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https://www.kxxv.com/brazos/brazos-county-jail-administrator-returns-from-fbi-national-academy
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BRYAN, Texas — Brazos County jail administrator Kevin Stuart is now the third person in the department’s history to receive specialized training from the FBI.
For the past ten weeks, Stuart has been in Quantico, Virginia, taking leadership courses alongside international law enforcement members.
“We did have a classmate who was from Ukraine, and we all became really close friends there," Stuart said. "That affected him deeply. He was away from his family, and there’s a war going on at home.”
While Stuart said he’s received excellent law enforcement training in Texas, being able to receive new perspectives from officers all over the world, under the tutelage of FBI experts, has really opened his eyes to some positive changes he’d like to make at the jail in Bryan.
“We have spent a lot of time taking care of other people and dedicated to our job, and sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves," Stuart said. "That’s what I hope to bring back here, is to encourage everyone to be healthy and happy, physically and mentally.”
Physical health was a priority at the academy. Most of the 200-plus students, Stuart included, followed a fitness regimen. Stuart was proud to complete the 6.1-mile obstacle course known as the ‘yellow brick road' after recovering from COVID-19 on week one.
“The instructors there are top-notch, and so we had fitness challenges every week and physical training classes," Stuart said. "They prepare you week-by-week, so by the time the yellow brick road came, we were fully prepared, and I actually had a really good time doing it.”
While the FBI National Academy doesn’t qualify Stuart as an FBI agent, it does count as college course credit hours. And, it’s taught Stuart more about communications and progressive leadership.
“We’re all a little bit different, communicate differently," he said. "And so it’s really important to understand how to work together effectively.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/brazos/bryan-isd-appoints-new-superintendent-of-schools-dr-ginger-carrabine
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BRYAN, Texas — Bryan ISD officially has new superintendent.
The Bryan ISD Board of Trustees voted to name Ginger Carrabine as the district’s new superintendent during their meeting on Monday, March 28, 2022.
But Carrabine is no stranger to the needs of the classroom and has big plans for the future of education here in Bryan.
The district’s former superintendent and the school board's president both believe she’s the right woman to lead the way. Ginger Carrabine has served as interim superintendent for the past 6 months succeeding Christie Whitbeck of Fort Bend ISD in Houston. Whitbeck says she fully supports Carrabine.
“I just cannot tell you how pleased I have been, with the work that she did – she was a part of the success and the movement – the momentum that we’ve had in Bryan, and I think she is the perfect person to keep it going.” Said Whitbeck.
School Board President Mark McCall agrees. “She just picked up right where Doctor Whitbeck left off and continued the great trajectory Bryan ISD is on and are looking on her full role as superintendent and really build on that trajectory solidifying Bryan ISD.”
Carrabine says she thanks the trustees in their belief that she will continue success in the district and says the work never stopped.
“I want to thank the trustees for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I am beyond excited. It’s a huge honor I’m not about to say we are going to begin the work because we have been working.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/brazos/community-leaders-partner-to-spread-awareness-for-child-abuse-prevention-month
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BRAZOS VALLEY, Texas — Community members are combining their efforts to spread awareness of child abuse and prevention for the month of April.
Tracey Calanog fostered her now adopted two young boys and over the years she has witnessed firsthand the impact of child abuse.
"It shapes the way they think, the way they do things physically, just emotionally, it really does stick with them and impact them for the rest of their lives,” said Tracey Calanog, adoptive parent.
Community leaders look to take this month to encourage community members to be the eyes and ears to help protect children from abuse and neglect.
"Child abuse involves some of our most vulnerable and that’s our children so we as a law enforcement agency, the district attorney's office, Scotty's house all collaborate together to try and make a difference,” said Billy Couch, Chief of Police.
Since 1995, Scotty’s house has been able to help nearly 10,000 children who are victims of neglect and abuse. But during the pandemic, they witnessed a decrease in reports.
"It was concerning because we knew that child abuse had not just slowed down it was that there was no one to notice that there was something wrong with these children or a person that child could feel safe with to tell that something was happening to them,” said Tammy Bailes, director of operations for Scotty's house.
Although Calanogs son’s carry the trauma of their abuse, her eldest takes this month as a chance to also educate his friends about the importance.
"Every April he does try to remind his friends about it and you know try to do something a little special and he will even want to drive by the pinwheels and just say a little prayer for each of them,” added Calanog.
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https://www.kxxv.com/hometown/bell-county/go-team-therapy-dogs-providing-comfort-to-those-in-need-in-central-texas
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THE DOGS PROVIDE THERAPY TO CITIZENS IN CENTRAL TEXAS IN ASSISTED LIVING, nursing homes — Four-legged friends! Studies show they can be the turnaround for one's mental health.
That's why Go Team Therapy Dogs, Central Texas took leaps for the community by properly training and preparing these furry friends to provide comfort and therapy to those in need.
Suzee Stewart, a member of Go Team Therapy Dogs said, “For individuals with autism, communication can be difficult sometimes, but if you have a dog, you can list a set of questions, 'hey what kind of dog do you have? What’s your dog's name?' These dogs create that opportunity for them.”
The help doesn't just stop at kids with special needs.
The dogs provide therapy to citizens in Central Texas in assisted living, nursing homes, hospices, and anywhere else a therapy dog is requested.
The nonprofit organization is making its impact throughout Central Texas but also in other states across the U.S.
In 2012, the organization was founded in Colorado after an event took place that demonstrated how dogs could be a great help to those in need.
Robin Webster, another member of the Go Team Therapy Dog team said, “Therapy dogs are more about giving back.”
It's a free service that's surrounded by caring, compassion, and canines!
To schedule a therapy visit or to sign up your own furry friend, call (254) 541-3343 or email goteamcentex@gmail.com
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https://www.kxxv.com/hometown/bell-county/u-s-veterans-training-ukrainians-to-save-lives-on-the-battlefield
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Millions of Americans have put on a uniform to serve their country out of a duty and a need to help those who need it.
American service members know all too well the cost of freedom, and now the world is watching as Ukraine fights for that very thing.
Now U.S. veterans are stepping up to save lives on the battlefields of Ukraine.
”We’ve been here on the ground, supporting and training in terms of Tactical Casualty Combat Care and other advanced lifesaving tactics. Sometimes, we’re teaching this to civilians who have been basically standing up their own organizations and community efforts.” said Daniel, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and Combat Medic with Austere Medical Relief Group.
Not only are they providing crucial training to save lives on the battlefield, but they are also working to get the right medical supplies to make that training effective and that is where U.S. Army veteran Michael Mcgarrey comes in.
”Somebody gives me a task of organizing transportation and logistics and I just make sure I get it done,” said Michael Mcgarrey, U.S. Army combat veteran with Austere Medical Relief Group Operations Manager.
Michael was key to establishing a pipeline from Romania to where they are deep in Ukraine.
”A pipeline that we are utilizing to get equipment and personnel to these eastern areas. Which is a far drive. From where me and Mike came from originally at the border it’s over 15 hours,” said Daniel
They are now finding themselves in dire need of funding to keep saving lives as Russia continues its relentless attacks on Ukraine.
”If we have the funding, what it allows us to do, is to give them this training with the equipment they need to save their own life or someone else’s life,"said Daniel.
"Whether they be a frontline civil defense member, a Ukrainian military member, a police officer, or just a local shopkeeper because these people are having war come right to their front door.”
They need the community's help and as a Texas native and Army veteran Michael is calling on his fellow Texans and veterans to do just that.
”We have that natural urge to want to serve something bigger than ourselves and what is there bigger than yourself than a county fighting for its freedom,” said Mcgarrey.
If you would like to volunteer or donate go to TheAmrgroup.org/get-involved, Phantomsupportukraine.org, or Phantomsupport.org.
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https://www.kxxv.com/hometown/mclennan-county/one-year-ago-today-community-remembers-death-of-trooper-chad-walker
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LIMESTONE COUNTY, TX — One year ago today Trooper Chad Walker passed away after being shot 5 days earlier during a traffic stop.
His death has prompted reform efforts within Texas public safety departments and it serves as a reminder of how dangerous the job can be.
March 31 of 2021 is a date the community will never forget.
Sergeant Ryan Howard recalled the events of that day like it just happened. The suspect. DeAurther Pinson Jr. fled the scene. He took his own the life the following day.
Following Trooper Walker's death, an outpouring of support across the country. A runner from Florida dedicated his mile run to Trooper Walker's service.
In Central Texas, candlelight vigils kept his memory close to heart and remembered the impact he made. An initiative was sparked to protect those like Trooper Walker.
In June, the Walker Strong Initiative took root. It focused on raising money to purchase bulletproof windshields for Limestone County officers.
Now months later, the Walker Strong initiative has gained more traction. The group raids more than $140,000. Some law enforcement agencies already received a check.
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https://www.kxxv.com/hometown/texas/nevada-mom-accused-of-trying-to-kill-2-schoolgirls-with-suv
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A woman in Nevada is accused of trying to kill two schoolgirls by driving her vehicle into them to prevent them from fighting her daughter after an on-campus dispute at a Las Vegas-area high school.
Fatima Maria Mitchell, 36, was arrested by Henderson police after her SUV struck a tree, a concrete sign and the two girls at an off-campus crossroads Monday near Basic High School in Henderson.
Mitchell remained jailed Tuesday without bail after an initial court appearance before a justice of the peace who scheduled a felony hearing for Thursday. Court records did not list an attorney who could comment on Mitchell’s behalf.
Mitchell “went searching for the juveniles that were fighting with her daughter,” Henderson police said in an arrest report submitted to the judge. It alleges that Mitchell “accelerated her Chevrolet Tahoe towards the juveniles in an attempt to run them over and ‘take them out,’ which showed her intend to kill.”
The injured girls were treated at a hospital for broken bones but were expected to recover, police said. Their ages were not made public.
They “were only spared from serious injury or death due to the fact that (Mitchell) stuck a tree and concrete sign prior to hitting (them),” the police report said.
A witness told police the SUV “made a quick left turn toward the juveniles and hit two of them,” backed up, “and it appeared that the driver was going to attempt to strike the juveniles again” when school police arrived.
The afternoon incident followed fights earlier in the day that resulted in citations for four students and the arrest of a parent who entered the campus at the 2,400-student school, said Lt. Bryan Zink, a school police spokesman.
Clark County School District administrators held a news conference Tuesday to address a rise in violent incidents in recent weeks and to announce tighter security measures — including single-door campus entry points and quick discipline including student expulsions for threats and fighting.
“We know that our kids are struggling because of the stress, anxieties and isolation of the (coronavirus) pandemic,” said Jesus Jara, superintendent of the nation’s fifth-largest school district. The Las Vegas-based district has more than 300,000 students and 18,000 teachers at 336 schools.
Since schools began in August, 38 students have been struck by vehicles on the way to and from school, campus police have confiscated 25 guns, and officials have reported 3,000 assaults and fights, district police Chief Henry “Mike” Blackeye said.
“Violence is not, and never will be, the answer,” Jara vowed. “Should students and adults resort to violence on our campus, we will remove them and hold them accountable.”
Following another vehicle incident in December, a 36-year-old mother of a Las Vegas student was arrested and accused of accelerating her minivan backward and forward amid a group of schoolchildren — striking at least four juveniles in a group that had gathered off-campus.
Police said three other children received minor injuries in the incident that escalated after the woman, Jaquitta Madison, confronted a student and his mother, alleging that Madison’s son was bullied at school.
Authorities said injuries included scrapes and bruises.
Madison has pleaded not guilty and is free on bail ahead of a May 24 preliminary hearing in Las Vegas at which a judge will decide if she’ll stand trial on four felony charges of battery with a deadly weapon, the minivan.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/in-depth/in-depth-texas-could-see-over-12-000-refugees-from-ukraine-central-texans-open-up-their-homes
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WACO — The U.S. is preparing for up to 100,000 Ukrainians and 12,000 of those could be in Texas according to Refugee Services of Texas.
More than four million have left their homes after the war started.
More than 2.3 million have arrived in Poland but many have traveled onward to other countries or back into Ukraine.
Large fractions of refugees have also fled to Romania, Moldova, Hungary, and Slovakia.
Several in Central Texas have opened up their homes to house those leaving Ukraine.
UkraineTakeShelter.com is an independent platform helping to connect Ukrainian refugees with potential hosts and housing. Residents from all over the world have offered up a place to stay according to the website.
It's unknown when they might arrive in the U.S. Some families have already made their way to Texas.
Tonya Levchuk made the journey to Poland to rescue family members from her homeland.
Many of her family members are now on the frontlines in Ukraine.
"A lot of my childhood for friends have already been called out and on the frontlines," said Levchuk.
Levchuk was able to get her family visas at the start of the war. Her mother, sister, and niece live with her in Texas.
The Department of Homeland Security shows that nearly 1,000 Ukrainians had shown up at the U.S.-Mexico border in March.
Texas A&M offers Ukrainian students full tuition and room and board.
The university system will cover all tuition and fees, as well as certain living expenses, for the students. At least 14 students from Ukraine have been identified as eligible for the financial support so far, said associate vice chancellor, Tim Eaton. The number is likely to increase as more students are identified, he said.
IN-DEPTH: Thousands of Afghan refugees in Texas concerned about loved ones in Middle East
Some lawmakers are concerned Afghan refugees will be forgotten as the focus turns to Ukrainians.
“Our commitment to resettling Afghans — particularly those who served on behalf of the U.S. effort in Afghanistan — remains steadfast,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement to the Washington Post.
A majority have so far settled in Texas and California. Issues with housing have slowed the process down.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/local-news/texas-drought-at-nine-year-high-concerns-grow-for-agriculture
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TEXAS — The extent of the drought in Texas is the worst it's been in almost a decade, and reversing it won't be easy.
With so much parched ground across the state, just about every crop this growing season will feel the effects.
"Drought has huge consequences across all levels of agriculture," said Vanessa Corriher-Olson, extension forage specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife. "Cotton, corn, you know, any of our crops in the state of Texas are going to be negatively impacted by drought."
In early March, data from the US Drought Monitor showed that more than 89 percent of Texas was covered in "Moderate Drought" or worse, the most in nine years.
Shortly afterward, "Exceptional Drought" (the highest on the monitor's scale) was declared in and around Coryell County, which as of March 31 still remains. The lack of rain, which has stretched over several months, can be partially traced to climate patterns.
"A large contributor to that was La Nina," said Texas state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon. "When we get a La Nina in the Pacific, it tends to be dry in Texas during the wintertime, but usually not this dry."
With the first three months of 2022 now in the books, much of Central Texas and the Brazos Valley are running five to six inches of rain behind normal levels.
Drought isn't a new challenge for Texas farmers and producers, and most of them have methods for making the most of a bad situation.
"They're very familiar with what to expect or how to anticipate or how to respond within their production systems to drought," said Corriher-Olson.
Still, there's only so much that can be done to ease the dry conditions. Farmers are already having to deal with the high prices of seeds and fertilizer. If the drought causes further losses of crops, you can expect goods at the store to see another price hike.
"More inputs, the greater cost to the farmer, is going to, to come down to a greater cost to the consumer as well," said Corriher-Olson.
Even if farmers have the fertilizer they need, it may not work as effectively as they'd like. Fertilizer functions best when there is a good amount of soil moisture to transport the nutrients.
If there's any good news, we're not too far from the most favorable time for rain on the calendar.
"Hopefully we'll get some rain during the wet periods of May and June," said Nielsen-Gammon. "Those are climatologically the wettest months of the year. And by that time the effect of La Nina tends to wear off."
Until then, we'll take all the rain we can get.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/house-passes-35-a-month-insulin-cap-as-dems-seek-wider-bill
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The House on Thursday passed a bill capping the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for insured patients, part of an election-year push by Democrats for price curbs on prescription drugs at a time of rising inflation.
Experts say the legislation, which passed 232-193, would provide significant relief for privately insured patients with skimpier plans and for Medicare enrollees facing rising out-of-pocket costs for their insulin. Some could save hundreds of dollars annually, and all insured patients would get the benefit of predictable monthly costs for insulin. The bill would not help the uninsured.
But the Affordable Insulin Now Act will serve as a political vehicle to rally Democrats and force Republicans who oppose it into uncomfortable votes ahead of the midterms. For the legislation to pass Congress, 10 Republican senators would have to vote in favor. Democrats acknowledge they don't have an answer for how that's going to happen.
"If 10 Republicans stand between the American people being able to get access to affordable insulin, that's a good question for 10 Republicans to answer," said Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., a cosponsor of the House bill. "Republicans get diabetes, too. Republicans die from diabetes."
Public opinion polls have consistently shown support across party lines for congressional action to limit drug costs.
But Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., complained the legislation is only "a small piece of a larger package around government price controls for prescription drugs." Critics say the bill would raise premiums and fails to target pharmaceutical middlemen seen as contributing to high list prices for insulin.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Democrats could have a deal on prescription drugs if they drop their bid to authorize Medicare to negotiate prices. "Do Democrats really want to help seniors, or would they rather have the campaign issue?" Grassley said.
The insulin bill, which would take effect in 2023, represents just one provision of a much broader prescription drug package in President Joe Biden's social and climate legislation.
In addition to a similar $35 cap on insulin, the Biden bill would authorize Medicare to negotiate prices for a range of drugs, including insulin. It would penalize drugmakers who raise prices faster than inflation and overhaul the Medicare prescription drug benefit to limit out-of-pocket costs for enrollees.
Biden's agenda passed the House only to stall in the Senate because Democrats could not reach consensus. Party leaders haven't abandoned hope of getting the legislation moving again, and preserving its drug pricing curbs largely intact.
