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Some providers are dropping gender-affirming care for kids even in cases where it's legal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — As Republican-led states have rushed to ban gender-affirming for minors, some families with transgender children found a bit of solace: At least they lived in states that would allow those already receiving puberty blockers or hormone therapy to continue.But in some places, including Missouri and North Dakota, the care has abruptly been halted because medical providers are wary of harsh liability possibilities from those same laws — one of multiple reasons that advocates say care has become harder to access even where it remains legal.“It was a completely crushing blow,” said Becky Hormuth, whose 16-year-old son was receiving treatment from the Washington University Gender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital until it stopped the care for minors this month. Hormuth cried. Her son cried, too.“There was some anger there, not towards the doctors, not toward Wash U. Our anger is towards the politicians,” she said. “They don’t see our children. They say the health car...

Report: AMPTP, WGA negotiations in “home stretch” 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

The Writers Guild of America is in the final phase of negotiations with Hollywood’s major studios and streaming services, according to reports.  An industry insider told Variety that the talks are “mainly down to language now” and that negotiations are in the "home stretch." Negotiation meetings between the sides have made considerable progress in recent weeks, which may be contributed to the presence of four top executives: Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, Disney’s Bob Iger, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos.  ‘Are you going to miss your mom?’ boy from viral video reunites with reporter The proposed three-year project would bring an end to one of the longest strikes in Hollywood history; the WGA has been on strike since May 2 – 144 days ago. Representatives from SAG-AFTRA are still hammering out a deal with AMPTP and are looking to end their picketing that started in mid-July. 

Woman who has never used a cell phone stuck with $2,221 bill for iPhones she never ordered

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

Debby Setzer-Ortelt called Better Call Behnken for help after her mother, Donna Ortelt, ended up with a gigantic cell phone bill—even though she's never even used a cell phone. "My mother has never had a cell phone, nor does she want one," Setzer-Ortelt told KTLA sister station WFLA. Setzer-Ortelt says this mess started in July when with the delivery of a cell phone with no paperwork. Weeks later, two more iPhones arrived.Then a mysterious letter came, explaining it was a mistake and asking her to send the phones to an address in Texas. What the women say happened mirrors a known phone scheme, previously reported by Better Call Behnken, to steal phones and stick victims with the bill. Californians in these counties may still have to pay taxes Spectrum accepted one phone and erased the bill, and Setzer-Ortlet says she dropped off the T-Mobile phones a company store, but her calls to the company to figure out the bill went nowhere."I would try calling them but because I didn't have ...

Willow Glen to make football coaching change for remainder of the season

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

Willow Glen football coach Oscar Caballero has lost his job for at least the rest of the season after an incident last week with a crew member holding the sideline yard markers.In an email from the San Jose Unified School District sent to parents during the team’s home game Friday night, the district said it received the final report from the Central Coast Section and “will be making a coaching change for the Willow Glen High varsity football team for the remainder of the season.”The district added that San Jose Unified, the CCS, and the California Interscholastic Federation “expect coaches, players, officials, and fans to exhibit good sportsmanship at all contests. Unsportsmanlike conduct should be reported to game officials. San José Unified recognizes the league (CCS) as the governing body for athletic competitions and fully supports (CCS’s) rulings.”The district’s release also said Willow Glen High is working to identify an interim head football coach for the remaind...

Russell Brand makes first public comments since sexual assault allegations

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

(CNN) — Russell Brand has made his first public comments since being accused of rape and sexual assault, thanking followers for “questioning the information they have been presented with” while not addressing the claims.In a YouTube video published by the British comedian on Friday night, Brand – who denies the allegations – spoke of an “extraordinary and distressing week,” accusing the UK government of trying to censor him.Last Saturday, British outlets The Sunday Times, The Times and Channel 4’s “Dispatches” published a joint investigation in which four women alleged Brand sexually assaulted them in separate instances between 2006 and 2013. One of the women said she was 16 and Brand was 31 at the time of the alleged assault in London.The women chose not to be identified by name in the report, according to the The Times. CNN has not been able to independently verify their claims.At least two of the alleged assaults took place in Los Angeles. One woman was treated at a rape treatmen...

