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Minnesota Amish families win case that pits septic tank rules against religious beliefs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

Members of a deeply conservative Amish community in Minnesota don’t need to install septic systems to dispose of their “gray water,” the state Court of Appeals ruled Monday in a long-running religious freedom case that went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.A three-judge panel ruled that the government “failed to demonstrate a compelling state interest” to justify overriding the religious freedom of the Amish families that challenged state regulations governing the disposal of gray water, which is water that’s been used for dishwashing, laundry, and bathing, but not toilet waste.The Swartzentruber Amish in southeastern Minnesota are among the most traditional Amish groups in the country, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch noted in a 2021 ruling. It sent the case back to Minnesota courts for reconsideration in light of a high court decision a month earlier in a different religious freedom case. That ruling went in favor of a Philadelphia-based Catholic foster ...

Appeals court: Governor Walz had authority to impose mask mandate during COVID pandemic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

ST. PAUL — Gov. Tim Walz had the legal authority to mandate face masks when he declared a public health emergency in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Monday.Walz declared a peacetime emergency in March 2020 and mandated masking in most indoor public spaces in July 2020. The conservative Upper Midwest Law Center sued, challenging the mask requirement as unconstitutional. Walz lifted the mandate in May 2021, at which point the Court of Appeals declared the case moot.But the Minnesota Supreme Court in February sent the case back to the appeals court to settle the key legal question behind the case: whether the the Minnesota Emergency Management Act of 1996 authorizes a governor to declare a peacetime emergency during a public health emergency such as the pandemic. The high court called it an “important issue of statewide significance.”The appeals court rejected as “unreasonable” the plaintiffs’ assertions that the coronavirus “most lik...

Preparations underway for farmers market outside MVP Arena

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Final preparations are underway for a new farmers market in downtown Albany. County leaders partnered with MVP Healthcare and the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District to host four farmers markets outside MVP Arena this year.The first one takes place on Sunday, July 16. Local vendors will serve organic produce, baked goods, and more. Local leaders said it will expand access to fresh, healthy food. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "Even if they make it to the Price Chopper on Delaware Avenue or ShopRite in Delmar, they got to take a bus, and then they got to transport groceries with them, and they have to keep moving," Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said. "This gives an opportunity for people to come here to give exposure to our great MVP Arena to really look at what we're doing here."There will also be educational activities at each farmers market. Sunday's market will focus on healthy liv...

Montgomery Co. sheriff looking for woman last seen July 3

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

SPRAKERS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in locating a 23-year-old woman. Kaitlyn Simpson was last seen on July 3 in Sprakers. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! She was last seen wearing a crop top with bright flowers, black and white sweatpants and green flip flops. Anyone with information is asked to call police at (518) 853-5500 or (518) 673-2554.

Woman Killed in Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Crash on Silver Lake Boulevard [Los Angeles, CA]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

Woman Pronounced Dead after Pedestrian Collision on Berkeley AvenueLOS ANGELES, CA (July 10, 2023) – Monday night, one woman was pronounced dead after a hit-and-run pedestrian crash on Silver Lake Boulevard.Police responded to the scene around 9:20 p.m., near Berkeley Avenue on June 12th.Investigators believe the driver of a vehicle struck a woman and immediately fled the scene. First responders located the woman, described in her 80s, down on the road in critical condition.Paramedics transported the female pedestrian to a nearby hospital where she later succumbed to her injuries. Although, authorities have not yet released her identity.At this time, an active investigation is still currently underway. Once available, further details will be provided.In this sorrowful time, the Sweet James team would like to extend their heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased woman. May you find comfort and strength during this difficult time.Losing someone in a hit-and-run pedest...