The idea of a $35 monthly cost cap for insulin actually has a bipartisan pedigree. The Trump administration had created a voluntary option for Medicare enrollees to get insulin for $35, and the Biden administration continued it.
In the Senate, Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire are working on a bipartisan insulin bill. Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has introduced legislation similar to the House bill, with the support of Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Stung by criticism that Biden's economic policies spur inflation, Democrats are redoubling efforts to show how they'd help people cope with costs. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported a key inflation gauge jumped 6.4% in February compared with a year ago, the largest year-over-year rise since January 1982.
But experts say the House bill would not help uninsured people, who face the highest out-of-pocket costs for insulin. Also, people with diabetes often take other medications as well as insulin. That's done to treat the diabetes itself, along with other serious health conditions often associated with the disease. The House legislation would not help with those costs, either. Collins says she's looking for a way to help uninsured people through her bill.
About 37 million Americans have diabetes, and an estimated 6 million to 7 million use insulin to keep their blood sugars under control. It's an old drug, refined and improved over the years, that has seen relentless price increases.
Steep list prices don't reflect the rates insurance plans negotiate with manufacturers. But those list prices are used to calculate cost-sharing amounts that patients owe. Patients who can't afford their insulin reduce or skip doses, a strategy born of desperation, which can lead to serious complications and even death.
Economist Sherry Glied of New York University said the market for insulin is a "total disaster" for many patients, particularly those with skimpy insurance plans or no insurance.
"This will make private insurance for people with diabetes a much more attractive proposition," said Glied.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/iowa-man-charged-in-killing-of-10-year-old-missing-for-9-months-has-trial-moved
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An Iowa man charged in the killing of a 10-year-old Davenport girl who was missing for nine months before her remains were found in a pond will see his trial moved out of Scott County.
A judge on Wednesday granted a request by Henry Dinkins’ lawyers for a change of venue, the Quad-City Times reported. A new venue for Dinkins’ trial was not immediately selected.
Dinkins pleaded not guilty last year to first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of Breasia Terrell.
Prosecutors say Dinkins took the girl from a Davenport apartment complex in July 2020, fatally shot her and hid her body in rural eastern Iowa. Breasia was the half sister of Dinkins’ son, and investigators have said both children were staying the night with him at the apartment where he was living with a girlfriend.
The girl’s disappearance prompted a monthslong search that ended in March 2021 when two people fishing near DeWitt discovered her remains.
Dinkins, a registered sex offender with a history of violent and reckless behavior, had been granted an early release from prison less than four months before Breasia disappeared.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/domestic-violence/you-dont-blame-a-victim
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WACO, Texas — After losing her daughter to alleged domestic violence, a Waco mother is advocating for victims and wants to change the way we talk about domestic violence.
Sa'Kyra Young's mother, LaToya Wells, says her daughter lost her life at the hands of her boyfriend in August 2020. Wells said Young, 21 years old at the time of her death, was in a violent, abusive relationship for years and died trying to escape.
Reflecting on the years leading to her death, Wells said she struggles to look at pictures or travel to certain locations that remind her of the pain her daughter endured. One of those photos is Sa'Kyra before her prom.
"Because I'm already knowing she didn't show up for prom," Wells said. "She showed up for pictures. But she didn't show up for prom. Because he was calling her phone and calling her phone and making threats for her to come home."
Wells is now an outspoken community advocate for domestic violence victims, often talking to victims and families about their struggles. She wants people to understand that victims often feel trapped and that they have no escape.
"It's not a smart thing to say 'She should've got out,'" Wells said. "The whole thing is he shouldn't have killed her."
Her daughter's alleged abuser and killer is now in jail awaiting trial.
"I'm not a person to sit here and say I want a person's life to be taken, but in a situation like that it's just so sad when the aggressor is the one that's still alive," she said. "She didn't deserve to lose her life."
Sa'Kyra lives on through the "Forever Young" Scholarship Foundation created by Tracy and Keith Guillory. Eleven Waco students received the scholarship just last week.
Wells hopes that her daughter's story is making a difference and hopes to help people better understand victims of domestic violence.
"Her name is not forsaken. She'll always be remembered, and for good reasons," Wells said.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/local-news/is-crime-creeping-into-the-brazos-valley-law-enforcement-doesnt-think-so
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BRAZOS COUNTY, Tx — Picture this: you’re heading down to the local cafe, for a cup of black coffee and plate of eggs and bacon. On the way in, you snag the local paper.
Or, after a long day of work, you head inside, kick off your boots, sit on the couch and begin to indulge in the day’s local news.
No matter the day or time, all of the big headlines have one thing in common recently: violence.
Whether it’s on the other side of the globe in Ukraine, or down the interstate in any big Texas city, it’s a problem leaking into our everyday lives.
Domestic violence seems to be more prevalent these days, and the Brazos Valley is no stranger to the problem.
“He told me how much he loved me, not knowing it would be his last time seeing me,” said a grieving mother, who lost her son to gun violence.
Dispatch in Bryan never has a dull day, as they answer calls and provide help to residents who need it.
”Anytime you have a bigger population, you're going to of course have more crime,” said Kole Taylor with the Bryan Police Department.
It’s hard to ignore the death and devastation coming from places like Killeen, Waco, Houston, you know, the bigger metros.
“It's no shock, nobody's trying to hide it,” Taylor said. “A big national headline has been gun violence.”
Crime after crime, shooting after shooting, families are losing loved ones and more people are becoming statistics.
Recently, a DPS trooper shot and killed a College Station man who refused to cooperate with authorities.
After law enforcement searched his property, they found two additional bodies
While this was a big event for the smaller Texas town, it was a rare one, according to College Station Police.
The department only investigates around three murders a year.
“We're looking at fortunately, very low numbers as a percentage of our population,” Tristen Lopez, with the department explained.
While domestic violence may not be front and center for these towns, theft seems to become a bigger and bigger problem.
It’s a crime, Lopez explained, that could lead to more serious situations.
“Never leave unsecured firearms where criminals could gain access to those,” he said. “Those firearms could end up being used in other crimes.”
Since the beginning of 2022, there’s been over a hundred firearm thefts reported in the college town.
“It’s just a poor recipe,” said Lopez.
But for the two big cities, authorities say, it’s relatively safe, but it is important to remain vigilant.
“If you think that something's off, there's a good chance that there's probably something that you should be kind of paying attention to,” Kole explained.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/canadian-province-wants-to-ban-declawing-multiple-other-non-essential-procedures-for-animals
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The government of the Canadian province of Quebec has taken another step forward in its efforts to ban many procedures for animals deemed non-essential, such as declawing, tail docking, devocalization, and ear cropping, often performed on pets like cats and dogs.
While veterinarians can step in and make exceptions if it is deemed by the doctor that the procedure is medically necessary, the province's government is drafting legislation to try and ban these types of procedures by summer, lawmakers hope, the CBC reported.
Canadian Agriculture Minister André Lamontagne said Quebec's Animal Welfare and Safety Act is still currently being drafted following consultations on the legislation last December.
Quebec's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food said that current laws had "no specific regulation" over these, oftentimes, non-essential procedures, but made a point to formally recommend against performing them.
"A new draft regulation including welfare standards for companion animals, including cats and dogs, is being developed," the agency said. In a statement, Quebec's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food also said that "the latest scientific advances" would be taken into account when proposing guidelines.
Montreal-based animal health technician Alexandra Yaksich started a petition which sparked lawmakers' interest in proposing the animal welfare legislation, according to the CBC.
"I know this is something that seems small to a lot of people, but it's really not," she said.
"It's not just taking off the claw, it's the amputation of the tip of the finger," Yaksich said. "That has all kinds of effects."
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https://www.kxxv.com/hometown/bell-county/local-breweries-to-sell-ukrainian-beer-all-proceeds-support-ukraine
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As the Russian invasion rages on overseas millions of Ukrainians are fleeing their homeland dodging bullets and bombs.
“Seeing that news story of a little girl in her unicorn pajamas who had been killed because of this senseless war, it could have been our daughter. You cannot ignore that,” said Adriane Hodges with Bold Republic Brewing.
It is why Bold Republic Brewing and several other bars are helping a Ukrainian brewery raise money to support those in need.
“We wanted to do something to put money in the hands of people now. We will be donating on the front side of this and backside of this project,” said Patrick Hodges with Bold Republic Brewing.
Bold Republic Owners Patrick and Adriane Hodges say they along with Southern Roots Brewing in Waco will donate $1,000 upfront and soon they will sell a beer created by the Ukrainian brewer.
“It’s not a recipe that we produced it is their beer that they brew in Ukraine it is just huge and shows how much they need the help,” said Adriane.
All the proceeds will help Ukranian refugees. Adriane said local stillhouses helped them raise money for the National Desert Storm War Memorial to honor soldiers like her father who died in the Gulf War. Now she is paying it forward.
“It takes good people to step up and help. My dad paid the ultimate sacrifice for that. He instilled that in me,” said Adriane.
The Hodges said the beer should be ready to sell next month.
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https://www.kxxv.com/hometown/mclennan-county/new-coworking-space-celebrates-grand-opening-in-downtown-waco
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WACO, Texas — Entrepreneurs and small businesses are finding a new home in Central Texas as 25N Coworking officially opened its doors on Thursday afternoon.
The new Chicago-based coworking space houses offices, meeting rooms, and several amenities and allows people to rent spaces for as little as an hour or lease them long-term.
Located at 510 Austin Ave., the space was formally the downtown Bank of America building. The new coworking space incorporates several elements of the bank, including safes and refurbished murals throughout the first floor.
CEO and founder of 25N, Mara Hauser, said roughly a quarter of the available spaces had already been leased even before Thursday's grand opening celebration.
"We have enterprise businesses that are coming here. We have a company from Germany who set up their home office here in Waco and they're in 25N," Hauser said.
Building owner and president and CEO of Sorrells and Co., Steve Sorrells, said having a hub for business in the heart of downtown will not only bring new businesses to town but will also benefit existing businesses.
"[They're] going to lunch at Jake's and Sergio's every day and being a part of the downtown hub, it really activates what's going on," Sorrells said.
Sorrells and Hauser agree that the new coworking space will contribute to the revitalization of downtown Waco.
To learn more about the space, visit the 25N website.
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https://www.kxxv.com/hometown/texas/houston-police-searching-for-suspects-in-attempted-home-invasion-gunfire-exchange
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Houston police are searching for suspects who posed as law enforcement during an attempted home invasion.
The police department said around 12:30 a.m. on Friday, March 18, the victim was asleep inside his apartment at the 8200 block of West Bellfort in Houston. He then heard a loud bang from his front door and realized someone was trying to kick it open.
As the man grabbed his handgun, the door flew open and several men entered saying "HPD" while armed with guns.
"The complainant stated that he did not think that they were the police and their intentions were to rob him, so he fired several rounds towards them," said police. "The suspects then returned fire, missing the complainant, and causing the rounds to go through the walls and into several other surrounding apartments."
The suspects then fled, according to Houston police, and neither the victim nor surrounding residents were struck by the gunfire.
"The suspects were described by the victim as black males wearing dark clothing, two were armed with handguns and the other two were armed with rifles," said police.
Anyone with information is asked to call 713-222-TIPS (8477), submit an online tip at www.crime-stoppers.org or through the Crime Stoppers mobile app.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/domestic-violence/domestic-violence-by-the-numbers
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Chances are someone you know is a victim.
20 people are abused by an intimate partner every minute in the U.S., according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
That adds up to more than 10 million people every year.
The group says a third of women and a quarter of men experience some form of physical violence by an intimate partner.
Women between the ages of 18 to 24 years old are the demographic most affected by domestic violence, the N.A.D.V. said.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/in-depth/in-depth-governor-candidate-wears-shirt-dont-mess-with-trans-kids
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Texas Governor candidate Beto O'Rourke sent out a tweet Thursday of him wearing a shirt that says 'Don't mess with Trans kids.'
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 31, 2022
The democrat candidate has been vocal about Gov. Abbott directing Texas DFPS to investigate gender-transitioning procedures.
A letter to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services asks the agency to conduct the investigation. The letter states that the Office of the Attorney general confirms that a number of sex-change procedures are considered child abuse under Texas law.
Texas law requires that all licensed professionals, including doctors, nurses, and teachers, file a report following direct contact with children who undergo "abusive gender-transitioning procedures."
Texas Attorney General: “There is no doubt" that gender transition of minors is ‘child abuse’ under Texas law.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) February 22, 2022
The Texas Dept. of Family & Protective Services will enforce this ruling and investigate & refer for prosecution any such abuse.https://t.co/hZQguNOiye
Human rights organizations and Beto O'Rourke have been slamming the Governor.
On #TransDayOfVisibility , I want to say this to trans Texans:
— Beto O'Rourke (@BetoORourke) March 31, 2022
I will always fight alongside you to ensure that you're able to live freely as yourself, free from attacks and discrimination. pic.twitter.com/5LkDge7FOX
Over two-thirds of LGBTQ youth said debates over state laws like in Texas that target transgender people have has taken a toll on their mental health, according to a poll by the Trevor Project.
No other state in the U.S. considers gender-affirming care to be child abuse. Texas business community condemns Gov. Abbott's transgender order.
"When Texas sends this dangerous message, it is at stark odds with our members' values and competitiveness — especially in a climate where all sectors have struggled to recruit and retain a talented workforce. We oppose any attempts to separate loving families; to criminalize lifesaving care; and to force teachers and medical professionals to place families in danger."
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/grammy-awards-to-be-held-in-las-vegas-for-the-first-time
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The Grammys might be missing stars like Drake, The Weeknd and Kanye West as performers, but the biggest night in music could still shine bright on the Las Vegas Strip.
The ceremony relocated to Las Vegas for the first time ever, with several artists, who could have epic nights including Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and leading nominee Jon Batiste. The awards shifted from Los Angeles because of the rising COVID-19 cases and the omicron variant in January.
Host Trevor Noah calls Las Vegas a "perfect place to have a celebration" with fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The show airs live on Sunday beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS and Paramount+.
As the Associated Press reported, it was still unclear if the Foo Fighters would make an appearance in light of the recent sudden death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in Bogota, Colombia.
Noah said of the show, “You get to be on stage and celebrated for your work. I’m excited for that. I want to see 25 people on stage celebrating and sharing the love and joy for something they’ve done.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/oscars-producer-says-police-offered-to-arrest-will-smith
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Oscars producer Will Packer says Los Angeles police were ready to arrest Will Smith after Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.
In a clip released on Thursday of an interview with "Good Morning America," Packer says police called the incident battery and laid out the options for Rock. But Packer says Rock was dismissive of the idea.
Smith walked on the Dolby Theatre stage on Sunday and slapped Rock after a joke the comedian made about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith apologized to Rock in a statement on Monday. The academy met on Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith.
Packer said of Rock, “He was like, ’No, no, no, I’m fine.” Packer continued saying, “And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish.’ The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action?’ And he said no.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/get-bath-body-works-hand-soaps-60-off-coupon-code/
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The products and services mentioned below were selected independent of sales and advertising. However, Don't Waste Your Money may receive a small commission from the purchase of any products or services through an affiliate link to the retailer's website.
If you’re looking to stock up on candles, hand soaps, fragrance sprays and sanitizers, Bath & Body Works is offering a limited-time deal that will save you 30% on everything, plus free shipping on any purchase.
But the 30% off deal can be combined with current sales, so you’ll end up scoring even more than 30% off if you choose items that are already marked down. Because the shipping is free on any order, and no minimum purchase is required, even if you buy a single candle or single soap, you’ll get 30% and it will ship for free.
To get the discount and free shipping, simply use the promo code PRESENTS at checkout. We had some trouble getting the code to work in certain browsers, so if it doesn’t work for you, open a different browser on your phone or computer and try again.
You have until April 12 to use the code, but you may want to do so soon if you’re looking for specific scents that could end up out of stock or are combining the code with a current sale. While the code does work with sales, there’s a chance the sales will end before the code expires, so the deals may not overlap all the way to April 12.
Take a look at some of the deals you can get when you combine current sales and the coupon code:
Hand Soaps: 60% Off
You can get around 60% off hand soaps if you purchase six and use the code PRESENTS combined with a current sale. Regularly priced at up to $8.50, the soaps are currently 6 for $27, or $4.50 each (if you buy six). Combined with the code, the final price is $3.15 each, a savings of 62%.
Just some of the soaps you’ll find in the sale include new fragrances like Fresh Cut Lilacs and Pineapple Prosecco, which has scents of sparkling pineapple, bubbly prosecco and white nectarine.
Hand Sanitizer Sprays: $2.28
Regularly priced at $6.50, you can get hand sanitizer sprays for $2.28, a savings of $4.22. The sprays are currently on sale for $3.25, with the code saving you another 98 cents.
You’ll find a handful of fun summer scents to keep your hands clean and fresh this season, like Watermelon Lemonade, Pink Pineapple Sunrise and Kiwi Strawberry. The sprays contain nourishing aloe, 72% alcohol and kill 99% of germs.
Select Body Care: Buy 3, Get 1 Free, Plus 30% Off
Select body care is currently buy 3, get 1 free, so when combining that deal with the coupon code, you’ll save 30% on three items and then get a fourth for free.
There are more than 300 body care items included in the deal, from shower gel and body cream to fragrance mists. Scents include Japanese Cherry Blossom, Saltwater Breeze and the online-exclusive Honolulu Sun, which has scents of fresh island coconut, Pacific palm and driftwood.
