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Alabama governor defends dismissal of cabinet member

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s governor replaced a Cabinet member who oversaw the state’s award-winning prekindergarten program because of a teacher training book with language about inclusion and combatting structural racism, she said Thursday. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey defended her decision announced last week to remove Secretary of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education Barbara Cooper over the use of the training guide, saying that she thought teachers need to “focus on basics.” “The teacher resource book that I looked at had all those references to different kind of lifestyles and equity and this and that and the other,” Ivey told reporters Thursday. “That’s not teaching English. That’s not teaching writing. That’s not teaching reading. We need to focus on the basics y’all and get this right.”She was referring to The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book, 4th edition, which i...

Tom of Finland exhibit celebrates Nordic country’s gay icon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — A new exhibition showing the works of Touko Laaksonen, better known by his pseudonym Tom of Finland, adds a personal touch to the late Finnish artist whose homoerotic drawings of muscular men gained a following in the gay community from the 1950s.“Tom of Finland — Bold Journey,” which opens Friday at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki, features Laaksonen’s drawings, archive material, personal clothing items as well as memorabilia, letters, publications, magazines and films.Laaksonen’s cheerful, sexually explicit works made an impact in the art world at a time when homosexuality was illegal or classified as a disease in countries around the world, including his native Finland. The Nordic country has since embraced the artist, who died in 1991, as a national icon.“Tom is one of our national heroes who deserves to be seen as one of the most well-known Finnish artists of the 20th century,” said Kiasma museum director Leevi Haapala.He said Tom o...

Man freed from prison after murder conviction sues police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man who was freed from prison last year after his murder conviction was set aside alleges in a lawsuit that Kansas City police framed him in the killing. Keith Carnes, 53, was released from prison in April 2022 after serving 18 years of a life sentence for first-degree murder and armed criminal action. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Carnes alleges police and former Jackson County assistant prosecutor Amy McGowan coerced witnesses and issued fraudulent reports that led to his conviction in the 2003 shooting death of 24-year-old Larry White, in a Kansas City parking garage.The Kansas City police department said it does not generally respond to ongoing lawsuits “to ensure fairness to all involved.”The Missouri Supreme Court set aside Carnes’ conviction in 2022, in part because because an eyewitness account from a confidential informant that might have led to his exoneration was not given to Carnes’ defense team. The Jackson County Prosecutor’s offic...

Police searching for car allegedly involved in deadly shooting from Jan. 2022

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) -- Police are looking for a vehicle believed to be involved in a deadly shooting from January of last year. A dark gray, possibly Mercedes C Class stopped in front of the home on Jan. 30, 2022, and an undisclosed number of people got out of the vehicle and shot at the residence, police said. Documents show rock-throwing suspect said they were ‘blood brothers’ after spree Two people inside the house located in the 1500 block of Dallas Street were hit by gunfire and one man died, the Aurora Police Department reported after the shooting.Police are asking anyone with information on the vehicle or anyone who was at the party to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.

Fishing friends find happiness

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Fishing friends Davis James and Rachel Therkildsen have known each other for about four years now. Both share a passion for fly fishing.“I had the opportunity to cast a fly rod. There was sort of that natural transition, just really enjoyed the motion of the cast,“ said James. “I just needed something to do. I needed a hobby. Soccer and school were over so I just needed something to be outdoors. So I just picked up a fly rod and ran with it,“ said Therkildsen. Gold fever alive and well in Centennial State They like spending time together, but at the water's edge of the South Platte River, James and Therkildsen scatter like tadpoles. “This time of year, the water is really low and when it is, you are looking for really deep pools of water where it’s nice and slow for the fish when they are lethargic this time of year,“ said Therkildsen.The sound of a gently rolling stream is like nothing else. It is mesmerizing and relaxing. It is nature's medicine....

