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Abortion-rights proposal moves a step closer to Ohio ballot

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:29:50 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Backers of a proposal to enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio Constitution can begin collecting the more than 413,000 voter signatures required to put the issue before voters this fall, after the petition cleared another hurdle Monday.The constitutional amendment moves to the signature-gathering phase after the Ohio Ballot Board confirmed the petition language contains only one proposed amendment.Abortion remains legal in the state up to 20 weeks’ gestation, under a judge’s order issued in a lawsuit challenging a ban once cardiac activity can be detected, or around six weeks into pregnancy. The Republican attorney general has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to overturn the stay. The fall ballot proposal would assure access to abortion until what is called viability, when the fetus could survive outside the womb. It also would protect caregivers from being punished for performing the procedure or aiding the process.Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Right...

S&P/TSX composite down almost one per cent; U.S. markets mixed over bank failures

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:29:50 GMT

TORONTO — Worries about the financial system after two recent bank failures saw bank stocks pull U.S. markets mostly down Monday, while Canadian markets fell on weakness in energy and financials. The financial sector took a dive Monday as the closures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank prompted fears about the overall financial system, dragging both Canadian and U.S. markets, said Allan Small, senior investment adviser at iA Private Wealth.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 186.02 points at 19,588.90.Gains in tech helped U.S. markets gain back their morning losses as the day progressed, though a selloff in the last hour brought the Nasdaq’s gains lower while the other main indexes posted small losses.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 90.50 points at 31,819.14. The S&P 500 index was down 5.83 points at 3,855.76, and the Nasdaq composite was up 49.96 points at 11,188.84.Tech shares were buoyed by optimism that the Federal Reserve will be less aggr...

EXPLAINER: What’s the status of the US death penalty?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:29:50 GMT

The first federal capital case tried under President Joe Biden ended with a split among jurors that means the life of an Islamic extremist who killed eight people in a New York City will be spared. It came at a rare federal death penalty trial in a state without the death penalty.That Biden’s Justice Department continued to pursue the death penalty for Sayfullo Saipov, who used a truck to mow down pedestrians and cyclists on a popular bike path, was a surprise to many given Biden’s opposition to capital punishment and his 2016 campaign pledge to end it federally. The jury’s failure to reach a unanimous decision means Saipov receives an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the October 2017 attack.The initial decision to seek the death penalty came under then-President Donald Trump, who tweeted a day after the attack that Saipov “SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!” But Attorney General Merrick Garland, under Biden, gave his prosecutors th...

7 killed in capsized San Diego boats were Mexican migrants

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:29:50 GMT

At least seven of eight people killed when two boats capsized in shallow but turbulent surf off the San Diego coast were Mexican migrants, Mexican officials said Monday.Preliminary identification was based on records found with people’s bodies when they were recovered, the Mexican consulate in San Diego said in a news release. The nationality of the eighth person was unknown.The consulate didn’t provide ages, genders or other information about the people killed in one of the deadliest maritime migrant smuggling operations off U.S. waters. Rescue authorities have said all were adults.A Spanish-speaking woman who called 911 said she was among eight people on a vessel that reached shore and that 15 people were on another boat that overturned. Authorities found two capsized boats in shallow water amid thick fog late Saturday. The Coast Guard suspended its search for remains on Sunday. Survivors may have escaped on land, including the woman who called 911. Authorities did not...

5 dead, 3 wounded in attack on Nicaraguan indigenous group

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:29:50 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Local authorities said Monday that at least five members of a Nicaraguan indigenous group were killed and three others wounded in an attack by suspected settlers over the weekend. Amaru Ruiz, director of the Del Río Foundation, said some of the victims’ bodies were mutilated.Ruiz said the attackers burned 16 houses in the community of Wilu, in northern Nicaragua, on Saturday. The victims belonged to the indigenous Mayangna group. “There has been yet another massacre,” said Ruiz, who believes settlers were responsible.The killings mark the latest chapter in a years-long string of attacks on indigenous people in the area by settlers eager to claim their land. Such killings often go unpunished in Nicaragua, where many of the settlers are former soldiers.The local indigenous regional government of Sauni As said in a statement that “all of the houses in the Wilu community have been burned,” adding that “families have been left without shelter, food or clothing.”T...

