Open Newswire

TOPEKA — A coalition of federal lawmakers from Kansas introduced in the U.S. House this week a bipartisan bill that could offer interest-free loans to rural hospitals “hanging on by a thread.” U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids and Tracey Mann of Kansas and representatives from Alabama, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, Oregon and West Virginia co-sponsored the Rural […]

(The Center Square) - Longview School District Superintendent Karen Cloninger made an initial court appearance Friday following Thursday’s arrest in connection with an ongoing investigation involving alleged sexual assaults at Mark Morris High School. Two students are accused of sexually assaulting fellow students in the varsity basketball locker room earlier this year. Cloninger is charged with tampering with a witness, failure to report and obstructing a law enforcement investigation. Longview Police said in a Facebook post that high school staff and Longview School District personnel were made aware of sexual misconduct allegations as early as late January. “Superintendent Karen Cloninger was made aware of details involving multiple students, including allegations that one student was forcibly dragged into the Mark Morris High School varsity team room, pinned to the ground, and partially disrobed," according to the police department post. Police said school district employees raised concerns about the legal requirements to report sexual misconduct, but “investigators developed information alleging employees were directed by Cloninger to handle the matter internally and discourage further discussion regarding the incident.” A local lawmaker spoke about his concern with The Center Square. “It’s very disturbing,” said Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, in a Friday interview. “I think this is a reflection of a school board that has adopted the mentality that we see from our statewide leaders that they're in charge.... that they own these children. They don't need to talk to parents. They can keep a lid on this, and that's wrongheaded from the very beginning.” “If the superintendent of public instruction says that there's no consequences for him, if district superintendents adopt that philosophy, or the school board adopts that philosophy, there are real consequences. These are criminal charges, and this is a very big deal.” Braun is challenging incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in District 3 and the Congresswoman emailed a statement to The Center Square about the Longview investigation and about her “yes” vote this week on House legislation concerning parental notification and school gender policies. The Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act (H.R. 2616) requires federally funded elementary and middle schools to obtain explicit parental consent before changing a student's pronouns, name, or sex-based accommodations. Schools that do not comply risk losing federal funding. Gluesenkamp Perez was one of just nine Democrats to vote in support of the bill, along with every Republican. "As a parent of a young child, I'm asked to sign off on small things in my kid's school day, down to whether they get sunscreen at recess. A child's name and sense of self are not small things. They are fundamental, and on something that important, I don't believe parents should be cut out of the loop," she said in her email. "This bill requires schools to get a parent's consent before changing an elementary or middle school student's pronouns or name on school forms,” she wrote. Katy Payne in the office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction emailed a statement to TCS about the Longview investigation and the federal legislation threatening the withholding of funding to districts that keep parents out of the loop or support gender ideology at school. “When OSPI investigates a certificated educator for alleged violations of the educator code of conduct, that investigation is not the same as a law enforcement investigation and does not end in charges. Our investigations are into whether a certificated educator should be disciplined against their certificate (e.g., have their certificate suspended, revoked, etc.). When educators are accused of criminal misconduct, law enforcement performs their own investigation, often before the misconduct even makes its way to OSPI,” wrote Payne. “We are closely following this situation, and we appreciate the diligent efforts by law enforcement to protect student safety.” On the question of federal funding, Payne at OSPI wrote: “Washington state law has long safeguarded parent/guardian access to information about their students. There is no evidence that Washington schools are "keeping secrets from parents." Our state laws fit within the scope of what's allowable under federal law and we are responsible for following state law.” According to KATU-TV, Cloninger's bail was set at $5,000 Friday. The judge ordered her to refrain from contacting any students or witnesses in the case. Her arraignment date was set for June 10 at 9 a.m. Patti Bowen, who was the executive director of business services, was asked by the school board to step in as acting superintendent. Cloninger was placed on administrative leave by the board. "As a school district, we take our responsibility to protect the safety and care of our students very seriously. The allegations described by law enforcement are serious and troubling," read a statement issued by Bowen on Friday. "Our district remains committed to understanding the facts surrounding the alleged student and staff misconduct, cooperating with the ongoing investigation, following the law, and ultimately taking appropriate accountability action."

El juez Calama rastrea los movimientos financieros en el extranjero del presunto entramado societario que vinculado al entorno del expresidente Zapatero y que conecta España con EE UU, Venezuela, Emiratos Árabes y Suiza.

