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Kansas OKs bill on opting kids out of LGBTQ-themed lessons

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:24:50 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers approved a bill Thursday aimed at helping parents opt their children out of public school lessons with LGBTQ-themed materials, as a Democratic lawmaker whose vote was crucial to banning transgender female athletes from girls’ and women’s sports faced calls to resign.The Republican-controlled Kansas House voted 76-46 to approve a “parental rights” measure that would allow a parent to place their child in an alternative to a public K-12 school lesson or activity that “impairs the parent’s sincerely held beliefs, values or principles.” The GOP-dominated Senate approved the measure last week, so it goes next to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.“If there is one family who are denied their rights, we need to address it,” said Republican state Rep. Susan Estes, of Wichita. While the measure covers lessons and materials dealing with race and possibly even evolution, it also is in line with the push by Republicans in statehouses across the U.S. to ...

New details of Johnston mandate emerge as MPs allege obstruction on foreign meddling

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:24:50 GMT

OTTAWA — More details have come to public light about the mandate and remuneration for former governor general David Johnston, whom Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed to investigate allegations of foreign interference in the last two federal elections.Orders in council made public this week show that Johnston will receive between $1,400 and $1,600 per day while working on a part-time basis, over a term expected to end in December. Trudeau’s office had previously announced that Johnston would have access to classified national-security documents during his tenure, that he would report on whether a public inquiry is needed by May 23, that he would provide regular reports to Trudeau and that he would release his final conclusions by the end of October.His mandate includes assessing the extent and impact of foreign interference in Canada’s electoral process and reviewing the federal government’s response to threats in the past two elections, including the extent t...

Biden vetoes bill that sought to toss EPA water protections

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:24:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defending his administration’s actions on clean water, President Joe Biden on Thursday vetoed a congressional resolution that would have overturned protections for the nation’s waterways that Republicans have criticized as overly intrusive.Republicans — and some Democrats — targeted an Environmental Protection Agency rule protecting thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways, labeling it an environmental overreach that harms businesses, developers and farmers.In separate votes, the House and Senate used the Congressional Review Act to enact a measure blocking the clean water rule, which was adopted at the end of last year. In his veto message Thursday, Biden said the bipartisan measure would leave Americans without a clear definition of “Waters of the United States. ” A dispute over the term — and the breadth of the landmark Clean Water Act — stretches across at least three presidential administrations.Environmentalists and Democratic presidents...

Large police presence descends on Northern California city

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:24:50 GMT

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A large police presence descended on a park Thursday in a Northern California city in response to a possible shooting.The Roseville Police Department said there was an “active law enforcement situation” near a local park. “The area is safe but please avoid it until further notice. More information will be coming,” the Roseville Police Department wrote in a statement.Earlier, a police dispatcher said the department was responding to a shooter but that no other details were immediately available. Roseville is a city of about 150,000 roughly 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Sacramento. A local fitness center and library were put on lockdown in response, the Roseville Parks, Recreation, & Events department said in a Facebook post. “Mahany Fitness Center and Riley Library are currently in lockdown. All staff, visitors and children in camps are safe. Please avoid the area and do not attempt to pick up your children from camp until the situation is resolve...

Police digging out body found in concrete grave under condo

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:24:50 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Police in Colorado on Thursday continued to dig out a body encased in concrete that was found in a condo crawl space they believe is of a man killed by a friend and alleged partner in crime during a fight last year.The mounded concrete grave, with apparent human remains visible through its cracks, was discovered Tuesday underneath a condo unit after police got information from the mother of the missing man, 36-year-old Karl Beaman, as well as a neighbor in the condo complex in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, according to court documents.“Detectives are working with outside contractors to carefully recover the body. The excavation process is estimated to last through the end of the week,” Aurora police said in a statement. The woman who lived in the unit, Casie Bock, told police that her former boyfriend and father of her two children, Leroy Crawford, killed Beaman, possibly by suffocating him with a plastic bag, most likely in June 2022 though she was not sure of the exact...

