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A Georgia county is fighting a ruling requiring it to pay for a transgender deputy’s surgery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:39 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia county asked a federal appeals court on Tuesday to overturn a ruling that it illegally discriminated against a sheriff’s deputy by failing to pay for her gender-affirmation surgery.But lawyers for Houston County Sgt. Anna Lange urged a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reject the appeal. They said during a hearing in Atlanta that the U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that denying Lange insurance coverage for the procedure is illegal sex discrimination. Lange, an investigator for the Houston County sheriff’s office, sued Sheriff Cullen Talton and the county in 2019 after she was denied coverage.U.S. District Court Judge Marc Treadwell ruled in 2022 that the county’s refusal to cover Lange’s prescribed gender-affirmation surgery amounted to illegal sex discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Treadwell’s order cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 decision finding that a Michigan funeral home couldn’t fire an emplo...

PGA Tour parsing private investment deals as the clock ticks on its Saudi deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:39 GMT

The PGA Tour has created a program that would give players equity ownership in a new commercial enterprise, provided it finalizes a deal with Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund and five other private groups that want to invest.Commissioner Jay Monahan laid out the proposal in a memo to players on Tuesday, which followed a board meeting where tour officials reviewed some of the proposal.Monahan said the board reviewed the bids from private investors and would keep negotiating to select finalists. Still at the center of the deal is the Public Investment Firm of Saudi Arabia, the financial backer of rival league LIV Golf, which agreed to a for-profit commercial venture in June with the PGA Tour and the European tour. The framework agreement set a Dec. 31 deadline, though that can be extended.Monahan said the equity program first was mentioned at a player meeting at the Travelers Championship, which was held weeks after the Saudi deal was announced.He said in the memo the program...

Real estate market notches downward amid climbing interest rates, association says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:39 GMT

VANCOUVER — British Columbia real estate sales and prices bumped up slightly in October compared with a year ago in what is being described as a balanced market.Figures from the B.C. Real Estate Association show 5,373 residential units sold last month, a 1.8-per-cent increase from the same month last year, while prices rose by 4.1 per cent over the same period. The association’s chief economist Brendon Ogmundson says home sales have slowed as expected given the high borrowing costs and stricter stress tests for buyers. However, he says sales inventory of homes remains low, which balances the market to a “very low level of activity.” Residential sales were down 13.6 per cent to $63.1 billion for the first 10 months of this year compared with last year.The association says residential unit sales between the same period this year and last dropped 105 per cent, while the average price fell 3.4 per cent to $971,802. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2023. The...

In federal lawsuit, owner of medical marijuana dispensary says Mississippi censors business owners

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:39 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The owner of a Mississippi medical marijuana dispensary filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging state regulations that he says censor business owners by preventing them from advertising. After Mississippi legalized medical marijuana for people with debilitating conditions in 2022, Clarence Cocroft II opened Tru Source Medical Cannabis in Olive Branch, Mississippi. But he says he has struggled to reach customers because Mississippi’s Department of Health has banned medical marijuana businesses from advertising in any media. That violates business owners’ First Amendment rights, Cocroft’s attorneys wrote in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. “All I want to do, like any other business owner, is have the opportunity to advertise. If I pay taxes in this business, which I do, I should be able to advertise,” Cocroft said at a news conference. “All I’m asking from this state is to provi...

After fire kills 3, NYC officials say retailers, delivery apps must do more to ensure e-bike safety

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City officials say retailers and food delivery companies must do more to halt the proliferation of unsafe e-bike and e-scooter batteries, after a fire blamed on an electric scooter’s lithium ion battery killed three people over the weekend.“There is blood on the hands of this private industry,” Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at a news conference Monday in front of the charred remains of the Brooklyn row house where the early Sunday blaze killed Albertha West, 81, her son Michael West, 58, and her grandson Jamiyl West, 33.Fire officials said the fire broke out on the ground floor of the building. “It’s extensively damaged,” Kavanagh said, adding that the battery that sparked the fire was for a “scooter of some kind.”The city has seen hundreds of fires linked to the lithium ion batteries that power electric bikes and scooters in the last few years. City officials have blamed off-market batteries and chargers that don’t meet safety standards ...

