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Biden says a possible shutdown wouldn’t be his fault. Would Americans agree with him?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:35 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Staring down a possible government shutdown, the White House wants to make sure any blame would fall at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue — specifically on House Republicans. After all, it was the majority party in the House that had been paralyzed until Saturday by an inability to pass a funding package, stymied by members who don’t want to uphold a bipartisan spending agreement from earlier this year. President Joe Biden is hoping the rest of the country would see things the same way. It’s a murky proposition at a time of extreme political polarization, with many Americans dug into their partisan corners regardless of the facts of the matter.But with a midnight deadline looming, the House on Saturday approved a 45-day funding bill to keep federal agencies open. Speaker Kevin McCarthy dropped demands for steep spending cuts and relied on Democratic votes for passage to send the package to the Senate, which was meeting in a rare weekend session.A shutdown ...

Judge blocks 2 provisions in North Carolina’s new abortion law; 12-week near-ban remains in place

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:35 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge on Saturday blocked two portions of North Carolina’s new abortion law from taking effect while a lawsuit continues. But nearly all of the restrictions approved by the legislature this year, including a near-ban after 12 weeks of pregnancy, aren’t being specifically challenged and remain intact. U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles issued an order halting enforcement of a provision to require surgical abortions that occur after 12 weeks — those for cases of rape and incest, for example — be performed only in hospitals, not abortion clinics. That limitation would have otherwise taken effect on Sunday. And in the same preliminary injunction, Eagles extended beyond her temporary decision in June an order preventing enforcement of a rule that doctors must document the existence of a pregnancy within the uterus before prescribing a medication abortion.Short of successful appeals by Republican legislative leaders defending the laws, the orde...

Truck crash in Illinois kills 5, seriously injures 5 and forces an evacuation due to ammonia leak

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:35 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Authorities say five people were killed and five were seriously injured after a truck overturned in central Illinois, causing a toxic substance to leak from its cargo. Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes said the five dead included three from the same family — one adult and two children under 12. The other two were adult motorists from out of state, Rhodes said. Additionally, five people were airlifted to area hospitals, their conditions unknown.The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday it will review the crash, which also prompted an evacuation of area residents. Illinois State Police said the accident occurred Friday and involved “multiple” vehicles. It happened about a half-mile east of Teutopolis on U.S. Highway 40. Police said Saturday that due to the plume from the ammonia leak, an evacuation was ordered within an approximate one mile radius of the crash, including northeastern parts of Teutopolis. Crews were working to contain the leak. T...

The best days to fly around Thanksgiving in 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:35 GMT

(NerdWallet) - Thanksgiving week tends to draw major airport crowds, and coupled with inevitable weather delays, it can be a brutal time to travel. Not to mention, the conventional wisdom to fly on Tuesdays won't necessarily save you much money.But some days within Thanksgiving week are significantly busier than others. If you can afford to be flexible with scheduling, you’ll not only save money, but you might also avoid chaos.The best and worst days to fly around ThanksgivingNerdWallet analyzed the past four years of checkpoint travel numbers provided by the Transportation Security Administration, which tracks the number of passengers screened daily in the U.S. at its checkpoints.In each of the past four years, the Sunday after Thanksgiving was the most crowded day to travel from the seven days before and after Thanksgiving.As far as the least crowded? Thanksgiving Day itself.When averaging over the past four years, here were the most to least crowded days for Thanksgiving flying:S...

Gov. Abbott calls third special session to begin Oct. 9

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:35 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Gov. Greg Abbott said a special session will start at 1 p.m., Oct. 9, according to a letter sent to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan.Abbott told Christian faith leaders in a tele-town hall on Sept. 12 that he intended to call another special session this year. The upcoming special session will be the third of the year and is set to begin in October.What's to come in the third special session?One of the main items on the agenda Abbott plans to push for is school choice: where public education funds would be able to benefit private schools, not just public schools.“There’s an easy way to get it done and a hard way to get it done,” Gov. Abbott said at the tele-town hall. “The easy way will be for these legislators to come into the regular session, this next special session, and vote in favor of school choice.”In Texas, one special session is limited to a maximum of 30 days. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Gov. Abbott will call special session for school v...

