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Proponents step up push at Minnesota Capitol for paid family and medical leave

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:16 GMT

Supporters of creating a paid family and medical leave system in Minnesota rallied at the state Capitol on Tuesday and lobbied their lawmakers to try to push the plan over the finish line.“You know that anywhere else in the developed world, paid family and medical leave is the norm,” Democratic Gov Tim Walz told a crowd in the packed rotunda. “You know that in 12 states and and the District of Columbia, paid family-medical leave is being offered.”As currently proposed, the legislation would set up a mandatory paid family and medical leave insurance program funded by a 0.7% payroll tax that businesses could partly pass on to employees. It would allow up to 12 weeks of partial wage replacement in a 52-week period to care for a sick family member or a newborn or adopted child, and up to 12 weeks for an employee to attend to their own health issues. That could add up to 24 weeks of paid time off in a year.Walz told reporters afterward that he’s feeling good about getting the propo...

Kathleen Collins: Support Ukraine’s victory out of moral necessity and for national security

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:16 GMT

Defeating Russia in Ukraine is crucial. Morally, we must help end Putin’s atrocities and genocidal aims and support Ukrainian sovereignty and democracy. Ukraine’s victory is also vital to our national security. As increasing numbers of Americans are losing interest or wearying of inflation and the war’s costs, President Biden and Republican leaders should unite in making the case for Ukraine to the American people.Russia’s war on Ukraine, the bloodiest in Europe in the post-World War Two era, is an unambiguous violation of international law. Putin is not only committing crimes against humanity but also pursuing genocidal ends: the mass murder of Ukrainians and the erasure of their identity as a people, as a bipartisan Senate resolution this February recognized. Putin’s goals in Ukraine include the destruction of the Ukrainian nation, its language and its religion.Russia is targeting entire cities, as it did Mariupol, for elimination.Russia is using mass graves to hide the slaughtere...

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates clash over abortion, legislative maps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:16 GMT

MADISON, Wis. — The liberal candidate for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court didn’t back down from her support for abortion rights or her belief that the state’s Republican-drawn legislative maps are unfair during a debate Tuesday in which her GOP-backed opponent accused her of being “bought and paid for” by Democrats.Janet Protasiewicz called her conservative opponent, Dan Kelly, “a true threat to our democracy” because he consulted with Republicans about their plan to seat fake electors to support Donald Trump after he lost Wisconsin in 2020.Whoever wins the April 4 election for a seat vacated by the retirement of a conservative justice will determine majority control of the court for at least the next two years, including leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Control of the court, which came within a vote of overturning Trump’s 2020 defeat in the state, could be crucial, with abortion access, legislative redistricting, voting rights and other key issu...

Wild winger Marcus Foligno hoping injury bug is finally in his past

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:16 GMT

NEWARK, N.J. — The most frustrating part for Marcus Foligno is he was finally back to feeling like himself. He was running hot for the Wild earlier this month with a pair of goals and a pair of assists in the span of a week.Not bad for a player who hadn’t been able to gain much traction to that point.Unfortunately for Foligno, right when it looked like he was starting to rediscover his scoring touch from last season, the injury bug bit him once again. Midway through the March 12 loss to the Arizona Coyotes, Foligno fell awkwardly to the ice, then landed on an opposing player’s skate.He suffered a contusion near his groin, and missed recent games against the St. Louis Blues, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals.“It was a little freak incident,” Foligno said before the Wild played the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at the Prudential Center. “A weird area to get clipped.”After taking some time to let the contusion calm down, Foligno made h...

St. Louis Fire Department has its first all-women fire crew

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:16 GMT

ST. LOUIS - For the first time in 165 years, the St. Louis Fire Department has an all-female firefighter crew at an engine house."With this being Women’s History Month, we felt like this would be the grandest opportunity to see if we can make this collaboration come together because it would have a huge impact on the community as well as nationwide,” said Licole McKinney, a firefighter, and acting captain. Top story: Missing St. Charles woman found dead; 1 man in custody “This 50,000-pound truck has a lot of horsepower, and today powered by us ladies,” said Jessica Jackson, a firefighter, and acting captain. “Not only, there’s a lot of love and compassion. We got a lot of girl power. We’re running this truck, we’re out in the streets, and doing the job that every man or woman is doing out there, we’re doing, just doing it together.”Women firefighters in the St. Louis Fire Department have been working for 35 years, but this is a first for engine house number 26."Absolutely, I’m rea...

