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Audit: State departments fell short when it came to reporting and justifying some pandemic emergency contracts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:32:13 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.The Senate co-chair of the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Audit and Evaluation Committee said changes to state procurement law will likely prevent future mishandling of emergency contracts, such as those during the recent COVID-19 pandemic identified in a recent report by the Office of Legislative Audits.The Office of Legislative Audits found that the Office of State Procurement within the Department of General Services skirted some record-keeping requirements and failed to provide timely notification on millions of dollars in contracts. Sen. Clarence K. Lam (D-Howard and Anne Arundel) said the report provides more detail of a problem highlighted in a 2021 audit that triggered lawmakers to tighten state law.“Certainly, part of the challenge is that, by nature, things that are an emergency are intended to bypass a lot of the rou...

Priest killed in Mexico; 9th under the current administration

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:32:13 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest has been killed in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, the ninth killed during the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.The church’s Catholic Multimedia Center identified the priest as Rev. Javier García Villafaña, who had been assigned to the Capacho parish in Huandacareo just one month earlier.The killing came one day after the Mexican Episcopal Conference expressed its solidarity and condemnation of an attack against Monsignor Faustino Armendáriz Jiménez, archbishop of the northern state of Durango.On Sunday, an elderly man tried to stab Armendáriz in Durango’s cathedral. The archbishop escaped uninjured.The conference confirmed García’s murder and said it was preparing to release a statement.The Catholic Multimedia Center said in the statement that García was shot while driving near Capacho on the shores of Cuitzeo lake.Source

Timmy Tillman switches national team affiliation to US from Germany

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:32:13 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Los Angeles FC midfielder Timmy Tillman has been approved by FIFA to change his national team affiliation to the United States from Germany, following a move made by younger brother Malik a year earlier.Timmy Tillman, 24, was born in Nuremberg, Germany, to a father in the U.S. military and a German mother. He played for Germany in qualifying for the 2018 European Under-19 Championship and joined LA this year after four seasons with Greuther Fürth. He has two goals in 10 MLS matches.“As a kid, my brother and I dreamt of playing for a national team together and now we’re one step closer,” Tillman said in a statement released Tuesday by the U.S. Soccer Federation.Malik Tillman, who turns 21 on Sunday, played for the U.S. under-15 team in 2016 and for Germany at several youth levels. He made his U.S. senior debut last June 1 and has played three international matches, all exhibitions. He was not included on last year’s World Cup roster. Malik Tillman has spent...

Who’s behind the attack on a Russian region on the border with Ukraine?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:32:13 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russia alleges that dozens of Ukrainian militants crossed into one of its border towns in its Belgorod region, striking targets and forcing an evacuation, before over 70 of the attackers were killed or pushed back by what the authorities termed a counterterrorism operation.Ukraine denied any involvement in the skirmishes Monday and Tuesday, instead blaming two Russian groups that claim to be volunteers fighting alongside Kyiv’s forces in an uprising against the government of President Vladimir Putin.While neither version could be independently verified, whatever happened appears to have sent Moscow scrambling to respond to one of the most serious border incursions since Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said an elderly woman died in the chaotic evacuation, and 12 people were wounded in the attack and shelling. As fighting there apparently continued Tuesday morning, he urged residents not to return t...

Prosecutors: Man drove car into planned Illinois abortion clinic in attempted arson

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:32:13 GMT

DANVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A 73-year-old man is facing federal charges after he rammed a car into a planned abortion clinic in an eastern Illinois city and also was trying to set the building on fire, authorities announced Tuesday.Police arrived at the clinic site in Danville about 4:30 a.m. Saturday to find Philip J. Buyno of Prophetstown, Illinois, stuck inside a car that had backed into the building’s entrance and he had several containers filled with gasoline, according to federal prosecutors.The planned clinic has generated controversy. The Danville City Council voted this month to ban the mailing or shipping of abortion pills even as state Democratic officials have warned that the move violates Illinois law protecting abortion as a fundamental right.Buyno also faces county criminal charges for the clinic damage. Federal prosecutors charged him with attempted arson of a building used in interstate commerce.Information on any defense attorneys representing Buyno who could comment on ...

