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Shops in 2 Dutch cities start selling legally grown cannabis in an experiment to regulate pot trade

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:18:45 GMT

BREDA, Netherlands (AP) — A paradox at the heart of the Netherlands’ permissive pot policy went up in smoke Friday in two Dutch cities as “coffeeshops” began selling the country’s first legally cultivated cannabis as part of an experiment to regulate the trade.The experiment could mark the beginning of the end for a long-standing legal anomaly — you can buy and sell small amounts of weed without fear of prosecution in the Netherlands, but growing it commercially remains illegal.“This is really a very, very big step in the right direction,” Derrick Bergman, chairman of the Union for the Abolition of Cannabis Prohibition, said as he sat in the De Baron cannabis cafe in the southern Dutch city of Breda.Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers visited earlier to launch the new policy. The plan for the experiment dates back to 2017 and is seen as as a way of providing “quality-controlled” weed to coffeeshops — places that are allowed to sell marijuana — and shutting out ille...

Police officer fatally shoots 19-year-old in Mesquite, Texas, suspect in a vehicle theft

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:18:45 GMT

MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — Police in Mesquite, Texas, say an officer investigating a stolen vehicle fatally shot a 19-year-old man who was in another vehicle. The officer saw the stolen vehicle being followed by a second vehicle, then both stopped at a convenience store early Thursday in the east Dallas suburb, the Mesquite Police Department said in a statement.The officer found the stolen vehicle unoccupied at gas pumps and saw two men fleeing the scene as he went to the second vehicle where four people were inside, police said.The driver of the second vehicle refused to obey the officer’s orders to turn off and stop moving the vehicle.“The driver continued making furtive movements inside the vehicle and during the course of the encounter the officer fired three rounds, striking the driver,” the police statement said.Police identified the driver as Payton Lawrence, 19, of Mesquite.Firearms were found inside the vehicle, police said.The three people inside the vehicle were questio...

Finland reports a rush of migrant crossings hours before the reclosure of 2 border posts with Russia

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:18:45 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Dozens of migrants crossed into Finland on Friday, hours before the reclosure of two southern crossing points on the border with Russia as the Nordic country experiences an influx of asylum-seekers.The Vaalimaa and Niirala crossings had reopened briefly Thursday after being shut down at the end of last month, along with Finland’s six other posts on the border with Russia. Finland blames Moscow for sending migrants to the border in an effort to destabilize the country, which joined NATO in April. Russia denies the accusation.“This is an exceptional phenomenon. We have never seen traffic like this before,” deputy border commander Samuli Murtonen told Finnish broadcaster YLE.Already by late Thursday, the Finnish Border Guard had reported that dozens of migrants without proper documentation or visas had arrived at the two checkpoints. However, the Finnish government decided the same day to close them again, effective Friday as of 8 p.m. They will remaine...

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore says Orioles lease at Camden Yards headed to a vote

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:18:45 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A long-term agreement between the Baltimore Orioles and the Maryland Stadium Authority for a new lease at Camden Yards is moving forward for a vote by state officials next week, Gov. Wes Moore announced.The agreement is slated to go before the Maryland Stadium Authority on Monday. It also is expected to go before the state’s Board of Public Works later that day.“This historic agreement embodies the three core principles I laid out at the beginning of this process: this is a long term deal that will keep baseball in Baltimore for all to enjoy, that puts all Maryland taxpayers at the top of mind, and that benefits the entire City of Baltimore,” Moore said in a statement.The governor’s office has yet to release details about the agreement.“I know for many this process has been long, and the team that worked on securing this deal has done so diligently with the best interests of the taxpayer in mind,” the governor said in a statement. “The Orioles are a treas...

The title of Bill Maher’s new book promises ‘What This Comedian Said Will Shock You’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:18:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Bill Maher has had a few second thoughts, or at least some variations on the first ones.Next June, Simon & Schuster will publish “What This Comedian Said Will Shock You,” in which the outspoken host of HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” revisits some of his on-air commentary. According to the publisher’s announcement Friday, Maher “reviewed more than a decade of his editorials, rewriting, reimagining, and updating them, and adding new material to speak exactly to the moment we’re in.”Subjects range from free speech and drugs to religion and show business. “We’re not investigative journalists — we don’t break stories, we break new ways of looking at stories,” Maher said in a statement.Maher’s previous books include “The New New Rules” and the novel “True Story.”The Associated Press

