Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
A judge threw out a six-year-old legal settlement requiring Arizona to improve health care for thousands of prisoners, saying corrections officials have shown little interest in complying with their obligations under the deal and that it would be absurd to expect the state to act differently in the future.
In a withering ruling Friday, Judge Roslyn Silver opted against imposing additional contempt-of-court fines against the state for its longstanding noncompliance and instead said she will take the case to trial. The judge said the state's failure to provide adequate medical care for prisoners has led to suffering and preventable deaths.
Not only has the state failed to fulfill its obligations, Silver said it offered "erroneous and unreliable excuses for non-performance, asserted baseless legal arguments, and in essence resisted complying with the obligations they contractually knowingly and voluntarily assumed."
The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry declined to comment on the ruling.
C.J. Karamargin, a spokesman for Gov. Doug Ducey, said the ruling was being reviewed.
When questioned in the past about the court's actions against the state for noncompliance in the case, Ducey has said he wants state agency directors -- not judges -- running state departments.
"The refusal by the state of Arizona to live up to the promises it made cannot be countenanced any longer," said Corene Kendrick, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union who represents prisoners in the case. "We need to go to trial."
A court-appointed expert has concluded that understaffing, inadequate funding and privatization of health care services are significant barriers in improving health care for about 30,000 inmates in Arizona's state-run prisons.
Judges in the case have hit Arizona with a total of US$2.5 million in past contempt fines for noncompliance. Lawyers for the prisoners were seeking more financial penalties against the state.
Silver wrote the fines didn't motivate the state to comply with the settlement. "There does not appear to be a contempt sanction robust enough to coerce compliance," Silver wrote.
In 2018, a magistrate judge imposed a US$1.4 million contempt fine against the state, which paid the penalty but was later reimbursed by the company that at the time was providing health services inside prisons.
In late February, Silver issued a US$1.1 million contempt fine. Corrections officials said they would ask the former contractor for reimbursement for the second fine, though it's unclear whether the company has agreed to do that.
In the nine years since it was filed, the lawsuit has cost the state US$20 million, including US$10 million for attorneys defending prison officials and US$8.1 million for lawyers who pressed the case on behalf of inmates, according to records.
The case was settled in 2014 just days before it was headed to trial.
The settlement arose out of a lawsuit that alleged the state's prisons didn't meet the basic requirements for providing adequate medical and mental health care for prisoners.
The lawsuit said some prisoners complained that their cancer went undetected or that they were told to pray to be cured after begging for treatment.
It also said the failure of the medical staff at one prison to diagnose an inmate's metastasized cancer resulted in his liver enlarging so much that his stomach swelled to the size of a pregnant woman at full term. Another inmate who had a history of prostate cancer had to wait more than two years for a biopsy.
The state denied allegations that it was providing inadequate care, and the lawsuit was settled without the state acknowledging any wrongdoing.
------
Associated Press writer Bob Christie in Phoenix contributed to this report.
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Calgary police have arrested a man and a charge is pending in connection with the death of a toddler in 2022.
New archeological investigations in Guatemala reveal that the ancient Maya people had a ritual of burning royal human remains as a public display of political regime change.
It took years for Vinnie Deluca to collect more than 400 cards worth of free McDonald's McCafe coffee, a collection that now has "zero value" after the company discontinued the program.
Prince William will return to public duties on Thursday for the first time since his wife Kate revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
A popular highway in Alberta's Banff National Park now has a 'no stopping zone' to help protect two bears.
B.C. resident Robert Conrad spent thousands of hours on Crown land developing an unusual bond with deer.
A Sudbury woman said her husband was bringing the recycling out to the curb Wednesday night when he had to make a 'mad dash' inside after seeing a bear.