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Detector dogs could help sniff out more fentanyl, firearms at border, review suggests

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:40 GMT

OTTAWA — An internal evaluation by Canada’s border agency suggests its detector dogs could play a bigger role in sniffing out deadly fentanyl and illicit firearms.The agency has dozens of canines trained to detect smuggled currency, drugs, guns, and food, plant and animal products.A recently published evaluation found the detector dog service helped reduce threats by effectively intercepting such regulated and prohibited goods at the border.But it says the program had a limited role in helping detect smuggled firearms.In addition, some dog handlers and their managers saw a need to train more canines to intercept fentanyl and precursor chemicals used to make such drugs.The evaluation report recommends further review of the detector dog program and allocation of resources to determine how the animals could be best used for enforcement.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 1, 2024.The Canadian Press

Ana Ofelia Murguía, who voiced Mama Coco in 'Coco,' dies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:40 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican actor Ana Ofelia Murguía, who gave voice to the character of “Mama Coco” in the popular Pixar film "Coco," has died, Mexican officials said. She was 90.Mexico’s National Fine Arts Institute announced Murguía’s death Sunday without providing a cause of death.“She leaves an enormous void on our country’s sets,” Culture Secretary Alejandra Frausto Guerrero said in a statement.“Coco,” which was released in 2017, brought Murguía to an international audience late in life.But the actor had a long acting career in Mexican film and television, and on the stage. She appeared in some 70 plays and 90 movies, including ‘Life Sentence’ (1979) and ’The Queen of the Night’ (1994).In the animated “‘Coco,” she voiced the soft-spoken great-grandmother of a boy discovering his family’s musical history.In April, the National Autonomous University of Mexico awarded Murguía its Ingmar Bergman Medal for leaving “an indelible mark” on Mexican film and theater.In her acce...

Mickey Mouse has entered the public domain — kind of

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:40 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (KTVX) — The Disney icon Mickey Mouse has waltzed on into the public domain — or at least, a version of him has. On Jan. 1, 2024, thousands of copyrighted works from 1928 became public domain in the United States, meaning they are free for everyone to copy, share or use to build upon. Among those works is the first iteration of Mickey Mouse, otherwise known as "Steamboat Willie". The black-and-white classic animation is the first feature showing what would become the iconic Mickey and Minnie Mouse. There are still caveats to using the Steamboat Willie and associated characters, of course. Duke University Center for the Study of the Public Domain Director Jennifer Jenkins, who writes an annual Jan. 1 column for “Public Domain Day," explained that Disney still owns Mickey Mouse's copyright as well as the trademarks for Mickey as a brand identifier. So long as you don't use the mouse in a way that makes people think your work is made or sponsored by Disney and you don't ...

Twins born in separate years in Connecticut

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:40 GMT

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — It's not uncommon for twins to have different birthdays, but a different birth year? That's what a new set of twins in Connecticut will have for a lifetime. Souli Morris was born at 12:02 a.m. at Yale New Haven Hospital, becoming the hospital's first baby of 2024.But she's still younger than her brother, Seven, who was born at 11:59 p.m. It's unknown exactly how close he was born to midnight, according to the hospital, because births are only recorded in minutes. Celebrities who had the worst year in 2023 The brother and sister — both weighing six pounds, nine ounces — were welcomed by Mykel and Aliyah Kiyomi Morris, of Hamden.Every year, there are about 120,000 twin births, USA Today reports. The chance of twins having different birth years, like Souli and Seven Morris, is about 1 in 2 million, according to Natividad Medical Center. A set of twins born in 2020 have an even wilder story: they were born 30 minutes apart but in different years and different...

Photos, video: Japan hit by series of major earthquakes

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:40 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan dropped its highest-level tsunami alert after issuing one following a series of major earthquakes Monday but told residents of coastal areas not to return to their homes as deadly waves could still come.The quakes, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.6, started a fire and collapsed buildings on the west coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu. It was unclear how many people might have been killed or hurt.The Japan Meteorological Agency reported more than a dozen strong quakes in the Japan Sea off the coast of Ishikawa and nearby prefectures starting shortly after 4 p.m. local time.At least six homes were damaged by the quakes, with people trapped inside, government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said. A fire broke out in Wajima city, Ishikawa Prefecture, and electricity was out for more than 30,000 households, he said.A bookshelf falls at a home in Nagaoka, Niigata prefecture, Japan Sunday, Jan. 1, 2024, following an earthquake. Japan issued tsunami alerts Monday ...

