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Wisconsin Republicans kill legalized pot, stadium repairs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:26 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans voted Tuesday to kill proposals to legalize marijuana, pay for renovations at the Milwaukee Brewers’ stadium and create a paid family leave program, moves that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers derided as “foolish.”The Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget committee killed more than 500 proposals from Evers with a single vote.Evers had proposed tapping the state’s record-high $7 billion budget surplus to pay for a wide array of spending priorities that Republicans ultimately rejected.“These aren’t fringe ideas, controversial concepts, or Republican or Democratic priorities—they’re about doing the right thing,” Evers said on Twitter after listing more than a dozen items being killed. “With a historic surplus comes historic responsibility, and today, when we can afford to do more, this vote is foolish and a wasted opportunity.”The move comes as no surprise after Republicans, who control the state Legislature with large majorities, d...

Wisconsin Supreme Court won’t order ivermectin use for COVID

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:26 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s conservative-controlled Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a hospital could not be forced to give a deworming drug to a patient with COVID-19.The panel ruled 6-1 in favor of Aurora Health Care, with three liberals and three conservatives in support and only conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley dissenting.The decision upholds a lower court’s ruling against Allen Gahl, who sued Aurora in October 2021 when doctors refused to treat his uncle, John Zingsheim, with ivermectin. Gahl was authorized to make medical decisions for Zingsheim and had researched the drug online after Zingsheim was put on a ventilator to treat COVID-19 complications.Ivermectin became popular among conservatives after commentators and even some far-right doctors held up the antiparasitic drug as a miracle cure for the coronavirus and other illnesses. But the Food and Drug Administration has not approved it for use in treating COVID-19 and warns that misusing ivermectin can be ha...

Canadian Pacific hit with violation notice after derailment in Maine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:26 GMT

MONTREAL — State authorities in Maine have hit Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. with a violation notice over fallout from its cleanup efforts after a freight train went off the tracks last month.Officials sent a notice of violation to the railway after heavy construction equipment deployed to access the crash site caused a “significant amount of sediment” to enter local waters in violation of a pollution control law, according to Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection.“Culverts were crushed and dirt has been shifted in and around a number of streams as a result of heavy machinery using the forest management roads,” the department said in a release Friday.Melanie Loyzim, the department’s commissioner, sent a second letter instructing CPKC to implement erosion control measures “immediately.”On April 15 a Canadian Pacific Kansas City train hit a track washout in a wooded area near Moosehead Lake in northwestern Maine, some 220 ki...

‘La Bohème’ in space returns to Paris, 6 years after uproar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:26 GMT

Claus Guth was pleased with initial reaction to his outer space version of Puccini’s “La Bohème” at a special pre-premiere show limited to people under age 28.“They were extremely euphoric,” he said. “It was an amazing performance with standing ovations.”Three nights later at the official opening of the Paris Opéra’s first new “Bohème” in 22 years, a high-profile occasion featuring conductor Gustavo Dudamel’s formal company debut, the response was far different.“The real premiere was bizarre because some people freaked out so early that Dudamel had to stop conducting once because there was just too much booing,” Guth recalled.That uproar on Dec. 1, 2017, weighed on the German director’s mind when he arrived at the Bastille Opéra last week to supervise the first revival of his staging, which opens Tuesday night for a run of 12 performances through June 4.Soprano Ailyn Pérez takes over as the terminally ill seamstress Mimì, tenor Joshua Guerrero is the poet Rodolfo and Michele Mariott...

Media coalition challenges gag order again in Idaho slayings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:26 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A coalition of 30 news organizations launched another effort Monday to get a gag order lifted in the criminal case of a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. The coalition, which includes The Associated Press, had asked the Idaho Supreme Court earlier this year to reject the gag order issued in the criminal case against Bryan Kohberger, contending it violates the First Amendment rights of a free press. The order prohibits attorneys, prosecutors, law enforcement agencies and others involved in the case from talking to the news media unless they are quoting directly from a court document. But last week the Idaho Supreme Court unanimously denied the request, saying the news groups should have first asked the lower court to have the order lifted. The Supreme Court justices did not weigh in on whether the gag order violates First Amendment rights. “This Court has long respected the media’s role in our constitutional republic, and honored ...

