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Cement-filled toilets and dead fish: NC school district bars more than 80 seniors from graduation over 'pranks'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:57 GMT

(WGHP) – Some students call it a senior prank. Law enforcement officials call it vandalism.   In North Carolina, the school districts are filing charges.Over the last month, multiple school districts in the state have filed charges against students in connection with so-called pranks that, they say, are anything but harmless.The Burlington Police Department, for instance, recently announced that charges had been filed against seven students who were reportedly involved in an incident at Walter M. Williams High School, during which they poured cement mix into eight toilets and six urinals after breaking in. The incident, which made national headlines, was extremely destructive, school officials said.“That alone was the cost of around $4,000,” said Les Atkins, spokesperson for the Alamance-Burlington School System (ABSS).That’s not counting labor.  “We had about 17 maintenance workers here."It wasn’t just the cement. Baby powder was all over the gym, inappropriate signs...

Costco shoppers shifting away from specific item; CFO says it's indicator of recession

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:57 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Costco’s shoppers were less often choosing to purchase beef or steaks from the stores’ meat departments in recent months — a trend indicative of a recession or at least “concern” for a recession, according to CFO Richard Galanti.Galanti, speaking with investors in a third-quarter earnings call last week, said more shoppers were choosing less expensive cuts of meat instead.“Historically, we've always seen, like within fresh protein, we've always seen when there's a recession, whether it was '99, '00 or '08, '09, '10, we would see some sales penetration shift from beef to poultry and pork,” Galanti said in a third-quarter earnings call last week. “We've seen some of that now.” Costco CFO addresses future of $1.50 hot dog-and-soda deal on earnings call He also said he had heard from a fellow executive that Costco was seeing “some switch even to some canned products, like canned chicken and canned tuna and things like that.”Products from Kirkland Signature — Costco’s priva...

Chicago Tap Theater celebrates 20th year anniversary with milestone performance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:57 GMT

Sterling Harris, choreographer of the Chicago Tap Teater, joins WGN Weekend Morning News to talk about the 20th anniversary of the dance company and how he was able to choreograph it. With a background in Neuroscience, Harris was able to combine his passion of music and dance with science in the milestone performance to take place next week.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

'Just Majority' campaign makes stops in Austin, pushing for more balanced Supreme Court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN)—A group of diverse advocates are traveling in a bus around the country, pushing for change within the U.S.'s highest court. It's called the 'Just Majority,' campaign. The message?: ‘Democracy Demands A Fair And Ethical Court,' as seen in bold letters on the campaign's tour bus. A group made up of reproductive, gun violence prevention, civil rights and racial justice advocates are spreading awareness about the Judiciary Act."The Judiciary Act would put new Supreme Court justices onto the court," Representative for Texas District 35, Greg Casar said. "We would be adding four justices to the court. And there have been multiple times in American history and many times that the Congress has changed the number of justices on the court."It's a conversation Casar and his fellow advocates say has more urgency now, than ever. That's why they want to talk about it to anyone who will listen.The Supreme Court's decision to reverse Roe. V. Wade may have added more fuel to the group'...

UT Austin preps to educate thousands with new AI program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The University of Texas at Austin this week opened applications for its first-ever online master's degree in artificial intelligence. The first of its kind in the nation, the program debuts next spring.UT estimates there will be 97 million new AI-related jobs globally over the next two years. The university told KXAN it received roughly 10,000 inquiries about its new program."Organizations, companies are in dire need of people with these skills. But there aren't enough people out there to hire," said Eric Busch, UT's Managing Director of Computer and Data Science Online.Busch said the online program has been scaled to educate thousands of students at once and has been priced at about $10,000."[The pricing] is a game changer for a lot of folks," Busch told KXAN.Computer science professor Adam Klivans will lead some of the AI courses. He said students are expected to have some base knowledge in computer science, statistics, or electrical engineering."They're learning s...

