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Uproar in suburbia as New York looks to spur development

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:30 GMT

For decades, the middle-class towns of single-family homes that ring many American cities have used zoning laws to ensure they stay much like they looked in the suburban boom after World War II. Apartment buildings in many places are simply not allowed, an exclusion that — intentionally or not — has historically also kept out people of color.Facing housing shortages, several states and the U.S. government have tried to break through those barriers with a mix of methods, including giving municipalities homebuilding goals or overriding certain local zoning restrictions.In New York, one such proposal from Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has run into howls of opposition in one of the birthplaces of the American suburb. Critics on Long Island, a sprawling expanse of communities home to 2.9 million people, are denouncing provisions that would set growth targets, drive denser development near train stations and sometimes let state officials override local zoning decisions.“Her plan would floo...

Peru ex-leader Toledo wins reprieve in extradition from US

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:30 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo Manrique has been granted two more weeks to fight his extradition from the United States on corruption charges, halting extradition proceedings that had been set to start Friday.Late Thursday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered a 14-day stay on Toledo’s extradition to Peru. The stay allows the 77-year-old former leader time to ask a three-judge panel to reconsider its decision denying him a stay or petition the full court to review his appeal.Toledo is accused of taking $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht, a giant Brazilian construction company that has admitted to U.S. authorities that it bribed officials to win contracts throughout Latin America for decades. Toledo is one of four of Peru’s ex-presidents implicated in the corruption scandal. He denies the charges. The judge in the extradition case, Thomas Hixson, ordered Toledo to turn himself over to U.S. marshals Friday after a three-ju...

Maryland lawmakers work on cannabis, guns, at session’s end

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:30 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland lawmakers kept working Friday on passing some remaining priority measures of the Democratic-led legislature in the waning days of the session. At the top of the list: bills to enable a recreational marijuana market to open July 1 and to respond to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last year that expanded gun rights.With the session set to end at midnight Monday, a sense of urgency was setting in for supporters of bills that had not yet been passed by the General Assembly in the 90-day session. Police led several protesters away in handcuffs down the steps of the Capitol, as they rallied to urge lawmakers to pass a bill that would enable any resident to enroll in a health plan through the state’s Health Benefit Exchange, regardless of their immigration status. The measure called the Access to Care Act has passed the House, but has not advanced in the Senate.Meanwhile, lawmakers continued working on legislation that creates licensing and tax rates to...

Tribe warns US government against moving ahead with mine

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:30 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Native American tribal members fighting plans for an enormous copper mine on land they consider sacred say they are increasingly worried U.S. officials will publish an environmental review paving the way for the project even as they await a federal appeals court ruling in the case. A U.S. government attorney said during last month’s hearing of a full panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that the final environmental impact study for construction of the mine at Oak Flat, Arizona, could be published this spring. San Carlos Apache Tribe Chairman Terry Rambler said during a visit last week that U.S. Forest Service officials confirmed plans to push forward on publication of the environmental analysis. That step would kick off a 60-day period culminating in a land swap allowing the project to go forward.“Obliterating Oak Flat for a copper mine will be a grave human rights violation against Indigenous people and an environmental catastrophe,” Rambler said in a written st...

Teen and 12-year-old accused of triple slaying in Florida

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:30 GMT

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A teenager and a 12-year-old have been charged in the deaths of three teens whose bodies were found along a Florida roadside and in the trunk of a partially-submerged vehicle, authorities said Friday. Another teen is being sought.Law enforcement officials were “shocked” by the young ages of the victims and alleged killers, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods said at a news conference. The older suspect in custody is 17, and police are still searching for a 16-year-old.The two suspects in custody are charged with first-degree murder. The state attorney’s office is reviewing the case to determine whether the suspects will be charged as adults. The Associated Press does not publish the names of juveniles unless they have been charged with adult crimes.The shooting suspects and victims were all in a vehicle belonging to 16-year-old victim Layla Silvernail when the killings occurred, Woods said. Authorities have not released the names of the other two victims, a 16-year-...

