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Following up on the Texas bills that might make you say ‘huh?’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:33 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Last November, KXAN perused the new bills pre-filed by Texas legislators and pulled four that we thought were peculiar. With the end of the 89th legislative session nearing, we wanted to update you on how they are doing.Pregnant women can drive in High Occupancy Vehicle lanes In July 2022, an officer pulled over a pregnant woman for driving in an HOV lane without a passenger. She fought the citation because she argued her unborn fetus should count as another passenger.“I said, ‘Well, not trying to throw a political mix here, but with everything going on, this counts as a baby,’” Brandy Bottone told a Dallas station, referring to the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.This story got national attention, and a few months later, two Texas lawmakers filed duplicate bills (HB 1744 and HB 521) to allow pregnant women to drive in HOV lanes with only their unborn fetuses.After Texas Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, filed HB 521, nearly 60 of Bricoe’s Re...

5 things to know this Friday, May 12

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:33 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The great Bob Marley once sang, "Sun is shining, the weather is sweet. Make you want to move your dancing feet." The tune could not fit this Friday any better—Meteorologists Matt Mackie and Jill Szwed went so far as to say, it will feel like summer! Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! A small plane crashed Thursday afternoon at the South Albany Airport. Meanwhile, the CDTA finalized plans to expand its service into Warren County. The details top today's five things to know. 1. Small plane crashes at South Albany AirportThree people were injured after a plane crashed at the South Albany Airport in Selkirk on Thursday. The crash took place around 3:40 p.m. Small plane crashes at South Albany Airport 2. CDTA to officially take over Glens Falls busesBuses are busy work, and soon, Glens Falls’ bus system will get a hand. On Thursday, the Capital District Transit Authority (CDTA) formalized a merger with Gr...

MSD Plans $900M wastewater treatment plant upgrades

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:33 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- MSD has clear plans to upgrade its wastewater treatment plants. Customers will pay for part of the 900 million-dollar project. Incinerators at the Bissel and Lemay wastewater treatment plants are about 50 years old and can no longer keep up with state and federal emissions regulations. Project Clear says those incinerators need the new upgrade in order to reduce carbon emissions from landfills and trucks. Officials say the new upgrades reduce emissions by 70 percent. Construction on a new plant should start by the end of the year.

Biden mandates 90% cut in power plant emissions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:33 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- The Biden administration has announced new regulations on power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency says it will limit carbon emissions from existing coal and gas plants by forcing them to cut their greenhouse gas output by as much as 90 percent or face closure. The new rule impacts plants that generate about a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gases. It is based on an e-p-a proposal to make two-thirds. Of passenger vehicles, electric or zero-carbon, by 2032. But some lawmakers claim America simply can't afford it. They say the rule could impact the reliability of America's electrical grid and lead to higher energy costs.

Opinion: Add a right to housing to the California constitution

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:33 GMT

Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s historic commitment to ending California’s housing crisis — and the administration’s arm-twisting to try to make local jurisdictions do the right thing — we have not made the progress that Californians need. Forty percent of the state’s households now spend more on housing than they can afford, and California is home to more than half of the nation’s unsheltered people.A new proposal in the Legislature, Assembly Constitutional Amendment 10, puts us on the precipice of significant change. If passed, the bill by Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, would give voters the opportunity to enshrine housing as a fundamental right in our state Constitution. The constitutional amendment would provide the state with a game-changing legal tool — and an ongoing obligation no matter who is in office — to ensure that every person has access to a permanent, stable home.Creating a fundamental right to housing is consistent with public will. ...

