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AI bots are helping 911 dispatchers with their workload

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:47 GMT

By Amanda Hernández, Stateline.orgIn the middle of a storm, 911 call centers often find themselves inundated with reports of fallen trees, flooded roads and panicked residents. Every call matters, but with multiple reports of the same incident pouring in, the pressure on emergency services can become overwhelming.Amid the chaos, a technological ally has emerged: artificial intelligence. In the United States, AI is quietly transforming how non-emergency calls are handled in dispatch centers. An AI-powered system can triage and coordinate the flood of reports, promptly alerting the relevant agencies.For now, AI-powered systems only manage non-emergency calls, which typically come from a non-911 phone number but are answered in the same centers, allowing human dispatchers to focus on emergencies.The integration of AI technology into 911 centers is partly a response to an acute staffing crisis and the pressing need to address the mental health challenges that emergency responders face. ...

Hamas says it is releasing two US hostages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:47 GMT

JERUSALEM — Hamas said Friday it was releasing two American citizens they were holding captive in Gaza since their Oct. 7 raid on Israel.The Palestinian militant group said in a statement that in an agreement with the Qatari government it was freeing a mother and daughter for humanitarian reasons.U.S. and Israeli officials did not immediately comment on the statement.Israel says Hamas has taken 203 people from Israel into Gaza.

House Republicans reject Jim Jordan a third time for the speaker's gavel as opposition deepens

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Jim Jordan failed badly Friday on a third ballot for the House speaker's gavel, rejected by even more Republicans from the conservative mainstream who warned the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump that no threats or promises could win their support.The Republicans have no realistic or workable plan to unite the fractured GOP majority, elect a new speaker and return to the work of Congress that has been languishing since hard-liners ousted Kevin McCarthy at the start of the month. In all, Jordan lost 25 Republican colleagues, leaving him far from the majority needed, as the standoff deepened with next steps uncertain.Ahead of the vote, Jordan showed no signs of stepping aside, insisting at a Capitol press conference: “The American people are hungry for change."Drawing on his Ohio roots, Jordan, who is popular with the GOP's right-flank activist base of voters, positioned his long-shot campaign alongside the history of American innovators including the Wright brot...

High school completion, income levels increasing for First Nations peoples: StatCan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:47 GMT

OTTAWA — A report released this week from Statistics Canada paints a slightly improved picture of how on- and off-reserve First Nations peoples are faring in areas like education, housing and employment.The report, produced in collaboration with the Assembly of First Nations, also looks at how the data compares to those of non-Indigenous peoples.StatCan found high school completion rates have increased for both on- and off-reserve First Nations peoples since 2016.The proportion of people living in a low-income household also decreased, which StatCan attributes to higher government transfers in 2020 that included COVID-19 pandemic relief measures.Nearly half of households on-reserve had access to broadband internet services in 2019, compared to 32.3 per cent in 2018.But StatCan still found status First Nations peoples 15 years or older were more likely to report they had fair or poor mental health than non-Indigenous Peoples, and children remain significantly overrepresented in the c...

CP NewsAlert: Saskatchewan legislature passes pronoun bill in special sitting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:47 GMT

REGINA — A controversial bill on the use of pronouns in schools has received final approval in the Saskatchewan legislature.The new law will prevent children under 16 from changing their names or pronouns at school without receiving parental consent.It uses the notwithstanding clause to override sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Saskatchewan’s Human Rights Code.Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill says he expects all school divisions to abide by the legislation.The Opposition New Democrats opposed the bill, saying it strips rights from vulnerable people.The Saskatchewan Party government has said the new law respects parents’ rights and reflects policies already in place at many school divisions.More coming. The Canadian Press

