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Protest this way, not that way: In statehouses, varied rules restrict public voices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:00 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Shaking violently between sobs, parent Sarah Shoop Neumann could only manage a whisper as state troopers escorted her out of a Tennessee legislative hearing where she was waiting to testify against a bill that would let teachers carry guns.“I was supposed to speak. I was supposed to testify,” said Neumann, whose son still attends an elementary school where six people — including three 9-year-old children — were fatally shot this year.Moments earlier, a Republican subcommittee chairman ordered law enforcement to clear the public out of the room after the crowd erupted into applause and others defied a new ban on holding signs during committee proceedings. Only after troopers cleared the room was Neumann allowed to return to testify.While acts of protest big and small are common in legislatures, states often have rules in place to limit disruptions to government proceedings, with authorities given wide latitude to remove people who jeer, chant or are otherwise ...

Missouri death row inmate who claims innocence sues governor for dissolving inquiry board

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri death row inmate is suing Gov. Mike Parson over the governor’s decision to dissolve a board of inquiry that was convened to investigate the man’s innocence claim.The lawsuit on behalf of Marcellus Williams asks a state judge to invalidate Parson’s June order that did away with the inquiry board. Parson also lifted a stay of execution. The next day, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey asked the state Supreme Court to set an execution date, though no date has been set. Bailey also is named in the lawsuit filed Wednesday.Williams, 54, was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1998 death of Lisha Gayle during a robbery of her home in the St. Louis suburb of University City. Gayle worked at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch from 1981 to 1992 before leaving to do social work.Williams was hours away from execution in 2017 when then-Gov. Eric Greitens halted the process and ordered an investigation. His decision followed the release of new DNA t...

Canada Post loses more than $250 million in second quarter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada Post continued to bleed cash last quarter, as losses ballooned by 59 per cent.In a release Friday, the Crown corporation reported a before-tax loss of $254 million for its second quarter versus $160 million in losses a year earlier.The country’s main postal operator says revenue dropped by $78 million, or six per cent, year-over-year due to declines across all lines of business.Canada Post says an increasingly competitive market for parcel delivery continued to dent revenues throughout the first half of 2023, while transaction mail and direct marketing deliveries also fell amid businesses’ strained promotional budgets.The cost of operations at Canada Post rose by 1.7 per cent, or $31 million, in the quarter ended June 30 compared to the same period a year earlier, due mainly to higher non-capital investments in technology and operations.Canada Post, which last reported a full-year profit in 2017, announced a transformation plan in June that targeted the e...

Trump and all 18 others charged in Georgia election case meet the deadline to surrender at jail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and the 18 people indicted along with him in Georgia on charges that they participated in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election have all turned themselves in to a jail in Atlanta before the deadline at noon Friday.After Trump was booked Thursday evening — scowling at the camera for the first-ever mug shot of a former president — seven co-defendants who had not yet surrendered did so Friday morning. All but one of those charged had agreed to a bond amount and conditions with Fulton County District Fani Willis ahead of time, and they were free to go after booking.Harrison William Prescott Floyd, who is accused of harassing a Fulton County election worker, did not negotiate a bond ahead of time and remained in the jail after turning himself in Thursday. Federal court records from Maryland show Floyd, identified as a former U.S. Marine who’s active with the group Black Voices for Trump, was also arrested t...

Zimbabweans anxiously wait for election results as African observer missions note voter intimidation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:00 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabweans waited anxiously Friday for the outcome of general elections as dozens of armed police with water cannons guarded the national results center, the scene of deadly violence after the previous vote five years ago. African election observer missions criticized this week’s balloting, alleging that a group linked to the ruling ZANU-PF party had engaged in voter intimidation, while Zimbabwe authorities took dozens of local election monitors to court on allegations of subversion that government critics said were trumped-up charges.Early results from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission indicated that ZANU-PF was winning in its traditional rural strongholds, while the Citizens Coalition for Change was taking major urban areas that have traditionally voted for the opposition. Results in the presidential balloting are not expected for several days.Zimbabwe’s long history of disputed elections has left many wary of official results.Voting closed Thursday ...

