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Supermajorities in state capitols push controversial policies to the edge

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lawmakers in state capitols this year have been flexing their superpowers.In North Carolina, a new supermajority of Republicans enacted abortion restrictions. In Vermont, a new supermajority of Democrats imposed a climate-sensitive home heating law. And in Montana, a GOP supermajority booted a transgender lawmaker from the House floor. In each case, the views of their political opponents ultimately were irrelevant.By at least one measure, political power is at its highest mark in decades. That’s because Republicans or Democrats hold majorities so large in 28 states that they could override gubernatorial vetoes without any help from the minority party. “Supermajorities give one party a lot of power to do what they want to do,” said Steven Rogers, a political scientist at Saint Louis University who focuses on elections and state legislatures. There is no single standard for a supermajority, though the term generally is equated with whatever threshold i...

Biden returns to Philadelphia to rally with union workers in first big event of his 2024 campaign

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will tout his pro-labor bona fides on Saturday at his first major political rally since he formalized his reelection campaign, appearing alongside union members to make his case that his economic agenda is boosting the middle class. His campaign says Biden, who will appear at the Philadelphia Convention Center, will “lay out the core principles of his economic message” in his remarks. Biden also plans to talk about how a sweeping climate, tax and health care package he signed into law last year has cut the cost of prescription drugs and lowered insurance premiums, as his administration focuses on his achievements his first two years the centerpiece argument for his reelection. Ahead of the event, several of the nation’s most powerful unions — including the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — officially endorsed Biden’s campaign. The first-of-its-kind jo...

A beginner’s guide to Juneteenth: How can all Americans celebrate?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

For more than one-and-a-half centuries, the Juneteenth holiday has been sacred to many Black communities. It marks the day in 1865 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas found out they had been freed — after the end of the Civil war, and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America. Many people get the day off work or school, and there are a plethora of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events. People who never gave the holiday on June 19 more than a passing thought may be asking themselves, is there a “right” way to celebrate Juneteenth? For beginners and those brushing up history, here are some answers:IS JUNETEENTH A SOLEMN DAY OF REMEMBRANCE OR MORE OF A PARTY?It just depends on what you want. Juneteenth festivities are rooted in cookouts and barbecues. In the beginnings of the holiday celebrated as Black Americans’ true...

Vegas Golden Knights championship parade expected to rival New Year’s Eve on Strip, planners say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tens of thousands of Vegas Golden Knights fans, maybe more, are expected at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip on Saturday for a Stanley Cup victory parade and a rally to mark the team’s first-ever NHL championship.Las Vegas police prepared Friday for upwards of 100,000 people to cram viewing areas along Las Vegas Boulevard for a celebration that planners were comparing to annual New Year’s Eve fireworks shows that in past years have drawn estimates of 400,000 people. Unlike a winter midnight, evening temperatures are expected to be in the 90s.The Strip will be closed for the motorcade, which is set to begin at 7 p.m. near Flamingo Road and proceed about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) to Tropicana Avenue before a fan rally at Toshiba Plaza and the Park District in front of T-Mobile Arena.The team played its first game at the arena as an expansion franchise in October 2017 — just days after a gunman unleashed the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 58 in o...

UN steps up criticism of IMF and World Bank, the other pillars of the post-World War II global order

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — From the ashes of World War II, three institutions were created as linchpins of a new global order. Now, in an unusual move, the top official in one — the secretary-general of the United Nations — is pressing for major changes in the other two.Antonio Guterres says the International Monetary Fund has benefited rich countries instead of poor ones. And he describes the IMF and World Bank ’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as a “glaring failure” that left dozens of countries deeply indebted.Guterres’ criticism, in a recent paper, isn’t the first time he’s called for overhauling global financial institutions. But it is his most in-depth analysis of their problems, cast in light of their response to the pandemic, which he called a “stress test” for the organizations.His comments were issued ahead of meetings called by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday and Friday to address reforms of the multilateral development banks and other issues.Neither t...

