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Race record trails ‘wild card’ prosecutor in Louisiana death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:31 GMT

FARMERVILLE, La. (AP) — In this conservative corner of northern Louisiana, where reverence for law enforcement runs deep and Blue Lives Matter flags often fly alongside the Stars and Stripes, the case of five white officers charged in the deadly 2019 arrest of Black motorist Ronald Greene is seen as anything but a slam dunk.So even with explosive body-camera video showing officers stunning, beating and dragging Greene, the Black district attorney in mostly white Union Parish has decided to bring in a hired gun: an experienced white special prosecutor with a folksy law-and-order bravado and a three-decades-long reputation for winning complicated cases across the state.But Hugo Holland’s background is also marked by accusations of racial bias, including new claims uncovered by The Associated Press, that make him an unlikely advocate for racial justice. In fact, he says the concept has no place in the Greene case or anywhere in the justice system.“Justice is justice,” Holla...

Judge to consider allowing abortions to resume in Wyoming

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:31 GMT

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A judge will hear arguments Wednesday over whether abortions will be allowed in Wyoming while a sweeping new ban gets challenged in her court.The ban took effect Sunday, making abortion illegal in Wyoming despite earlier rulings by Teton County District Court Judge Melissa Owens that blocked an earlier ban hours after it took effect last summer.Owens will now consider whether to block the new ban, too, while a lawsuit proceeds.She’s not expected to immediately weigh in, though, on a different new Wyoming abortion law: a first-in-the-nation ban on abortion pills. Abortion-rights supporters are also seeking to stop that law, signed by Republican Gov. Mark Gordon on Friday, but it is not set to take effect until July 1.So far, Owens has sympathized somewhat with the two nonprofits, two doctors and two other women who have sued to block Wyoming’s broader abortions bans. In July, Owens found that their concerns that the law would harm women and doctors a...

Kansas could soon approve ‘born alive’ abortion bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:31 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas proposal based on the disputed idea that providers leave newborns to die after unsuccessful abortions is nearing legislative approval, as Republicans pursue limited anti-abortion measures following a decisive statewide vote last year protecting abortion rights.The Kansas House was set to take a final vote Wednesday on a bill declaring that when an abortion procedure inadvertently results in a live birth, medical personnel must take the same steps to preserve the newborn’s life as “a reasonably diligent and conscientious” provider would with other live births. The measure is similar to a proposed Montana law that voters there rejected in November.The U.S. Supreme Court declared in June that states can ban abortion, and the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature has long had strong anti-abortion majorities in both chambers. But a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision protected abortion rights and in August 2022, voters rejected a proposed change to th...

Doctors expected to testify in Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:31 GMT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — More witnesses are expected to testify on Wednesday in a trial about a 2016 ski crash between Gwyneth Paltrow and the retired Utah man suing her and claiming her recklessness left him with lasting injuries and brain damage.On the opening day of the trial, Paltrow and retired optometrist Terry Sanderson appeared across the courtroom from each other, looking nonplussed to hear arguments that have become familiar over the past seven years of legal proceedings. Since Paltrow and Sanderson’s skis intertwined on what they expected to be an enjoyable day on the slopes with friends and family, the two have been tangled in a lengthy legal drama about what really happened on a beginner’s run that day at one of the most upscale ski destinations in the United States.The mountain, Deer Valley Resort, has among the region’s most expensive lift tickets and is known for its après-ski champagne yurts and proximity to Park City — a posh resort town known for hosting the Sundanc...

No winning ticket sold for Tuesday’s $40 million Lotto Max jackpot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:31 GMT

There was no winning ticket sold in Tuesday’s Lotto Max $40 million draw.The jackpot for the next draw on March 24 will be an estimated $50 million with two $1 million Maxmillion prizes up for grabs.The Canadian Press

Oregon lawmakers approve $200M for housing, homelessness

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:31 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon lawmakers passed a sweeping $200 million housing and homelessness package on Tuesday, displaying a bipartisan will to tackle two of the state’s most pressing crises.The vast majority of the funding — about $157 million — is aimed at boosting homelessness and eviction prevention services. The money will go toward increasing shelter capacity, addressing youth homelessness, and funding rapid rehousing efforts and rental assistance programs.“This bill will help us build more housing, get people off our streets and make our communities more safe,” Democratic state Sen. Aaron Woods, who carried one of the two bills in the package, said on the Senate floor.Like much of the U.S. West, Oregon has struggled with a surge in homelessness driven in part by high costs and a lack of affordable housing options. Analysts and agencies estimate Oregon is short 140,000 housing units, and federal data shows its homeless population has increased by 22% since 2020.The cr...

Derrick Whitehead, Business Funding Guru Of Economic Masonry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:31 GMT

Should Canada Be Following America’s Lead On Democracy?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:31 GMT

Los Angeles public schools closed for second day amid union workers strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:31 GMT

Officials with the Los Angeles Unified School District announced Tuesday evening that schools would remain closed Wednesday amid a strike for better pay and working conditions by tens of thousands of district workers who began picketing early Monday morning.  The strike, which had been in the works for several weeks, includes the support of as many as 60,000 members of the Local 99 of Service Employees International Union and United Teachers Los Angeles. Demonstrators started picketing in the morning rain at LAUSD’s Van Nuys bus yard. Other district workers and supporters demonstrated outside public schools, and thousands of people attended a large rally at the district’s headquarters in Westlake.  Union workers walk the picket line at the LAUSD bus yard in Van Nuys, on March 21, 2023. (KTLA)At the center of the labor dispute is SEIU’s demand that its workers, many of whom are the lowest paid in the district, making $25,000 a year on average, get paid more. The u...

Walnut Creek: One dead, one hurt after tree hits vehicle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:31 GMT

WALNUT CREEK — A vehicle passenger died and a driver was injured after a tree fall Tuesday in the city’s Rossmoor retirement community, authorities said.While responding to multiple weather-related incidents, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District firefighters learned of a large tree fall that struck a vehicle traveling in the 1000 block of Stanley Dollar Drive just after 7 p.m.When firefighters arrived, they found a tree atop a vehicle with the occupants still inside. The vehicle’s passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. Their identity was not available, pending next-of-kin notification from the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office coroner’s division.The vehicle’s driver suffered minor injuries, and their status and condition was not immediately available Tuesday night.Although some first responders cleared the scene by 8:50 p.m., a fire-district social-media post urged residents to avoid the area, saying it would remain closed.Con Fire is cle...