Brad Pitt accused of ‘looting’ Chateau Miraval’s assets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

By Alli Rosenbloom and Chloe Melas | CNNAn ongoing legal dispute over a French estate and winery Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie formerly owned together continues to escalate.In a new court filing obtained by CNN, Jolie’s former investment company Nouvel accuses Pitt and “co-conspirators” of attempting to retain control of Château Miraval by “stripping” and “looting” its assets. Nouvel is seeking at least $350 million in damages.“Pitt wasted the company’s assets, spending millions on vanity projects, including more than $1 million on swimming pool renovations, building and rebuilding a staircase four times, and spending millions to restore a recording studio,” the document filed Monday states.Attorneys for Nouvel claim in the filing that Pitt’s “misconduct” escalated after Jolie sold Nouvel in October 2021 to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Stoli Group, controlled by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler.“Incensed that Jolie sold Nouvel to Stoli rather than him, Pitt has acted like a petulan...

Warriors executive leaves Golden State for WNBA GM job

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS — After nearly a decade with the Warriors, Nick U’Ren is stepping away from the Bay to take a job as the Phoenix Mercury’s next general manager.U’Ren, the Warriors executive director of basketball operations who suggested a crucial adjustment that swayed the 2015 NBA Finals in favor of Golden State, is set to start his new job in October at the end of the WNBA season. He’ll replace long-time general manager Jim Pitman, who plans to retire at the end of this season.U’Ren, a Phoenix native, has spent the last nine seasons with the Warriors and steadily earned his way up the rankings. He worked closely with coach Steve Kerr as a special assistant to the head coach and director of coaching operations and also served as the manager of advanced scouting. U’Ren was only 28 when he famously proposed the Warriors start Andre Iguodala instead of Andrew Bogut, a move that eventually made all the difference for Golden State, who beat the Cleve...

Ukraine war: Analysis shows Russia has lost nearly 50,000 soldiers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

By Erika Kinetz | Associated PressBRUSSELS — Nearly 50,000 Russian men have died in the war in Ukraine, according to the first independent statistical analysis of Russia’s war dead.Two independent Russian media outlets, Mediazona and Meduza, working with a data scientist from Germany’s Tübingen University, used Russian government data to shed light on one of Moscow’s closest-held secrets — the true human cost of its invasion of Ukraine.To do so, they relied on a statistical concept popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic called excess mortality. Drawing on inheritance records and official mortality data, they estimated how many more men under age 50 died between February 2022 and May 2023 than normal.Neither Moscow nor Kyiv gives timely data on military losses, and each is at pains to amplify the other side’s casualties. Russia has publicly acknowledged the deaths of just over 6,000 soldiers. Reports about military losses have been repressed in Russian media...

Comedian Sarah Silverman sues Bay Area tech firms over AI book capture

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

Comedian and author Sarah Silverman is suing social media giant Meta and ChatGPT pioneer OpenAI in a pair of related lawsuits accusing the high-profile Bay Area technology companies of breaking state and federal laws by using her memoir “The Bedwetter” as fodder for their artificial intelligence products.Silverman and two novelists claim Menlo Park-based Meta and San Francisco-based OpenAI violated copyright and other laws by ingesting their books — and those of thousands of other authors — to train their artificial intelligence software.Both companies copied works protected by copyright law, including books by Silverman, Pennsylvania author Richard Kadrey and Massachusetts writer Christopher Golden “without consent, without credit, and without compensation,” according to the lawsuits filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.OpenAI, which sells ChatGPT via subscription, and Meta, which according to Silverman’s lawsuit is planning...

San Francisco police union defends mass arrest at skateboard 'hill bomb' event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- This summer's "Dolores Hill Bomb," an unsanctioned event where skateboarders take over a steep city street, escalated into a riot and mass arrest of more than 100 people.The counter-culture skateboarding event turned ugly. And in the wake of Saturday evening's melee, city leaders are sparring over who escalated the event into chaos. Mayor London Breed is backing police, stating, "No one at this event was arrested for skateboarding." Breed added, "This was an unpermitted event that has led to serious problems in the past, including property destruction and physical injury. The last time it was held, someone died." The San Francisco Police Department's chief and union are strongly defending tactics used by officers. Police officers had to take action to protect fearful residents in the Mission District neighborhood, according to SFPD, the chief, and the union. The San Francisco Police Officers Association wrote, "The violence and chaos on our streets had nothin...