North American grassland birds in peril, spurring all-out effort to save birds and their habitat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:00 GMT

POTTER, Neb. (AP) — When Reed Cammack hears the first meadowlark of spring, he knows his family has made it through another cold, snowy winter on the western South Dakota prairie. Nothing’s better, he says, than getting up at sunrise as the birds light up the area with song.“It’s part of the flora and fauna of our Great Plains and it’s beautiful to hear,” says Cammack, 42, a sixth-generation rancher who raises cattle on 10,000 acres (4,047 hectares) of mostly unaltered native grasslands.But the number of returning birds has dropped steeply, despite seemingly ideal habitat. “There are quite a few I don’t see any more and I don’t know for sure why,” says Cammack’s 92-year-old grandfather, Floyd. whose family has allowed conservation groups to install a high-tech tracking tower and to conduct bird surveys.North America’s grassland birds are deeply in trouble 50 years after adoption of the Endangered Species Act, with numbers plunging as habitat loss, land degradation and climate ...

Rent increases in Illinois, surrounding states among highest in the nation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:00 GMT

(STACKER) — While rental rate increases are slowing down following a post-pandemic surge, some states are still well above the 2.6% national average for the first seven months of 2023.Among the top ten states which have seen the largest rent increases of the year are Iowa (#8) at 2.6%, Indiana (#7) at 2.8%, Wisconsin (#5) at 3.2%, and Illinois (#4) at 3.4%. The #1 spot goes to North Dakota which has seen a 7.0% average increase in rent so far this year. See the full list below. More than 66,000 Illinoisans can expect a check from the state’s Unclaimed Property program In the last five years, renters have felt the pressure on their budgets, but most of the pain has come since the pandemic. Although average rent prices fell for a few months at the onset of the pandemic as people left major cities, demand rebounded as the price of homes soared, putting homeownership out of reach for many. According to Apartment List, the overall median rent in the U.S. has risen 22.4% to $1,372 ...

Sec. of State announces over $27M in grants for libraries, adult literacy programs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:00 GMT

CHICAGO — Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announced Friday that he awarded over $27 million in grants aimed at helping libraries and adult literacy programs.More than 140 recipients will receive parts of $21.4 million for library services and $5.7 million to support adult literacy programs.“As State Librarian, it’s a privilege to provide these resources to support and enhance local library services and adult literacy programs across Illinois,” said Giannoulias. “Without properly funding programs, staff and educators, learning is difficult. These grants have the ability to position individuals for success and change lives by serving the unique needs of local communities.” Beverly’s ‘Bike Whisperer’ teaching kids how to ride bicycles According to the release, the grants project the following.Support educational mentoring programs that engage students in active learning.Fund online catalogs and provide resources aimed at narrowing the digital divide.Provide educational ...

'Little House on the Prairie' actor Hersha Parady dies at 78, family says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:00 GMT

BEREA, Ohio (WJW) – Hersha Parady, who played schoolteacher Alice Garvey on “Little House on the Prairie,” has died, her son confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter and Today.com.Parady was 78 years old. WWE wrestler Bray Wyatt dies at 36 Her son, Jonathan Peverall, had previously organized a GoFundMe fundraising page to raise money for Parady's medical costs, writing that his mother had been dealing with a brain tumor."Hersha, who has always been an active and outgoing woman, is battling a tough medical condition — a brain tumor known as meningioma," Peverall wrote. "This illness has robbed her of her strength, her memory, and sadly, her vibrant personality. She has become largely bedridden, and it is very difficult to see my Mom, who was once full of life and energy, now struggling with basic daily activities."Hersha Parady, who played Alice Garvey on "Little House on the Prairie," has died after a battle with a brain tumor, her son said. (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Im...

California man arrested for leaving toilet at mall, claiming it was a bomb, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:00 GMT

GLENDALE, Calif. (KTLA) - A 22-year-old man accused of leaving a toilet that he claimed was a bomb at the Americana at Brand shopping center in Glendale, California, has been arrested, according to the Glendale Police Department.Timothy Taratchila, of Burbank, was arrested Thursday on allegations that he made a false bomb threat, the GPD said in a news release.(KTLA)According to police, at about 8 p.m. Thursday, Taratchila placed "an object resembling a toilet" at the Americana, along with a note claiming the toilet was a bomb.The shopping center was evacuated until after 11 p.m. when the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department determined the paint-covered toilet was safe.Timothy Taratchila is shown in this mugshot released by the Glendale Police Department on Aug. 25, 2023. Through witnesses and surveillance footage, Taratchila was identified as the person who placed the toilet there, police said. Suspect arrested in Glendale mall toilet bomb threat Taratchila was being held at t...