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Appeals court rules against longstanding drug user gun ban cited in Hunter Biden case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled against on longstanding ban on unlawful drug users possessing guns — the latest legal upheaval regarding the nation’s gun laws since a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year set new standards. The opinion overturns the conviction of a Mississippi man, Patrick Daniels of Gulfport, who had two guns found in his car during a traffic stop last year and acknowledged using marijuana regularly but wasn’t accused of driving under the influence. The appeals court cited the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision known as New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which said U.S. gun laws must have strong historical roots — a finding that led to challenges of many of the nation’s gun laws.“Our history and tradition may support some limits on an intoxicated person’s right to carry a weapon, but it does not justify disarming a sober citizen based exclusively on his past drug usage,” the three-judge panel for the...

Stock market today: Wall Street ticks higher after inflation report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ticking higher as Thursday’s shaky day of trading comes toward a close following the latest update on inflation across the U.S. The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher with about an hour remaining in trading. It’s on pace for just its second winning day in the last eight, but it had been up as much as 1.3% earlier in the day before swinging between gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 177 points, or 0.5%, at 35,301, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.The morning’s highly anticipated report showed U.S. consumers paid prices that were 3.2% higher in July than a year earlier. That’s a touch milder than the 3.3% inflation rate economists expected to see and down sharply from last summer’s peak above 9%. Beneath the surface, underlying trends for inflation were also within expectations.The readings bolstered hopes among investors that the Federal Reserve’s campaign to grind down inflation is progressing and that it could may...

Lil Tay says she and her brother are 'safe and alive': report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:00 GMT

(KTLA) — The Internet was set ablaze after a statement was posted to Lil Tay's official Instagram account on Wednesday that claimed the young influencer had passed away. According to the note, it was penned by Tay's family and it stated that she and her brother had tragically died. It was apparently a hoax.Tay has told TMZ that both she and her brother are alive. "I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but I’m completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say. It’s been a very traumatizing 24 hours. All day yesterday, I was bombarded with endless heartbreaking and tearful phone calls from loved ones all while trying to sort out this mess," she told the outlet in a statement. The teen also revealed that a "third party" was spreading "jarring misinformation" and that Claire Hope isn't even her real name. "My Instagram account was compromised by a third party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me, to the po...

Bears designate a new primary logo, so what does that mean?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:00 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — As the team continues to pursue a change when it comes to their home stadium, they also made one when it comes to their branding. This one concerns their logos. On the Bears' website, the team listed the "Bear Head" logo as their primary mark with their "C" logo, often described as a "wishbone C," being designated as their secondary mark. Both of those logos had been recognized as primary marks since the 1990s, but now the "Bear Head" will be the top one for the franchise. So why the change? Per a Bears spokesperson:  "The Bear head has been a co-primary mark for years.  It is unique to the Chicago Bears brand.  The minor change simply provides clarity for retail, media, and other team and league partners to start the creative process with the Bear head."While this new single primary mark is not featured on the team's uniform, it is featured prominently on stadium signs along with official apparel on the team. It's also the primary logo that's featured on the tea...

IRS can't find millions of sensitive tax records: watchdog

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:00 GMT

(The Hill) -- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cannot locate thousands of microfilm cartridges containing millions of sensitive individual and business tax account records, according to a watchdog report.The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said in a report released Tuesday that the IRS cannot account for microfilm cartridges — which contain backups of tax records as required under federal law — from fiscal 2010 that were originally stored at a processing center in Fresno, Calif. The cartridges were meant to be among other records that were shipped to another processing center in Kansas City, Mo., last February after the California location closed.The watchdog also found seven empty boxes, which could hold up to 168 cartridges total, at the Ogden Tax Processing Center in Utah. Ogden personnel did not know where the missing cartridges were. Prosecutors propose January trial date in Trump 2020 election case More than 4,000 cartridges containing bu...

