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Nasty Boston redistricting fight back on — now in federal court

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:18:15 GMT

The City Council’s dirty laundry is back flapping in the wind, this time in federal court, as a multi-day hearing kicked off over whether a judge should step in and scrap Boston’s new redistricting map.City Councilor Michael Flaherty on Tuesday spent around three hours on the stand as a witness for the plaintiffs — who are technically suing him in the case of Walters et al v the Boston City Council in an effort to scuttle the map the body passed in November.“Basically all the rules were out the door,” said Flaherty, describing the stretch run of the redistricting process.The redistricting cycle that will never die continues, for now, in the arguments in this case.Basically, the plaintiffs — a handful of people who live in the districts around which the two sides are at odds — are arguing that in the deliberations, the council focused on racial makeups in the South Boston, Dorchester and Mattapan districts in a way that was inappropriate. They also say there were some procedura...

World's biggest bounce park coming to East County

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:18:15 GMT

EL CAJON, Calif. -- Get ready to jump and play at the world's biggest bounce park coming to town this week.Tuesday morning, FOX 5's Heather Lake got a sneak peak of the new attraction set to open in East County.FunBox -- 20,000 square feet of bouncy fun -- will open to the public Friday at Parkway Plaza in El Cajon. It's open to all ages -- yes, including adults. Weekend activity: Local park features rope bridges, lookout points At 500 square feet, a separate, smaller "toddler tent" is an area designated just for little ones. Toddlers are welcome in the main area, but must be accompanied by adults.In addition to a 23-foot slide, the bounce park has several themed areas like a "mountain challenge," "battle beam," "gumball gallop," "ninja wall" and even a "chill zone."Sessions are 90 minutes long. Socks are required for entry, and can be purchased on site. Weekend activity: Bootlegger’s tunnel leads from gift shop to sea cave During its grand opening weekend -- Friday til Tuesday ...

Wyoming abortion clinic fire suspect to go free pending case

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:18:15 GMT

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — She posted on social media about competing in a bike race, losing her pet hedgehog and visiting a butterfly garden with her grandmother but gave no sign of the anti-abortion views investigators say drove her to set fire to a Wyoming abortion clinic.On Tuesday, a judge ruled that Lorna Roxanne Green may be released from jail to carry on life as a college student pending further developments in her case, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Hambrick ruled.“I believe the weight of the evidence is strong,” said Hambrick, a substitute judge in the case who’s based in Yellowstone National Park and who presided over Green’s detention hearing by video link broadcast in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne.Green, who waived her right to a preliminary hearing, won’t need to post bond but would owe $10,000 for violating bond conditions.Those conditions include living with her parents in Casper while attending college and working part time as a food delivery driver...

Budget 2023: Projected cost of federal dental program set to more than double

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:18:15 GMT

OTTAWA — The new federal budget shows the government’s dental-care insurance program is projected to cost more than double what the Liberals originally thought, adding another $7.3 billion over five years.Last year, the government set up a temporary dental benefit for uninsured children under the age of 12 in families with a household income of less than $90,000.That benefit will be scrapped by June 2024. In its place, Tuesday’s budget shows the Liberals are planning a government-administered insurance program, at a cost of $13 billion over five years beginning in fiscal year 2023-24.“By the end of 2023, we will begin rolling out a dental-care plan for what will eventually be up to nine million uninsured Canadians,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said in her speech to the House of Commons after tabling the budget Tuesday, according to a prepared version of her remarks.The Liberals will open eligibility this year to people who are under the age of 18, seni...

What is the filibuster, and why does it matter in Nebraska?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:18:15 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A group of lawmakers is continuing this week to filibuster all bills that come before the Nebraska Legislature — even the ones they support — in protest over a bill that would ban gender-affirming treatments for minors. Supporters of that bill say they’re trying to protect children from making body-altering decisions they may later regret. Opponents say it’s an unconstitutional overreach meant to marginalize LGBTQ+ people.Filibusters are rare in most U.S. state legislatures, but common in Nebraska. Lawmakers use the tactic in each session of the unique one-chamber Nebraska Legislature to try to force compromise on contested bills. This streak of filibusters is the longest in the state’s history and lawmakers behind them vow to block every bill through the end of the 90-day session. Here’s a look at how it could play out:WHAT’S A FILIBUSTER?It’s a political maneuver that extends debate on a bill in an effort to delay or block its pas...

