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TX iWatch needs 'significant improvements,' Sandy Hook nonprofit says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Almost a year after the Uvalde mass shooting, education leaders from around the country met in Austin Thursday to talk about how to prevent the next one. "I am thinking about Dylan every single day," said Nicole Hockley, whose six-year-old son was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary a little over a decade ago. Hockley co-founded the nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise as a way to honor Dylan and protect her other son who survived. At the South By Southwest Education conference, she spoke with education leaders about the importance of age appropriate training for elementary, middle and high schoolers to spot warning signs for someone at risk of harming themselves or others.Anonymous reporting is an "incredibly important tool," she said."We know it saves lives," said Hockley. "It tells you what youth are thinking, what they need, help us deliver the right programs and policies for them. But it saves lives every single day from suicide and school shootings."Karen Fairley with N...

Minnesota adds 14,100 jobs in January, unemployment at 2.9%

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:00 GMT

Minnesota gained 14,100 jobs in January, and the state unemployment rate remained at 2.9%, the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development reported Thursday.The jobs gains from December were up 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis, with the private sector gaining 12,000 jobs, also up 0.5%. The revised labor force participation rate remained 68.1%; this measures the portion of the population that is working or actively seeking work. The January gains contrast with December, when the state reported a loss of about 5,200 jobs.The state data compare to a national unemployment rate of 3.4% and a revised labor force participation rate of 62.4% over the same period. The U.S. reported a gain of 517,000 jobs from December to January.“Our tight labor market continues to provide great opportunities for job seekers and challenges for many employers,” said interim DEED Commissioner Kevin McKinnon in a news release. “DEED will continue outreach to Minnesotans who remain on the ...

Though Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns is ‘live,’ return doesn’t appear imminent

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:00 GMT

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said this week that Karl-Anthony Towns, out since late November with a calf strain, has started doing what he called “live action” work. On Thursday, the coach defined what live action truly means.“Working with the (player development) coach against controlled defense, 1-on-1, maybe a little a 2-on-2 concepts, stuff like that,” Finch said. “It’s not super-intense or anything like that; it’s just more trying to get him comfortable feeling where he is right now in that.”Wolves wing Jaden McDaniels said Towns “didn’t look like he was stumbling or didn’t lose a step,” adding that he is seeing the center “getting back to himself.”“He ain’t really put up no shots,” McDaniels added, “but he was just getting up and down, playing defense. Like, he was moving good laterally. So, it was good to see.”Finch said Towns can “feel like he’s got the bit in ...

Advocates call for more higher education funding

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:00 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)--On Thursday at the Capitol, advocates called on state lawmakers to include more funding for higher education in the state budget. Some of governor’s proposals include $270 million in new operating support and $1.5 billion in new capital projects for SUNY and CUNY Campuses.Andy Pallota, President of New York State United Teachers union would like to see an increase of $4.5 billion dollars for higher education in the final state budget."We need to fully fund our education system— our public higher education system because in reality, it gives us liberty," said Joshua Chan, UAlbany Student and member of SUNY Student AssemblyChan said he wants the state legislature allow TAP to be expanded to cover other expenses besides tuition as well as an increase TAP eligibility. Senator Andrew Gounardes sponsors legislation called the New Deal for CUNY, which would move CUNY to a tuition free model and increase the ratio of faculty and mental health councilors for full-time ...

Jennings man charged in gas station murder

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office charged a Jennings man on Thursday in connection with a fatal shooting last month at a north city gas station.According to a probable statement obtained from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the shooting occurred Feb. 8 at the Mobil gas station in the 4500 block of Union Boulevard, located in the Mark Twain neighborhood.Officers were called to the gas station for a shooting and found the victim, Jerry Savage, lying on the ground outside and suffering from several gunshot wounds. Savage was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was 25. Trending: Ladue estate with luxury auto house sold in record-setting 8-figure deal Homicide detectives obtained surveillance video from the gas station, which shows three armed men get out of a red SUV and engage with Savage. A struggle ensues, and Savage is shot. The three suspects return to the SUV and drive away.Using RTCC surveillance video and GPS tracking so...

