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Appeals court puts brakes on order that could end US health law’s preventative care mandate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:30 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court in New Orleans temporarily put on hold Monday a federal judge’s ruling striking down a part of the Affordable Care Act that requires most insurers to cover preventative care including vaccines and screenings for cancer, diabetes and HIV. Without comment, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an “administrative stay” of the March 30 ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of Texas.The Biden administration had asked for a stay as it appealed the March 30 decision. Administration lawyers said in court filings that O’Connor’s decision would affect preventive care for 150 million people. O’Connor, a nominee of former President George W. Bush, is the same judge who ruled more than four years ago that the entire health care law, a signature achievement of former President Barack Obama, was unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned that ruling.In his March ruling, O’Conner blocked only the r...

Georgia sheriff agrees to policy review to settle students’ race discrimination complaint

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:30 GMT

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia sheriff has agreed to review his department’s policies on bias-free policing and other practices to settle a race discrimination complaint filed by a historically Black college on behalf of students whose bus was pulled over and searched for drugs, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday. The April 2022 traffic stop by sheriff’s deputies in Liberty County caused outrage at Delaware State University, with campus President Tony Allen saying the women’s lacrosse team had been humiliated and intimidated by deputies searching their bus.University administrators filed a complaint with the Justice Department, saying the traffic stop along Interstate 95 south of Savannah had been racially motivated and had violated the students’ civil rights.The Justice Department said in a statement that the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office had agreed to examine its department’s traffic stop and search policies and “make necessary updates,” as wel...

Wyoming black bear hunter accused of killing protected grizzly near highway into Yellowstone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:30 GMT

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A Wyoming hunter faces up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine if convicted of killing a protected grizzly bear he allegedly claims he mistook for a legal-to-hunt black bear outside Yellowstone National Park.The male grizzly weighing about 530 pounds (240 kilograms) drew a lot of attention from drivers after its death May 1 near U.S. 14-16-20, the eastern approach into Yellowstone.Patrick M. Gogerty, of Cody, turned himself in early the next morning, Wyoming Game and Fish Department game warden Travis Crane wrote in an affidavit filed in Park County Circuit Court.By then, rumors about the dead bear were circulating far and wide.“Gogerty should have turned himself in immediately,” Crane wrote.Grizzlies in the Yellowstone region of southern Montana, eastern Idaho and northwestern Wyoming are a federally protected species. Killing one without a good reason, such as self defense, can bring tough penalties under state and federal law.Gogerty is charged under Wyoming...

Grizzlies’ Morant in limbo again, awaits review of latest gun video on social media

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:30 GMT

Ja Morant still had his endorsement deals Monday. While his latest gun video on social media is costing him plenty in public relations currency, he hasn’t lost any money.Any, or all, of that could change any day. Once again, Morant is in limbo — awaiting the outcome of yet another NBA investigation into what could end up becoming a cataclysmic off-court decision.“This is going to be a hot question,” Syracuse professor of sport management Rick Burton said Monday. “I don’t think they can hit pause on this. I think that there will be too much demand for, ‘What are you going to do?’”The NBA already suspended the two-time All-Star guard eight games in March for livestreaming himself holding an apparent handgun in Colorado. That cost him about $669,000 in salary. How Morant’s sponsors react to him being caught on social media apparently holding a weapon for the second time in less than three months is another issue. Morant has endorsement deals with Nike and the sports drink Powerad...

Colorado man tries to trade places with dog to avoid DUI arrest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:30 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Colo. (AP) — A driver, who was pulled over for speeding, tried to switch places with his dog to avoid arrest, police in Colorado said.An officer watched him maneuvering inside the car before he got out on the passenger side on Saturday night in Springfield, a town of about 1,300 people on the state’s Eastern Plains, police said in a Facebook post Sunday.The man said he was not behind the wheel and clearly showed signs of being drunk, police said. He ran from the officer when asked about how much he had had to drink and was caught within about 20 yards (18 meters), police said. After being taken to the hospital to be checked out, the man was arrested on suspicion of charges including driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and driving while ability impaired as well as for previous warrants for his arrest. The Associated Press