The 10 most expensive homes reported sold in San Jose in the week of April 24

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:33 GMT

A house in San Jose that sold for $3 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in San Jose in the past week.In total, 41 residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $2.2 million, $946 per square foot.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of April 24 even if the property may have been sold earlier.10. $2.3 million, detached house in the 5400 block of Blossom Vista AvenueThe 1,312 square-foot single-family home in the 5400 block of Blossom Vista Avenue in San Jose has now been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in April and the total purchase price was $2,325,000, $1,772 per square foot. The house was built in 1960. The house features 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.Blossom Vista Avenue9. $2.4 million, single-family residence in the 6500 block of Pajaro CourtThe sale of the single-family house in the 6500 block of Pajaro Court, Sa...

A’s prized pitcher seeking second opinion for elbow pain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:33 GMT

OAKLAND — The A’s expect to have news regarding a promising young pitching prospect on Friday.Mason Miller, the 24-year-old right-hander who has dazzled with a high-90s fastball and wipeout slider through four major league starts, received a second opinion on his injured right elbow on Thursday.A’s manager Mark Kotsay said the doctors were discussing their findings on Thursday afternoon. The A’s expect to have more information about the next step for Miller on Friday.The news came as a surprise given what Kotsay had said two days earlier, when the A’s thought Miller was out of the woods for any serious elbow damage.Miller, who exited a start last Sunday due to elbow soreness, had a “clean, structural MRI,” Kotsay told reporters in New York on Tuesday.Thursday, however, the team placed Miller on the 15-day injured list with forearm tightness, which can sometimes be the first step before elbow surgery.It’s been a tough go for Miller, who missed most of the 2022 season with a rig...

Study to trace California cannabis lineage, preserve oral history of legacy cultivators

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:33 GMT

Cal Poly Humboldt is part of a new study that will research cannabis across California. The interdisciplinary study aims to preserve oral histories and the legacy genetics of cannabis farmers, including those in Humboldt County.Dominic Corva. (Cal Poly Humboldt) One of the principal investigators is Dominic Corva, a cannabis studies program director at Cal Poly Humboldt. The study will start this year, coinciding with the launch of the university’s cannabis studies program.Corva said Humboldt is “the latest in the last 10,000 years of history, in terms of places that have become synonymous with the plant.”Corva said the most central, important part of the study is the community-based, participatory research. Legacy cultivation communities will decide where herbariums —traditional plant libraries that store genetics and seeds — will be built, and communities will take part in how they will preserve their genetics.“They get to own the process in so many ways — us researchers are ...

Two brothers accused of Northern California crime spree

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:33 GMT

On Thursday, the younger of the two brothers accused of a crime spree across Eureka culminating in an alleged gunfight where both men were shot by Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office deputies, was arrested.Jesse Widmark, 18, and his 27-year-old brother Brandon Widmark have been recovering at a local hospital from their gunshot wounds inflicted by police. As of the Times-Standard’s print deadline, official charges had not been filed against Jesse Widmark, and Brandon Widmark is still in the hospital.Jesse Widmark has no criminal record in Humboldt County, though Brandon Widmark has an open criminal case alleging assault. The complaint alleges that the elder Widmark attacked another man, Joseph Nunes, with a machete around Aug. 9, 2022. He also has a closed criminal case regarding entering Humboldt County as a fugitive from Jackson County, Oregon in 2021. A bench warrant was issued for Brandon Widmark’s arrest in the assault case.The brothers were also suspected of committing a robbery i...

Opinion: We know far too little about how social media affects kids’ brains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:33 GMT

The American Psychological Association has issued its first advisory on social media use in adolescence. What’s most striking in its data-based recommendations is how little we really know about how these apps affect our kids.The relative newness of platforms like Snapchat and TikTok means little research is available about their long-term effects on teen and tween brains. Getting better data will require significant funding — and much more transparency from tech companies.Perhaps a lack of clear data is one reason that so much of the conversation around social media and kids leans on our personal experiences and attitudes. And so much of the available data is murky: There’s plenty of correlative evidence that platforms like TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram can have a negative effect on kids’ development, but very little causal data.That doesn’t mean that our assumptions about social media’s deleterious effects on kids aren’t true, or that parents don’t have cause to worry. But it has...