Single-Wick Candles: 2 For $22, Plus 30% Off
Single-wick candles are currently priced at 2 for $22, or $11 each. Regularly priced at $15.50 each, you’ll be saving $4.50 before applying the code. After the code, each candle will cost just $7.70, a savings of $7.80 off the regular price.
Scents include Fresh Sheets, Iced Lemon Pound Cake and Raspberries & Whipped Vanilla from their new Easter collection.
New Butterfly Scent
While the full collection isn’t launching until April 4, there are already a handful of products for Bath & Body Works’ new Butterfly scent online that can be purchased with the 30% off code.
You’ll find the scent in a candle, body lotion, shower gel, hand soap and other products. The fragrance notes of the new scent include raspberry nectar, iris petals and airy vanilla, while the packaging features a gorgeous purple and blue butterfly.
Which Bath & Body Works products will you be stocking up on with the coupon code PRESENTS?
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money.
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https://www.kxxv.com/money/consumer/dont-waste-your-money/car-parts-shortage-has-drivers-waiting-months-for-repairs
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A caution to anyone who may need a car repair sometime soon: You may have to wait weeks, even months for parts, due to supply chain shortages that show no signs of letting up.
When George Weaver fires up his 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe, the whole neighborhood hears what sounds like an old hot rod.
"I started it up on Monday morning, and it was loud, and I knew right away what had happened," he said.
It was his catalytic converter, which are being targeted by thieves everywhere these days for their valuable metals. When he looked underneath, he saw two clean cuts on the exhaust, and his $1,000 converter gone.
So he limped the SUV to his dealer, where he expected a quick repair. But it was not to be.
"The dealer said they are back-ordered, there are none in the country, and they don't know when they are gonna get them in," he said.
Many parts now on back order for months
Many original equipment catalytic converters are currently on back order. But that's not the only essential car part you may not be able to find, due to supply chain shortages.
Matt Overbeck owns a repair shop, Overbeck Auto Services. "We are seeing car parts delays and shortages in some areas," he said. "Day, weeks, and in some cases months."
Besides converters, he says parts in short supply include:
- ABS brake modules
- Engine sensors
- Transmission control modules
- Windshields
What can owners do?
Overbeck says independent shops have more flexibility than dealers, that have to use official replacement parts. He is able to get aftermarket converters, for example, or used converters in a pinch.
"You can work with your repair provider to see if there are other options, such as used, or a salvage yard part," Overbeck said.
He says don't be frightened by salvage parts, as they are usually fine and come with warranties. But Weaver, who wants the official Hyundai part because his SUV is almost new, says "it is very frustrating. And the frustrating part is you are paying for the car and you can't use it!"
We contacted his dealer, who promised to make his converter a priority, and if all else fails, try to swap him into a different vehicle.
So don't be surprised if you have to wait for a part, so don't waste your money.
________________________
Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps").
Like" John Matarese Money on Facebook
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For more consumer news and money-saving advice, go to www.dontwasteyourmoney.com
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/man-22-traveling-157-mph-in-fort-worth-crash-that-killed-1-injured-2-police
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FORT WORTH, Texas – A 22-year-old man is in major trouble after traveling what police say was 157 mph in a 70-mph zone on westbound I-20 before colliding with a silver SUV, killing one and injuring two.
Bryce Abernathy, who was arrested by Fort Worth police traffic investigators, faces two counts of aggravated assault and one count of manslaughter in connection with the mid-March crash.
“The airbag control module indicated the Camaro was traveling 157 mph in a 70-mph zone,” a Fort Worth police Facebook post said Thursday. “Reckless driving is irresponsible, egregious, and dangerous. Drivers are encouraged to exercise caution and responsibility when operating a motor vehicle.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/1950-census-records-are-now-available-heres-how-to-make-your-search-successful
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The records for the 1950 U.S. Census were just released Friday morning.
The National Archives released them just after midnight on April 1, and an agreement was put in place that census records would remain private for 72 years. Those 72 years were up as of 12:01 a.m. on April 1.
To access the census data, all you have to do is go to 1950census.archives.gov.
According to the National Archives, this was the 17th decennial census of the United States.
There are also ways you can help. The National Archives is using Amazon Web Services' artificial intelligence/optical character recognition to extract handwritten names from the 1950 Census population schedules.
That AI is not 100% accurate, so the National Archives said you can submit name records to the index using a transcription tool available on the 1950 Census website. By doing that, it will help improve the accuracy of the name index.
Below are some tips from the U.S. Census Bureau when searching
1: Search for the first and last name of the head of household (plus state and county of residence if known) because the surname was written on the census form only on the line for the head of household and other persons in the household with a different surname.
2: To narrow your search to find specific records, you can select multiple filters. Or to conduct a broader search, you may choose to select one filter at a time.
3: You don't have to know the exact spelling of a person's name in order to perform a name search. Enter as much as you know. The search engine will return any close variations or matches.
4: Once you've found a record of interest, click on the buttons or links labeled "Population Schedules", "ED Maps", or "View Original ED Description" to view a digitized copy of the records.
5: Use the built-in transcription feature to correct and add names to the site's name index. Your contributions can help make the 1950 Census population schedules more discoverable for everyone.
This story was first reported by WXYZ in Detroit, Mich.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/world/pope-francis-begs-for-forgiveness-apologizes-to-indigenous-community-in-canada
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Pope Francis has begged forgiveness for the “deplorable” abuses suffered by Indigenous Peoples in Canada’s residential schools.
He says he was “ashamed” and “indignant” at all they had endured.
Francis made the apology and vowed to visit Canada during an audience Friday with dozens of members of the Metis, Inuit and First Nations communities.
They came to Rome seeking a papal apology and a commitment for the Catholic Church to repair the damage.
More than 150,000 native children were forced to attend state-funding Christian schools in Canada between the 19th century and the 1970s.
The Canadian government has admitted that there were physical and sexual abuse at the schools and students were beat for speaking their native languages.
The Pope said he hopes to visit Canada in late July to deliver the apology in person.
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https://www.kxxv.com/targets-car-seat-trade-event-is-coming-soon/
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The products and services mentioned below were selected independent of sales and advertising. However, Don't Waste Your Money may receive a small commission from the purchase of any products or services through an affiliate link to the retailer's website.
Target has announced that it will hold its twice-yearly car seat trade-in event from April 18-30. On those dates only, shoppers have the chance to trade in an old, expired or damaged infant or child car seat and receive a coupon for 20% off a new one (or other gear for kids) on their Target app or Target.com/circle.
Target turns the old car seats over to its partner, Waste Management. The company recycles the materials, which are used to make products like pallets, plastic buckets, and construction materials. Since the retailer started the program in 2016, more than 1.4 million car seats have been recycled. That amount translates into 22.2 million pounds of plastic.
What Can You Trade In?
Target will accept all types of car seats during the dates listed, including infant and convertible car seats, car seat bases, and harness or booster car seats. This includes those with expired dates or damage.
You can trade car seats in at any Target location, with the exception of select small-format stores. The stores will have drop-off boxes near Guest Services where you can leave them. Signs near the bins will have a code for you to scan using your phone. Once you have completed the process, you’ll receive a coupon in your Target Circle account.
What Can You Use the Discount On?
You can use the 20% off coupon in-store or online. Each customer who receives the coupon will be able to use it twice.
The discount applies to one car seat, one stroller or select baby gear. And, according to Hip2Save, you can stack the coupon with sales and the Target Red Cardholders discount for even more savings.
The car seat trade-in is held at nearly all Target stores. You can enter your zip code on the store finder page to check participating stores in your area.
And before you head out to drop off your old car seats, be sure to check out these secrets for saving more money at Target.
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money.
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https://www.kxxv.com/weather/wind-picks-back-up-friday
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CENTRAL TEXAS — We saw a nice break from the wind yesterday, hopefully you got outside and enjoyed it because the south breezes are going to kick back up today. That will bring back some warmer temperatures as highs climb back into the upper 70s and lower 80s. Unfortunately, as those winds kick up, areas west of I-35 will face an elevated fire danger. We need to be vigilant not to do anything that could cause sparks.
A small chance of rain arrives overnight into Saturday morning with some light showers possible. Don't hold your breath, because many will miss out. Thanks to the system passing over though, winds will be lighter for Saturday out of the north and east around 5-10mph.
South winds crank back up Sunday bringing back Gulf moisture and pushing temperatures into the low to mid 80s. That will eventually set us up for some storm chances Monday and Tuesday. Behind that, a cold front works in bringing drier air and a cool-down for the middle of next week.
Meteorologist Josh Johns
25 Weather
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https://www.kxxv.com/mr-potato-head-toys-5-right-now/
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The products and services mentioned below were selected independent of sales and advertising. However, Don't Waste Your Money may receive a small commission from the purchase of any products or services through an affiliate link to the retailer's website.
Do you need children’s gift ideas for birthdays, Easter baskets, or just as a fun surprise without breaking the bank? Both Walmart and Amazon are having sales right now on a true classic: Potato Head.
Both retailers have a variety of these throwback Playskool toys starting as low as $5, according to Passionate Penny Pincher. Normally, the price ranges from $8.99 to $11.99. This sale slashes prices up to 44% and makes it easy to stock up on a few for multiple kids, multiple occasions or as donations for charity toy drives.
Online shoppers can grab these deals at either Walmart.com or Amazon. If you prefer shopping the old-fashioned way, Walmart also has the markdowns at its stores.
Here are just a few of the deals available now on Potato Head toys:
Mr. Potato Head Classic Toy
He’s the guy who started it all! Mr. Potato Head has 11 interchangeable parts for kids to arrange his parts and customize his outfit. These days, he’s had an upgrade and now even has legs instead of just feet. Accessories include eyes, a nose, a mouth, a mustache, a tongue, a pair of glasses, two ears, two hands and his legs with attached shoes.
All the spare parts can be stored conveniently right in his “tater tush.” These accessories are also compatible with other spuds in the toy line.
You can get Mr. Potato Head from Walmart (either online or in-store) for only $5, marked down from $11.99. Or, if you prefer Amazon, you can also pick up Mr. Potato Head for just $5, marked down from $8.99.
Mrs. Potato Head Classic Toy
Mr. Potato Head’s better half is also on sale at both Walmart and Amazon for a great price. Mrs. Potato Head also has 11 accessories and looks stylish with her hair, eyes with eyelashes, red lips, ears (complete with earrings), purse and more!
Mrs. Potato Head is on sale for $5.97 on Amazon (marked down from $8.99) and at Walmart for $5.97 (marked down from $7.99).
Mr. Potato Head Goes Green (Amazon Only)
A different spin on Mr. Potato Head is on sale in this Amazon-exclusive model. Mr. Potato Head Goes Green is a 15-piece set that is themed around gardening, as he comes with gloved hands, a gardening hat, a potted plant and more. Plus, this version of the toy is made from plant-based plastic.
It’s marked down to $10.10 (normally $14.99) during the sale.
Remember that parts from any Potato Head toy set can be used with any other one, so it never hurts to add a few more accessories to the collection.
This story originally appeared on Don't Waste Your Money. Checkout Don't Waste Your Money for product reviews and other great ideas to save and make money.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/2-in-1-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-sold-at-walmart-recalled
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TAMPA — Universal Security Instruments is recalling some combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms because they can fail to alert consumers to the presence of a hazardous level of carbon monoxide, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
The recall involves two models and two date codes of Universal Security Instruments 2-in-1 Photoelectric Smoke & Fire + Carbon Monoxide alarms.
Model MPC322S has 10-year sealed batteries and a manufacturing date code of 2017JUN09.
Model MPC122S is a hardwired alarm with a 10-year sealed battery backup and a manufacturing date code of 2017JUN02.
The brand name “UNIVERSAL SECURITY INSTRUMENTS, INC.” or “USI ELECTRIC” is printed on the front of the alarms above “Photoelectric Smoke & Fire + Carbon Monoxide Alarm.” The model number and date code are printed on the back of the alarms.
CPSC said people with the alarms should immediately contact Universal Security Instruments for a free replacement alarm. CPSC said consumers should keep using the recalled alarms until they install replacement alarms.
The recall said the company received two reports of the units failing to alarm for the presence of carbon monoxide within the specified time requirement. No injuries have been reported.
The alarms were sold nationwide and online at Walmart and other websites from June 2017 through December 2019 for between $50 and $80.
This story was first reported by Emily McCain at WFTS in Tampa, Fla.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/faith-leaders-in-korean-american-community-tackle-domestic-abuse
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ATHENS, Ga. — For immigrant women, escaping domestic abuse can be difficult. Language barriers and complex laws don’t help.
A year after eight Asian women were murdered in Atlanta, we’re still grappling with the objectification and stereotypes that sparked that rampage.
But conversations about violence perpetrated against Asian American women are happening. One program focused on faith leaders is helping them address domestic violence in the Korean American community.
For decades, places of worship have played a central role in immigrant communities in the United States helping them find jobs, housing and social programs.
“Whether that’s a mosque or a temple or a church. And for the Korean American population, that is exactly the same,” said Joon Choi, an associate professor at the University of Georgia Athens school of social work.
For Korean Americans, about 70% to 80% percent associate with protestant churches.
It’s why Choi who was researching domestic violence prevention, focused on houses of worship.
“From my experiences working as a counselor for domestic violence survivors and American domestic violence survivors, I found that many of them reach out to their ministers for help,” said Choi.
But Choi found a little more than half of the pastors surveyed felt confident in addressing the needs of domestic violence victims.
“A lot of time these religious leaders would like to help these women and these survivors. However, they don't know how to do that,” said Choi.
“Many pastors and many of the Korean community doesn't exactly realize what is domestic violence,” said Reverend Paul Joo, a priest at One in Christ Episcopal Church in Prospect Heights, Illinois.
Joo says one obstacle he’s seen is the cultural embarrassment and stigma attached to issues of domestic violence.
“When we talk about it's a shame for me. It's a shame our family. Shame not only me. Shame to my husband and wife, too. So, we keep the secret,” said Joo.
Using a half-million-dollar grant from the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, Choi worked with partners like fellow public health professor Pamela Orpinas, experts in domestic violence prevention and the Korean American faith community to develop a pastor training program.
“Addressing this from a Korean perspective with the language, with the Korean pastors, feedback was very important,” said Orpinas.
Taught in Korean, the online module portion presents the trainee with virtual case simulations allowing them to learn and make choices on how to confidently proceed.
“It really helps them to see what type of responses they provide to these survivors, how they can be helpful or unhelpful for them,” said Choi.
Over the last three years, more than 100 pastors from Chicago and Washington D.C. have gone through the program. It’s also helped them join hands with Asian American violence prevention organizations like KAN-WIN.
“This really made an opportunity for us to connect with them, dispel the myths surrounding gender-based violence, and also talk about options and resources for survivors, which is not many people know about them,” said Ji Hye Kim, executive director at KAN-WIN.
For Reverend Joo, the training has created a paradigm shift.
“It changed the concept of the domestic violence. And secondly, how do we approach how do we solve the problem?” said Joo.
But Choi says much more needs to be done.
“This is really a campaign that's targeting people to speak up against domestic violence and also when they see survivors reaching out and then actually helping survivors to connect to services,” said Choi.
With another DOJ grant, she plans to expand the training to more pastors, spouses and partners in Korean American communities across the country.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/more-than-430-000-jobs-added-in-march-marking-new-low-in-unemployment-rate
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431,000 jobs were added in March, according to numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.
The added jobs brought the unemployment rate down to a pandemic-era low of 3.6%.
Economists had estimated more jobs would be added in March.
Job growth was especially strong in the leisure and hospitality sector, as well as in professional and business services.
Hourly wages increased 0.4% from the previous month, which is about what economists expected.
The average hourly pay is about 5.6% higher than it was one year ago.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/nations-oldest-park-ranger-retires-at-the-age-of-100
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RICHMOND, Calif. — The nation’s oldest active park ranger is hanging up her Smokey hat at the age of 100.
The National Park Service says Betty Reid Soskin retired Thursday after more than 15 years at the Rosie the Riveter/World War Two Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, California.
She helped found the park that pays tribute to the efforts of American civilians on the home front during World War II.
Soskin led tours at the park and related her experience as a Black woman working on the home front during the war.
Soskin was a civil rights activist and a businesswoman before she won a temporary Park Service position at the age of 84.
She became a permanent employee in 2011.
Her retirement party will take place this Saturday at the park.
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20220401
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/2-students-succumb-to-injuries-after-being-hit-at-bus-stop
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ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. — Two of four students who were hit by a car while waiting for a school bus last week have died, authorities said.
Both students were reportedly 15-years-old.
They were among the four students who were rushed to the hospital on March 22 after a vehicle drove onto the sidewalk where they were waiting for their school bus.
Video from Scripps station WPTV shows the badly damaged SUV.
According to NBC News, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old are still recovering from their injuries.
They all attended Royal Palm Beach Community High School.
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20220401
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/americans-becoming-more-stressed-on-the-road-survey-shows
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Do you think you’re a good driver? It turns out – not everyone agrees.
A survey by Nationwide found 85% of people rate their own driving as excellent or good, but only 29% of people gave others the same rating.
Driving has also become more stressful for some.
About 50% said they feel roads are more dangerous now than before the pandemic
It makes sense when you look at the numbers -- fewer people were driving in 2020, but there was still a nearly 7% increase in car crash deaths.
Things only worsened in 2021, with a 12% increase in deaths on the road.
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20220401
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/flight-makes-emergency-landing-after-windshield-shatters
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (KSTU) — A Delta flight leaving from the Salt Lake City International Airport had to make an emergency landing after the plane's windshield shattered while in the air on Thursday.
A passenger on the plane, Dr. Kirk Knowlton, snapped a picture of the cracked windshield.
