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Potential impeachment looms over AG Ken Paxton after investigative hearing

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:50:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A team of lawyers working with the House ethics committee spent nearly three hours Wednesday morning laying out extensive details covering years of misconduct allegations against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, pointing towards the possibility the state's top law enforcement official could face impeachment.The five attorneys working with the House Committee on General Investigating told the panel during their Wednesday meeting that they began looking into Paxton in March after a proposal to use state funds to pay $3.3 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit filed by four former employees who accused Paxton of wrongdoing. They ultimately said the evidence they collected these past few months would support at least a dozen criminal charges against Paxton, which included abuse of official capacity, official oppression, securities fraud, making false statements and others. However, it's important to note only a prosecutor would be able to officially file any of thes...

Patient safety bill, sparked by KXAN, passes Senate

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:50:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A major bipartisan bill aimed at protecting Texans from dangerous doctors and reforming the Texas Medical Board passed the Senate on Wednesday and is closing in on becoming law. The bill is in direct response to our "Still Practicing" series of investigations.It now heads back to the House for final review before going to the governor."HB 1998 will save lives in our state, protecting patients and healthcare professionals alike," said the executive director of the nonpartisan nonprofit Texas Watch, which advocates for patient safety, shortly after the vote. "It gives the Texas Medical Board the tools it needs to fulfill its mission of safeguarding the public. We commend legislators for putting safety first and hope the governor will sign this vital legislation into law as soon as possible."On the last day the Senate could consider all bills, the chamber overwhelming passed the measure in a vote of 30-1. The bill was filed by Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, in r...

Guthrie cast kills it with evocative staging of ‘Murder on the Orient Express’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:50:53 GMT

Suddenly, it’s summer. A long, snowy winter in the Twin Cities gave way to a brief spring, and now the weather is seeming summer-like, complete with heat, mosquitoes and the smoke of Canadian wildfires. Maybe it’s time to put together your summer reading list, complete with a breezy beach read.If you’d like to experience the theatrical equivalent, consider the Guthrie Theater’s production of “Murder on the Orient Express.” Adapted from the novel by murder mystery master Agatha Christie, it’s one of those ripping yarns full of colorful characters, one of whom winds up dead. Each of his fellow passengers on this 1934 journey from Istanbul to Paris is immediately a suspect, and it’s up to world-famous detective Hercule Poirot to catch the culprit.The whodunit plays out on the Guthrie’s proscenium stage in a series of elegantly appointed adjoining train cars with a snow-covered forest out the windows (kudos to Rob Koharchik for the sets and Miko Simmons for the projections). Playwright ...

Truck drivers, no more parking semis on St. Paul streets

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:50:53 GMT

Truck drivers who park their semis on St. Paul streets overnight have until Jan. 1 to come up with alternate arrangements.The St. Paul City Council voted 7-0 on Wednesday to restrict parking for overweight and commercial vehicles citywide when they’re not in active use. Council members Nelsie Yang and Jane Prince said the ordinance delays enforcement until 2024, giving the city and trucking community seven months to look for parking locations that might be suitable alternatives, such as renting private commercial lots that are empty overnight.During a recent roundtable with the trucking community, truckers said they were open to paying for overnight parking, provided it was priced affordably, Yang said.“Our streets just aren’t built for semitrailers, but at the same time, these are workers,” said Yang, who is calling for the state Legislature to invest in a truck parking facility for the Twin Cities. “We need cities to be working together to find soluti...

Michelle Goldberg: Texas is torturing women whose pregnancies fail

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:50:53 GMT

It’s increasingly clear that it’s not safe to be pregnant in states with total abortion bans. Since the end of Roe v. Wade, there have been a barrage of gutting stories about women in prohibition states denied care for miscarriages or forced to continue nonviable pregnancies. Though some in the anti-abortion movement publicly justify this sort of treatment, others have responded with a combination of denial, deflection and conspiracy theorizing.Some activists have blamed the pro-choice movement for spooking doctors into not intervening when pregnancies go horribly wrong. “Abortion advocates are spreading the dangerous lie that lifesaving care is not or may not be permitted in these states, leading to provider confusion and poor outcomes for women,” said a report by the anti-abortion Charlotte Lozier Institute.Others have suggested that doctors are deliberately refusing miscarriage treatment, apparently to make anti-abortion laws look bad. “What we’re seeing, I fear, is doctors with ...

