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Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to hear lawsuit challenging voucher school program

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:25:43 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to hear a lawsuit brought by Democrats seeking to end the state’s taxpayer-funded private school voucher program. The lawsuit could be refiled in county circuit court, as both Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration and Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos had argued. The Supreme Court rejected it without comment in an unsigned, unanimous order.Democrats who brought the lawsuit asked the state Supreme Court to take the case directly, which would have resulted in a much faster final ruling than having the case start in lower courts.Brian Potts, attorney for those challenging the voucher programs, did not reply to a message seeking comment.Supporters of the voucher programs hailed the court’s rejection of the lawsuit.The lawsuit “was plagued with misleading, misinformed, and nonsensical legal arguments,” said Rick Esenberg, president of the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. That group r...

Aimed at safety, Atlantic City road narrowing accelerates fears of worse traffic in gambling resort

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:25:43 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Even with two lanes in each direction, the main road through Atlantic City can be choked with traffic, particularly on days when one or more big concerts are in town.Now, to access federal and state highway safety money to repair the decrepit condition of Atlantic Avenue, the city is acceding to the main demand of both governments by narrowing the roadway from four lanes to two, in the name of protecting pedestrians. Skeptics warn of even worse traffic jams to come in the gambling mecca. But the city dismisses their concerns about the changes, particularly in light of the free improvements it says it is getting.Atlantic Avenue spans the length of the resort, but it is not the road on which six of the city’s nine casinos front. They are located along Pacific Avenue, a block to the east, which is and will remain one lane in each direction.Mayor Marty Small called the combined $24 million in federal and state funding that will pay for newly paved roads ...

Lawsuit alleges ex-Harvard Medical School professor used own sperm to secretly impregnate patient

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:25:43 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A former professor at Harvard Medical School and founder of one of the nation’s largest fertility clinics is being accused of secretly impregnating a patient in 1980 after promising the sperm would come from an anonymous donor, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.Sarah Depoian, 73, said she and her husband first went to Dr. Merle Berger, now-retired professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology, in 1979 to discuss an intrauterine insemination. Depoian said Berger told her the sperm would come from an anonymous donor “who resembled her husband, who did not know her, and whom she did not know,” according to the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.The artificial insemination that Berger performed resulted in a successful pregnancy, and Depoian’s daughter, Carolyn Bester, was born in January 1981. Earlier this year, Bester conducted a home DNA test and discovered Berger was her biological father, according t...

New report highlighting impact of social isolation on aging Canadian population

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:25:43 GMT

A new report is highlighting the risk of social isolation and the impact loneliness has on the aging population in Canada.The study finds that as many as 41 per cent of Canadians aged 50 years and older are at risk of social isolation and up to 58 per cent have experienced loneliness before.One of the author’s of the report, Dr. Samir Sinha said these findings were concerning as loneliness itself has been considered the equivalent of smoking upwards of 15 cigarettes a day.“So when you start realizing that it’s so prevalent amongst the majority of older Canadians and that there are significant health consequences that can occur as a result, it is an opportunity to kind of of raise awareness of how common this actually is, break down the stigma so that we can better address it as well,” said Dr. Sinha.There are multiple factors that lead to this isolation, Dr. Sinha explained including such as a major life change, or outliving friends and family members.“We als...

Toronto police warn of fraud scheme targeting Chinese community

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:25:43 GMT

Toronto police have issued a public service announcement warning of an ongoing fraud scheme primarily targeting the Chinese community. In most cases, police said the complainant will receive an unsolicited phone call from a Mandarin-speaking person. The caller often identifies as a telephone operator with a major cellular company.Authorities said the caller informs the victim that a cell phone account was opened in China under the complainant’s name and is being used to commit fraud. The victim is then transferred to someone posing as a police officer in China. The fake officer advises the complainant they are being investigated for fraud and then threatens them with extradition unless funds are provided.In another possible case, the “police officer” requests funds be sent for the complainant’s name to be cleared in China. Red flags to watch out forA police spokesperson said the Toronto Police Service Financial Crimes Unit wants the public to be aware of this...

