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Kansas loses legal fight over voting law passed in 2021

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:20 GMT

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has lost a legal fight over one of the voting laws that its Republican-led Legislature passed in the wake of the 2020 election. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil ruled Thursday that it was unconstitutional to make it a crime for groups to include voter’s name, address and other information on advance ballot applications.Two national nonprofit groups, VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center, sued after two voting laws were passed in 2021 over the veto of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. One of them included the restriction on prefilling ballots, even if the voter provided the information and requested an advance mail ballot application. The groups, whose mission is to promote voting among traditionally underserved groups, including young and minority voters, argued that there is a higher response rate when the group prefills the applications. Nearly 70,000 Kansas voters submitted an advance mail voting application provided by the Voter Participation Ce...

Denali National Park worker dies after triggering avalanche

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:20 GMT

DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE, Alaska (AP) — A Denali National Park and Preserve employee died when he was caught in an avalanche while skiing in the backcountry, not far from the park’s entrance, officials said Friday.Eric Walter, who provided radio-based safety support and dispatch services for National Park Service operations across Alaska, died in the Thursday avalanche, the park said in a prepared statement.An individual told the park’s kennel staff that they saw a skier trigger an avalanche on an unnamed north-facing slope about 10 miles (16 kilometers) into the park, near the sprawling park’s only road.Responding rangers found an unoccupied truck parked about a mile away from the avalanche site. A ranger used a spotting scope to look for survivors in the avalanche debris.The ranger saw two skis, one vertical and the other lying flat on the surface, the statement said.The park’s mountaineering team, based in nearby Talkeetna, flew to the site on a contracted helicopt...

Supreme Court blocks Richard Glossip’s execution in Oklahoma

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:20 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday blocked Oklahoma from executing death row inmate Richard Glossip after the state’s attorney general agreed Glossip’s life should be spared.Glossip had been scheduled to be put to death on May 18 despite statements by new Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond that Glossip did not receive a fair trial.An Oklahoma appeals court subsequently upheld Glossip’s conviction and the state’s pardon and parole board deadlocked in a vote to grant him clemency.The high court put the execution on hold while it reviews the case. Justice Neil Gorsuch took no part in the case, presumably because he dealt with it earlier as an appeals court judge.The Associated Press

Vermont gun bill creating 72-hour waiting period passes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:20 GMT

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — The Vermont Legislature on Friday passed a bill that requires a 72-hour waiting period for the purchase of guns and includes other provisions aimed at reducing suicides and community violence. The Vermont House concurred with a Senate amendment by a vote of 106 to 34. But Republican Gov. Phil Scott “has significant concerns about the constitutionality of the waiting period provision,” his spokesman Jason Maulucci said Friday.The legislation also creates a crime of negligent firearms storage and expands the state’s extreme risk protection orders so that a state’s attorney, the attorney general’s office or a family or household member may ask a court to prohibit a person from purchasing, possessing or receiving a dangerous weapon.Supporters say it’s time to take action against gun violence and the rate of suicide in Vermont, which is higher than the national rate. Opponents say the bill violates the Second Amendment of the Constitution. A...

Maple Leafs’ Knies sidelined at least two games with concussion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:20 GMT

Add injury to insult.Not only did the Florida Panthers walk into the Toronto Maple Leafs’ rink this week and steal two road games to seize a 2-0 series lead, but exciting rookie forward Matthew Knies is likely done of the series.Knies, 20, has been diagnosed with a concussion since getting taken down hard and headfirst to the ice by Panthers forward Sam Bennett during a tussle in the first period of Game 2.The left winger has been ruled out for games 3 (Sunday) and 4 (Wednesday) in Sunrise, Fla., and should be considered day-to-day beyond that.“I’d say unlikely to return to the series. We’ll give him some time to recover and see how that goes,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said Friday.“Matthew has proven to improve the depth of our team, and we believe we’re a better team when he’s in. All that said, we were a very good team before he arrived on scene here. So, we’ll make some adjustments according, but we’ve got full confidence in our group.”Bennett was not penalized on the play, nor ...

