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The number of Kansas residents changing their gender jumped 300% before a new law began

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:33 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The number of people officially changing their gender in Kansas jumped more than 300% this year ahead of a new state law that legally erases their ability to identify with a gender other than the sex assigned to them at birth.The legislation is part of a raft of measures lawmakers across the U.S. have passed to roll back transgender rights. It has provisions meant to restrict transgender people’s use of restrooms, locker rooms and other facilities and applies to a person’s identity listed on state documents such as birth certificates and driver’s licenses.The Kansas law takes effect Saturday, but it’s not yet clear how it will play out in the daily lives of transgender people. The new legislation conflicts with a 2019 federal court order directing the state to allow transgender people to change their birth certificates.Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who vetoed the law but was overridden by the Republican-controlled Legislature, hasn’t said whether she w...

Warming causes more extreme rain, not snow, over mountains. Scientists say that’s a problem

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:33 GMT

A warming world is transforming some major snowfalls into extreme rain over mountains instead, somehow worsening both dangerous flooding like the type that devastated Pakistan last year as well as long-term water shortages, a new study found.Using rain and snow measurements since 1950 and computer simulations for future climate, scientists calculated that for every degree Fahrenheit the world warms, extreme rainfall at higher elevation increases by 8.3% (15% for every degree Celsius), according to a study in Wednesday’s journal Nature. Heavy rain in mountains causes a lot more problems than big snow, including flooding, landslides and erosion, scientists said. And the rain isn’t conveniently stored away like snowpack that can recharge reservoirs in spring and summer.“It is not just a far-off problem that is projected to occur in the future, but the data is actually telling us that it’s already happening and we see that in the data over the past few decades,” said lead author M...

Indiana man confessed to murders of teenage girls in phone call with his wife, documents say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:33 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana man charged with killing two teenage girls confessed multiple times to the murders in a phone call to his wife while in prison, according to court documents released Wednesday.Richard Matthew Allen allegedly told his wife, Kathy Allen, in an April 3 phone call that he killed Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14. The two teenagers’ bodies were found Feb. 14, 2017, just outside of their hometown of Delphi, Indiana — about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Indianapolis, in Carroll County.Allen County Judge Fran Gull, assigned to the case after the original judge recused himself, unsealed the motion describing the confessions alongside more than 100 filings in the case on Wednesday. “Investigators had the phone call transcribed and the transcription confirms that Richard Allen admits that he committed the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German,” reads the document filed by Carroll County prosecutor Nicholas McLeland. “He admits se...

Trudeau announces child-care infrastructure funding to create more spaces

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:33 GMT

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans Wednesday to spend $625 million to help provinces and territories build child-care infrastructure. Trudeau said the money will be rolled out over four years to help providers renovate, retrofit and build new not-for-profit and public child-care facilities. “We need more child-care spaces so more families can benefit from affordable, high-quality child care,” Trudeau said at a press conference in Mississauga, Ont. The announcement follows through on the early learning and child-care infrastructure fund promised by the Liberal government in the 2022 budget.It’s meant to complement the national child-care program, which aims to deliver child care for $10 a day, on average, by 2026. Parents have already seen fees reduced by an average of at least 50 per cent across the country.Advocates and experts have raised concerns however, about a lack of spaces to accommodate the growing demand for subsidized child...

US public debt is projected to reach 181% of American economic activity in 30 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:33 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Budget Office is giving the world a concerning look at the U.S. government’s ledgers: ever higher deficits, greater government spending and tax revenues that only begin to increase when existing tax cuts expire.The nonpartisan agency estimates in its latest 30-year outlook, released Wednesday, that publicly held debt will be equal to a record 181% of American economic activity by 2053. That compares with a projected 98% at the end of this budget year, a sign the government is getting more dependent on debt to pay for Social Security, Medicare, the military, infrastructure and an array of programs that benefit millions of households.The higher debt load is not all that shocking given the deficit spending of the past two decades. But the CBO figures do offer a bit of comfort in that annual deficits after 2042 are lower than forecasted in the agency’s report from last year. This is because the primary borrowing and interest rate costs are...

