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Federal board approves $12.7 billion budget for Puerto Rico as island shakes off bankruptcy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:42:30 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A federal control board that oversees Puerto Rico’s finances on Friday approved a $12.7 billion general fund budget that contains increases for teachers, judicial employees and the U.S. territory’s public university.It is the largest budget approved in the island’s history.The bulk of the funds, $2.6 billion, will go toward education, followed by $1.2 billion for public safety, $600 million for the University of Puerto Rico and $555 million for the island’s health department.The approval comes after last-minute debates threatened to derail the proposed budget, which is slightly bigger than last year’s $12.4 billion budget.The new budget was previously approved by Puerto Rico’s legislature and governor on Thursday and goes into effect on July 1.It is the third balanced budget for Puerto Rico, which officials say helps the island return to the capital markets after emerging last year from the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in history.If a fourth balance...

Man faces impaired driving charges following ‘fiery crash’ last month in Vaughan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:42:30 GMT

A 30-year-old man is facing impaired driving charges following a violent head-on crash that was captured on video by another motorist.York Regional Police say the crash happened in the early morning hours of May 28 in Vaughan.Dashcam video shows a white SUV approaching a curve in the road at what police say was a “high rate of speed” before crossing over the dividing line and into an oncoming vehicle. The force of the crash caused one of the vehicles to catch fire. Firefighters can be seen putting out the blaze.This fiery crash could have been deadly.A 30-year-old man faces charges for driving impaired and failing to stop at the scene of this crash May 28.Let's keep the explosions in the sky this #CanadaDay weekend – not on our roads. Don't drink and drive.#SafeRoadsYourCall pic.twitter.com/9si9gwULd1— York Regional Police (@YRP) June 30, 2023The driver of the car that was hit suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries, according to police.Pol...

French Montana chronicles mom’s sacrifice after emigrating from Morocco in doc film ‘For Khadija’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:42:30 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — If French Montana’s father never abandoned him as a teenager, the rapper believes he would not have grown into a popular figure who has earned three Grammy nominations.Montana and his family left Morocco more than two decades ago in hopes of a better life in the U.S., but when times got tough, his father returned to their native country. Montana turned to New York City’s street life in the South Bronx for manly guidance while his mother served as the faithful backbone. It was his mother’s sacrifice to raise her sons as a single parent that inspired him to become a better man. The “Pop That” rapper is telling that story in the documentary film “For Khadija,” a project named after his mother that recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The project touches on his rise as a successful recording artist and the plight of his single immigrant mother raising three sons. “This is a story about the grind, the losses and the sacrifices,” said Montana abo...

A Tajik man fatally shot two officers at Moldova’s airport after he was denied entry, officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:42:30 GMT

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — A Tajikistan national who was denied entry into Moldova at its main international airport grabbed a guard’s weapon and fatally shot two security officers Friday, officials said. One traveler also was wounded.The suspect was being escorted by officials at Chisinau International Airport when he “took the gun of a border guard” and opened fire, authorities said. The individual was then apprehended and handcuffed by special forces who intervened. All passengers were evacuated from the airport.Moldova’s Prime Minister Dorin Recean said in a statement that the suspect was from Tajikistan. He said a wounded passenger was being treated by doctors.Moldova’s President Maia Sandu said that the two people killed were a border police officer and an airport security employee.“We send our sincere condolences to the bereaved families and relatives, the loss of loved ones is a great pain for the families,” Sandu wrote in a statement on Facebook. “It’s a sad...

Biden says 'this fight is not over' after Supreme Court kills student debt relief plan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:42:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that "this fight is not over” after the Supreme Court killed his plan to forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in student loan debt. He also blasted Republicans over the issue.Biden said he would have more to say when he speaks to the nation on Friday afternoon. He had proposed a $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts for millions of borrowers. The 6-3 decision, with conservative justices in the majority, said the Biden administration overstepped its authority with the plan, and it leaves borrowers on the hook for repayments that are expected to resume in the fall.Biden was to announce a new set of actions to protect student loan borrowers later Friday, said a White House official. The official was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of Biden’s expected statement on the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.The court held that the administration needed Congress' endorsement before undertaking so cost...