Grain debacle makes mockery of EU support for Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

BRUSSELS — Nearly two weeks after its Eastern front-line member countries banned imports of Ukrainian grain, the European Union is still struggling to come up with a plan to clear a massive and disruptive supply glut, in a debacle that threatens to make a mockery of Europe’s declared solidarity with its war-torn neighbor.Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission’s top trade official, has been holding video conferences all week with ministers from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania on finding ways to clear the surplus and to compensate hard-pressed farmers — so far to no avail. EU ambassadors will meet again on Friday but, without a deal with the five Eastern European countries, such a step would make little sense.At stake is a delayed decision on whether to extend the tariff-free status for imports of Ukrainian produce, originally granted last June for 12 months in a gesture of solidarity following Russia’s full-scale invasion. “It’s strange that...

Can sneakers help bridge the partisan factions that divide America? Yes, says sneakerhead and congressman Jared Moskowitz

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

Anthony Man | South Florida Sun SentinelU.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz wears sneakers just about everywhere: to his swearing in as a member of Congress, to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address — even at his wedding party.How committed is he to sneakers? “Besides maybe the White House, no place where I would not wear my sneakers come to mind,” Moskowitz said via text.Now the Broward-Palm Beach county Democrat is forming a congressional caucus devoted to, yes, sneakers.U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., wears sneakers just about everywhere. (Congressman Jared Moskowitz/TNS)It’s not as grave a subject as gun violence, antisemitism, LGBTQ rights, or climate change, all of which are among the subject matters of congressional caucuses. But Moskowitz has just as serious purpose in mind: bringing together people who have a shared love of the footwear in an attempt to promote social connections in the often bitterly divided Congress.If Democratic and Republican members of Congress can...

4 Boston Police officers acquitted of overtime fraud federal charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

Four Boston Police officers who were accused by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of overtime fraud have been acquitted of all charges.A jury on Thursday found the four cops — Lt. Timothy Torigian, Sgt. Robert Twitchell, Officer Henry Doherty, and Officer Kendra Conway — not guilty of three federal charges.In early February, the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged the four officers in a superseding indictment in connection with the ongoing investigation of OT fraud at the Boston Police Department’s evidence warehouse.The officers — 57-year-old Torigian of Walpole, 61-year-old Twitchell (retired) of Norton, 64-year-old Doherty (retired) of Dorchester, and 52-year-old Conway of Boston — were facing charges of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.The four officers were found not guilty of all three charges on Thursday.Related Articles...

Marcus Smart: Celtics ‘played not to lose’ in stunning Game 5 meltdown vs. Hawks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

ATLANTA — The Celtics didn’t need to be back here. All they had to do was go for the kill.Midway through the fourth quarter of Game, the C’s were in complete control. Up 13 with 6:10 remaining. Leading by 12 with 5:24 to go. But after asserting themselves for 42-plus minutes, they relaxed. They got complacent and passive. They failed to close out the Hawks, who led by Trae Young pulled off a miraculous comeback to force a Game 6.“We played not to lose instead of just playing to win the game,” Marcus Smart admitted Thursday morning at Celtics shootaround. “And that happens. Unfortunately it happened to us and we just made things a little bit harder for ourselves. We’ve got another great opportunity to be here. God has blessed us to wake up today and come out and try to bring it home.”Even after blowing the lead, the Celtics found themselves in a position to survive in the final seconds of Game 5. But two plays proved to make the difference.The C’s led 115-114 with 25 seconds to go af...

No decision whether guardsman accused of leaks to be held

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:09 GMT

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, ERIC TUCKER and TARA COPP (Associated Press)WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The Massachusetts Air National guardsman accused of leaking highly classified military documents kept an arsenal of guns and talked of “violence and murder” on a social media platform and an “assassination van,” prosecutors said in arguing Thursday that 21-year-old Jack Teixeira should remain in jail for his trial.But the judge at Teixeira’s detention hearing put off an immediate decision whether he should be kept in custody or released to home confinement or under other conditions. Teixeira was led away from the court in handcuffs, black rosary beads around his neck, pending that ruling.The court filings raise new questions about why Teixeira had such a high security clearance and access to some of the nation’s most classified secrets. They said he may still have material that hasn’t been released, which could be of “tremendous value to ...