COVID-19 cases found on board Norwegian Cruise Line ship
Several cases of COVID-19 have been reported on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship, with at least one probable case found to be the omicron variant.
The Louisiana Department of Health announced that 17 cases have been detected on the Norwegian Breakaway sailing out of the port of New Orleans.
The single suspected omicron case was found on a crew member from South Africa, who has remained on the ship, although the 17 cases, which were all asymptomatic, are among both crew and passengers. The crew member with the suspected case was in isolation for the entirety of the cruise, according to a statement from Norwegian Cruise Line.
“As always, the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit is our highest priority,” according to the cruise line. “Since the relaunch of our fleet, we have required 100% of guests and crew to be fully vaccinated per our comprehensive and stringent health and safety protocols. We will never compromise on health and safety and we will of course, continue to take all appropriate action to ensure everyone’s well-being and to protect public health.”
The ship left port on Nov. 28 on a western Caribbean itinerary with more than 3,200 people on board. It returned and passengers disembarked this weekend with everyone on board tested for COVID-19 before departing, as well as providing post-exposure and quarantine public health guidance, according to NCL.
The ship delayed its turnaround embarkation, but still left Sunday.
—Orlando Sentinel
Minneapolis police chief announces retirement
MINNEAPOLIS — Medaria Arradondo, who became Minneapolis' first Black police chief in 2017 and guided the Police Department through the worst crisis of its 154-year history, announced his retirement Monday.
"I have made the decision that I will not be accepting a new term as chief of the Minneapolis Police Department," Arradondo said during news conference.
In stepping down, Arradondo ends a three-decade career in public service, during which he gained a reputation as a personable leader who relied heavily on community input as he tried to transform a police department with a long history of racism and use of disproportionate force against Black people.
But like his predecessor, his tenure will likely be overshadowed by a controversial police killing of an unarmed civilian that cast the department into the harsh international spotlight. In Arradondo's case, it was the murder of George Floyd during an arrest outside a convenience store in May 2020, which prompted weeks of protests, the burning of a police precinct and a campaign to replace the MPD with a new public safety agency.
Arrandondo's public opposition to the change prompted an ethics complaint against him, but it likely contributed to voters' decisive rejection of that amendment. Still, the measure's defeat hasn't quieted questions about the direction of the embattled department.
Arradondo said that he will step down in mid-January. The timing means that both of Minnesota's largest cities will lose their police chiefs within the same calendar year. St. Paul Chief Todd Axtell announced last month that he would not seek reappointment when his term ends in June.
— Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Md. lawmakers won’t vote this week on drug paraphernalia
BALTIMORE — Maryland lawmakers won’t vote this week to decriminalize paraphernalia used to inject drugs, allowing a veto from Gov. Larry Hogan to stand.
Senate President Bill Ferguson said in an interview Monday morning that he won’t bring the bill up for a vote in his chamber during a special legislative session. The drug paraphernalia decriminalization bill is among a few dozen vetoes from the Republican governor that lawmakers will consider this week.
Lawmakers have been called to Annapolis for a special session with the primary purpose of approving new boundaries for the state’s eight congressional districts, reflecting population changes recorded in the last census. But they also face decisions on all of the vetoes cast by Hogan since their last legislative session.
Ferguson said the Senate will give consideration to the issue of drug paraphernalia during the next regular General Assembly session, planned for January.
“It’s a really complex issue,” said Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat.
He added: “We really want to make sure it’s done the right way.”
Sponsors of the measure and supporters in the community had argued that people who use drugs are so afraid of getting arrested and jailed for having syringes and other drug supplies that they hide their drug use, use alone and lie to police officers about having needles on them. Those behaviors can drive the risk of overdose, supporters say.
Hogan and opponents raised concerns that decriminalizing the tools used to inject drugs would do little to curb overdoses. And they suggested drug dealers might stock up on supplies and sell or give them to users to encourage more drug use.
—Baltimore Sun
Travis Scott reportedly seeks dismissal of Astroworld lawsuit
Rapper Travis Scott is asking a judge to dismiss one of the lawsuits he’s facing after the deadly Astroworld concert.
According to TMZ, Scott requested that a suit filed against him and several of his businesses by an attendee of the fatal festival be dismissed with prejudice. Scott issued a “general denial” to the allegations to claim the death and injuries are not his responsibility.
Scott is currently facing nearly 300 civil suits related to the Nov. 5 crowd crush at the Houston concert that left 10 people between the ages of 14 and 27 dead and more than 300 injured, including 25 who were hospitalized.
Scott may just have to deny the allegations once.
On Friday, attorneys asked for all the lawsuits to be combined into one — representing 1,250 plaintiffs — under Texas’ multi-district litigation rules. If approved, the plaintiffs will need to consolidate their representation among a much smaller group of attorneys and the case will be overseen by a single judge.
—New York Daily News