Man arrested, accused of killing 24-year-old woman in Anaheim

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:16 GMT

Homicide detectives have arrested a 36-year-old Anaheim man for the death of a young woman he previously had a romantic relationship with, authorities announced Monday.  The incident unfolded on Mar. 17, just before 2:30 p.m., when officers with the Anaheim Police Department were called to the 1900 block of South Union Street on reports of “suspicious circumstances at an apartment,” an Anaheim PD news release stated.  When officers entered the residence, they discovered the victim, identified as 24-year-old Mirelle Mateus, a resident of La Palma, dead inside.  Detectives responded to the apartment, determined that the 24-year-old woman had been murdered and identified Aaron Romo as the suspect, police said.  Aaron Romo, 36, of Anaheim, was arrested on Mar. 17, 2023, and booked for murder in connection with the killing of 24-year-old Mirelle Mateus (Anaheim PD).Romo was arrested later that day in Riverside County and booked at the Anaheim PD Detention Facility for murd...

3 women sought in organized retail theft ring after stealing over $13,000 worth of merchandise 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:16 GMT

Detectives from the LAPD’s Commercial Crimes Division Organized Retail Theft Unit are searching for three women responsible for targeting and stealing from retail stores in the City of Los Angeles and other locations throughout L.A. County. According to authorities, the suspects enter businesses with empty purses or shopping bags and then hide makeup, eye care and medication in their empty bags and leave the store without paying. The suspects are responsible for stealing over $13,000 in merchandise, officials said. The Los Angeles Police Department released descriptions of the three suspects: Suspect 1: 21- to 25-year-old Black female with black hair and brown eyes, 5 feet 9 inches tall, and weighs approximately 280 pounds Suspect 2: 24- to 30-year-old Black female with black hair and brown eyes, 5 feet 3 inches tall, and weighs approximately 240 pounds Suspect 3: 25- to 30-year-old Black female with black hair with red streaks and brown eyes, 5 feet 5 ...

Siu Ping Negrin Qigong Energy Healer, Spiritual Coach and Acupuncturist Announces Release of Her New Book, “Stronger Than Your Stress”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:16 GMT

Meet Siu Ping Negrin, a Qigong healer, spiritual coach, acupuncturist, and founder of Heal From Within. She is pleased to announce the LA release of her groundbreaking new book Stronger Than Your Stress. Her book is the ultimate guide to achieving true health and wellness.Stronger Than Your Stress, is a comprehensive guide that goes beyond traditional stress management techniques and helps readers prevent stress from coming into their body in the first place.  The techniques and principles outlined in the book are based on years of research and master teachings to provide readers with an energetic and spiritual approach to healing that encompasses the body, mind, emotion and spirit. “I believe that the only way we can overcome stress is by mastering control over our dominating and negatively-biased brain,” said Siu. “Through my program, Heal From Within©, I aim to teach individuals how to tap into the enormous power of Qi to engage their true self in order to become the ...

Will San Jose take a harder stance on homeless encampments?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:16 GMT

Kicking off a contentious debate early in his tenure, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is pushing for a stricter approach to homeless encampments that have cropped up below the city’s underpasses and along its rivers, describing them as a public safety and environmental hazard for all residents.The mayor’s proposal, while still in the early stages, would push for 1,000 interim housing units to be built by the end of the year to combat the city’s homelessness crisis, while simultaneously establishing a pilot program to prevent the expansion of encampments that pose heightened safety risks and require the greatest share of city resources.He claims the strategy will make a serious dent in sheltering the 5,000 San Jose residents who sleep on the streets every night, contending once an unhoused resident receives shelter through the city, an encampment should no longer be an option. The plans include the hiring of mental health workers and law enforcement to prevent expansion o...

Hong Kong theaters pull ‘Winnie the Pooh’ horror film

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:16 GMT

By Kanis Leung | Associated PressHONG KONG — Public screenings of a slasher film that features Winnie the Pooh were scrapped abruptly in Hong Kong on Tuesday, sparking discussions over increasing censorship in the city.Film distributor VII Pillars Entertainment announced on Facebook that the release of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” on Thursday had been canceled with “great regret” in Hong Kong and neighboring Macao.In an email reply to The Associated Press, the distributor said it was notified by cinemas that they could not show the film as scheduled, but it didn’t know why. The cinema chains involved did not immediately reply to a request for comment.For many residents, the Winnie the Pooh character is a playful taunt of China’s President Xi Jinping and Chinese censors in the past had briefly banned social media searches for the bear in the country. In 2018, the film “Christopher Robin,” also featuring Winnie the Pooh, was report...