Search Results for: news

Nine lives notwithstanding, killing a cat in a hit-and-run soon could become illegal in New Hampshire.  State law already requires drivers who injure or kill dogs to notify police or the animals’ owners, or else face a $1,000 fine. It is unclear why cats and other pets were left out of the initial law, but the state Legislature is currently considering an expansion that would give cats equal footing to canines. Republican Rep. Daryl Abbas sponsored the bill after the death of his 5-year-old cat, Arrow. The Animal League Defense Fund says there has been a trend of similar state laws that recognize the bond between animals and their human companions.

The top House Republican says Rep. Matt Gaetz is innocent until proven guilty. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says that means he doesn't plan to punish the Florida Republican unless charges are filed against him. Gaetz has been under federal investigation for sex trafficking allegations, but he's denied the accusations and no charges have yet been filed. McCarthy tells reporters that Gaetz privately told him he's innocent. McCarthy says he told Gaetz that the party would act against him if legal action began against him. Internal House GOP rules require that lawmakers charged with serious felonies lose their membership in committees. 

The NBA says the rate of players needing to miss games because of injuries is down from last season and within the normal range for what the league has seen over the last five seasons. League data shows the player injury rate this season is down about 6%. That's hardly abnormal even after several marquee players— including LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, James Harden and most recently Jamal Murray — have dealt with injuries in recent weeks. NBA teams are playing 3.6 games per week, up 5% from last year. This year's schedule compressed 72 games into 146 days, as opposed to the usual 82 games into 177 days.

The flag-draped casket of U.S. Capitol Police Officer William Evans was carried into a Massachusetts church by his fellow Capitol officers as dozens of state police troopers stood in the street in a steady downpour and saluted. The private funeral Mass at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Adams was followed early Thursday afternoon by a procession to Bellevue Cemetery where Evans was to be laid to rest beside his father, Howard. The 41-year-old was killed this month when a driver struck him and another officer at a barricade outside the Senate. He was raised in North Adams and Clarksburg. He had served with the U.S. Capitol Police since 2003.

The United States is opening more distance between itself and much of the rest of the world in the race against the coronavirus. The U.S. has administered almost 200 million vaccine doses, even as other countries, rich and poor, struggle with stubbornly high infection rates and deaths. Nearly half of American adults have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine, and about 30% of adults in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated. But the picture is still relentlessly grim in parts of Europe and Asia as variants of the virus fuel an increase in new cases and the worldwide death toll closes in on 3 million.

Major League Soccer embarks on the 2021 season with a new labor agreement in hand, the return of two big stars, a new team in Austin and lessons learned from an eventful 2020. There still won’t be full crowds in the stands in most places but there are reasons to be optimistic for the league’s 26th season as more Americans get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The season kicks off Friday night with San Jose at Houston and Minnesota at Seattle. Austin will play its inaugural game Saturday against LAFC.

Kenneth Gainwell had every intention of playing football with the Memphis Tigers, working throughout fall practice. The running back changed his mind six days before the season opener. The funeral for an uncle as the fourth member of his family to die of COVID-19 made opting out of the season the only decision for Gainwell in trying to keep his family safe during the coronavirus pandemic. Gainwell says it was a tough decision with how much he loves football but he had to do what was best for his family. Now he's rated the fourth-best running back by some for the upcoming NFL draft. 

BERLIN (AP) — Thousands of Berliners took to the streets, many banging pots and pans, to protest a ruling Thursday by Germany's highest court that a cap on rent prices implemented last year by Berlin's state government is unconstitutional and…

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of congressional Democrats introduced legislation Thursday to add four seats to the Supreme Court, a long-shot bid designed to counter the court’s rightward tilt during the Trump administration and criticized by Republicans as a potential…

The NCAA has hit the Southern California men's basketball program with two years’ probation because of a former assistant who violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when he accepted a bribe to steer players to a business management company. The Division I Committee on Infractions announced the penalties, which include a $5,000 fine and a 1% loss of the school’s basketball budget. Tony Bland, the former associate head coach under coach Andy Enfield, was fired in January 2018. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and received two years' probation.

A bill in South Carolina that would greatly expand voting through no-excuse absentee ballots and eliminating witnesses for votes cast by mail got a hearing in the Republican dominated Legislature. But the subcommittee hearing was less than an hour long, forced to end without a vote because the House was going into session. Not all the supporters of the proposal got a chance to speak. The 10 people who did speak supported the bill. It allows people to register to vote and cast an in-person absentee ballot the same day and would allow college IDs with photos to be used as identification at the polls. 

Recent flooding in Hawaii caused widespread and obvious damage. But extreme rain events that are predicted to become more common with global warming do not only wreak havoc on land. The runoff from these increasingly severe storms is also threatening Hawaii’s coral reefs. The runoff problem is multifaceted, but one of the biggest issues is pollution from the state’s 88,000 cesspools, which regularly overflow into the ocean when there's heavy rain. And while increasing ocean temperatures can sicken and kill coral, scientists say the less well known threat of runoff could prove more serious for reefs in the Hawaiian Islands.

LaMarcus Aldridge has retired from the NBA after saying he experienced an irregular heartbeat during his final game with the Brooklyn Nets. The 35-year-old Aldridge posted a statement on social media saying the heart concerns he had during and after Brooklyn’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday was one of the “scariest things” he’s experienced. He says he feels better now after getting it checked out but decided to end his 15-year career. Aldridge says: “For 15 years I’ve put basketball first, and now, it is time to put my health and my family first." The seven-time All-Star signed with the Nets on March 28 and became their starting center. He previously played for San Antonio and Portland.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's top diplomat asked Thursday for stronger Western backing, saying “words of support aren't enough” amid escalating tensions in the country’s east and a Russian troop buildup across the border. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, speaking…