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Idaho Senate passes ban on gender-affirming care for minors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:24 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Senate on Monday voted 22-12 to pass a bill criminalizing gender-affirming healthcare for minors, one month after the state House passed similar legislation. The measure bars transgender and transitioning children, or children with gender dysphoria, from receiving hormones or puberty blockers to alleviate their symptoms or help them with transitioning, KTVB reported Monday. Doctors prescribing these hormones or blockers could be charged with a felony and face prison time.The Senate will send the measure back to the House for consideration of the Senate amendments. If the House agrees, the bill will go to Sen. Brad Little.Republican lawmakers in more than two dozen states have pushed for bans on gender-affirming care this year, targeting what doctors and psychologists widely consider medically necessary care.The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends gender affirming care to treat children struggling with gender dysphoria. The organization says those ...

Rare beetle species named after ex-California governor Brown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:24 GMT

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Scientists are naming a rare species of beetle in honor of former California Gov. Jerry Brown after finding one at his ranch.Bembidion brownorum was last seen in 1966, but it hadn’t been named or described until one was collected near a creek on Brown’s ranch in Colusa County, about an hour’s drive northwest of Sacramento, the University of California, Berkeley announced Monday.The beetle is brown and tiny at about 5 millimeters (0.20 inch) long, although that is still larger than other Bembidion beetles. Under magnification “it glows with a green and gold metallic shimmer,” according to UC Berkeley.Brown, who left office in 2019, lives in California’s inner coastal mountain range on land that has been in his family since the 1860s. He has offered his property as a meeting space for the California Native Plant Society, entomologist, and forestry and fire experts.UC Berkeley entomologist Kipling Will has been sampling insects at the 2,5...

Voter abstention rises in Cuban National Assembly election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:24 GMT

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s government reported Monday that abstention in National Assembly elections was 24.1%, a figure some analysts said reflects discontent with the island’s economic crisis as well as a rise in apathy.While a 75.9% voter turnout in Sunday’s voting is high compared with other countries, it is about nine percentage points lower than voter turnout in Cuba’s 2018 National Assembly elections and far lower than the 94.2% turnout seen in 2013. Since there was only one candidate running for each of the 470 legislative seats, turnout was watched by observers as a political thermometer. “It is evident that the government is dealing with less unconditional support from its bases,” said Arturo López-Levy, a professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid.Cuba’s economy was badly hit by the pandemic and increased U.S. sanctions, and the island nation has seen a surge in migration along with power outages and fuel shortages. The communist-ruled nation was rocked ...

B.C. plans family law changes to decide who gets the pets when couples split

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:24 GMT

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government introduced legislation Monday that looks to ensure family custody battles over animals can become more pet-friendly.The important role pets play in families will now be considered in amendments to B.C.’s Family Law Act that clarify the law to provide more guidance for people and judges involved in animal custody disputes, Attorney General Niki Sharma said.“What we were learning was this is an issue that can be very sensitive and challenging at a time when a family is breaking up. So, we needed to kind of step in to help not only to give some guidance but also give a provincial court judge the authority, if it’s needed, to treat a pet not just like any other property but to actually consider what would be in the best interests of the pet and the family in that context,” she said in an interview after introducing the legislation.Custody disputes over pets have previously been settled as property assets, but the amendme...

Fleming stars as `Nixon in China’ arrives at Paris Opera

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:24 GMT

PARIS (AP) — After spending decades portraying generals’ wives, a countess and a courtesan, Renée Fleming walked gingerly onto the stage of the Bastille Opera in a blond wig, red coat and black gloves to depict Pat Nixon, former first lady of the United States.John Adams’ “Nixon in China,” a 1987 work among the most acclaimed American operas, received its Paris Opera premiere on Saturday night to eight minutes of applause following a revelatory production by Argentine director Valentina Carrasco that replaced literalism with metaphor. The lasting images were of a dark American eagle pitted against a bright red Chinese dragon and of ping-pong tables symbolizing both diplomacy and the quest for superiority.“You really have to be in your mid-60s to even remember this other than as it’s something that you learn about in school,” said Fleming, a 64-year-old soprano who bid farewell to the standard repertory six years ago. “I’m sorry, but in the context of what’s going on now, Water...

