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M-DCPS Board members discuss proposal recognizing October as LGBTQ History Month amid controversy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:20 GMT

The Miami-Dade County Public School Board is discussing whether the district should officially recognize October as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer History Month. The discussion got underway after 11 p.m. on Wednesday, hours after at least 100 people who signed up for the public comment section of the weekly meeting spoken before board members. One by one, people spoke both in favor and against Initiative H-11, which would recognize October as LGBTQ History Month within Miami-Dade County Public Schools.“A ‘yes’ vote will set a dangerous precedent. A ‘yes’ vote tells parents and students, ‘Your sexual desires are more important than your achievements,'” said an opponent of the proposal. “I urge this board to vote ‘no,’ because it will not bring the inclusion and welcoming environment you hope for.”“I hope you understand that simply naming October as LGBTQ History Month does not mean we are indoctrin...

A renewed Europe can only be built from the political center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:20 GMT

Ahead of next year’s European elections, polarization and fragmentation are in the air. Some European conservatives are acting irresponsibly and putting populist approaches ahead of pragmatism. The left is drawn to economic populism. We know that the Europe of tomorrow can only be built from the political center.This week, liberals, centrists, democrats and reformists are gathering in Vienna, hosted by the NEOS party, and recommitting to fighting the European elections with pride. That’s pride in our achievements and in our record of delivery, with the promise of a stronger Europe that delivers for all EU citizens.With the adoption of our ‘Vienna declaration’, we outline the steps needed to deliver for EU citizens in the next eight months. We call on our coalition partners in the European Parliament to recommit to our mid-term agreement, reject extremism and focus on delivering the reforms that citizens demand before the European elections. The European Commission must join us ...

Three teens faces charges in fight involving bus driver

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:20 GMT

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — Three San Pasqual High School students faces charges in connection to a fight involving a North County Transit District (NCTD) Breeze bus driver.The incident occurred on Tuesday, Aug. 29 when an altercation broke out at the bus stop near the school.Video released by NCTD shows the moments leading up to and after the fight.According to the Escondido Police Department, one of the teens in this case was arrested and taken into custody on charges of assault likely to produce great bodily injury. The two other teens will be charged with conspiracy and released to their parents pending the court’s recommendations, police said.The bus driver, who NCTD says was placed on leave pending an investigation into this matter, is not being charged at this time, according to EPD.“The safety of our passengers and bus operators is our top priority. NCTD’s investigation is ongoing. The details of what took place are being thoroughly reviewed from all aspects," NC...

Biden refuses to grant some of the conditions that 9/11 defendants were seeking in plea negotiations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has refused to approve some of the conditions that lawyers for the defendants in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks had sought in a possible plea bargain, ruling out a presidential guarantee that the five men would be spared solitary confinement and provided care for the trauma of their torture in CIA custody, a White House National Security Council official said Wednesday.Biden’s refusal on the plea-bargain guarantees leaves it to military prosecutors and defense lawyers to try to hash out an agreement on a plea bargain. The terms under discussion would have the five Guantanamo detainees plead guilty and serve life sentences in exchange for being spared the death penalty. Lawyers for the two sides have been exploring a negotiated resolution to the case for about 1 1/2 years. They had been waiting for about a year of that time to see if Biden would express opposition or support for some of the conditions that defense lawyers had been seeking.Bide...

Brazil cyclone, Europe flooding, another Earth heat record: What to know in extreme weather now

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:20 GMT

Families perched atop houses pleading for help to escape the deadly flooding after a cyclone hammered southern Brazil, with the region’s governor calling it “an absolutely out of the ordinary event.”The world’s latest extreme weather disaster killed at least 31 people and left at least 1,600 homeless, authorities said Wednesday. The scope of the damage was enormous: Rio Grande do Sol Gov. Eduardo Leite said it was his state’s highest death toll from a climate event, with “entire cities that were completely compromised.”The toll included at least 15 bodies in a single house.Flooding also wracked Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria on Tuesday, fed by fierce rainstorms and killing at least seven people. The toll included at least two in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, where streets and homes were flooded in two neighborhoods.Here’s what else is happening related to extreme weather, climate and the environment right now:—The World Meteorological Organization announced a...

