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Michigan students protest backpack ban after gun incidents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Thursday was the first day of a new backpack ban for students at Grand Rapids Public Schools in Michigan. The ban comes after an 8 year-old brought a loaded gun to Stocking Elementary Wednesday, the fourth similar case this school year.GRPS student Nola Degroft helped plan a protest outside of Innovation Central High School Thursday. She's concerned about safety but says the backpack ban goes too far. According to the district website, the ban is for any bags large enough to conceal a weapon the size of a firearm. Clear bags are also not allowed.“People are feeling very vulnerable because we’re having our privacy and security taken away. We can’t properly carry things,” Degroft said. Texas property owner finds ankle monitor on his roof Degroft and other students say they want the district to consider other options like clear backpacks or metal detectors. Under the ban, students can still bring lunchboxes and small compacts to carry personal hygiene ite...

CROWN Act passed by Texas Senate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- House Bill 567, also known as the Texas CROWN Act, was successfully voted out of the Texas Senate Friday and is now headed to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk for his signature. According to the authors of the bill, CROWN stands for Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.The act aims to create a respectful environment for natural hair and would prohibit discrimination based on hair texture or protect hairstyles associated with race. Previous: CROWN Act passes Texas House, heads to Senate It was successfully voted out of the Texas Senate 29-1, and is heading to the governor's desk, where Abbott could sign it into law. “I am incredibly thankful to Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Chairman Bryan Hughes for swiftly advancing The CROWN Act," Rep. Rhetta Bowers, D- Rowlett, who authored the bill, said. "I also owe a great deal of gratitude to Senator Borris L. Miles, our Senate Sponsor, for shepherding the bill through the Senate. I must expre...

After St. Paul mosque vandalized, Islamic group asks for investigation into potential bias motivation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

Someone vandalized a mosque in St. Paul on Friday, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Minnesota chapter asked for law enforcement to investigate whether the crime was motivated by bias.A person with a large rock threw it several times at As-Sunnah Islamic Center about 7 a.m. and caused significant damage, according to CAIR-MN, which provided a video:Officers who responded to the mosque on Pedersen Street, off Old Hudson Road, found glass on the building’s exterior door had been broken. The mosque is in the Conway area of the East Side.No one was immediately arrested.“We value and care about gathering places of all faiths,” said Alyssa Arcand, a police spokeswoman. “A crime committed at any of them gets our full attention. We are working to figure out what exactly happened in this case and who is responsible.”It was the fifth attack on a mosque in Minnesota this year, according to CAIR-Minnesota Executive Director Jaylani Hussein.“...

Child care workers recognized in Colonie

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

COLONIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Some local leaders recognized child care providers on Friday. It's National Provider Appreciation Day, which is meant to highlight the essential work child care providers do for kids and their families.Officials in Colonie gave a proclamation to the Colonie Youth Center and Forest Park Elementary School. Child care facilities helped families navigate the pandemic, and their work continues to be vital now that most work places have returned to normal. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "I think COVID became especially important for us to step up because as parents have gone back to the workforce, and they're not as much working remotely from home, there's even more and more need for child care and daycare in all the ages we need to serve," Colonie Youth Center Exec. Dir. Nikki Caruso said.The Colonie Youth Center provides before and after school care to 15 different schools.

Mayor of Netherlands sister city visits Tulip Festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The 2023 Tulip Festival is officially underway. The annual Street Scrubbing ceremony took place Friday afternoon on Lodge and State Streets. It's a traditional Dutch ceremony that has served as the official start of TulipFest for the past 75 years.The city welcomed special guests this year. The mayor of Nikmegen, Albany's sister city in the Netherlands, visited Albany for the first time. Albany sent a ship of humanitarian aid to the city, which was destroyed during World War II. The mayor said the donations were a key turning point. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "And one ship doesn't bring your complete future," Mayor Hubert Bruls said. "One ship doesn't change the world in itself. But it changed the mood. It helped change the mood to get it to redevelopment and step forward."The queen of the Netherlands sent a shipment of tulips as a thank you, which helped launch the Tulip Festival.

