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Houston joins cities fighting potential state takeovers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:40 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — In four years of Houston schools being under threat of one of the biggest state takeovers ever in the U.S., teacher Arnetta Murray says the district has come a long way. As Houston braces for a decision from the state on whether it will seize control of public schools in Texas’ largest city, Murray thinks the fight isn’t just about failing grades. “I think that we focus on changing the narrative and doing different and sharing that, ‘Hey why is Gov. (Greg) Abbott attacking Houston?” said Murray, 57, who teaches special education at a middle school where most students are classified as economically disadvantaged. “Why is it? Is it money? Is it politics?’” Classrooms are not the only place where Houston officials and residents are scrambling to hold the line against potential takeovers that the city’s Democratic leaders see as driven by politics in a state where Republicans control the Statehouse and governor’s office. Election fumbles and ...

Mikaela Shiffrin sets World Cup skiing record with 87th win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:40 GMT

ARE, Sweden (AP) — American skier Mikaela Shiffrin set the outright World Cup record for most career victories with 87 by winning a slalom Saturday.Shiffrin broke a tie with Ingemar Stenmark on the all-time overall winners list between men and women. The Swede competed in the 1970s and 80s.Shiffrin had matched Stenmark’s mark of 86 wins with victory in a giant slalom Friday.“Pretty hard to comprehend,” Shiffrin said about the record.After finishing the final run, the American crouched and rested her head on her knees. Her bother, Taylor Shiffrin, then came out and hugged her during the winners ceremony.“My brother and sister-in-law are here and I didn’t know they were coming, that makes this so special,” Shiffrin said.Saturday’s result marked the American’s sixth slalom win of the season and the record-extending 53rd career win in the discipline.Shiffrin dominated the first run and posted the fifth-fastest time in the second to beat Swiss skier Wendy Holdener by 0.92 seconds.Thrird-...

Aches, rashes and fear: Trauma remains after Ohio derailment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:40 GMT

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Heather Bable speaks rapidly, recalling the terror of the night when a train loaded with hazardous chemicals derailed less than a half-mile from her home in East Palestine, Ohio. She heard an earthshaking boom and, from her bathroom window, “all you saw was the flames.”Mind racing, she thought of the nearby filling station — its gasoline pumps, its diesel and propane tanks.“I kind of kept myself under control, told my kids, ‘OK, guys, we have to leave,’” Bable says. “… The only thing I knew was I had to get my kids to safety. Take just the necessary things and get out of there.”Her voice catches, tears welling in weary eyes, as she describes the physical and emotional toll following the Feb. 3 disaster and subsequent chemical burn: eight days in a hotel and an uneasy return home; hoarseness, congestion, nausea and itchy rashes; inconclusive doctor visits; the “god-awful smell” that disturbs her at night; anger at train company Norfolk Southern over ...

CPD officer injured in incident over gun in Lincoln Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:40 GMT

CHICAGO — A police officer was injured when an offender stole his gun and attempted to fire shots at him during an encounter in Lincoln Park Friday night. According to police, officers responded to a call of property damage at the location of 2100 block of North Cleaveland Avenue around 8:53 p.m. when officers were then directed to an alley where they encountered the offender. Woman fatally stabbed on CTA platform in Loop: Police Police say during an altercation the individual disarmed the officer and fired shots but no one was struck. The officer was able to regain control of his weapon and the individual fled on foot.The man was found and arrested shortly after and was taken into custody. The officer was transported to a local hospital for observation of minor injuries. Police are still investigating the incident.

If there's a run on the bank, is your money still safe?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:40 GMT

(KTLA) – Remember the scene in "It's a Wonderful Life" when there's a run on Jimmy Stewart's bank? That just happened in real life.Silicon Valley Bank collapsed Friday after depositors rushed to pull funds from the tech lender amid jitters about its exposure to the fragile technology sector.It's the biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis, putting nearly $175 billion in customer deposits under the control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.While this kind of thing doesn't happen very often, the demise of Silicon Valley Bank serves as an lesson for all bank customers about what can happen if an institution goes under. Silicon Valley Bank seized by FDIC in largest bank failure since 2008 The good news is that, in most cases, the FDIC will cover all deposits up to $250,000. Beyond that amount, however, you'll have to get in line to receive a portion of whatever funds are still available for disbursement. That could be the full amount you're owed; it could be bupkis. T...

