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Minnesota Gov. Walz draws sharp contrasts with red states

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Gov. Tim Walz drew stark contrasts between Minnesota and Republican-led states Wednesday night, using his State of the State speech to highlight how he and his fellow Democrats have used their new control over state government to push through an ambitious liberal agenda.Walz, now three months into his second term, told lawmakers and other dignitaries in the House chamber how Minnesota Democrats are bucking the backlash seen in red states across the country against abortion rights, trans rights, pushes for racial equity and other cultural flashpoints.“I’ve seen some of these other governors on TV — they spend a lot of time on TV — and they’re always talking about ‘freedom,’” Walz said in his prepared remarks. “But it turns out what they mean is that government should be free to invade your bedroom, your children’s locker room, and your doctor’s office.”Walz didn’t name Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or other GOP leaders who’ve gained national follo...

B.C. First Nation sues port firm, others for disrupting ancestral remains

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

VANCOUVER — A First Nation is suing the British Columbia and federal governments and the company behind a railway terminal port in the province’s Interior, claiming it wasn’t property consulted about the project it says has “desecrated” its ancestral territory. Bonaparte First Nation Chief Frank Antoine said inland port development by Ashcroft Terminal Ltd. over the First Nations’ ancestral remains continues unabated with the support of the federal and provincial government. The nation filed a lawsuit Wednesday, saying it has been wrongfully misled and shut out of the development process. In June 2021, Antoine said members of the Bonaparte staged a sit-in protest on the site of Ashcroft Terminal’s inland port, where expansion activities unearthed ancestral remains and other culturally significant artifacts. “They just put it in a box, put it in a trailer and left it there until our membership decided to say enough is enough,” Antoine s...

Costa Rica president promises more police, tougher laws

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — President Rodrigo Chaves promised Wednesday to put more police in the streets and demanded changes in Costa Rica’s laws to confront record-setting numbers of homicides that have shaken daily life in a country long known for peaceful stability.Choosing to make his speech in the plaza in front of the country’s Congress, Chaves said too many violent criminals are allowed to walk free and called for more flexibility to extradite Costa Ricans to countries where they are wanted for drug trafficking crimes.Costa Rica recorded 657 homicides last year, the majority blamed on violence related to drug trafficking. The country has moved on from just being a passthrough for drugs moving from South America to the United States. It has become an important hub for drugs being shipped to the U.S. and Europe and there is also a growing domestic drug market.“I want people to be able to walk peacefully in the street, that kids go to the park safely, that children go to...

Illinois middle school wrestler sucker-punched by opponent after loss in viral video

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

SANDWICH, Ill. — An Illinois middle school wrestler is speaking out after a widely-shared video shows him getting punched by his opponent after a match.Jillian Hill’s 14-year-old son Cooper is a two-time state wrestling champion, competing in the 125-128-pound division. On April 8, Cooper competed in the Beat the Streets tournament at Oak Park High School with his team out of Spar Academy in Aurora. "He had won the match by tech-fall and when they came to the circle, Cooper extended his hand to shake his hand," Hill told WGN News. "That’s when the assault happened." Downtown beating witness: ‘They were going to kill that young man’ The video shows Cooper, in an orange singlet, shaking his competitor's hand just seconds before the Maine West student punches him in the face. Cooper immediately fell to the ground."I remember there was this stinging in my face. I balled up and I checked for blood. I looked up to see my stepdad and mom checking me," Cooper told WGN News."Coop...

Frank Ocean steps away from second Coachella set after leg injury: reports

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) -- Frank Ocean will not be returning to perform at the second weekend of Coachella after fracturing his leg on the grounds of the festival, according to multiple outlets.This comes after fans expressed disappointment on social media over the singer’s performance during the festival's first weekend in Indio.In a statement to Variety and TMZ, a representative for Ocean said the singer suffered a leg injury on festival grounds leading up to the first weekend of Coachella. Because of that, he was "unable to perform the intended show but was still intent on performing, and in 72 hours, the show was reworked out of necessity."The injury has also sidelined him for what was set to be his second live performance in nearly six years. Ocean has two fractures and a sprain in his left leg, his representative said Wednesday.Ocean was the headliner on Sunday night but his set was an hour late and appeared to come to an abrupt end. It sparked criticism from festivalgoers who quickl...

