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Texas lawmaker trying to make roads safer for people with disabilities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – A bill filed by Texas House Rep. Armando Martinez, D- Weslaco, would update the transportation code to allow a Texan to indicate on their driver’s registration that they may be transporting a person with disabilities. Already, drivers with communication difficulties – those with conditions like autism or being hard of hearing – can disclose this through the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunication System (TLETS), so an officer is aware of challenges before approaching the vehicle at a traffic stop. The same opportunity is not currently available for a person who might transport a person with a disability.  MORE: Mother of son with autism advocates for easier entry into crucial driving program “This is something that affects a lot of people,” Martinez told KXAN. “[it’s important] to be able to identify people with special needs that are in vehicles so that when a police officer does a traffic stop, they're aware that there may be an individual who is nonver...

Gophers golf: Simley grad Isabella McCauley confident, rolling heading into NCAA Regional

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

After a 41st-place finish at the Annika Invitational to kick off her collegiate career last the fall, University of Minnesota freshman Isabella McCauley went to the Gophers coaching staff and simply said, “I’ve got to be better.”Gophers coach Rhyll Brinsmead noted McCauley posted “some good numbers” in the fall, “but there was a little learning.” Learning about what it takes to be successful at the collegiate level, where McCauley — a former Minnesota high school state champion from Simley who qualified and competed in a U.S. Open as a high school junior — is again a small fish in a big pond.The courses are difficult, as is the competition. But the reality is McCauley is used to all of those things from past experiences, and more than capable of performing at the level necessary to succeed. She just maybe needed to remember that.“She’s not the longest player in college golf, but what she does well is what she’s got to keep doing well, which ...

Over-the-counter birth control pill faces FDA questions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

By MATTHEW PERRONE (AP Health Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators are weighing the first-ever request to make a birth control pill available without a prescription.But in an initial review posted Friday, the FDA raised numerous concerns about drugmaker Perrigo’s application to sell its decades-old pill over the counter.The FDA cited problems with the reliability of some of the company’s data on the drug, Opill, and questioned whether women with certain other medical conditions would correctly opt out of taking it. It also noted signs that study participants had trouble understanding the labeling instructions.Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration meet next week to review drugmaker Perrigo’s application to sell a decades-old pill over the counter. The two-day public meeting is one of the last steps before an FDA decision.If the FDA grants the company’s request, Opill would become the first contraceptive pill to be moved out from behind ...

Black faith leaders sue Minnesota Housing, Met Council over affordable housing segregation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

When state organizations subsidize affordable housing, it tends to land in low-income communities of color, rather than wealthier white neighborhoods that can offer tenants more opportunities — a potential violation of equal protection rights under the Minnesota Constitution and the Minnesota Human Rights Act.That, in a nutshell, is the accusation laid forth in a new 24-page lawsuit filed by the Stairstep Foundation, a nonprofit led by a North Minneapolis-based coalition of Black faith leaders, against Minnesota Housing, the Metropolitan Council and the state of Minnesota.“Defendants … are knowingly causing and exacerbating residential racial segregation in the Twin Cities by excluding affordable housing from the Twin Cities’ white neighborhoods, which tend to be more affluent,” reads the lawsuit filed Thursday in Ramsey County District Court by the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe.Municipal policies approved by state-affili...

Police arrest likely gunman in two downtown St. Louis garage shootings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Authorities have arrested one person suspected in two recent St. Louis downtown garage shootings, including that turned deadly over the past week.The shootings happened Wednesday and Thursday evening at a parking garage at the corner of North 9th Street and Washington Avenue, one connected to a Marriott hotel property. Pierre Benoist, a captain within the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, says the gunman believed to be involved in both shootings was arrested Friday afternoon. Investigators have not yet disclosed his name, stating that charges are still pending. Top Story: St. Louis circuit attorney resigns amid controversy Before the arrest, there was a heavy police presence around the garage Friday afternoon following both shootings. Officers responded to a report of someone flashing a gun in the parking garage. As officers spotted and confronted the suspect, he tried to run away. In the process, he threw his gun onto a roof of one building. Police detai...