Missouri lawmakers fail to raise bar to amend constitution, easing path for abortion rights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chaos in Missouri's Republican-led Senate on the final day of session Friday meant the failure of a longtime GOP priority to make it harder to amend the state's constitution, which lawmakers predicted could ease the path to restoring abortion rights in the state.Republicans have been trying to raise the bar to amend the Missouri Constitution for years, arguing that the current simple majority is too easy. Senators failed to approve a proposal Friday that would have raised that threshold to 57% if approved by voters.Republican House Speaker Dean Plocher predicted Friday that if the threshold is not raised, an initiative petition to allow abortions will be approved by voters under the current standards.“The Senate should be held accountable for allowing abortion to return,” Plocher said.Missouri outlawed most abortions, including in cases of rape and incest, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022. Moving past ...

Most popular movies on Hulu last week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

We love movies. They offer us special little glimpses into worlds that many of us could only fathom to dream of in our minds. Only through the magic of cameras, CGI, and stellar casts and crews are we able to see them played out at a moment's notice. Movies have become more than chances for us to take a couple of hours to relax after a long day. They have become powerful ways for storytellers to stop time as we know it and transport us to a world outside of ourselves. You don't have to take our word for it, though. According to a recent Nielsen report, Americans watched nearly 15 million years' worth of streaming content in 2021. Yes, you read that right. Not minutes, not hours, not even months. Fifteen million years were spent streaming online—and movies were a big part of that. When it comes to the most popular movies on Hulu last week, viewers had eyes for a little bit of everything. Movies that could make the whole family laugh, like "Despicable Me," "Beetlejuice," and...

DU women’s lacrosse survives USC rally, advances to NCAA Sweet 16 behind Julia Gilbert’s scoring outburst

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

The DU women’s lacrosse program waited nearly a quarter century to host its first NCAA Tournament regional.Naturally, the first women’s tournament matchup at Peter Barton Stadium came with a few tense moments.After racing out to a 6-0 lead in Friday afternoon’s first-round matchup with Southern Cal, the fifth-seeded Pioneers survived a six-goal surge from the Trojans to escape with a 10-7 victory before a raucous home crowd.Senior attacker Julia Gilbert scored all three of her goals in a dramatic fourth period, pushing the Pios to 20-0-0 on the season and a Sweet 16 matchup at 1 p.m. Sunday at Barton Stadium. They play the winner of Friday night’s Albany-Virginia game.DU’s bid at perfection appeared very much in doubt entering the fourth period, after USC (16-4-0) tied the score at 6-all on Isabelle Vitale’s goal with 3:55 left in the third.That’s when Gilbert came to life, scoring off a free position shot with the Pios a player up just 1:12...

Truck burst into flames after rear-ending another semi on I-70, closing Vail Pass Wednesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

A fiery crash that shut down Interstate 70 in Vail on Wednesday involved two semi-trailers, an officer with the Vail police department has confirmed.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | I-225 reopens in Aurora after six-vehicle rollover crash forces closure near I-70 Crime and Public Safety | Man dead after car crash in Thornton Crime and Public Safety | 4 killed in Teller County plane crash; victims identified Crime and Public Safety | All lanes of E. Quincy Avenue in Aurora closed for multi-vehicle crash Crime and Public Safety | Motorcycle crash with serious injuries forces closure of Colfax Avenue east of downtown Denver Sergeant Rebecca Anderson responded to the accident and said while it’s still under investigation, it appears that one semi-trailer was stopped in traffic, headed eastbound, when it was hit from behind by another semi-trailer.“The tractor of the semi which hit the stopped semi i...

Police: Texas man killed girlfriend because she had an abortion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

Associated PressDALLAS — A man angry that his girlfriend had an abortion in another state fatally shot the 26-year-old woman, Dallas police said.He was jailed on a murder charge as of Friday.Texas banned abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy in September 2021. But nearly all abortions have been halted in Texas since Roe v. Wade was overturned last summer, except in cases of medical emergency.Gabriella Gonzalez was with her boyfriend, 22-year-old Harold Thompson, in a Dallas parking lot Wednesday when he tried to put her in a chokehold, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. She had returned from Colorado the night before.“It is believed that the suspect was the father of the child,” the affidavit said. “The suspect did not want (Gonzalez) to get an abortion.”Surveillance video from the parking lot shows Gonzalez “shrugs him off,” police said, and the two continue walking. Thompson then pulls out a gun and shoots Gonzalez in the head. S...