In a tweet, Knowlton said that during the flight, it was announced the plane would need to make an emergency landing in Denver because of the window.
The plane was headed to Washington D.C. before it had to land. Delta Air Lines said there were 198 passengers on the flight.
Knowlton said the crew told passengers the shattered window happened spontaneously.
The plane was able to safely land in Denver and passengers were able to catch another flight.
Knowlton acknowledged that the Delta crew was able to handle the situation "very nicely."
Representatives from Delta Air Lines released a statement in regard to the incident:
"Delta flight 760 from Salt Lake City to Washington D.C. experienced a maintenance issue mid-flight. Out of an abundance of caution, the flight crew diverted into Denver and the plane landed routinely. Our team worked quickly to accommodate customers on a new plane, and we sincerely apologize for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans."
This story was originally reported by Melanie Porter on fox13now.com.
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20220401
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/house-likely-to-pass-legislation-that-decriminalizes-marijuana
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The House is likely to pass legislation Friday that would decriminalize marijuana nationwide.
Marijuana is still illegal on the federal level, but if the House votes on the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, also known as the “MORE” Act, it would remove marijuana from the list of scheduled controlled substances.
The legislation would leave it up to states to set their own laws surrounding marijuana.
It would also release people who are incarcerated on cannabis-related offenses of fewer than 30 grams and erase criminal penalties for those who were convicted of manufacturing, distributing or possessing it.
The bill would impose a federal tax on marijuana sales.
If the MORE Act passes the House, it will then head to the Senate where it would need 60 votes, including the support of at least 10 Republican senators if every Democratic senator backed it, in order for it to advance.
The vote on Friday will be the second time House Democrats have voted in favor of decriminalizing marijuana, after previously advancing the legislation in 2020.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/new-vehicles-must-average-40-mpg-by-2026-up-from-24-mpg
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DETROIT (AP) — New vehicles sold in the U.S. will have to travel an average of at least 40 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2026 under new rules unveiled by the government.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday that its fuel economy requirements will undo a rollback enacted under President Donald Trump.
The new requirements increase gas mileage by 8% per year for model years 2024 and 2025 and 10% in the 2026 model year.
For the current model year, standards enacted under Trump require the fleet of new vehicles to get just over 24 miles per gallon in real-world driving.
Some environmental groups say the new standards aren't tough enough, saying that it's about 2 mpg short of what the NHTSA considered, the Associated Press reported.
Compared to the Trump standards, gasoline consumption will be reduced by more than 220 billion throughout the car's lifetime.
NHTSA said that by 2050, carbon dioxide emissions would drop by 2.5 billion metric tons under the standards and those with a 2029 model vehicle would save about $1,400 in gasoline costs during the car's lifetime.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/ny-mobster-who-killed-3-escapes-federal-custody-in-florida
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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A New York mobster who killed three people and attempted to kill two others has escaped from federal custody.
The Bureau of Prisons website says Dominic Taddeo escaped on March 28.
The 64-year-old had been imprisoned at a medium-security lockup in Florida before being transferred to a residential halfway house in February.
Taddeo pleaded guilty in 1992 to racketeering charges that included the killings of three men during mob wars in the 1980s. He was reportedly serving a 54-year sentence.
A federal judge in western New York denied Taddeo’s request for compassionate release last year.
A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson did not immediately return a call seeking information about Taddeo’s escape.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/usda-projects-food-prices-to-increase-even-more-in-2022
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People will likely pay more at grocery stores and restaurants this year.
The Department of Agriculture released its price outlook for 2022 and it shows that inflation is hitting the food industry.
"Food price increases are expected to be above the increases observed in 2020 and 2021," the agency says.
Prices from food at the grocery store are expected to increase up to 4%. Prices at restaurants could increase by 6.5%, the USDA says. If that holds true, it would exceed historical averages, according to the USDA.
The poultry and dairy industries are facing some of the highest inflation rates. Prices for poultry products could go up 7% and dairy product prices could see a 5% increase this year, the USDA said.
Fresh vegetable prices are among the products with the lowest inflation rate. The USDA says they are expected to go up by about 2.5%.
Farmers are also feeling the pinch. Ukraine and Russia are among the largest suppliers of wheat. The conflict between the two countries is expected to lead to an increase in wheat prices of up to 23%.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/new-mexico-launches-cannabis-sales-within-texans-reach
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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is bringing sales of recreational marijuana to the doorstep of Texas, the largest prohibition state, as the movement toward broad legalization sweeps up even more of the American West.
As of Friday in New Mexico, anyone 21 and older can purchase up to 2 ounces (57 grams) of marijuana — enough to roll about 60 joints or cigarettes — or comparable amounts of marijuana liquid concentrates and edible treats.
New Mexico has nurtured a medical marijuana program since 2007 under tight restrictions. Friday’s changes still represent a sea change for local law enforcement, taxation officials, commercial growers and residents who thought full-blown legal access to pot would never come.
Across the state, would-be marijuana farmers are bidding for water rights and learning to raise their first cannabis crops, as experienced medical cannabis producers ramp up production and add new retail showrooms.
New Mexico is among 18 states that have legalized pot for recreational use, with implications for cannabis tourism and conservative Texas, where legalization efforts have made little headway.
In Clovis, New Mexico, a high plains town of about 40,000 residents less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Texas, Earl Henson and two business partners have pooled resources to convert a former gun shop and shooting range into a cannabis store and companion growing room at a Main Street address.
“I can’t explain how happy I am,” said Henson, a former real estate agent who says his affection for marijuana was a burden in the past. This week, he began harvesting the first crop for a cannabis store titled Earl and Tom’s. “I think these cities that are near Texas, for the next two years it is going to change their economies.”
In the state capital of Santa Fe, marijuana is going on sale across the street from the city’s newly built visitors center on a block lined with galleries, clothing boutiques and restaurants.
LeRoy Roybal, manager of Minerva Canna’s downtown cannabis store, said he hopes the stigma of cannabis use quickly fades.
“I think we’re liberating a lot of hearts and souls,” he said. “It’s going to be like getting a cup of joe at Starbucks.”
Supportive lawmakers hope that broad legalizing of marijuana will stamp out black markets, boost employment and provide stable new sources of government income.
Consumers initially will rely heavily on supplies from 35 legacy marijuana businesses that took root over the past 15 years. Cannabis regulators have issued more than 230 new marijuana business licenses so far — to growers, retailers and manufacturing facilities for extracts and edibles.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Thursday said that broad marijuana legalization responds to popular demands and is generating small business opportunities.
“This is what consumers want,” said Lujan Grisham, up for reelection in November. “We have the potential for 11,000 more workers, jobs in places where young people can work and stay, like Torrance County and Texico and Tucumcari and Raton.”
Local governments can’t ban cannabis businesses entirely, though they can restrict locations and hours of operation. Public consumption is prohibited under threat of a $50 fine for first-time infractions.
New business licenses for cannabis cafes or lounges haven’t been requested yet — leaving people to indulge in their homes or designated hotels, casinos and cigar shops.
In southern New Mexico, Mayor Javier Perea of Sunland Park says marijuana retailers can set up anywhere across the small city flanked by the Rio Grande and fencing along the U.S. border with Mexico.
He said about 30 marijuana business have sought authorization in the city of just 17,000 residents, banking on tourism from nearby El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez in Mexico.
Perea hopes the industry creates economic opportunity and tax income to bolster city services. Local governments will receive a minority share of the state’s 12% excise tax on recreational marijuana sales, along with a share of additional sales taxes. Medical cannabis remains tax-free.
“The one thing that we are going to struggle with is we are going to run out of buildings” for new businesses, he said.
Legal experts warn that people who purchase cannabis in New Mexico and chose to return home to other states could risk criminal penalties, arrest and incarceration — most notably in Texas.
Paul Armento, deputy director of the drug policy group NORML, said Texas is among the leading states for marijuana-possession arrests, and that possession of marijuana concentrates, which are legal in New Mexico, is punishable in Texas by up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Marijuana also remains illegal under federal law to possess, use or sell — a standard that applies across vast tracks of federal land and Indian Country in New Mexico.
New Mexico’s cannabis industry, still reliant on cash to avoid running afoul of federal law, is gaining access to banking services through an alternative certification system for credit unions and banks supported by state attorneys general.
The state also plans to underwrite $5 million in low-interest loans to small cannabis businesses that can’t access traditional credit.
Lawmakers in New Mexico have sought to reverse harm inflicted by marijuana criminalization on minority communities and poor households by automatically dismissing or erasing past cannabis convictions, encouraging social and economic diversity in employment and reducing financial barriers for startup businesses.
The state’s micro-business license to cultivate up to 200 plants for a flat $1,000 fee is attracting first-time commercial growers such as recently retired U.S. Marine Kyle Masterson and wife Ivy, a Hispanic Army veteran with business consulting experience. They are raising three children and making a mid-life career shift into cannabis.
The Mastersons, residents of suburban Rio Rancho, searched more remote areas for an affordable building to cultivate high-grade marijuana under lights, settling on a vacant former movie theater in tiny Cuba, New Mexico, at the base of the Jemez Mountains.
“It felt right, it felt good and out of a vision of what we could do,” said Kyle, who served in four combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. “We’re used to working out of austere environments without much direction and doing our best.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/entertainment/batty-morbius-movie-gets-lost-in-the-dark
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TUCSON, Ariz. — Humorless, sullen, and brooding, "Morbius" ratchets up the emo factor to ludicrous levels.
Jared Leto stars as the title character, an anti-hero so obsessed with curing his chronic blood disease that he accidentally becomes a superhuman vampire.
Hey, these things tend to happen when you spend too much time in a top-secret basement lab tinkering with vampire bat blood.
Credit goes to Leto for managing to take the role seriously, even as his face monster-morphs via cheesy CGI and a humdrum script gives him little to do but sit around and be sad that he's a superhuman antihero vampire. Sure, he would do good, but men got to eat and ketchup isn't going to cut it.
Mixing elements of the recent cinematic origin stories of Dr. Strange, Venom, and Batman, director Daniel Espinosa's drama takes on the thankless task of telling a lackadaisical origin story to crank out another misunderstood villain for Spider-Man to sling webs at.
The movie shows promise in its first half, which eschews the comic book flick convention of a clear-cut enemy. Instead, the film is all about Morbius's lamenting introspection. Eventually, though, the clunky plot mechanics kick into gear, and the film's momentum drains away like blood from the neck of a hapless anti-hero superhuman vampire victim.
Supporting characters include Matt Smith as Milo — Morbius's bestie who also craves healing from a similar blood syndrome — and Adria Arjona as Martine, a doctor who aids Morbius in his research. All the real character development, though, falls to Morbius himself. Everyone around him is just gloomy window dressing.
As disappointing as the movie may be, its post-credit sequence is even worse. Two bizarre, out-of-place teases to future films involving Venom, Spider-Man and Morbius are clunky and forced, inspiring more dread than anticipation.
That's life as Morbius, all right. No wonder he's so sad.
Viewed Thursday at Harkins Arizona Pavilions.
RATING: 2 stars out of 4.
——-
Phil Villarreal is the senior real-time editor for KGUN 9. He is also a digital producer and host of "Phil on Film" seen weekly on Good Morning Tucson, Phil moved to KGUN after 17 years with the Arizona Daily Star, where he was a movie critic, columnist, and reporter. He has penned three books: Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel, Stormin' Mormon and Zeta Male. A University of Arizona business graduate, he has four children. Share your story ideas and important issues with Phil by emailing phil.villarreal@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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https://www.kxxv.com/entertainment/kirby-and-the-forgotten-land-is-a-joyous-shape-shifting-romp
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TUCSON, Ariz. — Nintendo's favorite pink puffball mascot is back in "Kirby and the Forgotten Land," a free-wheeling, fun, and lighthearted platformer.
The challenges and set pieces in the joyous ramp slapped smile upon a smile on my face. Not only is the Switch exclusive one of the best outings for the shape-shifting hero, but it's also one of the best games on the system, period.
The true genius of the game is its accessibility. New players can plunge in without any knowledge of Kirby or his powers, but hardcore gamers still get plenty to chew on. Escalating, optional challenges abound for those who want to test their skills to the limit.
All players enjoy the mesmerizing visuals, which pile colossal enemies set against vivid, imaginative landscapes. Traditionally, Kirby games were set in cartoon-style worlds.
Still, the new entry adds real-world elements, creating a wild and charming juxtaposition that makes it compelling to seek out the surprises hiding around the next corner.
As has been the case since the hero was first introduced in 1992, Kirby swallows up enemies to take on their powers. He can be a sword-and-shield-swinging knight moment and an anthropomorphic vehicle the next.
While many of the game's puzzle scenarios have one clear solution, some have multiple paths that test and reward your creativity.
A multiplayer component allows a second player to join in on the action as Kirby's sidekick Waddle Dee. Players can team up to truck through the game or take pleasure in griefing one another, stalling the progress while piling up the laughs.
If the game has a flaw, the combat and health meter tend to be too forgiving, casting a "nerfed" sensation among even the most formidable baddies. While several encounters provide a stiff challenge, there's nothing much that will send you spiraling into an "Elden Ring"-style despair.
What "Kirby and the Forgotten Land" is best at is affirmation. Its boundless sense of fun, light challenge, and optimism is a bright spot in the often dour, super-serious gaming world.
When you're playing as Kirby, you're never quite beaten as long as you've got the will and a plan.
Publishers provided a review code.
——-
Phil Villarreal is the senior real-time editor for KGUN 9. He is also a digital producer and host of "Phil on Film" seen weekly on Good Morning Tucson, Phil moved to KGUN after 17 years with the Arizona Daily Star, where he was a movie critic, columnist, and reporter. He has penned three books: Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel, Stormin' Mormon and Zeta Male. A University of Arizona business graduate, he has four children. Share your story ideas and important issues with Phil by emailing phil.villarreal@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national-politics/the-race/i-felt-very-trapped-breaking-the-sex-trafficking-cycle-takes-a-holistic-approach-experts-say
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DETROIT, Mich. — Trafficking affects thousands of people every year.
"My trafficking started at a young age and so for a long time I was in denial that I was a victim of trafficking," said Yolanda, who did not want to use her full name for the story.
For years, she was trafficked around the Midwest. She knew she wanted to get out, but didn’t know how. The people trafficking her made her believe she was dependent on them.
"I felt very trapped," Yolanda said.
She wants others to know that people are out there to help victims of trafficking.
"It just makes you feel so powerful to finally be able to step away and say, 'I'm never going back, I'm never going back because I don't have to,'" she said.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 16,658 victims called last year, some from every state in the country. However, experts say that due to how the industry preys on the silence of victims, this only represents a fraction of the problem.
"We also know that there's consistent evidence, that it is way underreported," said Amy Good, CEO of Detroit's Alternatives for Girls, a nonprofit that helps trafficking survivors start a new life with resources.
It’s estimated that 15,000 to 50,000 people are forced into trafficking in the U.S. every year.
Yolanda is one of the women helped by Alternatives for Girls. She says organizations like them are a critical lifeline.
"I started getting my legal issues taken care of, they helped me with food. We started working on shelter. We had counseling and life skills," said Yolanda.
From providing emergency shelter, clothes, job training, and daycare for children, the help someone needs to start a new life away from being trapped must be holistic and catered to the individual, the team at Alternative for Girls says. However, they say the work shouldn’t stop with organizations like theirs.
"We need community awareness because the more people are aware, the more people can be allies to help people protect themselves and to help recognize when you can sound the alarm," said Good.
Breaking out of trafficking is difficult and complicated, but as Yolanda testifies, there are people out there who can help and it’s worth the work.
"It wasn't everybody's choice to be out in the street. Somebody, some of us was just running from something or someone, you know, it's tough. The streets are tough, but what's your life worth to you," said Yolanda.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national-politics/the-race/should-law-enforcement-use-facial-recognition-technology
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DETROIT, Mich. — Facial recognition technology is being used by law enforcement to help solve crimes. However, many believe that technology is doing more harm than good.
“It's been two years and it's still, we're still talking about it,” said Melissa Williams.
Williams remembers the night her husband Robert was arrested in front of her and their two daughters like it was yesterday.
“They had no reason to arrest me. I still can't figure out why I was arrested, other than they said, I look like somebody,” said Robert Williams.
Two Detroit police officers met Robert at his front door as he was coming home from work. The Williams family lives in Farmington, more than half an hour away from the city. The officers told Robert he was a suspect in a crime and took him to jail.
“I was like, ‘Y'all got the wrong person,’” said Williams.
Robert was detained for 30 hours. When police questioned him, they showed him photos of a theft suspect their facial recognition technology matched to Williams’ driver’s license, but it wasn’t him.
“So he turns over the last one, and says, ‘So I guess computer got it wrong. And I'm like, ‘Well, yeah, the computer got it wrong, because that's not me. And that's not me either,’” Robert said.
Robert worked with the ACLU of Michigan, and his case was dismissed.
“But I still had to go to court on this as if I had a felony charged for stealing,” Robert said.
“This is exactly what we had been warning about, for years and months preceding that, that this type of thing was happening,” said Phil Mayor, a lawyer with the ACLU of Michigan.
There have been two additional widely known cases of wrongful arrests due to facial recognition technology in the United States. One occurred in Detroit. The other happened in New Jersey.
Mayor said he is worried this is just the start.
“When we let the technology take the first steps, we let the technology lead us, we make mistakes,” said Mayor.
A 2018 study by MIT found some facial classification software misidentifies people of color at higher rates than white individuals. Algorithms have advanced since then, and there have not been follow up studies to reaffirm these findings. Still, many believe those biases still exist within the technology.
