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Dozens of activists head to the capitol to protest 'anti-DEI' legislation 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Dozens of activists went to the Texas Capitol Tuesday to protest several bills they posit are anti-DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – saying these bills set back progress African Americans have made in recent decades. “Make no mistake, these bills are anti-Black and anti-Latino. We’re talking about everything from the continuation of suppressing voting rights to eliminating programs in Texas colleges and universities that help recruit, retain and support African American students as well as other students of color,” said Gary Bledsoe, President of the Texas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Two bills the activists called out were HB 5140, filed by House Rep. Briscoe Cain, and HB 3164, filed by House Rep. Carl Tepper. If HB 5140 passes it will prohibit recruiters filling roles for government employment or contracting from considering race and ethnicity when hiring. It would also prohibit universities...

Mike Hastings cherishes ‘special opportunity’ at Wisconsin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:16 GMT

MADISON, Wis. — It was a bit of an unconventional introduction to those who wish him nothing but success, but when new Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey coach Mike Hastings met the fans and his future players on the ice at the Kohl Center, he grinned and admitted his ties to a kind of hockey underworld.Interviewed by Badgers radio voice Brian Posick after his formal introduction, to the strains of the Badger band playing “On Wisconsin,” Hastings admitted that his three greatest coaching mentors — Don Lucia, Bob Motzko and Dean Blais — are all current or former coaches or players for the Minnesota Gophers, and are collectively playfully known as the “Minnesota Mafia.”“They’ve always been there, and when I’ve needed them, they’ve answered the phone, which I’ve had to do often,” Hastings said. “I’m thankful to have the relationships I’ve had with those guys, because they’ve put me in a good spot.”Posick was quick to remind Hastings that, as the Badgers coach, one of the ...

Obituary: Vera Tanasichuk, church founder and benefactor, never took no for an answer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:16 GMT

After her mother had a stroke and had to be carried up 67 steps to church, Vera Tanasichuk came up with a plan.Vera Tanasichuk (Courtesy of Kristina Tanasichuk)Tanasichuk would purchase a 4.75-acre parcel of land on Highway 96 in Arden Hills and donate $1 million to replace Sts. Volodymyr and Olga Ukrainian Orthodox Church on Holly Avenue in St. Paul. The new St. Katherine’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church, a handicapped-accessible building that could meet her mother’s needs, opened in 1995.“My mother taught me, ‘You just don’t take no for an answer when you have to do something in life,’” Tanasichuk told the Pioneer Press in a 1995 interview.Tanasichuk died of natural causes on Wednesday at her house in St. Paul. She was 82.Family fled UkraineTanasichuk was 8 when she and her family immigrated to the United States. Her parents, Andrij and Katherine Zaslavetz, were forced to flee Ukraine after Russian soldiers shot and burned Andrij Zaslavetz’s three brothers and their f...

Gophers men’s hockey: Beautiful contradictions fuel Matthew Knies’ drive for national title, and the Hobey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:16 GMT

It was a tense time in Fargo with the Minnesota Gophers and St. Cloud State Huskies trying to end each other’s season. Minnesota led 1-0 in the first period, and while the deeper Gophers had dominated the early stretches of the game, Huskies goalie Jaxon Castor had kept it close. An officiating crew from Hockey East had sent Gophers to the penalty box with regularity, and the Huskies had used that man advantage to tilt the momentum in their favor.Then Matthew Knies, the Gophers’ sophomore left winger who has become known for his amazing on-ice feats, made a play that was within inches of being etched in Gophers’ lore. Killing a penalty, he took the puck to the corner to the right of Castor with three Huskies converging on him. From that unfair 3-on-1 trap, like Jack Reacher emerging from a street fight, Knies left all three black-jerseyed opponents — Cooper Wylie, Adam Ingram and Veeti Miettinen — grasping at air, and pulled the puck out of the fracas. With Aaron Huglen ...

A look at Juan Merchan, the Manhattan jurist overseeing Trump’s business records case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:16 GMT

Tim Balk | New York Daily NewsEx-president Donald Trump’s hush money case is being overseen by a veteran Manhattan Supreme Court jurist who also heard the Trump Organization tax fraud trial that in January ended in a jail term for Trump confidant and aide Allen Weisselberg.Justice Juan Merchan, a 60-year-old former prosecutor who was born in Colombia and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, carries a reputation as a thorough and even-handed judge, and has spent more than a decade on the bench in New York.He attended Baruch College and Hofstra University School of Law and worked as an assistant attorney in the Manhattan district attorney’s office in the 1990s. From 2006 to 2009, he worked as a family court judge. He has served as an acting justice of the state Supreme Court since 2009.Brendan Tracy, a criminal defense lawyer who has appeared before Merchan as a prosecutor, said the judge is well-suited for a high-wattage case like the one against Trump.“He truly strikes me as probably ...