San Marcos police shut down portion of highway to search for homicide suspect, road has since reopened

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:35 GMT

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) – San Marcos Police closed in both directions a portion of Highway 123 early Saturday morning due to an ongoing homicide investigation. The portion of the highway, between Redwood Road and Old Bastrop Road, was reopened after 5 a.m. Saturday, but police have yet to release additional details about the homicide incident except that SMPD was continuing its investigation. In a social media post, the San Marcos Police Department said it closed down the highway to search for the suspect. Police said they did not believe there was an ongoing threat to the public at the time. SMPD has yet to say whether officers have captured the suspect. 

Gov. Greg Abbott says special lawmaking session will begin on Oct. 9, likely on school vouchers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:35 GMT

AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) -- Gov. Greg Abbott has notified the Texas Legislature that a third special session will begin on Oct. 9.A Sept. 26 letter signed by Abbott and addressed to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan, did not indicate the focus of this special session. But the governor has said repeatedly the next special session would focus on public education, including the issues of school vouchers and public school funding.Abbott’s decision comes nearly four months after lawmakers failed this year to either allocate new money to help school districts make ends meet amid rampant inflation and a volatile economy, or reach an agreement on “school choice,” a moniker for proposals that would allow parents to use taxpayer dollars to pay for their children’s private schooling. School choice has been one of Abbott’s top legislative priorities this year.Lawmakers are to return to Austin on Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. This year’s regular legislative session ended in a st...

Why Marcus Foligno signed extension with Wild: ‘It’s the hockey’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:35 GMT

Marcus Foligno loves Minnesota, calls it home. Might stay here when his playing days are over. But right now, at 32 on an NHL team he thinks is growing something special, he loves winning more.Foligno signed a four-year, $16 million extension Friday that keeps him under contract through the 2027-28 season. Before it expires, he wants to win a Stanley Cup, and he thinks the Wild have a team that can do it, whether it’s this season or in the near future.“That’s the main goal,” Foligno said after skating Saturday morning with the group that won’t play in Saturday night’s preseason game against Chicago at Xcel Energy Center.“It’s great to live in Minnesota and the community and everything like that, but it’s the hockey for me and the role I have here,” he added. “I don’t think you’re going to build that back up anywhere else.”An alternate captain who is one season removed from scoring a career-high 23 goals and 42 points, Foligno is a key cog in what general manager Bill Guerin is build...

Gophers finish strong in 35-24 win over Louisiana

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:35 GMT

The Gophers shook off an early hangover on homecoming Saturday and finished strong for a 35-24 victory over Louisiana at Huntington Bank Stadium.It was the opposite formula from last week’s fourth-quarter collapse at Northwestern. Coughing up a 21-point lead on the road to the Wildcats last Saturday seemed to linger as Minnesota again struggled against a double-digit underdog.Louisiana took a 17-14 halftime lead, but Minnesota (3-2) took over in the second half and pushed the 11-point spread versus the Ragin’ Cajuns (3-2).Gophers coach P.J. Fleck put the Sun Belt Conference school away with a fourth-quarter decision to go for it on fourth down. With three yards to go from Louisiana’s 38, a play-action pass from Athan Kaliakmanis found a wide-open Daniel Jackson for a touchdown.That play call is what Fleck didn’t do against Northwestern last week, when he opted to punt and the Wildcats were able to complete a stunning comeback.On Saturday, Minnesota took a 35-17 lead with that play-t...

Without Darius Taylor, Gophers still run well in win over Louisiana

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:35 GMT

After relying on true freshman tailback Darius Taylor in the previous three weeks, the Gophers counted on three other ball-carries to run past Louisiana in a 35-24 win Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium.Taylor, who led the Big Ten with 532 rushing yards through the season’s opening month, was out with a leg injury suffered at the end of the 37-31 overtime loss to Northwestern last week.Zach Evans, who did not have a carry in the opening four games, led the way Saturday with 15 carries for 85 yards and one touchdown. Bryce Williams also had 15 carries for 53 yards and a touchdown, whileSean Tyler contributed 10 carries for 47 yards.Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis benefitted from the U’s new short-yardage play, where a quarterback sneak is aided by two tight ends and a running back pushing the pile. It’s been made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles. Kaliakmanis had 10 carries for 17 yards and a touchdown.The U also dusted off its wildcat package, with Cole Kramer getting a c...