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Kansas ‘school choice’ backers struggle to get past governor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:08 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Conservative Republicans in Kansas hoping to earmark state education dollars for helping parents pay for private schooling are struggling to win over enough rural and moderate GOP colleagues to get a law enacted, in sharp contrast to debates in neighboring states.The Kansas House on Tuesday approved, 64-61, a bill creating a program that would give thousands of parents $5,150 for each child they want to move into home or private schools, starting in the 2024-25 school year. And last month, the Kansas Senate voted 22-16 to approve a bill that would expand an existing program providing income tax credits to donors who contribute to funds granting private school scholarships to students who are considered at risk of failing in public schools.Republicans hold two-thirds majorities in both chambers, which is what would be necessary to override an expected veto from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. But moderate Republicans and many rural GOP lawmakers oppose the measures, ...

NY bank’s demise: Contagion or a problem with the business?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:08 GMT

Signature Bank’s collapse came stunningly fast, leaving behind the question of whether there was a fundamental flaw in the way it did business — or if it was just a victim of the panic that spread after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank.There were few outward signs that Signature Bank was crumbling before the New York Department of Financial Services on Sunday seized the bank’s assets and asked the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. take over its operations. The FDIC will run it as Signature Bridge Bank until it can be sold.But leading up the the takeover, there were calls on social media warning depositors to get their funds out of the bank — and those were followed with a real-life frenzy of withdrawals. There hasn’t yet been a public accounting of exactly how much money was withdrawn from the bank with a history of being friendlier than most in the U.S. to the cryptocurrency industry.“This is not about a particular sector in the case of Signature Bank,” Adrienne H...

Ling Ma’s ‘Bliss Montage’ wins $20,000 Story Prize

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Ling Ma’s “Bliss Montage,” a collection which blends the real and the surreal, has won the Story Prize for best short fiction. Ma will receive $20,000 for “Bliss Montage,” her first book since her acclaimed debut novel “Severance.” “Ma melds humor and the surreal beautifully, resulting in a project that is at once absurd and insightful,” prize judges said in a statement Wednesday night. “This is an expansive, bold, and delightful book.”The two other finalists, Andrea Barrett for “Natural History” and Morgan Talty for “Night of the Living Rez,” each will get $5,000.The Story Prize was established in 2004, and is underwritten by the Chisholm Foundation. Previous winners include Edwidge Danticat, George Saunders and Lauren Groff.The Associated Press

Police look to identify suspects in 2022 Mississauga nightclub shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:08 GMT

Peel police have released surveillance images of individuals and cars they are looking to identify in a shooting last year outside a Mississauga nightclub that left two people seriously injured. Police were called to the HER nightclub, located at Eglinton Avenue East and Dixie Road, just before 3 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2022. When they arrived they found two men in their 20s in a Two men in their 20s were found in a vehicle. One man was taken to hospital in critical condition and the other victim was assessed at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries.A stray bullet was also recovered at a nearby restaurant, but it was empty at the time and no injuries were reported. Police have previously warned the public about the heightened risks of attending the nightclub and the surrounding area due to a number of incidents, most involving firearms.Five days after the Sept. 4 incident the nightclub was forced to shut down for two weeks. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

Utah bans abortion clinics in wave of post-Roe restrictions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:08 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation Wednesday that will by next year ban clinics from providing abortions, setting off a rush of confusion among clinics, hospitals and prospective patients in the deeply Republican state.Administrators from hospitals and clinics have not publicly detailed their plans to adapt to the new law, adding a layer of uncertainty on top of fear that, if clinics close, patients may not be able to access care at hospitals because of a variety of staffing and cost concerns.With the law set to start taking effect as early as May 3, both the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah and the Utah Hospital Association declined to detail how the increasingly fraught legal landscape for providers in Utah will affect abortion access.The turmoil mirrors developments in Republican strongholds throughout the United States that have taken shape since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, transformed the legal...

