RESCUE OF RESEARCH VESSEL
More deaths, injuries linked to recalled eyedrops
WASHINGTON – U.S. officials are reporting two more deaths and additional cases of vision loss linked to eyedrops tainted with a drug-resistant bacteria.
The eyedrops from Ezricare and Delsam Phama were recalled in February and health authorities are continuing to track infections as they investigate the outbreak.
In the latest government tally, 68 people were diagnosed with infections from the bacteria, which has now caused a total of three deaths and eight cases of people losing their vision, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. That’s up from one death and five cases of permanent vision loss reported last month.
The CDC has now identified cases in 16 states, including California, New York, Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania.
2 escape Virginia jail and go to IHOP, where patrons report them
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Two inmates in a Virginia jail used primitively made tools to create a hole in the wall of their cell and escape, only to be found hours later at an IHOP restaurant nearby, a sheriff said.
Authorities discovered the two men, ages 37 and 43, missing from their cell in the Newport News jail annex during a routine head count Monday evening, according to a statement from the Newport News Sheriff ’s Office.
A preliminary investigation found the men exploited a weakness in the jail’s construction design and used tools made from a toothbrush and a metal object to access rebars between the walls – and then used the rebar to further their escape, the statement said. After escaping their cell, they scaled a containment wall around the jail.
Man pleads guilty in California smuggling crash where 13 died
EL CENTRO, Calif. – A Mexican man pleaded guilty Tuesday to coordinating a smuggling effort that left 13 people dead when their overloaded SUV was struck by a big-rig after crossing the
border into California two years ago.
Jose Cruz Noguez, 49, of Mexicali, Mexico, entered pleas in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to bring in undocumented migrants and three counts of bringing in undocumented migrants for financial gain, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement. He faces at least 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Cruz organized a smuggling run on March 2, 2021, in which dozens of people were crammed into two modified sport utility vehicles that were driven into the United States through a breach cut in the international boundary fence.
The other vehicle, a Ford Expedition carrying 25 people, was driving through California’s agricultural Imperial Valley when it was broadsided by a tractortrailer hauling two empty trailers at an intersection near Holtville, about 125 miles east of San Diego, authorities said.
Oregon lawmakers approve $200M for housing, homelessness
PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon lawmakers passed a sweeping $200 million housing and homelessness package on Tuesday, displaying a bipartisan will to tackle two of the state’s most pressing crises.
The vast majority of the funding – about $157 million – is aimed at boosting homelessness and eviction prevention services. The money will go toward increasing shelter capacity, addressing youth homelessness, and funding rapid rehousing efforts and rental assistance programs.
“This bill will help us build more housing, get people off our streets and make our communities more safe,” Democratic state Sen. Aaron Woods, who carried one of the two bills in the package, said on the Senate floor.
The Senate approved the package
Tuesday night, with half of the chamber’s Republicans voting in favor.
Former Navajo Nation president Shelly dies at age 75
GALLUP, N.M. – Former Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly died Wednesday after a long illness, according to a family spokesman. He was 75.
Deswood Tome said Shelly died Wednesday morning in New Mexico.
Shelly, of Thoreau, became the tribe’s seventh president and took office in January 2011.
He lost in his reelection bid in 2014, but the Navajo Supreme Court extended his term for five more months.
Ship dislodges, tips over in Scotland dry dock; 25 injured
LONDON – A ship tipped over while dry-docked in Scotland, injuring 25 people Wednesday, emergency workers said.
Police and emergency services were called to the Imperial Dock in Edinburgh after receiving reports that a ship had become dislodged from its holding.
The Scottish Ambulance Service said 15 people were taken to the hospital, while 10 others were treated and discharged at the scene.
British media reports said the 250foot ship was a research vessel previously bought and outfitted by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
The BBC reported the ship had been moored since 2020.
Afghan Taliban raid in Kabul kills three Islamic State members
ISLAMABAD – An overnight raid by Taliban forces in Afghanistan’s capital killed three members of the extremist Islamic State group, a Taliban spokesman said on Wednesday.
The regional affiliate of the Islamic State group – known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province – has been the key rival of the Taliban since their takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. The militant group has increased its attacks, targeting both Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority.