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FCC adopts rules to eliminate ‘digital discrimination’ for communities with poor internet access

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission has enacted new rules intended to eliminate discrimination in access to internet services, a move which regulators are calling the first major U.S. digital civil rights policy.The rules package, which the commission ratified on Wednesday, would empower the agency to review and investigate instances of discrimination by broadband providers to different communities based on income, race, ethnicity and other protected classes. The order also provides a framework for the FCC to crack down a range of digital inequities including the disparities in the investment of services for different neighborhoods, as well as the “digital divide,” a term experts use to describe the complete lack of internet access many communities experience due to regional or socioeconomic inequality. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that Congress required the agency to adopt rules addressing digital discrimination, through bipartisan infrastructure legi...

More competition needed in grocery to help stabilize food prices: Freeland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

MASCOUCHE, Que. — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says more competition is needed in Canada’s grocery sector as consumers grapple with the rising cost of living. Speaking at a press conference in Mascouche, Quebec, Freeland said major changes are needed to Canadian competition law in order to help stabilize prices. Her comments came after two of the country’s major grocers reported higher profits and sales in the most recent quarter.As Canadians increasingly look to save money, Loblaw and Metro said they’ve been converting stores to discount banners and are seeing higher sales growth in private-label brands. This fall, the federal government called upon the major grocers to stabilize food prices, and last month, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced that Loblaw, Metro, Empire, Walmart and Costco had presented their plans, which included discounts and price freezes.The industry is also nearing the completion of a grocery code of conduct meant to provide guideline...

Anti-vax soldier came close to mutiny, should face severe punishment: court martial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — The prosecution at a military court martial says a former soldier who served in Afghanistan and Croatia should face severe punishment for using his military rank and uniform to publicly challenge the Canadian Armed Forces’ COVID-19 vaccine mandates.Prosecutor Major Ben Richard told the court martial in New Westminster, B.C., that reservist Warrant Officer James Topp came close to mutiny when he wore a military uniform while posting two videos to social media criticizing the vaccine mandates.Richard says Topp’s actions could have spurred protests similar to the storming of the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Topp, who refused to be vaccinated, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline in relation to the videos he posted criticizing the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for military personnel. He faces a maximum punishment of dismissal with disgrace, but his lawyer, Phillip Millar, says his clie...

Colorado hearing into whether Trump can remain on the state’s primary ballot wraps up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado judge on Wednesday will hear closing arguments on whether former President Donald Trump is barred from the ballot by a provision of the U.S. Constitution that forbids those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.District Judge Sarah B. Wallace will have 48 hours to rule after the end of arguments Wednesday afternoon, though that deadline can be extended. She held a weeklong hearing that concluded earlier this month on whether the Civil War-era provision disqualifies Trump given his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.Wednesday’s hearing comes on the heels of two losses for advocates who are trying to remove Trump from the ballot under Section Three of the 14th Amendment, which bars from office those who swore an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against it. The measure has only been used a handful of times since the period after the Civil War, when it was intended to stop former Confeder...

City Council overwhelmingly approves Mayor Brandon Johnson's budget

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

CHICAGO — Members of the City Council set aside their differences and approved Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first budget with overwhelming support.The spending plan passed with 41 yes votes and eight no votes. The tax levy passed 40-9. Decreasing number of migrants arriving in Chicago, but shelters still remain in question The more than $16.7 billion budget closes a $538 million deficit while holding the line on property taxes.To win over last-minute holdouts, the Johnson administration added sweeteners.Among them was a new office dedicated to helping people returning from jail or prison, funding for alderpeople to hire one new ward staffer and a recent agreement to boost pay and pension benefits to police officers.The budget also contains a modest $150 million to support migrants, funds to combat homelessness, money to open shuttered mental health clinics and support for a non-police response to mental health emergencies."This is an investment in our city," said Ald. Walter Burnett (2...

