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Montana judge temporarily blocks enforcement of law to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:13 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors is temporarily blocked, a state judge ruled Wednesday, just four days before it was to take effect.Legislative debate over Montana’s bill drew national attention this spring after Republicans punished Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr — the first transgender woman elected to the state’s Legislature — for admonishing lawmakers who supported the bill.District Court Judge Jason Marks agreed with transgender youth, their families and health care providers that the law passed by the 2023 Montana Legislature is likely unconstitutional and would harm the mental and physical health of minors with gender dysphoria, rather than protect them from experimental treatments, as supporters said it would.The judge noted the same Republican-controlled legislature passed a law saying patients, including minors, have a right to receive treatment with experimental drugs — as long as it’s recommended by a hea...

Alberta premier defends minister over possible conflict of interest concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:13 GMT

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is defending one of her cabinet ministers over possible conflict of interest concerns.Provincial records show that the husband of Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz may be lobbying the government in areas that could overlap with her ministry’s work.Cole Schulz is a partner in the firm Garrison Strategies, which has been hired by the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada. Alberta’s lobbyist registry records show the firm is trying to influence the government on how reclamation certificates for oil and gas sites are issued.“This includes improving timeline certainty and developing new approaches for issuing reclamation certificates, variances and accounting for new technology,” the firm’s statement says.It is also lobbying for the oil and gas industry to have more access to what is now protected caribou habitat, saying it seeks to “address the moratorium on tenure in caribou regi...

Auto workers union to announce plans on Friday to expand strike in contract dispute with companies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:13 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union says it will announce on Friday how it plans to expand its strike against Detroit’s three automakers.The union says President Shawn Fain will make the announcement at 10 a.m. Eastern time in a video appearance addressing union members. Additional walkouts will take place at noon Friday without serious progress in contract talks, the union said. The union went on strike Sept. 14 when it couldn’t reach agreements on new contracts with Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. At first it targeted one assembly plant from each company, and last week it added 38 parts distribution centers run by GM and Stellantis. Ford was spared the second escalation because talks with the union were progressing. The union wouldn’t say what action it would take on Friday, reiterating that all options are on the table. The union is scheduled to meet with GM negotiators Wednesday afternoon, according to two people with direct knowledge o...

Canadian pot companies cheer as Senate committee advances cannabis finance reforms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:13 GMT

WASHINGTON — Canadian cannabis companies and their investors cheered a Senate committee’s decision Wednesday to push forward with measures designed to ease federal financing restrictions on their U.S. counterparts. Executive members of the Senate banking committee voted 14-9 to send the SAFER Banking Act for a full vote on the Senate floor, although it was not immediately clear when that vote would take place.The bill is just the latest iteration of multiple bipartisan efforts over the years to make it easier for cannabis companies that operate legally under state laws to access federally regulated financial services. Advocates say the bill would make the industry, much of which is forced to operate on a cash-only basis in the U.S., safer and less prone to money laundering, tax fraud and armed robbery. “A cash economy is great if you’re a criminal. It’s great if you want to rob stores,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), one of the bill’s co-sponsor...

Storms batter central Greece as government prioritizes adapting to the effects of climate change

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:13 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Torrential rain swept across central Greece on Wednesday damaging roads, flooding homes and causing power outages in the city of Volos and the island of Evia, as the government declared that adapting to climate change has become a national priority.Authorities banned road traffic in Volos and urged residents to stay indoors, warning that the rainfall was due to continue overnight. At least one village in the region was evacuated after a rain-swollen river broke its banks, but there were no reports of missing people. The new rainstorms came as Volos, the nearby Mount Pilion area and other parts of central Greece were still recovering from floods earlier this month that caused 16 deaths.In northern Evia, army and municipal crews cleared debris from the roads near the flood-hit towns of Limni and Mantoudi, where the Fire Service reported receiving dozens of calls from flooded households for assistance.Authorities had been placed on alert in central Greece and near...

