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Government shutdown risk spikes as House Republicans leave town in disarray amid hard-right revolt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — With House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s latest funding plan in ruins and lawmakers leaving town for the weekend, there’s no endgame in sight as hard-right Republicans push dangerously closer to a disruptive federal shutdown.The White House will tell federal agencies on Friday to prepare for a shutdown, according to an official with the Office of Management and Budget who insisted on anonymity to discuss the upcoming instructions. That’s standard seven days out from a federal disruption.The Republican McCarthy has repeatedly tried to appease his hard-right flank by agreeing to the steep spending cuts they are demanding to keep government open. But cheered on by Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for president in 2024, the conservatives have all but seized control in dramatic fashion. In a crushing defeat Thursday, five Republican hardliners blocked a typically popular defense bill from advancing — the second time this week it was set back, an un...

Police seek suspect in hate-motivated assault

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:58 GMT

Toronto police have released images of a suspect being sought in a hate-motivated assault investigation.Police say it happened on Wednesday in the Yonge Street and Park Home Avenue area. Two people were walking on the concourse level of 5150 Yonge Street when the suspect ran towards them from behind and pushed them.He then allegedly began assaulting them while making racial comments.“The suspect made comments suggesting the assaults were motivated by hate,” police said in a release Thursday.Police are seeking this man in connection to a have-motivated attack investigation. Toronto police.The suspect then changed some of his clothing and fled.He’s described as being clean-shaven, with a shaved head.He was originally wearing a black hoodie, grey track pants, and black flip-flops and was carrying a black backpack.He then changed his clothing and was last seen wearing a brown hoodie, black shorts, black runners and carrying the same backpack.“After consultation w...

Wisconsin Republicans propose impeaching top elections official after disputed vote to fire her

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:58 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A group of Republican Wisconsin lawmakers on Thursday proposed impeaching the battleground state’s top elections official as Democrats wage a legal battle to keep the nonpartisan administrator in office.Democrats say the GOP-controlled state Senate acted illegitimately when it voted along party lines last week to oust Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe. In a lawsuit challenging the vote, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul accused Republicans of attacking the state’s elections.The resolution introduced Thursday by five Assembly Republicans makes Wolfe the second state official GOP lawmakers have threatened with impeachment this month. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Wisconsin’s top Republican, created a panel last week to investigate the criteria for impeaching liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz, whose installment in August tipped the Wisconsin Supreme Court to liberal control for the first time in over a decade.Wolfe has b...

Supreme Court to decide whether Alabama can postpone drawing new congressional districts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:58 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to soon rule on Alabama’s request to let it keep new GOP-drawn congressional lines in place as it fights a three-judge panel’s plan to create a second majority-Black district, or something close to it, in the Deep South state.The state attorney general and lawyers representing Black voters who challenged the map gave different interpretations in court fillings this week of whether Alabama blatantly defied justices’ June decision in the case. The outcome could determine what map the state uses in the 2024 elections and whether the high court will revisit arguments over the role of race in redistricting. A three-judge panel is drawing new congressional lines in Alabama after lawmakers refused their directive to create a second district where Black voters would at least come close to comprising a majority. The Alabama secretary of state last week asked justices to put the redrawing process on hold as the state appea...

Biden granting temporary protective status to Venezuelan migrants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:58 GMT

CHICAGO — Hundreds of thousands of migrants will soon be able to legally work in the United States.President Joe Biden's administration is granting temporary protective status to more than 470,000 Venezuelan migrants across the country, which will allow them to secure authorization to legally work in the US.The move comes in addition to more than 240,000 Venezuelan migrants who already qualified for temporary protective status before the announcement.According to a City of Chicago database, a majority of the more than 13,000 asylum seekers in Chicago are from Venezuela, and city officials have stated that work permits would be helpful in freeing up space in shelters and helping migrants move out of unsuitable living conditions.Those living in Chicago said they are glad to hear the news, but many wish it applied to a larger group of asylum seekers."We believe that immigrants should be able to come to the U.S. and should be able to apply for a work permit and should be able to provide...