Microchips or microgreens? Oregon tweaks farm protection law

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:30 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon is changing a half-century-old land-use law to make room for semiconductor development and gain an edge in attracting the multi-billion-dollar industry, upsetting farmers who see their livelihoods at risk.Lawmakers backing a bill that also provides about $200 million in grants to chipmakers said it’s needed to make Oregon more competitive in luring more of the multibillion-dollar semiconductor industry to the state. Other lawmakers argued that the measure is an attack on the nation’s first statewide policy — created a half-century ago — that limits urban sprawl and protects farmland and forests. “These regulations have resulted in 50 years of success protecting our farm and forest lands, containing urban sprawl, and protecting natural resources,” said Republican state Rep. Anna Scharf. “Senate Bill 4 throws that out the window.” The bill, which the state Senate approved last week and the House passed on a 44-10 vote Thursday, allows Democratic G...

Officers kill homeowner after responding to wrong address

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:30 GMT

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — Officers with the Farmington Police Department in northwestern New Mexico shot and killed a homeowner when they showed up at the wrong address in response to a domestic violence call, state police investigators said. The shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. New Mexico State Police released more details late Thursday, and Farmington police confirmed Friday that the three officers involved are on paid administrative leave pending a review of the case. The officers were not immediately identified, and it wasn’t clear what administrative action could be taken. Body camera footage reviewed by state police shows the homeowner opening the screen door armed with a handgun and that’s when officers retreated and fired. Not knowing who was outside, the man’s wife returned fire from the doorway and officers fired again. State police said the woman put down her gun after realizing the individuals outside her home were police officers. Farmington Poli...

States consider banning cosmetics containing PFAS

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:30 GMT

A growing number of state legislatures are considering bans on cosmetics and other consumer products that contain a group of synthetic, potentially harmful chemicals known as PFAS.In Vermont, the state Senate gave final approval this week to legislation that would prohibit manufacturers and suppliers from selling or distributing any cosmetics or menstrual products in the state that have perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, as well as a number of other chemicals.The products include shampoo, makeup, deodorant, sunscreen, hair dyes and more, said state Sen. Terry Williams, a Republican, and member of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare.“Many known toxic chemicals are used in or found as contaminants in personal care products, including PFAS, lead and formaldehyde,” Williams said in reporting the bill to Senate colleagues. California, Colorado and Maryland passed similar restrictions on cosmetics that go into effect in 2025. Other proposals are under consideratio...

‘A Thousand and One’ is Teyana Taylor’s answered prayer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Pulpits across America this Easter Sunday are sure to be filled with pastors preaching the longtime adage that “God may not be there when you want Him, but He’s always on time.” If they’re in need of a witness, Teyana Taylor would surely testify.“I just have random, random times of the day that I just have to stop and give thanks and give praise because this is everything I prayed for. And I had really long conversations with God and Him making me understand that the wait was not punishment; it was preparation,” explained the “A Thousand and One” actor.“A Thousand and One,” the grand jury prize winner at Sundance this year, is A.V. Rockwell’s debt feature film. It follows a young New York City woman named Inez (Taylor) and her 6-year-old son, Terry, played by three actors at different ages, following her release from Rikers Island jail in 1994. Inez takes her child from foster care without permission, and the movie tracks their ups, downs and hardships living in a to...

Study says warming may push more hurricanes toward US coasts

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:52:30 GMT

Changes in air patterns as the world warms will likely push more and nastier hurricanes up against the United States’ east and Gulf coasts, especially in Florida, a new study said.While other studies have projected how human-caused climate change will probably alter the frequency, strength and moisture of tropical storms, the study in Friday’s journal Science Advances focuses on the crucial aspect of where hurricanes are going. It’s all about projected changes in steering currents, said study lead author Karthik Balaguru, a Pacific Northwest National Laboratory climate scientist.“Along every coast they’re kind of pushing the storms closer to the U.S.,” Balaguru said. The steering currents move from south to north along the Gulf of Mexico; on the East Coast, the normal west-to-east steering is lessened considerably and can be more east-to-west, he said.Overall, in a worst-case warming scenario, the number of times a storm hits parts of the U.S. coast in genera...