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Judge says Kansas shouldn’t keep changing trans people’s birth certificates due to new state law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:45 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge ruled Thursday that Kansas officials shouldn’t keep changing transgender people’s birth certificates so the documents reflect their gender identities.U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree approved Republican state Attorney General Kris Kobach’s request to block the changes because of a new state law rolling back trans rights. Kansas joins Montana, Oklahoma and Tennessee in barring such birth certificate changes.Kansas is for now also among a few states that don’t let trans people change their driver’s licenses to reflect their gender identities. That’s because of a separate state-court lawsuit Kobach filed last month. Both efforts are responses to the new state law, which took effect July 1.In federal court, Kobach succeeded in lifting a policy imposed when Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration settled a 2018 lawsuit from four transgender people challenging a previous Republican no-changes policy. The settlement came only months after Kelly t...

Alabama lawmaker agrees to plead guilty to voter fraud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:45 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama legislator has agreed to plead guilty to a felony voter fraud charge that he used a fraudulent address to run for office in a district where he did not live, according to an agreement filed Thursday.Republican Rep. David Cole of Huntsville will plead guilty to a charge of voting in an unauthorized location, according to a plea agreement filed in state court. He will resign from office on the day he enters his guilty plea. Cole, a doctor and Army veteran, was elected to the House of Representatives last year. According to a plea agreement, Cole signed a lease in 2021 to pay $5 per month for a “5X5 space” in a home in order to run for office in House District 10. Cole had some mail sent there, but never lived there and never “stepped past the entry foyer” on the two times he visited the location, according to the plea agreement.Alabama law requires candidates to live in a legislative district for one year before they run for office. Cole ...

Mexico’s broad opposition coalition announces Sen. Xóchitl Gálvez will run for presidency in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:45 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s broad opposition coalition announced Thursday it has chosen Senator Xóchitl Gálvez as its candidate in the June 2, 2024 presidential elections.The de-facto nomination — which will be formalized later when candidates are registered — suggests that Mexico’s next president will likely be a woman, as former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum leads most polls on the primary race for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party.Mexico has never had a woman president, though there have been several female candidates in the past. The opposition coalition — known as the Broad Front for Mexico — and Morena are by far the biggest political forces in Mexico.Gálvez was once a street-food salesgirl who became a tech entrepreneur and senator. While she caucuses with the conservative National Action Party in the Senate, she is not a member of the party and instead has the kind of folksy, plain-spoken style popularized by López Obrador.López Obrador will leave of...

Court rules Montreal-area city can cull white-tailed deer population in local park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:45 GMT

LONGUEUIL, Que. — A Quebec Superior Court judge has ruled that a city south of Montreal can proceed with a plan to cull most of the white-tailed deer that have overrun a local park.Justice Bernard Jolin said Longueuil, Que., can move forward with a controlled crossbow hunt that would cut the deer population at Michel-Chartrand Park from more than 100 down to about 20.Jolin’s ruling is the latest in a saga that has seen animal rights organizations and activists fight in court to block the cull, arguing that control methods should favour keeping the animals alive.But Jolin disagreed with that argument, saying that while the law recognizes animals are sentient beings it does not recognize their right or interest in living.In a 57-page ruling released today, Jolin says the groups have not demonstrated the plan is unreasonable and says the planned cull falls within the city’s legal rights when it comes to environment, nuisances and health and safety.The City of Longueuil says...

Jerry Reinsdorf: 'Virtually no possibility' shot came from inside Sox park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:45 GMT

CHICAGO — At the news conference to introduce new general manager Chris Getz, White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has something to say about the investigation into the shooting at Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday night.He told reporters at the ballpark that he believes there is "virtually no possibility" that the gunshots came from within the ballpark. "I spoke to Superintendent (Fred) Waller from the police department last night and he authorized me to tell everybody that regardless of what has been said in the past by anybody, the police have not ruled out the possibility or the probability that the gunshots the other night came from outside the ballpark," said Reinsdorf. "I don't want to comment on the specific details because the police are still investigating, they haven't come to a final conclusion, but we have done a lot of investigation, we've gathered a lot of facts, and without going into the detail, because I don't want to influence the police decision, but the fact is, bas...

