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Mississippi initiative proposal, minus abortion, in limbo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:52 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Senate leaders are not saying whether they will support a new initiative process that would allow voters to put proposed state laws — but nothing dealing with abortion — on the ballot.Senators face a Thursday deadline. They could accept a House proposal to create a new process, which appears unlikely. They could seek final negotiations between the two Republican-controlled chambers. Or they could let the issue die during a year when most lawmakers are seeking reelection.On Wednesday, Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and a key senator would not tell reporters whether they will keep the issue alive. Hosemann said he and other Senate leaders are making “good progress,” but he would not specify what that meant.Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee Chairman John Polk, a Republican from Hattiesburg, said he is talking to Hosemann and Senate colleagues about the House proposal.“I’ve got a lot of thinking to do and reading a...

Sports gambling legislation advances in North Carolina House

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:52 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Legislation authorizing and regulating sports gambling in North Carolina advanced through two more House committees on Wednesday, laying the groundwork for key chamber-wide votes next week. The finance and judiciary committees approved the measure one day after the House commerce panel also advanced details of a proposed infrastructure whereby people across the state could wager online and at or near pro sports stadiums and arenas. From 10 to 12 interactive sports wagering licenses would be awarded by the state lottery commission. Although sports gambling happens lawfully now at three American Indian casinos in the state, North Carolina is a largely untapped market in a country where over 30 states allow some kind of in-person or online sportsbooks, including neighboring Virginia and Tennessee. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper also supports legalizing sports gambling. A sports gambling measure passed the Senate comfortably in 2021. But the effort collapsed in the Hous...

2 teens killed, 1 wounded in shooting near NC middle school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:52 GMT

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Two 16-year-old boys were killed and one was wounded in a shooting in Durham, North Carolina, officials said.The three teens were shot Tuesday night near Brogden Middle School, news outlets reported, citing the Durham Police Department. Officers initially responded to a report of a juvenile shot and found the victim’s parents had taken him to a hospital, police said. The teen told officers that two others may have been shot and authorities spent the night using a drone and a cadaver dog to search the area. The bodies of the two other teens were found Wednesday morning after daylight, according to the reports. The hospitalized teen was in stable condition with life-threatening injuries, police said.Police have not released the teens’ identities. They said the shooting does not appear to be random, and the investigation is ongoing.The Associated Press

Musicians fight threat of Tennessee anti-LGBTQ, drag bills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:52 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — When Tennessee lawmakers passed legislation this month targeting drag performances and transgender youth, many musicians living and working in the state felt their community, their audiences and their artistic expressions were also under fire.The trend of conservative-led legislatures introducing laws limiting LGBTQ rights or using hateful rhetoric about trans people has led the tightly knit musical community in Tennessee to use their voices and songs to raise awareness and money, as well as encourage music fans to get out and vote.Love Rising, a concert held on Monday in Nashville, featured Grammy-winning artists like Sheryl Crow, Jason Isbell, Maren Morris, Hayley Williams and Brittany Howard alongside drag performers and trans and queer singer-songwriters. The following night, the effort continued with a second show, We Will Always Be, featuring a showcase of LGBTQ artists in collaboration with Black Opry.“No one is in danger from our community, from our b...

Transportation Safety Board report on sinking cites lax federal rules on stability

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:52 GMT

HALIFAX — A Transportation Safety Board of Canada report has linked the fatal sinking of a Nova Scotia scallop dragger in 2020 to years of federal inaction on the imposition of stricter stability standards for fishing vessels.The report released Wednesday says the Chief William Saulis should have been tested for stability, given the fact that major changes had been made to the boat by its owners. They had added a heavy, A-frame structure for scallop dragging, a protective plate to the boat’s stern, and covers to close drainage holes.On Dec. 15, 2020, the modified vessel capsized in the Bay of Fundy during a gale as it returned to its home port in Digby, N.S. All six crew on board died.The independent agency says Transport Canada inspectors during a 2017 visit didn’t tell Yarmouth Sea Products Ltd. that the modifications to the boat were stability “risk factors,” which were defined in a federal safety bulletin and questionnaire.It says these factors “wou...