Missouri Senate leaves town early amid disagreement on transgender-care bill

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:00 GMT

The Missouri Senate’s spring break came a day early this year after Majority Leader Cindy O’Laughlin adjourned the chamber following two days of a Democrat-led filibuster of a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors.As some departed for a now-extended break, strategizing continued in senators’ offices into the evening over the bill.Sponsored by Sen. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, legislation dubbed “Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act” seeks to ban certain procedures, such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, for transgender Missourians under the age of 18. Similar bills have been filed by other senators and members of Missouri’s House.Kansas City Democrat Sen. Greg Razer, the Senate’s only openly gay member, told The Independent negotiations took place throughout the two-day filibuster, but a deal has not been reached that would convince Democrats to let the bill come up for a vote.“There’s been ideas tossed back and forth, and some are better than oth...

Bill aims to amend Missouri Constitution to allow Osage casino

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:00 GMT

A House committee considered a bill Wednesday evening that would put a constitutional amendment before voters to expand casino gambling.House Joint Resolution 23 would put a measure on the ballot that, if passed, would allow the Missouri Gaming Commission to grant a license for a casino on the Osage River. Missouri has 13 casinos on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jeff Knight, R-Lebanon, cited projections that a casino in the Lake of the Ozarks area could net about $100 million in revenue annually. The gaming commission taxes 25% of casinos’ revenue, which means the state would take in about $25 million a year.Mayor Dennis Newberry of Lake Ozark, a city of 2,000 along the Osage River considered the most likely site for a casino, said the city needs about $25 million in capital improvement projects it cannot afford. He blamed few local taxpayers and a lack of “meaningful reinvestment” in the city’s hospitality industry in 40 or 50 years.Newberry...

Cardinals top Nicaragua, Arenado blasts grand slam in WBC preps

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:00 GMT

JUPITER, Fla. - World Baseball Classic teams are gearing up for the tournament's start this weekend, including exhibition matchups against the St. Louis Cardinals and many other MLB spring squads. A late rally sparked the St. Louis Cardinals to a comeback against Team Nicaragua on Thursday. Within moments of the victory, three time zones west, Nolan Arenado packed a punch early with a grand slam for Team USA's scrimmage against the Los Angeles Angels. For the Cardinals, a matchup against Nicaragua was a unique opportunity to welcome international competition, though they didn't want to treat it differently than any other spring game. "It'll be a lot of fun, but we're focused on our guys," said manager Oli Marmol. "I think it's a great experience for everybody, the fans. But at the end of the day, we're still looking at our guys. We have a lot of decisions to make." RELATED - Albert Pujols makes surprise spring visit, at peace with post-baseball life "It's an exciting time of year...

Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness hall in Hamburg causes deaths

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:00 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Shots were fired inside a building used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, and an unspecified number of people were killed or wounded, police said.The shooting took place in the Gross Borstel district, a few kilometers (miles) north of the downtown area of Germany’s second-biggest city.Police said on Twitter that “several people were seriously wounded, some of them fatally,” but didn’t give a precise figure.German news agency dpa reported seeing rescue services taking people out of a building used by Jehovah’s Witnesses. Police said they were alerted to the shooting about 9:15 p.m. and were on the scene quickly. They said that after officers arrived, they heard a shot from an upper floor.The police statement said there was no immediate indication that a shooter was on the run and tehat it appeared likely that the perpetrator or perpetrators were either in the building or among the...

Top-seeded UCLA eliminates CU Buffs men’s basketball from Pac-12 tourney

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:01:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS — Once again, Colorado gave the best team in the Pac-12 Conference all it could handle.And once again, the Buffaloes couldn’t quite finish the job.CU put up a commendable fight but saw its run at the Pac-12 Conference tournament come to an end on Thursday, as top-seeded, No. 2-ranked UCLA held off the Buffs in an 80-69 decision at T-Mobile Arena.UCLA, playing its first game without injured conference Defensive Player of the Year Jaylen Clark, advanced to Friday’s semifinals while the Buffs will wait to see if they receive an NIT bid on Sunday.Like the two regular season matchups between the teams, the Buffs led at halftime (38-37). They led by one point after a Tristan da Silva 3-pointer with a little more than 5 minutes remaining. But UCLA answered immediately by scoring the next nine points. The Buffs remained within four points on a Lawson Lovering layup with about 2 minutes left, however the Bruins scored the next 10 points to ice the game.An irate CU head coach Tad Bo...