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US backs study of safe injection sites, overdose prevention
(AP) -- For the first time, the U.S. government will pay for a large study measuring whether overdoses can be prevented by so-called safe injection sites, places where people can use heroin and other illegal drugs and be revived if they take too much. The grant provides more than $5 million over four years to New York University and Brown University to study two sites in New York City and one opening next year in Providence, Rhode Island. Researchers hope to enroll 1,000 adult drug users to study the sites' effects on overdoses, to estimate their costs and to gauge potential savings for the health care and criminal justice systems.
Deputies kill man in South Carolina traffic stop shootout
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Deputies shot and killed a man who opened fire on them during a traffic stop in South Carolina, authorities said. Charleston County Deputy Evan Cubbage was hit three times by gunfire and was treated at a hospital and released, Sheriff Kristin Graziano said at a news conference. Cubbage pulled over a vehicle about 3:45 p.m. Sunday on U.S. Highway 17 near Ravenel, the sheriff said. After briefly talking to the driver and passenger, Cubbage called for backup, and when the second deputy arrived, the passenger started shooting at them, Graziano said. Both deputies fired back, and the passenger was killed, Graziano said.
Driver in deadly Texas crash charged with manslaughter
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- The driver of an SUV that killed eight people when it slammed into a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas, has been charged with manslaughter, police said Monday as investigators tried to determine if the crash was intentional. Authorities believe driver George Alvarez, 34, of Brownsville, lost control after running a red light Sunday morning, and plowed into a crowd of Venezuelans outside a migrant center. Police Chief Felix Sauceda said Alvarez was charged with eight counts of manslaughter and 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Officials are awaiting toxicology reports to determine whether Alvarez was intoxicated, Sauceda said, adding that there was no motive that he could discuss.
GOP threatens Blinken contempt charge over Afghanistan docs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has threatened to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress if the State Department does not turn over classified cables related to the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, on Friday pledged in a letter -- obtained by The Associated Press -- to escalate the ongoing battle with the State Department over a so-called dissent cable written by diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul shortly before the August 2021 withdrawal. The new deadline for the State Department to respond is Thursday.
North Dakota governor OKs law to ignore transgender pronouns
(AP) -- North Dakota's Republican Gov. Doug Burgum has signed a bill into law that allows public school teachers and state government employees to ignore the pronouns their transgender students and colleagues use, the governor's office announced Monday. The new law also requires teachers to tell a parent or legal guardian if the student identifies as transgender. It also prohibits transgender students from using the bathroom of their choice without prior approval from a parent or guardian.