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Ohio abortion rights backers submit nearly double needed signatures for fall ballot measure

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:42 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Groups hoping to enshrine abortion rights in Ohio’s constitution delivered nearly double the number of signatures needed to place an amendment on the statewide ballot this fall, aiming to signal sweeping widespread support for an issue that still faces the threat of needing a significantly increased victory margin.Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights said they dropped off more than 700,000 petition signatures on Wednesday to Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office in downtown Columbus. LaRose now will work with local election boards to determine that at least 413,446 signatures are valid, which would get the proposal onto the Nov. 7 ballot.“Today, we take a huge step forward in the fight for abortion access and reproductive freedom for all, to ensure that Ohioans and their families can make their own health care decisions without government interference,” Lauren Blauvelt and Kellie Copeland of Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, a c...

Germany’s top court blocks a parliament vote on a contentious bill to replace heat sources in homes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:42 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s highest court on Wednesday blocked government plans to hold a vote in parliament this week on a contentious plan to encourage home owners to replace fossil fuel heating systems with cleaner alternatives.The Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling denies Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition the chance to move on quickly from a dispute over a key climate policy plan that has dragged it down in polls in recent months.The government had hoped to get the legislation through parliament on Friday, the last day before its summer recess. But the court issued an injunction blocking parliament from considering it this week, ruling in favor of a lawmaker from the main conservative opposition bloc who argued that his rights as a lawmaker would be violated by it being pushed through without an opportunity for more detailed consideration.The two junior partners in the center-left Scholz’s coalition, the environmentalist Greens and the pro-bus...

A bus careens into a gulch in southern Mexico, killing 29 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:42 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A passenger bus lost control and veered off a road and into a 75-foot-deep (25 meter-deep) gully in southern Mexico early Wednesday, killing at least 29 passengers, officials said. The crash occurred in the largely indigenous Mixteca region of the southern state of Oaxaca. The state’s interior secretary, Jesús Romero, said 27 people had died in the crash, including a 1 1/2-year-old toddler. He said that about 20 people were injured in the accident, some very seriously.His office later said the death toll had increased to 29, after two victims died from their injures at a hospital. Romero said the bus driver apparently lost control of the vehicle and plunged into the gully. “It appears that a lack of skill and tiredness caused the accident,” Romero said in remarks to a local television station.Photos distributed by police suggesting the bus had flipped over, totally crushing the passenger compartment.The bus set out from Mexico City to carry passengers to a n...

Thousands of Israelis cripple Tel Aviv highway to support police chief ousted by Netanyahu ally

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:42 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Thousands of protesters on Wednesday blocked Tel Aviv’s main highway and major roads and intersections across Israel in a spontaneous outburst of anger following the forced resignation of the city’s popular police chief. Ami Eshed announced late Wednesday that he was leaving the Israeli police force under what he said was political pressure. Eshed has regularly clashed with the country’s hard-line national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has demanded that police take a tougher stance against months of anti-government protests. “I am paying an intolerably heavy personal price for my choice to avert a civil war,” Eshed said.Thousands of people blocked the Ayalon Highway, halting traffic on the normally bustling thruway. The protesters, many holding blue and white Israeli flags, blew horns, danced in the street and lit multiple bonfires. Police, some mounted on horseback, attempted to push back the crowds, at times using a water cannon....

Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued for Cook, Jasper, Kankakee, Lake, & Porter County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:42 GMT

7:14 p.m. -- The National Weather Service in Chicago has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Cook, Jasper, Kankakee, Lake, and Porter County until 8 p.m. Wednesday.Skilling: Thunderstorms, possible hail Wednesday nightDownpours and storm-generated wind gusts with the potential for some hail are to accompany some t-storms into Wednesday evening. A few may become severe. But, a huge, well organized upper wind band which lead to a widespread outbreak of severe storms isn't in place. So the storms which blossom in this environment will be left to tap the energy stored in the humid air—what is known as "Latent heat energy". Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Make no mistake, storms which feed off latent heat energy absent powerful wind fields aloft are more than capable of generating their own powerful wind gusts and they can produce damage. They don't, however, tend to take on the widespread damaging character of the derecho which swept downstate Illinois last Friday...

