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Biden says teaching should not be 'life-threatening' job

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:25:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden honored the nation's best teachers Monday, saying they go above and beyond by providing food and supplies out of their own pockets and often find themselves “explaining the unexplainable, from banned books to duck-and-cover drills.” “Teaching should not be a life-threatening profession,” Biden said, referencing deadly school shootings that plague the United States. "And educators should not need to be armed to feel safe in the classroom." He spoke at a Rose Garden event that honored the Council of Chief State School Officers' 2023 teachers of the year from each state. Tulsa, Oklahoma, math teacher Rebecka Peterson was named overall teacher of the year. Biden spoke of the challenges of the modern-day teacher, including gun violence and a growing movement from the right to ban books in classrooms, particularly those that reference gender and sexual identity. Attempted book bans hit an all-time high in 2022.“I never thought, as a student of histor...

Aaron Rodgers' time with the Packers is coming to an end

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:25:00 GMT

CHICAGO — One of the greatest quarterbacks of this generation will be starting a new chapter of his professional football career - and that's a relief to Bears fans. Per multiple reports, the first from Adam Schefter from ESPN, the Packers are finalizing a trade that will send Aaron Rodgers to the Jets. New York will get the quarterback, the 15th overall pick in the 2023 draft, and a 2023 fifth round selection. Green Bay will get the 13th overall pick in the this year's draft, a 2023 second round pick, a 2023 sixth round pick, along with a conditional 2024 second round pick that could become a first rounder if Rodgers plays 65 percent of the plays next season.The teams have yet to confirm the move. This will be the first time that the four-time NFL Most Valuable Player and Super Bowl XLV will play for another team in his 18-year career. That's good news for Bears' fans since Rodgers has tormented the team during his career, sporting a 24-5 record against them in the regular season.I...

Packers reportedly trade QB Aaron Rodgers to Jets for draft picks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:25:00 GMT

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) - It's the end of an era in Green Bay as the Packers have reportedly traded four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets.According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Jets and Packers are in agreement that they will send the future Hall of Fame quarterback to the Big Apple.Trade details are as follows:Green Bay Packers receive:2023 First Round Pick (#13)2023 Second Round Pick (#42)2023 Sixth Round Pick (#207)Conditional 2024 2nd Round PickUpgraded to 1st Round Pick if Rodgers plays 65% of the plays for New York.New York Jets receive:QB Aaron Rodgers2023 First Round Pick (#15)2023 5th Round Pick (#170)Aaron Rodgers was selected 24th overall in the 2005 NFL Draft by the Green and Gold. He has built up a Hall of Fame resume with four All-Pro selections, four MVPs, a Super Bowl MVP, and a Super Bowl ring.The California native holds the record for the most passing touchdowns in Green Bay history with 475.This is a developing story.

'Sad and devastating': Austin teacher raises money to stop hogs from destroying school garden

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:25:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After wild hogs destroyed an Austin school garden over several nights, a teacher is asking the community for help to stop the hogs. Austin Discovery School, a charter school in east Austin, has a school garden where students can grow food, learn about nutrition and broaden the taste buds of "picky eaters." "Even those kids that are like, 'I don't like carrots' are then all of a sudden eating a carrot that they just pulled out of the ground. They're like, 'Oh, actually, this was pretty good,'" Thora Gray, the school's EcoWellness teacher, said. PREVIOUS: Feral hogs causing headaches for some people living in northeast Austin Unfortunately, wild hogs have wrecked the garden several times over the past two years — most recently uprooting carrots and tomatoes. "We had such a nice crop of carrots this year, and we had just put our tomatoes on the ground for the season," Gray said. "And they came through, and they just destroyed everything. They uprooted everything, and...

City says May election to cost $1.3M, Alter looking to overlap elections for better turnout

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:25:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On your ballot this election, two measures that could change what happens after a complaint is filed against a police officer. One is back by community advocates, the other by the police union. Early voting started Monday. The election is Sat., May 6. Why your vote on Austin police oversight measures will matter Despite controversy surrounding the competing -- and some say misleading or even illegal -- propositions, voter turnout is expected to be low. "We are expecting overall around 5-7% voter turnout in this election. So a pretty small turnout relative to our presidential, gubernatorial elections," said Dyana Limon-Mercado, Travis County Clerk. Some Austin city council members want to examine how we do elections like these so more people can be involved. That process is already underway. Earlier this year, council voted to create a group of residents to look at the city's official election rules. It's called the charter review commission. Members are being sel...

