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Black lawmakers press Justice and Education Departments to investigate Florida’s race curriculum

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:13:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Black Caucus is pushing the White House, Justice Department and the Department of Education to adopt an “aggressive legal strategy” to scrutinize recent changes to Florida’s Black history curriculum.The caucus wants the federal agencies to examine whether Florida school districts are violating federal discrimination law following changes to the curriculum in the state — from banning books covering racial themes to a recent decision to add language about the positive impacts of slavery.Caucus Chairman, Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford said at a Thursday press conference he met with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona this week to discuss actions that might be taken. He added that “we have discussed with the White House the need to have a very aggressive legal strategy to want to uphold the law.” However, lawmakers did not lay out the specifics on how the departments might use use their resources.The departments have a number of tools. In June, the ...

Angels say they won’t trade Shohei Ohtani. He celebrates with a 1-hitter, 2 homers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:13:14 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Shohei Ohtani looked his manager in the eye and in just a few words, left no doubt of his intentions.“I’ll finish it,” Los Angeles Angels manager Phil Nevin recalled Ohtani telling him after the eighth inning of what became his first complete game in Major League Baseball. “He wanted it. I could see it, too.”Ohtani polished off his one-hit shutout of the Detroit Tigers, then continued his extraordinary day in the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader, hitting two homers to increase his major league-leading total to 38 before leaving the game with cramps.The two-way superstar became the first player in major league history to throw a shutout in one half a doubleheader and hit one homer — much less two — in the other.Hours before Ohtani delivered the message to his manager, the Angels delivered one of their own.The franchise, desperate to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014, made a win-now trade to bolster its pitching staff and confirmed that Ohtani ...

Biden dispatches top adviser for talks with Saudi crown prince on normalizing relations with Israel

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:13:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden dispatched his national security adviser Jake Sullivan to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks with the kingdom’s de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the White House pushes for a normalization of relations between the country and Israel. The White House in a brief statement said that Sullivan arrived in Jeddah on Thursday for talks with the crown prince, who is often referred to by his initial MBS, and other Saudi officials. The wide-ranging talks covered initiatives to “advance a common vision for a more peaceful, secure, prosperous, and stable Middle East,” and efforts to find a permanent end to the years-long conflict between the Saudis and Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen, according to the White House.Sullivan and MBS also discussed the Biden administration’s hopes to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to a White House National Security Council official familiar with the matter. The off...

Help for Huntley: Fundraiser concert set for boy thrown from Antioch carnival ride

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:13:14 GMT

ANTIOCH, Ill. — An upcoming concert in Antioch will raise money for a 10-year-old boy thrown from a carnival ride.  On Aug. 10, a summer concert from rock cover band 'Mike and Joe,' will serve as a fundraiser for the family of Huntley Daniels, who suffered severe injuries at Taste of Antioch earlier this month. The planned fundraiser is part of a summer concert series held Thursday nights beginning at 7 p.m. at the Antioch Bandshell at the William E. Brook Entertainment Center in the 900 block of Skidmore Drive. Family speaks out after 10-year-old boy flung from Antioch carnival ride Huntley slipped through his harness on the 'Moby Dick' ride and was flung from the attraction. Huntley suffered multiple facial and jaw fractures and significant injuries to the bones in one of his legs.His injuries are considered to be life-threatening.An investigation into the July 16 incident is ongoing. Officials said it could take months before their findings are revealed. Child thrown from ca...

Loretto Hospital workers 'poised' to strike on Monday

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:13:14 GMT

CHICAGO — Hundreds of workers at a West Side hospital say they're ready to walk off the job. SEIU Healthcare Illinois, the union representing employees at Loretto Hospital, said Thursday that contract talks have stalled.PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Loretto Hospital workers announce strike notice"We are poised to strike on Monday, despite our best attempts to negotiate and get through to Loretto management, they walked away from the table yesterday," said Erica Bland, executive vice president for SEIU.The July 26 negotiations without an agreement. Three bargaining sessions were scheduled for late July in hopes that a strike could be avoided.The union representing the hospital's frontline service, care, and technical workers accuses Loretto administrators of stonewalling at the bargaining table. The hospital has offered pay raises and more personal days, but they argue the union's demands are unsustainable. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesIf a deal isn’t reached...