Swatting closes more New York schools

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:16 GMT

CAMBRIDGE, N.Y.(NEWS10) - Washington County law enforcement and school officials had a safety meeting to discuss the county wide threat to schools.Cambridge school district is one of the closed districts. Tuesday, following threats emailed to the superintendent shortly after midnight causing concern for parents and school kids. Hudson Falls gets its first K-9 police unit What would normally be a playground full of children, it was empty following an early morning alert to parents warning them of the potential threat.“I was like oh my gosh. Are you kidding me? I was like is this serious and then I got the initial phone call that it was actually legit,” said parent Tracy Currie.“Just hug your kids be close to your kids. Talk to about it as much as you can. fill them in don’t keep them in the dark,” said another parent, Jonathon Farrell.Cambridge School District Superintendent, Dr. Doug Silvernell, expressed his frustrations over the disturbance. Former President Trump pleads not g...

What does the dip in job openings mean for the economy?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Labor statistics show that the job market shrunk to its lowest levels since May 2021, however, the White House said that the economy is on the right path. "Yet another good indication the economy is recovering from this pandemic economy," White House Economist Heather Boushey said.Boushey said for the first time in nearly two years that the number of job openings across the United States dipped below 10 million. This in turn could cool inflation-fueled but competitive wages."There's a better alignment between the demand for workers and workers available," Boushey said. Even with fewer available jobs, labor statistics show that employers are still hiring and that could be another positive sign that the economy can make a smooth landing. But some outside economists are less optimistic. Stephen Juneau with Bank of America said that the U.S. is a long way away from a balanced labor market, "We still have some room to go," he said. "We're still of the view that you...

Bills stadium deal signed, heading to Legislature final approval

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:16 GMT

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — We're now just one legal hurdle away from the start of construction on the new Bills stadium in Orchard Park. The Buffalo Bills, Erie County and New York State have reached a final agreement for the Bills stadium deal, the three announced Tuesday."Today marks another significant step taken as we approach a groundbreaking ceremony later this spring," the three parties said in a joint statement. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The agreements, finalized Monday and announced Tuesday, include a construction coordination agreement, a stadium lease, an extension of the Bills' current lease to play at Highmark Stadium until the new stadium's construction is complete, and a community benefits agreement.This comes just over a year after they approved a moratorium of understanding that outlined the county and state's commitment to help pay for the new stadium in Orchard Park, which is set to open in 2026. Now, t...

Former WTEN photographer Marty Miller honored

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:16 GMT

EAST GREENBUSH, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The word "legend" is thrown around a lot these days, but when it comes to former NEWS10 photographer Marty Miller, it's a description that comes up over and over. Tuesday, Marty was honored for his life‘s work. One of his former colleagues, NEWS10’s Anya Tucker, spoke with him as he looked back on a life and career in the news biz. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! His personal collection of photos is like a time portal into the Capital Region’s past and its biggest stories. They are hardly fluff. Through his lens Marty Miller captured breaking news. Hard hitting and raw. “It was in my blood. It was more in my blood, than getting the money for it,” said Miller. Growing up in Albany, he snapped photos for his high school newspaper. His sister Linda Plue describes him as always having a camera in hand. “If he heard the fire sirens going off, I mean he hopped in the car and was right out there," ...

Parents charged in Illinois infant's death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:16 GMT

PINCKNEYVILLE, Ill. - Two parents from Pinckneyville, Illinois, have been arrested and charged in connection with the death of their infant son.On Tuesday, the Illinois State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Office charged Logan Hutchings and Sophia Kelly, both 21, with three counts of first-degree murder. On June 12, 2022, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services requested that state police investigate injuries to a 3-month-old child. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News SIGN UP NOW The infant had been taken to a St. Louis hospital and was found to have suffered a skull fracture and several rib fractures. The child had been in the care of his parents, Hutchings and Kelly, prior to admission at the hospital.The infant died on June 14 as a r...