AFP

Hollywood Cat is no longer.

The Los Angeles area’s most famous mountain lion, an aged wild male feline sighted around the city’s Griffith Park, was euthanized Saturday, wildlife officials said.

For years, it was known to prowl around the hillside “Hollywood” sign visible around much of Los Angeles, a fitting setting for a celebrity cat.

It earned the nickname Hollywood Cat, but the mountain lion — estimated to be around 11 years old — is officially called P-22.

State and federal wildlife officers decided earlier this month to capture it due to its erratic behavior, perhaps associated with being struck by a vehicle.

Veterinarians found “significant trauma” to its head, right eye and internal organs, California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement.

The experts also found underlying health issues, including “irreversible kidney disease, chronic weight loss, extensive parasitic skin infection over his entire body and localized arthritis.”

“The most difficult, but compassionate choice was to respectfully minimize his suffering and stress by humanely ending his journey,” the statement said.

“Mountain lion P-22 has had an extraordinary life and captured the hearts of the people of Los Angeles and beyond.”

Euthanizing the cougar was a punch to the gut for game experts who had grown to love the animal.

“This really hurts,” said Chuck Bonham, director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, when he announced P-22’s death, according to USA Today. 

“It’s been an incredibly difficult several days.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom praised P-22’s “incredible journey” in a statement.

“P-22’s survival on an island of wilderness in the heart of Los Angeles captivated people around the world,” Newsom said.

Griffith Park, where P-22 lived for perhaps a decade, is hemmed in by freeways and urban sprawl. It is a nine-square-mile (23-square-kilometer) isolated patch of nature.

Experts marveled at how the wild cat got across either of two major Los Angeles freeways — the 405 and 101 — to get to Griffith Park as early as 2012.

In a profile of P-22 done long before its death, the National Park Service lamented that Griffith Park is too small for a second cougar, and “it’s unlikely he will ever find love with a female lion.”  

The cat’s renown was due to frequent sightings, video doorbell cameras and physical encounters.

A Facebook page in honor of the cougar has over 20,000 followers.

Ukraine worked Saturday to restore electricity and water supplies after Russia’s latest wave of attacks pitched multiple cities into darkness and forced people to endure sub-zero temperatures without heating or running water.

The volley of missiles unleashed Friday came as President Vladimir Putin held extensive meetings with the military top brass overseeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where Moscow has stepped up bombardments.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Saturday electricity had been restored to almost six million Ukrainians, but noted ongoing problems with heat and water supplies, and “large-scale outages” in many regions.

“The main thing today is energy,” he said in his nightly address. “There is still a lot of work to do to stabilise the system.”

In the capital Kyiv, the metro had stopped running so that people wrapped in winter coats could take shelter at underground stations, but Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Saturday the service had resumed. 

Water supply had also been restored and 75 percent of the city’s population had their heating supply back.

In the eastern city of Kharkiv, power had also been fully returned, regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said on Saturday, after the strikes had left Ukraine’s second city without electricity.

Ukraine’s national energy provider Ukrenergo had imposed emergency blackouts in response to the strikes, warning the extent of the damage in the north, south and centre of the country meant it could take longer to restore supplies than after previous attacks.

The country’s energy system “continues to recover”, it said on Saturday.

– ‘Barbaric’ attacks –

In Russia, Putin sought proposals from his military commanders on how to proceed with the Ukraine offensive, according to the Kremlin.

The Kremlin released footage Friday of Putin presiding over a round-table meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov among other top brass.

After a series of humiliating battlefield defeats, Russia has since October pursued an aerial campaign against what Moscow says are military-linked facilities.

But France and the European Union have said the suffering inflicted on freezing civilians constitutes war crimes, with the bloc’s foreign policy chief calling the bombings “barbaric”.

Russia’s defence ministry said Saturday the strikes had targeted Ukraine’s military and energy facilities, while also disrupting “the transfer of weapons and ammunition of foreign production”.

“All assigned targets were hit,” the ministry said in its daily briefing.

Russia fired 74 — mainly cruise — missiles Friday, 60 of which were shot down by anti-aircraft defences, according to the Ukrainian army.

Ukraine’s military command said in a statement Saturday: “The enemy continues to focus its efforts on conducting offensive actions in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka directions”, referring to two cities in the eastern Donetsk region.

Russian troops were also trying to regain lost ground around Lymanskyi, in the south, the statement added.

Zelensky said the strikes hit power and water supplies in Kyiv and 14 regions.

Regional officials said their air defence forces had shot down 37 out of 40 missiles.

In the central city of Kryvyi Rig, where Zelensky was born, Friday’s air strikes hit a residential building.

The missiles killed a 64-year-old woman and a young couple with a son, governor Valentyn Reznichenko said Saturday, wounding 13 others.

In the south, fresh Russian shelling in Kherson, recently recaptured by Ukraine, killed a 36-year-old man and injured a 70-year-old woman, governor Yaroslav Yanushevich said Saturday morning.

A separate strike hit a geriatric centre in the village of Stepanivka just north of Kherson, he added later, but there were no casualties reported.

