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Suit challenges Arkansas law allowing librarians to be criminally charged over ‘harmful’ materials

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:20 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal lawsuit filed Friday challenges an Arkansas law that would subject librarians and booksellers to criminal charges if they provide “harmful” materials to minors.A coalition that includes the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock filed the challenge to the law, which takes effect Aug. 1. The new law also creates a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids.The lawsuit comes as lawmakers in an increasing number of conservative states are pushing for measures making it easier to ban or restrict access to books. The number of attempts to ban or restrict books across the U.S. last year was the highest in the 20 years the American Library Association has been tracking such efforts.The lawsuit said the fear of prosecution under Arkansas’ law, which Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed in March, could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that cou...

DeSantis wraps up 1st early states tour as candidate with more personal touch in South Carolina

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:20 GMT

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was wrapping up his first tour of early voting states as a presidential candidate on Friday, showcasing his personal side in South Carolina with a lighthearted sit-down with his wife and an emotional moment with a military spouse.DeSantis, whose whirlwind tour this week included stops in Iowa and New Hampshire, used his first stop Friday morning in Bluffton, South Carolina, to respond to knocks from former President Donald Trump, who boasted at his campaign events a day earlier that he could accomplish in six months what would take the Republican governor eight years.DeSantis, speaking to hundreds of people packed into a patio at a restaurant, did not mention Trump by name, but defended his stance that it would take eight years in the Oval Office to dismantle President Joe Biden’s policies and what he described as the decades-long “accumulation of power in a bureaucracy that is detached from the interests of the ...

Grand Theft Ambulance: Suspect’s bumpy ride ends in crashes and cuffs in Broward County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:20 GMT

A private ambulance was stolen on Friday afternoon, leading to a series of crashes in Broward County. The incident occurred at the intersection of University Drive and McNab Road in Tamarac around 1:13 p.m. According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, authorities received a call reporting the theft of the ambulance. Deputies from BSO’s Tamarac District responded to the scene and began trying to the stolen vehicle.An employee of the ambulance company was inside when it was taken. Fortunately, the employee managed to exit the vehicle safely after the theft occurred.Shortly after, the stolen vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run crash at the intersection of Pine Island Road and McNab Road in Tamarac. No injuries were reported as a result of this crash.However, the series of incidents did not end there. A short time after the hit-and-run crash, the stolen ambulance was involved in another collision, this time a single-vehicle crash in the 4000 block of Hiatus Road in Sunrise. ...

Crews respond after fire breaks out at church in Spencer, Mass.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:20 GMT

Emergency crews in Spencer, Mass., are working to put out a fire burning through a church in the center of town.The Spencer Police Department shared multiple photos of the First Congregational UCC steeple showing heavy smoke around 3 p.m. on Friday.Authorities asked the public to avoid the area as fire crews responded to the place of worship at 207 Main Street.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.Image provided by the Spencer Police Department

‘You’re a dead man walking’: Franklin, NH man faces federal charges for threatening to shoot a senator

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:20 GMT

A Franklin, New Hampshire man was charged with threatening to murder a United States senator, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Hampshire announced Friday.Brian Landry, 66, allegedly called a district field office of a senator and left a voicemail on May 17, 2023 that threatened the official “in connection with the official’s performance of official duties,” according to court documents. Investigators determined the phone number was associated with Landry.“Hey stupid. I’m a veteran sniper,” Landry allegedly said in the voicemail, “and unless you change your ways, I got my scope pointed in your direction and I’m coming to get you. You’re a dead man walking….,” followed by multiple expletivesWhile he admitted to calling the senator’s office, he “did not initially recall exactly what he said in the voicemail,” the U.S. Attorney’s office announced. Landry appeared in court Friday afternoon and faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to 3 years of supervise...

