity of liquor &...

13-year-old boy charged in shooting of convenience store clerk in Pembroke Pines appears in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

A 13-year-old boy accused of shooting a cashier multiple times during an attempted robbery at a convenience store in Pembroke Pines faced a judge. Joshua Munoz appeared in court, Thursday afternoon. His mother, father, stepfather and a private attorney were also in court with him. During his court appearance, a judge ordered that Munoz be held in juvenile detention for the next 21 days. Munoz was charged with attempted homicide, possession of a firearm by a juvenile and armed robbery. In addition, he had an active felony warrant for armed robbery, so that charge was applied as well.The shooting happened Tuesday afternoon at the Pasadena Drive Thru Food Store, located in the area of University Drive and Pasadena Boulevard.According to the arrest report, Munoz wanted to enter the food store but was denied by the clerk because the business was drive-thru only. The juvenile then followed the victim, pulled out a 40-caliber Glock and told the clerk, “Give me everything you got.&...

Finland shuts Russia border again hours after reopening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

Finland’s government decided on Thursday to once again close the country’s entire eastern border with Russia — from Friday night until January 14 — due to another influx of asylum seekers mere hours after it had reopened two crossing points.Interior Minister Mari Rantanen told a press conference that “entry started faster than expected when the border crossing points in Vaalimaa and Niirala were opened today.” According to a local media report, at least 60 people showed up immediately after Finland opened the two crossings.“We have found that illegal immigration at Finland’s eastern border has immediately resumed. The phenomenon accelerated faster than thought,” Rantanen said.Finland closed its border with Russia for two weeks last month amid accusations that Moscow was driving migrants and asylum seekers to the frontier to sow discord as payback for the Nordic country’s joining the NATO military alliance. The Kremlin has repeatedly deni...

Family, friends, hundreds of police officers attend wake for fallen Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

Family, friends and hundreds of police officers lined up in Waltham Thursday, attending the wake of the Waltham police officer who was killed in the line of duty last week. Paul Tracey died on Dec. 6 when police said a 54-year-old New Hampshire man crashed his pickup truck into a utility worksite on Totten Pond Road where Tracey was working a roadside detail. National Grid worker Roderick Jackson was also killed and several other people were injured. Just over a week after the crash law enforcement personnel assembled in a sea of blue for Wednesday’s wake at Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted church. “He was a great — just a great, overall great person,” said Tracey’s cousin, John Kavey.  “He was always there to help.”Tracey, 58, was a longtime officer in Waltham, serving the city’s police department for nearly three decades. After his casket was brought into Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted, Tracey was honored with a law enforcement walkthrough as...

First postpartum depression pill now available in the US, drugmakers say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

(CNN) — The first oral pill approved in the United States to treat postpartum depression is now available by prescription, according to the drugmakers.The US Food and Drug Administration approved the therapy, called Zurzuvae, in August. The product, which is now at specialty pharmacies, can also be shipped directly to patients, Biogen and Sage Therapeutics Inc. said in an announcement Thursday.However, the medication will cost $15,900 per course before insurance, raising some concerns about how many people will be able to access it.Zurzuvae is given as two 25-milligram capsules per day for 14 days to treat adults with postpartum depression or PPD, a serious mental illness that can develop in about 1 in 7 new mothers after childbirth.The drugmakers noted that people taking Zurzuvae in clinical trials had higher reductions in their depressive symptoms compared with those taking a placebo, and the reductions were seen within three days and, in a ...

Attorney for Brian Walshe withdraws from case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:13:25 GMT

A judge on Wednesday approved a motion allowing accused killer Brian Walshe’s defense attorney to withdraw from the case. Walshe is facing charges including first degree murder and misleading a police investigation in connection with the death of his wife. In a virtual hearing centered on his defense attorney’s motion, the judge in the case said Walshe is now broke and can no longer afford his attorney. A Norfolk County District Attorney’s office spokesperson earlier this week confirmed Walshe’s attorney was seeking to withdraw. With that move now finalized, Walshe will be represented by a state-appointed lawyer. Walshe’s wife, Ana, was last seen on Jan. 1 after a New Year’s dinner at the Cohasset home she shared with Brian. Prosecutors have since said Brian killed Ana before dismembering and disposing of her body. Ana’s remains have not been found, to date.