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Wisconsin university system reaches deal with Republicans that would scale back diversity positions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Faced with a demand from Republican lawmakers to axe diversity initiatives or go without raises and other funding, Universities of Wisconsin officials announced Friday that they’ve agreed to freeze hiring for diversity positions, drop an affirmative action faculty hiring program at UW-Madison and create a position at the flagship campus focused on conservative thought. Conservatives have long criticized the UW system as a bastion of liberalism. Democrats have accused Republicans of holding employees hostage by blocking pay raises. They argue that diversity initiatives enhance the collegiate experience and play a crucial role in identifying promising students who grew up with fewer resources. The fight in Wisconsin reflects a broader cultural battle playing out across the nation over college diversity initiatives.“In recent years we’ve seen a growing emphasis on concepts that amplify ideas of division, exclusion and indoctrination on our campuses,” Assembly...

Ex Black Panther who maintained innocence in bombing that killed an officer died in Nebraska prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The second of two former Black Panthers who always maintained their innocence in the 1970 bombing death of a white Omaha police officer has died in prison.A spokesman for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services said Friday that Ed Poindexter had died a day earlier at the age of 79. David Rice, the other man convicted in the death of Omaha Police Officer Larry Minard, died in prison in 2016.The pair argued that they were targeted because of their membership in the Black Panthers by an FBI program that undermined radical political groups, and they questioned the legitimacy of crucial testimony that helped convict them.Poindexter and Rice both doubted the key witness in the case who implicated them in the bombing plot, but they were unsuccessful in numerous appeals. A recording of the phone call that lured Minard to a vacant house before a homemade explosive detonated appeared to have been made by an adult man even though a teen testified he made the call. A...

Fossil from Alberta badlands finds prey inside the stomach of young tyrannosaur

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

A dinosaur fossil found in the Alberta badlands has revealed new details about the diet of young meat-eating tyrannosaurs.The research, published Friday in the journal Science Advances, is based on a well-preserved Gorgosaurus libratus specimen discovered in 2009 by a technician from the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alta.“We describe the first tyrannosaur skeleton found with prey items preserved inside the stomach,” Darla Zelenitsky, an associate professor in the department of earth, energy and environment at the University of Calgary, said in an interview.“It’s a juvenile, or teenage, gorgosaurus … that had eaten two young and small birdlike dinosaurs called Citipes.”Gorgosaurus was a tyrannosaur that lived 75 to 77 million years ago, before the Tyrannosaurus rex, in what is now southern Alberta. The specimen was found in Dinosaur Provincial Park, about 220 kilometres east of Calgary.The four-metre long tyrannosaur had an estimated weight of 335...

US Sen. Kevin Cramer’s son to make court appearance after crash that killed North Dakota deputy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The 42-year-old son of U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer was expected to make his first court appearance Friday on manslaughter and other charges after he allegedly fled from authorities and crashed into a squad car, killing a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy who was taking cover behind the vehicle.Ian Cramer, of Bismarck, was charged Thursday with multiple counts, including manslaughter, fleeing a police officer and reckless endangerment in connection with Wednesday’s pursuit and crash that killed 53-year-old Mercer County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Martin.Sen. Kevin Cramer declined an interview after charges were filed, but released a statement earlier asking for prayers for Martin’s family. His statement also said his son was having a mental health issue Wednesday afternoon when he fled from a Bismarck hospital in the family’s vehicle.Bismarck police said Ian Cramer’s mother drove him to Sanford Health emergency room in Bismarck at around 4:...

Russia puts prominent Russian-US journalist Masha Gessen on wanted list for criminal charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian police have put prominent Russian-American journalist and author Masha Gessen on a wanted list after opening a criminal case against them on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army. It is the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown against dissent in Russia that has intensified since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine more than 21 months ago, on Feb. 24, 2022. The independent Russian news outlet Mediazona was the first to report Friday that Gessen’s profile has appeared on the online wanted list of Russia’s Interior Ministry, and The Associated Press was able to confirm that. It wasn’t clear from the profile when exactly Gessen was added to the list. Russian media reported last month that a criminal case against Gessen, an award-winning author and an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was launched over an interview they did with the prominent Russian journalist Yury Dud. In the interview, which was released ...