Wegmans closing its Natick Mall store: ‘We are unable to attract enough customers’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:20 GMT

Wegmans’ massive multi-level store at the Natick Mall will be shutting down this summer, according to company officials who said they couldn’t attract enough customers to the non-traditional site.The Natick grocery store opened in 2018, and was Wegmans’ first multi-level store within a major mall. The 134,000-square-foot store is one of the company’s largest locations.“Making these decisions is never easy,” Brien MacKendrick, human resources director of the Wegmans New England division, said in a statement. “However, we do it for the long-term benefit of our people, our customers, and our communities.“Unfortunately, with this non-traditional location we are unable to attract enough customers for our business model to work,” MacKendrick added.The store is set to close this summer, with an exact date to be determined. Store employees were notified throughout the day, and were assured their positions with the company are secure.Ther...

Ticker: Hiring jumped last month; Chase Bank online bug; error message for some ‘Diablo IV’ players

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:20 GMT

The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations and evidence of enduring strength in an economy that the Federal Reserve is desperately trying to cool.Friday’s report from the government reflected the job market’s resilience after more than a year of aggressive interest rate increases by the Fed.Bug in Chase Bank online banking causing double transactions, feesCustomers of Chase’s online banking services were seeing double transactions, fees and/or payments in their accounts, with the situation not immediately being resolved as of early afternoon on Friday.Numerous Chase customers were posting on social media that their rent or bill payments were taken out of their accounts twice and reporting hold times with customer service approaching more than an hour. Transactions over Zelle were also being impacted.Some ‘Diablo IV’ players report invalid license error messageEarly access for “Diablo IV” ...

Review: ‘Diablo IV’ has the content and quality to take over your life this summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:20 GMT

No one ever finishes a video game anymore. The way projects are made and planned out, players can never be really done with an adventure. Games, especially those made by Blizzard, are entities that change and evolve over time. You don’t complete Blizzard games, you live with them for however long the content interests you or your wallet allows.That’s what fans will face with “Diablo IV.” It’s an enormous game that takes the franchise’s signature hack-and-slash dungeon dives and envisions them in an open world. The Sanctuary that players step into is expansive and traveling through it is seamless as players explore the continent through the campaign’s six chapters.THE STORY SO FAR …In a way, this entry is almost like a reboot. It starts 50 years after the explosive finale of “Diablo III,” and in a way, it serves as a clean slate telling a new chapter, one in which the title villain takes back seat to the new big bad — Lilith, the daughter of Mephisto, the Lord of Hatred. She and the ...

Afternoon Briefing: What to know about the Bears’ possible stadium move

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:20 GMT

Good afternoon, Chicago.Chicago Bears officials met with Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli this morning to discuss the possibility of abandoning their plans for a new stadium development in Arlington Heights in favor of building it in Naperville.Plans to build “the largest single development project in Illinois history” are “at risk” in Arlington Heights, the Bears said in a statement they released Friday in conjunction with their meeting.What to know about the possible stadium move from Soldier Field.Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/breaking and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Daily horoscope | Ask AmyFrom Taylor Swift to several sporting events: Traffic and big crowds arrive in Chicago this weekendChicago will be bustling with sporting and live entertainment events all weekend, prompting officials and orga...

Travel: Ever wanted to sail to a private island? Here’s how you can

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:20 GMT

As cruise lines vie for industry supremacy in myriad categories onboard, they’re also playing a game of one-upmanship onshore. Private islands, those secluded oases of fun and sun that await cruisers on many warm-weathered itineraries, are as much a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses thing as who has the best waterslides, thrill rides, culinary program, entertainment and, yes, even bedding.Cruise lines have owned or operated private isles for nearly half a century, but perhaps at no other time has the development of these secluded sanctuaries been so feverish. From Central America and the South Pacific to the Caribbean and coast of southern Africa, more than a dozen are in the construction, expansion, renovation or planning phase.This collective order of full speed ahead by the industry is steel drum music to the ears of cruise vacationers looking for a happy medium between all the seeing and doing options while in port and a relaxing sea day. Because most private islands operate as extens...