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Whitmer strikes 1931 abortion ban from Michigan law

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:45:00 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Mich. (AP) — A near-century old abortion ban that fueled one of the largest ballot drives in Michigan history was repealed Wednesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, just months after voters enshrined abortion rights in the state’s constitution.“Today, we’re going to take action to make sure that our statutes and our laws reflect our values and our constitution,” Whitmer said at a bill signing outside of Detroit. The 1931 abortion ban made it a four-year felony to assist in an abortion. Roe v. Wade had made the law null and void until the landmark decision was overturned in June by the U.S. Supreme Court.Courts blocked the ban from taking effect while a citizen-led initiative to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution received more signatures than any other ballot proposal in state history to put the question before voters. Voters overwhelmingly approved the proposal in last November’s midterms, making the 1931 law unconstitutional and unenforceable.The 1931 ...

Hawaiian men imprisoned for hate crime beating to pay $25K

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:45:00 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — Two Native Hawaiian men sentenced to prison for a hate crime in the brutal beating of a white man have agreed to pay more than $25,000 in restitution, according to court documents. A U.S. judge last month sentenced Kaulana Alo-Kaonohi to six and a half years in prison and Levi Aki Jr. to four years and two months in prison.In a case that laid bare multicultural Hawaii’s complicated and nuanced race relations, a jury in November found them guilty of a hate crime. Jurors found that they were motivated by Christopher Kunzelman’s race when they punched, kicked and used a shovel to beat him in 2014 when he tried to move into their remote fishing village on the island of Maui. His injuries included a concussion, two broken ribs and head trauma.Attorneys for Aki and Alo-Kaonohi say it wasn’t Kunzelman’s race that provoked them, but his entitled and disrespectful attitude. Kunzelman and his wife had purchased a dilapidated oceanfront home in Kahakuloa village on Maui a...

Max Homa: golf’s social media star-turned-Masters contender

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:45:00 GMT

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Max Homa has a Twitter feed that reads like a “Saturday Night Live” script. The world’s fifth-ranked player is quick-witted, cheeky and self-deprecating, and his one-liners zing hard and fast and with about as much destruction as a skulled 3-iron. Take the time Homa arrived for the Sony Open, and a lovely card was waiting to welcome him to Oahu’s south shore. It read: “Aloha Max Honma. Welcome to Hawaii.” He tweeted a picture of it and said simply: “Play better.”Indeed, given how well Homa’s playing these days, you’d think everyone would know how to spell his name. He’s won five times since holding off the equally affable Joel Dahman to win the Wells Fargo Championship in 2019, including another Wells Fargo title last year and a victory at the Farmers Insurance Open in January.Homa’s brilliant golf game has suddenly matched his social media savvy.With it comes heightened expectations of competing for a green jacket ...

Johnny Depp-starrer ‘Jeanne du Barry’ to open Cannes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:45:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The historical drama, “Jeanne du Barry,” starring Johnny Depp as King Louis XV, will open the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Organizers of the French festival announced Wednesday that this year’s edition will get underway with the period film directed by and starring Maïwenn, the French actress and filmmaker. She plays Louis XV’s favorite courtesan, Jeanne du Barry. “Jeanne du Barry” has been billed as Depp’s comeback film following his explosive trial last year with Amber Heard, his ex-wife. After both Depp and Heard accused each other of physical and verbal abuse, a civil jury awarded Depp $10 million in damages and $2 million to Heard. In December, they reached a settlement. “Jeanne du Barry” will premiere May 16 at Cannes and, sticking with tradition, it will be released the same day in French theaters. Netflix is connected with the film but only loosely. The streamer licensed the film for the first post-theatrical window 15 months after its debut, ...

LIV and let live: Masters still about who wins green jacket

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:45:00 GMT

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Masters Chairman Fred Ridley sat among 33 champions in green jackets at golf’s most exclusive dinner. It was a time to celebrate Scottie Scheffler as the most recent winner, to share laughs, memories and even a few tears.That’s how it is every year at Augusta National.“I would not have known that anything was going on in the world of professional golf other than the norm,” Ridley said on the eve of a Masters unlike any other. “So I think — and I’m hopeful — that this week might get people thinking in a little bit different direction and things will change.”There’s a full menu of activity at this Masters.Tiger Woods returns for his 25th appearance with hopes his course knowledge can compensate for battered legs as he pursues another green jacket. Rory McIlroy gets another crack at the one major that keeps him from the career Grand Slam. No one has won the Masters back-to-back since Woods in 2002, and with Scheffler the No. 1 player in the w...

