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A raid on a Kansas newspaper likely broke the law, experts say. But which one?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A central Kansas police chief was not only on legally shaky ground when he ordered the raid of a weekly newspaper, experts said, but it may have been a criminal violation of civil rights, a former federal prosecutor added, saying: “I’d probably have the FBI starting to look.”Some legal experts believe the Aug. 11 raid on the Marion County Record’s offices and the home of its publisher violated a federal privacy law that protects journalists from having their newsrooms searched. Some believe it violated a Kansas law that makes it more difficult to force reporters and editors to disclose their sources or unpublished material.Part of the debate centers around Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody’s reasons for the raid. A warrant suggested that police were looking for evidence that the Record’s staff broke state laws against identity theft and computer crimes while verifying information about a local restaurant owner. But the police also seized the computer to...

One in life-threatening condition, 7 vehicles involved in Scarborough collision

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

A person is in life-threatening condition due to a crash involving seven vehicles on Highway 401 at Kennedy Road in Scarborough on Saturday morning.At approximately 6:54 a.m. Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) arrived on scene after a seven-vehicle crash including three tractor trailers on the highway express lanes.One person is in life-threatening condition.Westbound express lanes between Brimley Road and Kennedy Road are closed and the closure is expected to last until 1pm.Collision: #hwy401 WB Express at Kennedy Rd. 7 vehicles involved, including 3 tractor trailers. 1 person in life-threatening condition. Closure is expected to last until 1pm. #TorontoOPP pic.twitter.com/grBqtJa262— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) August 19, 2023

Crews fighting 150-acre fire in Caldwell County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

LOCKHART, Texas (KXAN) — Fire crews are fighting a brushfire in Lockhart that started Friday afternoon. WILDFIRE TRACKER: How many acres have burned in Central Texas this year? The Texas A&M Forest Service estimates the fire is 150 acres and 85% contained as of Friday night. It has been named the Barth Fire.Caldwell County Office of Emergency Management said crews will patrol the scene Friday night into Saturday. Parts of State Highway 130 and U.S. 183 were closed Friday. Lockhart Police said all lanes of SH 130 and U.S. 183 northbound are reopened. Only one lane U.S. 183 southbound is open. Barth Fire in Lockhart (KXAN photo)Barth Fire in Lockhart (KXAN photo)LPD said evacuated residents were allowed to return home. Officials urged drivers to find alternative routes and be mindful of emergency personnel in the area.

Minnesota’s labor force grows in July, even as job data change is minimal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

Minnesota’s labor force increased by more than 3,900 people in July, the fifth month in a row of growth, the state said Thursday, even as changes in employment from June to July were minimal.The state lost 400 jobs from June to July on a seasonally adjusted basis, with the state’s private sector down 300 jobs, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development said in a news release. Minnesota’s unemployment rate ticked up one-tenth of a point to 3% from June to July; nationally, the unemployment rate declined one-tenth of a point to 3.5%.The gains highlighted in the state’s labor force bumped the participation rate up one-tenth of a point to 68.5% compared with 62.6% nationally. The participation rate measures the portion of the working-age population who are working or actively seeking work, and it is used to calculate the headline unemployment rate.“Ongoing growth in our state’s labor force is a positive sign as many Minnesota employers continue looking for the...

Remembering Kait Anderson: a mother's mission to promote safety and support

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Tanya Musskopf is the mother of Kait Anderson. The goal is to promote fairness and safety for road workers, encouraging drivers to slow down and move over when passing work zones. Toy Drive and Bags Tournament that starts at 8 a.m. at Arnold City Park.Anderson was a pregnant woman working in an active but unprotected work zone. She and her unborn child were killed when a car sped through the area where she was working.Musskopf initiated a toy drive in honor of Anderson. She had a strong affinity for children and giving, and Musskopf wanted to continue this legacy. The toys collected are delivered to the St. Louis crisis nursery, aligning with Anderson's values.Musskopf started the "Kait's Love for Jax Foundation" in memory of Anderson. The foundation provides free grief counseling to parents who have lost a child. Grief support services include grief sacks for family members and pregnancy alert bracelets for expectant mothers.Musskopf emphasizes that doing goo...