Nigerian chef cooks nonstop for 100 hours to set new global record

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:30 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian chef on Monday set a new global record for the longest hours nonstop cooking as she cooked for 100 hours, surpassing the current record.Hilda Baci had been cooking since last week Thursday when she set out to beat the Guinness World Record of 87 hours and 45 minutes set in 2019 by Lata Tondon, an Indian chef.At around 19:45 GMT on Monday, Baci cooked for the 100th hour in the Lekki area of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, to become a national sensation in the West African nation. Thousands who gathered at the scene jubilated and sang her praises as she stopped cooking a few minutes after.The Guinness World Records tweeted it was aware of the chef’s attempt to break the cooking record. “We need to review all the evidence first before officially confirming a record,” the global brand said.By attempting to beat the record, the Nigerian chef said Thursday she wanted to show how hardworking and determined Nigerian youths are and also as a campaign f...

Trump tells former adviser Michael Flynn: ‘We’re going to bring you back’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump called into an event hosted by his former national security adviser Michael Flynn over the weekend, telling his ex-adviser, “We’re going to bring you back.”After scrubbing a rally in Iowa on Saturday night because of bad weather, Trump spoke via telephone at an event for Flynn’s “ReAwaken America Tour” held at the former president’s Miami resort. The retired lieutenant general, a top figure in the far-right movement, has been one of the leading proponents of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.During the call, which was captured on a video of the event posted online, Flynn is seen holding a cellphone up to a microphone as Trump, on the line, says to Flynn, “You just have to stay healthy because we’re bringing you back. We’re going to bring you back.”It wasn’t clear from Trump’s remarks if he was specifically talking about bringing Flynn into his administration should he win the presidency in 2024 ...

Police in Alaska say bodies of 3 family members found weeks after their deaths

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:30 GMT

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Police found the bodies of three family members in a Fairbanks home when conducting a welfare check, officials said Monday.The bodies appeared to have been there weeks until their discovery Sunday evening after an apparent homicide-suicide. The deceased were identified as Linda and Wesley Dunbar, both 64, and their 36-year-old daughter, Nancy Dunbar, police spokesperson Teal Soden told The Associated Press. Autopsies will determine the causes of death, but police said the preliminary investigations indicates they were all shot. A suicide note was found at the scene, the statement said.Police believe they know which family member was responsible, but aren’t releasing that information at this time. The investigation is ongoing, Soden said.The welfare check was requested by someone who knew the family but hadn’t heard from them in a while, Soden said.“We have unfortunately, just like the rest of the nation, seen instances like this before where several pe...

Riot Fest makes 2 big announcements for 2023 event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:30 GMT

CHICAGO — Fans of one of the biggest music festivals of the year in Chicago got a pair of major announcements from the event's organizers on Monday. One is a tease of what's ahead the next day.Riot Fest announced that their lineup for the 2023 event will be released on Tuesday, May 16, at 10 a.m. central time for the event that will take place in Douglass Park from September 15-17. At the same time, they also announced that pre-sale tickets will go on sale on Monday night at 7 p.m. central time as well. Three-day passes for the event will start to be sold on Tuesday at 10 a.m. central time. See the day-by-day lineup for Lollapalooza 2023 The punk rock music festival was established in 2005 in Chicago, rotating through a number of indoor venues before going outdoors to Humboldt Park in 2012. Riot Fest remained for three years until it was moved to Douglass Park, where it has remained ever since.In 2022, the event was headlined by My Chemical Romance, the Original Misfits, and Nine...

MedWatch Daily Digest: Back to an old treatment for women with menopause — and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:05:30 GMT

For Monday, May 15, WGN’s Medical Reporter Dina Bair has the latest on new information, including the following: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch Long-term research reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests HRT should be a first-line treatment to improve the quality of life for suffering women. Why taking Vitamin D may offer some protection against long Covid.Synthetic hormones, meant to mimic testosterone, are used to increase muscle mass and boost athletic performance, but researchers say there is a high cost.