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LA schools strike begins; more than half a million students affected

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:56 GMT

(KTLA) – Despite last-minute negotiations that went into the evening Monday, the Los Angeles Unified School District was unable to come to an agreement with the union representing thousands of its employees to avert a work stoppage.On Tuesday morning, the LAUSD strike began, shutting down hundreds of schools and creating hardships for hundreds of thousands of parents.Demonstrators could be seen picketing under the rain as early as 5:30 a.m. in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Van Nuys, video showed.The strike had been in the works for several weeks, and union representatives identified Tuesday as the first day of what is tentatively planned to be a three-day stoppage.The strike includes the support of as many as 60,000 employees of the school district who are members of both the Local 99 of Service Employees International Union and United Teachers Los Angeles.The unions represent both educators and school district employees, including bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and te...

'Abbott Elementary' goes all-in against charter schools 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:56 GMT

(The Hill) - ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” has made charter schools its boogeyman.The popular sitcom, now in its sophomore season, is wrapping up an arc in which the titular institution, a chaotic but whimsical inner-city Philadelphia school, faces off against the big, bad charter company down the street, Legendary Schools, which is actively seeking to incorporate it. “They don’t even require all their teachers be certified,” one Abbott educator laments of their rival in an episode that aired earlier this month.“Yet they take our funding, not to mention the private money from wealthy donors with ulterior motives,” another replies.Later in the same episode, a former Abbott student returns after having been kicked out of the Legendary charter, apparently for dragging down its test results.“They don’t see students, they see scores,” an Abbott teacher says.Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, for one, sounds like a fan. Speaking with The Hill on Sunday, Cardona said that while he ...

Springsteen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus among those to receive National Medal of Arts from Biden in COVID-delayed ceremony

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:56 GMT

(The Hill) - President Biden will host a star-studded White House ceremony this week — honoring big names including Bruce Springsteen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Gladys Knight, Vera Wang and more — as he presents them with the highest award given to artists by the United States government in an event that had been delayed due to COVID-19.While the White House unveiled the 23 recipients being recognized with the National Medal of Arts and the National Humanities Medal for the first time on Monday, the honorees are actually the 2021 award winners. The president did award a National Humanities Medal to Elton John last year, in a surprise move after the “Rocket Man” singer performed at a White House event. E Street Band’s Steven Van Zandt gifts Raskin a head cover as congressman battles cancer Jill Biden is also expected to attend the arts award event at the White House on Tuesday.The 2021 National Medal of Arts recipients include: musician Jose Feliciano, artist Judith Francisca Baca, radi...

Dean’s A-List Interview: Kiefer Sutherland on new series 'Rabbit Hole'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:56 GMT

Actor Kiefer Sutherland sits down for an interview with WGN Entertainment Reporter Dean Richards to talk about his new series "Rabbit Hole" on Paramount +.

Can I legally eat roadkill in Illinois?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:56 GMT

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — You know you’ve been tempted…Illinois is one of about 15 states that allows residents to claim roadkill deer and other animals killed on the roadways for food or fur.According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, if an Illinois resident crashes into a deer and kills it, the driver has legal priority over the deer carcass even if a hunter was chasing it.If the driver who hit and killed the deer does not claim it, "any citizen of Illinois who is not delinquent in child support" can claim the carcass. Illinois bill would make driving with pet in your lap illegal Illinois law specifically says non-Illinois residents cannot claim roadkill deer.But, if you hit a deer and cripple it, and the animal survives, it is illegal for a motorist to kill it. Instead, drivers are required to call the nearest police or conservation officer on the non-emergency line.And, thanks to a "roadkill bill," Illinois residents with a furbearer license can salvage roadkill ...

