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Broward County School Board selects semi-finalists for new superintendent

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:11 GMT

The Broward County School Board met Monday morning to narrow down their list of potential candidates for the open superintendent position. Out of the 16 applicants who met the minimum qualifications, seven were selected to move forward. Luis Solano was the candidate with the most votes, leading with nine, while Peter Licata came in second with seven votes, Valerie Wanza with six, and Jason Nault with five. The other candidates, Sito Narcisse, Wanda Paul, and Rita Raichoudhuri, all got four votes. These selected candidates will each submit a video to the board by Thursday and afterward, be reduced to three finalists possibly by next week, followed by an intensive interview process in June. “I personally do feel that the new superintendent should be someone from the outside of the school district,” said Lori Alhadeff, Broward County School Board Chair. “I think it’s important for that person to come in, change the current culture here in Broward County Public S...

Kurt Cobain’s smashed-up guitar sells for almost $600,000—nearly 10 times the auction estimate

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:11 GMT

(CNN) — An electric guitar smashed up and signed by the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain has sold for almost 10 times its estimated value.The black, left-handed Fender Stratocaster went for $595,000 when it was auctioned at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City over the weekend.The instrument was the headlining item in a three-day auction of pieces of rock history.The guitar, which had been reassembled but remains unplayable, was originally valued between $60,000 and $80,000.Nirvana’s popularity soared with their second album, “Nevermind.” Released in September 1991, the record sold more than 1 million copies in the US by the end of that year. In 1992, it reached the No.1 slot on the Billboard 200—and has spent 472 weeks on the chart.In 1994, Cobain died by suicide at the peak of his fame, aged just 27.According to Julien’s Auctioneers, who staged the sale, Cobain smashed the guitar up “during Nirvana’s seminal Nevermind era,” though no specific details were given.The broken instrume...

Tim Scott launches 2024 presidential bid seeking optimistic contrast with other top rivals

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:11 GMT

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott launched his presidential campaign on Monday, offering an optimistic message he hopes can contrast the two figures who have used political combativeness to dominate the early GOP primary field: former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.Scott, the Senate’s only Black Repubican, made the announcement in his hometown of North Charleston at Southern University, his alma mater and a private school affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.“Our party and our nation are standing at a time for choosing. Victimhood or victory?,” he told cheering supporters, adding, “Grievance or greatness?”“I choose freedom and hope and opportunity,” Scott said, he said that the GOP needs a candidate who can energize more than just its base.Scott has frequently denounced Democrats for raising what he calls false social and political grievances. But offering such sentiments about the GOP could be ...

Judge enters not guilty plea for suspect in stabbing deaths of 4 University of Idaho students

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:11 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A judge entered a not guilty plea Monday for a man charged in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students, setting the stage for a trial in which he could potentially face the death penalty.The Nov. 13, 2022, killings stunned the rural community of Moscow, Idaho, and prompted many students to leave campus early, switching to remote learning for the remainder of the semester.Bryan Kohberger, 28, was arrested late last year and charged with burglary and four counts of first-degree murder in connection with with the slayings of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin at a rental home near the University of Idaho campus.Kohberger refused to enter a plea in Latah County District Court, prompting the judge to make one on his behalf.He was a graduate student studying criminology at nearby Washington State University at the time, but prosecutors have not released any information about how he may have chosen the victims or whether he h...

EU calls on Greece to launch probe into migrant pushbacks

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:11 GMT

The EU called Monday on Greece to investigate allegations that it is abandoning migrants at sea amid concerns that the center-right government in Athens is violating EU law.The EU’s executive urged Greece to launch a probe into alleged illegal migrant deportations on the day Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called a new election after scoring a major victory Sunday, albeit one in which he failed to win an overall parliamentary majority.  EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson urged Greek authorities to take action after footage obtained by the New York Times showed vessels from the Greek coast guard abandoning migrants in a raft in the middle of the Aegean Sea.“It is necessary that proper follow up is taken by Greek authorities, also based on the new independent monitoring mechanism,” Johansson wrote on Twitter.“The EU Commission stands ready to take formal steps, as appropriate,” she added.But the Commission said that it won’t take immediate action, as the investi...