3 sailors whose boat was damaged in several shark attacks have been rescued in Coral Sea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:20 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Three sailors from Russia and France were rescued on Wednesday after the inflatable catamaran they were trying to navigate from Vanuatu to Australia came under attack from sharks, authorities said. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it responded to an alert from an emergency beacon at about 1:30 a.m. When rescuers arrived at the scene more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of the Australian coast in the Coral Sea, they found both hulls of the men’s 9-meter (30-foot) boat had been damaged after several shark attacks. The agency enlisted the help of a Panamanian-flagged ship, the vehicle-carrying “Dugong Ace,” which was able to complete the rescue and take the two Russians and one Frenchman aboard. A rescue plane also flew to the scene.“The three males were very happy to be rescued, and they’re all healthy and well,” said Joe Zeller, duty manager at the agency’s Canberra response center.The men, aged between 28 and 64, are due...

Special meeting held on Ryan Field renovation plans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:20 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — Evanston's Land Use Commission met before a packed crowd of residents Wednesday evening to discuss Northwestern University's proposed renovations to Ryan Field.Northwestern is proposing an $800 million project where Ryan Field will essentially be torn down, and replaced with a new, state-of-the-art field. Representatives from the university spoke during the Land Use Commission meeting to relay that the new stadium would be built without any taxpayer dollars, while also providing huge economic relief for the area.A major point of conversation Wednesday was based around Northwestern asking for a 'zoning text amendment,' which would allow the new venue to play host to six concert events in order to help foot the bill for the proposed renovations. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Northwestern provides update on Ryan Field renovation plans Also of note, university officials said the new stadium would actually have 12,000 less seats than the current edition of Ryan Field, but would a...

Mother Nature Turning On The Air Conditioner; Big T-Storms Sweep Sections of Metro Area Hitting Southern Suburbs Hardest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:20 GMT

BIG T-STORMS swept sections of the metro area DRENCHING the southern suburbs—evenprompting FLASH FLOOD WARNINGS there in an area which is home to 970,000 area residents. Below is a weather radar animation from the College of DuPage GOES weather satellite site:Downpours in some areas, hardly no rain in othersAt the same time thundery downpours drenched these area, other parts of the Chicago area—in typical warm weather precip fashion—saw FAR LESS RAIN.  In the city of Chicago, as an example, O'Hare tallied only 0.07" while Midwest recorded 0.35".  After 19 consecutive rainless days, even these comparatively modest city amounts were welcomeGRIST is running a series on HEAT and its impact on how and where we live—-but also on how many succumb to it and how those numbers are underreported. Its latest report is entitled "How many people are really dying from heat?" It's a fascinating series of reports and this latest piece looks at why heat fatalities are underreported.Periods of extreme...

Jury finds De'Ondre White guilty of murder in Sixth Street mass shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:20 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A jury found De'Ondre White guilty of the murder of Douglas Kantor in the incident now referred to as the Sixth Street mass shooting.Sentencing for White will occur Thursday morning.White is accused of firing at least eight times into a large crowd, killing Kantor, an innocent bystander, in June 2021. This incident is now referred to as the Sixth Street mass shooting. "I was just scared...I didn't want to go to jail," De'Ondre White, on trial for murder told a courtroom on Wednesday, in response to being dishonest with police and fleeing a murder scene. ‘This senseless tragedy has put an end to all his dreams’: 25-year-old dies in downtown Austin mass shooting Kantor was in town celebrating his recent grad school graduation. White took the stand as the final witness in a two-week trial on Wednesday. He appeared nervous, but eager to tell his side of the story in his own words.He admitted to trying to get away with firing into the cr...

One person dead in southeast Austin vehicle-pedestrian crash, ATCEMS says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:20 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- One person is dead after a vehicle-pedestrian crash in southeast Austin Wednesday night, Austin-Travis County EMS confirmed on Twitter.Shortly after 9 p.m., medics and the Austin Fire Department responded to reports of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle in the 3000-3195 block of East Highway 71 in the westbound lanes, medics said.One adult person was pronounced dead on the scene, medics said.Drivers should expect extended road closures around the scene, as well as seek an alternate route.No other information was available Wednesday.