Boebert praises high rural teen birth rates, announces she's going to be a '36-year-old grandmother'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:40 GMT

(The Hill) – Rep. Lauren Boebert has announced that she’ll soon be “a 36-year-old grandmother,” while praising “rural conservative communities” that “value life.”The Colorado Republican revealed that the girlfriend of her 17-year-old son, Tyler, is due next month.“I’m going to tell you all for the first time in a public setting, that not only am I a mom of four boys, but come April, I will be a gigi to a brand new grandson,” Boebert said Tuesday at a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event. Boebert: Jesus didn’t have enough AR-15s to ‘keep his government from killing him’ The lawmaker described her and her husband as being “so excited to welcome this new life into our family.”“Now any of you who have young children who are giving life, there’s some questions that pop up. There’s some fear that arises,” Boebert told the audience as she was presented with a “Mothers Influence Award” from Moms for America, a conservative group which aims to "empower moms to raise patrio...

Biden approves new Air Force One paint colors, officially scraps Trump's favored design

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is sticking with a blue-and-white color scheme for the exterior of the replacement Air Force One aircraft, the first of which is expected to be delivered in four years.The Air Force said late Friday that the light blue on the new model of the modified 747s that transport the president will be a little bit deeper and more modern in tone than the robin's egg blue on the versions of the aircraft currently in use.Boeing is modifying two of its 747-800 aircraft that will use the Air Force One call sign when the president is aboard. They will replace the existing fleet of two aging Boeing 747-200 aircraft the president currently uses.The choice of the plane's exterior colors follows an earlier decision by the administration to scrap a red-white-and-blue design favored by Donald Trump, Biden's immediate predecessor. An Air Force review had suggested the darker colors would increase costs and delay delivery of the new jumbo jets. ‘Horrifying’ flight d...

Gender pronouns confusing? Here's what you should know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:40 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – In the last decade, gender pronouns have become a much more common sight to see and hear – both in social media profiles, in their email signatures, on patches and pins, and when they introduce themselves. As the fight for LGBTQ+ equality and rights continues, many people, including celebrities like Sam Smith and Demi Lovato, have publicly announced that they’re non-binary and use they/them pronouns. When people share their pronouns, they’re explaining how they self-identify and how they’d like others to refer to them.  Parents, faculty divided on La Center School District’s new pronoun policy The best thing to do when someone shares their pronouns is to use them. According to GLSEN, a group that provides resources for educators to use with LGBTQ youth, using a person’s pronouns is a first step toward showing respect for their identity and creating a more welcoming space. Personal pronouns are words used in sentences to replace a person’...

Letters: One disruptive student can keep a whole class from learning

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:40 GMT

Control behavior in our schoolsTeachers are upset. They want lower class sizes, professionals who can deal with mental issues of students, higher pay and better working conditions. Their job now is not only difficult but in many cases impossible.I taught school in St. Paul for 18 years but that was a time when teachers and administrators had control over the atmosphere In the school. That is no longer the case today. One disruptive student can keep a whole class from learning. In order for students to learn, they must be able to focus. They cannot focus when there is constant physical or verbal combat with the teacher or other students.When a student constantly interrupts a teacher and there are no consequences for their misbehavior, other students get the message and pretty soon you have many students interrupting the class.This is what teachers are facing today. They simply lack the tools for controlling the learning atmosphere in their classroom.Solutions for controlling behavior...

Soucheray: Never mind the thief. It’s the car’s fault

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:10:40 GMT

Functioning societies must inevitably collapse when the truth of a thing is so horribly upended as to be unrecognizable. For example, few of us, if any, ever thought we would see the day when the theft of a person’s automobile would be blamed on the automobile and not the thief.Hyundai and Kia cars are apparently too easy to steal so the attorney general of Minnesota, Keith Ellison, is demanding that the manufacturers do something about it; make those ignitions harder to jack. A legislator from Coon Rapids, Zack Stephenson, said that it isn’t safe to have a Hyundai or Kia in the neighborhood. This would be hilarious if such corrosive ideology weren’t so prevalent in this state. In Minneapolis, the new Hennepin County Attorney, Mary Moriarty, vows not to prosecute juveniles as adults even if they commit murder.What world is this?The 14-, 15- and 16-year-old kids who steal cars need harder cars to steal, not prosecution, not jail, not reform. These same kids are stymied by a clutch an...