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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appoints Moms for Liberty co-founder to state Commission on Ethics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:38 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that has sought to take over school boards in multiple states, to the Florida Commission on Ethics on Wednesday.Tina Descovich was named to the nine-member, Tallahassee-based commission, which investigates alleged breaches of public trust by elected and appointed officials, as well as state employees.Descovich was previously elected to the School Board of Brevard County in 2016 and served as president of the Florida Coalition of School Board Members. Moms for Liberty started with Descovich and two other Florida women fighting COVID-19 restrictions in 2021. It has quickly ascended as a national player in Republican politics, helped along the way by the group’s political training and close relationships with high-profile GOP groups and lawmakers.The group’s support for school choice and the “fundamental rights of parents” to direct their children’s education has ...

Phoenix on track to set another heat record, this time for most daily highs at or above 110 degrees

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:38 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Phoenix, already the hottest large city in America, is poised to set yet another heat record this weekend while confirmed heat-associated deaths are on track for a record of their own. The National Weather Service says after a brief respite from the heat over the Labor Day holiday, Phoenix this weekend is expected to break its previous record of 53 days of 110-degree Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) weather in a single year, set in 2020. Afternoon weekend highs will range between 108-113 degrees Fahrenheit (42.4-45 Celsius) across Arizona’s lower deserts. “Remember to stay hydrated and avoid sun exposure from 10am to 6pm this weekend!” the weather service advised on social media. Phoenix has now seen 52 days of temperatures at or above 110 degrees in 2023 and is expected to hit that mark again on both Saturday and Sunday, when an extreme heat watch will be in effect, local meteorologists said. The temperature could also hit 110 degrees on Monday. The desert city set a ...

A judge orders Texas to move a floating barrier used to deter migrants to the bank of the Rio Grande

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:38 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Texas to move a large floating barrier to the bank of the Rio Grande after protests from the the U.S. and Mexican governments over Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest tactic to stop migrants from crossing America’s southern border.The decision by U.S. District Judge David Ezra is a victory for President Joe Biden’s administration, which sued after Texas put the wrecking ball-sized buoys on the water in early July as part of a sprawling border security mission known as Operation Lone Star. The judge said the state must move the barrier by Sept. 15.The barrier threatens provisions of a treaty between U.S. and Mexico, wrote Ezra, who also cast doubt on its effectiveness. “The State of Texas did not present any credible evidence that the buoy barrier as installed has significantly curtailed illegal immigration across the Rio Grande River,” Ezra wrote. Abbott said Texas would appeal. “Today’s court decision merely prolongs ...

Schools dismiss early, teach online as blast of heat hits northeastern US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:38 GMT

A blast of late summer heat caused disruptions Wednesday for schools from Michigan to Virginia, with some districts dismissing students early and others holding classes online just days into the new academic year.While temperatures weren’t as high as last month’s triple-digit deadly heat wave, schools in states including Michigan, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey cited inadequate air conditioning in cutting days short. One Massachusetts district canceled two days of classes because of hot classrooms. Temperatures in the mid-90s also led to online learning in Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Only 20% of public schools in Detroit, where the temperature reached 89 degrees Tuesday but dropped Wednesday, have air conditioning. The district dismissed its roughly 54,000 students three hours early Wednesday for the second consecutive day.“We never want to inconvenience our families with early releases, but we also do not want our staff and students to be so uncomfortable that teaching and lea...

Daniil Medvedev beats the heat and Rublev to reach US Open semis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Daniil Medvedev advanced to the U.S. Open semifinals for the fourth time in five years, overcoming fellow Russian Andrey Rublev and hot, humid conditions Wednesday 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.Medvedev, the third seed and 2021 U.S. Open champion, appeared to be having breathing problems in the near 95-degree Fahrenheit (35 Celsius) heat, twice calling for a doctor on changeovers. But it didn’t seem to show in his play. Medvedev frequently traded long rallies with Rublev — 34 strokes being the longest — and scrambled for every shot. He ran nearly the length of the court to hit a winner off a drop shot in the final set to earn his first match point. Rublev saved that one and three more in an 18-point final game before finally succumbing on the fifth, with an exhausted forehand into the net.“The only good thing I see in these conditions is both suffer,” a sweat-drenched Medvedev said in his on-court interview in a partially closed Arthur Ashe Stadium. “Honestly at the end of the...

