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MEXICO CITY (AP) - Enrique Salinas, the youngest brother of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, was found dead in a car on the outskirts of Mexico City on Monday, with a plastic bag tied over his head in an apparent murder, officials said. Authorities said there indications that Salinas had been killed as part of an attempt to extort him or get information out of him. "Generally, if you put a bag over someone's head, you're often not trying to kill them, but rather extort them or get some information out of them," said Alfonso Navarrete Prida, the...

California backtracks on plastic bag ban; Gov. Gavin Newsom suspends 10-cent charge And isn't it ironic, don't you think?Progressive California has warned about the dangers of single-use plastic bags for years and lectured on how everyone needs to use reusable bags. In an ironic twist, the government of California is now warning about the dangers of reusable bags and encouraging everyone in the state to use plastic bags. In 2007, San Francisco became the first large city in the U.S. to ban single-use plastic bags. On March 31, San Francisco reversed its plastic bag ban because of the COVID-19 outbreak....

For the mega-rich, clearly, a regular plastic grocery bag is too drab. Céline, a France-based luxury clothing brand, unveiled a transparent plastic shopping bag during Paris Spring/Summer 2018 fashion week in January. The bag has since been spotted in a Nordstrom pop-up store in Seattle, retailing for $590. (That is approximately $589.95 higher than what a regular plastic bag costs to produce.)

Plastic bags will soon be free again in Dallas. In a vote of 10 to 4, Dallas City Council members voted to repeal the bag fee passed in 2014. Grocery Bag Makers File Lawsuit Over Dallas Fee Last year's resolution added a $.05 fee for each single-use plastic bag used by shoppers to encourage people to use reusable bags and to reduce litter. The ban went into effect Jan. 1. "We're gonna take this nick on the chin," said Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway, who originally pushed for the ban, after Wednesday's vote. "Y'all celebrate. Just celebrate. But when it's...

After six minutes of discussion, the Huntington Beach City Council voted 6 to 1 on Monday night to allow stores to use plastic carryout bags, taking a step toward reversing a ban that was enacted in 2013.

The 28 EU member states gave their final approval to new rules regarding plastic bags on Monday. Member states are required to reduce the use of flimsy plastic bags by 80 percent by 2025. However, they are given a choice on how to achieve that goal. According to the new rules, EU countries are permitted to introduce extra taxes on plastic bags or even ban single-use plastic bags on a national level.Margrete Auken, a Danish Member of the European Parliament from the Green Party, pushed the new legislation through and called the approval “a historic breakthrough in tackling the pervasive...

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) — A trade group has turned in enough signatures to qualify a referendum on California’s plastic bag ban law, suspending implementation of the nation’s first statewide ban until voters weigh in on the November 2016 ballot, state elections officials said Tuesday.</p>

WALNUT CREEK -- Citing his oath to uphold the Constitution, Councilman Justin Wedel says Walnut Creek voters, not elected leaders, should decide where people can smoke and whether shoppers can choose paper or plastic. Wedel aims to get two initiatives on the June ballot -- one that would repeal a portion of the city's recently adopted secondhand-smoke ordinance and another to prevent a ban on plastic shopping bags in Walnut Creek. "This is not a smoking or plastic bag issue; this is a government-intrusion-into-our-daily-lives issue," said Wedel, elected to his first term in 2012. "I swore an oath to protect...

Orca Spotted with Plastic Bag in Mouth Researchers snapped a picture of a baby killer whale in the Pacific Northwest holding a plastic bag in its mouth, just the latest example of plastic pollution in the world's oceans. Last month, scientists from the Center for Whale Research monitoring orcas in the Salish Sea say they spotted a calf playing with what at first looked like a small scrap of blubber. When the baby whale dropped the item from its mouth, they realized it was actually a plastic bag.

When the Seattle City Council unanimously passed a ban on plastic bags and required businesses to charge a nickel for paper bags, city leaders believed it would be better all around. "I think we've gotten to a place where it's really going to work for the environment, businesses and the community in general," Councilman Mike O'Brien said at the time. But the bag ban is contributing to thousands of dollars in losses for at least one Seattle grocery store, and questions have been raised about the risk of food-borne illness from reusable bags that shoppers don't often wash.

