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Judge: Missouri ban on gender-affirming health care for minors can take effect on Monday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge says a law banning gender-affirming treatments for minors can take effect.St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer ruled that the law will kick in Monday, as previously scheduled.Families of transgender minors had sued to overturn the law. They asked Ohmer to temporarily block it as the court challenge plays out.But his ruling means that beginning Monday, minors in Missouri no longer can receive gender-affirming surgeries. Children prescribed puberty blockers or hormones before Aug. 28 will be allowed to continue treatment. Other children won’t have access to those medications.

St. Charles County considers emergency bill for contracted 911 dispatchers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. - The St. Charles County Council could soon approve an emergency bill to hire specially-trained contract employees for emergency calls and 911 dispatch operations. County Executive Steve Ehlmann says the emergency bill will be introduced to the council on Monday as the county deals with a prolonged shortage of dispatchers. Deputy shot in Lincoln County; suspect found dead If approved, the emergency bill would authorize the county to contract with Moetivations, Inc., which provides certified 911 dispatchers to staff the phones to relieve the pressures of short-staffing on existing call takers.“We will continue to try to hire more people,” Ehlmann says. “This is a stop-gap measure.”The bill would allow St. Charles County to offer the highest starting pay of any dispatch agency in the St. Louis region. Currently, the county dispatch system is 10 dispatchers short of being fully-staffed at 44 positions. Close Thanks for signing up! W...

St. Louis man arrested for child endangerment and police chase

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- A suspect has been arrested on charges of putting a child's safety in danger and evading arrest. Rashaud First, 21, from St. Louis, is being held on a $100,000 bond. On August 24, St. Louis County Detectives saw a dark blue Dodge Challenger on Halls Ferry Road that had no license plates and tinted windows. The officers tried to stop the car, but it drove away quickly, weaving in and out of traffic and ignoring the traffic lights.Police used a traffic control device and popped the car's tires. The driver threw a semi-automatic gun out of the window near Riverview and Scranton. When the car came to a stop near Scranton and West, the suspect got out and ran away. Deputy shot in Lincoln County; suspect found dead Before he was arrested, police say he threw away a bag with white powder in pills of different colors. Police found them and a gun he had discarded. A woman and his one-year-old child were also in the vehicle.

Stock market today: Wall Street climbs to clinch its first winning week in a month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose Friday to send Wall Street to its first winning week since July after the head of the Federal Reserve said it will “proceed carefully” as it decides what to do with interest rates. The S&P 500 climbed 29.40, or 0.7%, to 4,405.71 after flipping between small gains and losses a few times through the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 247.48 points, or 0.7%, to 34,348.90, and the Nasdaq composite gained 126.67, or 0.9%, to 13,590.65. In a highly anticipated speech, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said again that it will make upcoming decisions on interest rates based on what incoming data reports say about inflation and the economy, and he made no promises about what’s coming next. Wall Street had the speech circled on calendars because it was hoping Powell would say the Fed was done with its hikes to interest rates, which grind down inflation at the cost of slowing the economy and hurting prices ...

Armed man fatally shot by Aurora police pulled gun when he was being robbed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

A man who was shot to death by Aurora police pulled a gun as another man was attempting to rob his backpack, police said.The incident happened about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of East Colfax Avenue and Havana Street, according to an Aurora Police Department news release.Two officers closed in on the confrontation between the pair when the man whose backpack was being robbed pulled a gun and pointed it at the alleged robber, a Friday news release said.“Officers arrived at the intersection and aired they were in contact with the armed man,” police said “Moments later, the officers aired shots had been fired. Only one officer discharged his firearm.”In an earlier news conference, the morning of the shooting, police said the armed man was running away from police when he disregarded commands to stop and was then shot.Officer C. Parrella, a four-year veteran of the department, fired his weapon, police said. Police on Friday declined to give Parrella...

