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Colonie man's trial underscores misconceptions about sex trafficking

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:22 GMT

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (News10)-The trial of a Colonie man accused of trafficking women and underage girls for prostitution began this week. Jury selection started on Monday in the federal trial against Christopher Thomas who is accused of using a website to advertise women and teenage girls for commercial sex in the Capital Region, Massachusetts, and elsewhere. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! An area nurse who said she had been his girlfriend recently admitted to helping Thomas operate his prostitution ring and is now awaiting her July sentencing date in federal court in Albany. For those who help victims, the trial underscores many misconceptions about sex trafficking and who is most vulnerable.Jason McLaughlin is the Executive Director of WAIT House in Glens Falls. The organization provides stability to homeless youth. Some of the young people being helped by McLaughlin and his staff are also survivors of prostitution. New...

Missouri House votes to cut corporate, personal income taxes by $1 billion

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:22 GMT

The Missouri House gave first-round approval to a $1 billion personal and corporate income tax cut Tuesday, as Republicans pushed the bill through despite Democratic warnings that vital services would be starved for funds.The bill would cut the top rate on personal income taxes, cut the corporate income tax rate in half and exempt Social Security payments from taxation. State Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, said the bill would promote economic growth, noting that future tax cuts included in the bill only take effect when triggered by revenue growth.“This is really just limiting the growth of government,” Deaton said. Democrats, however, said a tax cut — coming on top of a tax cut approved in September that has not been fully implemented — would put the state into a potentially precarious financial position. Despite recent pay raises and incentives, state employees are still the worst paid in the nation and teachers are near the bottom of the pay scale, said state Rep. Peter Merideth,...

Missouri Supreme Court upholds state law prohibiting local CAFO regulations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:22 GMT

A state law prohibiting counties from imposing regulations on industrial hog facilities does not violate the Missouri Constitution, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.The unanimous ruling upholds a Cole County Circuit Court judge’s decision to toss the case before trial. It says county ordinances attempting to set rules for industrial farms are invalid. At issue is Missouri’s policing of concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, which are industrial facilities capable of raising thousands of hogs, cows or chickens at a time. Despite complaints from rural neighbors, the state’s policies toward the industrial farms have become friendlier in recent years. In 2019, the Missouri General Assembly passed a bill prohibiting county CAFO rules that are “inconsistent with or more stringent than” state law or regulation. Two years later, they tightened it even further. County ordinances now can’t be “inconsistent with, in addition to, different from, or more stringe...

Biden signs Josh Hawley bill declassifying information on the origin of COVID-19

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:22 GMT

WASHINGTON — The U.S. director of national intelligence has three months to declassify information on potential links between China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of COVID-19, after President Joe Biden signed legislation Monday.The bill was one of the first Biden has signed since a 118th Congress split between the two parties began in January.“My Administration will continue to review all classified information relating to COVID–19’s origins, including potential links to the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” Biden wrote. “In implementing this legislation, my Administration will declassify and share as much of that information as possible, consistent with my constitutional authority to protect against the disclosure of information that would harm national security.”Congress voted unanimously earlier this month to send Biden the legislation that was sponsored by Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and co-sponsored by Indiana Sen. Mike Braun, Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, Utah ...

A new brew is coming to Kansas, Missouri this month

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:22 GMT

NORTH KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City beer lovers will soon have a new brew on shelves.805 Beer is expanding its distribution from California's Central Coast to Missouri and Kansas with its 805 Cerveza. The beer is described as a light-bodied blonde ale with a balanced hop flavor and a clean finish.To celebrate the expansion, fans can join 805 and Tyler Bereman at a free screening and after party of the documentary, "The House That Built Me: The Tyler Bereman Story." Lottery player in Raytown wins $1M on scratchers ticket Bereman is a motocross freerider and X-Games gold medalist.The screening is at Armour Theatre in North Kansas City on Thursday, March 30. It starts at 6 p.m. An afterparty is planned for Velo Garage.Fans are invited to a Friday "greet up" with Bereman at Up-Down KC at 6 p.m. ESPN mock draft: Kansas City Chiefs could select Kansas State pass rusher 805 Beer will be available in six-pack cans, 12-pack cans, and 24-ounce single cans. To find a retailer selling 805 ...