State Regulators Vote For New Path On Cannabis Cafes

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:11 GMT

Cannabis regulators voted Monday to overhaul their approach toward rolling out social consumption locations, sometimes referred to as marijuana cafes, that voters embraced in the 2016 ballot question legalizing recreational marijuana use. The Cannabis Control Commission will scrap a 12-municipality pilot program for businesses where patrons can consume marijuana products on-site and focus on crafting broader regulations governing the practice and how to license social consumption facilities. Commissioner Bruce Stebbins, who served on a working group that explored the issue, said the process of standing up and running a pilot program would be “both burdensome and expensive.” “Right now, to help direct our work, we don’t feel that the pilot program is needed as it’s written. So help us take that work off our plate,” Stebbins said on behalf of the working group. “Our feeling is that eliminating the pilot program will help us dive in to building...

Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, enters the 2024 GOP primary

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:11 GMT

(CNN) — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott on Monday will formally enter the Republican presidential primary as he seeks to upend a contest that has so far been dominated by coverage of former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to enter the fray in the coming days.The most prominent Black figure in the Republican Party, Scott will address supporters at his alma mater, Charleston Southern University, in his hometown of North Charleston.Following the “major announcement,” Scott heads to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina – states he frequented on his “Faith in America” tour in the run-up to his announcement – before returning to the Hawkeye State next week for GOP Sen. Joni Ernst’s annual “Roast and Ride” gathering.Scott, 57, is no stranger to pathbreaking campaigns. In 2010, he became the first Black Republican elected to the US House of Representatives from South Carolina in more than a century. Years later, after being appointed to h...

Former 'Teacher of the Year' accused of having sex with a student

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:11 GMT

A Yucaipa High School teacher has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old male student, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced.Tracy Vanderhulst, 38, was arrested on Thursday and booked into the county detention center on a charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. She was being held in lieu of $30,000 bail.Vanderhulst was named "Teacher of the Year" at Yucaipa H.S. in 2017. National City ‘Teacher of the Year’ re-arrested A tweet announcing the award has since been deleted, however a school YouTube video featuring Vanderhulst titled, "In The Classroom," was still online as of Friday evening.Tracy Vanderhulst (San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department)Authorities say the Yucaipa Calimesa Joint Unified School District “worked cooperatively” with its investigation. Detectives believe there may be more alleged victims. Teacher arrested after student takes marijuana gummies from prize box in classroom, SC sheriff says Anyone with tips ...

California, Arizona, Nevada offer landmark drought deal to use less Colorado River water — for now

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona, California and Nevada on Monday proposed a plan to significantly reduce their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River over the next three years, a potential breakthrough in a year-long stalemate over how to deal with a rising problem that pitted Western states against one another.The plan would conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of water from the 1,450-mile river that provides water to 40 million people in seven U.S. states, parts of Mexico and more than two dozen Native American tribes.At least half that amount — or 1.5 million acre-feet of water — would have to be conserved by 2024, the plan said. In exchange for temporarily using less water, cities, irrigation districts and Native American tribes in the three states will receive federal funding, though officials did not say how much funding individual users in the states would get. Current guidelines for how the river is shared expire in 2026.Tom Buschatzke, director of the Arizona De...

‘SmartLess’ podcast goes on tour with Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes, ends up on TV

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:10:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — When Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes get together, they can instantly tell if something’s wrong: If insults don’t immediately fly, there’s a problem.“I think it is our love language,” says Arnett, the “Arrested Development star and voice of Batman in the “Lego Movie” franchise. “I’m kind of joking, but there’s a little truth to that. If we’re not making fun of you, we don’t love you.”Fans of the trio’s banter will get much more this week after a documentary film team captured them on tour taking their popular podcast “SmartLess” to stages in Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and more.The six-part docuseries “SmartLess: On the Road” offers a very intimate look at the three friends as they travel, hang out and prepare for the live shows. It premieres Tuesday on Max.“It was really just about living with one another,” says Bateman, star of “Arrested Development” and “Ozarks.” “And it’s a fairly cringey ...