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Analysis shows Ohio’s new universal voucher program already exceeds cost estimates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:30 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The cost of Ohio’s new universal school voucher program already appears to be more expensive than initially estimated, according to a published report, and that cost will continue to grow as the application deadline is still more than a month away.An analysis by The Columbus Dispatch found the state has received applications totaling approximately $432 million for the 2023-24 school year, which is $34 million more than forecasted by the Legislative Service Commission. Meanwhile, the state education department says its receiving between 900 and 1,000 applications daily.When Ohio’s two-year budget was drafted, the commission estimated income-based vouchers would cost $397.8 million for fiscal year 2024 and $439.1 million for fiscal year 2025. However, voucher interest has skyrocketed since lawmakers expanded eligibility to all Ohioans in the state budget approved in July. The state awarded 24,320 vouchers for the 2022-23 school year and has received 70,487 ...

On movie screens in Toronto, home is a battleground

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:30 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — Three generations of a Ukrainian family sit in a van in the documentary “In the Rearview.” They stare straightforward, staggered by all they’ve left behind. Their home. The dogs they set loose. Their cow, Beauty.“She cried as we left,” a child says.“In the Rearview,” which documents several hundred who took filmmaker Maciek Hamela’s van out of eastern Ukraine in the first month of Russia’s attacks, movingly condenses a mass migration into a four-door flight.“I come from an aristocratic family,” one woman says in the film. “Now I am just a traveling frog.”As the Toronto International Film Festival winds down after a week of wall-to-wall premieres, on screen there has been no more fraught turf than the land that families try to eke out a life on, amid geopolitical storms knocking on the front door. The biggest battleground isn’t just a war zone but the home.In the dystopian Korean thriller “Concrete Utopia,” directed by Um Tae-hwa, an earthquake destroys everything in S...

Brazil’s top court imposes 17-year sentence, in first case against rioters who stormed the capital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:30 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday handed a 17-year prison sentence to a supporter of former President Jair Bolsonaro who stormed top government offices on Jan. 8 in an alleged bid to forcefully restore the right-wing leader to office.Aécio Lúcio Costa Pereira, 51, is the first of several participants in the uprising to be prosecuted. Police arrested him on the day of the riot.In January, cameras at the Senate filmed him wearing a shirt calling for a military coup and recording a video of himself praising others who had also broken into the building. Almost 1,500 people were detained on the day of the riots, though most have been released.The majority of the 11 justices of the court ruled that Pereira committed five crimes: criminal association; staging a coup; violent attack on the rule of law; qualified damage; and destruction of public assets. They sentenced him to 17 years in prison. Pereira denied any wrongdoing and claimed he took part in a peaceful demonstrat...

‘Hold the line,’ means different things to different people: ‘Freedom Convoy’ defence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:30 GMT

OTTAWA — The lawyer for one of the most prominent organizers of the “Freedom Convoy” disputed the meaning of a key phrase used by demonstrators in the final days of the protest.The words “Hold the line” were frequently heard on the streets in Ottawa in February 2022, and were played in court over and over as the Crown took showed social media videos from the protest this week.Many of those videos featured Chris Barber and his co-accused, Tamara Lich, who are both facing criminal charges for their role in the protest. In the Crown’s opening statement, Tim Radcliffe said the two organizers didn’t just “hold the line,” they “crossed the line” into criminal activity by encouraging people to stay in Ottawa as police ordered protesters to leave. “There’s different interpretations for the words ‘Hold the line,'” said Barber’s defence lawyer, Diane Magas, outside the courthouse Thursday. She has not ye...

26 injured, 5 seriously after tent collapse in Bedford Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:30 GMT

BEDFORD PARK, Ill. — A tent collapsed in Bedford Park Thursday morning and 26 people were sent to the hospital.Bedford Park police said the tent collapsed near the Cintas Bedford Park location, which is in the 5600 block of West 73rd Street, at around 10:45 a.m.Authorities transferred 26 people suffering from various injuries. Five of the patients were transported in serious condition.Police said the cause of the collapse is currently being investigated.WGN News will update this story once more information becomes available.

