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This off-grid hot springs spot in Oregon is the perfect autumn getaway

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:57:54 GMT

Gregory Scruggs | (TNS) The Seattle TimesDETROIT, Ore. — Has life been a sprint since Labor Day? The post-summer rush is exhilarating but also exhausting. One cure: a getaway for a mid-autumn reset. For a thorough recharge, spend 48 hours in a digital and physical detox.That’s what I did recently at Breitenbush Hot Springs Retreat and Conference Center in central Oregon on a regimen of no internet, cell service, meat, alcohol or caffeine. The off-grid wooded property along the Breitenbush River is dotted with rustic accommodation, a cozy lodge and a constellation of 100-110 degree, clothing-optional geothermal pools perfect for soaking during an autumn chill.But my visit was a small miracle. In September 2020, a devastating wildfire engulfed Breitenbush and nearly wiped it off the map. Valiant firefighters drawn from the Breitenbush ranks saved the community from total annihilation in one of the worst fires in Oregon’s history. The setting looks a little different today between the ...

Victim, suspect identified in deadly downtown stabbing

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:57:54 GMT

Editors note: This story contains content related to domestic violence and suicide.SAN DIEGO -- The victim and suspect in a fatal downtown stabbing over the weekend have been identified by authorities.The victim, 64-year-old James Earnest Miller of San Diego, was allegedly stabbed to death by a suspect police have identified as 58-year-old Robert Morris of San Diego, the San Diego Police Department confirmed in a press release Wednesday.This incident occurred after a domestic violence dispute erupted Saturday at a condo unit at the Grande South complex, located at 1199 Pacific Highway in the Core Columbia neighborhood. Woman found dead in motel room after standoff identified Police responded to reports of a stabbing in the parking garage of the condo complex, and found Miller suffering from multiple stab wounds to his chest and head, SDPD said. Authorities also discovered a security guard had been stabbed during the same confrontation, and a 62-year-old woman at the scene was suff...

John Lennon's art collection unveiled in San Diego for first time in a decade

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:57:54 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The art collection of songwriter, musician and peace activist John Lennon is set to be unveiled in San Diego for the first time in a decade.The exhibit comes on the heels of the release of the last new Beatles song ever, featuring Lennon with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.Premiering Thursday, Nov. 2, "Now and Then" comes from a batch of unreleased demos written and sung by the late Lennon. His former bandmates have all worked on the song, which was finally completed after four decades San Diego State University ranked ‘most fashionable’ college campus in US: study In honor of this iconic, grand finale Beatles release, Art San Diego is hosting the "The Lennon Art Collection." The contemporary art and design fair coordinator told FOX 5 this exhibit will showcase over 50 remarkable lithographs and prints by Lennon. Universally celebrated as a musical legend, Art San Diego said Lennon was also an accomplished author and artist with his work reflecting hi...

Alberta doctors ‘trepidatious’ about changes to already fragile health-care system

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:57:54 GMT

The new president of the Alberta Medical Association says doctors are “trepidatious” about expected changes to the province’s health-care delivery system.Dr. Paul Parks has been touring the province to hear from physicians in hospitals and clinics about their concerns.He says two of the main issues he’s hearing about are the ongoing crisis in family medicine and the strain on hospitals due to service levels and staffing challenges.Parks has also heard concerns about the Alberta government’s promise to revamp the structure of Alberta Health Services, which delivers health care in the province.He says doctors hope to be consulted before any major changes are made, because it could have massive implications for an already fragile health-care system.Premier Danielle Smith has said the first steps toward revamping Alberta Health Services are coming this fall — a plan the Opposition NDP has said is a recipe for more chaos.This report by The Canadian Press was...

Coalition of Canadian doctors urge for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:57:54 GMT

A coalition of Canadian medical professionals is urging Prime Minister Trudeau to do more to address the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip amid the health care challenges the area is experiencing.As the Israeli bombardment continues with no signs of slowing down, the coalition of 2,500 doctors has drafted a list of demands to the Canadian government, saying humanity needs to be restored.During the press conference, the group urged Trudeau to demand an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and asked Egyptian President El-Sisi to open the Rafah border and allow for the immediate evacuation of patients who need medical attention, and necessities, like fuel and medical supplies to reach those in need.They also ask for the enforcement of international humanitarian laws that guarantee protection to all doctors and physicians so they can fulfill their duty to provide life-saving medical care.“Physicians and medical staff have ref...