Hanging Lake closed after trail becomes run-off river

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:32:13 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Hanging Lake hiking trail in Glenwood Springs was temporarily closed due to high run-off that made the trail look more like a river. The Forest Service said it closed Hanging Lake Trail Sunday as run-off waters flowed down the trail in multiple locations. Earlier this month: Large mudslide blocks access to Hanging Lake Reservations that were made through June 2 are being canceled and refunded, according to the Forest Service, in hopes that conditions will allow a reopening on June 3.The Forest Service said it closed Hanging Lake Trail Sunday as run-off waters flowed down the trail in multiple locations. (Credit: United States Forest Service)The Forest Service said it closed Hanging Lake Trail Sunday as run-off waters flowed down the trail in multiple locations. (Credit: United States Forest Service)The closure came just days after the service announced its plans to improve the trail "to better accommodate high water and debris flows."The project includes rebui...

Adams County graffiti team will expand to Brighton

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:32:13 GMT

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) -- Since 2015, Adams County has worked to remove graffiti in the unincorporated areas of the county.  In a community meeting Tuesday morning the Adams County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Brighton for graffiti removal services, meaning the current team can broaden its jurisdiction to include Brighton as well. Right now, the graffiti team can only work in unincorporated areas and cities they received approval for work. Photos: Nuggets sweep Lakers to advance to NBA Finals The Brighton City Council previously approved the intergovernmental agreement. How does the Graffiti Program work? Adams County said they wanted to stop double victimizing members of the community. They would get tagged and on top of that, get a violation letter from code enforcement saying if they don’t clean it up they’ll be fined. No fines are issued with the graffiti program, and t...

Largest US gay rights group issues Florida travel advisory for what it says are anti-LGBTQ+ laws

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:32:13 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The largest LGBTQ+ rights organization in the U.S. joined other civil rights organizations Tuesday in issuing a travel advisory for Florida, warning that newly passed laws and policies may pose risks to minorities, immigrants and gay travelers.The Human Rights Campaign joined the NAACP, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Florida Immigrant Coalition and Equality Florida in issuing travel or relocation warnings for the Sunshine State, one of the most popular states for tourists to visit in the U.S.While the LGBTQ+ advocacy group said it wasn’t calling for a boycott or making a blanket recommendation against visiting Florida, it said it wanted to highlight new laws passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature that they said are hostile to the LGBTQ+ community, restrict abortion access and allow Floridians to carry concealed weapons without a permit.“Those who visit must join us in their vocal opposition ...

Miami pastor sentenced to 48 months for $1 Million PPP fraud scheme

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:32:13 GMT

A self-described head pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church in Miami has been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for his involvement in defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program for over $1 million. According to a press release by the United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Florida, Elie Floradin, 59, orchestrated the scheme by repeatedly submitting false and fraudulent PPP applications through a mediator. These applications sought federal COVID-19 assistance funds for fictitious companies that did not exist. Notably, Floradin claimed to operate a fabricated employment agency and declared payments of approximately $960,000 in annual wages to dozens of employees who did not actually work for the non-existent business.Officials said the scheme began with the successful receipt of an initial PPP loan worth around $200,000. He proceeded to submit three additional fraudulent PPP applications on behalf of his fictional hiring agency, seeking approximately $600,000 ...

DeSantis plans to announce 2024 bid Wednesday on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk, sources tell AP

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:32:13 GMT

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to announce his 2024 presidential campaign in a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk on Wednesday, according to two people with knowledge of the decision.DeSantis, who has long been seen as Donald Trump’s leading rival for the Republican nomination, will reveal his plans in an audio conversation with the owner of Twitter, according to the two people, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the announcement publicly.The timing of DeSantis’ long-expected announcement has been shrouded in secrecy, with various iterations of plans being leaked over the past few days. Some close to him suspected that the Republican governor was providing conflicting information about the timing and location to root out leakers. Others believe he changed his initial preparations after news reports came out about them.Musk, speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Summit event in London on Tuesd...