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'Y'all means all!' Advocates, celebrities rally for LGBTQ rights at Texas Capitol

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Chants of "y'all means all" came from the hundreds of people who gathered Monday afternoon outside the Texas Capitol for a rally to show support for the state's LGBTQ community and decry the dozens of proposed restrictions now under consideration. The event, held on the south steps of the statehouse, served as the kickoff for the "All in for Equality Advocacy Day." Organizers included Equality Texas, the Transgender Education Network of Texas, the Texas Freedom Network, the ACLU of Texas, Lambda Legal and the Human Rights Campaign. LGBTQ+ advocates rally against Texas bills affecting trans people "LGBTQ people have been cyclically, intentionally and cowardly used as political pawns throughout history over and over and over — no more," Ricardo Martinez, the CEO of Equality Texas, told the crowd Monday. "That stops in Texas."The rally kicked off Monday with a lip-synced performance from Cynthia Lee Fontaine, an Austin-based drag entertainer who competed on "RuPaul's...

Austin records coldest spring equinox in 40 years on Monday

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The chilly air that settled into Central Texas to wrap up spring break stayed with us for the first day of spring.Looking back at data for Austin's Camp Mabry — a dataset that stretches back to 1898 — this was the fifth-coldest spring equinox ever.The spring equinox doesn't always fall on the same day each year. While most of the time it's on March 20, it can also fall on March 19 or March 21.To figure out the coldest spring equinoxes ever, we had to look at the high temperature data for March 19-21 and cross check those days with the dates of the spring equinox.The coldest first day of spring had a high of 48º back in 1965 and 1970. Those were the only times spring has been in the 40s in Austin.Camp Mabry recorded a high of 57º this year, which ranked as the fifth-coldest equinox in recorded history. This also made Monday the coldest spring equinox since 1983 when we had a high of 54º.Recent spring equinoxesIn the five spring equinoxes prior to Monday, we've experi...

Texas Senate passes measure to deny bail for violent or sexual offenses

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:00 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Senate passed a constitutional amendment 30-1 Monday that would deny bail for those facing violent or sexual charges, as part of Republicans' larger push around bail reform after campaigning on promises of "tough-on-crime' policies.If eventually approved by voters, SJR 44 would authorize judges to deny bail "under some circumstances" to a person accused of a "violent or sexual offense or of continuous trafficking of persons." The resolution's author, Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said during a March 7 committee hearing on her legislation that it would give local officials needed tools for making bail determinations."Texas lacks viable options for detaining our most habitual, violent felony offenders without bond," she said. "This bill has been delayed now for a couple of years. And I think it has cost lives to be honest."Currently, the Texas Constitution has little exceptions for cases in which judges can deny bail outright.The legislation has garnered b...

St. Paul man charged with firing at Speedway security guard, who shot back

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:00 GMT

A security guard shot a 41-year-old man who fired at him outside a St. Paul gas station, according to charges filed Monday.Samit Mao (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)Samit Mao, of St. Paul, tried to buy cigarettes and juice with a “Speedy Rewards Card” at the Speedway at Johnson Parkway and East Seventh Street Friday night. An employee reported he was mumbling to himself, the criminal complaint said.According to the complaint:Mao lifted his shirt and showed the handle of a gun in his pants pocket and punched a glass window in front of the register. The store’s security guard told Mao he needed to leave and followed him out.Mao lifted his shirt again and the 26-year-old guard reported he could see Mao’s gun. The guard pulled a gun, for which he has a permit, pointed it at Mao and told him to show his hands. Mao said, “You don’t know who you’re messing with” and fired two to three rounds toward the guard. The guard fired four to...

Minnesota House acts on protections from out-of-state abortion restrictions

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:00 GMT

The Minnesota House on Monday, March 20, approved the “Reproductive Freedom Defense Act,” a bill that would protect those who get abortions in the state from legal action from other states where the procedure is illegal.Following the end of federal abortion protections last summer when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, many Republican-controlled states moved to place new restrictions on abortion. Some states, including Iowa, are considering legislation inspired by the Texas six-week abortion ban that allows private individuals to sue people who seek abortions.At a news conference ahead of the House vote, Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers backing the bill said the state needs to act before challenges to abortions in Minnesota from other states become a reality.“As Minnesotans, we cannot stand idly by,” said House sponsor Rep. Esther Agbaje, DFL-Minneapolis. “There is a chilling effect on providers about the type of health care they can provide and whether they will be pr...

