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Student group sues after Texas university cancels drag show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

A student group at a university in the Texas Panhandle said in a federal lawsuit filed Friday that the school’s president violated their constitutional right to free speech when he canceled their planned drag show.Walter Wendler, president of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, located just south of Amarillo, said this week in a letter and column laden with religious references that he believed drag shows discriminated against women and were “derisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny, no matter the stated intent.” In recent months, drag shows across the country have been targeted by right-wing activists and politicians, with Republican lawmakers in several states, including Texas, proposing restrictions on the shows. And events like drag story hours, where drag queens read books to children, have drawn protesters.Spectrum WT — a group for LGBT+ students and allies — had organized the March 31 drag show to raise money for the Trevor Project, a group that works to ...

After 40 years at NBC Washington, Pat Lawson Muse signs off with final newscast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

NBC Washington anchor Pat Lawson Muse retires. (Courtesy NBC Washington) toggle audio on and off change volume download audio Pat Lawson Muse signs off for final time $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Longtime NBC Washington anchor Pat Lawson Muse delivered her final broadcast at News4 on Friday, putting the exclamation point on a 40-plus-year career with the station.In the 1970s, Lawson Muse was the afternoon drive-time anchor for WTOP. She made history with ...

Teachers press school safety in wake of Denver shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Colorado teachers flooded into the state Capitol Friday to press for better protections for students and school staff after a 17-year-old Denver student shot two administrators, fled to the mountains and killed himself.Roughly 1,500 teachers and their supporters called for improved school security, more mental health support and tighter gun control measures, adding to pressure on lawmakers a day after students and parents converged at the Capitol to make similar demands.School shootings are becoming increasingly frequent in the U.S., and teachers at the rally voiced the fears they feel during safety lockdowns that are now regular occurrences. They also raised questions about the circumstances surrounding Wednesday’s shooting at East High School, which came as the boy was being patted down for weapons, a daily requirement because of his behavioral issues including a pending firearm charge, according to school officials.Some East High School teachers at Friday̵...

Lack of March Madness: Seeds hold form in Seattle 3 Region

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Reaching the Sweet 16 is old hat for Geno Auriemma and UConn. They’ve done it in a record 29 consecutive NCAA Tournaments.Because of all the Huskies have gone through this season with injuries and illnesses to both players and coaches, this one was more special for the Hall of Fame coach.“Everything was a struggle. Everything was hard,” Auriemma said. “And for us to be in the position that we’re in — to go to the same place where so many other UConn teams have gone, yet having gone through so much more than I think any other UConn team has had to go through — I was really proud of them. Because I’ve been through a lot of these, but they haven’t.”The Huskies will play Ohio State in the first semifinal Saturday. Tennessee will face Virginia Tech, which is making its first appearance in the second weekend of the tournament since 1999, in the second game.The two winners will play Monday night with a trip to the Final Four in Dallas on the line. UConn is trying...

Sheriff: 2 dead in Southern California helicopter crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

PERRIS, Calif. (AP) — Two people died in a helicopter crash Friday in Southern California, officials said.The helicopter crashed in an unincorporated area of Perris, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter. Two people were confirmed dead, but it was not immediately clear whether there were others aboard the helicopter. Additional details were not available.Perris is about 65 miles (104.61 kilometers) southeast of downtown Los Angeles.Source

Jet pitched wildly, killing 1, amid cockpit warnings: NTSB

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A business jet flying over New England violently pitched upward then downward, fatally injuring a passenger, after pilots responding to automated cockpit warnings switched off a system that helps keep the aircraft stable, U.S. transportation investigators reported Friday.The National Transportation Safety Board didn’t reach any conclusions in its preliminary report on the main cause of the deadly March 3 accident, but it described a series of things that went wrong before and after the plane swooped out of control.Confronted with several alerts in the cockpit of the Bombardier jet, pilots followed a checklist and turned off a switch that “trims” or adjusts the stabilizer on the plane’s tail, the report said.The plane’s nose then swept upward, subjecting the people inside to forces about four times the force of gravity, then pointed lower before again turning upward before pilots could regain control, the report said.Pilots told investigators they d...

Almaden Minerals: Q4 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Almaden Minerals Ltd. (AAU) on Friday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $7.1 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company said it had a loss of 5 cents per share. Losses, adjusted for asset impairment costs, were 2 cents per share.For the year, the company reported that its loss widened to $9.1 million, or 7 cents per share.In the final minutes of trading on Friday, the company’s shares hit 20 cents. A year ago, they were trading at 38 cents._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on AAU at https://www.zacks.com/ap/AAUSource

Bill to limit hospital facility fees passes House committee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Despite fierce opposition from the state's network of hospitals, Colorado's House Health and Insurance Committee passed a bill on an 8-3 vote to limit facility fees. House Bill 1215 would make facility fees more transparent by mandating notification to patients at the time of service. In addition, the bill would ban facility fees for primary care, preventative care and telehealth visits. In a nod to opponents, the newly amended bill would also require a third-party report to study the impact of facility fees on hospitals and consumers. The aim is to provide data to fact-check discrepancies in claims from hospitals on when, why, and how facility fees are chargedThe bill is sponsored by Rep. Emily Sirota (D-Denver), Rep. Andrew Boesenecker (D-Fort Collins), Sen. Kyle Mullica (D-Thorton), and Sen. Lisa Cutter (D-Littleton) and follows numerous reports by the Problem Solvers in the past year about questionable medical bills. $1,525 facility fee highlights medical meas...

Moving truck with Parkland family’s belongings stolen from Delray Beach lot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

A family who just moved into a Parkland neighborhood has been left reeling after thieves stole a truck packed with nearly all their belongings from a moving company’s parking lot.The Blanchettes spoke with 7News on Friday about the theft as they prepare to spend their first weekend at their new home.“We’ve been working very hard, ever since we’ve been married, nearly nine years ago, to try to get the home of our dreams, and we’d finally accomplished that,” said Michael Blanchette.But the sofa and the flatscreen that should be in the living room, as well as the beds that should be upstairs and all of 4-year-old Shelby’s toys, were all packed inside the moving truck that, the family said, was stolen Thursday night.“[The moving company] called us this morning and told us that our stuff was stolen,” said Michael as he fought back tears.The Blanchettes, who lived in Pompano Beach, closed on their new house on Thursday, but the closing was delayed a few hours.They told t...

Crime Briefs: Alleged kidnapper deported from Massachusetts to Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:51 GMT

A fugitive from Mexico wanted for kidnapping who had illegally entered the U.S. has been returned to his home country to face justice.Francisco Lopez-Lopez, 50, of Mexico, was flown by officers of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s removal team to Valley International Airport in Texas Wednesday and turned over to Mexican authorities at the port of entry in Brownsville, according to ICE.“Kidnapping is both terrifying for the victims and lucrative for the perpetrators and criminal organizations,” said Todd Lyons, the field director in Boston. “Combating these types of crimes is a high priority for us.”ICE says Lopez-Lopez first entered the country illegally by crossing over near Laredo, Texas, in 2002, after which he returned to Mexico. Twenty years later, the agency said, he crossed into the U.S. again this time from Canada’s border with Maine. He is wanted for kidnapping by a court in the Mexican state of Chiapas.Aunt beat baby niece to death in QuincyA 32-year-old aunt in Quincy...