VIA Aquarium's Memorial Day weekend plans

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:50:53 GMT

ROTTERDAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) -At VIA Aquarium, reptiles are going to be the main focus for Memorial Day weekend. Starting off the weekend is Turtle Touch Tank Day on Saturday.This is the first-time marketing manager Hunter Werner says the aquarium is giving visitors a chance to get close with the turtles. “Quite literally, you are going to be able to touch [two] different turtles [and one tortoise]. Sunshine, we got Squirtle and Shelly," said Werner. Off the Beaten Path: Feeding Stingrays In addition to the turtles, there is a similar exhibit with stingrays. In the past, they had jellyfish that could be touched by visitors. VIA Aquarium’s education department uses events like these as a chance to teach visitors about the animals.“These guys will be out with our educator Abby. You’ll be able to touch each one, learn a little bit about them, and we will even have our tortoise named Sunshine out so that you can learn a little bit about the differences between turtles and tortoises," expl...

Remembering Tina Turner: The iconic singer’s St. Louis roots

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:50:53 GMT

ST. LOUIS - In the 6300 block of Delmar Boulevard, St. Louisans have been stopping by and noticing the star of Tina Turner, paying tribute, and leaving flowers.Born Anna Mae Bullock, she came to this river city and made an impact on St. Louis and the world.The singer, dancer, and entertainment icon began her career in the city. She received her star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 1991.On Wednesday, the Saint Louis Public Schools District remembered Turner by saying the following:“All of us at Saint Louis Public Schools are remembering the legendary musician and Sumner High School alumna, Tina Turner. She was known as Ann Bullock when she graduated from Sumner back in 1958. Her full name was Anna Mae. The heights she reached as a musician and songwriter go beyond simple fame. She is a legend and an icon. It brings pride to all of us at SLPS who get to claim her as "one of ours." While most of us never had the opportunity to meet her, we all feel as if we know her a little bit. Her ...

State Board of Education discuss implementing social, emotional learning in Missouri classrooms 

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:50:53 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- The state's top educators want to implement social and emotion learning standards for all of Missouri's students. For the past few months, a group of teachers, school counselors and mental health experts have been researching what would help improve student behavior in the classroom. The reason behind this study is to help with teacher recruitment and retention and create a better outcome for the workforce. "Having these standards gives teachers permission to pay attention to student behavior," Associate Dean for Research for the Mizzou College of Education and Human Development Christi Bergin said. Edwardsville High School asst. principal accused of sex with teen It's a plan to help the current climate of education in the state. Back in December, the Board of Education asked the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to form a working group to create social and emotional learning (SEL) standards starting in kindergarten through 12th grade."It...

New sites of a sensory trail in St. Peters hopes to accommodate those with disabilities

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:50:53 GMT

ST PETERS, Mo. – The City Centre Park is a historical place, with literal roots dating back nearly 200 years. The city is making history with a new addition.Construction is underway on a sensory trail behind Ollie’s Fun Forest. The thought of the opportunities this new trail will create is already touching the hearts of locals.Adding to the energetic area where Ollie’s Fun Forest was built around a year ago, another new element is contributing to the park’s growth. The sensory trail will amplify the experiences to tap into your sense, only this time, the city wants to bring you inside the city’s old-growth forest. The first-of-its-kind, it will feature ADA amenities for children who may have never had the experience to hike in a forest. Edwardsville High School asst. principal accused of sex with teen Jon Sweeney, the park’s horticulture foreman, said the community’s input has been key in advancing the project.“One of the important things of the project is trying to get community ...

Airbnb plans to crack down on parties in Missouri

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:50:53 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Airbnb announced an 'anti-party crackdown' plan in Missouri for the upcoming Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends.“It impacts primarily one- and two-night reservations. So if someone is booking a 30-day stay that is less likely to be impacted by someone," said Ben Briet, a spokesperson for Airbnb. "But honing into those who do not have that long history of a platform."The plan comes after concerns over short-term rental parties in the St. Louis area and other parts of the state.“Cracking down on disruptive parties is a thing that is very important to us as a platform," Briet said. "Certainly, a host of one don’t want parties carrying in their listings, and neighbors don't want that either." Edwardsville High School asst. principal accused of sex with teen St. Louis Alderwoman Cara Spencer, whose 8th ward includes part of downtown, said city leaders have addressed concerns surrounding Airbnbs and other short-term rentals.“When Airbnb is talking about regulating them...