40 killed in fire at immigration detention center in Mexico

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:18:15 GMT

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — Migrants fearing deportation set mattresses ablaze at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico, starting a fire that killed at least 40 people, the president said Tuesday, in one of the deadliest events ever at a Mexican immigration lockup.Hours after the fire broke out late Monday, rows of bodies were laid out under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, which is across the U.S. border from El Paso, Texas, and a major crossing point for migrants.Twenty-nine people were injured and were in “delicate-serious” condition, according to the National Immigration Institute.At the time of the blaze, 68 men from Central and South America were being held at the facility, the agency said.Immigration authorities identified the dead and injured as being from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, according to a statement from the Mexican attorney general’s office. Guatemala Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Bú...

Federal budget 2022: Highest-earning Canadians face minimum tax rate increase

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:18:15 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government is moving to raise the minimum tax rate paid by wealthy Canadians in the budget and narrowing its focus on the highest earners.In its budget Tuesday, Ottawa is raising the alternative minimum tax rate and imposing new limits on many of the exemptions, deductions and credits that apply under the system starting in 2024.“We’re making sure the very wealthy and our biggest corporations pay their fair share of taxes, so we can afford to keep taxes low for middle class families,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said in the prepared text of her remarks.The alternative minimum tax (AMT) introduced in 1986 is a parallel income tax calculation that allows fewer deductions, exemptions and tax credits than the ordinary tax rules for the country’s highest earners. Wealthy Canadians pay the alternative minimum or regular tax, whichever is higher.The government announced in the budget that it is increasing the alternative minimum rate to 20.5 per cent from 15 per...

N.C. board removes election officials who refused to certify

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:18:15 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s state elections board on Tuesday removed two local election officials who had refused to certify their county’s 2022 results after officials determined they violated state law.The state board voted unanimously to dismiss Surry County elections secretary Jerry Forestieri and board member Timothy DeHaan in one of the strongest disciplinary actions taken against local officials across the U.S. who have delayed or refused to certify election results. Controversies over election certification have roiled mostly rural counties across the country as conspiracy theories about voting machines have spread widely among conservatives.Forestieri and DeHaan had questioned the legitimacy of state election law and court decisions disallowing photo ID checks and voter residency challenges. They falsely claimed in a letter that the vote was “illegal” and “very uncertain.”“These rulings have stripped the election process of the trustworthiness they were desi...

Ex-Californian sentenced for child mutilation-sex scheme

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:18:15 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former Southern California man who convinced troubled girls as young as 12 to perform masochistic acts and urged one to become his sex slave was sentenced Tuesday to 27 years in federal prison.Matthew Christian Locher was “a parent’s worst nightmare,” U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee said during his sentencing in Los Angeles, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.Locher pleaded guilty last August to one count of sexual exploitation of a child for the purpose of producing a sexually explicit visual depiction.In his plea agreement, prosecutors said Locher, 32, acknowledged that while living in Redondo Beach in 2020 and 2021, Locher got into online conversations targeting girls suffering from mental health issues such as depression, schizophrenia, anorexia and suicidal thoughts.“Locher groomed his victims to engage in self-mutilation and instructed a victim struggling with an eating disorder to starve herself, ordering her to film h...

Chicago-area native being hailed a hero after Nashville school shooting

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 06:18:15 GMT

CHICAGO — Two police officers are being hailed as heroes after taking down the Nashville private school shooting suspect Monday, one of which is from the Chicago area.Metropolitan Nashville Police Department officer Rex Engelbert grew up in Forest Glen before moving to Ohio to study criminal justice at the University of Dayton, after which, he moved to Tennessee to become a police officer.Engelbert, who's now 27, is a four-year veteran of the MNPD who was one of two officers credited with firing at the suspect and ending their shooting spree.“They heard gunfire and immediately ran to that,” said MNPD Chief John Drake.Metro police said that Engelbert and fellow officer Michael Collazo rushed into the building, meeting the suspect on the second floor, where they opened fire and stopped the shooter."I’m just extremely proud of him and thankful that he’s okay," said Kevin Engelbert, Rex's older brother. "It’s a tragedy beyond my words for everyone involved, but I’m glad that his trainin...