The man accused of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband says he wanted to end corruption

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:39 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The man accused of attacking former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer last year told jurors at his federal trial Tuesday how he went to the Pelosis' San Francisco home as part of a bigger plan to end corruption in the United States.David DePape spoke for more than an hour in which he tearfully recounted about how his political leanings went from leftist to right-wing after reading a comment on a YouTube video about former President Donald Trump. He did not deny bludgeoning Paul Pelosi, saying he reacted after realizing his larger plan might be unraveling.DePape has pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official with intent to retaliate against the official for performance of their duties. His attorneys argue that he was not seeking to go after Nancy Pelosi because of her official duties as a member of Congress and so the charges do not fit. The attack happene...

Florida dad stumped by toddler's mystery impersonation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:39 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — It's well-documented that kids say the darndest things — but what happens when your kid keeps saying something that you just can't place? It's the mystery one Florida dad is currently trying to solve.Chris, who gave Nexstar permission to use his name and that of his 2 year-old Jack, reached out to Nexstar with the conundrum, pointing us to a much-upvoted and answered Reddit thread where Chris was also seeking answers. The top-trending pet names in America, according to a new study He explains that every night, Jack dumps out the bath toys from their bucket, "places the bucket on his head and says, "I'm [blank] [blank]." The last part of the sentence is still unclear."In the past, I've thought he says 'I'm Hank Evil,' or 'Hey Evil,' or 'I'm very evil' — but I can't figure out the character. I do think the second word is evil," Chris wrote on Reddit. Per the clip above, you might also hear "Henry Evil."Chris also jokes: "My wife is a speech language pathologist for kids...

At least three dead, multiple hurt in fiery I-70 crash involving bus and semi

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:39 GMT

ETNA, Ohio (WCMH) – At least three people died and 15 were injured Tuesday morning when a semi crashed into the rear of a charter bus carrying high school students.The crash caused the semi to catch fire and smoke to pour out of the bus, which was carrying students from Tuscarawas Valley High School in northeast Ohio to an event in Columbus. The accident took place on Interstate 70 east of the exit for State Route 310 and led to I-70 being closed in both directions for several hours. Click here for current traffic conditions Courtesy Photo/NBC4 ViewerCourtesy Photo/NBC4 ViewerA fiery crash on I-70 West involving a charter bus and a semi. (Courtesy photo/Adam Layton)Emergency crews respond to a fiery crash on I-70 West involving a charter bus and a semi. (Courtesy/Ohio Department of Transportation)Emergency crews respond to a fiery crash on I-70 West involving a charter bus and a semi. (NBC4)Emergency crews respond to a fiery crash on I-70 West involving a charter bus and a semi. (...

Fourth day of deliberations in APD officer's murder trial, jurors at odds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- For the fourth day Tuesday, a Travis County jury continued to deliberate in the trial of Austin Police Officer Christopher Taylor. He is being tried for murder in the 2020 shooting death of Michael Ramos. Tuesday afternoon, Judge Dayna Blazey said the jury was confused about whether they had to be unanimous about specific elements of the charge Taylor is facing to move forward to the next. While the jury has to come to an ultimate decision unanimously, they do not need to agree on every element of the charge before discussing others. The jurors also asked the court to refresh their memories on some testimony presented in the trial, but Blazey didn't indicate which testimony the jury had asked for. That testimony was not provided to the jurors until late in the work day Tuesday. Monday, Blazey issued what is referred to as an "Allen charge," asking the jurors who were holding out to consider the majority's side. Blazey said jurors announced earlier in the day th...

Report: 2023 SXSW generated nearly $381M for Austin economy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:56:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The 2023 South by Southwest Conference and Festivals and SXSW EDU generated nearly $381 million in spending for the Austin economy, according to a SXSW economic impact report released Tuesday. That spending activity encompasses money spent by attendees, SXSW and its partners at local hotels, venues, bars and restaurants, theaters, caterers and production equipment rentals, among others. When broken down, that almost $381 million in economic impact comprised $234.1 million via festival attendance, $88.7 million courtesy operational services and $58 million spent by SXSW partners, per the report. Those partners include SXSW exhibitors, sponsors and official parties involved in the festival, the report added.More than 52,600 hotel room nights were booked in relation to the festival, per the report. In total, there were more than 11,400 hotel reservations made, as well as an average daily retail spending amount of $225. TRENDING NOW: Where does Austin rank among worst ...