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North Carolina GOP censures Sen. Tillis for supporting LGBTQ+ rights, immigration policies

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:29 GMT

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Republican delegates in North Carolina voted Saturday at their annual convention to censure Thom Tillis, the state’s senior U.S. senator, for backing LGBTQ+ rights, immigration and gun violence policies.As Sen. Tillis has gained influence in Congress for his willingness to work across the aisle, his record of supporting some key policies has raised concerns among some state Republicans that the senator has strayed from conservative values.Several delegates in Greensboro criticized Tillis, who has held his seat in the Senate since 2015, for his work last year on the Respect For Marriage Act, which enshrined protections for same-sex and interracial marriages in federal law.Both the state and national GOP platforms oppose same-sex marriage. But Tillis, who had opposed it earlier in his political career, was among the early supporters of the law who lobbied his GOP colleagues in Congress to vote in favor of it.Others criticized him for challenging former Pr...

2 dead, another injured, in shooting involving Kansas City officer, authorities say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:29 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two people are dead and a third is injured after a shooting involving a Kansas City police officer Friday night.The shooting happened after an officer called for help shortly before 9 p.m. near a McDonald’s restaurant in eastern Kansas City. Few details were immediately available.Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Andy Bell said the officers who responded found five people and the officer near a white van, and three of the van’s occupants had been shot.Marcell T. Nelson, 42, of Kansas City, and Kristen Fairchild, 42, of Gardner, both died. The third victim suffered minor injuries. Two others were detained. The officer was not hurt.Bell said investigators are working to determine what happened before the officer radioed for help and whether anyone else besides the officer fired a gun. A handgun was found at the scene.“There’s not a lot of information we can share,” Bell said Friday night. “It’s very, very early in the investigation.”The A...

Federal regulators promise safety review at all the major freight railroads

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:29 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Federal Railroad Administration recently completed a review of Norfolk Southern’s safety culture in the wake of the February’s fiery derailment in Ohio, and officials plan to follow up with similar investigations of all the major freight railroads over the next year.A report will be released soon on what investigators found at Norfolk Southern after the Feb. 3 derailment — which prompted the evacuation of half of East Palestine, Ohio — and several other recent derailments. That crash near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border sparked intense interest in railroad safety nationwide and prompted proposed reforms in Congress.The head of the FRA, Administrator Amit Bose, said in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently that in addition to individual reports on Union Pacific, BNSF, CSX, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the agency will also produce an industrywide report on common issues and trends.Railroad unions have been rais...

Are COVID seat barriers still needed on GO trains?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:29 GMT

If you’ve ridden the GO train lately you may have noticed that the plastic COVID barriers that were installed at the start of the pandemic are still there. The provincial transit agency installed the plexiglass barriers between seats in June 2020 as part of a suite of COVID safety measures aimed at making passengers feel safer and more comfortable about riding its trains and buses. In June 2022, the province lifted its mask mandate for certain higher-risk indoor settings such as public transit, and a spokesperson for Metrolinx told CityNews at that time a decision would be made “relatively soon” about removing the barriers. A year later the barriers are still there. “So I think it’s something we can say goodbye to,” Dr. Dale Kalina, an infectious disease specialist at Joseph Brant Hospital, tells CityNews. “The reality is that plastic barriers like the ones you that you’ve seen on the GO train or the ones that you see at the grocery store do a gr...

Trump cracks jokes, campaigns after indictment unsealed 

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:29 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump blasted his historic federal indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless" Saturday during his first public appearance since the charges were unsealed, painting the 37 felony counts as an attack on his supporters as he tried to turn dire legal peril to political advantage.Speaking at a Republican state convention in Georgia, Trump cast his indictment by the Department of Justice as an attempt to damage his chances of returning to the White House as he campaigns for a second term.“They’ve launched one witch hunt after another to try and stop our movement, to thwart the will of the American people,” Trump alleged, later telling the crowd that, "In the end, they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you.”The strategy is a well-worn one for Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination despite his mounting legal woes, which also include criminal charges filed against him in Ma...