Summer to remember: Sammy Sosa's chase for MLB's home run record 25 years later

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:58 GMT

WGN News Now remembers Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa's pursuit of Major League Baseball's home run record 25 years ago in the summer of 1998 as Larry Hawley looks back on the moment with then Daily Herald beat writer Bruce Miles.CHICAGO — One of the greatest sluggers in Cubs' history is celebrating the silver anniversary of his most memorable summer in Major League Baseball.Sammy Sosa created plenty of memories in 1998, one that many are reflecting on 25 years later, including arguably its most memorable moment at the "Friendly Confines."It was back in the summer of 1998 that the Cubs' outfielder went head-to-head with Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire in pursuit of Roger Maris' MLB record for home runs in a season. That was 61, which was set in 1961 by the Yankees outfielder, but the pair did so well that they would eventually be chasing each other. (Photo by DANIEL LIPPITT/AFP via Getty Images)By mid-September, each had caught and passed Maris and were in direct competition with ...

Do you live in one of America's best coffee cities?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:58 GMT

(KSNW) -- Coffee.It's as American as apple pie, although neither of them was created here. Still, coffee became the ubiquitous American daily beverage following the Boston Tea Party in 1773.According to the National Coffee Association, 62% of Americans drink coffee every day. Seven in 10 Americans drink coffee at least once a week.The average American consumes nearly 10 pounds of coffee a year. However, we rank 25th in the world for coffee consumption. Norwegians beat everyone, consuming an average of 26.45 pounds of coffee a year per person, according to worldatlas.com. Cake recall impacts Walmart stores nationwide The website WalletHub looked at cities across the country to determine which were the "Best Coffee Cities in America." They used criteria like the price of packaged coffee, the price for a cappuccino, average spending on coffee, the number of coffee drinkers, the number of shops, and the price for a cup, along with multiple other factors. Country music star Martina M...

Austin City Council approves development agreement with semiconductor company

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Thursday, Austin City Council members approved an economic development agreement to support an expansion of NXP, a semiconductor company with two facilities in Austin. The company filed for a Chapter 380 business expansion agreement, which offers tax incentives to NXP. In exchange, the City of Austin will get a projected $1.53 million and has the ability to tie additional benefits to the deal. The most widely discussed of those benefits by Austin City Council members were labor requirements and childcare. Austin City Council: Future of HealthSouth building, police oversight implementation NXP will be required to match the City of Austin's living wage, which is no less than $20.80 starting Oct. 1, 2023. If the City of Austin were to later increase its living wage, the company would be required to do the same. Additionally, council members required the company to create both a childcare fund for its employees and put money towards a citywide childcare fund. "We're ...

Cannabis company founder picked to oversee Minnesota marijuana market

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:58 GMT

Minnesota’s marijuana regulatory agency will be led by Erin DuPree, who founded a low-dose THC company she will leave behind to oversee the state’s move to a legal market for full-fledged cannabis products.Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday named DuPree the first executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management. Walz said his appointee “is a proven and effective leader, who will be successful in standing up Minnesota’s new adult-use cannabis market and helping Minnesotans succeed in the industry.”In that role, DuPree will take charge in refining and enforcing boundaries around aspects of marijuana from growth to sale. DuPree, 43, said in an interview that she has a firm grasp of the cannabis landscape having founded Loonacy Cannabis Co. and done other business consulting for about two decades.“I’m a good fit because I am young enough to be able to connect with the people who are going to be actively entering this industry as we create it,” DuPree said. “But I’m experienced...

Medicaid coverage restored to about a half-million people after glitch in Minnesota, other states

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:21:58 GMT

About 500,000 people who recently lost Medicaid coverage are regaining their health insurance while states scramble fix computer systems that didn’t properly evaluate people’s eligibility after the end of the coronavirus pandemic, federal officials said Thursday.The computer issues affected people in Minnesota, Wisconsin, 27 other states and the District of Columbia and likely included a significant number of children who should have been eligible for Medicaid at higher income levels even if their parents or caregivers were not, according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.All states are undertaking a massive review of their Medicaid rolls after a three-year, pandemic-era prohibition on ending coverage expired this spring. While the freeze was in effect, Medicaid enrollment swelled by nearly one-third, from 71 million people in February 2020 to 94 million in April 2023.States often use computer programs as a first step in determining whether people...