Abstract: Recently, many jurisdictions have implemented bans or imposed taxes upon plastic grocery bags on environmental grounds. San Francisco County was the first major US jurisdiction to enact such a regulation, implementing a ban in 2007. There is evidence, however, that reusable grocery bags, a common substitute for plastic bags, contain potentially harmful bacteria. We examine emergency room admissions related to these bacteria in the wake of the San Francisco ban. We find that ER visits spiked when the ban went into effect. Relative to other counties, ER admissions increase by at least one fourth, and deaths exhibit a similar...

Assemblyman Marc Levine announced today he will revive a proposal banning all single-use plastic bags in California grocery stores. Under the proposal, most grocery retailers could no longer provide thin plastic bags for customers starting in 2015. For 18 months, retailers could offer paper bags made of recycled materials or reusable plastic bags for customers to bag their milk, eggs and other groceries. Starting in July 2016, grocery retailers could only provide reusable plastic bags, which many stores already offer at a fee. The new proposal, Assembly Bill 158, also leaves room for stores to provide recycled paper bags at...

[snip] Under the ordinance, stores will be prohibited from offering customers plastic bags for carrying out purchases and will be required to charge a dime per paper bag. Beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, the price of paper bags will go up to 25 cent each. [snip] "Most of the comments I've gotten to date are not only supportive, but they are really enthused about it," said Moura, adding that the only complaint he's heard involves the paper bag charge. County officials are hoping as many of the bans will go into effect as possible by April 22, which is Earth...

DAVIE — A Davie woman was charged with cruelty toward a child and neglect after police say she placed a plastic bag on her 5-month-old daughter's head, laid the child down in a plastic-lined garbage container and photographed her.

For Immediate Release Contact: Garren Shipley (540) 686-1138 Surprise! Democrats Call for Plastic Bag Tax -- Bill would add $1 to a grocery bill for every five bags -- Democrats in Virginia are often fixated on the gas tax, but sometimes they do come up with other ideas. Like making it more expensive for you to take home groceries. Del. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, and Del. Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, have put forward a bill that would charge hard working Virginia families 20 cents every time they bring home a bag from the grocery store. Why? It's not about money, according...

California, always seeking to be a trendsetter on environmental policy, is weighing a proposal to charge 25 cents for every paper or plastic bag distributed at grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores. The money raised would go into a state fund used to clean up trash and prevent litter related to what the bill calls “single-use” bags. The bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, says 25 cents a bag is high enough to have a real impact on consumer behavior. The fee would be waived for some low-income Californians.

Morgan Humphries (left) and Robert Urban carry on as usual - shopping with plastic bags. Mayor Bloomberg wants to nickel and dime you at the grocery store - taxing you an extra 5 cents for every plastic bag you take home.The controversial charge could raise at least $16 million for the cash-strapped city while keeping tons of plastic out of landfills, city officials said Thursday - but some outraged shoppers aren't buying it. RELATED: POLS LOOK TO NIX MAYOR'S TAX-GRAB PLAN "Bloomberg is a piece of work," Clemelda Gipson, 39, said outside a D'Agostino grocery store in Chelsea. "Food is...

A lot of environmentalists are learning how George Bush felt after invading Iraq and finding no weapons of mass destruction. Scientists are attacking the global campaign to ban plastic shopping bags, saying the activists' claim that the modern conveniences are responsible for the deaths of 100,000 animals and one million seabirds is based on a "typo" in a 2002 report and there is no scientific evidence showing the bags pose a direct threat to marine mammals. Researchers and marine biologists have told the London Times plastic bags pose, at best, a minimal threat to most marine species, including seals, whales,...

TV crime fan jailed for robbery Elissa Hunt 30aug05 AN overseas student who robbed a convenience store may have been influenced by TV crime shows, a court heard yesterday. Dalvindar Singh, 29, had no criminal convictions before holding up a city shop with a drill bit in February. Singh, who came to Australia from Singapore to study in 2001, pleaded guilty to armed robbery, criminal damage and possessing a drug of dependence. Singh wrapped himself in a black plastic bag and brandished a 15cm drill bit, menacing two employees at the City Convenience Store in La Trobe St. He told...