Denver police ask for public’s help in finding suspect connected to fatal shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

Denver police are looking for a man accused of first-degree murder in connection to a shooting from earlier this month.The Denver Police Department published a bulletin on social media asking members of the public to help investigators find the suspect 28-year-old Christopher Roel Hernandez related to a fatal shooting the night of Aug. 8 at West Cedar Avenue and South Federal Boulevard.The shooting that left one man dead occurred outside at about 9:40 p.m. in the 200 block of South Federal Boulevard. It involved two people, but police declined to comment further on the circumstances surrounding the shooting, citing the ongoing investigation.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Aurora man killed after confronting scooter thieves Crime and Public Safety | Suspect in fatal Aurora shooting arrested in Georgia for separate homicide Crime and Public Safety | One man has died after he was assaulted on East 53rd Avenue in northeast Denver ...

Cook's Corner shooting suspect's former home raided; victims identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

Editor's note: This story was updated to correct a misspelled name.A home was raided Thursday in connection with mass shooting suspect John Snowling, who allegedly killed three people and injured six others during a rampage at Cook's Corner in Orange County.A search warrant was served at a home in the 4500 block of El Capitan Place that the 59-year-old suspect once shared with his estranged wife. Investigators served a search warrant on Aug. 24, 2023, at a home John Snowling used to share with his estranged wife. (RMG News)Images showed several SWAT officers near a van parked outside the former Ventura Police Department sergeant's home. The street was closed to the public during the operation.It was unclear what investigators were searching for or if anything was recovered from the home. Snowling, armed with three handguns and a shotgun, apparently drove from where he was currently living in Ohio to the Cook's Corner bar in the Trabuco Canyon area of Orange County. Investigators sai...

Busch Light releases pumpkin spice drink for dogs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

It may still be summer, but pumpkin spice season is in full effect with companies announcing their fall seasonal menus, including some treats made specifically for man's best friend. Busch Light, a division of the Anheuser-Busch company, unveiled Busch Pumpkin Spice Dog Brew, an all-natural, non-alcohol drink made for dogs, on Friday.Busch Light, a division of the Anheuser-Busch company, announced Busch Pumpkin Spice Dog Brew, an all-natural, non-alcohol drink made specifically for dogs, on Friday. (Busch Light) The dog-friendly brew is made with pure pumpkin, whole cinnamon, ginger, turmeric and water, a news release said.Pumpkin spice dog lovers can purchase the dog brew online for $15 while supplies last.Busch Light isn’t the only company selling pumpkin spice-flavored dog treats for the upcoming fall season.Krispy Kreme announced Wednesday the launch of its new Pup’kin Spice Doggie Doughnuts, which were inspired by the popular Krispy Kreme treat for humans.The Pup’kin Spice Dogg...

Tesla Supercharger gets green light for Hollywood site, reports say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

Hollywood may soon be home to one of the hottest new spots for Tesla drivers.The planned construction of a Supercharger station with a diner and drive-in movie screen received the necessary approvals to begin construction, as reported by Teslarati.The plans have sparked a great deal of interest from Elon Musk superfans, who have created renderings of what they anticipate the spot will look like.The idea has been bandied about by Tesla chief Musk for years, including in a January 2018 thread on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter that he now owns."Gonna put an old school drive-in, roller skates & rock restaurant at one of the new Tesla Supercharger locations in LA," he wrote. "Of course. And an outdoor screen that plays a highlight reel of the best scenes in movie history."While Musk's initial plan was to put the Supercharger site in Santa Monica, it's now planned for 7001 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood. The location formerly hosted a Shakey's Pizza.Regardless of the site,...

San Fernando Valley man admits to bilking more than $300K from pandemic relief programs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:14 GMT

A Porter Ranch man faces up to two decades in federal prison after he pleaded guilty Thursday to defrauding the federal government out of hundreds of thousands of dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic.Artur Chanchikyan, 55, received a total of more than $345,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration as the owner of North Hollywood-based Gentle Touch Home Health Care, the DOJ said in a news release. Though he was accused of fraud and suspended from receiving Medicare payments by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in December 2019, he applied about four months later for a Paycheck Protection Program loan worth $160,000."In the PPP application, Chanchikyan made false representations, including the number of employees to whom Gentle Touch paid wages and Gentle Touch’s average monthly payroll expenses at the time of the application, and false certifications that the loan would be used for permissible business purposes by Gentle Touch," the DOJ said. "As a result, Gentle ...