Early morning storm tears through Cedar Park neighborhood, multiple homes damaged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:30 GMT

CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Strong winds, rain, and hail ripped shingles off roofs, knocked down a gazebo, and littered debris near homes off Baghdad Road and Brashear Lane.The City of Cedar Park said the storm hit around 6 a.m. and is suspected to have been a microburst, not a tornado, but the National Weather Service will make an official ruling in the coming days. DEPTH: Tiny but dangerous — seek shelter during a microburst The city said emergency managers are assessing damage now, and that no injuries have been reported. One gazebo at an HOA park was flattened by the storm and multiple private properties were damaged, according to the city.Carrie Johannsen lives on Sebina Drive and said she woke up to the sounds of the storm around 5 a.m. She said winds were howling and hail was pounding down on top of the home. Johannsen said she looked out the window for early signs of damage and found her backyard had been torn apart."There was a lot of noise, we looked outside and saw there...

APD searching for suspect in June southeast Austin hit-and-run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Police are searching for a man they say is responsible for a hit-and-run crash that happened in southeast Austin in June. The crash happened June 1 around 12:25 p.m. near the intersection of East William Cannon Drive and James Ranch Road. According to the Austin Police Department, the preliminary investigation showed the driver of a dark-colored Chevy Equinox crossed into oncoming traffic and hit another vehicle, then immediately left the scene without rendering aid or calling 911. One of the passengers in the vehicle that the man hit was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to APD.  The suspect is described as:Hispanic male20 to 30 years of ageMedium buildExtended goatee beardHe was last seen wearing sunglasses, a black baseball cap, black t-shirt, black shorts, and black sneakers.APD is searching for the suspect involved in a hit-and-run crash happened June 1 around 12:25 p.m. near the intersection of East Willia...

READ: Hunter Biden indictment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:30 GMT

(The Hill) – President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden was indicted by prosecutors in Delaware on Thursday.The court filings detail charges alleging Hunter Biden's failure to disclose drug use when seeking to buy a weapon (resulting in two separate charges), as well as for unlawful possession of a firearm while addicted to a controlled substance. The indictment can be read below in its entirety.Hunter-Biden-Indictment-1DownloadThe indictment does not list any tax crimes — a matter that would have been covered by the prior plea agreement that had Hunter Biden pleading guilty to two charges of willful failure to pay taxes.Hunter Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, did not immediately respond to a request for comment nor did the White House. Man who threw flagpole at officers on Jan. 6 sentenced to prison The charges come the same week that House Republicans kicked off an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, who they allege improperly interfered in Ukraine in or...

High school football: Week 3 predictions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:30 GMT

A look at some of the top high school football games Friday night for teams in the East Metro and western Wisconsin:Lakeville South (2-0) at Lakeville North (2-0), 7 p.m.Class 6A football is better when this game has high stakes. That’s certainly the case this fall, as Lakeville South is its usual stellar self, and Lakeville North already sports two of the more impressive wins to date among the big schools. OUR PICK: Lakeville South 14, Lakeville North 13Cretin-Derham Hall (1-1) vs. St. Thomas Academy (1-1), at TCO Stadium, 7 p.m.Travis Walch scored win No. 1 last week as the new Cadets head coach as his team took down Waconia. He certainly entered St. Thomas Academy under different circumstances than Steve Walsh did when he took over Cretin-Derham Hall’s football program a year ago. Both coaches sport the same expectations, though: Win. OUR PICK: St. Thomas Academy 31, Cretin-Derham Hall 17Mounds View (2-0) at Forest Lake (1-1), 7 p.m.Kudos to Mounds View for its 2-0 record, an imp...

Rensselaer man arrested on burglary charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:30 GMT

DELMAR, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Rensselaer man has been arrested following a burglary investigation, according to police. John Whiteford, 41, is facing multiple charges. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Police say that Whiteford is accused of burglarizing Great Wall Chinese Kitchen and Empire Wok, both located in Delmar. The two incidents reportedly occurred on August 13. Whiteford is also currently on parole. He now faces the following charges: ChargesTwo counts of third-degree burglaryTwo counts of third-degree criminal mischiefTwo counts of petit larceny Defendant pleads not guilty in Albany homicide case Whiteford was arraigned at the Town of Bethlehem Court and remanded to the Albany County Correctional Facility without bail due. He is expected back in court on September 19.