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Charter school lost case over skirts rule for girls, but debate over charter autonomy isn’t over

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:25 GMT

Bonnie Peltier was at her daughter’s kindergarten orientation in North Carolina when she learned all girls at the charter school must wear skirts.“I was stunned,” Peltier said. ”I’m looking around the room at the other parents and nobody seemed to mind. And I was like, ‘I can’t be the only one who thinks this is crazy.’”Peltier began researching the law that evening, embarking on a legal journey that spanned eight years and came to involve two other students and the American Civil Liberties Union. It ended Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by Charter Day School to review its skirt requirement, which a lower court struck down last year.“Little girls don’t know how to sit like a lady,” Peltier said, adding that skirts were impractical for various school activities, including sitting on the floor during reading time.The family now lives in Myrle Beach, South Carolina, where Peltier’s daughter is in eighth grade, earning As and taking honors cla...

Man fleeing Ohio police with an abducted infant crashes into a home, killing the child

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:25 GMT

TIFFIN, Ohio (AP) — A man who abducted a 7-month-old child in Ohio crashed his car into a house while trying to flee from police, killing the infant and critically injuring himself.The crash in Tiffin occurred shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.The Wood County Sheriff’s Office had sent out an alert regarding the man — whose name was not released — after he had taken the child earlier in the day in North Baltimore, Ohio, while reportedly armed with a gun. He soon contacted the child’s mother and told her he was feeling homicidal and suicidal and claimed he had killed the child. Authorities did not say if the man was related to the child or its mother, and they did not disclose the child’s name or details about how the abduction occurred.Tiffin Police Chief David Pauly said an off-duty city officer spotted the vehicle and alerted department officials. The officer then began following the vehicle and provided colleagues with information about its location.Offic...

‘It’s getting ridiculous’: East end commuters call out TTC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:25 GMT

Our Speakers Corner report takes us to Toronto’s east end Beaches community, where some TTC riders remain frustrated that their daily commutes are taking a lot longer than normal.One of those riders is Kieran Woods, an attorney who works in the financial district.“It’s roughly about seven to eight kilometres,” she said.A few months ago, it was somewhat of a breeze.“I would walk five minutes from my house to Kingston Road, hop on the 503 streetcar and I would be downtown anywhere from 35 to 40 minutes.”Today, things have changed.“It’s taking me an hour and 15 minutes to get to work,” she said.That’s because the 503 streetcar she had been using was put out of service, which wasn’t a big deal at first.“They did have a bus that was running in place of the streetcar for most of this year,” Woods said. “It was actually great at getting us downtown.”But that too has stopped running.“We had no information as to why. We called the TTC to ask what was going on and we were told there was...

Daniel Penny pleads not guilty to revised charges in chokehold death of Jordan Neely on NYC subway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. Marine veteran pleaded not guilty Wednesday to revised charges in the fatal chokehold of a man who was behaving erratically on a New York City subway train.Daniel Penny, 24, pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator who was shouting and begging for money when Penny pinned him to the floor of the moving subway car with the help of two other passengers and held him in a chokehold for more than three minutes.Neely, 30, lost consciousness during the struggle, which was recorded by a bystander.The arraignment lasted mere minutes. Penny, who is free on bond, only uttered the words “not guilty” before he left the courtroom with his lawyers.Penny was initially arrested on the manslaughter charge in May, but a grand jury earlier this month added the negligent homicide count, potentially giving a trial jury the option of finding him guilty of the lesser cha...

Gymnastics star Simone Biles returning to competition in August in first meet since 2020 Olympics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:25 GMT

Simone Biles is back.The gymnastics superstar plans to return to competition at the U.S. Classic outside Chicago in early August, her first event since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.USA Gymnastics announced Wednesday that Biles, a seven-time Olympic medalist and the 2016 Olympic champion, is part of the women’s field for the single-day event set for Aug. 5 at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates.Biles has taken most of the last two years off following her eventful stay in Japan, where her decision to remove herself from multiple events to focus on her mental health shifted the focus from the games themselves to the overall wellness of the athletes.She served as a cheerleader as her American teammates won the team silver then sat out the all-around, vault and floor exercise finals she had qualified for while dealing with what is known as “the twisties” — a gymnastics term for when an athlete loses their spatial awareness when airborne.Biles returned for the balance beam final, where she won ...

