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1/5 of 2023 anti-LGBTQ+ legislation filed in US was in Texas, report finds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:26 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN ) – For the first time since it was founded in 1980, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released a national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans, citing an unprecedented year for legislators filing bills targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community. “The message that we're hoping people receive is that we are in a state of crisis right now when it comes to LGBTQ people and our rights in states across the country – Texas very much being one of those states,” said Cathryn Oakley, HRC's senior director. MORE: Gov. Abbott signs bill banning transgender health care for minors into law The HRC defines anti-LGBTQ+ bills as legislation that aims to restrict the lives of these people and their families. Some examples of this legislation include prohibiting minors from accessing hormone therapy to transition, restricting access to bathrooms for transgender people, banning books with LGBTQ+ themes and Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, per the HRC. The HRC said that at least ...

Mahtomedi man sentenced to 3 years of probation for 2021 Maplewood shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:26 GMT

A Mahtomedi man has been given probation for shooting a man in Maplewood who was responding to his sister’s plea for help.De’Shaun Jauquarin Smith, 22, was sentenced to three years of probation last week after pleading guilty to third-degree assault in the November 2021 shooting. In exchange for his guilty plea, a charge of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon was dismissed.De’Shaun Jauquarin Smith (Courtesy of the Ramsey County sheriff’s office)According to the criminal complaint, shortly after 9 p.m. on Nov. 30, police received a call from a 47-year-old woman who identified herself as the mother of a juvenile daughter. She said her daughter had been picked up against her will by four males at the daughter’s work and was taken to a four-plex residence on the 2800 block of White Bear Avenue.The daughter later told police that she had called her mother when four males, who she could not identify, picked her up, handcuffed her, drugged her, stole her property and ...

St. Paul woman charged in daughter’s fatal overdose; school late to report suspected abuse, investigators say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:26 GMT

Shauntajia Jannell Travis agreed to give her grandmother temporary custody of her 7-year-old daughter so she could get help for her drug addiction. Travis set April 5 as the day.The day didn’t come. On March 31, Travis’ daughter, Za’Maiya Travis, died of a fentanyl overdose after ingesting the drug at their St. Paul home, according to criminal charges.Shauntajia Jannell Travis (Courtesy of Ramsey County sheriff’s office)The Ramsey County attorney’s office this week charged Travis, 27, with two counts of second-degree manslaughter in connection with Za’Maiya’s death. She made an initial court appearance on the charges Tuesday and remained jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail. Court records do not list an attorney for Travis.The criminal complaint details Travis’ struggles with drug use, as well as efforts by Travis’ grandmother to get Za’Maiya help through Ramsey County Child Protective Services and her school, Benjamin E. Mays.The complaint asserts the school waited until aft...

Self-admitted arsonist arrested for setting fires in Colonie

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:26 GMT

COLONIE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A suspected arsonist told police he started a string of small fires in Colonie over the last couple of weeks and according to police documents, he did it for fun. But he says one of the fires unexpectedly grew and damaged a local church. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! In an official statement to police just after he was arrested Monday morning, 25-year-old Mark Marcus admitted to setting the fires and called himself an arsonist.“When I see something, I want to light on fire I use my lighter to light it, Then, ‘whoosh’ it’s out,” stated Marcus.Marcus was arrested for allegedly starting three fires in the area where he worked at the Times Union. One fire set near homes and one fire nearly burned down a church.“In this one instance we had the fire spent to a church nearby which caused extensive damage. It could have been far worse,” said Colonie Police Lieutenant Daniel Belles.The Blessed Virgin Mary...

Albany ship's connections to WWII on D-Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:26 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The USS Slater recently celebrated 79 years since its World War Two commissioning. The destroyer escort ship played a pivotal role in the war, fighting Nazi submarines.MORE News from NEWS10“There was one division of escorts that actually went to Normandy to escort the invasion force" Tim Rizzuto, Executive Director USS Slater told us aboard the ship. Destroyer Escorts like The Slater essentially served as protectors for allied ships. “The Slater was one of those ships that was actually built to escort the convoys and ship the German U boats that were trying to stop the convoys" Rizzuto said. Named after Alabama sharecropper Frank Olga Slater, it was built in Tampa before its launch onto the high seas. The vessel served many missions including transferring torpedoes from captured German u-boats, into the United States. Its service life was short however, being put on reserve in 1946. Following its retirement in the early 90s, she was turned into a mu...