“We'd like them to not use it because it's a flawed tool,” said Melissa Williams of law enforcement relying on this technology.
With privacy and fairness concerns, regulations are starting to become more common. At least seven states and nearly two dozen cities have limited government use of the technology. This is something Colorado based activist Connor Swatling would like to see more.
“With law enforcement specifically, we believe it has to be held to a higher standard,” said Swatling. “Right now, the technology is not in such a place where we feel that standard has been met.”
Swatling and his group ran tests on several facial recognition software programs to find it wrongly matched high ranking city officials with people on the sex offender registry.
Still, other activists say limiting facial recognition now is a safety risk. Last year, Virginia banned the use of facial recognition for law enforcement—this year the ban was overturned after officials felt it was needed for investigations.
“There's been hundreds of thousands of investigations that have been aided by the use of this technology,” said Jake Parker, the Senior Director of Government Relations at the Security Industry Association. “It doesn't make sense to completely ban the technology. But it makes more sense to establish parameters for it.”
Parker points to huge advances in the technology in just the last couple years alone and says the top algorithms are moving past biases. The NIST “leaderboards” on facial recognition have ranked facial recognition algorithms, and Parker hopes people will review these before making assessments on the technology.
“In the ongoing test series that includes clear race/gender demographic categories, the top 80 algorithms are 99% accurate across the white male, black male, white female, and black female categories, and for the top 40, white male is actually the LOWEST performing demographic of those four within that narrow range,” said Parker.
Still, concerns exist. “I believe this is truly a bipartisan issue,” said Swatling. “Whether you are more concerned about governmental overreach or racial injustice, this issue impacts you.”
For the Williams family, the impact took an emotional toll they are still working through. They just hope changes are made before another family endures their struggle.
“If it happened to me, it can happen to anybody,” said Robert. “Maybe one day it will be useful, but at the current, no, I'm not behind it.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/a-cry-for-help-new-cdc-data-shows-many-teens-have-been-emotionally-abused-by-parents
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New data from public health experts paints a picture of how teens’ mental health suffered during the pandemic.
According to a CDC survey, more than 55% of high school students said they suffered emotional abuse from a parent, guardian or other adult in their house in 2021.
Emotional abuse was defined as being sworn at, insulted or put down.
More than 11% said they suffered physical abuse.
Students who identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual were more likely to report physical abuse and they were more likely to have attempted suicide.
Data gathered before the pandemic showed that reports of emotional abuse were much lower.
In 2013, nearly 14% of students said they were emotionally abused by their parents.
5.5% reported physical abuse that same year.
In a statement, CDC Acting Principal Deputy Director Debra Houry said the new data “echo a cry for help.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has created traumatic stressors that have the potential to further erode students’ mental wellbeing,” she said.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/amazon-workers-in-nyc-vote-to-unionize-a-first-for-company
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NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon workers in Staten Island, New York, voted to unionize on Friday, marking the first successful U.S. organizing effort in the retail giant's history.
Votes were still being tabulated, but union supporters secured a wide enough margin to give the fledgling Amazon Labor Union enough support to pull off a victory.
The votes that were either voided or contested by either Amazon or the ALU did not appear to be enough to sway the outcome.
More than 8,300 eligible workers cast their ballots.
According to the Associated Press, 2,654 votes were cast in favor a union, and 2,131 votes were cast against it. There were 67 ballots challenged, but they wouldn't have changed the outcome.
Amazon workers in Alabama voted to unionize, but it appears they rejected the bid in a vote of 993 to 875. However, a hearing to review 416 challenged ballots could change that outcome, the news outlet reported.
Amazon workers aren't the first to vote to unionize.
Starbucks workers at more than 140 locations nationally have requested union elections, with some being successful.
In December, Buffalo Starbucks employees became the first in the company to unionize successfully.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/jen-psaki-reportedly-leaving-white-house-for-msnbc-sources-say
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Sources tell various outlets, including the Hill and Axios, that White House press secretary Jen Psaki plans to leave her job for an on-air role at MSNBC.
Psaki has been serving the White House since 2009. She first began as White House Deputy Press Secretary under then-president Barack Obama.
Sources say Psaki is expected to leave the White House in May.
She will host a show on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming platform.
Sources tell Axios that Psaki has not yet signed a contract, nor has the move been formally announced.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/new-app-feature-aims-to-streamline-roadkill-reporting-permit-processes
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It’s never a pleasant sight. According to a U.S. Department of Transportation report, an estimated one to two million collisions between cars and large animals happen every year in the U.S.
“The wildlife-vehicle collision is the act and what comes out of that is the roadkill,” Sara DiRienzo, the public information officer at the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, said.
She said that roadkill could be put to good use sometimes.
“29 other states have roadkill collection laws. Wyoming is one of them,” DiRienzo explained.
Collecting roadkill in Wyoming became legal in January – however, there are regulations on what animals you can pick up and what roads you can pick them up from.
All you need is an authorization from the game and fish department.
“In the case of some carcasses, they can be put to beneficial use. If the carcass is not destroyed in the crash, it may be in good enough condition that someone could use it and eat it,” DiRienzo said.
To collect it, you have to get permission from the department. That’s where technology comes in.
“We wanted to find a way that was easy, in everyone’s back pocket, that they could request permission and get it right away,” she said.
In collaboration with the Wyoming Department of Transportation, reporting and picking up roadkill is now easier.
“We are getting reports quicker of those animal-vehicle collisions on the roadway,” Suzie Roseberry, a GIS/ITS Developer with the Wyoming Department of Transportation, said.
Roseberry helped design the Wyoming 511 app, where the reports and permission requests can be entered.
“We need to know migration patterns of these animals so we can mitigate any issues, and we’re hoping that with the public's help, we’ll be able to collect more of this data,” she said.
“One of the major impediments to wildlife movement throughout the United States is roadways,” Kevin Crooks, the director of the Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence at Colorado State University, said. “Animal-vehicle collisions threaten animals, vehicles, and people.”
That's why, he said, a lot of research is going into wildlife crossings in many areas across the U.S.
“There's a number of solutions out there,” DiRienzo said.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department and Department of Transportation will continue collecting data to learn more about wildlife movement and collisions while providing a simple way for drivers to pick up the roadkill and put it to use, if possible.
DiRienzo said they would be monitoring the data for those who try to abuse the system.
“There were some concerns that this rule could enable people to illegally take wildlife and say, you know, I hit this animal on the road when they may have poached it,” she said. “If it looks like someone is abusing the system, we can follow up with them and check into it.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/space-bread-looks-to-bring-taste-of-home-to-astronauts
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If television could transmit smells, the lab Hope Hersh works in would make you think you’re in a bakery.
“As a lab, we are obsessed with starch,” she said.
The food lab sits within the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Florida. Hersh, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate, is making full use of it.
“During the pandemic, there was this whole ‘make bread at home’ fad that was going on,” she said.
That got her thinking about combining her love of bread and her love of something else: space.
“I've always been interested in NASA and everything space-related,” Hersh said.
So, when NASA announced a competition – called the Deep Space Food Challenge – she got to work.
“They're looking for innovative new food technologies to be taken into deep space for long missions to the moon or Mars,” Hersh said.
Her idea: ‘wouldn’t it be nice to be able to have freshly baked bread in space?’ It’s not as easy as it sounds. Space is limited in… well, space. So, they needed something that could easily be grown and used to make bread.
Enter algae.
“Then I started putting algae in the bread just and testing it myself as a test to see, you know, ‘Is this palatable? Could people actually eat this in space?’ and that's how I came up with the algae bread,” Hersh said.
Nearly two years later, her special algae bread recipe baked in these special pouches is now one of the 18 food finalists NASA chose in the competition.
It all comes as NASA prepares for a “dress rehearsal” to test the largest rocket ever built. The Space Launch System – or SLS, for short – is designed to carry astronauts back to the moon and even to other planets, like Mars.
“To know that an idea that I came up with could be in space one day -- so gratifying,” Hersh said.
It is an idea that could also be used right here on Earth, a requirement that NASA set out in the competition.
“We mentioned using this as a replacement for like military meals that they have on long missions,” Hersh said, “but also in disaster relief situations because this is pre-made, it's sterilized. It can be stored for however long in any condition.”
Those include conditions that might one day be encountered by humans, who eventually venture to far-off worlds.
“For me, I just close my eyes and takes me back to when I was a kid and when I used to make bread at home,” Hersh said. “So, I hope that it gives them a little piece of earth to take with them on these long missions.”
It’s a taste of home that might one day be out of this world.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/us-reopening-border-to-asylum-seekers
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The Centers for Disease Control is ending its Title 42 authority on May 23.
The order required the expulsion of unauthorized single adults and family units arriving in the U.S. to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
The order had been in place since March 2020.
"After considering current public health conditions and an increased availability of tools to fight COVID-19 (such as highly effective vaccines and therapeutics), the CDC Director has determined that an Order suspending the right to introduce migrants into the United States is no longer necessary," the CDC said in a statement.
The CDC says it will continue to work with the Department of Homeland Security to implement additional COVID-19 mitigation procedures.
"Title 42 remains in place until May 23 and, until then, DHS will continue to expel single adults and families encountered at the Southwest border," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement Friday.
According to The Associated Press, migrants have been expelled more than 1.7 million times since the health order was invoked.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/woman-shares-story-to-help-prevent-illegal-straw-gun-purchases
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Every year, thousands of guns sold at gun stores end up in communities illegally.
"You don’t really think where do these guns come from. You don’t think that" Rashandra Burnett said
It's a harsh reality that Burnett has lived with for 20 years.
In 2002, she was a college student in Ohio. A classmate asked her to go to a nearby gun store and make a purchase for him.
“Of course, my regular questions were, 'Why do you need to?' His response was more like because he already had one, he couldn’t necessarily get it," Burnett said
What Burnett's classmate didn’t tell her, and she later learned from Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) agents was that he, and a gun store owner, were sending illegal weapons to a street gang in New Jersey and he needed her to be a straw buyer.
A straw buyer is a person who buys guns on behalf of someone who can’t— for reasons like having a felony on their record.
“In the moment, it was like, I’m legal, I’m a citizen— not thinking like, they’re probably bad people trying to do bad things,” Burnett said.
Court records show that in two trips to the gun store, Burnett signed paperwork for a total of 40 firearms that her classmate paid cash for on the spot.
She later told federal agents she didn’t know she bought so many because her classmate handled them when they were picked up.
She says she felt uneasy about signing the form that said she was buying the guns for herself.
"Checked it, signed my life away, and handed him the note. And I went and sat in the car," Burnett said.
Burnett may have been a pawn, but to law enforcement, she is not a victim.
She pleaded guilty to two felonies for lying on the gun purchase form.
“It’s frequent, the person doesn’t think what they’re doing is wrong but they’re actually committing a felony," says David Booth, Special Agent in Charge of the Denver Field Division of the ATF.
“It’s probably two or three times that," Booth added.
Federally, buying a gun for someone who can’t, carries a maximum 10-year sentence.
“I would think if people were to get five-to-eight years for this versus probation, I think that would actually help," Booth said.
Activist Chet Whye feels gun laws can punish the wrong people.
"They can’t buy because they’re felons or they have a record and then that forces them to go get people who aren’t in that situation and don’t have a record then you go and lock up the people who are vulnerable," Whye said.
ATF says they don’t keep official stats on the gender of straw purchasers, but the agency notes that, in many cases, women are recruited.
“These women exchange, for love, or a little bit of money will do this favor not knowing what the repercussions are to themselves and their community," Whye said.
Whye, who works with Operation Lipstick, a group that has worked with district attorney offices in cities like Boston and Philadelphia to educate women about straw purchasing so they aren't used in criminal efforts to get more illegal guns onto the streets.
“Just as women, unwittingly or not, are neighbors of the gun pipeline, they can be disruptors. And that's what we should be focused on, empowering women to disrupt this thing," Whye said.
There are other efforts to educate the public about the dangers of straw purchasing, like the National Shooting Sports Foundation's "Don't Lie for The Other Guy" Campaign.
Burnett received probation after pleading guilty to the charges she faced. She’s working toward her master's degree but must live with a felony on her record.
“Hindsight, looking back, you think about all these things like, I don't know how many lives, I have taken, essentially," Burnett said.
She hopes her story will stop others from taking a place along the pipeline of illegal guns in America.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/off-duty-deputy-killed-thursday-in-harris-county
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HOUSTON, Texas — An off-duty Harris County sheriff's deputy was killed late Thursday after a gunfight occurred in a parking lot of a grocery store.
Darren Almendarez was shopping with his wife for his sister's upcoming birthday at about 8:40 p.m. when he was shot shielding his wife from gunfire.
Almendarez approached three men whom he suspected of trying to either steal his truck or its catalytic converter. Shortly afterwards, gunfire was exchanged with two of the three suspects being struck.
“Absolutely heartbroken,” Harris County Judge Linda Hidalgo said in a Tweet about Almendarez's death. “My heart goes out to all our law enforcement family and to his loved ones.”
The shooting occurred in the parking lot at 2929 FM 1960 near Aldine Westfield, according to Chief Deputy Edison Toquica.
A video of the scene shows the large amount the gunfire; what is believed to be the suspects' car has its windshield ridden with bullet holes.
Two of the three suspects drove themselves to a hospital where they were detained. One is in critical condition while the second remains stable. The third suspect is still at large.
Almendarez served for the Harris County Sheriff's Office for 23 years and was assigned to the auto theft division. He is survived by his wife and two children from a previous marriage.
"At a personal level and as sheriff, that's evil. We've got evil individuals that are out there," Sheriff Ed Gonzale said of the shooting.
Almendarez is the fourth death of a law enforcement officer in Harris County this year.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/african-refugees-see-racial-bias-as-us-welcomes-ukrainians
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Wilfred Tebah doesn’t begrudge the U.S. for swiftly granting humanitarian protections to Ukrainians escaping Russia’s devastating invasion of their homeland.
But the 27-year-old, who fled Cameroon during its ongoing conflict, can’t help but wonder what would happen if the millions fleeing that Eastern Europe nation were a different hue.
As the U.S. prepares to welcome tens of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing war, the country continues to deport scores of African and Caribbean refugees back to unstable and violent homelands where they’ve faced rape, torture, arbitrary arrest, and other abuses.
“They do not care about a Black man,” the Columbus, Ohio, resident said, referring to U.S. politicians. “The difference is really clear. They know what is happening over there, and they have decided to close their eyes and ears.”
Tebah’s concerns echo protests against the swift expulsions of Haitian refugees crossing the border this summer without a chance to seek asylum, not to mention the frosty reception African and Middle Eastern refugees have faced in western Europe compared with how those nations have enthusiastically embraced displaced Ukrainians.
In March, when President Joe Biden made a series of announcements welcoming 100,000 Ukrainian refugees, granting Temporary Protected Status to another 30,000 already in the U.S. and halting Ukrainian deportations, two Democratic lawmakers seized on the moment to call for similar humanitarian considerations for Haitians.
“There is every reason to extend the same level of compassion,” U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, of Massachusetts, and Mondaire Jones, of New York, wrote to the administration, noting more than 20,000 Haitians have been deported despite continued instability after the assassination of Haiti’s president and a powerful earthquake this summer.
Cameroonian advocates have similarly ratcheted up their calls for humanitarian relief, protesting in front of the Washington residence of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the offices of leading members of Congress this month.
Their calls come as hundreds of thousands in Cameroon have been displaced in recent years by the country’s civil war between its French-speaking government and English-speaking separatists, attacks by the terrorist group Boko Haram and other regional conflicts.
The advocacy group Human Rights Watch, in a February report, found many Cameroonians deported from the U.S. suffered persecution and human rights violations upon returning there.
Tebah, who is a leading member of the Cameroon American Council, an advocacy group organizing protests this month, said that’s a fate he hopes to avoid.
Hailing from the country’s English-speaking northwest, he said he was branded a separatist and apprehended by the government because of his activism as a college student. Tebah said he managed to escape, as many Cameroonians have, by flying to Latin America, trekking overland to the U.S.-Mexico border and petitioning for asylum in 2019.
“I will be held in prison, tortured, and even killed if I am deported,” he said. “I’m very scared. As a human, my life matters too.”
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TPS and other humanitarian programs, declined to respond to the complaints of racism in American immigration policy. It also declined to say whether it was weighing granting TPS to Cameroonians or other African nationals, saying in a written statement only that it will “continue to monitor conditions in various countries.”
The agency noted, however, that it has recently issued TPS designations for Haiti, Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan — all African or Caribbean nations — as well as to more than 75,000 Afghans living in the U.S. after the Taliban takeover of that Central Asian nation. Haitians are among the largest and longest-tenured beneficiaries of TPS, with more than 40,000 currently on the status.
Other TPS countries include Burma, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen, and the majority of the nearly 320,000 immigrants with Temporary Protected Status hail from El Salvador.
Lisa Parisio, who helped launch Catholics Against Racism in Immigration, argues the program could easily help protect millions more refugees fleeing danger but has historically been underused and over-politicized.
TPS, which provides a work permit and staves off deportation for up to 18 months, doesn’t have limits for how many countries or people can be placed on it, said Parisio, who is the advocacy director for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.
Yet former President Donald Trump, in his broader efforts to restrict immigration, pared down TPS, allowing designations for Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea in West Africa to expire.
Although programs like TPS provide critical protections for vulnerable refugees, they can also leave many in legal limbo for years without providing a pathway to citizenship, said Karla Morales, a 24-year-old from El Salvador who has been on TPS nearly her whole life.