Stock market today: Dow drops 500 as banks tumble again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling Tuesday as shares of beleaguered banks tumble again and worries about the economy worsen.Rising fear has yields sinking in the bond market, while Wall Street waits for the Federal Reserve’s latest move on interest rates and Washington edges closer to what would be a catastrophic default on U.S. government debt.The S&P 500 was 1.5% lower and on pace for its worst day in nearly two months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 481 points, or 1.4%, at 33,569, as of 1:02 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% lower.Some of the sharpest drops came from smaller- and mid-sized banks, which have been under heavy scrutiny as the banking system shows cracks under the weight of much higher interest rates. PacWest Bancorp dropped 25%, Western Alliance Bancorp fell 19% and Zions Bancorp. dropped 12.4%. Three of the four largest U.S. bank failures in history have come since March, and investors have been on the hunt for what could be next...

No bond for Downers Grove coach accused of possessing child porn for over 10 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:26 GMT

CHICAGO — No bond was granted for a Downers Grove South track coach accused of possessing child pornography for at least 10 years.Glen Messmer appeared in a dark green jumpsuit inside the Dirksen Federal Court Building Tuesday morning as his attorneys argued he should be released on bond to his parents house with special conditions.The judge sided with the federal government and Messmer will stay in federal custody until his trial. Prosecutors said an additional charge of child pornography production could be added. He is currently facing a child pornography possession charge.Last week, Messmer was taken into custody after agents served a search warrant at his parents home in Downers Grove. Previous: Downers Grove South High School coach arrested on child pornography charge In an interview, he told authorities he solicited between 30 to 60 underage girls for nude photos on Snapchat and paid a total of $2,000 to them, according to the court documents.District 99 stressed he was not...

Shirtless state senator votes from bed during Zoom meeting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:26 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota state senator became a reluctant star on social media after he voted shirtless while lying in bed during what should have been a routine legislative commission meeting.In a video streamed on YouTube, Republican Sen. Calvin Bahr, of East Bethel, can briefly be seen voting — with a School House Rock “I’m Just a Bill” character on the wall behind him — during a Zoom call on Monday with the Legislative Audit Commission. Federal judge rules Pennsylvania school district must allow After School Satan Club After voting, Bahr quickly turned the camera off, leaving a black screen showing just his name.A GOP Senate spokeswoman said Bahr, a truck driver, worked until 4:45 a.m. and then went to bed before Monday's meeting. She said he would not comment on the vote or the video. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.The video prompted several memes and social commentary before comments were turned off.

AP source: Packers extend QB Jordan Love's deal through 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:26 GMT

The Green Bay Packers and quarterback Jordan Love have agreed to terms on a one-year contract extension that makes his deal run through 2024, according to a person familiar with the situation.The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the extension hasn’t been announced.Although the person didn’t reveal terms, ESPN and NFL Network reported that the extension included $13.5 million in guaranteed money and could be worth up to $22.5 million.The extension comes as Love prepares for his first season as the Packers’ starting quarterback following last week’s trade of four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets.Tuesday marked the deadline day for teams to decide whether to pick up the fifth-year options on contracts for their 2020 first-round draft picks. The fifth-year option on Love’s deal would have been worth about $20.3 million.Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst had been asked Saturday after the draft about the option and that coming dead...

WATCH LIVE | Chicago expands Divvy bikeshare system

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:26 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) is set to make a "major announcement" regarding the expansion of, and additions to, the city's Divvy bikeshare system.The announcement is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon and will involve CDOT, community partners, and Lyft, the operator of Divvy, according to a press release. FBI: Armored truck robbed in Homewood; bank robbed on North Side The event comes as May gets underway, marking National Bike Month and a turn towards warmer weather, and thus an increase in cyclists on the roadways.WGN plans to livestream the announcement within this story beginning at approximately 1 p.m.