Yankees’ Donaldson hurts hamstring, leaves after 2nd inning

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:45:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson left Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia after hurting his right hamstring.The 2015 AL MVP was running at half-speed to first base on a flyout leading off the second inning and pulled up between home and first. It was 48 degrees at game start with a mist.Isiah Kiner-Falefa replaced Donaldson at the start of the third inning, and the Yankees said Donaldson will be evaluated for right hamstring tightness. ___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Kansas lawmakers poised to override veto on trans athletes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:45:00 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas were poised Wednesday to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill that would ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports from kindergarten through college, a day after they pushed a broad bathroom bill to passage. The state House voted 84-40 to override Kelly’s third veto of a measure on transgender athletes in three years, giving supporters exactly the two-thirds majority they needed. A Senate vote was expected Wednesday afternoon, and the bill initially passed there last month with more than a two-thirds majority.The measure would take effect July 1 and make Kansas the 20th state to enact such a ban for either K-12 schools or colleges or both. It’s among several hundred proposals aimed at rolling back LGBTQ rights from Republican lawmakers in statehouses across the U.S. The measure approved by lawmakers Tuesday not only would prevent transgender people from using public restrooms, locker room...

Aurora PD: Missing man's body found in 'clandestine grave'

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:45:00 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) -- Police in Aurora said a body was found in a "clandestine grave" in the crawl space of an Aurora condo.The body is believed to be a 36-year-old man who has been missing since last summer. Denver area home prices on their way back up A Crime Stoppers tip was made Monday night saying that the man had been murdered six to eight months ago and buried in the crawl space then covered in concrete at the Red Sky Condos, which are located on 2nd Avenue at Sable Boulevard.Casie Bock, 29, was arrested Tuesday night after the homicide unit obtained a warrant and discovered the concealed grave. She is charged with accessory to homicide. Neighbors told FOX31's Courtney Fromm that Bock lived in the condo.A man who is currently incarcerated is also considered a suspect, but he hasn't been arrested for this investigation yet and his identity has not been released, according to the department.APD said it may take the rest of the week to excavate and recover the body. The depa...

Everything you need to know for the Rockies home opener

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:45:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Colorado Rockies 2023 home opener will take place in Denver on Thursday against the Washington Nationals.The Rockies are off to a 2-4 start and the Nationals are 1-4. How much will a Colorado Rockies game cost a family of 4? Timeline of the home openerHere is a look at what to expect leading up to the first pitch:Parking lots open at 9 a.m.Opening Day festivities will start at McGregor Square at 11 a.m.Batting practice for the Rockies will be at 11:20 a.m.All gates will open at 12 p.m.Batting practice for the Nationals will take place at 12:40 p.m.Pregame ceremonies will start at 1:30 p.m.At 2:08 p.m. players will take the field and be accompanied by fireworks. First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 p.m.How to watchThe game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.Weather forecastThe Pinpoint Weather team says highs on Thursday will be in the 50s with sunshine.Where to find ticketsTickets are still available for the home opener. They start at $70 each...

De La Cruz single, Luzardo’s 10 Ks lift Marlins over Twins

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:45:00 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Bryan De La Cruz hit a go-ahead single in the eighth, Jorge Soler homered twice and Jesús Luzardo fanned 10 to lift the Miami Marlins over the Minnesota Twins 5-2 Wednesday afternoon.Jean Segura and Jon Berti hit back-to-back one-out singles against reliever Griffin Jax (0-1) in the eighth before De La Cruz’s RBI single against Caleb Thielbar scored Segura and broke a 1-1 tie.Soler followed with a three-run shot to left field to give Miami a four-run cushion.The Twins made it 5-2 in the ninth when Kyle Farmer scored on a wild pitch by A.J. Puk, who had given up a single to Farmer and walked Ryan Jeffers with one out. Puk got Willi Castro to fly out and then struck out Trevor Larnach for the series win.Larnach tied it 1-all in the seventh with an RBI single that scored Jeffers, who doubled earlier in the frame.The Marlins had pitched 15 straight shutout innings before the seventh — including Sandy Alcantara’s complete-game shutout Tuesday.Luzardo had his fifth care...