Williamson County investigating suspicious death in Round Rock

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:40 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — The Williamson County Sheriff's Office said Monday officials are investigating a suspicious death in Round Rock.The department shared on Facebook Monday afternoon there is a significant law enforcement presence within the 8000 block of Arezzo Drive. That's north of U.S. Hwy. 79 and near Kerley Elementary School.WCSO's criminal investigations division is working at the scene, with officials adding there's no immediate threat to the public. They added residents should avoid the area as the investigation is ongoing.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

John Shipley: NHL tacitly encouraging dirty play

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:40 GMT

Well, before the Wild’s 4-3 loss Dec. 8 at Edmonton was over, a large group of sportswriters were in the media room at Rogers Place, watching the third period play out while writing for a tight deadline.There also was a large group of longtime hockey folks down there, and the talk was about the game-ending hit Evander Kane had just put on Minnesota defenseman Jonas Brodin.With Brodin skating to the end boards to retrieve a puck, Kane, trailing, sized up the defenseman and shouldered the veteran blue liner into boards, embellishing the hit with an elbow to the neck that snapped Brodin’s head.No penalty was called.“I don’t know how you miss that,” an old-school hockey vet said while chatting with a visiting sportswriter. “These guys get paid 200 thousand dollars a year. If you can’t see that, get a job in the bottling plant.”The NHL has a problem it is clearly unwilling to address. The league wants to promote the breakneck pace and heretofore unseen skill in a sport that has never bee...

Commerce City Police searching for homicide suspect

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:40 GMT

The Commerce City Police Department is conducting a New Year’s Day homicide investigation at 78th Avenue and Dahlia Street where one person has been found dead, police said Monday morning.The victim, who has not been identified, is a Hispanic man in his mid-20s, according to Commerce City police.Police are looking for 19-year-old Angel Lozano as a person of interest in the homicide.Detectives are looking for 19yo Angel Lozano as a person of interest in this morning’s homicide. He may be having a mental health crisis and could be armed/dangerous. Full description on FB. Call 911 immediately if seen; do not approach him. pic.twitter.com/3dU50LRBj2— Commerce City Police Department (@CommerceCityPD) January 1, 2024Lozano may be having a mental health crisis, police said, and could be armed and dangerous.Commerce City Police described Lozano as a 5-foot, 10-inch-tall, 180-pound Hispanic man with brown hair and brown eyes who was last seen wearing an orange hooded sweatshirt a...

Man suspected in brother's killing tries to flee Inland Empire urgent care center

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:40 GMT

A man suspected of shooting and killing his brother over the weekend was arrested after running away from an urgent care center in Fontana, authorities said Monday.Fontana police officers and deputies responded to Dignity Health Urgent Care on Sierra Lakes Parkway in Fontana at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday to investigate an assault with a deadly weapon report. Upon arriving, authorities found 20-year-old Tyler Monfort of Jurupa Valley seated inside a parked vehicle suffering from a gunshot wound. Monfort, who investigators believe was shot by his brother Christian Monfort, was pronounced dead at the scene, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department stated in a news release. The brothers and a friend had been sitting in a vehicle at an off-road trail in the Lytle Creek area within San Bernardino County when for unknown reasons Christian Monfort, 21, fired a gun and struck Tyler. The friend drove the brothers to the care center to get medical aid for Tyler but Christian fled the vehic...

BART train partially derails near Orinda, prompting station closures, delays

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:52:40 GMT

A BART train partially derailed and caught fire Monday morning near Orinda, prompting the closure of two stations and significant delays in the East Bay.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Bay Area transit agencies running extended, mostly free services on New Year’s Eve Crashes and Disasters | The top 10 Bay Area stories of 2023 — and what they mean for 2024 Crashes and Disasters | BART hit by major delays near SFO ahead of holiday weekend Crashes and Disasters | And the winner for San Jose BART’s boring machine name competition is… Crashes and Disasters | VTA buys key downtown San Jose site near bullet train route The incident happened at 9:15 a.m. on the Yellow Line train to east Contra Costa County between Orinda and Lafayette, authorities said. As a result, service was halted in both directions in Orinda, and no estimate was given for when it might be restored.No one was injure...