Third victim of UNLV campus shooting identified by coroner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – The third victim to die in a shooting at UNLV's campus on Wednesday has been identified as 69-year-old Naoko Takemaru, according to the Clark County coroner's office.Takemaru's cause of death was determined to be "multiple gunshot wounds," the coroner's office said.Takemaru, a faculty member at UNLV, was an Associate Professor of Japanese Studies. She also authored a book, "Women in the Language and Society of Japan: The Linguistic Roots of Bias," and wrote articles for journals. Mass shootings in US with 4 or more deaths hit highest level since at least 2006 The two other professors killed in the shooting were identified Thursday as Professor Cha Jan “Jerry” Chang, 64, of Henderson, Nevada, and Assistant Professor Patricia Navarro Velez, 39, of Las Vegas.Photos of Patricia Navarro Velez (left), Naoko Takemaru (center), and Cha Jan “Jerry” Chang provided by UNLV.A 38-year-old visiting professor who was injured in the shooting remains hospitalized in stable condi...

Rare eclipse: Asteroid will pass in front of bright star Betelgeuse Monday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — One of the biggest and brightest stars in the night sky will momentarily vanish as an asteroid passes in front of it to produce a one-of-a-kind eclipse.The rare and fleeting spectacle, late Monday into early Tuesday, should be visible to millions of people along a narrow path stretching from central Asia’s Tajikistan and Armenia, across Turkey, Greece, Italy and Spain, to Miami and the Florida Keys and finally, to parts of Mexico.The star is Betelgeuse, a red supergiant in the constellation Orion. The asteroid is Leona, a slowly rotating, oblong space rock in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.Astronomers hope to learn more about Betelgeuse and Leona through the eclipse, which is expected to last no more than 15 seconds. By observing an eclipse of a much dimmer star by Leona in September, a Spanish-led team recently estimated the asteroid to be about 34 miles wide and 50 miles long (55 kilometers wide and 80 kilometers long). Can a solar ec...

Ohio man's potato peeling method goes viral

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

*Attached video: Loaded Sweet Potato BitesWESTLAKE, Ohio (WJW) – An Ohio man’s viral TikTok video may have you wondering just how much of your life has been wasted peeling potatoes.The 32-second video posted on the @quitmyjob account by Matt Weiss has more than 24 million views, 2.3 million likes and more than 13,000 comments. It shows an easy, unique way of peeling a potato. Target to give away $500 to 500 Target Circle members this holiday season “Why did I ever peel a potato?’ Weiss says talking to another person in the video. “All you did was scrape a line around the center?”Weiss is a USPTA Tennis Professional at Avon Oaks Country Club, the St. Ignatius High School head tennis coach and the director of tennis at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River, according to his website.According to the video, to easily peel the potato, you cut about a centimeter into the skin, carving a shallow line around the center. The video then shows Weiss slipping the peel off of the cooked potato ...

AISD bridging digital divide with wireless internet 'monopoles'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Independent School District announced Thursday that it will begin installation of low-footprint broadband communications towers, or "monopoles," at nine schools over its winter break. Dubbed "Project Lighthouse," the district said it will bring internet access to students in neighborhoods that the district said have "historically been limited" in access. Related: Rural Texas may lose out on billions in broadband infrastructure funding due to federal regulations According to the district, internet access is a key part of academic success for students and communications with parents. The announcement came Thursday in AISD's "AppitolNews" email newsletter, which would be inaccessible to families without access to the internet.The district expects that work on the project will begin during AISD's winter break (December 25 to January 5) and take three weeks per campus. It said that the construction "won't interfere with daily drop off or pick up" of students....

Gophers men’s basketball coach Ben Johnson: ‘I know we are going to win’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:47 GMT

One Ben Johnson comment showed how much stake he put into that Nebraska game at Williams Arena on Wednesday.“It was the biggest game in my 2 1/2 years here” as head coach, Johnson said after Minnesota’s 76-65 win over the Cornhuskers.It was a startling remark for so early in the season — but it was the Big Ten opener against a fellow team picked to finish in the bottom of the conference. It was the type of statement a coach is more willing to reveal after a victory — but it didn’t seem to come from a coach feeling the heat from an overall 7-34 Big Ten record.“I say that because the building blocks and the momentum that hopefully this can carry through the rest of this month is so important to this team,” Johnson said.Johnson’s underlying goal is to develop a winning culture, even when losses keep piling up. During a preseason practice, he made a comparison to the standard with the Ohio State football program and has done so recently with Duke men’s basketball.The Gophers (6-3,...