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Here’s a look at some of Louisiana’s new 2023 laws

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:36 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A slew of new Louisiana laws, recently passed by the Republican-dominated Legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, went into effect Tuesday. Among the laws are those that increase punishments for fentanyl-related crimes, require every public school classroom to display the phrase “In God We Trust,” and add to the state’s age verification law about access to pornography websites.During this legislative session, a package of anti-LGBTQ+ bills drew the most debate. Lawmakers passed a “ Don’t Say Gay ” bill that broadly bars public school teachers from discussing gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom, and a measure requiring them to use the pronouns and names that align with those assigned to their students at birth. Both bills were vetoed by the governor and blocked from becoming law.In addition, a ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors is set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2024. In the meantime, a...

UAW to show list of economic demands to automakers this week, will seek worker pay if plants close

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:36 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union will present a long list to General Motors, Ford and Stellantis when it delivers economic demands to the companies this week, the union’s president says.And the message from newly elected chief Shawn Fain is that the companies are making big profits and can afford to pay up.“Record profits mean record contracts,” Fain told members in a Facebook Live presentation Tuesday evening.He reiterated potentially costly demands to end different wage tiers among workers, double-digit pay raises and restoration of cost-of-living pay, defined benefit pensions for all workers, and restoring retiree health coverage.In addition, Fain said the UAW will ask that companies pay workers for doing community service or other work if their plants are closed, an apparent restoration of the much maligned jobs bank that was eliminated in 2009. He also proposed a 32-hour work week so union members could spend more time with families and enjoying life.“I know t...

Trump refused to tell Jan. 6 rioters to leave U.S. Capitol, indictment says. Follow live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:36 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Follow along for live updates on the Justice Department’s indictment of former President Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The charges focus on schemes by Trump and his allies to subvert the transfer of power and keep him in office despite his loss to Joe Biden. ___WHAT TO KNOW— Trump has now been indicted for the third time. Here’s where all the investigations stand— Trump also was indicted in June on charges that he illegally hoarded classified documents— Mar-a-Lago’s property manager is the latest Trump staffer ensnared in his legal turmoil— Special counsel Jack Smith has a long career of confronting corruption___Trump repeatedly refused to tell Jan. 6 rioters to leave U.S. Capitol, indictment saysThe indictment filed against Donald Trump details his alleged actions — and, at times, willful lack of action — surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.Despite Tru...

Recreational marijuana is now legal in Minnesota, but the state is still working out retail sales

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:36 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota’s legalization of recreational marijuana went into effect Tuesday, allowing people 21 and older to legally possess and grow their own marijuana for recreational purposes, subject to limits as the state establishes a legal cannabis industry in the coming months and years. The midwestern state is the 23rd in the country to legalize recreational marijuana. Surrounding states — including Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota — have not yet legalized it. At least two tribal nations in northwestern Minnesota are expected to open dispensaries for recreational marijuana this month. The Red Lake Nation and the White Earth Nation are using their tribal sovereignty to allow sales. But most other businesses aren’t expected to sell legal recreational marijuana until early 2025, as the state sets up a licensing and regulatory system for the new industry. Dennis Buchanan, who owns The THC Joint in Minneapolis and two other cannabis-relate...

1 dies, over 50 others hurt in tour bus rollover at Grand Canyon West

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:36 GMT

GRAND CANYON WEST, Ariz. (AP) — One person was killed and more than 50 others injured in a rollover involving a tour bus Tuesday in northern Arizona, authorities said.The bus rolled over just before 10 a.m. Tuesday at Grand Canyon West, according to the Hualapai Nation Police Department. Grand Canyon West is run by the tribe but has no operational ties to Grand Canyon National Park, which is managed by the National Park Service.The rollover involved 57 people; one died, eight were flown to hospitals and others with injuries that were not critical were driven for treatment, police said in a statement. The name of the person who died and details on the injured people were not immediately released.A private tour operator and a visitor’s personal vehicle collided near the Grand Canyon West parking lot, Las Vegas TV station KTNV reported, but tribal officials declined comment, citing an ongoing investigation.The Arizona Department of Public Safety, which is also investigating the crash, ...