Chicago officials launch summer safety plan ahead of Cinco de Mayo weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:20 GMT

CHICAGO — While many are looking forward to more spring-like weather and celebrating Cinco de Mayo, Chicago police and other emergency officials are working on a plan to keep people safe.City leaders are trying to avoid a repeat of what happened the last time Chicago saw a weekend of warm temperatures.On April 15, three teenagers were shot and more than a dozen people were arrested when a group of teens and young adults took over parts of downtown. Video showed young people jumping on cars and busses. A number of fights also broke out.Several aldermen said police were outnumbered and there was not sufficient leadership downtown to tell officers what to do. Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexican culture, not independence Days after the incident, the Chicago Police Department told city council members it would staff captains and lieutenants downtown and stage prisoner transport vans to act as a deterrent at different locations.Several pastors and others marched through downtown the weeken...

Meteor shower peaks this weekend: When to watch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:20 GMT

(WKBN) - Each year during April and May sky gazers are treated to a dazzling display from the eta Aquariid meteor shower.“A meteor shower is like a normal rain shower, with 50-60 meteors per hour,” said Bill Cooke, lead of NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in a NASA blog post. “An outburst is like a thunderstorm, with greater than normal meteor activity expected. A meteor storm is like a tornado, where meteor rates are over one thousand per hour.”NASA says the eta Aquariid could be especially impressive this year, with astronomers expecting 120-160 meteors per hour. The 100 best brunch restaurants in the US, according to Yelp The meteor shower starts around April 15 and goes through May 27 each year. Projections for the peak of the eta Aquariid shower tend to vary a bit, but the American Meteor Society predicts it will happen on May 6.How many meteors will we see?People in the Northern Hemisphere will see a fe...

Aspen Dental hit by cyberattack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:20 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Aspen Dental, whose headquarters are based in Chicago, has experienced a cybersecurity incident and is currently working to resolve the matter. The issue crippled Aspen Dental's ability to access scheduling systems, phone systems, and other business applications.The Aspen Group has not confirmed if patient information has been compromised. Some Chicago bars drop Bud Light, other beers in protest over company’s handling of transgender partnership The cybersecurity incident was discovered at Aspen Dental on April 25, but the company is not sharing when it expects everything will be back to normal. The issue is preventing Aspen Dental from accepting new patients. However, Aspen Dental says their offices are open and they are continuing to care for patients.Aspen Dental released the following statement:"Our investigation into the scope of the incident is in its early stages and remains ongoing. If it is determined that any sensitive, personal information may ...

Paxton, Travis County DA quarrel over Texas Capitol protest arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:20 GMT

Editor's note: The video above is part of KXAN's coverage following Tuesday's protest at the Texas Capitol.AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Friday, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made a false allegation against the office regarding the arrest of a protester at the Texas State Capitol earlier this week.Protests popped up Tuesday near the Texas House chambers over Senate Bill 14, a bill that would ban minors from accessing puberty blockers and gender-transition surgery. Advocacy groups decry DPS actions after protesters removed from capitol The protests resulted in Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan clearing the House gallery as groups in opposition to the bill chanted and displayed signs. The Texas Department of Public Safety, which provides security to the Capitol, was called in to remove all members of the public in the gallery, including supporters of the legislation."Rules matter in the Texas House," Phelan said Tuesday. "Today’s [Tuesday] ou...

North St. Paul man sentenced for fatal Brooklyn Park crash in stolen pickup, high on fentanyl and meth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:20 GMT

A North St. Paul man was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Friday for crashing a stolen pickup truck into the back of a car in Brooklyn Park while high on fentanyl and meth, killing the driver and seriously injuring the driver’s wife.Adam Hunter Pattishall, 22, had pleaded guilty to the May 15, 2021, crash that killed 57-year-old Daniel Fisher of Maple Grove and critically injured his 43-year-old wife, Cathleen Fisher.Adam Hunter Pattishall (Courtesy of the Hennepin County sheriff’s office)Hennepin County District Judge Julie Allyn sentenced him to 92 months in prison on one count each of criminal vehicular homicide-while operating under a controlled substance and criminal vehicular operation-great bodily harm.According to the criminal complaint, an Osseo police officer around 7:20 a.m. saw a Chevrolet Impala with an obstructed license plate pull into a car wash bay. As the officer approached the car, a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck accelerated out of the p...