Iron County man admits starting fires in Mark Twain National Forest

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:22 GMT

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – An Iron County, Missouri, man appeared in federal court Tuesday and admitted starting fires in the Mark Twain National Forest and threatening a federal officer.Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Lucas Henson, 37, pleaded guilty to arson, assault of a law enforcement officer, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.On Oct. 22, 2022, Henson, who was out on bond for stealing and drug-related offenses, stole a van from a Poplar Bluff business. He abandoned the van after it ran out of gas. He later broke into a camper at another local business and stole items from the RV.Henson told the court that on the following day, he stole a Dodge pickup truck, burglarized someone's home, and stole a handgun. He also stole a crossbow from a workshop near the home. Trending: After two escapes, bear from Saint Louis Zoo moving to Texas Henson pointed the stolen gun at the owner of the pickup before fleeing in the truck. Po...

Denis Malgin might be playing his way into Avalanche playoff lineup: “He’s fearless.”

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:22 GMT

First impressions aren’t always everything. There’s a recent history of examples in Colorado to back up that notion.It took time for Josh Manson’s heavier style to acclimate to the Avalanche’s fast-paced system after he was traded at the 2022 deadline. Even as recently as this month, center Lars Eller looked awkward in the lineup for several games before settling in with defensive tenacity and offensive opportunism to compensate for the skating speed he lacks.Then there’s Denis Malgin. The system fit was never the problem for him. It was the confidence to blend into that system alongside Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and company.Once his confidence clicks, it sticks.The December trade acquisition who started as a depth forward is actually playing with the big names now. And he’s showing that he belongs. After Artturi Lehkonen’s broken finger in Montreal, Malgin moved up the top six for Colorado’s next game in Toronto, coincidentally tim...

Colorado Avalanche, Jared Bednar agree to three-year contract extension through 2026-27

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:22 GMT

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar signed a three-year extension with the organization Tuesday, keeping him under contract through the 2026-27 season.The seventh-year Avalanche coach, whose contract was set to expire after 2023-24, passed Michel Bergeron’s franchise record of 265 wins to become the winningest coach in Avalanche/Nordiques history in January. After Monday’s 5-0 win over the Blackhawks, Bednar’s current head coaching record is 281-190-52. He led the Avs to their third Stanley Cup championship in 2022.Bednar, 51, is already the third longest-tenured coach in the NHL, behind only Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning (hired March 25, 2013) and Mike Sullivan of the Pittsburgh Penguins (hired Dec. 12, 2015).His tenure started with the abominable 2016-17 season, in which Colorado finished 22-56-4. The Avs have reached the playoffs every year since then, winning seven series including a dominant 16-4 playoff record en route to the 2022 Cup. In three consecutive y...

Four pickpockets, identity thieves apprehended after months long crime spree

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:22 GMT

Four individuals have been apprehended after a string of wallet thefts in grocery stores in Thousand Oaks started in August 2022. According to a statement from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, they received an increased number of reports of wallet thefts in grocery stores and other similar locations in Thousand Oaks starting in August of 2022 and continuing into the following September. All the victims were older females being targeted while they shopped, officials said. The suspects reportedly waited until the victims took their eyes off their shopping carts to unzip their purses and steal their wallets. All the victims had stored their purses in the upper storage area of their carts. After the wallet theft, the suspects withdrew large amounts of cash from various banks using the victim’s credit card and other identification information. Video surveillance footage of the thefts obtained by law enforcement showed that in all the cases, the suspect completing the fraudu...

Nearly a quarter of American adults don't have access to enough food, study says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:18:22 GMT

As inflation rates continue to increase the cost of food and pandemic-era benefits slowly fade, nearly 25% of American adults are experiencing food insecurity, a new study from the Urban Institute revealed.Food insecurity indicates that a person lacks regular access to sufficient food for a healthy diet. People can experience food insecurity at different levels, ranging from mild to severe, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.The Urban Institute study showed that more adults reported experiencing food insecurity as the cost of food increased and pandemic-era food safety nets dwindled. Millions of Californians are expected to lose Medi-Cal benefits soon: Here is how to keep your benefits active Between December 2021 and December 2022, the number of adults that were food insecure increased from 20% to 24%The study, based on a survey of more than 7,500 adults between the ages of 18 and 64, found that 1 in 16 adults, or 16%, received charitable foo...