Over 50 arrested after mobs ransacked Philadelphia stores. Dozens of liquor outlets are shut down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:13 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Dozens of people faced criminal charges Wednesday after authorities said groups of young people, apparently working together, smashed their way into stores in several areas of Philadelphia, stuffing plastic bags with merchandise and fleeing.Police said they made at least 52 arrests. Burglary, theft and other counts have been filed so far against at least 30 people, three of whom are minors, according to Jane Roh, spokesperson for the Philadelphia district attorney’s office.The flash mob-style ransacking Tuesday night at stores including Foot Locker, Lululemon and Apple came after a peaceful protest over a judge’s decision to dismiss murder and other charges against a Philadelphia police officer who shot and killed a driver, Eddie Irizarry, through a rolled-up window. Those doing the ransacking were not affiliated with the protest, Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford said at a news conference, calling the group “a bunch of criminal opportunists.” At le...

Quincy Jones is State Department’s first Peace Through Music Award as part of new diplomacy push

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:13 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Quincy Jones, who once embarked on an international diplomatic tour with jazz great Dizzy Gillespie, will receive the U.S. Department of State’s inaugural Peace Through Music Award.A ceremony honoring the 28-time Grammy winning producer, musician and arranger will be held Wednesday night and as part of the launch of the State Department’s new Global Music Diplomacy Initiative.The award recognizes American musicians, producers, professionals and beyond who have “played an invaluable role in cross-cultural exchanges and whose music work advances peace and mutual understanding globally,” according to a press release.Jones will receive the award from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. at a ceremony boasting an eclectic lineup of American and international talent across generations and genres.Dave Grohl, Mickey Guyton, Herbie Hancock, Jamie Barton, GAYLE, Christopher Jackson, LADAMA, Aimee Mann, Rakim, Armani White,...

Minister urges U.S. to stand strong with Canada in regulating tech giants like Meta

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:13 GMT

WASHINGTON — Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge is urging the United States to stand strong with Canada over regulating tech giants in order to protect the news industry, which she said is vital to preserving Western democracies.St-Onge delivered a keynote address at the Open Markets Institute’s Center for Journalism and Liberty in Washington, D.C.“More than anything, we need to stand strong together. Facebook may be trying to intimidate Canada, but really they’re trying to talk to the world,” St-Onge said. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, recently removed local news from its platforms in response to Canada’s Online News Act. It has threatened to do the same in other countries, including the U.S., if they move forward with similar policies. The Online News Act, which is currently in its regulatory phase and will come in effect by December, will force tech companies to compensate news publishers for work that is shared or otherwise repurp...

Trudeau apologizes for presence, recognition of Nazi unit veteran in Parliament

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:13 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has issued an apology on behalf of Canada’s Parliament after it recognized a man who fought alongside the Nazis in the Second World War during last week’s address by Ukraine’s president.He made the brief statement Wednesday afternoon before entering the House of Commons, where he said he planned to offer Parliament’s “unreserved apologies” for what unfolded during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit. He did not take questions.“This was a mistake that has deeply embarrassed Parliament and Canada,” Trudeau said. “All of us who were in this House on Friday regret deeply having stood and clapped even though we did so unaware of the context.” The prime minister reiterated that Speaker Anthony Rota, who is stepping down over the issue, was solely responsible for inviting and asking parliamentarians and visiting dignitaries to recognize 98-year-old Ukrainian veteran Yaroslav Hunka, w...

Ohio wants to revive a strict abortion law. Justices are weighing the legal arguments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:13 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Supreme Court justices vigorously questioned the state’s lawyer Wednesday about a legal strategy that Ohio is attempting in hopes of reviving its law banning on abortions except in the earliest weeks of pregnancy.Before Ohio Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers even finished the first sentence of his argument, justices began peppering him with technical questions that suggested they may be reticent to step in and lift a county judge’s order that has been blocking the law since last October. The state is also challenging whether Preterm Cleveland and other Ohio clinics have the necessary legal standing to sue.Flowers argued that the state has the right to appeal Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins’ order if it can show it’s suffering “irreparable harm” while the law is on hold. Flowers said each abortion that takes place that would have been prevented under Ohio’s 2019 ban constitutes such harm.The law, signed by Repub...