Simone Biles to return to gymnastics at Chicago area competition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:25 GMT

Simone Biles is back.The gymnastics superstar plans to return to competition at the U.S. Classic outside Chicago in early August, her first event since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.USA Gymnastics announced Wednesday that Biles, a seven-time Olympic medalist and the 2016 Olympic champion, is part of the women's field for the single-day event set for Aug. 5 at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates.Biles has taken most of the last two years off following her eventful stay in Japan, where her decision to remove herself from multiple events to focus on her mental health shifted the focus from the games themselves to the overall wellness of the athletes.She served as a cheerleader as her American teammates won the team silver then sat out the all-around, vault and floor exercise finals she had qualified for while dealing with what is known as “the twisties” — a gymnastics term for when an athlete loses their spatial awareness when airborne.Biles returned for the balance beam final, where she won a bron...

Liam Hendriks gets an award for perseverance after beating cancer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Once again, Liam Hendriks' successful battle to overcome cancer and return to Major League Baseball has earned him an honor. ESPN announced this morning that White Sox pitcher Liam Hendriks will receive the Jimmy V Award for perseverance after his return to the team after beating non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. .He'll receive the honor at the 2023 ESPYS on July 12. .@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/NTmRTqeb4O— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) June 28, 2023The White Sox closer will receive The Jimmy V Award for Perseverance from ESPN during their annual "ESPYS" award show that will be held in Los Angeles on July 12. The award bears the name of the late Jim Valvano, the national championship-winning coach of the North Carolina State men's basketball team, who died of cancer in 1993.Hendriks is being recognized first for beating stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, undergoing four rounds of chemotherapy from January through April. He then began to work back into shape over the course of...

Retirement talk surrounding Thomas, Alito raises stakes for 2024 election 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:25 GMT

(The Hill) – Lawmakers are looking ahead to the 2024 election as a pivotal opportunity to shape the future of the Supreme Court because of the possibility that conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, 75, and Samuel Alito, 73, could retire.  Democrats are worried that if Biden loses and the GOP wins the Senate majority, it could allow a GOP president to replace both men with younger conservatives who could rule far into the future.  “It’s critical. President Biden, who I feel confident will be reelected, needs to be able to put more judges on the bench, federal judges, including Supreme Court. It is absolutely critical that the Senate remain in Democratic hands,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who will retire at the end of next year.    Alito caught in crosshairs of latest Supreme Court scandal Stabenow warned that if Republicans flip the White House and Senate and replace Thomas and Alito with younger conservatives, “it would be devastating for anyone who ...

Simone Biles returning to gymnastics competition in August for 1st time since 2020 Olympics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:25 GMT

Simone Biles is back.The gymnastics superstar plans to return to competition at the U.S. Classic outside Chicago in early August, her first event since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.USA Gymnastics announced Wednesday that Biles, a seven-time Olympic medalist and the 2016 Olympic champion, is part of the women's field for the single-day event set for Aug. 5 at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates.Biles has taken most of the last two years off following her eventful stay in Japan, where her decision to remove herself from multiple events to focus on her mental health shifted the focus from the games themselves to the overall wellness of the athletes.She served as a cheerleader as her American teammates won the team silver then sat out the all-around, vault and floor exercise finals she had qualified for while dealing with what is known as “the twisties” — a gymnastics term for when an athlete loses their spatial awareness when airborne.Biles returned for the balance beam final, where she won a bron...

Dogs rescued from China's meat trade arrive in California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:25 GMT

(KTLA) – Nearly two dozen dogs rescued from China's meat trade arrived in Southern California on Tuesday, their first stop before heading to their forever homes scattered across the United States.  Animal lovers, activists and city leaders came together in Inglewood for the grand opening of Rue’s Kennels at Los Angeles International Airport. The shelter, which organizers say is the first of its kind, is a nonprofit animal care facility built to help rescue dogs from around the world.  “So, the animals will be examined by me, and they will receive another rabies vaccine, even if they came in with paperwork,” veterinarian Karen Dochalligan told Nexstar's KTLA.   Sick sea lions biting people at California beaches The latest so-called “freedom flight” carried 16 golden retrievers, two corgis, a poodle and a malamute, all of whom were rescued from the meat trade in China.  While the practice of consuming dog meat is unthinkable in North America, it can be somewhat common in...