Bears say QB Justin Fields healthy enough to start against Lions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears will have Justin Fields back at quarterback Sunday against the Detroit Lions for a stretch of games that could be critical to his future with the team.Coach Matt Eberflus announced the move following four missed starts by Fields because of a right dislocated thumb.“Our plan is to start him on Sunday,” Eberflus said. “He continues to progress this week. Returning to practice today is going to be a big part of the evaluation.”A decision on Fields’ fifth-year contract option is due next spring and the Bears can use these seven weeks to help decide if they want to go forward with Fields or possibly use one of their two first-round draft picks on a quarterback. Opinion: The clock is ticking on the Tyson Bagent Express “I think seven weeks is enough time to show consistency and being the high performer that we expect him to be,” Eberflus said. “I know he’s had some good performances along this year. Certainly, the last few have been solid.“We e...

Scientists claim to identify 'switch' to kill cancer, possibly revolutionizing treatment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

DAVIS, Calif. (NewsNation) — Scientists at UC Davis in California say they have identified a “switch” that can activate the death of cancer cells — potentially paving the way for new cancer treatment.Researchers from the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center claim the discovery can allow doctors to eliminate cancer cells without harming healthy cells. The researchers published their findings in the Nature journal Cell Death & Differentiation. ‘I thought I was invincible’: NewsNation’s Tom Dempsey shares cancer fight "You get targeted, specific killing of those cells that are potentially going to do you harm. Then the healthy cells are left untouched. That is just ideal," Dr. Jill Waggoner, a family physician, said. The implications of these new findings could potentially revolutionize cancer treatment. However, it has not yet been tested on animals or humans. It has proven successful in labs thus far."This is a game changer," said Dr. Jogender Tushir-Singh, an associate profes...

Lake County cow sculpture's winning name revealed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

Wednesday was a beautiful day at the Lake County Farm Bureau and its newest and greatest attraction was naturally the center of attention.The 14-foot beauty of a bovine’s name was revealed.The bureau's executive director Greg Koeppen first announced the runner’s up.“In third place, it was Milkshake, and in second place it was Elsie,” he said.It was Koeppen who conceived of the idea of commissioning the public art in front of the bureau' headquarters in Grayslake after seeing a similar one in Wisconsin’s Door County some 20-years ago as a nod to German immigrants who brought the Holsteins over in the 1800s.Like many places there aren't nearly as many dairy farms in Lake County's these days.Koeppen and the bureau board agreed a cow sculpture  would be the perfect way to draw attention to the county’s history and teach kids about the cows and farmers of yesteryear.Several months later, the masterpiece of Americana was complete at 14 feet high and 23 feet long and weighs 1,000 poun...

US shoots down drone launched from Yemen near Navy ship

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

(The Hill) — The U.S. on Wednesday shot down a drone launched from Yemen as it was headed toward a Navy destroyer, according to the Pentagon.The USS Thomas Hudner, an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer, was transiting international waters around the Red Sea when the drone was spotted in the direction of the ship, the Defense Department said, and the naval crew shot it down.There were no casualties and no damage to the U.S. naval ship.The clash is the latest in the Middle East, where the U.S. has been fending off a series of attacks from Iranian-backed groups since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7.Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Tuesday the U.S. has been attacked 55 times in the Middle East since October, with 27 attacks in Iraq and 28 in Syria.U.S. positions have also clashed with the Iranian-backed Houthis at least three times in Yemen.Last month, American forces shot down missiles they believe were headed toward Israel, while earlier this month the Ho...

Record Russian budget will boost defense spending, shoring up Putin's support ahead of election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:11 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Russia's State Duma took a step forward Wednesday towards approving its biggest-ever federal budget which will increase spending by around 25% in 2024, with record amounts going on defense.Defense spending is expected to overtake social spending next year for the first time in modern Russian history, at a time when the Kremlin is keen to shore up support for President Vladimir Putin as Russia prepares for a presidential election in March.Record low unemployment, higher wages and targeted social spending should help the Kremlin ride out the domestic impact of pivoting the economy to a war footing, but could pose a problem in the long term, analysts say.The draft budget "is about getting the war sorted in Ukraine and about being ready for a military confrontation with the West in perpetuity,” said Richard Connolly, an expert on Russia's military and economy at the Royal United Services Institute in London.“This amounts to the wholesale remilitarization of Russian society...