Georgia grand jury heard another Trump call recording

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:08 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A special grand jury that investigated whether Donald Trump and his allies illegally meddled in the 2020 election in Georgia heard a recording of the former president pushing a top state lawmaker to call a special session to overturn his loss in the state, according to a newspaper report.The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday that it spoke to five members of the special grand jury who said they heard a recording of a phone call between Trump and Georgia House Speaker David Ralston that had not previously been reported and has not been made public. Ralston, who died in November, did not call a special session in the weeks after the November 2020 election.The five grand jurors — three men and two women — spoke to the newspaper but declined to be named because they were concerned about their safety and privacy.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened the Georgia investigation in early 2021, shortly after another recording of a phone call between Tr...

Parents, teachers blast Elmwood Park School District leadership after gun safety incident

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:08 GMT

ELMWOOD PARK, Ill. — Families, teachers and staff packed the gym at Elmwood Park High School Wednesday night and delivered a blistering assessment of how the school district handled a crisis situation involving a student with a loaded gun last week."Elmwood park, your bar should be better safe than sorry, not sorry thank goodness we’re safe," said a parent during public comment. "You’ve left doubt in my mind that our captain is not commanding the ship."According to police, a 17-year-old boy was arrested last Monday following reports he left the school's property with a loaded gun in his backpack. The boy was arrested and no one was hurt during the incident, but chief among concerns held by staff and families were that there was no lockdown called while the school handled the situation, and the school only communicated with staff and families about the incident over email.“we just want to make sure that our students feel safe when they are in our buildings, first and foremost, we wan...

Agreement reached with Smithsonian museum after South Carolina students kicked out for anti-abortion hats

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:08 GMT

GREENVILLE, S.C. (WSPA) - Weeks after a lawsuit was filed against the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum by students from a South Carolina Catholic school, who allege they were kicked out of the museum for their beliefs, lawyers said they have reached an agreement which would prevent such incidents from happening in the future. However, they said, the case is far from over. In January, a group of 15 students, parent chaperones, and faculty members from the Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic school in Greenville were reportedly kicked out of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum for wearing anti-abortion beanies.Courtesy: American Center for Law and JusticeThe hats, bright blue with the words "Rosary pro-life" embroidered on the front, are what sparked concern from state lawmakers and later a civil lawsuit. “To think that a group of kids from a Christian school in Greenville, South Carolina are to come up to D.C. for a big opportunity to engage and express their beliefs a...

FBI investigating after helicopter crashes, others broken into at California airport

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:08 GMT

(KTXL) -- Multiple helicopters were broken into and one was operated before crashing on Wednesday morning at the Sacramento Executive Airport, according to the Sacramento Police Department. Police said they received several reports of multiple helicopters being broken into early Wednesday morning.Officers that responded found a helicopter with major damage that "appeared to have been operated," police said in a statement. The chopper, a Bell 429 model, was left on its side. Surveillance video shows that a person was able to get onto the tarmac and attempted to break into helicopters. They were able to operate the Bell 429, which is registered to an Oregon man, according to authorities. Nike announces it’ll stop using kangaroo leather for its soccer cleats Sacramento Police, the FAA, and the FBI are now investigating the incident.  “Part of the investigation would be to determine motive, as to why this individual attempted to steal a helicopter,” Sean Ragan from the FBI told Nexsta...

Federal judge hears challenge to FDA approval of abortion drug

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:08 GMT

AMARILLO – The future of medication abortion in the United States remains up in the air after a federal judge heard arguments Wednesday in a suit challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s long-standing approval of mifepristone.U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said he would rule “as soon as possible” on the challenge brought by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative, anti-abortion law firm.ADF is asking Kacsmaryk to suspend — and ultimately withdraw — the FDA’s approval of the medication, which would have nationwide implications, especially in states where abortion remains legal. In the hearing, a lawyer for ADF conceded that this would be unprecedented, but argued that the court had the authority to intervene to prevent harm.Lawyers for the Department of Justice and Danco Laboratories, the pharmaceutical company that produces generic mifepristone, argued that the lawsuit is meritless.Granting a preliminary injunction would be “depriving patients and doctors of a sa...