Ex-Washington state newspaper editor pleads not guilty to paying girls for sexually explicit images

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:36 GMT

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A former Spokesman-Review newspaper editor arrested and accused of paying girls for sexually explicit images pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to nearly a dozen charges. Steven Smith, 73, pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, KHQ-TV reported. He has remained in Spokane County Jail on a $25,000 bail since his arrest on July 20.Smith was executive editor of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, from 2002 to 2008. An account in Smith’s name for a mobile cash payment service was linked to an investigation into children using social media to send sexually explicit photos of themselves in exchange for money sent to them via the app, according to court documents.The victims, 10-to-14-year-old girls, sent images to an Instagram account and received money through a cash app account. Internet activity of those accounts was traced to Smith’s Spokane home, the documents said.Chat conversations showed...

Wisconsin’s high court, which almost overturned Biden’s win in the state, flips to liberal control

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:36 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Democrats celebrated the beginning of a new era for the state Supreme Court on Tuesday as it flipped from conservative to liberal control for the first time in 15 years. Janet Protasiewicz, who made abortion rights a focus of her winning election campaign and called Republican-drawn redistricting maps “rigged,” marked the start of her 10-year term with a swearing-in ceremony in the state Capitol Rotunda attended by an overflow crowd of hundreds, including many Democratic officeholders.Protasiewicz’s win carries tremendous weight in Wisconsin, where the state Supreme Court has been the last word on some of the biggest political and policy battles of the past decade-plus.The conservative-controlled court came within one vote of overturning President Joe Biden’s narrow win in the state in 2020, though Biden still would have had enough electoral votes to claim the presidency. More battles over voting rules and elections are expected leading up to 202...

More residents of Osoyoos, B.C., heading home despite recent wildfire growth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:36 GMT

OSOYOOS, B.C. — More residents of Osoyoos, B.C., and the surrounding area are being allowed to return home after being forced out by a fast-moving wildfire that spread from neighbouring Washington state over the weekend. The fire scorched about 30 square kilometres on the northern side of the border as of Tuesday, more than doubling in size overnight.BC Wildfire Service spokeswoman Shaelee Stearns said the fire burning closest to the town of about 5,000 residents saw minimal growth overnight, while shifting winds fanned flames on the west side and on the northwest corner of the blaze, accelerating its growth. “Those changes there have been reflecting the good work that firefighters are doing, especially as they continue up along that eastern flank, not only here in Canada, but also in the U.S.,” she said.Stearns said 50 firefighters, 65 structure protection personnel and six helicopters are responding to the fire.The service’s top priorities are human safety, then ...

$25K worth of flood damage to oldest church in Cicero, GoFundMe set up to help recovery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:36 GMT

CHICAGO -- The oldest church in Cicero is asking for help after flooding from severe weather left thousands of dollars worth of damage behind.Good Shepherd Church has been around for over 120 years. The church located on the 5900 block of West 28th Street in Cicero was hit by flooding following the weeks of severe weather last month.Senior Pastor Israel Hernandez said he and others grabbed buckets to scoop out the water, but the damage had been done. Hernandez said the damage totaled nearly $25,000. An astronomical amount for a congregation comprised of about 30 people. Flooding damage assessments underway in western suburbs Good Shepherd Church has been known for hosting fundraisers throughout the year, from carwashes to walkathons to raising funds for their annual back to school event that supports over 100 families. Those supplies reportedly all damaged following the July severe weather.Hernandez and Good Shepherd Church told the community they wouldn't be able to host this yea...

Newest national monument tells painful story of Emmett Till and mother’s courage 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:36 GMT

CHICAGO - Sixty-eight years ago, America was forced to confront racial hatred at Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ. The mutilated body of 14-year-old Emmett Till was placed in an open casket — an insistence of his grieving mother. What the world saw propelled the movement for civil rights.  Emmett Till home hosting celebration in honor of Till’s 82nd birthday "The power of the open casket changed not only our nation but changed the world," said former Congressman Bobby Rush. On Tuesday, Aug. 1, the Bronzeville Church celebrated its new status as a National Park District site. President Biden designates national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother "It is estimated that thousands of people came to this very church, the visitation, countless photos, coverage to see what we saw," said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. "Today, the story of Emmett Till serves as a marker, as a symbol of not just how far we’ve come, much just how much more work we have to do."The churc...