Man allegedly involved in shootout that left him, 2 Philadelphia cops wounded now facing charges

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:25:43 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man who authorities say engaged in a shootout with Philadelphia police that left him and two officers wounded is now facing numerous charges including two counts of attempted murder, prosecutors announced Wednesday.Dioul Devaughn, 40, also faces four counts each of aggravated assault and assault on a law enforcement officer stemming from the shootout. He remained hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday, and prosecutors did not know if he has retained an attorney.The shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. Sunday after officers responded to reports of gunfire and saw a pickup truck that was occupied by a man believed to have been involved. The man initially stopped the truck after an officer activated his emergency lights, but he then drove off as the officer approached the vehicle on foot.Officers soon spotted the truck again, and the pursuit ended when the driver rammed a police car. He then got out and started shooting at police, prosecutors said.Four city of...

Tesla recall will affect roughly 193,000 cars in Canada

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:25:43 GMT

Tesla’s recall over its autopilot function will affect about 193,000 vehicles in Canada.Transport Canada says Tesla will provide an over-the-air software update to fix the advanced driver assistance features.Transport Canada says the recall will be added to its database of vehicles with safety recalls.Tesla has recalled more than two million cars across its model lineup, which were produced between Oct. 5, 2012 and Dec. 7 of this year, after a lengthy investigation by the U.S. National Highway Safety Administration.U.S. safety regulators had investigated a series of crashes involving Tesla’s autopilot feature, some of which were fatal.Documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators say the company will send out a software update to fix the problems.Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.In May, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department includes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said Tesla shouldn’t be calling ...

Virginia county approves data center project after 27-hour public hearing

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:25:43 GMT

County supervisors in northern Virginia approved one of the world’s largest data center projects after a public hearing that ran through the night and lasted more than 24 hours.The Prince William County Board of Supervisors voted 4-3, with one abstention, in favor of the Digital Gateway project, which would bring as many as 37 data centers over about 2,000 acres (809 hectares) in the western part of the county, not far from Manassas National Battlefield.The final vote came Wednesday afternoon, 27 hours after the public hearing first began Tuesday morning.The project drew significant community opposition from residents concerned about the environmental impact of the project, including noise, the need for electricity and high-voltage transmission lines, and the possibility that it would damage views of the battlefield.The project also had supporters who touted the benefit to the county’s tax base. Developers of the project sought to allay concerns with promises to build co...

Noah Gragson to get 2nd chance in NASCAR after personal growth journey following suspension

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:25:43 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Noah Gragson has spent the last five months working on personal growth and maturity after his “like” of an insensitive meme of George Floyd nearly cost him his NASCAR career.He’ll get a chance to show if he’s truly evolved with Stewart-Haas Racing, which said Wednesday it has hired Gragson to drive the No. 10 Ford in the Cup Series. It’s a second chance Gragson is not taking lightly after his career imploded in August.Social media users noted that a meme circulating of Floyd, a Black man who was killed in 2020 by white police officers, had been “liked” by Gragson. NASCAR suspended the 25-year-old and he parted ways with Legacy Motor Club, which had hired the Las Vegas native for his first full season racing in the top Cup level.Gragson, who had built a reputation as an aggressive driver both on and off the track in the second-tier Xfinity Series, reached out to good friend Brandon McReynolds and wondered why everything was falling apart in hi...

Glenview man arrested, charged with 3 felony counts of manufacturing child pornography

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:25:43 GMT

GLENVIEW, Ill. — A Glenview man has been arrested and charged with three felony counts of manufacturing child pornography.According to the Glenview Police Department, Bruce Claver, 58, of Knollwood Lane was arrested and charged Tuesday. He was taken to the Skokie Courthouse on Wednesday for a detention hearing.The charges are Class X felonies, which carry mandatory prison sentencing, for a victim under 13 years of age.Police say an investigation was started on Dec. 1 after agents with the U.S. Secret Service identified that Claver was posting child pornography content online. Glenview Police detectives conducted the investigation with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the Cook County Sheriff’s Police and and the County State’sAttorney’s Office.There is no further information available at this time. If anyone has information regarding this incident, please contact the Glenview Police Tip Line at 847-901-6055.Claver, however, was...