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Utah judge delays implementing statewide abortion clinic ban

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge ruled on Tuesday that a recently passed state law banning abortion clinics cannot take effect next week as scheduled while the court deliberates over a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood.Judge Andrew Stone’s decision to grant Planned Parenthood’s request will allow the four clinics that provide abortions in Utah to remain licensed to operate fully. The law would have stopped abortion clinics from getting licenses on May 3 and fazed out existing ones by next year.Planned Parenthood argued the law would have effectively ended access to abortion throughout Utah, where clinics provide 95% of abortions. Abortion remains legal up to 18 weeks in the state as the court weighs another challenge that, if implemented, would ban abortions regardless of trimester, with several exceptions including instances of risk to maternal health as well as rape or incest reported to the police.Sam Metz, The Associated Press

'ComEd Four' found guilty in bribery trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

CHICAGO -- Every member of the "ComEd Four" were found guilty Tuesday evening.The “ComEd Four” on trial are former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty were found guilty on all counts Tuesday.The "ComEd Four" did plead not guilty to multiple charges, including bribery conspiracy.The federal prosecutors alleged the “ComEd Four” engaged in a criminal conspiracy to funnel $1.3 million to “ghost” subcontractors who did little to no work from 2011 to 2019. Pritzker, state health officials call attention to Medicaid change Potential jail time and fines for the “ComEd Four,” includes a guilty conspiracy verdict on Count 1 could lead to a maximum $250,000 fine or 5 years imprisonment or both, according to the US Attorney’s office.Also, a bribery conviction that could lead to a maximum of 10 years in prison with a $250,000...

Report: Former CPD chief expected to be named interim superintendent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

CHICAGO -- Chicago may have found the new interim police superintendent, according to a Chicago Tribune report.Fred Waller, the former Chief of Patrol for the Chicago Police Department, could be coming out of retirement after almost three and a half decades to serve as CPD interim police superintendent.The decision has yet to be finalized, but Waller does fit Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson's stated preference of putting a CPD veteran in the position. Police: Chicago carjacking suspect could be elementary student Waller was passed over for the CPD superintendent job that went to Eddie Johnson, which he said hurt him.Waller stepped away from the Chicago Police Department several years ago to take a job in private security. He grew up in the Englewood and Pullman neighborhoods, graduated of Luther South High School before attending both Augustana College and Chicago State University.Waller was intricately involved in responding to the unrest that followed the shooting death of Laquan Mc...

Indiana teacher charged with stalking allegedly sent 600 messages to student

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

GREENSBURG, Ind. (WXIN) — An Indiana high school teacher has been charged with stalking after sending a 15-year-old student more than 600 text messages which included lewd and smutty jokes and memes. The teacher reportedly even showed up to one of the student's baseball games after he quit responding to her messages, according to court documents. Police: Video shows student being told to eat his own vomit with a spoon as staffers watched Paige Simon, 28, of Osgood, was arrested on Friday. She is charged with stalking and official misconduct, both Level 6 felonies, along with a misdemeanor charge of battery. Booking photo of Paige Simon (Decatur County Jail)According to the Decatur County Sheriff's Department, the investigation into Simon began in early April after reports of possible inappropriate behavior between the teacher and the student. In addition to sending hundreds of text messages to the student between February and April, Simon allegedly had sexual-related conversation...

Apple releases first-ever 'Rapid Security Response' iOS update: What to know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - If you use an iPhone or other iOS device, you may want to download Apple's latest software update immediately.On Monday, the tech giant launched Rapid Security Responses, which are meant to "deliver important security improvements between software updates.""They deliver important security improvements between software updates — for example, improvements to the Safari web browser, the WebKit framework stack, or other critical system libraries," Apple explains. "They may also be used to mitigate some security issues more quickly, such as issues that might have been exploited or reported to exist 'in the wild.'" This feature may be making your iPhone charge slower: How to turn it off Apple initially announced the Rapid Security Responses last year, according to The Verge. Not only are the updates meant to target important security fixes, they're meant to be faster to install than standard iOS updates. They are, however, still found where traditional iOS updates are - unde...

