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Texas judge’s abortion ruling ignites new showdown that could harm Republicans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:28 GMT

(CNN) — A single conservative judge in Texas has provoked sudden health care and legal chaos by effectively halting the nationwide use of a popular abortion drug by the end of the week.US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision to suspend the Food and Drug Administration approval of the drug mifepristone, which has been used safely for more than 20 years, marked an extraordinary use of judicial power in the face of scientific data and is likely to force the Supreme Court to take up abortion again, a year after it overturned Roe v. Wade.His ruling on Friday, which he paused for a week to allow appeals, also represented a judicial intervention into the health care decisions of millions of American women and could effectively make abortion unavailable in many states if it goes into force. The Biden administration is already mobilizing to thwart the judge’s audacious move after lodging an appeal.But the ruling is causing sharp political reverberations amid criticis...

Police investigating after 12-year-old boy shot in Mattapan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:28 GMT

Police are investigating after a 12-year-old boy was shot in Mattapan on Sunday night. Officers responding to a report of shots fired in the area of Cummins Highway just after 8 p.m. found the boy suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, according to Boston police. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for their injuries and is expected to be okay. The boy’s family says they are scarred by the shooting and want the person responsible to come forward now. “I am very angry that all the violence is happening,” said Alta Gracia-Lorenzo, the victim’s stepmother. Gracia-Lorenzo said her and her family were getting ready for bed Sunday night when the shots were fired. She said one bullet hit her stepson in the leg and another bullet almost hit her 16-year-old stepdaughter. Gracia-Lorenzo yelled for everyone to drop to the ground while her stepson cried for help. “He said, ‘Don’t let me die, don’t let me die,̶...

Save the date: Total eclipse of the sun a year from now, and you can see it in New England

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:28 GMT

NEW YORK — Dust off your eclipse glasses: It’s only a year until a total solar eclipse sweeps across North America.On April 8, 2024, the moon will cast its shadow across a stretch of the U.S., Mexico and Canada, plunging millions of people into midday darkness.It’s been less than six years since a total solar eclipse cut across the U.S., from coast to coast. That was on Aug. 21, 2017.If you miss next year’s spectacle, you’ll have to wait 20 years until the next one hits the U.S. But that total eclipse will only be visible in Montana and the Dakotas.Here’s what to know to get ready for the 2024 show:WHERE CAN I SEE IT?Next year’s eclipse will slice a diagonal line across North America on April 8, which falls on a Monday.It will start in the Pacific and first reach land over Mexico around 11:07 a.m. local time, NASA predicts. Then, it’ll cross over into Texas and move across parts of the Midwest and Northeast in the afternoon.All in all, it wi...

Maine mom sues school over teen’s gender transition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:28 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine — A Maine woman is suing a school district whose counselor encouraged her teen’s social gender transition, providing a chest binder and using a new name and pronouns, without consulting parents.It’s the latest lawsuit to pit a parent’s right to supervise their children’s health and education against a minor’s right to privacy when confiding in a mental health professional. A similar lawsuit filed in California was working its way through the courts earlier this year. In Massachusetts, parents are suing a middle school for not telling them their two pre-teens were using different names and pronouns.The federal lawsuit in Maine argues the mother of the 13-year-old student has a “right to control and direct the care, custody, education, upbringing and healthcare decisions of her children,” and that Great Salt Bay Community School violated her constitutional right by keeping gender-affirming treatments from parents.Civil rights a...

What are ‘Succession’ fans are saying about this week’s episode?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:28 GMT

A wedding episode of “Succession” wouldn’t be complete without a jaw-dropping plot twist that drastically alters the trajectory of the hit HBO drama — and Sunday night’s installment did not disappoint.The third episode of Season 4, “Connor’s Wedding,” finally pulled the trigger on a major event the series has long foreshadowed: the death of Waystar chairman and media-family patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox).During the episode, Logan decides to skip his eldest son’s nuptials and board a flight to Sweden in an effort to secure a deal with tech mogul Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard). On the plane, the business executive collapses and shares one last phone call with his younger children — Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv (Sarah Snook) — as the flight staff tries to revive him. By the time the jet lands, Logan is dead.Naturally, fans were quick to react to the water-cooler moment on Twitter, which was in a collective state of shock.“IT’S ONLY 10 MINUTES INTO THE E...

