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20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:30 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — On the banks of the Tigris River one recent evening, young Iraqi men and women in jeans and sneakers danced with joyous abandon to a local rap star as a vermillion sun set behind them. It’s a world away from the terror that followed the U.S. invasion 20 years ago.Iraq ‘s capital today is throbbing with life and a sense of renewal, its residents enjoying a rare, peaceful interlude in a painful modern history. The wooden stalls of the city’s open-air book market are piled skyward with dusty paperbacks and crammed with shoppers of all ages and incomes. In a suburb once a hotbed of al-Qaida, affluent young men cruise their muscle cars, while a recreational cycling club hosts weekly biking trips to former war zones. A few glitzy buildings sparkle where bombs once fell.President George W. Bush called the U.S.-led invasion on March 20, 2003, a mission to free the Iraqi people and root out weapons of mass destruction. Saddam Hussein’s government was toppled in 26 ...

Kansas push for medical marijuana appears done for this year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:30 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators aren’t likely to legalize marijuana for medical uses this year following a vote Thursday.A Senate committee tabled a bill that would allow doctors to sign off on patients using marijuana products to treat 21 illnesses or conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, spinal cord injuries or chronic pain, starting in July 2024. Committee Chair Mike Thompson, a Shawnee Republican, said he has no plans to bring the bill back up this year.Thirty-seven states allow the medical use of marijuana, including Oklahoma and Arkansas. Of those, 21 also allow recreational use, including Colorado and Missouri. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly supports legalizing medical marijuana, but opposition from law enforcement officials bolstered the skepticism of Thompson and other conservative Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature. The Kansas House passed a medical marijuana bill in 2021, but the measure didn’t receive a committee vote in the Senate. Like this...

Government finds that Canadian Human Rights Commission discriminated against workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:30 GMT

OTTAWA — A central government agency has found discrimination against workers within a Canadian institution specifically designed to root it out.The Treasury Board Secretariat found last week that the Canadian Human Rights Commission, whose mandate is to protect the core principle of equal opportunity, discriminated against Black and racialized employees.A decision dated March 6, obtained by The Canadian Press, says the commission breached the “no discrimination” clause in its collective agreement with three major public service unions. “I encourage the parties to engage in mediation to seek a meaningful resolution to the issues outlined in this policy grievance,” Carole Bidal, an associate assistant deputy minister at the agency, said in her decision.“As federal institutions, we seek to create a workplace that is diverse and inclusive, and where every public servant can make the best possible contribution to serving Canadians.”The Association of ...

Microsoft adds AI tools to office apps like Outlook, Word

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft is infusing artificial intelligence tools into its suite of office software, including Word, Excel and Outlook emails. The company said Thursday the new feature, named Copilot, is a processing engine that will allow users to do things like summarize long emails, draft stories in Word and animate slides in PowerPoint. Microsoft 365 General Manager Colette Stallbaumer said the new features are currently only available for 20 enterprise customers. It will roll it out for more enterprise customers over the coming months.Microsoft is marketing the feature as a tool that will allow workers to be more productive by freeing up time they usually spend in their inbox, or allowing them to more easily analyze trends in Excel. The tech giant based in Redmond, Washington, will also add a chat function called Business Chat, which resembles the popular ChatGPT. It takes commands and carries out actions — like summarizing an email about a particular project to co-workers — ...

Are taxpayers on the hook for bank bailouts?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:30 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsNation) — While the White House says taxpayers will not be on the hook following two recent bank collapses, Republicans says these financial failures could impact every American with a bank account.Republicans at Capitol Hill on Thursday were warning that Americans won’t be immune to the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history.The bank failures are sparking a wave of uncertainty, and in some cases, anger. The Ohio Retired Teachers Association spoke out this week after the teachers’ retirement system lost tens of millions of dollars in the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. First Republic getting bailed out by large banks in $30B plan “Our position is we ought not be in hedge funds in private equity. We ought to have our money invested in safe indexes, instead,” said Dr. Robin Rayfield, an executive director of the Ohio Retired Teachers Association. “Our pension system pays people to gamble with our money and they always lose.”According to the Federal Deposit ...