Trump charged with trying to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage in new indictment

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:13:14 GMT

(The Hill) — The Justice Department is accusing former President Trump of attempting to delete surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago property in a new superseding indictment filed in the classified records case on Thursday. DOJ says Trump acted with a new co-conspirator to try to delete the footage, and also charged him with an additional Espionage Act charge.  READ: Superseding indictment says Trump team tried to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage The superseding indictment brings to 42 the total number of counts facing the former president.It accuses Trump of acting with Carlos de Oliveira, the property manager of the hotel, and Trump’s other co-defendant Walt Nauta, with trying to delete the footage.This is a developing story.

How scammers are using 'Barbie' craze to steal personal information

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:13:14 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – After a massive opening weekend, the buzz around "Barbie" is seemingly everywhere – but experts say scammers are also enjoying the blockbuster's popularity."Cybercriminals are always on the lookout for opportunities to make phishing and other scams more attractive and believable,” said Steve Grobman, CTO of McAfee, in a news release a week ago. “They often leverage popular and well-publicized events such as movie premieres, concerts, or sporting events to trick users into clicking on malicious links." Map shows which areas of the US will be underwater in 2050 McAfee has detected dozens of malware files with Barbie-related names this month, with 37 percent in the U.S. Some phishing attempts are disguised as a "Barbie"-related video that contains a link directing potential victims to a Discord server or another website. There, they are promised fake tickets or otherwise convinced to download a file that turns out to be malware. In some cases, McAfee says, that malware is...

Oregon mom breaks world record for largest breast milk donation, helps others

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:13:14 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – An Oregon mother who recently broke the Guinness World Record for the largest breast milk donation is being hailed a hero for helping hundreds of families around the world.Elisabeth Anderson-Sierra, of Aloha, said she never expected to break the record, noting, "It used to be kind of a running joke, but then I went through with it and here it is.”Anderson-Sierra has a rare medical condition, hyper-lactation syndrome, which she explains, causes her body to produce a surplus of milk - producing breast milk for nine years and averaging 200 ounces a day.“It started in 2014, and I wasn’t sure what was going on at first and my medical team did a lot of testing to identify and diagnose and then it was a large learning process from there, just learning how to handle and manage this condition," Anderson-Sierra said.She added, "My body does whatever it takes to make this amount of breast milk, and it’s very taxing. And any pumping or nursing problems that any mom can e...

No Trump Jan. 6 indictment expected Thursday: court official

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:13:14 GMT

Former President Trump is not expected to be indicted Thursday in connection with the federal investigation probing his efforts to block the transition of power following the 2020 election, according to a court official.The official said no indictments were returned and none were expected for the remainder of the day in D.C.’s federal district court, where the grand jury has been meeting to review evidence in special counsel Jack Smith’s probe.The grand jury met Thursday, and jurors appear to still be inside the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington behind closed doors.It remains unclear when the grand jury would convene again. It has tended to meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays.Earlier in the day, Trump’s attorneys met with members of Smith’s office to discuss the investigation. A similar meeting occurred just days before when Trump was indicted in Florida in connection with his handling of classified documents.“My attorneys had a productive meeting with the DOJ ...

Austin council member wants to make zoos, aquariums safer following recent incidents

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:13:14 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) –  After hearing from several concerned constituents regarding the Austin Aquarium, Council Member Mackenzie Kelly – who represents District 6 where the business is located – said she is working on a resolution to potentially change relevant city code to make things safer at facilities with wild animals. In the last couple of years, there have been at least a couple of incidents where people were reportedly injured while interacting with lemurs. The Austin Aquarium touts on its website that “the Austin and San Antonio Aquariums are the only facilities in the United States where guests can interact and pet lemurs.” MORE: Woman says lemur attacked her at Austin Aquarium Further, Kelly said constituents have expressed concerns about how animals are treated at the facility. Charmaine Dickerson said a lemur attacked her during an interactive experience at the Austin Aquarium. (KXAN)“[The Austin Aquarium] is in my district. I need to be responsive to people ...