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DeSantis and Trump among the 2024 GOP hopefuls appearing at the annual Moms for Liberty gathering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:15 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that 2024 will be the year that parents “finally fight back” as he kicked off the annual gathering of Moms for Liberty, a group that has fiercely opposed instruction related to race and gender identity in the nation’s classrooms.The two-year-old group, which was founded in Florida in 2021 to fight local COVID school mask mandates and quarantine requirements, has quickly become a force in conservative politics as an advocate for “parental rights” in education. But it has also been accused of preaching hate, with the Southern Poverty Law Center recently labeling it an “extremist” group for allegedly harassing community members, advancing anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation and fighting to scrub diverse and inclusive material from lesson plans. The conference has nonetheless drawn leading Republican presidential candidates, including DeSantis and former President Donald Trump, the race’s frontrunner, who is set to speak later Frida...

No need for ‘double punishment’ in mandatory sentence case, Supreme Court rules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:15 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s top court says a woman who was barred from driving for almost two years while awaiting sentencing would face a kind of double punishment if she were now handed an additional, mandatory one-year prohibition.The Supreme Court of Canada ruling comes today in the case of Jennifer Basque, who was charged with operating a motor vehicle with excess blood alcohol concentration in Moncton, N.B., in 2017.Basque spent the next 21 months, between her initial court appearance and sentencing, under a prohibition that prevented her from driving.Basque pleaded guilty and a judge levied a $1,000 fine and a mandatory one-year driving prohibition, but took into account the time that had elapsed, meaning she was not subjected to the further ban on driving.However, the New Brunswick Court of Appeal allowed the Crown’s appeal and varied the judge’s decision to include the mandatory one-year driving prohibition.In its unanimous ruling today, the Supreme Court says that ...

Businesses expect more but slowing price, wage increases: BoC survey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:15 GMT

OTTAWA — A new survey by the Bank of Canada suggests businesses still anticipate larger-than-normal wage and price increases, but expectations are shifting closer to what they were before the pandemic.In its business outlook survey, the central bank says that for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, businesses on balance expect slower wage growth over the next year.Firms on balance also expect their input and output prices to grow at a slower rate over the next 12 months.Overall, the business outlook survey indicator pointed to a negative sentiment as businesses continue to expect their sales growth over the next year to be weak, with one in five firms expecting an outright decline in sales.However, the survey for the second quarter found fewer firms expect an outright recession with one-third planning for a recession compared with half in the first quarter.Meanwhile, the central bank’s Canadian survey of consumer expectations also suggests that while consumer inflati...

How the Supreme Court student loan decision affects you

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Supreme Court has ruled the Biden administration overstepped its authority in trying to cancel or reduce student loan debt, effectively killing the $400 billion plan, which would have canceled up to $20,000 in federal student loans for 43 million people. Of those, 20 million would have had their remaining student debt erased completely.The court’s decision means, barring an act of Congress, those Americans are on the hook for payments starting in October.Still, borrowers who are worried about their budgets do have options. For instance, the government has other loan forgiveness programs that are still in effect, even if Biden’s plan was struck down.Here’s what to know about how the decision will affect you:WHEN WILL STUDENT LOAN PAYMENTS RESUME?Student loan payments that have been frozen for the last three years because of the pandemic are set to restart in October. That was going to happen no matter what the Supreme Court decided. Interest will...

After Republicans expelled him, campaign for Tennessee Democratic Rep. Pearson says he raised $860K

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:15 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson raised about $860,000 through some 31,700 campaign donations after Tennessee Republican lawmakers abruptly moved to expel him and two other Democrats for a gun control protest on the House floor, his campaign said.The short-lived expulsion propelled the Memphis environmental activist, a fresh face just months into his first term, to become a nationally watched progressive figure who sat in the Oval Office. His quick fame translated into a wave of campaign cash largely because Republicans opened the door for Pearson and fellow expelled Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville to accept donations from across the country just when the spotlight centered on them. Had Republican lawmakers left the two young Black lawmakers in office, they would’ve been banned from raising cash because a legislative session was ongoing.Instead, in just two months, Pearson attracted, through average donations of about $27, an amount of campaign cash similar...