Kherson has been subjected to persistent Russian shelling since Moscow’s forces retreated in November, and power was cut in the city earlier this week.

– Protracted war –

Moscow has said the strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure are a response to an explosion on the Kerch bridge connecting the Russian mainland to the Crimean peninsula, annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Ukrainian defence officials said this week that their forces had downed over a dozen Iranian-made attack drones launched at Kyiv, a sign that Western-supplied systems are having an impact.

The country’s military leaders have also warned Moscow is preparing for a major winter offensive, including a fresh attempt to take Kyiv.

Russia meanwhile on Saturday accused Moldova of “political censorship” after it suspended the broadcasting licence of six television channels over accusations of misinformation.

Moldova — which sits on Ukraine’s southwestern border — said on Friday the decision was made because of the “lack of correct information” in their coverage of national events and Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Moscow also responded to the EU’s decision Friday to impose further sanctions, adding restrictions on the export of drone engines to Russia or countries like Iran looking to supply Moscow with weapons.

The new package of “illegitimate unilateral restrictive measures” would not achieve its goal, Russia’s foreign ministry said Saturday.

After a year and a half of hearings and more than 1,000 depositions, the committee that investigated Donald Trump’s responsibility in the early 2021 attack on the US Capitol delivers its findings on Monday.

At a public hearing at 1 pm (18:00 GMT), the elected members of the House January 6 committee will present the eight chapters of its long investigation and will vote to recommend prosecution.  

Here are some of the main elements of the investigation. 

– ‘An attempted coup’ – 

The commission, comprising seven Democrats and two Republicans, was tasked with shedding light on the former president’s actions before and during January 6, 2021, the day that shook the pillars of American democracy.

The probe attempted to show that  Trump’s rejection of the November 2020 presidential election results was not simply a tantrum of a sore loser but a core part of a careful strategy to defy the constitution and retain power. 

Trump was “at the center” of “an attempted coup,” the head of the committee, Representative Bennie Thompson said of the events on January 6, 2021.

– Pressure on the vice president –

In a series of high-profile hearings, the committee provided evidence that it was impossible for Trump not to know that he had lost the election to Joe Biden.

His “voter fraud” theories did not convince several members of his inner circle, including a series of advisers, his attorney general and even his own daughter Ivanka, who spoke in on-camera testimony.

In an attempt to invalidate the presidential election, Trump pressured election officials, particularly in Georgia and Arizona. The commission revealed the extent of this intimidation, inviting several of them to testify in person. 

The Republican then called on his vice president, Mike Pence, to block the January 6, 2021, certification by Congress of his rival Joe Biden’s victory.

“What the former president was willing to sacrifice — potentially the vice president — in order to stay in power is pretty jarring,” Democratic panel member Pete Aguilar said at one of the hearings.  

– Passivity on January 6 –

Trump summoned his supporters to come to Washington on January 6, calling on them to “fight like hell.”

In the crowd gathered a short distance from the White House, Trump knew that some of the protesters were armed and potentially dangerous, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told a hearing in June.

Trump nevertheless sought to join the throng on its way to Congress, attempting to grab the wheel of the presidential SUV from a Secret Service agent, according to Hutchinson’s explosive testimony.

He then spent three hours watching television images of the unfolding violence on Capitol Hill without intervening.

The members of the committee deemed that he had, at the very least, engaged in “complete dereliction of duty” as commander in chief. 

– Recommending charges –

The committee will conduct its final public hearing Monday, in which it will recommend charges over the insurrection, and issue its final report on Wednesday.  

Several legal experts said Trump could be criminally prosecuted  for “obstructing an official government proceeding” or on a broader charge of “conspiracy to defraud” the government by disrupting the functioning of institutions.

The decision to press charges will ultimately rest with Attorney General Merrick Garland, who in mid-November appointed a special prosecutor to independently investigate Trump.

The commission may also make legislative recommendations to protect the process of certifying election results so that the events of January 6, 2021, can never happen again.

As New York state prepares to open its first legal cannabis stores, possibly before the end of the year, AFP details what you need to know about the new market.

– Offenders and non-profits –

Adult recreational use of Cannabis is already legal in about 20 American states. In terms of social equity, New York’s policy goes further than most, according to observers.

The state plans to grant the first 150 licenses to people previously convicted for possession or sale of the drug, and associations who help such offenders.

The intention is to offer reparations of sorts to African-American and Hispanic communities who were disproportionately arrested and charged during the decades weed was illegal.

Some 900 applications have been filed and 28 permits issued to businesses. Eight associations have also received licenses.

What could be the first official store is backed by the Housing Works non-profit, which helps ex-prisoners, the homeless and people with HIV and AIDS.

– Deliveries and restrictions –

After the first 150 licenses are granted, the market will open up to all businesses but with rules to reduce market dominance.

Specifically, a company that grows or processes cannabis will not be allowed to distribute the drug and vice versa. Retailers will be allowed to deliver cannabis but will be restricted to 25 employees for that purpose.

