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North Carolina governor says GOP teacher pay, voucher plans a public education ‘disaster’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:30:24 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper launched a campaign Monday to try to beat back education and tax legislation from the Republican-controlled General Assembly that he said if enacted would crush North Carolina’s public schools and wobble the state’s economic future. “It’s clear that the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life out of public education,” Cooper said in a recorded speech released Monday. He urged voters to “take immediate action and tell them to stop the damage that will set back our schools for a generation.”In his video address, Cooper said he’s “declaring this a state of emergency” for public education but pointed out it was not an official order. He called on residents to encourage their legislators to reject a spate of GOP-backed education bills in the final weeks of the chief work period for this year’s legislative session. The legislature’s agenda for the coming weeks includes passing a state budget for the year st...

Rick Hummel, esteemed St Louis-based baseball writer, dies at 77

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:30:24 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Rick Hummel, an esteemed writer who covered the St. Louis Cardinals and Major League Baseball for five decades for the Post-Dispatch until his retirement last year, has died. He was 77.Hummel died in his sleep at his St. Louis-area home early Saturday after a short, aggressive illness, the Post-Dispatch said Monday.“St Louis lost a legend in Rick Hummel,” Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright said on Twitter. “Always fair. Always in a good mood. Always wearing some kind of goofy hat and mismatched pants that made me smile. The respect and trust he earned from players is a rare thing in our world. … Still taking hand written notes that are impossible to read, and never misquoting. Still looking for the best in people and writing the truth.”Hummel was nicknamed “The Commish” for running an American Professional Baseball Association board game with colleagues, and the moniker became so widespread throughout baseball that even baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred a...

UN urges Sudan’s warring parties to honor 7-day cease-fire that began Monday night

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:30:24 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. envoy for Sudan urged the country’s warring generals to honor a seven-day cease-fire that began Monday night, warning the growing ethnic dimension to the fighting risks engulfing Sudan in a prolonged conflict.Volker Perthes told the U.N. Security Council that the conflict, which began April 15, has shown no signs of slowing down despite six previous declarations of cease-fires by both sides. All the previous truces have been violated.Monday’s cease-fire is the seventh to be announced since the conflict between the Sudanese army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, broke out last month. Speaking hours before the cease-fire began, Perthes called on both sides to stop the fighting so that desperately needed humanitarian aid can get to those in need and civilians caught in the fighting can leave safely.The violence has been most severe in Khartoum and the western Darfur region, where the ...

Breakthrough proposal would aid drought-stricken Colorado River as 3 Western states offer cuts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:30:24 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Arizona, California and Nevada on Monday proposed a plan to significantly reduce their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River over the next three years, a potential breakthrough in a year-long stalemate that pitted Western states against one another.The plan would conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of water through 2026, when current guidelines for how the river is shared expire. About half the cuts would come by the end of 2024. That’s less than what federal officials said last year would be needed to stave off crisis in the river but still marks a notable step in long and difficult negotiations between the three states.The 1,450-mile (2,334-kilometer) river provides water to 40 million people in seven U.S. states, parts of Mexico and more than two dozen Native American tribes. It produces hydropower and supplies water to farms that grow most of the nation’s winter vegetables. In exchange for temporarily using less water, cities, irr...

Stock market today: Wall Street ends mixed ahead of talks to avoid U.S. default

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:30:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks drifted to a mixed close as Wall Street waits to see whether a pivotal meeting later in the day will help the U.S. government avoid a potentially disastrous default on its debt. The S&P 500 closed little changed Monday. The Dow slipped 0.4% and the Nasdaq rose 0.5%. Big Tech was continuing its strong run for the year so far, including Meta Platforms. Even a record fine from the European Union couldn’t slow it. Micron Technology was on the losing end after China accused its products of risking national security amid high tensions between Washington and Beijing. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are moving tentatively Monday, as Wall Street waits to see whether a pivotal meeting later in the day will help the U.S. government avoid a potentially disastrous default on its debt.The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher after coming off its best week since March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 67 points, or ...

Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano spewing ash and gas closes schools

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:30:24 GMT

SANTIAGO XALITZINTLA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano spewed gas, smoke and ash Monday, leading education authorities to suspend in-person classes in parts of three states, a day after the government raised the warning level on the volcano’s activity.Activity at the 17,797-foot (5,425-meter) mountain just 45 miles (about 70 kilometers) southeast of Mexico City and known affectionately as “El Popo” has increased over the past week. Evacuations have not been ordered, but authorities were preparing for that scenario and telling people to stay out of 7.5-mile (12-kilometer) radius around the peak.In Santiago Xalitzintla, one of the communities closest to the crater, alerts and preparation are regular and most people were going about their normal business Monday. An extremely fine ash was falling and was visible on vehicles’ windshields.Job Amalco, a driver, said it was normal. “It doesn’t scare us. We’re spectators of what nature gives us,” he said proudly.But anxiety was be...

Nothing found after Evanston Whole Foods evacuated over lunchtime bomb threat

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:30:24 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — An 'all clear' has been given by Evanston police investigating a lunchtime bomb threat at a downtown Whole Foods on Monday. According to police, an employee of Whole Foods, located in the 1600 block of Chicago Ave., received a call that bomb had been placed inside the store. The building was evacuated and road closures were implemented on Chicago Avenue and Church Street.MORE EVANSTON NEWS: From ‘Cats to Colts: 2 Former Northwestern players are ready to make an impact in the NFLAuthorities, including the Cook County Sheriff's Department Bomb Squad and K9 dog/handler team, canvassed the area but the threat was unfounded. Police cleared the scene just after 1:20 p.m. All traffic restrictions were lifted. Chicago man charged after attempted kidnapping in Evanston An investigation is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is asked to call the police at (847) 866-5040, FBI Chicago at (312) 421-6700, or Text-A-Tip to CRIMES (274637) with EPDTIP.SkyCam 9 flew above...

North Chicago man killed in alleged targeted shooting identified

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:30:24 GMT

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. — Police in North Chicago on Monday released the name of a 42-year-old man shot to death in what the department called a "targeted shooting."According to police, officers responded to a report of shots fired in the 1400 block of Cypress Avenue around 7:35 p.m. Saturday. Officers found two men suffering from gunshot wounds outside of a home on the block. The 42-year-old, later identified as Thomas Binford, was rushed to Vista East Medical Center in Waukegan, where he was pronounced deceased. The 18-year-old man was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesPolice said the shooters fled from the scene. An investigation is ongoing.Anyone with information is asked to contact North Chicago police.

School may have violated students' rights with book removals: Education Department

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:30:24 GMT

(The Hill) - The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on Friday announced that a Georgia school district may have violated students’ civil rights by removing books that contained characters who were people of color or LGBTQ. The office said it concluded its investigation into Forsyth County School District after the school put restrictions on more than a dozen books in 2022 due to parents’ complaints. The department reviewed documents between the district and parents and meetings regarding the book removals, and it interviewed staff from the school.  The OCR said the issue started at the beginning of last year after a parent group alleged sexually explicit books were on the library shelves and offered solutions such as removing books, shelving LGBTQ books in a separate part of the school library or making students have signed permission slips before checking out certain books in the library. Forsyth County Schools rejected all those proposals, say...

'Dead-suspect loophole' bill passes Texas Senate

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:30:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A bill that would eliminate a disputed loophole police use to block the release of records in cases where a suspect is killed made it another step closer to becoming law Monday when the Senate passed an amended version in a third and final reading.House Bill 30, by state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, would end the so-called dead-suspect loophole, which law enforcement departments can use to block records in cases that haven’t gone through the court process, such as when a suspect is killed during an arrest. The exemption rose to prominence – again – last year when Uvalde officials used it to block the release of records and video that would have shed light on law enforcement’s response to the Uvalde elementary school mass murder. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: As Uvalde anniversary nears, ‘dead suspect loophole’ closer to an end Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, sponsored the bill in the senate and carried the committee substitute.“Part of the reason we are doing this is for transp...