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College Board revises AP Black history class set to launch in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:35 GMT

The College Board on Wednesday released an updated framework for its new Advanced Placement African American Studies course, months after the non-profit testing company came under intense scrutiny for engaging with conservative critics. The revision includes more material on topics including the Tulsa Race Massacre, Black culture’s influence on film and sports, and discriminatory practices related to housing, known as redlining. The new framework will be used when the course officially launches next academic year.The course gained national attention early this year when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, now a Republican presidential candidate, said he would ban the course in his state because it pushed a political agenda. The College Board later removed several topics from the exam, including Black Lives Matter, slavery reparations and queer life, and was criticized for bowing to political pressure. The latest changes address some of that criticism. The course outline includes writte...

Cody Johnson, Thomas Rhett and Jason Aldean to headline Boots and Hearts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:35 GMT

Country stars Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett and Cody Johnson are headed to next year’s Boots and Hearts.All three will headline the 2024 edition of the camping and country music festival, which takes place Aug. 8 to 11 at Burl’s Creek Event Grounds in Oro-Medonte, Ont.Johnson, the Huntsville, Texas, singer known for hits “Til You Can’t” and “Diamond in My Pocket,” makes his debut at the festival as Friday’s top-billed performer.Both Rhett and Aldean mark this as their third time at Boots and Hearts, playing Saturday and Sunday night, respectively.Other acts set to hit the stage this year include British Columbia native Madeline Merlo, as well as U.S. acts Brothers Osborne, Lonestar, Carly Pearce and Megan Moroney.Festival organizer RepublicLive says tickets for the 2024 edition of Boots and Hearts go on sale Friday. The full lineup will be announced in the new year.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2023.The Canadian ...

Suspect arrested in stabbing near Queen and Ossington

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:35 GMT

Toronto police say they have a suspect in custody after a man in his 30s was stabbed in Toronto’s west end.Police responded to the area of Queen Street West and Givins Street near Ossington Avenue around 5 a.m. on Wednesday and found a man with a stab wound to the shoulder.Paramedics transported the man to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.There is no word on charges.No further details have been released.

Taylor Swift is named Time Magazine's person of the year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:35 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Is the year of Taylor Swift over now? Not yet.Time Magazine named Swift its person of the year on Wednesday, a week after Spotify announced she was the most-played artist on the streaming platform. Swift was picked from a group of nine finalists that included Barbie, King Charles III, and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, among others. “While her popularity has grown across the decades, this is the year that Swift, 33, achieved a kind of nuclear fusion: shooting art and commerce together to release an energy of historic force,” Time said about her selection.Her year included the wildly popular Eras Tour and concert movie, the release of her reimagined ‘1989’ album, and her closely watched relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. She's even the subject of college courses. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was Time's 2022 person of the year.

Wednesday Forecast: Temps in upper 30s with mostly cloudy conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:35 GMT

CHICAGO — Wednesday is expected to be mostly cloudy and seasonable with highs in the upper 30s that will feel like the lower 30s.  Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Breezy southwest winds tonight will help keep temperatures from falling beyond the mid-30s, but wind chills will reach the upper 20s as clouds decrease. Thursday Forecast: Mostly sunny Thursday with highs in the lower 50s.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Suspect in custody after 6 dead and 3 wounded in series of attacks in Texas, authorities say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:35 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A daylong series of attacks in Austin has left four people dead and at least three wounded, and a man believed to be connected to them and the deaths of two other people near San Antonio was taken into custody, Texas authorities said.Those who died were found in two homes in Austin and a residence east of San Antonio. The wounded, who were shot, included two police officers and a bicyclist, police said. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening.The man, who is in his 30s, was charged with capital murder, Austin Interim Police Chief Robin Henderson said at a news conference Tuesday night. His name was not immediately released.“We strongly believe one suspect is responsible for all of the incidents," Henderson said of the Austin attacks. She said police “did not determine that these incidents were connected until the last incident occurred” Tuesday night.Henderson and others provided a timeline, saying an Austin independent school district police offic...

6 dead, 3 wounded after series of attacks in Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:35 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – A daylong series of attacks in Austin has left four people dead and at least three wounded, and a man believed to be connected to the attacks — and the deaths of two people near San Antonio — has been taken into custody, Texas authorities said.Those who died were found in two homes in Austin and a residence east of San Antonio. The injured, who were shot, included two police officers and a bicyclist, police said.The suspect, described as a man in his 30s, was charged with capital murder, Austin Interim Police Chief Robin Henderson said at a news conference Tuesday night. His name has not been released, but sources tell Nexstar's KXAN the suspect is Shane James, 34. Travis County Jail records show a man with the same name was booked into the jail at 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning and charged with capital murder of multiple people.“We strongly believe one suspect is responsible for all of the incidents," Henderson said of the Austin attacks. She said that police “did n...

Norman Lear, legendary TV producer, dies at 101

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:35 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Norman Lear, the writer, director and producer who revolutionized prime time television with such topical hits as "All in the Family" and “Maude” and propelled political and social turmoil into the once-insulated world of sitcoms, has died. He was 101.Lear died Tuesday night in his sleep, surrounded by family at his home in Los Angeles, said Lara Bergthold, a spokesperson for his family.A liberal activist with an eye for mainstream entertainment, Lear fashioned bold and controversial comedies that were embraced by TV sitcom viewers who long had to watch the evening news to find out what was going on in the world. His shows helped define prime time comedy in the 1970s and after, launched the careers of such young performers as Rob Reiner and Valerie Bertinelli and made Carroll O'Connor, Bea Arthur and Redd Foxx among others into middle-aged superstars.His signature production was “All in the Family,” which was immersed in the headlines of the day, while also drawin...

Senate Republicans to block Ukraine funding after tempers flare at classified briefing 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:35 GMT

Senate Republican leaders, ahead of a key procedural vote Wednesday, are urging their GOP colleagues to block legislation to provide more than $61 billion in military and foreign aid for Ukraine because the package does not include immigration and asylum reforms. Any hopes of getting a bill passed this week were dashed when tempers boiled over at a classified briefing on the war in Ukraine and senators got into a shouting match over border security. Senate Republicans now say they will reject Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) last-ditch offer to bring President Biden’s request for emergency foreign aid to the floor along with a bipartisan bill to crack down on the fentanyl supply chain and a guarantee Republicans can offer the first amendment on border security.  Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is urging GOP colleagues to vote against the motion to proceed, insisting that major immigration and policy reforms be included in whatever package...

‘Nightmare’: Former Texas foster care workers describe dangerous living conditions inside unlicensed placements

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:35 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Hannah Reveile would wake up at two o’clock in the morning to drive two hours to Temple or Belton, dreading what was to come.“It was scary driving in,” she remembers. “Then, you get to your shift, and you only had maybe the amount of time sitting in your car before you walk in to read about what happened on that previous shift.”As a foster care caseworker, she had to show up for regular, mandatory overtime shifts watching children at locations such as hotels, rental houses, churches and state office buildings. MORE: Psychotropic drugs take center stage in Texas foster care fight The state of Texas occasionally houses long-term foster children in its care in these types of unlicensed placements and calls them Children Without Placement (CWOP). The Department of Family and Protective Services has called CWOP a “last resort” but cited a shortage of beds at licensed foster providers — particularly for kids with complex medical or behavioral needs — as the reason for ha...