| | | | | | Thousands of firefighters are battling destructive wildfires in the Southwest as more residents are preparing to evacuate during the weekend in northern New Mexico. Strong winds in bone-dry conditions have made the blazes especially difficult to contain. The biggest fire in the U.S. grew Friday east of Santa Fe to more than 117 square miles. Gusty winds grounded aircraft and crews lost some of the containment they had established in recent days. About 1,000 firefighters on the lines, and officials say more air and ground support is on the way. Experts say some of the wildland timber is drier than kiln-dried wood. | | | | | | An Associated Press analysis has found that Mississippi has long operated in violation of national standards for death investigations, accruing a severe backlog of autopsies and reports. Autopsies that should take days take weeks. Autopsy reports that should take months take a year or longer. Too few pathologists are doing too many autopsies. Some cases are transferred hundreds of miles to neighboring states for reports without their family's knowledge. Records sent to AP in April show the office was waiting for about 1,300 reports from as far back as 2011. That leaves criminal cases incomplete. The public safety commissioner hired in 2020 is working to whittle down the backlog and says it's his top priority. | | | | | | Experts say the conviction of a former Idaho lawmaker who raped a legislative intern was a rare victory for prosecutors in a justice system that can be fraught with trauma for assault survivors. Aaron von Ehligner was convicted Friday of raping the 19-year-old last year. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network says only about 2.8% of sexual assaults ever result in felony convictions. Elizabeth Jeglic is a professor of psychology with the City University of New York who studies sexual assault, public policy and the law. She says sex assault survivors can be further traumatized by the criminal justice process and preventing sexual assault is key. | | | | | | An Associated Press analysis has found that Mississippi has long operated in violation of national standards for death investigations, accruing a severe backlog of autopsies and reports. Autopsies that should take days take weeks. Autopsy reports that should take months take a year or longer. Too few pathologists are doing too many autopsies. Some cases are transferred hundreds of miles to neighboring states for reports without their family's knowledge. Records sent to AP in April show the office was waiting for about 1,300 reports from as far back as 2011. That leaves many criminal cases incomplete. The public safety commissioner hired in 2020 is working to whittle down the backlog and says it's his top priority. | | | | | | SATURDAY, April 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- If a mother reaches for cakes, chocolates or other snacks when she's feeling down, her children could become emotional eaters as well. | | | | | | QAnon loyalists, neo-Nazis and a former American president: The list of people banned from Twitter is long, but their exile could soon end if Elon Musk buys the platform. Musk, who's the world's richest man, says he is a free speech absolutist. That's led to speculation that he will scrap Twitter's content moderation system, created to address ills like hate speech, misinformation and harassment. While ex-President Donald Trump says he has no plans to return, other Twitter exiles are predicting they'll be allowed back if and when Musk's $44 billion offer to purchase Twitter is approved. | | | | | | Public school systems are beginning to feel the pinch from enrollment losses tied to the coronavirus pandemic. Funding for schools is driven partly by student headcounts, and emergency provisions in many states allowed them to maintain funding at pre-pandemic levels. But like the billions of dollars of federal relief money that have helped schools weather the crisis, those measures were not meant to last forever. A school system in suburban Kansas City is eliminating over 100 jobs, including kindergarten aides and library clerks. Oakland, California, is closing seven schools. Other districts around the country are merging classrooms, selling buildings and leaving teaching positions unfilled. | | | | | | China's manufacturing activity fell to a six-month low in April as lockdowns continued in Shanghai and other manufacturing hubs in an attempt to stem COVID-19 outbreaks. The monthly purchasing managers' index, released by China's National Bureau of Statistics, fell to 47.4 in April, down from 49.5 in March on a 100-point scale. Numbers below 50 show activity contracting. The statistics bureau says the domestic COVID-19 outbreaks have impacted China's factory activities and market demand. Some enterprises have reduced or stopped production, with disruptions in logistics as well as the supply or raw materials and components. The construction industry continued to expand, especially the civil engineering construction sector, offering hope for economic recovery. | | | | | | |