Many in northern suburbs spend holiday weekend without safe drinking water

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:42 GMT

HAWTHRONE WOODS, Ill. — A boil order remains in some parts of Chicago's northern suburbs as residents in Hawthorne Woods, Forest Lake, and portions of Kildeer struggle without safe drinking water.Now reaching day four, locals told WGN that they continue to struggle with the inconvenience that began on Sunday, in addition to the closure of the local aquatic area.  "There was no communication on whether you could run dishwashers or not, and there was mixed communication, like, 'Don't use the water to brush your teeth,' but in the same email, 'Make sure you turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth to not waste it," said Hawthorn Woods resident Rick Epstein. New Illinois law allows hotels to throw out unruly guests Epstein is among 1,200 deeply frustrated customers in three Chicago suburbs impacted by the water issue. Residents say they have complained about what they say has been a failure to communicate promptly since the boil order went into effect.Epstein and many othe...

Father speaks out as search for 2-year-old continues, $25K reward offered

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:42 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) - Authorities are continuing to search near freeways and in wooded areas around Lansing, Michigan for any sign of 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith, who has been missing since Sunday.Cole-Smith was abducted Sunday night after her mother was stabbed and physically assaulted, police said earlier this week. A suspect, 26-year-old Rashad Maleek Trice of Detroit, was arraigned Wednesday on multiple charges, including assault with intent to murder and aggravated domestic violence. Trice, the woman's former boyfriend, has also been accused of kidnapping Cole-Smith. Authorities say Trice stole the woman's car, taking Cole-Smith with him, and drove from Lansing to metro Detroit. While Trice is in custody, police say the 2-year-old girl wasn't in the car when he was arrested. Now, Cole-Smith's father says he is just trying his best to stay strong day by day. He tells Nexstar's WLNS he is sure he will see Wynter again. "I miss my baby, I miss her. I miss her so much. It's real...

IRS issues 'last call' for taxpayers to claim $1.5B in 2019 refunds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:42 GMT

(The Hill) - The IRS has issued a “last call” for U.S. taxpayers to file for roughly $1.5 billion in unclaimed refunds from the 2019 tax year.The agency estimates that around 1.5 million people are eligible to claim a combined nearly $1.5 billion in outstanding refunds, with the average median refund estimated at $893.The deadline to submit a tax return for 2019 and claim the refunds is July 17. "Time is running out for people owed a tax refund in 2019,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a news release, which stressed that the deadline is "rapidly approaching."The IRS chief urged anyone “who may have overlooked filing” during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic “to act quickly before they lose their final chance to claim a potentially substantial refund." Honda recalling 124K cars over possible brake failure Taxpayers had "more time than usual" to claim refunds for the 2019 tax year because of the pandemic, the agency noted, with the deadline extended a few months p...

South Austin had the most fireworks complaints over Fourth of July holiday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin 311 received almost 1,000 calls complaining about fireworks over the Fourth of July holiday, data shows.Between 12 a.m. on July 2 and 6 a.m. on July 5, Austin 311 received a total of 929 firework-related service requests, according to data obtained by KXAN.The majority of those — 699 — were on the Fourth of July itself, while 106 were in the early morning hours of July 5. A further 99 calls were on July 3.A breakdown by zip code shows a concentration of calls in south Austin. One hundred calls were received from the 78748 zip code alone, and 60 came from neighboring 78745.East Austin's 78741 had the third most calls, with 51 in total.At least one complaint was received from 41 zip codes over the holiday period.

Black artists at Belwin Conservancy challenge racial stereotypes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:42 GMT

Belwin Conservancy welcomed Tomas Alvarez and Whitney Terrill as artists in residence this June.The Conservancy partnered with the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum and Gallery to create a residency for local Black artists interested in connecting with nature and creating art. Alvarez and Terrill shared a private studio at Belwin for study, work, meditation and creating art during the month of June. Both artists received a $1500 stipend.“We believe nature belongs to everyone and we are seeking to change the narrative that Black people ‘don’t do the outdoors,’” Tina Burnside, co-founder and curator of MAAHMG said in a press release. “We hope this residency will play a role in Blacks reclaiming outdoor spaces.”Terrill, originally from Minneapolis, focuses on painting, photography and printmaking. Her works often feature topics such as the environment, gender, faith and her African faith.Minnesota photographer Thomas Alvarez at the Belwin Conservancy. (Courtesy of Belwin Conse...