Child given new teddy bear with late mom's heartbeat after accidental donation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Thanks to a group effort between Build-A-Bear, a radio station and Goodwill, a 4-year-old girl has received a new teddy bear with her mother's heartbeat after her bear was lost last month.In mid-April, the girl's father told WATE that the bear belonging to his daughter was accidentally donated to a Goodwill Store in Tazewell, Tennessee. The girl's mother passed away, and her grandmother made her a bear with her mom's heartbeat in it, he explained. Toddler with rare condition is called ‘Little Ninja Turtle’ Local radio station WRIL said that the father went to the Goodwill to see if the bear was still there, but it was not, so a sign was placed at the store. The radio station shared a photo of that sign and the bear on social media, which garnered national attention. During the search for the bear, Build-A-Bear contacted WRIL for a description of the custom stuffed animal, and Public Relations Director Jamie Ludwig shared that they were heartbroken to hear...

Texas House gallery cleared after protests against bill to ban gender-affirming care

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The issue of transgender rights brought new conflict at the Texas Capitol Monday, as Texas House lawmakers were scheduled to take up a senate bill that would ban gender-affirming healthcare for minors. LGBTQ advocates rally at Texas Capitol as House prepares to debate ban on gender care for trans kids More specifically, Senate Bill 14 would prohibit trans youth from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapy — care that medical groups say is vital to their mental health — in order to transition, according to the Texas Tribune. Trans kids who are already accessing these treatments for gender-affirming purposes would have to be “weaned off” in a “medically appropriate” manner. The bill would also prohibit transition-related surgeries, though these are rarely performed on kids. The Senate has already passed a version of the bill, and a majority of state representatives — all of them Republicans — support the measure, the Tribune said.Protests and a parliamentary mo...

LGBTQ advocates booted from Texas Capitol; vote delayed for bill banning gender care for kids

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) -- Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan abruptly cleared the public from the chamber's gallery Tuesday, after LGBTQ Texans and parents of transgender kids chanted in opposition of a bill that would ban transition-related care for children.Phelan ordered state police to clear the gallery just as Senate Bill 14 came to the House floor and as opponents began their chants and unrolled banners in support of trans kids. As bill opponents started filing out of the gallery, they chanted, “Trans rights are human rights.”Minutes later, an expected vote on the bill was delayed until later in the week after a parliamentary concern was raised.Shortly after state police cleared the gallery, protesters continued to chant in the lobby outside the chamber on the third floor. After several minutes, a trooper with a bullhorn directed the group to leave, and state police began to usher protesters down the stairs and out to the rotunda. During this event, several troopers and...

Where the buffalo roam: A look back on a Texas mascot, and how to see one today

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

"Oh, give me a home where the Buffalo roam, where the Deer and the Antelope play; Where seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the sky is not cloudy all day." While it was first published in a Kansas newspaper in 1876, Dr. Brewster Higley's "My Western Home," also known as "Home on the Range," has been an evocative staple across the rolling hills and storied high plains of Texas. Icon and subject of everything from Abilene's Frontier Texas to the mascot of West Texas A&M University, the American buffalo is a cornerstone figure in the history and culture of the Southwest and stands as the national mammal of the U.S.However, despite their ubiquity in iconography, many Texans have never seen a living buffalo. What happened to them, and where do they roam today? A look back at the American buffalo Occupying sprawling grasslands and green hills, environmental historians have reported that as many as 60 million buffalo once roamed the Great Plains of North America. Known among the l...

MN House set to vote on paid family and medical leave

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

Minnesota is taking another step toward creating a tax-funded, state-administered paid family and medical leave program backed by Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers.Members of the Minnesota House on Tuesday were set to pass a bill to create a new state program that would offer 12 weeks of family leave and 12 weeks of medical leave. All businesses would be required to participate or offer equivalent benefits, though existing union collective bargaining agreements would be exempt.Low-wage workers often do not have access to the same benefits as higher-paid members of the workforce. Advocates say one-third of Minnesota workers — about 900,000 people — don’t have any paid time off. House bill sponsor Rep. Ruth Richardson, DFL-Mendota Heights, said access to leave shouldn’t depend on where a person works. She pointed out the U.S. is the only wealthy country that does not have a national paid leave mandate.“At the heart of this bill is a recognition of our universal human...