New coach Dawn Plitzuweit wants Gophers women’s basketball to ‘find a way’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:00 GMT

New Gophers women’s basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit was poised with two buzzwords and one catchphrase for the three tenets of how she wants her teams to play at Minnesota.Over a nearly three-decade coaching career, Plitzuweit has cultivated an ethos for her program, and she shared it at her introductory news conference Monday. She wants toughness, togetherness and — while it doesn’t roll off the tongue like the first two — a mentality to “find a way.”Plitzuweit grew up on a farm in West Bend, Wis. Her parents also worked off the homestead, sometimes leaving her and siblings to do the work, including bailing hay or tending to animals, instead of hanging out with their friends.“Sometimes it wasn’t convenient, lot of times it certainly wasn’t, but you had to find a way to get it done,” Plitzuweit said. “A lot of times things would break down and you had to get (the hay) in before the rain would come. A lot of that is based upon how I’ve been raised.”Plitzuweit, pronounced PLITTS-zoo-w...

Candidates vie for DFL endorsements for seven seats on the St. Paul City Council

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:00 GMT

Suz Woehrle, an information technology representative for a bed manufacturer, arrived at the Capitol Hill Magnet School ready to talk up her passions, including the prospect of ditching Xcel Energy and promoting a municipal option for electricity distribution, in the same general vein as District Energy.The “Choose Suz for Ward 1!” campaign had company as three other St. Paul City Council candidates roamed the halls promoting their competing platforms to voters, classroom by classroom. The St. Paul Democratic-Farmer-Labor-Party held precinct caucuses throughout the city on Sunday, offering the party faithful their first peek at what could be a crowded November ballot.St. Paul council races are officially non-partisan and candidate filings don’t open until August. But the ranked-choice election means there will be no political primary to whittle down the field. For some, that makes earning the endorsement of the St. Paul DFL all the more critical to differentiate th...

Troy teen remains hospitalized after crash

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:00 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A 13-year-old boy is in grave condition at a local hospital after a car crash Sunday night, Troy police said.Police said the boy was riding a mini-bike around 8:30 p.m. when he was hit by a car in the area of Fourth and Madison Streets. His identity has not been released; however, he is a student in the Troy City School District. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The district is working to support other students in the aftermath of the crash. They released a statement, saying:"The entire Troy CSD community was devastated to learn of the horrific accident yesterday involving one of our students. He and his family are in our thoughts, and we join with the community in hoping for his full recovery.Our crisis teams are available for any student or staff who may need support at this time."The cause of the crash is under investigation.

SUNY Schenectady creates nursing pipeline program

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:00 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- SUNY Schenectady and Ellis Hospital have partnered on a new employment program. It offers opportunities for qualified graduates, who are interested in entering the healthcare field. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The program establishes a pipeline for students to further their education in nursing at the Belanger School and develops paths to employment at Ellis Hospital. Officials said similar programs can help alleviate the state's healthcare worker shortage.

Family makes public plea after missing woman’s car found abandoned  

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:00 GMT

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – An emotional plea from the father of a missing St. Charles woman, as the search for her intensifies.Jacquelyn “Jacque” Elizabeth Mitchell has been missing for nearly a week.“If anybody knows about Jacque and has her, would you please let her come home to her mother and father,” said James Mitchell, Jacque’s father. “This is hard. And we are looking, Jacque, we are really looking, and we are not going to stop.” Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News SIGN UP NOW There was a break in the case over the weekend, as Mitchell’s cousin found her Nissan Sentra abandoned at an apartment complex in Maryland Heights. Police responded but found no signs of where Mitchell could be.“I would say I don’t believe that she drove that vehicle there,” said S...