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Idaho Supreme Court justice to retire, cites low salary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:49 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Supreme Court Justice John Stegner has announced his resignation, telling the governor that the relatively low pay has made it necessary to return to private practice. The Idaho Legislature gave most state employees cost-of-living raises of up to 7% last year, but refused to approve any raises for judges, and declined to make up the difference during this year’s session. In his letter Monday to Idaho Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, Stegner said his decision is bittersweet and that serving as judge has been the privilege of his professional career. His resignation will take effect at the end of October, and Stegner will serve as a Senior Judge, until any pending appellate cases are resolved. “Given the disparity in pay between a Supreme Court Justice (which is lower than a beginning lawyer at some Boise firms and one of the lowest in the nation) and a lawyer in private practice, I find it necessary financially to leave the public sector and return to t...

Brazil orders Google to halt campaign against speech bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:49 GMT

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Brazil’s Justice Ministry on Tuesday ordered Google to stop conducting what it called a propaganda campaign against Brazilian legislation aimed at curbing misinformation, or face about $200,000 per hour in fines.The company later Tuesday took down an article the ministry had labeled propaganda, but it was not immediately clear if the big tech giant was in complete compliance with the agency’s order. The ministry and Google did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. The legislation, hotly contested by big tech companies including Google, would establish fines and deadlines for removing misinformation and hate speech from social media and messaging apps, and require tech companies to file reports on transparency.President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government says it is essential to regulate online discourse following a recent spate of fatal school attacks that officials argue was motivated by hate speech and social media forums. The bill was...

Gordon Lightfoot records in high demand following folk music legend’s death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:49 GMT

TORONTO — As fans of the late Gordon Lightfoot mourn the Canadian folk music icon, Toronto record stores say they are already seeing more customers trying to get their hands on his most popular hits.Piers Charnley, associate manager at Kops Records, says he’s sold more Lightfoot records since the singer-songwriter’s death than he had all year.Lightfoot, one of the most renowned voices to emerge from Toronto’s Yorkville folk club scene in the 1960s, died at Sunnybrook Hospital on Monday evening at 84 after suffering numerous health issues in recent decades.Charnley says he’s seen orders come through for many of Lightfoot’s 20 studio albums, including “Don Quixote,” “Sundown” and “Summertime Dream.”He says vintage copies of Lightfoot’s work can be hard to find, with few modern re-presses available.Numerous celebrities and politicians including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have paid tribute to Lightfoot since his ...

Chicago shelter helps rescue several golden retrievers, terriers from 'living in their own filth'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:49 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago shelter One Tail at a Time helped rescue several golden retrievers and a few wheaten terriers from "living in their own filth" at an Iowa puppy mill.On Friday, the organization received a tip from one of their partners in Wisconsin that an "infamous" puppy mill in Iowa recently was shut down and its dogs needed help.Without hesitation, One Tail at a Time sprang into action by calling their network of fosters to meet the 17 golden retrievers and three wheaten terriers in Racine, Wisconsin."When people see a cute golden retriever puppy, they don't always think about where that puppy came from," said Executive Director Heather Owen. "But the reality for these breeding females is confinement, churning out litters, living in their own filth, and not knowing a life of love. They are treated as commodities instead of living beings."The dogs had their tails amputated at the puppy mill and face ear infections and pressure sores."The worst (ear infections) we have ever e...

Oklahoma woman: Sex offender controlled daughter's family

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:49 GMT

HENRYETTA, Okla. (AP) — A registered sex offender found dead on a rural Oklahoma property with his wife, her teenage children and two visiting teens kept the family “under lock and key” and always had to know where they were, the wife’s mother said Tuesday. Janette Mayo, 59, of Westville, said Jesse McFadden’s controlling behavior was concerning, but the family didn't learn about his criminal history until a few months ago. “He lied to my daughter, and he convinced her it was all just a huge mistake,” Mayo told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday morning. “He was very demure. He was very standoffish, generally very quiet, but he kept my daughter and the kids basically under lock and key. He had to know where they were at all times, which sent red flags up.” Woman IDs her daughter, 3 grandchildren among 7 Oklahoma bodies Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice said Monday that the bodies found near the town of Henryetta, were believed to include those of two missing tee...