Felony convictions vacated for 4 Navy officers in sprawling scandal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:38 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The felony convictions of four Navy officers in a sprawling bribery case were vacated due to prosecutorial misconduct Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino called the misconduct “outrageous” and agreed to allow the four men to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 fine each. The officers on Wednesday pleaded guilty to a charge of destruction of government property, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.The officers — former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera — were convicted in one of the worst bribery cases in recent history for the Navy that centered around a defense contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard.Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ko, who was brought on after the four officers were tried last year, acknowledged to the judge that some of the allegations of misconduct were true though he did not say which ones. He said his office did not agree with all of the accusations.More than two dozen Navy offic...

Montana’s attorney general faces professional misconduct complaint. Spokeswoman calls it meritless

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:38 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s ultra-conservative attorney general has been accused of professional misconduct on allegations his office tried to undermine the state’s Supreme Court in defending a law that allows the Republican governor to fill judicial vacancies without the input of a long-standing commission that vets candidates.The Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which regulates attorneys in Montana, filed the complaint against Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen on Tuesday.Knudsen or attorneys under his supervision “routinely and frequently undermined public confidence in the fairness and impartiality of our system of justice by attempting to evade the authority of the Montana Supreme Court and assaulting the integrity of the judiciary and the individual Justices who were duly elected by Montana citizens to make decisions,” special counsel Tim Strauch wrote in the complaint.The complaint called statements made by the attorney general’s office in court documents to b...

McConnell tries to reassure colleagues about his health, vows to serve out term as Senate GOP leader

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell declared again Wednesday that he plans to finish his term as leader despite freezing up at two news conferences over the summer, brushing off questions about his health as he sought to reassure colleagues he’s still up to the job.At a weekly, closed-door lunch with fellow GOP senators on Wednesday, McConnell pointed to the statement released a day earlier by attending physician Brian P. Monahan about his health. He said he was ready to move forward with the Senate’s busy fall agenda. Monahan’s statement, released by McConnell’s office, said there was no evidence that the 81 year-old McConnell had a stroke or was suffering from a seizure disorder after he froze up and appeared unable to speak for 20-30 seconds at two different news conferences. The episodes came after the GOP leader fell and suffered from a concussion earlier this year. “I’m going to finish my term as leader and I’m going to finish my Senate term,” McConnell ...

George Washington University sheltering in place after homicide suspect escapes from hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — George Washington University issued a shelter-in-place order Wednesday afternoon after a homicide suspect escaped from police custody at the university hospital.The Metropolitan Police Department announced on the X social media platform that Christopher Haynes had “escaped custody” at the hospital just after 3:30. In a news release, police said Haynes, 30, had been arrested earlier Wednesday and charged with a “homicide offense.” Further details were not immediately available. The police notice did not say if Haynes was armed, but it advised people not to engage if they saw him and to call 911. The university sent out text messages warning anyone on campus to shelter in place “due to the dangerous individual around campus.”Ashraf Khalil, The Associated Press

13-year-old boy on bicycle hit by vehicle in Buffalo Grove

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:38 GMT

BUFFALO GROVE — A 13-year-old boy is in the hospital after he was hit by a vehicle while riding his bicycle in Buffalo Grove Wednesday, according to police.Police said officers were called around 7:28 a.m. to a bicyclist hit on Weiland Road near Newton Drive. After a preliminary investigation, police found that a 13-year-old boy on a bicycle was in the crosswalk when he was hit by a vehicle travelling northbound on Weiland Road.The 13-year-old bicyclist was taken to Lutheran General Hospital by ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries. City of Chicago sees dramatic rise in car thefts over last year The driver of the vehicle, a 66-year-old Wheeling resident, remained on scene after the incident and is cooperating with authorities.No charges have been filed at this time and the incident is currently under investigation by the Buffalo Grove Police Department's traffic unit, along with the Major Crash Assistance Team.