“It’s absurd to consider 20 years in this country temporary,” the University of Massachusetts Boston nursing student said. “We need validation that the work we’ve put in is appreciated and that our lives have value.”
At least in the case of Ukraine, Biden appears motivated by broader foreign policy goals in Europe, rather than racial bias, suggests María Cristina García, a history professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, focused on refugees and immigrants.
But Tom Wong, founding director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego, said the racial disparities couldn’t be clearer.
“The U.S. has responded without hesitation by extending humanitarian protections to predominately white and European refugees,” he said. “All the while, predominately people of color from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia continue to languish.”
Besides Cameroon, immigrant advocates also argue that Congo and Ethiopia should qualify for humanitarian relief because of their ongoing conflicts, as should Mauritania, since slavery is still practiced there.
And they complain Ukrainian asylum seekers are being exempted from asylum limits meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while those from other nations are being turned away.
“Black pain and Black suffering do not get the same attention,” says Sylvie Bello, founder of the D.C.-based Cameroon American Council. “The same anti-Blackness that permeates American life also permeates American immigration policy.”
Vera Arnot, a Ukrainian in Boston who is considering seeking TPS, says she didn’t know much about the special status until the war started and wasn’t aware of the concerns from immigrants of color. But the Berklee College of Music sophomore hopes the relief can be extended to other deserving nations.
Arnot says TPS could help her seek an off-campus job with better pay so she doesn’t have to rely on her family’s support, as most in Ukraine have lost their jobs due to the war.
“Ukrainians as a people aren’t used to relying on others,” she said. “We want to work. We don’t want welfare.”
For Tebah, who is staying with relatives in Ohio, TPS would make it easier for him to open a bank account, get a driver’s license and seek better employment while he awaits a decision on his asylum case.
“We’ll continue to beg, to plead,” Tebah said. “We are in danger. I want to emphasize it. And only TPS for Cameroon will help us be taken out of that danger. It is very necessary.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/gamestop-is-surging-again-on-first-stock-split-in-15-years
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Shares of GameStop surged before the market opened Friday after the video game retailer announced that it would attempt its first stock split in 15 years.
The Grapevine, Texas, company said in a regulatory filing late Thursday that it wants to increase its share count from 300 million to 1 billion so it can implement a stock split in the form of a dividend. It plans to seek shareholder approval at its upcoming, annual stockholders meeting.
A stock split would change the price-per-stock, but not the overall value of those holdings. The maneuver can push up a company’s stock price at least temporarily, and it did so Friday. Shares of GameStop jumped nearly 13% before the opening bell.
JPMorgan Friday that while stock splits may not be the new buyback, they are “an additional tool to push stock prices higher despite financial theory saying otherwise.”
GameStop’s announcement comes just days after electric vehicle maker Tesla announced its second stock split in less than two years. In addition, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced a 20-for-1 split in February. Amazon said this month that it would do a split of the same ratio.
Big tech companies have pursued stock splits after major run-ups in the price of their shares, which can open the door to retail investors that do not have the financial heft to buy shares that head into quadruple digits.
However, a singe share of Google, Tesla, or Alphabet cost between $1,000 and $3,300. And shares of Tesla, Alphabet and Apple are up between 30% and 60% over the past 12 months.
Shares of GameStop are down 13% over that same stretch and can be had for less than $200 each.
Yet GameStop Corp. became a meme darling early last year when hundreds of thousands of smaller investors suddenly started buying its shares, driving its price to heights that shocked Wall Street. The shares rocketed from $39 to $347 in just a week during its run-up.
Any maneuvers from the company garner intense interest from retail investors, particularly after Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen took a huge stake in the company and now sits on its board. Investors have pinned their hopes on Cohen to push the traditional retailer in a more online direction.
Shares of GameStop rose $21.42 to $188.00 in premarket trading.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/man-kills-self-after-shooting-girlfriend-at-texas-beef-plant
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SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) — A man fatally shot himself after shooting and injuring his girlfriend Friday at the West Texas beef processing plant where they both worked, police said.
San Angelo police said officers responded to the shooting at Lone Star Beef Processors at about 8:30 a.m. The 57-year-old man and 49-year-old woman were both taken to a hospital, where he died and she was in stable condition, police said.
Police said the man and woman had been dating.
After they got into an argument at their workplace, the man produced a firearm and shot the woman near her left shoulder, police said. Police said the man then shot himself.
San Angelo is about 260 miles (418 kilometers) southwest of Dallas.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national-politics/the-race/group-proves-that-solving-gun-violence-problem-must-be-a-community-effort
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DETROIT, Mich. — Phil Sample’s life today is much different than it once was. He used to hustle on the streets of Detroit. Now, he's part of Ceasefire Detroit, a team of clergy members, community advocates, and former gang members who reach out to those who are at risk of gun violence.
"If you ride through my neighborhood, it's a mess and I was there— part of that mess and I survived. So the question is why, you know, why didn't I die with my homeboy," Sample said.
Bishop Daryl Harris is the faith-based coordinator of Ceasefire. He's helping hook young people up with resources to get them to break away from gun violence.
"We have to get persons involved in the work who are tried and true here to stay that people can know there is hope, and there is a way out of this. It may take us a while to figure it out, but there's a way out," he said.
Detroit police identify people on the street who are crime adjacent. They could be victims of a shooting or in a gang. Once they are identified, Ceasefire is called. The outreach team then meets the people where they're at, making it clear they are different from law enforcement. The people are given a choice: get help or risk getting arrested down the road.
"We're the ones that come in and say, 'Hey, you know, do you need another place to stay right now? Do you need food services right now? Do you need clothing right now? Do you need to get your family out of the city right now,'" said Harris.
Last year, the Gun Violence Archive recorded more than 20,000 gun deaths nationwide, the most since they’ve been keeping track. In Detroit, they saw a 27% increase in homicides and 44% increase in non-fatal shootings.
"The foundation of all the work we do is community. We are the community that we serve," said Chief James White of the Detroit Police Department.
He says he realizes that law enforcement can’t reverse the numbers alone. Along with several initiatives, like paying young people $15 per hour to get their GED, hiring officers from the community, and a five-point initiative to bring down crime, he says working with community partners like Ceasefire has helped them lower non-fatal shootings this year by 21% and homicides by 15%.
"Some people, when they don't have the economic means may choose to commit crime to take care of their families. So you've got to disrupt the pipeline to prison with a lot of innovative ideas and thinking through what drives crime, and I think Ceasefire is probably one of the most effective ways to do that," White said.
Distinguishing themselves from police is crucial to gaining the trust of the people they try to help, however, the symbiotic partnership between the two organizations is extremely important to reach the right people.
"To be frank, I'm not from a place where we were all buddy-buddy with the police or whatnot, but I'm working with anybody that's trying to save these babies," said Sample.
The Ceasefire initiative is in other cities like Boston, New York and Chicago. People, both nationally and internationally, have gotten in touch with the team in Detroit to learn from them.
"The public is the most important piece to public safety, so what would it be like if we could pull everyone together and say, 'This is what we need to do, this is what needs to happen in order for all of us, the public, to actually feel safe,'" said Harris.
From mentoring to helping them find a job, Ceasefire believes that every community needs to help stop the hurting in America.
"The streets need to activate 'cause it's a community thing," said Sample.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/advocates-explain-bruce-williss-aphasia-diagnosis-and-how-it-affects-communication
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Many people are learning about aphasia for the first time since the announcement of Bruce Willis’s diagnosis.
It’s a brain disorder that affects people's ability to communicate.
There are different forms of aphasia that can also affect a person's cognitive ability.
Those who work with and advocate for people living with the disorder want you to know what it's like for them.
Darlene Williamson is a speech language pathologist and president of the National Aphasia Association.
“The first thing that people with aphasia want others to know is that I’m still me, I’m still in here. it's just the words that I’m having trouble accessing,” Williamson explained.
“Think of aphasia like being in a foreign country where you don't speak the language and you're being asked to understand what people are saying, respond, read and write and it's all very difficult for you if you don't speak the language,” she said.
Williamson says there are an estimated 2 million people living with the disorder.
“Even people with primary progressive aphasia, which is a deteriorating condition can benefit from expert treatment, medical treatment and speech language pathology to maintain their communication skills,” she said.
She says people with aphasia may learn new ways to communicate through pictures.
A strong family support system is also key.
“The primary tip is to always allow extra time to engage with the person and allow them time to process and come up with the language that they need to communicate their thoughts,” Williamson said.
Improving life quality is the greater goal for people living with aphasia.
Williamson says they like to work with the individual in their environment on the goals that are most important to them.
The National Aphasia Association has all resources on communication available on its website.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/ford-recalls-737-000-vehicles-to-fix-oil-leak-software-error
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Ford has issued two recalls that affect more than 737,000 vehicles due to an oil leak issue and software error.
On the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website, the Michigan-based automaker recalls 345,451 vehicles, including the 2020 through 2022 Ford Escape SUV and the 2021 and 2022 Bronco Sport SUV with 1.5-Liter engines.
Those vehicles are being recalled because the engine oil separator housing may crack, which could cause an oil leak.
Dealers will replace the housing, if necessary, free of charge. Owners will be notified beginning April 18.
Another recall to fix the trailer braking system affects 391,836 vehicles, including 2021 and 2022 F-150 pickups, 2022 F-250, 350, 450, and 550s, 2022 Maverick pickup, Ford Expedition, and Lincoln Navigator SUVs.
According to the recall, a software error could result in trailers not braking, which increases the risk of a crash.
Dealers will update the software free of charge. Owners will begin to be notified starting April 18.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/greta-thunburg-releasing-a-new-book-on-climate-change-this-year
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Climate activist Greta Thunberg has compiled a handbook for tackling the world’s interconnected environmental crises, with contributions from leading scientists and writers.
Publisher Penguin Random House says “The Climate Book” contains contributions from more than 100 academics, thinkers and campaigners.
They include novelists Margaret Atwood and Amitav Ghosh and World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The book aims to help readers connect the dots between threats to the climate, environment, sustainability and indigenous populations.
Thunberg said she hoped it would be a "go-to source for understanding these different, closely interconnected crises.”
The book will be published October 27 in the U.K. by Allen Lane and in the U.S. in early 2023 by Penguin Press.
This isn’t Thunberg’s first book.
The young activist published a memoir in November, titled “Our House Is On Fire” and a collection of speeches, “No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/housing-market-could-slow-in-a-few-markets-over-the-next-12-months
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KALAMAZOO, Mich — If you're a buyer in the U.S. looking for a good deal on a new home, things aren't looking great.
"Currently there are no markets where home prices are declining," said Selma Hepp, the deputy chief economist with CoreLogic company.
They identified 13 markets where prices have a greater than 50% chance of falling over the next 12 months — four on the West Coast, two in Arizona, four in the Northeast, and three in Michigan.
"We look at a number of characteristics. One is income change, employment change, or expected employment change, there is debt to income ratio, there is new construction, percent of distressed sales, income change" said Hepp.
Kalamazoo, Michigan is one of those markets. So I came out to see what is it about this market that we all can learn from.
"It's been a hot market here so houses have been flying off the market here in a couple of days and it's been really low inventory. At one time we don't have a lot of houses on the market, so buyers are really having to compete with each other," said Ashley Sayles, a real estate agent in Kalamazoo.
Right now, she says the market is hot, but the report indicates a change.
"We still have a really low inventory. We still don't have a lot of houses on the market and even with interest rates rising a little bit right now, that doesn't solve our inventory problem," said Sayles.
But I asked Selma to look at Kalamazoo specifically. She identified key numbers that any of us can watch for in our areas.
"It seems like income growth compared to other areas may be a little bit slower, a little bit higher unemployment rate, there's been a lot of home price growth recently so it may be peaking that affordability ceiling, and maybe a little bit more debt for existing residents there," said Hepp.
So Hepp's point is Kalamazoo and these other 12 markets are at a higher risk of housing price decline than anywhere else in the country. But that isn't much comfort for home buyers looking for a house today.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/navy-to-name-ship-after-ruth-bader-ginsburg
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The Navy is naming a ship after the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“As we close out Women’s History Month, it is my absolute honor to name the next T-AO after the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She is a historic figure who vigorously advocated for women’s rights and gender equality,” said Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.
Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993. She served on the court until she died in 2020.
T-AO ships are fleet oilers designed to transfer fuel to the Navy’s strike groups, the military said. The lead ship, T-AO 205, is named Rep. John Lewis.
The Navy says it aims to honor people who fought for civil and human rights.
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20220401
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https://www.kxxv.com/sports/2022-world-cup-u-s-draws-group-b-will-face-england-iran-winner-of-play-in-game
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Groups are officially set for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The United States drew Group B and will face England, Iran, and either Wales, Scotland, or Ukraine, depending on the results of a play-in.
Ukraine's road to Qatar has been a long one.
The team was set to play Scotland on March 24, but that was delayed due to Russian invading the country.
Their match has been pushed back by FIFA to June 7.
They then would have to win against Wales to make it into the tournament.
The U.S. team has a manageable group, probably not the easiest or the hardest. They will undoubtedly be out for redemption after failing to qualify for the World Cup in 2018.
In its last two World Cup appearances, Team USA has advanced to the Round of 16 before being eliminated.
The United States advanced to the quarter-finals back in 2002 and the semi-finals way back in 1930.
There is a bit of history in this group, as back in 2010, Team USA tied with England 1-1.
In 1950, they defeated England 1-0.
In 1998, the United States lost 2-1 to Iran.
They have never faced Wales, Scotland, or Ukraine in World Cup play.
Here is a full list of the groups:
GROUP A
Qatar
Ecuador
Senegal
Netherlands
GROUP B
England
Iran
United States
Wales/Scotland/Ukraine
GROUP C
Argentina
Saudi Arabia
Mexico
Poland
GROUP D
France
Peru/United Arab Emirates/Australia
Denmark
Tunisia
GROUP E
Spain
Costa Rica/New Zealand
Germany
Japan
GROUP F
Belgium
Canada
Morocco
Croatia
GROUP G
Brazil
Serbia
Switzerland
Cameroon
GROUP H
Portugal
Ghana
Uruguay
South Korea
Some teams will still have to win a play-in to make it into the World Cup.
The World Cup runs from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18.
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20220401
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/got-a-dime-businesses-seek-treasury-help-with-coin-shortage
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Got a dime you can spare? Coins are in short supply — again.
Retailers, laundromats, and other businesses that rely on coins want Americans to empty their piggy banks and look under couch cushions for extra change and “get coin moving.”
A group of trade associations that represent individual businesses including banks, retail outlets, truck stops, grocery stores, and more are asking the Treasury Department for more help convincing Americans to get coins back in circulation.
The consequences of the circulation slowdown hit people who don’t have the ability to pay for items electronically, they say.
“If retailers are not able to offer change for cash purchases consumers who rely on cash will be vulnerable,” the associations said in a letter to Treasury.
For example, people who do their laundry at coin laundry mats could have a harder time finding change to wash their clothes. And on a larger scale, people who don’t have cash access aren’t able to patronize certain card-only businesses.
It’s not a coin shortage America faces, but a lack of circulation.
“We can’t print our way out of this problem,” said Austen Jensen, a senior vice president for government affairs at the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
Jensen’s group, along with the American Bankers Association, National Association of Convenience Stores, and National Grocers Association, is trying to meet consumer demand and wants a new public campaign to increase coin circulation.
Jensen said his group is also encouraging member retailers to find creative ways to deal with the shortage of coins, including rounding-up purchases for charity promotions. And he says businesses with multiple locations could send coins from one store to another.
This is not the first time during the pandemic that the issue of low coin circulation has arisen.
The coronavirus disrupted consumers’ buying habits and shifted purchases largely to plastic cards to such an extent that in July 2020, the Federal Reserve restricted coin orders by financial institutions.
The Fed also convened a U.S. Coin Task Force, made up of representatives from various federal agencies, which led to a campaign encouraging the public to get coins into circulation.
This February, the task force issued a State of Coin report, which said pandemic lockdowns slowed small transactions that generated change and there was a temporary aversion to cash for perceived hygienic reasons. The report also said the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Mint contracted with a third-party consultant to review the coin supply chain.
Coin deposit volumes began to increase gradually starting in the summer of 2020, but businesses say the problem has come up again as people have stopped using coins and have stuck to plastic cards.
The issue has had the biggest impact on people who don’t have bank accounts. An estimated 22 percent of U.S. Americans were “unbanked” or “underbanked” in 2019, according to the Federal Reserve.
The Treasury Department has yet to respond to the letter. The government encourages people to help get coins moving by spending them with retailers, taking it to their banks and credit unions, or using a coin recycling kiosk like the ones found at grocery stores.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/apple-to-pay-14-8m-to-icloud-subscribers-over-breached-contract
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Apple is set to pay nearly $15 million to a number of customers to settle a class-action lawsuit.
The tech giant is accused of storing iCloud data on third-party servers instead of its own.
That's a breach of Apple's own terms and conditions that users agree to.
The company denies wrongdoing but chose to settle the lawsuit anyway.
It affects customers who paid for extra iCloud storage from September 2015 to January 2016.
Newsy is the nation’s only free 24/7 national news network. You can find Newsy using your TV’s digital antenna or stream for free. See all the ways you can watch Newsy here.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/explosions-destroy-auto-repair-shop-in-missouri
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One person was injured when explosions rocked an auto repair shop in St. Louis, Missouri on Friday.
About a half dozen people made it out of the shop alive.
"What we're looking for is a source of the explosion and what caused it," said Captain Leon Whitener of the St. Louis Fire Dept.
The building is in shambles. Windows and walls are completely destroyed.
Employees say a fireball came up from the basement. Officials believe oil tanks stored in the basement are likely responsible for the explosions.