WATCH LIVE | Harvey man sentenced in Will County after high-speed chase from Cook County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:52 GMT

WILL COUNTY, Ill. — 28-year-old Jordan Henry will spend at least a decade behind bars after being sentenced by a Will County judge related to a car theft and high-speed chase which began in Cook County.Henry was arrested on Feb. 23, 2022 following the pursuit across Chicago area expressways. He was charged, and ultimately found guilty of, the following 13 counts:Three counts of Aggravated Vehicular Hijacking (Class X Felony – Category A)Two counts of Armed Robbery (Class X Felony-Category A)Two counts of Attempt Aggravated Vehicular Hijacking (Class 1 Felony – Category A)Aggravated Unlawful Possession of Stolen Motor Vehicle (Class 1 Felony – Category A)Two counts of Theft (Class 2 Felony – Category A)Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by a Felon (Class 3 Felony – Category A)Aggravated Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Peace Officer (Class 4 Felony – Category A)Striking a Police Animal (Class A Misdemeanor – Category B) AP sources: Trump probe grand jury not meeting for the day Will C...

Employee injured after vehicle crashes into Northwest Indiana office

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:52 GMT

HIGHLAND, Ind. — An employee was injured after a vehicle crashed into an office building Wednesday morning in Northwest Indiana.Just after 9:45 a.m., Highland police were dispatched to the 9800 block of Prairie Avenue on the report of a vehicle into a building.At the scene, officers found a red 2022 Ford Ranger that crashed approximately eight feet into the west wall of the building — which is an Edward Jones office.A 59-year-old woman, who is an employee of Edward Jones, suffered injuries to her lower body. She was hospitalized and a condition was not provided. Man charged after Northwest Indiana woman found beaten to death The driver, a 73-year-old Hammond man, was not injured. He told police he mistakenly pressed on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.

Fed hikes rates despite concerns over banking crisis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:52 GMT

The Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by 0.25 percentage points on Wednesday after numerous failures in the banking sector had prompted some analysts on Wall Street to call for a pause.The quarter-point hike is the ninth consecutive rate increase by the Fed since March of last year as part of the U.S. central bank’s program of quantitative tightening undertaken in response to high inflation. The Fed's baseline interest rate range is now set to 4.75 to 5 percent.The move shows that the Fed’s first priority remains bringing down elevated price levels, even as the bank’s rate increases have strained portfolios in the banking sector, triggering some poorly managed banks to collapse.New forecasts by the Fed put the terminal interest rate for 2023 at 5.1 percent, the same as the forecast made in December. The Fed revised the projected unemployment rate for this year down to 4.5 percent to 4.6 percent, which is still much higher than the current rate of 3.6 percent.The bank also expects...

Number of monarch butterflies migrating to Mexico for winter is on the decline

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:52 GMT

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – A new report shows a sharp decline in monarch butterflies migrating to Mexico as well as a loss of habitat in the forests they spend their winter each year.Eastern monarch butterflies once migrated to a wintering site in Mexico that spanned 45 acres of forest, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). But their population during the winter months has been on the decline for the last 25 years. Most recently, the presence of monarch butterflies in Mexico has dropped 22% in only one year, from 7.02 acres to 5.46 acres, according to recent reports cited by the WWF. La Niña is officially over, NOAA announces: What does that mean? Eastern monarch butterflies travel up to 2,800 miles from as far as Canada and New England to their winter sites in Mexico forests using a combination of the magnetic pull of the planet and the position of the sun. This is one of the longest migrations of insect species known to scientists.They then return to the north once winter en...

'A couch!': Video shows furniture flying through the air in San Francisco

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:52 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Strong winds in San Francisco on Tuesday led to trees falling to the ground, a big rig blowing over and airborne furniture crashing down on the sidewalk.Video shared with Nexstar's KRON (above) appears to show a large outdoor couch flying through the air and falling to the ground as a high-rise resident observes from his apartment. The video, filmed by Brandon Au at Main and Folsom streets, showed the couch eventually landing on the sidewalk."It almost hit that guy," Au can be heard saying. Another storm hits Bay Area: 193k customers lose power Tuesday's storm blasted the San Francisco Bay Area with powerful gusts and downpours, pounded Sacramento — the state capital — with intense hail and triggered a rare tornado warning on the Southern California coast.In downtown San Francisco, pieces of glass fell off a high-rise.The winds were so strong, a big rig overturned on the Bay Bridge, causing a huge traffic jam and massive delays. A tornado warning base...