Winona State president one of two finalists for Minnesota State chancellor

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:25:00 GMT

Winona State University President Scott Olson is one of two finalists to be the next chancellor of the Minnesota State college and university system.Scott OlsonOlson and Tonja Johnson, the University of Alabama System senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, will interview with select system leaders later this week.After that, back-to-back public forums with the candidates will be held from 9 to 11:15 a.m. Wednesday at the system office in St. Paul, with Johnson going first.The Board of Trustees is expected to name the next chancellor May 9.Devinder Malhotra, the former provost of St. Cloud State University, came out of retirement in 2017 to become interim chancellor following a failed national search. He stayed on without the interim tag a year later after a second failed search but is retiring again this summer.The system is made up of 26 state colleges and seven universities, including Winona State.The latest search yielded 30 applicants, nine of whom were chosen for intervie...

Loons still have ‘bad blood’ from ghastly Open Cup upset loss to Omaha

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:25:00 GMT

Minnesota United’s worst MLS-era loss happened 11 months ago, but like most bad times, traumatic memories of it can be easily triggered and come flooding back.The Loons’ third-round U.S. Open Cup game at second-tier Detroit City on Tuesday night conjures up MNUFC’s 2-1 home defeat to third-tier Union Omaha in the 2022 national tournament’s round of 16 last May.“It definitely stuck with us a lot,” Loons fullback D.J. Taylor said Saturday. “I was on the field, so that was a really tough one for me. For the guys, and the club in general, it was really tough on us. We definitely expected to win that game, and we just made a couple of mistakes that led to goals, lousy goals.”Detroit City, of the USL Championship, pulled off their own Open Cup upset a year ago, topping the Columbus Crew 2-1 in the third round. Also last year, Omaha beat Chicago Fire in penalty kicks before knocking off Minnesota.The Loons didn’t play four of their best players against Omaha last year but still took ...

Sheriff’s missing K-9 found

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:25:00 GMT

ALTAMONT, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The Albany County Sheriff’s office searching for one of their own. NEWS10 has the latest on the search that found a missing Sheriff's K-9 unit. Lawmakers discuss cell coverage in rural areas Sheriff Craig Apple says Thompson AKA Ghost, a black Dutch Shepard trained to sniff out drugs, went missing from his handler’s yard late Sunday night.“The K-9 handler, in the area of the village of Altamont, let his dog out and apparently it dropped its nose immediately. So, something must have come through the yard just prior to that. It’s all we can guess at this point. Because it dropped its nose and went into full mode and just took off,” explained Apple. Unknown substance splashing cars in Coxsackie Ghost was last seen in the area of Bozenkill Park, which is where the sheriff set up the search party and pulled out all the stops.“And we have, I was just looking, 12 to 13 people over there with their dogs, as well, and drones over there,” said the Sheriff. G...

Still no state budget: 5th budget extender signed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:25:00 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)--A new budget extender that will be in effect until Friday has been signed by the governor, making this the 5th extender passed."I haven’t seen any budget bills yet," said Assemblyman Chris Tague. "Now there is rumors going around, but there were rumors going around the first extender— that by the end of the week, we are going to have something in place. I hope so because this extender is only good until Friday so that means we are going to have to be in session on Friday to pass another extender if we don’t have any budget bills."Speaker Carl Heastie said as of now, charter schools is one of the big holdups with the budget."I’d say, the governor wants them," explained Heastie. "Most people in the legislature don’t want them. So, that’s where the discussion is."We also learned housing is no longer on the table. Heastie said it’s an issue that will be talked about after the budget gets finalized. When it comes to making changes to bail, Heastie said, "From the l...

Sexual assault evidence storage facility opens in Capital Region

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:25:00 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (WUTR) – Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a new state facility to store sexual offense evidence collection kits—commonly referred to as rape kits—that have not yet been released to law enforcement custody. The facility—opened by the State Office of Victim Services and already operational—follows state law requiring any unreported kits to be stored for 20 years from the date of collection. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "New York State remains committed to supporting survivors of sexual assault in every way possible," Hochul said in a statement. "This new State facility will be a critical tool to help deliver support and justice while providing a strong foundation for victims to heal and alleviate some of the pressure they may feel when it comes to legal timelines."The secure storage—located in the Capital Region—empowers victims to receive the medical care they need, to consent to evidence collection, and let them ...