They are investigating what could have ignited the tanks.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/famed-fashion-photographer-patrick-demarchelier-dies-at-78
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Famed fashion photographer, Patrick Demarchelier, passed away on Thursday. He was 78, according to a post on his official Instagram account, CNN and The New York Times reported.
The cause of death was not immediately known.
Vogue reported that he began shooting with the magazine in 1975, with his first cover shot occurring in 1977.
His most famous front cover shot happened in 1989 when he photographed Madonna.
His other famous photograph was a picture of Diana, Princess of Wales, for the December 1990 edition of British Vogue. He was also her personal portraitist.
He also shot Janet Jackson topless for the cover of Rolling Stone, the Times reported.
According to the magazine, he also appeared in the first "Sex & the City" movie as the photographer shooting the fictional character Carrie Bradshaw’s wedding-dress photoshoot.
Condolences began pouring in on social media after news of his death was reported.
"I couldn’t decipher a word at first, let alone a sentence,” model Christy Turlington wrote on Instagram.
He is survived by his wife Mia, his three sons, and three grandchildren.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/gov-desantis-signals-hed-support-taking-disneys-special-self-governing-status-away
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Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis has signaled that he could consider supporting efforts to strip Disney of a 55-year-old status that allows the theme park and entertainment company to operate in an independent way with self-governance around the company's Orlando-area park.
The move is the latest in a quarrel between the governor and the entertainment giant, which is Florida's largest employer. The clash comes just after Gov. DeSantis ratified a measure that bans schools in the state from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity in some classrooms.
As CNN reported, after the Walt Disney Company said in a statement that its "goal" was to get behind efforts to repeal the law through the court system, DeSantis said the company "crossed the line" with the statement.
According to the Associated Press, gay rights advocates are suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to block the new law which bans classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.
A federal challenge was filed on Thursday on behalf of Equality Florida and Family Equality who say the law is an effort to control young minds using state censorship.
Florida's Gov. DeSantis is considered to be a potential 2024 Republican presidential candidate, and the law is considered to have pushed Florida into the spotlight amid what many are calling culture wars in the United States. Critics of the legislation call it the "Don't Say Gay" law.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/march-sees-record-number-of-tornadoes
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Americans saw a record number of tornadoes touch down in March.
During the month, at least 214 tornadoes tore through states.
That’s the most on record since 1950.
The storm prediction center says the previous record for March was set in 2021 with 191 tornadoes.
Usually, there are only about 80.
Scientists say we're probably seeing more tornadoes earlier in the year because of climate change and influences from La Niña.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/talks-resume-as-ukraine-denies-hitting-depot-on-russian-soil
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Talks to stop the fighting in Ukraine have resumed.
They are occurring as Russia accuses the Ukrainians of launching a cross-border helicopter attack on a fuel depot. A Kremlin spokesman says the incident on Russian soil could undermine Friday's negotiations.
Ukraine is denying responsibility for the attack.
In the besieged port city of Mariupol, a humanitarian crisis is taking place. The city has essentially been destroyed by shelling from Russian forces.
The Red Cross said Friday that it was unable to reach the city on Friday, but will try again on Saturday.
"For the operation to succeed, it is critical that the parties respect the agreements and provide the necessary conditions and security guarantees," the Red Cross said in a statement.
The Red Cross says it plans to move people out of the city once it can reach them.
"Our presence will put a humanitarian marker on this planned movement of people, giving the convoy additional protection and reminding all sides of the civilian, humanitarian nature of the operation," the Red Cross said.
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20220401
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https://www.kxxv.com/sports/former-u-s-goalkeeper-hope-solo-arrested-on-dwi-misdemeanor-child-abuse-charges
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Former U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo was arrested Thursday in North Carolina for allegedly driving while impaired, child abuse, and resisting arrest.
According to TMZ and NBC News affiliate WXII, she allegedly had her two-year-old twins in the car with her at the time of her arrest in Winston-Salem.
The news outlet reported that Solo, who shares the children with her husband, former NFL player Jerramy Stevens, was arrested in a Walmart parking lot on Parkway Village Circle.
She was taken into custody and processed at Forsyth County detention center and subsequently released, Fox News affiliate WGHP reported.
Solo's lawyer Rich Nichols later released a statement via Hope's Twitter account.
"On the advice of counsel, Hope can't speak about this situation, but she wants everyone to know that her kids are her life, that she was released immediately and is now at home with her family, that the story is more sympathetic than the initial charges suggest, and that she looks forward to her opportunity to defend these charges," the statement read.
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) April 1, 2022
The two-time Olympic gold medalist was previously arrested and charged in 2014 with two misdemeanor counts of assault in the fourth degree for allegedly assaulting two family members at a home in Washington State, the Associated Press reported.
Those charges were later dropped.
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20220401
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https://www.kxxv.com/weather/nice-weekend-ahead
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25 WEATHER — Welcome to the weekend! It looks like it will be nice, so hope you have outdoor plans. Tonight will bring increasing clouds with a chance of a couple of showers possible early Saturday morning. Other than that, Saturday looks great with highs in the upper 70s to near 80°. Sunday will bring partly cloudy skies and highs in the low 80s.
Clouds and moisture will be on the increase Sunday night into Monday as our next storm system moves toward Texas. Shower and storm potential will increase Monday afternoon into Monday night. There could be enough instability around for a few strong to severe storms. We will track this potential closely through the weekend. Highs Monday should make it into the mid to upper 70s.
Tuesday will bring clearing conditions ahead of a cold front. If everything pans out, we may get close to 90° Tuesday afternoon. It's back to the 70s Wednesday through Friday behind the front.
Have a good weekend!
Matt Hines
Chief Meteorologist
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https://www.kxxv.com/hometown/bell-county/killeen-isd-school-board-discussing-possible-pay-raise-on-teacher-salaries
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Killeen ISD like any other school district across the country has been facing a severe teacher shortage. It's something only a good plan can fix.
The school board and superintendent together have been coming up with strategic ways to appeal to new applicants.
Tam Jones a former superintendent said, “With board approval they want to encourage their teachers that are already there to stay and not look for other positions… and pay is a big driver in stopping people from looking for other positions.”
The vice president of the school board, Susan Jones, confirmed that the board understood the importance of raising pay to keep current teachers and to get new ones on board.
She said, “Pay raises for longevity gives us the opportunity to say thank you to our employees who are loyal to our district and our students.”
The next school board meeting will be held April 19, there they will work towards finalizing how much of an increase teachers will receive or if any at all.
She added, "Its hard to find a lot of teachers right now and its a national problem not just a KISD problem, we will keep working forward to try to make KISD the best place to work at."
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https://www.kxxv.com/hometown/mclennan-county/waco-police-searching-for-two-in-separate-missing-persons-cases
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Waco police are working on two separate missing persons cases.
Police said 35-year-old Michelle Schaefer was last reported to be seen around Waco but has not been heard from by family or friends. Police said she likes to dye her hair.
The second missing person is 35-year-old Raynardo Walker who was last seen in October.
"He was last seen in Waco in October but was only recently reported missing," said Waco police. "Again, these cases are separate missing persons reports."
Anyone with information is urged to call (254) 750-7500.
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https://www.kxxv.com/hometown/texas/texas-henry-cuellar-one-of-two-democrats-to-vote-against-landmark-marijuana-legalization-bill
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a moderate Democrat from Laredo, broke with his party to vote against a landmark marijuana legalization bill on Friday that passed in the House. Only one other Democrat voted against it.
Cuellar, who is currently in a fierce runoff for his 10th term against progressive attorney Jessica Cisneros, has long infuriated progressive Democrats with his conservative positions on many social issues. The Laredo politician opposes abortion and was the lone Democrat to vote against federal abortion rights legislation last fall.
Cuellar’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The bill — named the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act — removes marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances and eliminates criminal penalties for people who possess, manufacture and distribute the drug. It also prohibits the denial of federal benefits and protections to people with marijuana-related conduct or offenses.
The bill would also establish a process to expunge from people’s records non-violent cannabis crimes. Many Democrats — especially progressives — have long argued those arrests disproportionately affect people of color and low-income communities.
The 220-204 vote included all Texas representatives besides Cuellar voting along party lines. One other Democrat, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, also voted against the bill. Three Republicans out of 209 voted with Democrats to pass the bill.
The legislation has bleak odds to become law. It now heads to the evenly-divided Senate and would need significant Republican support to receive the 60 votes necessary to pass. A similar bill passed the Democratic-controlled House in Dec. 2020 but stalled in the upper chamber.
Cuellar is headed into a late-May runoff election with Cisneros after he just missed the majority threshold necessary to win his March primary outright. Outside the Democratic primary, Republicans are on the offensive in South Texas and are hoping to flip several blue seats — including Cuellar’s — in the November election.
Cisneros’ campaign did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who on Thursday spoke in support of the bill at her weekly press conference, said she still supports Cuellar during a visit to Austin in late March.
The congressman is also embroiled in an ongoing FBI investigation after the agency raided his house in January.
We can’t wait to welcome you in person and online to the 2022 Texas Tribune Festival, our multiday celebration of big, bold ideas about politics, public policy and the day’s news — all taking place just steps away from the Texas Capitol from Sept. 22-24. When tickets go on sale in May, Tribune members will save big. Donate to join or renew today.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/01/henry-cuellar-marijuana-legalization/.
The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/first-to-the-fight/first-to-the-fight-keeping-hospitals-safe
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Sanitizing floors, dumping trashes, and picking up laundry — thankless work that often goes unrecognized.
Donna McCrary is in charge of keeping the Baylor Scott and White Hillcrest Labor and Delivery floor in tip-top shape.
"Cleaning rooms, talking to people, ya know, making them feel comfortable," McCrary said.
McCrary has worked at the hospital as an environmental specialist for more than 40 years. It was a job that started right after she graduated high school.
"It just started out as a job but then it became a calling because I enjoy it so much and I do," McCrary said. "I still do after 42 years."
Working on the labor and delivery floor, McCrary said she gets to be there for parents when they have their child, sometimes the very first.
That's what makes her job fun according to her.
"They'll say, do you see my pretty baby and I'll say yeah I see your baby," McCrary said.
It's those meaningful connections that make her feel appreciated.
"I'm more than just somebody that cleans a floor or cleans a sink. If they are there for a while, they look forward to me coming and visiting and me cleaning and that makes me happy," McCrary said. "I'm here to make these people's lives better while they are stuck in here, to make them smile and to make them laugh."
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/judge-upholds-ghislaine-maxwells-sex-trafficking-conviction-deems-jurors-past-abuse-not-to-have-caused-bias
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A judge has declined to throw out Ghislaine Maxwell's sex trafficking conviction, despite a juror's failure to disclose he'd been a victim of childhood sexual abuse.
U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan on Friday refused to order a new trial for Maxwell, who was convicted in December of helping the American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein abuse several teenage girls. The judge ruled weeks after questioning the juror, who said he never intentionally answered a question about sex abuse wrong on a questionnaire before the trial began.
“I didn’t lie in order to get on this jury,” he said.
The juror said at one point that he “skimmed way too fast” through a questionnaire and didn't intentionally give a wrong answer to a question on sex abuse, the Associated Press reported.
Defense lawyers potentially could have objected to his presence on the jury amid Maxwell's sustained claims that she is innocent.
As the Associated Press reported, the judge in the case also decided that the juror “harbored no bias toward the defendant and could serve as a fair and impartial juror.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/man-in-gofundme-scam-receives-27-month-federal-prison-sentence
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A New Jersey man who conspired with his then-girlfriend to cook up a feel-good story about a helpful homeless man and then used the lie to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations online has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison.
Mark D'Amico received a 27-month term Friday. He pleaded guilty in November to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prosecutors say D'Amico, his ex-girlfriend and a homeless veteran concocted a scheme about the vet giving the woman $20 when her car ran out of gas in Philadelphia.
The three raised funds for the vet online that D'Amico and his ex-girlfriend then spent most of themselves.
Before he was sentenced, D’Amico told U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman that he has changed man and is focusing on his family.
”The person that did the things that led us here no longer exists,” D’Amico said.
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https://www.kxxv.com/news/qatari-official-rainbow-flags-may-be-taken-to-protect-fans
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DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Rainbow flags could be taken from fans at the World Cup in Qatar to protect them from being attacked for promoting gay rights, a senior leader overseeing security for the tournament told The Associated Press.
Major General Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ansari insisted that LGBTQ couples would be welcomed and accepted in Qatar for the Nov. 21-Dec. 18 FIFA showpiece despite same-sex relations remaining criminalized in the conservative Gulf nation.
But Al Ansari is against the overt promotion of LGBTQ freedoms as symbolized by the rainbow flag that FIFA and World Cup organizers had previously said would be welcome across Qatar’s eight stadiums.
“If he (a fan) raised the rainbow flag and I took it from him, it’s not because I really want to, really, take it, to really insult him, but to protect him,” Al Ansari told the AP. “Because if it’s not me, somebody else around him might attack (him) ... I cannot guarantee the behavior of the whole people. And I will tell him: ‘Please, no need to really raise that flag at this point.’”
“You want to demonstrate your view about the (LGBTQ) situation, demonstrate it in a society where it will be accepted,” he said. “We realize that this man got the ticket, comes here to watch the game, not to demonstrate, a political (act) or something which is in his mind.
“Watch the game. That’s good. But don’t really come in and insult the whole society because of this.”
The potential confiscation from supporters was condemned as “deeply concerning” by fan and anti-discrimination campaigners.
“Often, so-called ‘protections’ are in fact smokescreens to cover up human rights violations,” said Julia Ehrt of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association and Ronain Evain of Football Supporters Europe in a joint response. “FIFA and Qatar must address these concerns immediately, and show the world there is a chance of carrying out a rights-respecting and safe tournament for LGBTIQ fans.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said this week in Doha that “everyone will see that everyone is welcome here in Qatar, even if we speak about LGBTQ.”
Al Ansari said he was not telling LBGTQ fans to stay away from Qatar or warning them of facing prosecution.
“Reserve the room together, sleep together -- this is something that’s not in our concern,” he said. “We are here to manage the tournament. Let’s not go beyond, the individual personal things which might be happening between these people ... this is actually the concept.
“Here we cannot change the laws. You cannot change the religion for 28 days of World Cup.”
When it was pointed out that visiting fans and teams could take offense to the comments, Al Ansari said he did not view himself as being discriminatory.
“I am risking ... a minority view against a majority,” he said. “We have to be close to the problem before it erupts and gets out of control. ... If somebody attacks you, then I have to get involved and it will be too late.”
FIFA chief social responsibility and education officer Joyce Cook told the AP in 2020 that “rainbow flags, T-shirts will all be welcome in the stadium — that’s a given. They understand very well that is our stance.” World Cup chief executive Nasser Al-Khater also said “we will respect” FIFA guidelines on allowing rainbow flags.
But Al Ansari’s comments about the confiscation of fans’ rainbow flags have created confusion for activists, including Chris Paouros, a member of the English Football Association’s inclusion advisory board and trustee with the anti-discrimination group, Kick It Out, which wanted a safe and inclusive tournament.
“This inconsistency and the continued lack of detail in terms of how that will be provided beyond the rhetoric of ‘everyone is welcome’ is concerning to say the least,” Paouros said.
The FARE network, which monitors games for discrimination, called for the freedoms of fans to be respected at the World Cup.
“The idea that the flag, which is now a recognized universal symbol of diversity and equality, will be removed from people to protect them will not be considered acceptable, and will be seen as a pretext,” FARE executive director Piara Powar said. “I have been to Qatar on numerous occasions and do not expect the local Qatari population or fans visiting for the World Cup to be attacked for wearing the rainbow flag. The bigger danger comes from state actions.”
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https://www.kxxv.com/sports/kentuckys-tshiebwe-named-ap-mens-college-player-of-year
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe spent an entire season relentlessly chasing and pulling down seemingly every rebound that came his way — and plenty that didn’t, too.
“I want to be the greatest rebounder I can be,” Tshiebwe said.
The 6-foot-9, 255-pound junior put up better rebounding numbers than anybody in Division I in decades. And it’s a big reason why he is The Associated Press men’s college basketball national player of the year.
Tshiebwe was the clear choice for the award announced Friday, receiving 46 of 60 votes from AP Top 25 voters. Johnny Davis, a 6-5 sophomore who averaged 19.7 points and led Wisconsin to a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, was second with 10 votes. Iowa sophomore Keegan Murray (three) and Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn (one) also earned votes.
Tshiebwe, a West Virginia transfer and native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is only the second player in the history of the storied history of the Wildcats program to win the AP’s top honor. The other was one-and-done star Anthony Davis, who led Kentucky to its eighth NCAA title a decade ago before becoming the No. 1 NBA draft pick.
"It is amazing to be join somebody like Anthony Davis,” Tshiebwe said. “And that gives me confidence and gives me more help for my future, too, for what I’m trying to do and what I’m trying to accomplish. I’m just putting God first because God knows what I need, and he has great plans for me.”
Tshiebwe thrived all season while averaging 15.1 rebounds, the highest per-game output in Division I since 1980. He had five games of at least 20 rebounds this season and three games with at least 10 boards on the offensive glass alone.
The highlight came when he had a Division I high of 28 rebounds in a December win against Western Kentucky.
He also worked to expand his offensive game, adding range on a developing jumpshot to go with his relentless board work. Tshiebwe averaged 17.4 points and shot 60.6% from the floor, a big step forward from his freshman season when he averaged 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds with the Mountaineers before transferring after 10 games.