Minimum wage workers to receive wage bump coming July 1

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:42:30 GMT

CHICAGO -- Most minimum wage workers will receive a 40-cent bump per hour. The Cook County Board President was joined by the office of Labor Standards, the Department of Human Rights and Ethics and Arise Chicago to remind workers of the increased wages that goes into effect July 1st.Under the city's minimum wage ordinance, the minimum wage for large employers such as companies with 21 or more employees must now be paid 15 dollars and 80 cents. People who works for employers who have four to 20 employees must be paid $15 an hour and increase of 50 cents per hour. For workers who receive tips, it also rises to eight dollars per hour. If tipped workers don't receive enough tips, their employers must make up the difference to equal the city's minimum wage. Supreme Court strikes down Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan The Cook County Board President says the city's labor laws reflect a commitment to creating economic prosperity for all workers. "Enforcement of the minimum wage is j...

Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney says Bud Light didn't support her during backlash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:42:30 GMT

Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney says she felt abandoned by Bud Light after facing “more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined” over her partnership with the beer giant.In a video posted Thursday to Instagram and TikTok, she said she "was waiting for the brand to reach out to me. But they never did.” She said she should have spoken out sooner but was afraid and hoped things would get better — but they didn't.“For months now, I’ve been scared to leave my house,” Mulvaney said. “I have been ridiculed in public. I’ve been followed, and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.” Bud Light is no longer America’s top beer following anti-LGBTQ+ pushback Anheuser-Busch didn't directly respond to Mulvaney in a statement the company released Friday. But it said it remains "committed to the programs and partnerships we have forged over decades with organizations across a number of communities, including those in the LGBTQ+ community."A deluge of critici...

Ex-Ohio House speaker sentenced to 20 years in bribery scandal: 'Conned the people of Ohio'

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:42:30 GMT

Watch above for a previous report on prosecutors' sentencing recommendationCINCINNATI, Ohio (WCMH) – A federal judge on Thursday sentenced former Ohio House speaker Larry Householder to 20 years in prison for helping orchestrate the largest public corruption scandal in state history.U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black announced Householder’s sentence, three months after the ousted speaker was convicted on federal racketeering charges for accepting a $60 million bribe from Akron-based FirstEnergy in exchange for passing a $1.3 billion ratepayer-funded nuclear power plant bailout and squashing a referendum effort against it. In a scathing speech before the court, Black said Householder "conned the people of Ohio and then tried to con the jury, too.""Those voters deserved a representative who would look out for them, and you took that away," Black told Householder. "And then there's the money. How many scholarships could that have provided? How many small businesses could that have...

Fear of an 'internet apocalypse' is brewing: How likely will upcoming solar storms wreak havoc?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:42:30 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Could a future solar storm knock out the internet and plunge us all into the pre-dial-up days of yore?Sure, it’s possible. But it might not be very likely.In recent weeks, users on social media have been deliberating the possibility of a widespread internet outage caused by a coronal mass injection — one so powerful that it causes a geomagnetic storm that could knock out online communication for months and cause devastation to the worldwide economy.Concerns over such a scenario were partially fueled by a recent NASA article detailing the space agency’s efforts to predict especially powerful solar storms that potentially could have disruptive effects on telecommunications, satellites and power grids.“In addition, the risk of geomagnetic storms and devastating effects on our society is presently increasing as we approach the next ‘solar maximum’ — a peak in the Sun’s 11-year activity cycle — which is expected to arrive sometime in 2025,” wrote Vanessa Thomas, a science wri...

Council member: DPS may focus, in part, on downtown upon return to Austin

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:42:30 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for June 30, 2023AUSTIN (KXAN) -- As the Texas Department of Public Safety gears up to resume its patrols in Austin Sunday, some business owners hope troopers can help with downtown crime. "It would be great to see DPS add patrols downtown," Craig Staley, the owner of Royal Blue Grocery, told KXAN last week when someone assaulted one of his employees while trying to steal from the shop. How does DPS traffic stop data differ from APD’s? The Austin Police Department said the DPS deployment will look different this time around. Troopers will still focus on crime hot spot areas and high-traffic roadways - but will also assist in sectors with the lowest APD staff levels.Council Member Mackenzie Kelly also said public safety officials told her there "may be more focus on downtown because of crime in the area."APD uses a data-driven approach to decide where to deploy troopers. KXAN is still waiting to hear back from th...