Review: Vietnam vets try to help nation they once attacked

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:24 GMT

“The Long Reckoning: A Story of War, Peace and Redemption in Vietnam,” by George Black (Knopf)In the U.S., we’ve mostly moved on from our military engagements in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the American way — not dwelling on our mistakes or engaging in a national discussion about what went wrong.And atonement? We don’t do that.But two American Vietnam vets thought differently and became our national conscience, our moral center and our agents of redemption in dealing with the fearsome toll that herbicide spraying and unexploded bombs inflicted on tens of thousands of Vietnamese.Manus Campbell, a Marine from New Jersey, and Chuck Searcy, an Army intelligence analyst from Georgia, have spent the past few decades in Vietnam leading efforts to heal the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese still suffering from war wounds or diseases linked to herbicide exposure.Thanks to Campbell, Searcy and a small group of scientists and others, the U.S. and others are providing the resources to...

Man shot and killed during domestic incident in Joliet, 1 in custody

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:24 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. — A man is dead after being found by police in a Joliet garage with a gunshot wound Monday afternoon, according to the Joliet Police Department.Police said officers were called to a residence in the 700 block of Fairlane Drive on a report of a shooting. When officers arrived on scene, they found a 50-year-old man in an open garage who had been shot. The Joliet Fire Department then took the victim to Ascension St. Joseph Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. Chicago firefighter accused of running prostitution business inside his condo Police said a person of interest is in custody related to the shooting. Police also said they believe the shooting to be domestic-related, but there is no threat to the public.No other information is available at this time.

Wisconsin police officer tells magnet fishers they are 'taking away resources from the city'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:24 GMT

FOND DU LAC, Wis. (WFRV) - A viral video of an interaction between magnet fishermen and a Fond du Lac police officer is gathering millions of views, as some are calling out the officer's behavior.The officer has a nametag of 'B. Dolan', which appears to be Fond du Lac Police Department's, Bethany Dolan. The initial video was posted back in Sept. 2021, but a recently-edited version was shared three weeks ago and has already earned over 1.7 million views.In the 51-second clip, at least two men are talking with Officer Dolan about a possible explosive they pulled from the water. The fishermen say they pulled it out of the water and then put it in a container filled with water to prevent it from drying out. ‘Don’t give up’: Arkansas man missing since 2021 found in Texas Officer Dolan says 'Other than it being a similar shape, because obviously it's very deteriorated, how can you say for sure this is an explosive?' It is hard to make out if she said 'bomb' or 'explosive'. The fisherme...

Nashville school shooter identified: Here's what we know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:24 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The shooter who opened fire at a Nashville private school has been identified as a 28-year-old Nashville resident, Police Chief John Drake confirmed Monday afternoon. Drake said the shooter, Audrey Hale, identifies as transgender and was also believed to have been a student at The Covenant School, the small Christian school where officers say Hale killed six people. Hale allegedly entered the building by shooting through a side door, Drake noted, adding that the shooting was targeted. The shooter was armed with two “assault-style” weapons — a rifle and a pistol — as well as a handgun, authorities said. At least two of them were believed to have been obtained legally in the Nashville area.Hale was shot and killed by police minutes after they arrived on scene, Drake said. When police entered the school's first story, they heard gunshots coming from the second floor, police spokesperson Don Aaron said. They immediately "went to the gunfire," he said, where the...

Callahan's General Store former owner passes away at age 93

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Callahan's General Store, a south Austin institution, is mourning the passing of former owner Murray Callahan, family members confirmed to KXAN. Murray's daughter-in-law, Denise Callahan, said he passed away Saturday at 93 years old."He was a much loved Austin fixture at the family store and beyond," she said in an email to KXAN. While not the owner at the time of his death, Callahan gifted the shares of the business to his children several years ago, the family said.In a Facebook tribute Saturday to Murray, Callahan's staff recognized the legions of customers "happily greeted, eagerly helped, and sincerely thanked" by Murray. In an obituary shared with KXAN, Murray's family reflected on his 40-plus-year dedication to serving customers within the agriculture community.Callahan's General Store, a south Austin institution, is mourning the passing of owner Murray Callahan, family members confirmed to KXAN. Murray's daughter-in-law, Denise Callahan, said he passed away o...