Rutgers faculty go on strike, picket outside classes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:28 GMT

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Thousands of professors, part-time lecturers and graduate student workers at New Jersey’s flagship university went on strike Monday — the first such job action in the school’s 257-year history.Classes were still being held at Rutgers as picket lines were set up at the school’s campuses in New Brunswick/Piscataway, Newark and Camden, though students said some had been canceled due to the strike. Union officials decided Sunday night to go on strike, citing a stalemate in contract talks that have been ongoing since July. Faculty members voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike last month.Three unions, which represent about 9,000 Rutgers staff members, were involved in the strike: the Rutgers AAUP-AFT, which represents full-time faculty, graduate workers, postdoctoral associates and some counselors; the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, which represents part-time lecturers; and the AAUP-BHSNJ, which includes faculty in t...

Mike Preston: Odell Beckham Jr. is a gamble the Ravens had to make | COMMENTARY

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:28 GMT

Dire situations require desperate actions, and the Ravens made one Sunday in announcing they agreed to a one-year contract reportedly worth up to $18 million with veteran wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.It is not known if the Ravens made the move to placate or further distance themselves in negotiations with star quarterback Lamar Jackson — though since he and Beckham were on FaceTime with each other minutes after the announcement, it’s probably the former — but the addition of Beckham has to make them better.Right?Let’s just call it another gamble by the Ravens in signing another receiver past his prime. Beckham apparently got the blessing of new offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who coached the wide receiver in 2019 when both were with the Cleveland Browns.Unlike the Browns, the Ravens have been considered one of the NFL’s model franchises ever since they won the first of two Super Bowl titles in 2000. But if this Beckham deal doesn’t work out a...

Cold temperatures, strong winds in store for San Diego County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:28 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Cool temperatures and strong, gusty winds are in store for San Diego County as a storm system makes its way to the region, the National Weather Service said.According to NWS San Diego, the cooling trend will begin late Wednesday into Thursday, with strong winds and a chance of light precipitation.Monday morning saw dense fog along the coast, with above-average temperatures reported before the expected cooldown. As the lower pressure system moves into the region, NWS anticipates gusty west winds Wednesday afternoon through Thursday night in the desert and mountain areas. Peak winds could reach up to 50 mph in eastern parts of the county, with coastal areas experiencing gusts over 20 mph. At least 4 killed, 8 injured in shooting at Louisville bank building The marine layer is expected to deepen Monday night into Tuesday, causing lower visibility. A Dense Fog Advisory was issued by NWS for coastal areas of San Diego County until 10 a.m. Monday.The marine layer is expected...

CP NewsAlert: RCMP say Edmonton-area officer dies from injuries following crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:28 GMT

SHERWOOD PARK, Alta. — Alberta RCMP say an officer has died after being injured in a crash early this morning.They say the officer is a member of the Strathcona County detachment, which is just east of Edmonton.More coming.The Canadian Press

Bodies of missing musician, son recovered from Arkansas lake

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:28 GMT

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — The bodies of a jam band musician and his adult son were recovered from an Arkansas lake more than three weeks after the two went missing during a kayaking trip, authorities said.The Benton County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday that the bodies were identified as those of Chuck Morris, 47, and his 20-year-old son, Charley Morris. Chuck Morris was a percussionist who for more than two decades had been a member of the instrumental jam band Lotus.The father and son from Kansas City, Missouri, were last seen on March 16 while on a kayaking trip to Beaver Lake, The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. A search crew found their bodies over the weekend while searching the lake with an underwater drone, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.Lotus posted a statement from the Morris family on its Facebook page saying relatives had spoken with Arkansas authorities and were told the men drowned.A Facebook statement from the band said proceeds from upco...