A Boris Johnson ally quits the UK government with a blast at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:15 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British environment minister who is close to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson quit on Friday, accusing the current government of apathy toward climate issues.While Zac Goldsmith cited environmental policies as his reason for resigning, it came after he was asked to apologize for trying to undermine a group of lawmakers who were investigating government rule-breaking.Goldsmith, a long-time conservationist, said he was quitting the government because Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was “simply uninterested” in the environment.“This government’s apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced makes continuing in my current role untenable,” he wrote in a resignation letter released on social media.He said Britain has “visibly stepped off the world stage and withdrawn our leadership on climate and nature.”Goldsmith, Sunak and Johnson are all members of the governing Conservative Party. Goldsmith, 48, was appointed to Parliament’s unelected House of Lords by Johns...

‘Watermelon snow’ piques curiosities in Utah after abnormally wet winter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:15 GMT

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — High up in the mountains, amid pinyon pine and quaking aspen trees, the remaining remnants of the winter’s snow is dotted with hues of pinks, purples and oranges.Hikers, campers and church youth groups journeying by grasp it in their palms and liken it to flavored snow cones, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, pink lemonade, dissolved blood or if passersby conducted an art project using red food coloring.“It’s almost like it’s been sprinkled with Himalayan salt or even Kool-Aid powder,” Jana Brough, a mother hiking with friends and family at Tony Grove Lake in Utah’s Logan Canyon, said this week. “But when you scrape it you can tell it’s just on the surface.”From the roads that traverse mountain passes above Park City to the Bear River Range near the Utah-Idaho border, last winter’s record snowfall is heating up, baking under the sunlight and turning hues of red. The presence of so-called “watermelon snow” — referred to unofficially due to its pinkish ti...

Three injured after GO Train strikes vehicles in Scarborough

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:15 GMT

Three people have injuries after a GO Train struck a vehicle in Scarborough on Friday morning.Emergency crews responded to the crash at a street level train crossing on Finch Avenue East, between Kennedy Road and Midland Avenue, just before 10 a.m.Police say a GO Train struck an SUV, with other cars possibly struck after the initial collision. Toronto police confirm no one was trapped as a result of the crash.Paramedics assessed a number of patients at the scene and say two people were taken to a local trauma centre. A third person sustained minor injuries.Trains are currently holding in both directions on the GO Stouffville line.

13 facing federal charges after fentanyl investigation on West Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:15 GMT

CHICAGO — Thirteen people have been charged following a federal drug investigation into fentanyl-laced heroin and cocaine trafficking on the West Side.Many of those charged, including the group’s suspected leader, are members of the Traveling Vice Lords gang, according to the Department of Justice.Authorities said they conducted a multi-year investigation into the alleged trafficking to shut down an open-air drug market in Humboldt Park.On Wednesday, multiple search warrants of multiple locations in Chicago and the suburbs were executed. Authorities seized approximately ten firearms, two 50-round drum ammunition magazines, several extended ammunition magazines, more than a kilogram of cocaine, more than 250 grams of heroin containing fentanyl, and approximately nine vehicles that allegedly were used in furtherance of narcotics trafficking.The following 11 men have been charged with federal drug conspiracy.Terrance Sanders, 40, of AuroraShavelle Sims, 32, of Glendale HeightsTyron Pau...

Working out at this time could help you live longer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:15 GMT

CHICAGO — It's universally agreed that more exercise is a good way to promote better health.In fact, we've talked about it a few times on the WGN Morning News through the years. But did you know that there's a time of day that could actually be of more benefit to getting some exercise in? Scientists even believe it could extend your life. That's one of the topics that was discussed on the "9@9" on Friday as the hosts discussed those findings when it comes to being active in your life. We also talked about a fire-breathing dragon bridge, a high-end dog hotel, "Moonshot" shoes, walking cushions, and more during the segment.You can watch the entire "9@9" from the June 30 show in the video above.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.