Highest-rated restaurants for tacos in St. Louis, according to Yelp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

Depending on who you ask, tacos are more than just a quick snack you can grab off a truck for lunch. They're an experience. One that allows the chef to layer flavor and textures—from the fresh crunch of the cilantro and onions to the smoked heat of roasted chiles cavorting with the savory delight of your protein of choice—all onto one delicious tortilla, freshly crisped over an open flame…sorry is anyone else hungry?Much like the food, the origin story has a fairly layered history. Both Mayan and Aztec civilizations were said to have eaten a food similar to what we know as a taco, but the modern iteration traces back to the 1800s in Mexico. Born of a need to ensure that miners had a means to easily consume hearty food while on the job, piles of meat would be rolled into corn tortillas and packed for the road. During hours upon hours of hard labor in horrible conditions, the ability to pull out a few taquitos (named for the gunpowder role the miners carried with them) was practically...

Medicaid expansion for new moms wins approval in Missouri

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lower-income new mothers could gain a full year of Medicaid health-care coverage in Missouri under legislation given final approval Friday as part of a national push to improve maternal health.The legislation, which now goes to Gov. Mike Parson, would add Missouri to a growing list of Republican-led states that have previously balked at Medicaid expansions but which are now joining Democratic states in providing 12 months of coverage — instead of the typical 60 days — after women give birth. Trending: Kim Gardner supporters upset; some not surprised by her resignation “If we want healthy babies, we have to have healthy mammas — and that is so important,” said Republican state Sen. Elaine Gannon, one of the sponsors of the Missouri legislation.The option for longer Medicaid coverage was made possible under a pandemic relief law signed by President Joe Biden in 2021. About two-thirds of states already have implemented 12 months of postpartum care...

Lakewood police arrest 27-year-old Denver man in connection with 22-year-old woman’s murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

Lakewood Police arrested a 27-year-old Denver man in connection with the murder of a 22-year-old woman, according to a Friday news release from the police department.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Man dies after being shot multiple times in Aurora’s Hoffman Heights area Crime and Public Safety | Aurora homicide investigators seek public’s help in locating a suspect vehicle and driver Crime and Public Safety | Denver police seek tips from the public in parking lot homicide investigation Crime and Public Safety | Final defendants plead guilty to 2021 crime spree that included fatal shooting outside Jewish school Crime and Public Safety | Shooting death of 18-year-old in west Denver prompts homicide investigation Frankie Plasencio was arrested Thursday on first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder charges, the news release said.Lakewood Police responded to a shooting on Apr...

Missing teen from Nebraska may be in Denver, NCMEC says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

A missing 16-year-old from Nebraska may be in the Denver area, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).Hayley PelleyHayley Pelley went missing from her home in Omaha, Nebraska on April 28 and has not been seen since. Nebraska’s Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office said they believe she may have traveled to Denver or Orange County, California, according to NCMEC.Pelley is described as standing 4 feet, 11 inches tall and weighing 142 pounds. She is a white girl with light brown hair and blue eyes.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | 10-year-old boy who went missing in Aurora has been found Crime and Public Safety | Missing Indigenous Person Alert issued for teenage girl last seen in Denver Crime and Public Safety | 14-year-old girl missing from Denver found safe Crime and Public Safety | Missing Indigenous Person Alert canceled after teenage girl found safe Crime and Public Safety...

Denver teen charged with murder as adult sentenced to 58 years in prison after pleading guilty to two killings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:59 GMT

A Denver man who was 16 when prosecutors filed charges against him as an adult for two homicides has been sentenced to 58 years in prison, authorities announced Friday.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Was Letecia Stauch psychotic or strategic? Jury begins deliberations in killing of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch Crime and Public Safety | Man involved in fatal Edgewater Tesla charging station fight released after questioning Crime and Public Safety | Man in vehicle at La Salle Family Dollar fatally shot by police; investigation launched Crime and Public Safety | 50-year-old man held in “nefarious” RTD Park-N-Ride parking lot killing where victim was fatally shot inside RV Crime and Public Safety | Tesla EV charging station fight between two men in metro Denver escalates into fatal shooting Now 18, Jayque Owens received the sentence on Monday in Denver District Court after pleading guilty ...