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New California bill proposes lowering school speed limits to 20 mph
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Seventeen months after a third-grader was hit and killed in a crosswalk on his way to school, parents, educators and a state lawmaker gathered at Castlemont Elementary School on Thursday to remember Jacob Villanueva, whose death has become a catalyst to make school zones safer across California.
State Assembly member Marc ...Read more
Kentucky lawmakers pass crime bill targeting violent felons, fentanyl, homeless, shoplifters
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The General Assembly sent a controversial crime bill, the Safer Kentucky Act, to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday, although the governor declined to say at a news conference whether he plans to sign it into law or veto it.
The House of Representatives voted 75-23 to give final passage to House Bill 5 after accepting ...Read more
Georgia House passes inflation-based cap on property assessments
ATLANTA — The Georgia House on Thursday backed a measure to cap how much home assessments can go up each year at the rate of inflation in an effort to tamp down property tax increases.
The House voted 164-2 for House Bill 581, which also would allow all local governments to use revenue from a 1-cent sales tax hike to lower property taxes. ...Read more
Authorities say cargo on ship that downed Key Bridge poses 'no immediate threat to the environment'
BALTIMORE — The cargo vessel that collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday was carrying 56 containers of hazardous materials and had more than 1 million gallons of fuel on board at the time of the collision, raising concerns, though authorities said there was “no immediate threat to the environment.”
On Wednesday...Read more
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson defends alderman for charred American flag incident, says censure would be 'fascist'
CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday delivered an impassioned defense of ally Ald. Bryon Sigcho-Lopez’s appearance last week in front of a scorched American flag and dismissed calls by other City Council members to have Sigcho-Lopez removed as head of a powerful council committee.
While saying he thinks other aldermen will stop short...Read more
Maryland asks Biden administration for initial $60 million to cover Key Bridge costs
BALTIMORE — Gov. Wes Moore’s administration on Thursday requested an initial $60 million in federal funds to cover preliminary costs for mobilization, operations and debris recovery following the Francis Scott Key Bridge collision.
Damage assessments were ongoing and a full cost estimate was still not possible, Maryland Transportation ...Read more
Maryland asks Biden administration for initial $60M for Key Bridge response
BALTIMORE — Gov. Wes Moore’s administration on Thursday requested an initial $60 million in federal funds to cover preliminary costs for mobilization, operations and debris recovery following the Francis Scott Key Bridge collision.
Damage assessments were ongoing and a full cost estimate was still not possible, Maryland Transportation ...Read more
After child's death at Trails Carolina, state threatens to pull wilderness camp license
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After finding serious violations at a wilderness therapy camp where a 12-year-old camper died in February, North Carolina regulators have told the program that they intend to revoke its license, state documents show.
The state Department of Health and Human Services also fined Trails Carolina $18,000 due to violations of ...Read more
Mourners flood wake for slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller; Trump and Mayor Adams attend
MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. — Mourners including former President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Eric Adams filled a Long Island funeral home to salute slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller days after he was shot to death during a routine traffic stop in Queens.
A sea of police officers filled the sidewalk and street outside the Massapequa Funeral ...Read more
Water war waged in Georgia Senate involving Hyundai housing
ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate on Thursday addressed one obstacle to residential development near the $7.6 billion Hyundai Metaplant under construction 20 miles west of Savannah, passing a bill that would allow private water systems to service new homes without local government approval.
House Bill 1146 passed by a 32-22 vote and now heads to ...Read more
California parents protesting LGBTQ student clubs organize walk out, keeping kids out of school
A group of parents in the Elk Grove Unified School District, just south of Sacramento, will keep students home from district schools Friday in protest of campus clubs for LGBTQ students.
“We are urging parents to consider pulling their children from school on Friday, March 29, 2024, as a means of expressing support for parental rights and to ...Read more
Judge rules that Gaetz, Greene can sue Anaheim, Riverside for canceled rallies
A lawsuit from Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene against Anaheim and Riverside, accusing the cities of wrongfully canceling their rallies in 2021, can move forward, a federal judge has ruled.
The ruling rejects the cities’ attempts to be dismissed from the case. It does allow political advocacy groups that were also sued to be ...Read more
White collar crimes: Sam Bankman-Fried's sentence is double Elizabeth Holmes'
Cryptocurrency fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried received more than double the prison sentence of Theranos scammer Elizabeth Holmes, but only a small fraction of the term slapped onto infamous financial criminal Bernie Madoff.
Bankman-Fried, the fallen “crypto king” and son of Stanford Law professors, was sentenced Thursday in federal court in ...Read more
Mayorkas impeachment headed to Senate for April 11 trial
WASHINGTON — Speaker Mike Johnson said House leaders will send the articles of impeachment for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10, which is expected to tee up a Senate trial as soon as the next day.
Johnson and 11 GOP-appointed impeachment managers, in a letter Thursday, asked Senate Majority Leader ...Read more
Resigned president is suing Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for defamation
FORT WORTH, Texas — The former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth is suing the theological institute he used to lead over allegations of defamation following his resignation, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.
Adam Greenway, the president of the seminary from 2019 to 2022, alleges in the lawsuit ...Read more
DeSantis' office quietly backed Florida ban on wind energy
TAMPA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office quietly helped write a bill to curtail wind energy in the state of Florida, email records provided to the Tampa Bay Times show.
A version of that bill is now awaiting DeSantis’ signature to become law, which will ban offshore wind turbines in state waters. It also proposes to delete the majority of ...Read more
UNC board member predicts NC will 'follow Florida's path,' ban DEI at public colleges
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The North Carolina General Assembly’s short session is set to begin in less than a month, and there was a fresh sign this week that the state legislature could take up a hot-button issue in higher education: diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
At a committee meeting of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, board ...Read more
Alaska's new robotic dog will be used to haze wildlife at the Fairbanks airport
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A doglike robot that recently drew notice in the state Capitol and on social media is being tested to spook wildlife at Fairbanks International Airport while disguised as a coyote or fox, a state agency said.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities on Friday posted a short video on Instagram of the ...Read more
Minnesota's 'archaic' technology wastes critical caseworker time, counties say
MINNEAPOLIS — County workers and lawmakers have some choice words to describe the 25-year-old state information system used to manage child protection cases and social service programs: Slow. Archaic. A nightmare.
"It's the most vulnerable people that we have in the state of Minnesota that are in this system," Pine County Commissioner Terry ...Read more
Muslim American appeals court nominee loses Democratic support
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration’s push to appoint the first Muslim American federal appeals court judge has run into more trouble in the Senate confirmation process, as Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada became the latest Democrat to announce she would not support the nominee.
Adeel Mangi’s bid for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for ...Read more
Popular Stories
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- California parents protesting LGBTQ student clubs organize walk out, keeping kids out of school
- Illinois remembers 4 slain in Rockford knife attack after authorities charge 22-year-old man in rampage
- Muslim American appeals court nominee loses Democratic support