As with alcohol, sales are only allowed to people over 21 years old. An adult can possess up to 85 grams of cannabis flower or 24 grams of concentrated cannabis, which is more potent. A store cannot sell someone more than this limit. 

Cannabis is theoretically still prohibited under US federal law, meaning it is illegal to possess it when crossing state lines or entering and leaving the country.

– Potency tax –

In addition to the taxes paid by the consumer at purchase, New York plans to tax vendors based on the plant’s psychoactive content. Higher tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, means higher taxes.

Dan Livingston, director of the Cannabis Association of New York, fears this will lead to high prices and competition from illegal sellers. He also worries it will encourage vendors to sell stronger cannabis.  

“The consumer could end up getting a lot more high than they really anticipated,” he said.

New York state promises to use tax revenues generated by the sale of cannabis for addiction prevention, education and grants to associations who help users.

In a 2018 report, it estimated the illegal market was worth between $1.7 billion and $3.5 billion annually, equating to between $248 million and $677 million in potential annual taxes. 

– Legal challenge –

The granting of licenses has been slowed down because of a legal challenge by a company whose application was rejected, mainly on the grounds that its majority owner was convicted of a cannabis-related offense in the state of Michigan and not in New York.

A federal judge hearing the case has ordered that no licenses be issued in the five jurisdictions involved in the dispute, including Brooklyn, New York City’s most populous borough.

Naiomy Guerrero’s brother was stopped by police often and was once convicted on drug charges when marijuana was illegal in New York. Now, she is setting up a legal cannabis business, a promising new market fraught with pitfalls.

New York state is offering its first 150 licenses for the legal sale of cannabis to people — and their relatives — who have been convicted of offenses related to the drug, including selling.

The policy, implemented by the state’s Democratic leaders, seeks to compensate African-American and Hispanic communities whose members were disproportionately arrested and convicted during the decades weed was illegal.

“It’s such an exciting moment for my family,” said 31-year-old Guerrero, a PhD art history student whose parents are from the Dominican Republic.

“Especially given where we come from and everything we have been through, with the discriminatory policies that the city has had, like stop and frisk,” she told AFP.

Last month, Guerrero was one of the first 28 successful applicants who received their license to open an official store and sell locally-grown cannabis.

The licenses come more than a year after New York state, home to 20 million people, legalized cannabis use.

In New York city, the smell of weed is now about as ubiquitous as yellow taxis and shiny skyscrapers.

The city government expects the legal cannabis industry to generate $1.3 billion in sales as early as next year and between 19,000 and 24,000 jobs in three years. That represents much-needed tax revenues.

– Racial disparities –

Jeremy Rivera, is another New Yorker looking to profit. He was convicted of a “non-violent drug offense including cannabis” in 2016. He was released from prison in 2018 and has vowed never to go back.

The 36-year-old wants to put his knowledge of cannabis and business acumen to use by opening a weed shop east of the city on Long Island.

The heavily tattooed Rivera, who grew up surrounded by crime in the borough of Queens, hopes to be among the next group of licensees.

“I want to become that beacon of light that shows people, ‘Hey listen, I’ve done it. I was a 20-year gang member, I was a year-long-round drug dealer. I made the decision to leave that lifestyle,'” he told AFP.

As well as the cannabis conviction, applicants must also own a profitable business to be eligible for one of the first 150 licenses, which will precede a full opening of the market.

In 2018, a state report estimated that there had been 800,000 arrests for marijuana possession in the previous 20 years.

In 2017, most of those arrested were Black (48 percent), while Hispanics made up 38 percent of arrests.

“Prohibition denied people opportunities, it caused divestment in communities, it broke up families,” said Tremaine Wright, chairwoman of the control board for New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).

Guerrero says that in the 2000s, the New York Police Department’s infamous stop-and-frisk policy, which disproportionately targeted people of color, meant “we couldn’t be outside without getting picked up by the police.

“It was just living in a constant, constant state of surveillance and harassment,” she recalled.

While the cannabis program is ambitious, experts say implementation will have its challenges.

“We’re still at the very beginning of our journey of social equity. We need education, we need funding,” said Desmon Lewis, co-founder of The Bronx Community Foundation, which is assisting applicants.

– Illegal sales –

Last week, local media outlet NY Cannabis Insider reported that the team tasked with raising $150 million from private investors for the state’s $200 million fund to support retailers had missed a key deadline set by the state.

That raises concerns that candidates may not receive the ready-made stores they had been promised.

“For some people, it is very confusing. They are relying on this location and these funds. Now it’s like the sand is shifting below their feet”, said Eli Northrup of the Bronx Defenders non-profit. 

Also causing concern is strong competition from unlicensed sellers, who have been emboldened by decriminalization.

They have taken advantage of the lack of controls since legalization, selling on the street, in parks, as well as in smoke shops which are already selling THC edibles, pre-rolls and flower.

But Rivera sees only opportunities.

“You’re also going to have people who never felt comfortable purchasing from the illicit market that are now going to want to purchase from a reputable licensed provider,” he said.

“This is the beginning of the next 100 years of cannabis sales,” he added, taking a puff on a long joint.