Lobster ‘red list’ draws ire, lawsuit from Maine fishers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:29:50 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A coalition representing the Maine lobster industry is suing an aquarium on the other side of the country for recommending seafood customers avoid buying a variety of lobster mostly harvested in their state.Industry groups including Maine Lobstermen’s Association are suing the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California for “defamation,” arguing in a lawsuit filed Monday that their prized catch shouldn’t be on a “red list” published by Seafood Watch, a conservation program it operates.Last year, Seafood Watch put lobster from the U.S. and Canada on its list of seafood to avoid due to the threat posed to rare whales by entanglement in fishing gear used to harvest American lobster, the species that makes up most of the U.S. lobster market.Endangered North American right whales number only about 340 and they’ve declined in recent years.But the lobster industry is arguing to the U.S. District Court in Maine that the aquarium’s recommendation relies on ba...

Biden announces nuclear-powered submarines for Australia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:29:50 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Joe Biden and the leaders of Australia and the United Kingdom on Monday announced that Australia will purchase nuclear-powered attack submarines from the U.S. to modernize its fleet amid growing concern about China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific.Biden flew to San Diego for talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on an 18-month-old nuclear partnership given the acronym AUKUS — for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.The partnership, announced in 2021, enables Australia to access nuclear-powered submarines, which are stealthier and more capable than conventionally powered vessels, as a counterweight to China’s military buildup.Biden stressed that the submarines are “nuclear powered, not nuclear armed.”“These boats will not have any nuclear weapons of any kind of them,” he said at an outdoor ceremony at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, where he was joined by the other leaders. At l...

Exonerated brothers fight to clear name nearly three decades later

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:29:50 GMT

CHICAGO -- Two brothers exonerated after being convicted of murder will have to wait a little longer before being declared officially innocent.Both were allegedly victims of police torture under former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge. Chicago man files class action suit against Buffalo Wild Wings, says boneless wings are just nuggets It’s still not clear why the judge in this case postponed this until later this week. Only sharing she needs more time to research one more thing.What’s clear is that the Henderson brothers, Sean Tyler and Reginald Henderson, are ready to move forward. The brothers were just 17 and 18-years-old when they were convicted in a 1994 murder. Their confessions, they contend, coerced by detectives working under notorious former CPD commander Jon Burge. They were both exonerated and freed in 2021.But their petition to completely clear their names with a Certificate of Innocence (COI).A Certificate of Innocence has been held up over the objec...

New Illinois proposal aims to put the brakes on video conference calls while driving

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:29:50 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois drivers may have to steer clear of Zoom calls while behind the wheel if a new state proposal becomes law. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannulias says House Bill 2431, sponsored by Illinois Rep. Marcus Evans (D-33) and Illinois Sen. Javier Cervantes (D-1) would make the roads safer as the popularity of video conference calls while driving rises. SEE ALSO | Illinois law would ban vaping in public places"We need to take steps to change the culture surrounding distracted driving, which will lead to more responsible drivers and ultimately save lives," Giannulias stated in a release announcing the proposal. "Zooming takes hands, eyes and minds off the focus of driving. Our goal is that a combination of increased education, stronger laws and tougher enforcement will encourage drivers to change bad behaviors for the better."Under the proposal, motorists would still be allowed to participate in video conference calls via a hands-free device or if the v...

Program helps Illinois teen moms earn high school degree

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:29:50 GMT

HARVEY, Ill. -- Only two percent of teenage moms go on to earn college degrees and one local program is working overtime to change that.The drop out rate for teen moms is staggering, as they are thrust into a full time parenting role, often times without the support needed to finish high school.In Harvey, there is a small tucked away building doing big things for young moms and their babies. Taste of Chicago to be held in September in Grant Park The Blanche Foxworthy Infant Care Center and Teen Parent Program provides toddlers and their young mothers with the support needed.A young mother planned on dropping out of high school initially after having her baby because she didn't know how she would juggle being a student and being a mom."I had my daughter at 15-years-old which was sophomore year," Makiyah Hampton with the Thorton Township Teen Parent Program said."It was hard. It was a struggle, especially having a daughter at that young of an age."Infant Care Center Director, Candic...