Soldier Field welcomes Fight for Air stair climb

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:49 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago’s Soldier Field is getting ready for one of the largest fundraising efforts of the year. The Fight for Air stair climb is meant to get you thinking about air quality and lung health. Hundreds of people, including WGN’s Lourdes Duarte, are taking the challenge to climb the stairs at Soldier Field. WGN is partnering with the American Lung Association for the Stair Climb.  WGN Radio and TV will have a team there on May 21.More information and registration details at Fight For Air Climb's website

Highest-rated Tex-Mex restaurants in Chicago, according to Yelp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:49 GMT

Have you ever been in your kitchen, trying to decide what to make, and you're baffled? You open the fridge, and there's just a mish-mash of ingredients that on the surface, perhaps don't feel like they belong together—until you open the fridge for the fourth time and realize the contents aren't changing, so you make them work? That moment? That moment is what Tex-Mex cuisine is—but in the best way possible. It's a delicious mish-mash of cultural influences that came together in a melting pot of flavors that make you feel like you're experiencing something that feels familiar but for the first time.Tex-Mex, as the cuisine is affectionately coined in the Southwest, is the by-product of what happened when traditional Mexican cuisine combines with things that weren't normally available in the land borders renamed Mexico; more cuts of red meat, cheeses, and far milder chiles that provide more smoke than heat. It found its way into the hearts of the Southwest, eventually spreading around ...

Larger welfare checks lead to healthier brains, study finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:49 GMT

(The Hill) -- Children in poverty tend to have healthier brains and fewer mental health problems if they live in states with more generous welfare programs, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health. The findings, from researchers at Harvard and Washington University in St. Louis, suggest that well-funded anti-poverty measures can improve both brain development and mental health in children. Past research has shown an association between poverty and brain development. Specifically, children in low-income homes tend to have a smaller hippocampus, a brain structure associated with memory and learning. Impoverished children also suffer more frequent mental health symptoms.  Across the 17 states studied, impoverished children tended to have a smaller hippocampus than affluent children. But in states with robust welfare programs, the disparity was 34 percent narrower.  In mental health, the study found the disparity between affluent ...

White Sox make nearly a dozen roster moves after terrible April

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:49 GMT

CHICAGO - When a team is struggling, a few moves are necessary, and the White Sox are most certainly in a slump.So to begin May, perhaps because of that, they've announced nearly a dozen moves either due to necessity or underperformance at the major league level.A flurry of White Sox moves today..Tim Anderson & Hanser Alberto are back from IL..Alex Colome, Billy Hamilton among those called up from Triple-A..Romy Gonzalez to IL .Oscar Colas, Lenyn Sosa to Triple-A.Jake Diekman, Frank German DFA’d.@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/Bc82gQ7h8E— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) May 2, 2023In a news release ahead of their series opener with the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field, the White Sox announced 11 moves from the promotion of players to the demotion of others to the outright release of two pitchers. On a positive note, the White Sox have activated two-time All-Star Tim Anderson along with Hanser Alberto. The shortstop missed three weeks after suffering a sprained left knee against Minnes...

Court rules Wisconsin hospital can't be forced to give ivermectin to COVID patient

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:49 GMT

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a Wisconsin hospital cannot be forced to give ivermectin to a COVID-19 patient.The 6-1 ruling overturned a lower court order that required Aurora Health Care to administer ivermectin to John Zingsheim, a patient who was placed on a ventilator due to COVID-19 complications.Zingsheim’s nephew, Allen Gahl, was authorized to make his medical decisions and requested that the hospital treat his uncle with ivermectin. However, Aurora determined that "the use of ivermectin in the treatment of John Zingsheim's COVID-19 symptoms does not meet the standard of care for treatment." A Waukesha County Circuit Court initially ordered Aurora to administer the ivermectin, before altering its order to require Gahl to find an outside physician for Aurora to credential and provide the ivermectin. The Wisconsin Supreme court found that the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion because it cited “no law in either its written orde...