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Judge rules Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors violates US Constitution

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:51 GMT

By ANDREW DeMILLO (Associated Press)LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge struck down Arkansas’ first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional Tuesday, the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of Republican-led states adopt similar restrictions.U.S. District Judge Jay Moody issued a permanent injunction against the Arkansas law, which would have prohibited doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers or surgery to anyone under 18.Arkansas’ law, which Moody temporarily blocked in 2021, also would have prohibited doctors from referring patients elsewhere for such care. At least 19 other states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming care for minors following Arkansas’ law, and nearly all of them have been challenged in court. In his order, Moody ruled that the prohibition violated the due process and equal protection rights of transgender youth and ...

Father of two kids hit, killed on SR-78 speaks out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:51 GMT

VISTA, Calif. -- Sunday was the worst Father's Day imaginable for Miguel Aguilar. Two of his children were hit and killed on the eastbound lanes of State Route 78 Sunday evening."That was the hardest moments to see as a father, just two bodies laying there," Aguilar said, remembering the moment he pulled onto the scene to find two of his children had died."Everyday I wake up, just looking at their faces in my head, every night I go to sleep dreaming of them, it's the only place I can hold them, kiss them, tell them I love them," he said.Sandra Ortiz, 33, was driving her six kids to the park on Sunday evening, when luggage fell off the top of their car. She pulled to the shoulder and 16-year-old Amy Monserrat and 10-year-old Alan Gerardo got out of the car to retrieve the luggage when they were hit and killed on SR-78."My daughter was a special beautiful girl, she had a lot of dreams, she wanted to have a bakery shop, she loved to bake," Aguilar said through the emotional interview. ...

Reform-minded prosecutors in northern Virginia win reelection nominations in Democratic primaries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:51 GMT

LEESBURG, Va. (AP) — Three incumbent prosecutors in northern Virginia who faced tough challenges after being elected four years ago on a progressive reform agenda won their Democratic primaries Tuesday. In Fairfax County, the state’s most populous jurisdiction, incumbent Steve Descano defeated Ed Nuttall, a former prosecutor and trial attorney who is best known for representing police officers accused of misconduct.Descano, in a phone interview, said the results in his race and in the other two counties show that “voters have seen that criminal justice reform can work, and quite frankly they want more of it.”He said that while reform opponents have tried to raise fears about rising crime, Tuesday’s results show that “voters feel safe, they know they’re safe, and they know they can have safety, fairness, justice and equality.”Buta Biberaj, the commonwealth’s attorney in Loudoun County, won over challenger Elizabeth Lancaster after raising significantly more money. Biberaj faced...

4 pedestrians injured in apparent hit-and-run collision outside Chicago White Sox stadium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:51 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — An apparent hit-and-run collision Tuesday evening injured four pedestrians, two critically, outside Guaranteed Rate Field, where the Chicago White Sox were preparing to play the Texas Rangers, and a related traffic incident injured four others, authorities said.The pedestrians were injured just after 6:20 p.m., Chicago police and fire officials said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the pedestrians were headed to the ball game. The game had a 7:10 p.m. start time.One of the pedestrians held onto the car as it fled the scene before the vehicle was stopped by an ambulance on the nearby Dan Ryan Expressway, officials said. The person clinging to the car and one of the three outside the stadium were in critical condition. The other two pedestrians were in serious condition, officials said.Four people inside the vehicle were taken to hospitals in fair to serious condition, news outlets quoted authorities as saying. It wasn’t clear how they were injured.A statement...

In San Francisco, Biden talks with tech leaders about risks and promises of artificial intelligence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:51 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — President Joe Biden convened a group of technology leaders on Tuesday to debate what he called the “risks and enormous promises” of artificial intelligence.The Biden administration is seeking to figure out how to regulate the emergent field of AI, looking for ways to nurture its potential for economic growth and national security and protect against its potential dangers. “We’ll see more technological change in the next 10 years that we saw in the last 50 years,” Biden said as the meeting with eight technology experts from academia and advocacy groups kicked off.“AI is already driving that change,” Biden said.The sudden emergence of AI chatbot ChatGPT and other tools has jumpstarted investment in the sector. AI tools are able to craft human-like text, music, images and computer code. This form of automation could increase the productivity of workers, but experts warn of numerous risks. The technology could be used to replace workers, causing layoffs. It’s ...