Search underway for woman reported missing from SW Miami-Dade

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

Police seek the public’s help in their search for a woman who was reported missing from Southwest Miami-Dade.According to Miami-Dade Police, 40-year-old Stephanie Torres was last seen along the 15700 block of Southwest 147th Lane, at around 8:45 a.m., Saturday.Torres stands 5 feet, 1 inch tall, weighs around 180 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes.She was last seen wearing a black tank top, black shorts and black sandals.Investigators said Torres was driving a silver, two-door 2010 Honda Accord with the Florida tag DJNI63.Police said she left her mother’s home without permission and has not made contact with family or friends. She may be in need of services.Officials urge anyone with information on her whereabouts to call Miami-Dade Police Detective Y. Hernandez, or any detective of MDPD’s Special Victims Bureau/Missing Persons Squad, at 305-715-3300, or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477).

With House Republicans in turmoil, colleagues implore GOP holdouts not to shut down government

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Working furiously to take control of a House in disarray, allies of Speaker Kevin McCarthy implored their Republican colleagues Saturday to drop their hardline tactics and work together to approve a conservative spending plan to prevent a federal shutdown.In public overtures and private calls, Republican lieutenants of the embattled speaker pleaded with a handful of right-flank holdouts to resist further disruptions that have ground the House to a halt and back McCarthy’s latest plan to keep government open before next weekend’s Sept. 30 deadline for a shutdown.Republican Rep. Garrett Graves of Louisiana said the holdouts are “absolutely hallucinating” if they think they can wrap up work without the need for a temporary measure that many of them have shunned before time runs out.“An important part of this strategy is going to be ensuring that we do everything we can to avoid a government shutdown,” Graves sai...

Birthplace of the atomic bomb braces for its biggest mission since the Manhattan Project

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — Los Alamos was the perfect spot for the U.S. government’s top-secret Manhattan Project.Almost overnight, the ranching enclave on a remote plateau in northern New Mexico was transformed into a makeshift home for scientists, engineers and young soldiers racing to develop the world’s first atomic bomb. Dirt roads were hastily built and temporary housing came in the form of huts and tents as the outpost’s population ballooned.The community is facing growing pains again, 80 years later, as Los Alamos National Laboratory takes part in the nation’s most ambitious nuclear weapons effort since World War II. The mission calls for modernizing the arsenal with droves of new workers producing plutonium cores — key components for nuclear weapons.Some 3,300 workers have been hired in the last two years, with the workforce now topping more than 17,270. Close to half of them commute to work from elsewhere in northern New Mexico and from as far away as Albuquerque, help...

Massachusetts federal delegation working to boost Healey’s funding request, Markey says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

The federal delegation is working to boost the profile of a plea from Gov. Maura Healey for federal funding to address an emergency shelter crisis in Massachusetts, Sen Ed Markey told the Herald Saturday.Healey has publicly called on the Biden administration multiple times for money to deal with an overcrowded emergency shelter system serving local homeless families and newly-arrived migrants. Managing the influx of migrants and crushing costs of housing in Massachusetts has emerged as one of the first major tests of the Healey administration.Markey said the state’s federal delegation is working to raise the issue of federal funding with the Biden administration.“We’re working with [Healey] to press for more funding from the federal level to help the governor and we’ve been doing it now for several weeks,” Markey said at the Massachusetts Democratic Party convention in Lowell. “We’re going to continue because we know it’s a problem that has to be dealt with and the...

Young conservatives gather to ‘grow base’ in Massachusetts

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

The New England Young Conservatives gathered for their first conference in Natick on Saturday, networking and discussing how to grow the base in a blue state.“We want to build a strong robust party in Massachusetts,” NE Young Conservatives Co-President Jaclyn Corriveau said of the group. “We want to build a robust network of conservative thinkers to rival the other side. Obviously, we’re a minority now, and we want our generation to be the one who really brings balance to the Commonwealth.”The organization said they said they had about 100 attendees at the inaugural conference, which broke down into networking, speaking and Q&A portions.Corriveau called the Young Conservatives a “big tent organization” for anyone inspired by the conservative cause. Ahead of the conference, she said, they worked to bring in young people under 40 years old and recruit at colleges.Massachusetts is 27% Republican and 56% Democrat, according to Pew Research, ...