Safety concerns about encampments near Montessori school in south Austin

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A nearby incident put Mariposa Montessori, near Brodie Lane and William Cannon Drive, on a brief lockdown Monday.While the school said the incident was isolated - and involved a man firing a gun inside his home - it still put school leaders and parents on edge. Montessori school reports man arrested after break-in Leslie Harrington, head of school for Mariposa Montessori, said Monday's lockdown highlights a bigger problem. "In the last few years we've just seen an uptick in crime in this area," she said. In December, police arrested a man for breaking into the school early one morning. The school has since hired a security guard."We're also looking at a bulletproof film that we're going to put on all the windows. We plan on hiring a company to come in and do a security assessment. We're adding new fencing around the perimeter of the school," said Harrington.Harrington has met with District 5 Council Member Ryan Alter about these concerns. "They've had to deal with...

Texas House advances bill that aims to keep sexually explicit materials out of school libraries

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

(Texas Tribune) — The Texas House gave initial approval Wednesday to a bill that aims to ban sexually explicit materials from school libraries. But legal experts, librarians and some parents are concerned that the bill’s language is vague and broad enough to ensnare books that are not inappropriate.Under House Bill 900 — a priority for House Speaker Dade Phelan — sexually explicit books would be taken off shelves, and some books with sexual references would require parental consent. It passed in the House in a 95-53 initial vote Wednesday. The bill still needs to get final approval from the House before it makes its way to the Senate.If HB 900 passes, book vendors would have to assign ratings to books based on the presence of depictions or references to sex. A book would be considered "sexually relevant" if the material describes or portrays sexual activity and is part of required school curriculum. A book would be considered “sexually explicit” if the material describing or portray...

2 Central Texas schools compete in robotics competition

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — High schools from Central Texas will be participating in the 2023 FIRST Championship, which is being held in Houston beginning Wednesday. The competition will last until Saturday, according to organizers.“FIRST Championship is a culminating, international event for our youth robotics competition season and an annual celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for our community as we prepare young people for the future,” organizers said.Two Central Texas schools will be among 600 participating in the FIRST Robotics Competition. Vandegrift High School from Leander ISD has two Robotics teams participating in the competition, and one team from Cedar Park High School will also be competing in the STEM event.During the FIRST Robotics Competition, high school students will compete on special playing fields with robots they have designed, programmed and built themselves. Teams competing in this year’s robotics challenge will be on six playing fields.Lear...

Gov. Tim Walz outlines plans for a second ‘Minnesota miracle’ during State of the State speech

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

In his first State of the State address of his second term, Gov. Tim Walz detailed his vision for how a new Democratic trifecta in charge of Minnesota government would leverage a historic budget surplus for a new “Minnesota Miracle.”Speaking to a joint session of the Minnesota Legislature, Walz highlighted many of Democrats’ priorities, including billions of dollars more for schools, families and the state’s most vulnerable. The more than $17 billion in new spending Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party members have planned aims to cut child poverty by 23 percent and make the state the “best place to raise a family.”“We have the resources. We have the shared vision. And for the first time in half a century, we have the political will to get this done,” Walz said at the conclusion of his roughly 30 minute speech. “So let’s not waste this opportunity. Let’s get to work building a state we’re proud to raise our kids in.”Minnesota Repu...

Twins reliever Jorge López has been lights out to begin the season

Published Sun, 02 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

BOSTON — They used him in the sixth inning Tuesday. They’ve used him in the 10th inning. They’ve used him every inning in between.And in every situation, he has responded.The Jorge López who showed up this year looks much more like the López that the Twins thought they were trading for last year than the one who showed up in the Twin Cities last summer. This, manager Rocco Baldelli said, of the right-hander who has thrown 7 2/3 innings without giving up an earned run to begin the season, is who the Twins believe López is.“This is what he was when he was in Baltimore,” Baldelli said. “Everything we saw from him looked like this: sharp, with a good breaking ball and a good changeup, mid to high 90s fastball. He can throw strikes, he can mix his pitches. Yeah, I think this is the version we expect to see going forward.”López’s success is critical to the Twins’ bullpen, and so far, he has given the Twins everything they could have asked for and more, serving as a dependable late-inning ...