Colin Simmons, 5-star edge rusher from Duncanville, commits to Texas Longhorns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A 5-star edge rusher from Duncanville will stay in the Lone Star State next season.Colin Simmons, the No. 1 overall recruit in Texas for the 2024 class according to the 247Sports composite rankings, verbally committed to Texas on Thursday, choosing the Longhorns over Louisiana State and Miami.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersSimmons is the No. 8 recruit nationally according to 247Sports. He was instrumental in the Panthers' 28-21 win over Galena Park North Shore in the 2022 Class 6A-Division I state championship game, notching a pair of sacks and three tackles for loss for 20 yards. The performance earned Simmons the defensive MVP honor of the state title game.At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, Simmons racked up more than 20 sacks for the Panthers last season and will give the Longhorns yet another elite-level recruit on defense. Longhorns 5th-year linebacker...

Taylor ISD introduces unstacked grade levels on first day of school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:00 GMT

TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — Two Taylor ISD elementary campuses debuted more grade levels than they've had in year's past on the first day of the 2023-2024 school year.Naomi Pasemann Elementary and Main Street Elementary now both have grades 1-5 along with Pre-K and Kindergarten.Main Street Elementary Principal Kerri Pierce said before this year, her campus and Naomi Pasemann Elementary were both intermediate schools that only hosted grades 2-4.Naomi Pasemann Elementary Principal Cynthia Proctor said the campuses opened up to provide more stability for families."It really allows the community, the families to be able to not have to do so many transitions. They're in an elementary for five years, which really helps us build that community and culture here in in Taylor," Proctor said.Both principals said their campuses have undergone changes to accommodate more students.Pierce said Main Street Elementary received new floors and new paint to refresh its halls.Ongoing improvement projects inc...

Twins shut out for second time in three games in another loss to Tigers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:00 GMT

DETROIT — The Twins began their four-game series here with a strong pitching start from Pablo López and a nice offensive showing early, ensuring Game 1 was never in doubt. That marked the Twins’ fifth straight victory, a season-long winning streak.Since then?The Twins have been shut out twice and now are on a three game-losing streak, dropping the remaining games in Detroit. The final loss was a 3-0 defeat in the series finale on Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park in a game in which starting Twins pitcher Kenta Maeda was near his best but had no run support to speak of.The Twins starter, who has been sharp since returning from the injured list on June 23, turned in yet another impressive performance. Maeda limited the Tigers to just three hits in his six innings of work, the only blip a Riley Greene solo home run coming with two outs in Maeda’s final inning. For his efforts, Maeda became a tough-luck loser.The Tigers tacked on another pair of runs off reliever Dylan Floro, wh...

New Loons forward Teemu Pukki has had quiet Leagues Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:00 GMT

Minnesota United has reached the Leagues Cup quarterfinals without a goal from its projected top scorer.Teemu Pukki has produced one assist across the four matches and his penetrating runs have created threats and openings for teammates, but the Finnish forward has put only three of 12 shots on target during the new North American tournament. He has been subbed out before MNUFC advanced through two knockout-round, penalty-kick shootouts.Pukki scored once in his opening three MLS matches before the competition began, but as the stakes of the tournament increase, a club’s best players are needed in the biggest moments.With a spot in the semifinals on the line, MNUFC faces Nashville SC at GEODIS Park in a quarterfinal match at 7:30 p.m. Friday.Loons manager Adrian Heath said Pukki would be the “first to admit he probably should be sitting on four or five goals” in all competitions. But Heath has faith those goals will come eventually.“I have zero, and I say zero, worries that Teemu Puk...

Stephens named president & CEO of Urban League Twin Cities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:00 GMT

Marquita Stephens has been named president and CEO of the Urban League Twin Cities.Stephens, who’s apppointment was effective July 20, is the first woman to lead the 98-year-old organization.Marquita Stephens has been named president & CEO of Urban League Twin Cities, it was announced Aug. 8, 2023. Stephens, whose appointment was effective July 20, 2023, is the first woman to lead the organization in its 98-year history. (Courtesy of Urban League Twin Cities)“I am driven to lead the Urban League Twin Cities toward its goal of building an equitable society,” Stephens said, in a statement. “With a dynamic team and engaged board, together we can deliver on the democratic promises this nation made at its birth, but which for so many go unrealized.”Stephens has spent 20-plus years in public service, focusing on “helping to build strong families and potentialwithin communities, particularly communities of color,” according to a press release from the Urban League.Bef...