Maine mass shooting puts spotlight on complex array of laws, series of massive failures

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:57:54 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Across the nation, much of the debate around gun rights and restrictions centers on mental health. Many advocates on both sides agree that getting people with serious mental illness into treatment, and then preventing those who are dangerous from accessing guns, is key to preventing mass shootings. Yet in the weeks and months before the mass shooting in Lewiston, there were so many red flags that people all around the killer were raising concerns to authorities. He was still able to kill 18 people, wound another 13 and shatter a community’s sense of security.Lawmakers want answers as to why laws in two states — Maine and New York — didn’t prevent the tragedy.“It’s a massive failure,” said Republican state Sen. Lisa Keim, sponsor of Maine’s so-called “yellow flag” law, noting that it has been successfully invoked 82 times previously. Maine’s law requires more hurdles than “ red flag ” laws in more than 20 states, including New York, which generally allow ...

Report finds no evidence of mechanical failure in plane crash that killed North Dakota lawmaker

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:57:54 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Federal investigators say they found no evidence of a mechanical failure before a North Dakota state senator’s plane crashed in Utah last month, killing him, his wife and their two young children, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board.Doug and Amy Larsen and their two sons, 11-year-old Christian and 8-year-old Everett, died Oct. 1 in the crash near Moab, Utah. The family’s single-engine aircraft went down shortly after they had stopped to refuel while returning home from a family gathering in Arizona.The plane was piloted by Doug Larsen, 47, who flew Black Hawk helicopters and mobilized twice during his 29 years with the North Dakota Army National Guard. Larsen had recently earned his commercial pilot’s license and had hopes of one day flying for a major airline, state Sen. Jim Roers said.He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, Bronze Service Star and Army Aviator Badge, among other hon...

A New York City lawmaker has been charged with bringing a gun to a pro-Palestinian protest

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:57:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City lawmaker was arraigned on a gun charge Thursday after prosecutors said she brought a pistol to a pro-Palestinian demonstration.City Council member Inna Vernikov, a Republican and vocal supporter of Israel, was seen in photos and videos with the butt of a gun jutting out from her waistband while she was counterprotesting at an Oct. 13 pro-Palestinian rally at Brooklyn College, according to prosecutors.Student demonstrations both in support of Israel and in support of Palestinians have roiled college campuses in New York and across the nation since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The conflict is especially fraught at Brooklyn College, which has large numbers of Palestinian and Jewish students.Vernikov was charged in Brooklyn criminal court with one count of possessing a gun at a sensitive location.Vernikov had a license to carry a concealed weapon, but under New York law, licensed gun owners may not bring weapons to certain sensitive locations, inclu...

Justice Department opens civil rights probes into South Carolina jails beset by deaths and violence

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:57:54 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Two South Carolina jails where incarcerated people have died violently at the hands of employees or others held behind bars are under federal investigation, the U.S. Justice Department announced Thursday.Officials said the civil rights probes will examine the conditions at detention centers in the southern state’s urban hubs of Charleston and Columbia. They cited the deaths of a mentally ill Black man stunned 10 times by two jail employees who kneeled on his back until he stopped breathing and another man beaten to death by five attackers locked in cells with unsecured doors.“People confined in local jails across our country do not abandon their civil and constitutional rights at the jailhouse door,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke told reporters Thursday. “Incarceration should never carry with it the risk of death or serious harm.”Eight people jailed at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center have died since 2022, according to Clarke...

US Air Force terminates missile test flight due to anomaly after California launch

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:57:54 GMT

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — An unarmed U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile was intentionally destroyed over the Pacific Ocean when something went wrong during a test launch from California, the Air Force said.The flight of the Minuteman 3 missile was “safely terminated” at 12:06 a.m. Wednesday due to an “anomaly” during launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, the Air Force Global Strike Command said in a statement.An investigative group was being formed to determine the cause.“An anomaly is any unexpected event during the test,” the statement said. “Since anomalies may arise from many factors relating to the operational platform itself, or the test equipment, careful analysis is needed to identify the cause.” Minuteman 3 missiles are routinely tested with launches from Vandenberg on the coast northwest of Los Angeles. A typical test involves a missile’s reentry vehicle traveling about 4,200 miles (6,800 kilometers) over the Pacific to Kwajalein Atoll in the...