'Very unhealthy' air still blankets Chicago area; alert in effect through Thursday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:33 GMT

CHICAGO — Wildfire smoke from Canada is lingering around the Chicago area longer than expected. An Air Quality Alert has been extended for the entire area through Thursday. It was originally supposed to end Wednesday at midnight.The extension was made by the National Weather Service just before 2 p.m.People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should avoid strenuous outdoor activities, keep outdoor activities short. Others should choose less strenuous activities limit active time outdoors.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog As of 8 a.m. most of the area was still in the "very unhealthy" zone and numbers have not improved.⚠️8AM Wednesday: Air quality continues to be "very unhealthy" across Chicagoland though numbers are slowly coming down. By this afternoon, our numbers should move us down below 200 into the unhealthy category. #Chicago #smoke #WildfireSmoke 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/JgcsXeE1iM— Bill Snyder (@billyweather) Ju...

Delphi documents: Richard Allen told wife he killed girls; investigators believe knife used in murders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:33 GMT

DELPHI, Ind. – Documents unsealed Wednesday in the 2017 Delphi murders provide new insight into the case against Richard Allen.They also reveal for the first time publicly how investigators believe Abby Williams and Libby German were killed. Allen County Judge Frances Gull, assigned to oversee the high-profile case, unsealed nearly 120 documents Wednesday.You can find the documents here.The documents reveal, among other things, that Allen admitted to his wife during a phone call that he was responsible for killing the teens. Read the redacted Richard Allen court documents tying him to the Delphi murders The state’s response to a defense motion to suppress evidence revealed for the first time publicly that investigators believed a knife was used to kill the girls. The document also includes the search warrant and search warrant return.“Autopsies of the girls ruled their deaths as homicides and their wounds were caused by sharp object,” according to the documents.Investigators also ...

Bulls finalizing contract extension for Nikola Vucevic, reports say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:33 GMT

CHICAGO — One of the biggest questions for the Bulls this offseason appears to have been answered as the new league year gets set to begin. Per a few reports, the first from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the team is finalizing a contract extension for center Nikola Vucevic as he'll get a three-year, $60 million deal. While the Bulls were able to negotiate with him the day after the conclusion of the NBA Finals, the deal won't become official until July 6. Teams can begin to negotiate with free agents on other teams on June 30 at 5 p.m. central time ahead of the start of the new league year on July 1. Acquired by the Bulls at the trade deadline of the 2020-2021 season in a deal that included their 2021 & 2023 first round picks, Vucevic was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent. It was expected that executive VP Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley would try to bring back the center, so Wednesday's news isn't a major surprise. Over parts of three...

South Dakota lawmaker calls Mount Rushmore demonic portal for communism 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:33 GMT

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A member of South Dakota’s House of Representatives went on a podcast and claimed that Mount Rushmore is a “freemason shrine” and a portal for demonic entities to enter and spread communism throughout the country. “What the Lord has revealed to me is that Mount Rushmore has a direct ley line to Washington, D.C.,” Joe Donnell, a Republican member of the South Dakota House of Representatives, said in a May 31 episode of the "Now Is the Time" podcast. “In order to understand the spiritual realm of what we’re facing, we have to realize that in order for the enemy to do anything, it needs the agreement of human beings. In order to be empowered to do more damage he needs the agreement of human beings and oftentimes that comes in the form of an altar that acts as a portal for other demonic things. What we’re really dealing with in that portal is communism. That witchcraft, altar, those things that are happening in the Black Hills, what we’re dealing with is commu...

DoorDash updates to include a minimum hourly wage for drivers 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:33 GMT

(The Hill) -- DoorDash announced Wednesday that it will offer an hourly minimum wage for drivers among other new updates to the food delivery platform.DoorDash unveiled a series of new updates to its application and to its compensation policies Wednesday. The new compensation option will allow DoorDash delivery drivers to choose to be paid an hourly rate from when they accept an offer to when it is delivered, as well as guarantee 100 percent of the tips made on that order.“Our business has evolved beyond just facilitating single orders from single restaurants and today, Dashers have more choice than ever when it comes to how they want to earn – from in-store shopping to package pickup and more,” DoorDash said in its announcement. Food delivery fees add up. Who keeps the money from all those surcharges? DoorDash did not detail what the expected minimum hourly wage will be in its announcement. However, The New York Times reported that the wage will depend on the region and will be...