Mother: Girl, 15, was dating someone who lived in South Shore building where her body was found

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:18:45 GMT

CHICAGO — The mother of the 15-year-old girl who was found strangled inside an apartment in the city's South Shore neighborhood is speaking out.According to the Chicago Police Department, the body of Amarise Parker was found inside a residence in the 7200 block of South Phillips Avenue around 6:09 p.m. Tuesday. She was pronounced dead on the scene.The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed her cause of death was homicide via strangulation.Parker had a history of running away from home.Yahanna Clark, the teen's mother, first reported her daughter missing at the end of August, but says she returned to her Morgan Park home the next day.Parker ran away again on November 26.Her mother found out she was dating someone who lived in the building on Phillips Avenue where her daughter's body was found. She said three days ago, Parker had called her to come get her."I picked her on the corner right there, and she ended up leaving again," Clark said. Missing 15-year-old girl found s...

Chicago cousins exonerated served longest wrongful conviction sentence in Illinois history

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:18:45 GMT

CHICAGO — Two Chicago men wrongfully convicted of murder more than 40 years ago will be home with their families for the holiday season.The pair of cousins spent 42 years in Prision for a McKinley Park double murder -- the longest serving wrongful conviction in Illinois history. Jimmy Soto's wife says the ruling is a long time coming. "We're grateful to the judge," she told reporters in the Cook County Criminal Courts Building lobby. Family questions CPD’s response after Midway Airport worker shot, killed Soto, along with David Ayala, were wrongly arrested and later convicted in 1981 in connection with two Chicago murders. Under coerced testimony, both were convicted, with Soto being the shooter and Ayalya, a gang leader who allegedly ordered the hits. Lawyers with the University of Chicago Exoneration Project took up their cases and proved corruption.While in prison, Soto earned a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University, recently took the LSAT and is planning to app...

Men charged with killing 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, for black market

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:18:45 GMT

Two men killed about 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, during a “killing spree” on Montana's Flathead Indian Reservation and elsewhere, then sold eagle parts on a black market that has been a long-running problem for U.S. wildlife officials, a federal grand jury indictment says.The men worked with others to hunt and kill the birds, according to the indictment, and in at least one instance used a dead deer to lure in an eagle that was shot. The two defendants conspired with others who weren't named to sell eagle feathers, tails, wings and other parts for “significant sums of cash” across the United States and elsewhere, the indictment said.A bald eagle flies at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge Friday, Dec. 24, 2021, in Mound City, Mo. A federal grand jury in Montana early Dec. 2023, has indicted two men accused of killing about 3,600 birds, including bald eagles and golden eagles, and selling them on the black market. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)Simon P...

The top 15 jobs people want to quit the most, according to a recent survey

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:18:45 GMT

(KTLA) – The results of a recent survey suggest that some of us can't wait to leave our current jobs.The poll, conducted by the software firm Payscale, identified the top 15 jobs workers are planning to quit partially due to stressful work environments, return-to-office mandates, low compensation packages and the current state of the economy.Workers in industries ranging from tech to healthcare dominated the list, even with some of these positions boasting median salaries of over six figures. Is your company planning layoffs, closures? Many states let you check While some respondents indicated they hoped to find work in other professions or fields, many were simply seeking to leave their jobs for identical or similar roles at other companies, where there may be better compensation, benefits, or work-life balance. Payscale also noted that the "expansion of pay transparency legislation" may have given some of these employees a peek at the salaries they could earn for the same job el...

Can TSA stop you for marijuana in your luggage?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:18:45 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Maybe you're gearing up to fly home for the holidays, or flee to a warm-weather destination to escape the cold. And while many states have legalized marijuana, you may want to think twice before packing any. There are many things you can bring throught TSA security checkpoints at airports. That includes some timely items like baked goods, candles, and even your pets. When it comes to marijuana, it's a bit more complicated. Despite recent efforts, marijuana remains illegal on the federal level. TSA explains that that includes certain cannabis-infused products as well, like CBD oil.However, you are allowed to bring cannabis products containing no more than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis or those approved by the FDA in your carry-on or checked luggage, according to TSA. If marijuana is rescheduled, will it be legalized nationwide? These rules apply regardless of the departure or arrival airports.“TSA’s response to the discovery of marijuana is the same in ever...