Brace yourself for highs of 100°F and beyond

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- An Excessive Heat Warning will go into effect at noon tomorrow and last through 10 PM on Thursday (for now). Highs each day will be around 100°F with heat index values reaching around 110°F.Today will be one last decent day before the heat kicks in. Highs will be right where we should expect them for this time of year—in the upper 80s to near 90°F. It will be mostly clear, with overnight lows in the low 70s. On Sunday, temperatures will climb to around 100°F, and with dew points in the low 70s, it will feel like we are closer to 110°F. This trend will continue each day throughout the workweek. For now, there are no decent chances of rain.

Russell Wilson says Broncos want to be a “physical, running football team” in 2023. When will we know if they are?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

Sometimes a simple message hits home with surprising impact.It doesn’t even have to be new information, necessarily. Time and place and the deliverer can take something that’s obvious or old news and renew its sense of importance or urgency.Take Denver quarterback Russell Wilson this week.At the Broncos’ outdoor podium after a run-of-the-mill training camp practice, he delivered a mostly standard-for-him barrage of relentless positivity and sunshine about where he thinks his team is with a little less than a month before the season opener.And he also happened to slip in some insight that gets right to the crux of what head coach Sean Payton and the Broncos front office spent the entire offseason — and tens of millions of dollars — trying to build on the offensive side of the ball.“We’re feeling really confident in what we’re doing and the identity of what we want to be. Obviously being a physical, running football team, being a team that can also throw the ball around the field.”Fir...

Grading The Week: Broncos, Sean Payton officially living rent-free in New York Jets’ heads now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

Whatever you think of Sean Payton’s preseason, or the way he keeps shrugging off placekicker in a town where PKs are provincial legends, the Grading The Week gang gives the Broncos coach credit for this much:The man’s figured out a way to live rent-free in New York City.As in, living inside the heads of every last Jets player.Garrett Wilson’s bucket hat — B-minus.Look, can Week 5 just get here already?Ever since Payton fired a shot across the continent at Jets offensive coordinator/former Broncos coach/Aaron Rodgers plus-1 Nathaniel Hackett, he’s managed to bury himself inside the Big Apple narrative like an orange and blue pizza rat.And just when you think we’ve moved on, Garrett Wilson happens.Remember when Payton put out his ground rules for player sideline conduct once you’ve been pulled from a preseason game? The four commandments: No taking your uniform off, no wearing sunglasses, no bucket hats, no in-game interviews.So during the J-E-T-S’ 27-0 win at Carolina last Satu...

Mathews: Perhaps Cal, Stanford should create the California Conference

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

Dear Cal and Stanford,Why are you running away from California?Yes, the collapse of the Pac-12 conference — with eight schools departing for conferences with better TV contracts — leaves you two without a home for your sports teams.But your desperate appeals to join the Atlantic Coast Conference are pathetic — and a crime against geography.  And when that doesn’t work out (Atlantic schools don’t want to share TV sports revenues with West Coast interlopers), what’s next?Playing in the Arab League?Instead, why not take a breath — and a good look at your home state? Do that, and you’ll see that your best athletic futures are right here in California.You two could bring together universities from across the Golden State to form a new college sports powerhouse.The California Conference.It’s feasible. Football is the revenue machine behind college sports, and California now has 11 universities that play in the highest division. Two of these schools—USC and UCLA—have gone to the Big Ten. B...

Brooks: To be happy, marriage matters much more than career

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

When I’m around young adults I like to ask them how they are thinking about the big commitments in their lives: what career to go into, where to live, whom to marry. Most of them have thought a lot about their career plans. But my impression is that many have not thought a lot about how marriage will fit into their lives.The common operating assumption seems to be that professional life is at the core of life and that marriage would be something nice to add on top sometime down the road. According to an analysis of recent survey data by University of Virginia professor Brad Wilcox, 75% of adults ages 18 to 40 said that making a good living was crucial to fulfillment in life while only 32% thought that marriage was crucial to fulfillment. In a Pew Research Center survey, 88% of parents said it was “extremely or very” important for their kids to be financially independent, while only 21% said it was “extremely or very” important for their kids to marry.It’s not that I meet many people...