Nova Kakhovka dam collapse: What to know about potential impacts on war, beyond

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:26 GMT

The collapse of a critical dam along the Ukrainian front line on Tuesday is expected to have wide reaching implications for Russia’s war on the country, affecting energy, food and water supplies, displacing a major civilian population and raising the risk of a nuclear disaster.  Drone footage published on Tuesday captured water rushing through the remains of the Nova Kakhovka reserve and dam in Russian-held Ukraine, sparking mass evacuations, accusations of blame from both sides and emergency meetings of Ukrainian and Western officials.Ukraine has accused Russia of blowing up the Soviet-era dam “in panic,” as Kyiv appears to be starting its long-expected counteroffensive, while the Kremlin has implied that Ukraine is to blame and that it was a terrorist attack. The United States said it was looking into the collapse and “closely monitoring the impacts” but “cannot say conclusively what happened at this point,” according to White House National Security Council spokesperson...

Researchers offer data on Canada wildfires smoke

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:26 GMT

Albany, N.Y. (News10)- The hazy skies are making for incredible views of the sun, but the smoke pushing in from raging wildfires in Canada is now diminishing air quality in states well below the northern border. Dr. Nick Bassill, PhD is the Director of research and development for UAlbany's Center of Excellence in Weather and Climate Analytics. “When we say particulate matter that’s just a fancy word for little pieces of ash." Bassill told News10 that on a good day those particulates are in the single digits. “On a day like today, it’s above 100. And that’s very, very unusual for the Capital Region area. And in parts of New York, it’s actually above 200.” He said that's why you may feel like it’s tougher to breathe outside today. Bassill showed News10's Anya Tucker an office at the campus's ETEC building called the Mesonet. It is an intelligence center of New York’s Early Warning Weather Detection system, data collected from stations across the state is shared publicly to help ...

Push to prevent radioactive chemicals from entering the Hudson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:26 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) -- An energy company by the name of Holtec plans on disposing radioactive chemicals into the Hudson River in coming months. In the last days of session, advocates are asking the Governor to sign legislation to prevent this from happening. Advocates took to the halls of the capitol chanting, "What do we want? Clean water! When do we want it? Now!" They say, the Hudson River is not a sewer and the practice of dumping radioactive chemicals into these waters, must come to an end. The disposal is part of Holtec’s plans to decommission the Indian Point Power Plant, located just north of New York City.  Law enforcement seeking help investigating 2018 death "We want to be sure that our neighborhoods, that our water, that our Hudson River remains clean and as pristine as possible and that’s why we really want to make sure that nothing bad gets dumped into the Hudson if there are other alternatives," said James Creighton, Deputy Supervisor and Town Councilman i...

Police in search of Amazon delivery driver after he keeps lost wallet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:26 GMT

O’FALLON, Mo. – The O’Fallon Police Department is currently working to locate an Amazon delivery driver who was seen picking up a dropped wallet. Since it was picked up on Saturday, several fraudulent charges were made to the victim’s credit card.The moments where the driver got out of his car, picked up the wallet, and headed into the store were caught on surveillance video. The camera also caught him leaving that store without turning the wallet in.Now, police are looking to locate him. They hope to find out more about how he could be involved or if he is connected to the string of charges to the card.In search of more answers, police could not get a response out of Amazon’s subpoena department. That’s when the O’Fallon Police Department, and the shop where the wallet was found, Tye Dye Iguana, took the information to social media. Soon, comments came in, with people saying they have seen him out on local deliveries, even working in the same facility as him. Missouri governor de...

St. Louis area animal shelters are overcrowded, asking for help

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:26 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Some St. Louis area pet shelters are no longer taking in animals due to overcrowding. That means many dogs and cats are left without homes."Yes, we have more animals than we've ever had in our history," said Aimee Bearsley, chief development officer for Stray Rescue of St. Louis. "I think we have around 550 or 560 animals in our system. So that all the animals that live in the shelter, our cats that are in foster homes. We have animals coming out of our ears, and they need homes, and we want people to come adopt."Across St. Louis and the entire bi-state region, sobering statistics indicate that area animal shelters are at capacity, and they are in desperate need of help. Free Trip Tuesday heads to Giant City State Park with Shawnee Forest Country! "The homeless problem is always an issue with strays on the street that need help," Bearsley said. "Families are still struggling, and they're having a hard time feeding their animals, and they're having a hard time with vet ...