Suburban organization's equine therapy making a difference to many

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:45 GMT

WAUCONDA, Ill. — Therapy comes in many forms and for hundreds of Chicago area kids, it happens at a barn in Wauconda.Using horses as a form of therapy isn't the most traditional route, but those who have experienced it, say it's been nothing short of life changing. For 19 years, Partners for Progress Therapeutic Equestrian Center has been hoisting kids into saddles.Amanda Bradon is an occupational therapist and the organization’s director."I think the biggest benefit here is this doesn't feel like therapy. This feels like a recreational activity,” she said. “And you're getting a lot of bang for your buck because your body is getting stronger, your brain is getting stronger, and all that is happening while you're doing something you really enjoy." More from Erin: Coffee for a cause at new café in Arlington Heights The program utilized the horses natural gait, movement and connection to help kids with disabilities For the families and volunteers who've seen the end re...

Leaders: Speeding up work permits can fix labor shortage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — As U.S. businesses struggle to fill job vacancies, leaders across the country are calling on the White House to step in."We need the national government to stand up," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.Democrats and Republicans say the federal government must cut red tape to allow more immigrants into the workforce."We have the jobs. We have the people. We just need authorization from Washington," Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.Rebecca Shi, founding executive director of the American Business Immigration Coalition, represents 1,400 employers nationwide."We're at a crisis," she said.According to Shi, speeding up the work permit process is the answer to the nation's labor shortage."We're hearing that the application for asylum and work permits are taking up to a year to four years," Shi said.Right now, there aren't enough working Americans to fill all of the available jobs. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports there are nearly 10 million job openings but only...

White House defends Maui wildfire response, announces $95M for recovery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – The burned-out streets of Lahaina are the latest battleground for Democrats and Republicans, as some members of the GOP accuse the Biden administration of not responding to the emergency adequately.The White House is on the defense, saying the Biden administration responded immediately and appropriately -- and will keep helping Hawaii long term.Republicans are scrutinizing the president's recent responses to natural disasters.“If he responds to it like he did in Hawaii, we might be in trouble. But let's hope he doesn't,” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) said.Republicans claim the Biden administration's response to Maui’s deadly wildfires was too slow and House Oversight Chairman James Comer says his committee will investigate the government's decisions.However, Hawaii Congresswoman Jill Tokuda (D-HI) says the issue shouldn't be politicized.“We need to focus all this concern that we have across the aisle from both Democrats and Republicans and focus it on helping the r...

First Proud Boy sentenced to 17 years in prison after seditious conspiracy conviction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:45 GMT

Proud Boy Joe Biggs on Thursday was sentenced to 17 years in prison, the second-highest sentence handed down to anyone convicted in connection with the Capitol attack. Biggs was convicted of sedition and other serious felonies earlier this year after being accused of leading members of the right-wing extremist group to the Capitol and talking with the first rioter to breach police barricades just minutes before he acted. The Florida Army veteran appeared in court Thursday wearing an orange prison-issued jumpsuit with a white undershirt and black thick-frame glasses, his white hair styled into a mohawk and beard outgrown. Addressing the court, Biggs said he is “sick and tired of left versus right,” and that the only group he wants to be a part of in the future is his daughter’s parent-teacher association.“I know I messed up that day, but I’m not a terrorist,” he said through tears. Top Stories from The HillUkraine breaks through major Russian defense lines as counterof...

Bastrop H-E-B adding nearly 18K square feet in multi-million-dollar expansion project

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:45 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A multi-million-dollar expansion project is coming to H-E-B’s Bastrop store, according to the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation.BastropEDC said Phase 1, which included a parking lot addition, was already underway. The next step would impact the interior of the building.The building is set to undergo a large renovation and expansion, which is estimated to begin July 1, 2024, and include nearly 18,000 square feet of added space, according to BastropEDC.The expansion would add nearly triple the capacity of the curbside carryout portion of the property, and a True Texas BBQ restaurant is also going to be placed inside the building.BastropEDC said the store's pharmacy would be reconfigured to provide greater efficiency, more backstage processing square footage would be added to improve production capacity for foods that are made and packaged in-store, and all customer-facing refrigeration cases would be replaced.According to BastropEDC, additional administrative of...