'Crisis averted': Biden signs debt ceiling bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:57 GMT

(NewsNation) — With just two days to spare, President Joe Biden signed legislation on Saturday that lifts the nation’s debt ceiling, averting an unprecedented default on the federal government’s debt.The White House announced the signing, done in private at the White House, in an emailed statement in which Biden thanked congressional leaders for their partnership.Biden on Friday celebrated a “crisis averted" in his first address since the deal's passage, saying, “No one got everything they wanted, but the American people got what they needed.”The deal will suspend the debt limit for two years, while also putting in new work requirements for older Americans receiving food assistance. It also boosts funding for veterans and defense and approves a natural gas pipeline going from West Virginia to Virginia. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the plan cuts the deficit by $1.5 trillion over the next decade.  Biden highlighted the “compromise and consensus” in the deal. “...

Two shootings in Aurora overnight — including teen pedestrian shot from car — and police are looking for suspects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:57 GMT

Two people were shot overnight in Aurora, both victims are expected to survive and police are looking for suspects in the incidents.#APDAlert: APD is investigating two overnight cases of walk-in gunshot wounds.The 1st occurred at midnight when APD responded to a local hospital for a report of an 18-year-old who had been shot in the lower back in a drive-by while walking near Oswego and Colfax. pic.twitter.com/ztx6Ff7xSo— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) June 3, 2023The first shooting happened at about midnight in the area of East Colfax Avenue and Oswego Street, the Aurora Police Department said on Twitter. An 18-year-old pedestrian was shot in the lower back by someone in a passing vehicle. The victim arrived at the hospital independently without transport by an ambulance.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Teen arrested following fatal April shooting in Denver Crime and Public Safety | Denver school board considering whether to rescind 2020 pol...

California could lose up to 70% of its beaches by 2100, study finds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:57 GMT

California’s famous coastline could become a thing of the past, according to a new study that predicts that up to 70% of the state’s beaches could disappear by the end of the century if measures aren’t taken to address rising sea levels and greenhouse emissions.The study, conducted by researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, says that the worst-case scenario could result in 25% to 70% of the state’s beaches completely eroding based on an analysis of satellite images and climate-change-driven sea-level rise models. California beaches make Tripadvisor’s list of ‘the best of the best’ in U.S. While the impact would change depending on each coastal area, the overall impact would be “grim,” according to the report.For example, Half Moon Bay in Northern California could lose all of its sand.In San Diego County, a one-meter rise in sea level would result in the area losing more than one-quarter of its coastal picnic areas, about half of its lifeguard towers and about 15% of its restr...

Biden signs bill to raise debt ceiling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:57 GMT

President Biden on Saturday signed legislation to raise the debt ceiling into 2025 and avert a default, marking a significant bipartisan accomplishment amid divided government in Washington, D.C.The president signed the bill just days before Treasury officials warned the department would run out of money to pay the nation’s bills, potentially triggering a recession and harming the economy.In addition to raising the debt ceiling, the bill includes agreements on spending caps, claws back unused COVID-19 relief funds, adds work requirements for certain individuals getting government assistance and rescinds some of the funding provided to the IRS in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.But the bill otherwise leaves many Democratic priorities enacted during the last Congress untouched, and it does not include any new work requirements for Medicaid recipients.The Senate passed the bill on Thursday night with a bipartisan 63-36 vote. The House had passed the measure a day earlier in similar...

Cannabiotix Talks Emerald Cup Podium Spot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:57 GMT

We chatted with the Cannabiotix team about their recent podium finish at The Emerald Cup with French Alps taking third in the hyper-competitive indoor category. That third-place finish was also the top spot for a SoCal flower brand in the indoor category with Oakland’s Fig Farms taking first and San Francisco’s Sense taking second. The only other local flower brand in the Top 5 was Maven Genetics. We chatted with them last week. Cannabiotix’s cofounder Neema Samari explained the company had been a little wary of the cup scene in the past. “It was our first time doing The Emerald Cup. In general, I think we’ve been a little cynical about competition for the last four years. So it was good to get back out there and give it a whirl,” Samari told L.A. Weekly. He estimated it has been at least five years since they entered any kind of contest. Attitudes started to change when they saw they now had a chance at The Emerald Cup once the indoor category was added.“And that’s obviously ...