Rope resembling noose found at Virginia elementary school

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:29 GMT

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Authorities are investigating after a small rope in the shape of a noose was found in a tree earlier this week at Newtown Elementary in Virginia Beach, Virginia."I am horrified by what can only be seen as a racially motivated act and can assure our community that VBCPS does not tolerate acts of hate of any kind," said Virginia Beach Superintendent Aaron Spence in a message to the school community. "We will fully support and cooperate with our law enforcement partners to ensure this matter is thoroughly investigated." RECALL: Chocolate snacks sold at Dollar General may contain peanuts A school district spokesperson says the rope was found on Tuesday by a staff member. The district's Office of Security and Emergency Management is also investigating the matter in addition to police, who have increased patrols at the school. "The safety and security, both physically and emotionally, of our students and staff is our top priority and VBCPS does not tole...

Severe thunderstorm watch for northern areas tonight

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:29 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After another hot afternoon with highs in the mid to upper 90s, we'll be watching the chance for isolated storms this evening.The most widespread storms will miss the KXAN viewing area and impact areas between Waco and Dallas, but isolated strong or severe storms will be possible this evening. We'll keep rain chances at 20% this evening, favoring areas north of Austin. We'll have to watch outflow boundaries of storms to our north in case we can manage more storms in our area than we currently expect.Slight risk (2 out of 5) for severe storms late Saturday for most of Central TexasThe main concern would be for very large hail and damaging winds. The areas with the best chance for severe weather have been included in a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 10 p.m., which includes Lampasas and Milam Counties.Severe thunderstorm watchAn even lower rain/storm chance (10%) exists for Sunday and Monday, which will generally be hot and dry days that start with low clouds and end ...

Blacklegged ticks carry, likely spread chronic wasting disease, study finds

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:29 GMT

As if they weren’t horrible enough for spreading Lyme and other nasty human diseases, now we can hate blacklegged ticks for carrying chronic wasting disease that kills deer.Scientists from the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin are studying how blacklegged ticks — formerly called deer ticks — may be harboring and spreading CWD, the always-fatal disease that is sweeping through wild and domestic herds of deer, elk, moose and even reindeer across North America and beyond.Blacklegged ticks are unique in their ability to transmit serious disease from small mammals to humans, and now have been found to carry chronic wasting disease that kills deer. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)The researchers first determined that ticks were capable of carrying an infectious dose of CWD-causing prions. To do this, they had ticks in a lab feed on blood contaminated with brain tissue from a deer infected with CWD. They found that ticks appeared to both ingest CWD prions ...

Twins storm back to beat Blue Jays

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:29 GMT

TORONTO — The Twins unloaded a week’s worth of frustration in the eighth inning on Saturday.After scoring a combined 10 runs in their previous seven games, the Twins broke through for seven runs in the eighth inning on Saturday, flipping a game in which they had been quieted most of the way through, on its side for a 9-4 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre.Last week, after yet another tough loss in Tampa Bay, one in which Carlos Correa went hitless with a pair of strikeouts, the Twins’ star shortstop said he always puts pressure on himself, and blames himself after every loss, as well.A few days later, it’s Correa who the Twins have to thank, in large part, for their dramatic turnaround on Saturday.After loading the bases with a trio of singles, Correa came through with the hit he has been searching for all season, getting hold of an Adam Cimber pitch and depositing it just over the wall in left field.Correa’s big swing brought life to the Twins’ dugout and turne...

Inter Miami visits St. Louis next month. Will Messi play?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:39:29 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Soccer legend Lionel Messi will soon embark on the world of Major League Soccer with Inter Miami. Messi announced his big career decision earlier this week, one that has many American soccer fans scrambling to find the first date he might be coming to a pitch near them. St. Louis CITY SC will host Inter Miami on July 15 at CITYPARK. The prospect of Messi competing in St. Louis adds to the excitement of CITY SC's inaugural season. But will it happen? Precautionary boil advisory after major St. Louis water main break Entering the weekend, Inter Miami has not yet disclosed a potential timeline for how soon Messi might take action. Messi is under contract with Paris Saint-Germain of Ligue 1 through June 30. After that, he will likely need some time to get accustomed to the MLS soccer scene and Miami's playbook. So between the time his current contract ends to Inter Miami's match in St. Louis, Messi has around two weeks to get in shape for CITY SC. That doesn't seem like t...