Tshiebwe said the rebounding success is a product of studying his opponents closely, playing the odds on where the ball is headed and the determination not to “let anybody move you.”
"First of all, it’s the position,” he said. “You have to place yourself where you don’t need to work too hard for the basketball just to come in your hands. You’ve got to read it. ... If somebody’s shooting this angle, probably 75% it’s going that way because the ball’s coming in this way, 25% it’s coming this way. You have to know that.”
Rick Mancino watched Tshiebwe learning those rebounding lessons as his high school coach at Kennedy Catholic in Pennsylvania. First it was Mancino telling Tshiebwe to embrace his “knack for the ball,” only to have to walk it back a touch so that Tshiebwe didn’t get in foul trouble chasing literally every loose ball.
“I just think he realized how big rebounding is in the game, where with a lot of kids, it’s not a glamorous job,” Mancino said. “He loves it because I think he knows he’s good at it. I think the extra incentive is he realizes people love it, and they appreciate it, and his teammates appreciate it.”
Tshiebwe said he shed about 10 pounds to get a little faster and studied to make sure he knew the plays to be ready for an immediate impact this season for the Wildcats, who were coming off a nine-win season that stood as the program’s worst in nearly a century. The Wildcats regrouped by winning 26 games and earning a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament before falling in an upset to Saint Peter’s in the opening round.
Now Tshiebwe — who had 30 points and 16 rebounds in the final loss — is mulling whether to return to Kentucky or jump for his goal of playing in the NBA. If he returns, at least the Wildcats will know they’re set on the glass.
“I knew I was going to help this team because my dad always used to tell me if you don’t have a vision about what you’re trying to do as this year is coming, then you’re in the wrong business,” he said.
“You’ve got to know a year from today, what are you trying to do? What are you trying to accomplish? You’ve got to write (it) down, you’ve got to have a good vision. You’ve got to know what I’m here for.”
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To learn more about adopting, visit the Aggieland Humane Society official website!
KRHD News wants to tell your stories from the Brazos Valley.
If you have news, a feature, sports, or other ideas, please send them to yourstories@krhdnews.com
“LIKE” 25 NEWS KRHD ON FACEBOOK FOR ALL THE LATEST BRAZOS VALLEY STORIES!
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas — As a two-time national champion, six-time All-American, medaling seven times at SEC Championships, including four SEC titles.
Kurtis Mathews is the athlete known for giving the Aggies their first diving title.
Not only did he win gold once but, 24 hours later he won gold again - giving the Aggies two back-to-back titles.
“It was a huge weight off my shoulders, kind of had the feeling that you were able to achieve something then going out and achieving it feels amazing.” Said Mathews
This Aggie senior made history by taking the 1-meter springboard dive at the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships March 24 hosted at Georgia Tech.
Mathews said winning was based purely on his talent but also had strong faith if he did it once he could surely do it again.
“Obviously that gives you a lot of confidence, that relief had been lifted, I didn’t have to worry on that second day. No matter what happened on the second day I was still going to be an NCAA Champion.”
Diving coach Sam Thornton didn’t end this season without witnessing the growth Mathews put into his wins and says it was years of hard work that led up to Mathews success.
“Watching him go year to year, he has improved diving but also the way he communicates and listens so he is now what I would say the perfect athlete to coach, perfect athlete to watch and you can see that being SEC Champion now, 2-time national champion – he is fully deserving of those titles and for the work that young man puts in.”
Mathews will be remembered for multiple successes in Aggieland.
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Waco police have arrested an already registered sex offender after he was featured in a video online posing as a 14-year-old girl.
Police said Brian May was arrested after detectives were made aware of a YouTube video circulating online of him "posing as a 14-year-old girl trying to expose sexual predators."
May is charged with violation of his sex offender registration requirements and additional charges may be forthcoming, according to the police department.
"The creator of the YouTube video has not contacted the Waco Police Department and we encourage him to do so as detectives look for additional evidence," said police.
Waco police said the actions in the video are "risky operations even for trained professionals."
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Waco police at (254) 750-7500 or Crime Stoppers at 254-753-4375.
"... we want community members to report these concerns to allow our officers [to] take the proper precautions to conduct a full and thorough investigation for a prosecutable case and for everyone’s safety," said Waco police.
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MARCH 15, 2022 — When you go to the hospital, you'll usually spot nurses and doctors walking up and down the hallways.
They are front and center, face to face with patients.
But, behind the scenes are silent heroes — the people we don't get to see.
"75 percent of a doctor's decision on how to move forward with the treatment of a patient is based on our lab results," Kele Crouch, director of clinical and anatomical pathology for Baylor Scott & White said.
In the basement of the hospital, lab technicians run tests, evaluate patient conditions, look at cultures and provide blood products for those that need it.
"We were the key milestone for helping physicians navigate through the pandemic on the different types of viruses through our molecular testing," Crouch said.
After watching her high school friend battle cancer, Crouch said she wanted to pursue a career that would be meaningful. Originally, she thought should be a doctor.
Until she got to go behind the scene and work in the lab.
"We're the ones that has to call the ER and say your patient has leukemia and that could be the first time anyone has ever known," Crouch said. "The patient just came in because they're tired. To me, it means that we are helping the patient."
It's those kinds of cases that can help doctors save lives.
"The feeling of accomplishment, you get that every day down here. You're not at the bedside but you are making the difference, down here in the basement," Crouch said.
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FEBRUARY 24, 2022 — Sergeant Martha Smith, recently promoted to Lieutenant said she can't imagine doing anything else with her life.
"I started my career very young with Grimes County. It began straight out of high school at the age of 18," Smith said.
Smith has worked her way through the ranks keeping the community safe.
What makes her journey unique, though, is her focus on helping those who aren't native English speakers.
"I felt a calling that I could help, especially Spanish speakers in our community, to help guide them through situations that they can't do alone," Smith said.
When 3-year-old Christopher Ramirez went missing in early October, Lt. Smith was right there to comfort the family and relay important information to them.
"The ending result to find that Christopher was found, we were all invested in the case. The family was so appreciative, they welcome you in their home and you kind of become their family," Smith said.
She said it's cases like Christopher's, where the community and law enforcement work together for the greater good that keeps her going.
"It's just rewarding for me to help people that need help," Smith said.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A’ja Wilson wishes that she and her USA Basketball teammates could do more to help Brittney Griner right now.
They’ve all been straddling the line of trying not to say anything that could potentially hurt the WNBA star’s case as she’s still imprisoned in Russia on drug allegations, but also wanting Griner and her family to know that they care about her.
“We’re not talking BG the basketball player, we’re talking about BG the wife, the daughter, the sister the human being,” Wilson, the 2020 WNBA MVP, said Friday at USA Basketball training camp.
“That’s what I’m caring about. I get the silence and you don’t want to talk about it. I can’t even imagine to put myself in that situation. It’s tough,” she said.
Griner, one of many stars who play in Russia during the WNBA offseason, was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport in mid-February. Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The 6-foot-9 Phoenix Mercury center was returning to the country after the Russian League took a break for the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament. The two-time Olympic gold medalist recently had her detention extended to the middle of May.
“Hopefully everyone’s doing what they need to do to make sure she get’s home safe,” Wilson said. “That’s going to be the top priority of all of us. I know it’s tough and hard.”
Players have been keeping discussions about how to best help Griner within their community. WNBA players have been very cohesive in the past when rallying behind issues such as voter registration or the Black Lives Matters movement.
For the first few weeks following Griner’s detention, it was decided that it was clearly better for them to say less. That’s changed over the last few days as players have been more available and willing to talk.
“I can guarantee you this, this group here and women of the WNBA , we’re not going to forget about Brittney Griner,” USA Basketball coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Brittney’s not here, we’re going to do the things she would have done. She’s very philanthropic. Try to honor her in that way until the highest level of government can work this out.”
Breanna Stewart has stepped up to help The Phoenix Rescue Mission, a charity that Griner has been involved with for a long time.
“While BG is away I wanted to support her and her charitable efforts and do what I can from an off-the-court standpoint to help her and her family,” Stewart said.
Griner’s legal team has been quietly seeking her release and has declined to speak out about the case since her arrest was made public.
Of the thousands of U.S. citizens arrested and jailed in prisons abroad, a small subset are designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained — a category that affords their cases an extra level of government attention and places them under the auspices of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department. The U.S. government has not yet put Griner’s case in that category.
Griner is not the only American detained in Russia. Marine veteran Trevor Reed was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2020 on charges alleging that he assaulted police officers in Moscow. And Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government have said are false. U.S. officials have publicly called for Moscow to release them.
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Attorneys for former Kentucky clerk Kim Davis have appealed a ruling by a federal judge that she violated the constitutional rights of two same-sex couples when she denied marriage licenses to them.
Last month, U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning of the Eastern District of Kentucky granted summary judgment in a civil lawsuit that the two couples, David Ermold and David Moore, and James Yates and Will Smith, filed against Davis. At the time, the judge's ruling settled whether the couples' constitutional rights were violated without going to trial. It's unclear, though, if Davis will be held liable for the thousands of dollars in legal fees accrued since 2015.
Bunning denied Davis's request for summary judgment on the question of damages. The plaintiffs are requesting compensatory and punitive damages, pre and post-judgment interest, costs, and attorneys' fees.
Shortly after the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court ruling granted same-sex couples the right to marry nationwide, Davis stopped issuing all marriage licenses due to her religious beliefs. That led to lawsuits against her, and a judge ordered Davis to issue the licenses. She spent five days in jail for being found in contempt of court after refusing to do so.
Davis had argued that a legal doctrine called qualified immunity shielded her from being held liable, the plaintiffs argued that Davis had violated their constitutional rights and their right to marry was clearly established at the time of Davis's violation, and therefore, Davis was not entitled to qualified immunity.
The court said her decision not to issue marriage licenses "further illustrates that she knowingly violated the law." The ruling also states "Davis chose to stand for what [she] believe[s] in over what was contrary to that'—the law."
The judge's ruling means "claims against her in her individual capacity" can move forward. The U.S. Supreme Court chose not to take up her appeal in the case.
In a statement, the Liberty Counsel said the case "now clearly presents the free exercise defense" and could be a Supreme Court issue.
"Kim Davis is entitled to protection to an accommodation based on her sincere religious belief," Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said. "This case raises serious First Amendment free exercise of religion claims and has a high potential of reaching the Supreme Court."
A status conference was scheduled to be held by telephone on April 1.
Davis, a Republican, ultimately lost her bid for reelection in 2018. Democrat Elwood Caudill Jr. is now the county's clerk.
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COVID-19's grip on the US is shrinking.
Just over 16,000 people are currently hospitalized with the virus, the lowest number since the start of the pandemic.
That's according to the Department of Health and Human Services, which adds that COVID patients in the ICU are decreasing as well.
According to the agency, just over 56,000 ICU beds are currently in use, about 1,900 of those beds are in use for COVID.
COVID hospitalizations peaked this January during the omicron variant surge.
Despite the drop in these hospitalizations, officials say many hospitals are still stressed partly because of staffing issues.
The centers for disease control and prevention says that since August 2020, more than 4.5 million people have been hospitalized for the virus.
More than a third of those patients were at least 70-years-old.
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Disney fans will be happy about this news.
Disney Parks announced Thursday that guests would soon be able to hug their favorite characters again "as early as April 18" as they begin relaxing COVID restrictions.
"While not all locations will be available immediately, we anticipate reopening in phases throughout the spring, and early summer," Disney Live Entertainment Senior Communications Manager Shawn Slater wrote in the blog post.
Throughout the pandemic, social distancing has been required for nearly all character interactions.
Disney World in Florida reopened in July 2020, and Disneyland in California reopened in April 2021.
The parks have slowly been returning to normal operations, with Disney World's Festival of Fantasy parade starting back two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, in California, Disneyland's famous parade is expected to start up the marching band again beginning the weekend of April 22.
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Actor Will Smith has announced that he will resign from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences amid an investigation after he walked onto the Oscars stage during last Sunday's broadcast and slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's hair.
Smith said in a statement, “The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home.”
The actor went on to say in the statement, “I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken,” Variety reported.
The slap happened after Rock made a joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, saying her shaved head looked like the buzzcut sported by Demi Moore in “G.I. Jane.” Pinkett Smith has been public about her struggle with hair loss due to alopecia.
Read Smith's full statement obtained by CNN here:
“I have directly responded to the Academy’s disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home. I betrayed the trust of the Academy.
I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate. Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”
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NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — COVID-19 hospitalization numbers have plunged to their lowest levels since the early days of the pandemic, offering a much needed break to health care workers and patients alike following the omicron surge.
The number of patients hospitalized with the coronavirus has fallen more than 90% in more than two months, and some hospitals are going days without a single COVID-19 patient in the ICU for the first time since early 2020.
The freed-up beds are expected to help U.S. hospitals retain exhausted staff, treat non-COVID-19 patients more quickly and cut down on inflated costs. More family members can visit loved ones. And doctors hope to see a correction to the slide in pediatric visits, yearly checkups and cancer screenings.
“We should all be smiling that the number of people sitting in the hospital right now with COVID, and people in intensive care units with COVID, are at this low point,” said University of South Florida epidemiologist Jason Salemi.
But, he said, the nation “paid a steep price to get to this stage. ... A lot of people got sick and a lot of people died.”
Hospitalizations are now at their lowest point since summer 2020, when comprehensive national data first became available. The average number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the last week nationwide dropped to 11,860, the lowest since 2020 and a steep decline from the peak of more than 145,000 set in mid-January. The previous low was 12,041 last June, before the delta variant took hold.
The optimistic trend is also clear in ICU patient numbers, which have dipped to fewer than 2,000, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“We’re beginning to be able to take a breath,” said Dr. Jeffrey Weinstein, the patient safety officer for the Kettering Health hospital system in western Ohio.
COVID-19 patients had filled 30% of Kettering Health’s nearly 1,600 hospital beds back in January, Weinstein said. Kettering’s eight hospitals now average two to three COVID-19 admissions a day — and sometimes zero.
And while Salemi agreed this is a good time for an exhausted health care system to take a breath, he warned that the public health community needs to keep an eye on the BA.2 subvariant of omicron. It’s driving increases in hospitalizations in Britain, and is now estimated to make up more than half of U.S. infections.
“We’re probably under-detecting true infections now more than at any other time during the pandemic,” Salemi said.
For now at least, many hospitals are noting the low numbers.
In California on Thursday, UC Davis Health tweeted that its intensive care unit had no COVID-19 patients for two consecutive days for the first time in two years.
“The first COVID-19 patient to arrive in our ICU did so in February 2020, and the unit treated at least one positive individual every day since, for at least 761 consecutive days,” the hospital system said.
Toby Marsh, the chief nursing and patient care services officer, said in a statement that they hope the numbers “are indicative of a sustained change.”
In Philadelphia, patients are spending less time in the Temple University Health System because there are no longer backlogs for MRIs, CT scans and lab tests, said Dr. Tony Reed, the chief medical officer.
Temple Health’s three hospitals had six adult COVID-19 patients on Thursday, likely its lowest patient count since March 2020, Reed said.
During the omicron surge, patients waited as long as 22 hours for a routine MRI, which is normally done within 12 hours. Longer waits affected those who came in with trouble walking — and in a lot of pain — for example, because of a herniated disc pinching their sciatic nerve.
“Nobody wants to stay in the hospital a day longer than they have to,” Reed said.
The emptying of beds is also helping patients in rural areas, said Jay Anderson, the chief operating officer for Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. During the surges, the hospital faced challenges accepting people from community hospitals who needed elevated care for brain tumors, advanced cancer and stroke. That burden is now being lifted.
Visitors also will return in higher numbers, starting Tuesday. Ohio State will no longer restrict patients to two designated guests, who could only stop by separately.
“Patients heal better when they have access to their family and loved ones,” Anderson said.
Doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists are also getting a much needed break in some areas.
In Colorado, Dr. Michelle Barron said the consistently low COVID-19 hospitalizations prompted smiles among staff, even as she double-checks the numbers to make sure they’re actually correct.
“I had one of these moments like, oh this is amazing,” said Barron, medical director of infection prevention and control at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. “It feels unreal.”
UCHealth loosened some restrictions, including dropping testing requirements for anyone who entered a facility. And while that produced some anxiety among staffers, Barron says the numbers haven’t spiked.
“I think some people have started to take vacations and not feel guilty,” she said. “I had spring break with my kids and it was a level of happiness where I went, oh my god, this is actually normal.”
The omicron surge had stretched staff at work — but also at home, said Dr. Mike Hooper, chief medical officer for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in southeastern Virginia.
“It was stressful to be at the store ... to visit your family,” Hooper said. “We’re all hoping that some ‘return to normalcy’ will help people deal with the inherent stresses of being part of the health care team.”
But just because hospitalizations are down does not mean hospitals are empty, said Dr. Frank Johnson, chief medical officer for St. Luke’s Health System in Idaho.
Some measures — like wearing masks in certain settings — will remain in place.
“I don’t know when we may go back to old practices regarding mask wearing in our clinical areas,” Johnson said. “We’ve seen some benefits of that in terms of reduction in the number of other viral infections.”
In the meantime, the public health community is keeping an eye on the BA.2 subvariant of omicron.
Salemi, the University of South Florida epidemiologist, said the increase in at-home testing means that more results are not being included in official coronavirus case counts. Therefore, wastewater surveillance will be the early warning signal to watch, he said.
“BA.2 is here,” he said. “We don’t have to look that far in the rear-view mirror to know things can change very rapidly. We saw what happened with delta. We saw what happened with omicron.... We don’t want to wait until we see a lot of people hospitalized before we take action.”
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