AG: Illinois lottery employee accused of stealing, redeeming winning tickets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:30 GMT

CHICAGO (WGN-TV) — An Illinois lottery employee is accused of stealing and redeeming winning lottery tickets.According to the Illinois Attorney General's Office, 57 year-old Dean Derrick, of Springfield, is accused of stealing books of instant lottery tickets from retailers while working as a Lottery sales representative for the Illinois Lottery. Can I call the police if my neighbors are smoking weed? Derrick reportedly removed certain books, which he then took to separate retailers to redeem for prize money. His actions are believed to occur between March 23 and April 13, 2022.Derrick was charged Wednesday with four counts of theft of governmental property greater than $500 but less than $10,000, class 2 felonies punishable by three to seven years in prison; seven counts of official misconduct, class 3 felonies punishable by two to five years in prison; and three counts of wire fraud, class 3 felonies punishable by two to five years in prison.The Attorney General's Office alleges...

Severe thunderstorms moving through the area

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A late-evening cold front is plowing through the area bringing the risk of strong to severe thunderstorms with hail, wind damage or even an isolated tornado.A Tornado Watch is in effect for Williamson, Lee and Milam counties until 1 a.m.Along and ahead of the strong cold front, we expect a window of potentially strong to severe thunderstorms between now and 1 a.m. Storms are expected to move into the Austin area between 8 p.m. and midnight, then southeastern areas beginning between 12-1 a.m.Line of storms moves through late tonight into early Friday morningMost of Central Texas remains in at a level 2 out of 5 (slight) severe weather risk this evening through Friday morning. Isolated to scattered severe storms are possible with hail and wind damage the main concerns. We do not expect a widespread, damaging severe weather event.Updated severe weather risk (SPC)Rain totals generally add up to 1/4"-1/2", with lighter amounts in the Hill Country. Download our KXAN Weath...

March Madness: No. 2 Texas launches 3-point barrage to beat No. 15 Colgate in 1st round

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:30 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns beat the Colgate Raiders at their own game.The second-seeded Longhorns started the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament 8-for-10 from 3-point range and held off the pesky Patriot League champs 81-61 Thursday at Wells Fargo Arena. Longhorns’ Rodney Terry isn’t the typical interim head coach heading into March Madness The 15th-seeded Raiders came into the game as the country's best 3-point shooting team, hitting more than 40% of their long-range shots, but it was Texas who made it rain. The Longhorns finished the game 13-for-23 from 3-point range to run away with the win.Jabari Rice led Texas off the bench once again with 23 points, including a 7-for-10 performance from 3-point range. Marcus Carr and Dylan Disu each scored 17 points and Tyrese Hunter had 10 points. Disu also pulled down nine rebounds and Timmy Allen had five assists.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More...

Class 3A girls basketball state semifinals: Stewartville edges top-ranked Becker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:30 GMT

Stewartville knocked off the No.1-ranked team in the state, using an impressive second-half performance to edge Becker, 60-59.Ella Theobald and Savannah Hedin each scored 15 points, and Haylie Strum added 13 points, a team-high seven rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Tigers, who trailed by 11 at halftime.But Becker (26-4), which was looking to advance to its fifth straight state championship game, had difficulty after Stewartville switched to a zone defense — something the Tigers rarely do — for the second half.“We got some easy tipped balls out of it and cut (their deficit) in half,” Liffrig said. “I am just so proud of the kids for that.”Hannah Martinson’s 3-pointer pulled the Tigers (28-2) to within 50-47 to start a 10-run that Keeley Steele put an exclamation point with a long 3-pointer for a 55-50 lead with 3:46 left. The Tiger held off the Bulldogs with a driving basket by Hedin and free throw from Jayci Rath.The Tigers advanced to play No. 2 seed Benilde-St. Mar...

Rensselaer County holds State of the County meeting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:30 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Rensselaer County held its State of the County meeting Thursday night. County Executive Steve McLaughlin pointed out many of the achievements the county has enjoyed. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Among them, he claimed county taxes have been lowered by 27 percent over the past five years as well as updating facilities that haven't been touched in over five decades. He also announced an historic tax exemption for volunteer fire and ambulance companies.McLaughlin also announced that the county is leading the state in sales tax growth, clearing the $100 million mark for the first time since 2021.