Mes: septiembre 2019

SAN DIEGO —  It’s been nearly a year since terminally ill patients earned the right to end their own lives in California.  Since June 2016, when a state law allowing doctor-assisted deaths went into effect, at least 504 terminally ill Californians have requested a prescription for life-ending drugs.   The number released Thursday represents only those who have contacted Compassion & Choices, an advocacy group that provides information on the process. The organization believes the overall figure to be much higher. State officials have not released data yet.    CBS Sacramento reports the California Department of Health is expected to release its official report at the end of the month.  How the new law is used in California could provide a window into what would happen if the practice spreads nationwide. Some see providing the choice to the dying as a logical evolution in a medical care system advanced in helping people live longer but limited in preventing slow, painful deaths. Critics say they are concerned that the option will lead to hasty decisions, misdiagnosis and waning support for palliative care, in which dying people can be sedated to relieve suffering. Betsy Davis was among the first Californians to use the law. The 41-year-old artist with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, held a party to say goodbye to her family and friends before taking the lethal dose of drugs July...

(AP) TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent has shot and killed a suspected drug trafficker during a raid in a remote northern area of Honduras known as a destination for illicit flights carrying cocaine from South America, U.S. officials said Sunday. The incident marked the first time that a DEA agent has killed someone during an operation since the agency began deploying specially trained agents several years ago to accompany local law enforcement personnel on drug raids in Latin America, said DEA spokeswoman Dawn Dearden. Saturday’s raid was the fourth operation in two months in a stepped-up U.S.-Honduran effort to fight drug trafficking in the sparsely populated areas of the country, where flights from Venezuela land on dirt airstrips and locals are paid to transport the illegal cargo to boats headed to the Caribbean. A similar raid on May 11 killed four people, whom locals claimed were innocent civilians traveling the river at night. Honduran police said the victims were in a boat that fired on authorities. The DEA said none of its agents fired their guns in that incident. This weekend’s operation occurred around 12:30 a.m., when a U.S. agent and Honduran National Police arrested four suspects and seized 792 pounds of cocaine, said U.S. Embassy spokesman Stephen Posivak in Tegucigalpa. He said six other people were arrested later on suspicion of aiding the smuggling...

“Skating with Celebrities” star Kristy Swanson got her assault charge put on...

(AP) UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. peacekeeping chief has told the Security Council that it’s too dangerous for U.N. observers in Syria to resume their...