German arrested trying to enter US Embassy in Paraguay, guns found in vehicle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:51 GMT

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — A German man in a bulletproof vest was arrested Tuesday after he tried to enter the U.S. Embassy in Paraguay without proper documents and police later found two guns and ammunition in his vehicle.The man, identified as Philipp Kolberg, told authorities he wanted to request political asylum because he was receiving threats, said Paraguayan police commander Gilberto Fleitas.“According to Kolberg’s version, he called the embassy asking to speak to a diplomatic representative but the person who attended his call said he should contact the German embassy,” said Fleitas.Kolberg then drove his vehicle to the front of the U.S. Embassy in Asuncion and was arrested by police and private guards because he didn’t have an appointment or documents, he said.Authorities found a Glock pistol, a rifle with a telescopic sight, a drone and 30 to 50 bullets in his vehicle, Fleitas said.Kolberg has not made comments to the press.“We are in contact with the German consulate (in A...

Alleged shooter at Washington state music festival was stationed at US Army base

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:51 GMT

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — The alleged gunman who fired into a crowd killing two people at a Washington state music festival Saturday was stationed at a U.S. Army base in Western Washington, law enforcement officials said Tuesday. James M. Kelly, 26, of Joint Base Lewis-McChord was booked into the Grant County Jail Tuesday on investigation of two counts of murder, two counts of assault and one count of domestic violence assault, Grant County Sheriff Joe Kriete said in a Facebook post. Law enforcement officers shot him Saturday and he was being treated at a hospital until Tuesday, the sheriff said. The shooting killed two people and wounded two others in an area where people were camping for the Beyond Wonderland electronic dance music festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre. The two people killed were Seattle residents Brandy Escamilla, 29, and Josilyn Ruiz, 26, Grant County Coroner Craig Morrison said Tuesday. Escamilla died of a gunshot wound to the head, and Ruiz died from a gunshot wou...

CPD looking for 2 suspects involved in West Pullman homicide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:51 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department is asking for the public's help in identifying two suspects involved in a homicide on the city's south side on Sunday.According to the Chicago Police Department, officers responded to the 11600 block of South Halsted Street in Chicago's West Pullman neighborhood just after 11 p.m. on Sunday, June 18. 8 in hospital after crashes involving same vehicle near Guaranteed Rate Field CPD are looking for the identity of a man and woman who are suspects in a homicide.The vehicle driven by the suspects is a blue Lincoln Nautilus.Anyone with information regarding this incident are asked to contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-747-8271.

Stunning photos document gay, Black life in 1980s Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:51 GMT

CHICGAO — Surrounded by more than 1,300 paintings in his South Side home, 76-year-old art collector Patric McCoy sits and sifts through a stack of snapshots.“I had sat on these photos since the 1990s because I just stopped,” McCoy said. “I have not done any photography since 1989.”They are individual photographs that together, reveal a bigger picture.  “When I reflect back on it, I realize that people had a longing to be photographed. Just as I think people who do the selfies, same thing,” McCoy said.The images offer a rare glimpse of gay Black life in Chicago during the 1980s, the pivotal period when the AIDS epidemic swept across the United States.It’s a story McCoy, an Englewood native captured on his commute. “I gave up my car back in ’81 and I’ve been riding (my bicycle) ever since,” he said.In the 1980s, McCoy a University of Chicago-trained scientist, worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Chicago office. Every morning, he rode his bicycle from South ...

Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill is under investigation for assault and battery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:51 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill is under investigation by Miami-Dade police for assault and battery after he allegedly hit a man on Sunday.The incident was first reported by WPLG-TV in Miami after the station received a tip Sunday night. Miami-Dade police spokesman Angel Rodriguez confirmed Tuesday via email that police are investigating an “assault/battery” involving Hill from Sunday.The station reported that Hill got into an argument with an employee of a charter company at Haulover Marina in Miami, which apparently ended with Hill hitting the man. Morgan Wallen’s 2-year-old son bitten in the face by dog “We are aware of the situation and have been in contact with Tyreek, his representatives and the NFL,” a Dolphins spokesperson said Tuesday via email. “We will reserve further comment at this time.”The Kansas City Chiefs traded Hill to Miami last year, and the Dolphins gave the three-time All-Pro a $120 million, four-year contract extensi...