Collier leads Lynx past Los Angeles again

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

Napheesa Collier scored 25 points and grabbed six rebounds, and the Lynx beat the host Los Angeles Sparks 77-72 Friday for their third win in four games.Kayla McBride added 16 points and five rebounds for shorthanded Minnesota. Jessica Shepard, the team leader with 9.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, was out with an illness.McBride’s last two points were a pair of free throws for a five-point lead with 18.2 seconds remaining.Collier, who has scored at least 22 points in four of five games, was 9 of 13 from the field. She gave the Lynx a 74-70 lead with 1:06 left by driving the lane, getting fouled and sinking the free throw.Minnesota (3-7) finished 17 of 25 from the free-throw line. It was 24 of 25 last Sunday when it used a late 17-0 run for a 91-86 win over the Sparks at Target Center. The teams play again Tuesday in Los Angeles.Nikolina Milić added 10 first-half points off the bench before getting into foul trouble.Jordin Canada led Los Angeles (5-5) with 22 points.Brutal in t...

Rickie Fowler’s wild ride gives him a 1-shot lead in the US Open

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

By DOUG FERGUSON (AP Golf Writer)LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rickie Fowler finished off a round that was entertaining even by Hollywood standards, and then walked off the 18th green Friday in the U.S. Open with the lead, and with the calm of someone who has been in this position before.Just not recently. “It’s been a while since I’ve felt this good in a tournament, let alone a major,” said Fowler, winless since February 2019 in the Phoenix Open. “It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m definitely looking forward to it.”And there was nothing calm about his day at Los Angeles Country Club. Fowler made only four pars in his round of 2-under 68. He has 18 birdies through 36 holes, an astounding rate for a U.S. Open, and he needed them all for his first 36-hole lead in a major.Along the way, he tied the 36-hole scoring record at the U.S. Open.Los Angeles Country Club tried to fight back after a record opening day of low scores, and help arrived ...

Applications for L.A. County's guaranteed income program open to foster youth

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

Applications will soon open for a guaranteed income program for foster youth in Los Angeles County.The program, called “Breathe,” will provide 200 eligible residents with $1,000 a month for three years. Selected recipients will receive their monthly payments through debit cards. No bank account is required to participate.To be eligible, applicants must be: - Between 21 years old and under 24 (won’t turn 24 until September 1, 2023, or later) when applying- Be a former LA County DCFS Foster Youth who was in care on or after their 18th birthday (aka "aged out")- Live in a Los Angeles County neighborhood that falls at or below 100% of the County’s Area Median Household Income (AMI)- Have a household income that falls at or below 100% AMI for a single-person household or 120% AMI for a household of two or more persons- Have been negatively financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic- Not be currently enrolled in another Guaranteed Income project offered by the County, a city,...

Oakland A’s update: The 2024 question gets answered, Pache returns and the losing streak grows

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

OAKLAND — Let there be no ambiguity: Even after this week’s events in Nevada, the Oakland A’s will still play the 2024 season at the Coliseum.But what happens after next year remains unknown.The A’s will play at the 55-year-old facility for at least another full season, a team spokesman confirmed Friday evening. The MLB team, which is looking to construct a new 30,000-season ballpark along the Las Vegas Strip in the coming years, signed a 10-year extension with the City of Oakland in 2014.On Thursday, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed into law a $380 million public financing package to help build a retractable roof stadium, estimated to cost a total of $1.5 billion, for the A’s on the property of the current Tropicana Hotel & Casino.The A’s and owner John Fisher must now file a relocation plan to MLB, explaining in detail why moving the franchise from Oakland to Clark County is necessary. That will begin a months-long approval process which will...

A's situation similar to when Giants almost left SF, ex-MLB team president says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:42 GMT

(KRON) -- Despite Nevada lawmakers approving public funding for a ballpark this week, Oakland A's fans don't lose hope. Former Miami Marlins President David Samson says A's fans shouldn't lose hope on their team leaving Oakland for Las Vegas. "I don't want anyone to give up hope. I think it's not an absolute that the A's are going to Vegas," Samson told KRON4 on Friday.Perhaps Samson's optimism is rooted in what happened three decades ago with the San Francisco Giants. Who remembers when the Orange and Black almost left the Bay Area entirely? Manfred comments on A’s reverse boycott, move to Vegas; Oakland mayor responds A similar situation happened with Giants, who almost moved to Florida, but this happenedSamson compared the situation of the Giants, who at the time were about to move to Tampa Bay, to the A's current situation."I remind you of a team in your area. The San Francisco Giants were a minute and a half before moving to Tampa Bay, before there was expansion in Tampa Bay,...