'Tar spot' is killing corn across the Midwest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:56 GMT

JOPLIN, Mo. (KSNF) — A fungal disease targeting corn crops is moving across the Midwest and Great Plains, according to a report from researchers at Kansas State University.Phyllachora maydis, also known as "tar spot," first appeared in Indiana and Illinois in 2015, according to plant pathologists at Purdue University. Since then, it has spread to surrounding states. Farmers spotted it in Nebraska for the first time in 2021, and in Missouri, Kansas, and South Dakota during the last growing season."It's a very aggressive disease compared to some of the other diseases we deal with like southern rust, or gray leaf spot, or northern corn leaf flight. It moves very, very quickly. I've seen pictures from the Midwest where the infection begins, and seven days later that field is completely shut down," said Southwest Missouri agronomist Brian Bunt.Hummingbirds are headed back to the Midwest The fungal disease attacks leaf tissue in corn and can rapidly deteriorate the plant. According to the...

New bill takes aim at Texas program blocking driver license renewals over unpaid traffic tickets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:56 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Texas program that allows judges to block driver license renewals over unpaid traffic tickets will face possible changes, and even repeal, this legislative session.It comes after a KXAN investigation revealed more than 980,000 current court orders, as of Oct. 2022, sent to Texas Department of Public Safety vendor OmniBase to block drivers from getting their license renewed.  Already, more than 445,000 Texans can’t get their license renewed or replaced if they are flagged under the state’s Failure to Appear and Pay program, according to DPS data. The system, critics say, leaves some of the state’s poorest drivers in debt, without a license for years, and at risk for more charges – and even jail time – if they get on the road. Nearly 1M drivers at risk of losing licenses. Are you one of them? “I think a cynical person can say this just looks like a way for them to make money,” Bernal said. “This is not a street crime. [These are] traffic tickets. [These are] park...

Travis County Commissioners to vote on future of mental health diversion center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:56 GMT

Travis County, TEXAS (KXAN) -- Travis County Commissioners could vote to move forward with recommendations from a forensic mental health project conducted by Dell Medical School Tuesday. The project report identified five “high priority” recommendations made at the end of the 10-month project, which looked at people in Travis County’s jail with mental health and substance use disorders. The recommendations were the following:Make data sharing easier and update the county’s “technology platform”Create a mental health diversion centerPilot housing programs and establish permanent housing solutionsIncrease the number of peer specialists where people would intersect with the mental health and criminal legal systemReinstate the counsel at first appearance program Report: 5 ways to keep people with mental health disorders out of Travis County’s jail According to the report, there are roughly 900 people with a “mental health identifier” in the Travis County jail at any given time, that a...

Waco teen receives $10K cancer grant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:56 GMT

WACO, Texas (FOX 44) - Blain Lenoir, 19, received big help to pursue his college career after years of battling Leukemia. Blain was given a $10,000 scholarship through Northwestern Mutual's 2022 Childhood Cancer Survivor program. The scholarship aims to ease the financial burden for families who undergo childhood cancer treatments. Northwestern Mutual Foundation president, Steven Radke says, "Childhood cancer robs children and their families of far too much, and that should not include the opportunity to pursue their dreams of a college degree."Blain was diagnosed with cancer in November 2015. At the time, he was 11 years old playing competitive baseball. What his family thought was a typical baseball tournament turned into a scare. After three games in 24 hours, his family noticed a large bump on the side of his neck. Doctors diagnosed him with T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Blain was technically cancer free on December 24, 2015, just a little over a month after his diagnosis...

Saratoga offers free Narcan training and distribution

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:56 GMT

CORINTH, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- On Thursday, a free Narcan training and distribution event will be held at the Corinth Fire House at 16 Saratoga Ave. Participants will be taught how to recognize an opioid overdose and learn how to administer Narcan. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! After, participants will receive a free Narcan rescue kit. The kit contains two doses of Narcan, a rescue breathing face shield, a certificate of training, a drug disposal system, and a mental health and substance use disorder resource guide.The event runs from 3 to 6 p.m. Residents unable to attend can access a Narcan training video and register to obtain an overdose rescue kit here.