Buenos Aires airport turns into unofficial homeless shelter

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:24:50 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — At the start of the long Easter weekend, the airport in Argentina’s capital is eerily quiet before dawn, hours before it will fill with travelers. About 100 people who sleep inside the facility are getting ready to start their day.One of them is Ángel Gómez, who has been living in the Jorge Newbery International Airport for two years and has seen how the number of people joining him has soared.“After the pandemic, this became a total invasion,” Gómez said early Thursday as he sat next to a sign that advertised the Perito Moreno glacier, an iconic tourist attraction in Argentine Patagonia.The airport, known colloquially as Aeroparque, has practically become a homeless shelter at night. It’s a stark reflection of the rising poverty in a country where some of the world’s highest inflation rates are making it difficult for many to make ends meet.“If I pay rent I don’t eat, and if I pay for food I’m on the street,” said Roxana Silva, who has been living at ...

Cause of death revealed for Chicago fire lieutenant

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:24:50 GMT

CHICAGO -- The cause of the death for the Chicago fire lieutenant who passed away Wednesday morning has been revealed.The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office revealed that 55-year-old Jan Tchoryk died from natural causes due to hypertensive-arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.The Chicago Fire Department dispatched crews to the 1200 block of North Lake Shore Drive just before 7:30 a.m. Wednesday on a still-and-box response. A short time later, a mayday response was called for a firefighter down.The Chicago Fire Department said Lt. Jan Tchoryk was making his way up the stairs to the 27th floor when he went down at the 11th floor.He was rushed by colleagues to the lobby where life-saving measures were performed. He died as a result of his injuries, CFD said. ORIGINAL: Firefighter dies after Gold Coast high-rise blaze; second in last 2 days The CFD said the fire was initially out and they were just battling hot spots. However just before 9 a.m. Wednesday, the fire reignited and ...

Giants set Guaranteed Rate Field record in series win vs White Sox

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:24:50 GMT

CHICAGO — To say the Giants had power this week against the White Sox would be a major understatement. In fact, they set a record with the number of times they were able to reach the seats with hits over the last three games. In their 16-6 win over the hosts on Thursday afternoon, San Francisco hit five home runs, adding to their total of 13 for the series. According to the NBC Sports Chicago broadcast, that's the most by a team in a three-game series in the history of Guaranteed Rate Field, which opened in 1991. The Giants hit seven home runs on Monday and then knocked out another in a 7-3 loss on Wednesday before adding five on Thursday afternoon. At the moment, the White Sox have allowed the most home runs in Major League Baseball early in the season with 15. Starter Lance Lynn surrendered three of those on Thursday during a rough second start to the 2023 season in which he gave up nine hits and eight earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. Michael Conforto's three-run homer in the first s...

Skilling: Warmer temps to kick in after Easter

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:24:50 GMT

Sunshine staged the predicted comeback today—despite the cool temps. Chicagoans were treated to 94% of the day's possible sun with a high temp of 50 after the morning low of 32 at O'Hare.A chilly night's ahead with temps under mainly clear skies dipping into the 20s away from the city and to the low 30s in the city proper.Lake breezes are common this time of year—and we'll be dealing with them Friday as well as on area beaches and nearshore areas Saturday and Sunday. Friday could see pronounced cooling at the lake since the day's "NE" winds will travel across a broader stretch of the 42-deg lake waters than the ESE winds Saturday and the SE winds Easter Sunday.The Easter/Passover weekend will see warming begin. It will be a slow process but enough to be noticeable. National Burrito Day: How to get free or discounted food at Chipotle, Taco Bell and other chains It's next week which is to see a storm-deflecting dome of warm air develop over the Midwest. Such warm air pools aloft pus...

Heaviest rain since August, and rain continues through Friday

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:24:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin is in the midst of its heaviest one-day rainfall event since Aug. 22, when 3.73" fell. Parts of Austin have recorded over 2" of rain, and occasional rain and thunderstorms continue overnight and through the day Friday.Live radarLive traffic conditionsCentral Texas Rainfall TotalsDry, thirsty soil is soaking up much of the lighter rainfall totals in the Hill Country, so the Highland Lakes are not expected to benefit much from this rain event.But as heavier rain focuses east of the Austin area, our concern with minor flooding of creeks and low water crossings increases overnight into Friday. The Weather Prediction Center has placed much of the area under a 2 out of 4 threat of minor flash flooding.Flash flood threatRemember, if you ever come across a water-covered roadway, "Turn Around, Don't Drown!"Additional rainfall totals will remain under 1 inch in the Hill Country, but could reach an additional 1-2 inches in Austin and 1-3 inches in southeastern communiti...