Cardiology clinic becomes first in Saskatchewan to opt out of public health care

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:47 GMT

MOOSE JAW, Sask. — A cardiology clinic in Saskatchewan, the birthplace of medicare, has opted out of the publicly funded heath-care system.Dr. Jeffrey Wilkinson, who runs the South Saskatchewan Heart Clinic in Moose Jaw, says he believes it is the first clinic to do so since universal health care was introduced in 1962.He says it has become too operationally and financially difficult to keep operating under the public system.Wilkinson says Saskatchewan Health pays 20 to 40 per cent less than neighbouring Alberta and Manitoba for common cardiac procedures and his clinic’s advocacy on improvements to fee-for-service rates hasn’t received any response from the government.No one from the government could immediately be reached for comment, but it told Discover Moose Jaw in a statement that physicians are able to opt out of the publicly funded system.It notes, however, that it is the first time that a Saskatchewan physician has chosen to take that step.The Saskatchewan govern...

New Jersey dad sues state, district over policy keeping schools from outing transgender students

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:47 GMT

CHERRY HILL, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey father filed a federal lawsuit to block a state policy aimed at keeping schools from outing transgender students to their parents. Frederick Short Jr., whose three children attend Cherry Hill High School, filed the suit Oct. 12 in U.S. District court. He argues that the policy violates his Constitutional right to raise his children and make decisions about their mental health care.“I would feel pretty bad for a parent if their child lived a double life,” Short told NJ.com. “Everyone always says parents would be mad at the kid or beat up the kid, but I’d be so mad at the school, that the school hid it.”The state attorney general’s office and the Education Department declined comment on the suit. Cherry Hill school officials have not responded to a request for comment.The suit challenges guidance issued by the Education Department, which does not mandate that school staff notify parents of their child’s gender identification. The lawsuit argues su...

Indigenous ownership of Trans Mountain must be ‘material’, prospective bidder says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:47 GMT

CALGARY — The director of one of the groups seeking to buy a stake in the Trans Mountain pipeline says nothing less than “material” ownership by Indigenous people is acceptable if Ottawa is serious about reconciliation.The federal government recently launched talks with more than 120 Western Canadian Indigenous communities whose lands are located along the pipeline route, to find out if any of them are interested in acquiring a minority stake.It’s the first part of what will be a two-phase divestment process by the federal government, which bought Trans Mountain in 2019 but has always stated it does not intend to be the long-term owner.The second phase of the divestment process will involve the consideration of commercial offers for the remaining stake in the pipeline.Stephen Mason of Project Reconciliation says while that phase won’t preclude any major pipeline or infrastructure company from making an offer, he believes Indigenous people should be involved t...

Poilievre calls on Ottawa to block RBC’s $13.5B takeover of HSBC Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:47 GMT

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for the federal government to block Royal Bank of Canada’s $13.5-billion takeover of HSBC Canada as a way to help with housing affordability.Poilievre says in a statement that Canada’s banking sector is overly concentrated, and that Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland should stop the deal to improve competition in areas such as mortgage rates. RBC spokesman Andrew McGrath says in a statement that the takeover is in the best interest of HSBC Canada clients and that the Competition Bureau’s review did not identify Competition Act concerns with the deal.In its review, the federal regulator said the takeover wouldn’t likely result in a substantial lessening of competition.The deal must still be approved by Freeland, whose decision will be informed by the regulatory review processes, says Katherine Cuplinskas, a spokeswoman for the minister.Critics have been pushing to block the deal since it was announced in...

Premiers ask Ottawa for COVID-19 small business loan extension

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:47 GMT

VICTORIA — Canada’s premiers have sent a joint letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking the federal government to extend the repayment period for a year for interest-free loans given to small businesses and non-profits during the pandemic.The federal government’s Canada Emergency Business Account offered interest-free loans of up to $60,000 to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. B.C. Premier David Eby says in a letter to the prime minister that small businesses, like most other Canadians, are feeling squeezed by the rising cost of housing, groceries and other daily essentials, and just when they are starting to recover after the pandemic they are facing higher inflation and interest rates.The repayment deadline for CEBA loans to qualify for partial loan forgiveness is Jan. 18, 2024.The emergency business program approved $49.2 billion in loans to small businesses and not-for-profits during the pandemic. The letter follows the recent request by premiers D...