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Supreme Court voting rights ruling stuns minority voters, who hope it expands their representation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — This week’s Supreme Court decision ordering Alabama to redraw its congressional districts was seen by many minority lawmakers and voting rights activists as a stunning victory with the potential to become a major stepping stone for undoing political maps that dilute the strength of communities of color.Hank Sanders, a former Alabama state lawmaker who has long been politically active in the state, knew there would be a decision since the court heard arguments in the case last fall. He was not anticipating being happy with the outcome, given that previous rulings of the conservative-leaning court had essentially gutted some of its most important provisions.“I was afraid they were going to go ahead and wipe out section 2,” he said, referring to the part of the Voting Rights Act at stake in the Alabama case.He was at his law office Thursday in Selma, scene of one of the most pivotal moments in the Civil Rights Movement, when news of the 5-4 ruling in favor...

Judge weighs challenge to gag order in University of Idaho killings

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:00 GMT

A judge overseeing the case against Bryan Kohberger, charged with killing four University of Idaho students last fall, is set to hear arguments Friday over a gag order that largely bars attorneys and other parties in the case from speaking with news reporters. A coalition of more than 30 media organizations has challenged the order, saying it violates the Constitution’s guarantees of free speech and a free press, as has a lawyer for one of the victim’s families. But prosecutors and the defendant’s lawyers insist it’s needed to prevent prejudicial news coverage that could damage Kohberger’s right to a fair trial.“It remains appropriate to have an Order reminding lawyers and their agents of the rules of engagement in this country and that we try cases in court, not in the press,” one of Kohberger’s attorneys, Jay Weston Logsdon, wrote in a memo to the court this week.Kohberger, 28, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary in connect...

Speaker McCarthy eyes new commission to tackle nation’s debt, but many Democrats are wary

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is studying the history books and considering the appointment of a mix of lawmakers and business leaders as he lays the groundwork for a new commission to tackle the nation’s growing debt.McCarthy is fresh off his biggest political victory since becoming speaker in January. He got the White House to negotiate on a bill that suspends the debt ceiling into January 2025 while also producing a projected $1.5 trillion in deficit savings over the coming decade. But the legislation only focused on a sliver of the federal spending that occurs each year and excluded programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that account for the majority of government spending and are the biggest drivers of the debt. McCarthy has embraced the idea of establishing a new fiscal commission to find additional deficit reduction. While similar commissions have notched success in the past, the most recent ones failed to muster enough support for Cong...

Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise, lifted by bull market on Wall Street

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:00 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Friday, led by a jump on the Tokyo Stock Exchange where share prices got a boost of optimism from a new bull market on Wall Street. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 1.8% in morning trading to 32,217.76. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.4% to 7,126.50. South Korea’s Kospi added 0.9% to 2,634.96. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.3% to 19,352.59. The Shanghai Composite inched up less than 0.1% to 3,215.62. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to carry it 20% above the bottom it hit in October. That means Wall Street’s main measure of health has climbed out of a painful bear market, which saw it drop 25.4% over roughly nine months.The arrival of a bull market also doesn’t mean the stock market has made it back to its prior heights. A 25% drop for the S&P 500 requires a 33% rally just to get back to even. In Thursday’s trading, the S&P 500 rose 26.41 points to 4,293.93. The Dow gained 0.5% to 33,833.6...

In this youth baseball league, fans who mistreat umpires are sentenced to do the job themselves

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:00 GMT

DEPTFORD, N.J. (AP) — The April Facebook post hardly seemed like national news at the time for Deptford Little League president Don Bozzuffi. He’d lost patience when two umpires resigned in the wake of persistent spectator abuse. So he wrote an updated code of conduct.It specified: Any spectator deemed in violation would be banned from the complex until three umpiring assignments were completed. If not, the person would be barred from any Deptford youth sports facilities for a year.In G-rated terms (unlike the ones that will get you tossed), the mandate just wants helicopter parents to calm the heck down. No 9-year-old will remember, as an adult, being safe or out on a bang-bang play at first. But how deep would be the cut of watching dad get tossed out of the game and banished for bad behavior?The league doesn’t want to find out. “So far, it’s working like I’d hoped and just been a deterrent,” the 68-year-old Bozzuffi said.The problem, though, isn’t limited to Deptford and its hand...

Trump indicted in classified documents case in a historic first for a former president

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:00 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Donald Trump has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, a remarkable development that makes him the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal charges by the federal government that he once oversaw.The Justice Department was expected to make public a seven-count indictment ahead of a historic court appearance next week in the midst of a 2024 presidential campaign punctuated by criminal prosecutions in multiple states.The indictment carries unmistakably grave legal consequences, including the possibility of prison if Trump’s convicted. But it also has enormous political implications, potentially upending a Republican presidential primary that Trump had been dominating and testing anew the willingness of GOP voters and party leaders to stick with a now twice-indicted candidate who could face still more charges. And it sets the stage for a sensational trial centered on claims that a man once entrusted to safeg...

Expanding Drought, Warmth Saturday, Rain and Cool-Down Sunday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:00 GMT

Concert review: The Cure’s Robert Smith gave ageless performance at the X that left the crowd glowing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:00 GMT

Something was missing from the Cure’s concert Thursday night at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center — overpriced tickets.That’s solely because lead singer Robert Smith, 64, took on Ticketmaster and won. Smith insisted that Ticketmaster not use dynamic pricing on the tour, and forced the ticketing giant to partially refund some of the company’s infamous fees. He also convinced Ticketmaster to limit any resale tickets to face value.Robert Smith did that. Not Taylor Swift or Bruce Springsteen or Beyonce, but Robert Smith. The elderly goth with the smeared lipstick and fright wig hairdo.Smith’s doggedness on this topic likely added to the festive mood of the near-capacity crowd, who cheered throughout the nearly three-hour concert (and probably nabbed some extra merch due to the cheap seats).In some ways, the show was quite similar to the Cure’s previous show at the X in 2016, which was the group’s first Minnesota show in 20 years. Smith and com...

Lead pipe removal begins in Troy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:00 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The city of Troy making progress removing the lead pipes, breaking ground on the project earlier this week. NEWS10 has the latest on how the clean water is flowing. Large police presence seen at Hawthorne Avenue home “It’s all about working together to get the job done and to ensure safe drinking water for the people of Troy,” said City Council President Carmella Mantello.People in Troy are starting to get lead-free pipes. Those who live near the corner of Adam’s Street and 4th Street are some of the first to have the new service lines.“It started yesterday and we're on number five We have a long way to go but we're online about two or three a day,” said Chris Wheland the Superintendent of Public Utilities.The entire project is expected to cost between 30 to 40 million dollars, and it could take up to 10 years to complete.  But the city needs its residents to help with the inventory in order to apply for more federal funding to help complete the project....

Ventura County woman charged with stealing $250,000 from employer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:00 GMT

A 54-year-old woman from Santa Paula has been arrested for stealing more than a quarter million dollars from her employer over a period of three years, authorities announced earlier this week.  Tina Louise Torres faces 17 felony counts of grand theft and eight felony counts of making, forging and altering documents.  The 54-year-old was employed by Limoneira Federal Credit Union as a manager, with responsibilities that included bookkeeping. “While employed, Torres used her position of trust to embezzle money and forge documents to defraud Limoneira Federal Credit Union,” a news release from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office stated.  Investigators believe that Torres stole over $250,000 from the credit union between Jan. 2016 and Aug. 2019, when her theft was discovered by a company audit and her employment was terminated.  After a lengthy investigation by VCSO’s Major Crimes – Financial Crimes Unit, Torres was arrested in Ojai on June 5. She was booked at the pre-tr...