With World Turtle Day upon us, we bring you a turtle conservation success story about southwestern pond turtles who live in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Environmental groups on Thursday sued the United States government to ensure internationally sourced seafood doesn’t threaten whales or dolphins that become entangled or drown due to sometimes lethal fishing techniques. The U.S., the world’s largest seafood importer, has long had laws ensuring that fishers in its waters don’t ensnare marine mammals as incidental “bycatch.” But […]

Editor's note: This concludes this week's series on the June 2 primary election in California. The stories include comments from candidates who agreed to interviews with The Center Square. (The Center Square) – Voters in California’s 48th congressional district will decide this year who replaces U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa. The Republican from San Diego County opted not to run for another term in the newly redrawn district. Democrats running for Issa's longtime seat are Navy Reserve Officer Ammar Campa-Najjar, energy systems executive Stephen Clemons, Vista City Councilmember Corrina Contreras, small business owners Ferguson Porter and Brandon Riker, teacher/school board member Abel Chavez, Board of Equalization member Mike Schaefer, San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert and digital marketing executive Eric Shaw. The Republicans are San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond and computer software engineer Kevin Patrick O’Neil. Another candidate, veteran and civil rights organizer Luis Reyna, has no party preference. Clemons told The Center Square Thursday that while he is on the ballot, he has decided to back out of the campaign and endorse von Wilpert. In an interview with The Center Square, von Wilpert said she is “the only candidate in this race that has flipped a Republican seat.” She added that she knows how to build a coalition, earn trust and win tough fights. She said she's ready to take that fight to Washington. “The 48th District deserves a representative who will unrig the economy for working people, stop Donald Trump and ICE’s chaos in our communities, and hold special interests and big corporations accountable,” said von Wilpert, who successfully ran for San Diego City Council in 2020 and won reelection in 2024. “Families are getting crushed by rising costs, and instead of offering plans for relief, Jim Desmond is cheering on Trump’s tariffs and foreign wars that are driving up the price of gas and essential goods, and his cuts to healthcare and food access for tens of thousands of families," said von Wilpert, who describes herself as a health advocate. Desmond did not respond to The Center Square’s calls or emails seeking comment. Von Wilpert, who was a workers’ rights attorney in the Obama administration, said she held corporations accountable for wage theft and price gouging. “On the San Diego City Council, I’ve delivered on lowering housing costs, protecting workers' rights, and standing up to ICE’s overreach to keep our communities safe,” said von Wilpert. In addition to her promise to stop what she calls chaos by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Von Wilpert has pledged to introduction legislation to “repeal Trump’s cruel cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act.” She also vowed to reassert Congress’s authority to authorize tariffs. “I will also take back Congress’s power to prevent reckless, unauthorized wars that are making gas prices surge and draining billions from priorities here at home,” said von Wilpert. “I’ll fight to pass the PRO Act, which raises wages and protects workers’ right to unionize, and I’ll fight to expand access to affordable healthcare and tackle the housing crisis here in Southern California.” While describing herself as a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, von Wilpert also wants to pass the Equality Act, fight bans on gender-affirming care, and protect the freedom to build a family through marriage, adoption or in vitro fertilization. Another candidate, Contreras, believes she is the right person for the job of U.S. representative for District 48. Pointing to her time on the Vista City Council, Contreras said she has been a leader in the city and the San Diego region because her policies have worked. Vista City is about 40 miles north of downtown San Diego. “We have millions of dollars in surplus for all our budgets since I've been on council,” Contreras told The Center Square. “We've been able to lower our crime rate without implementing mass surveillance and automated license plate readers, but by connecting people to the resources that they need, which means pay for our youth and young adults 24 and under. We have a scholarship program for them to be able to do extracurricular activities and purchase the equipment for those activities.” Vista City also has rental assistance to help people including seniors, who Contreras noted are part of the largest growing demographic experiencing homelessness and entering homelessness for the first time. “I can only do so much as a council member in my city, but I see that there's so much potential throughout the 48th district for us to help people's quality of life increase, and I want to be able to do that throughout the 48th district because folks really deserve it,” said Contreras. “Especially in our rural areas that have been left behind by the Board of Supervisors.” Contreras is not afraid to go toe to toe with people, even members of her own Democratic Party. “My party has left me behind too,” said Contreras. “So I always look at all the problems and the complexity of the problems in front of me with a holistic lens, and that's what we need in Congress. We need to be able to represent our working-class community.” Chavez said the main thing he wants to do is to implement Medicare for All. The candidate admits that “it’s going to be a challenge” and that he will have to convince members of Congress to get on board. Still, Chavez said it’s worth the effort. “It all starts with not taking corporate PAC money,” Chavez told The Center Square. “It's important that if I'm going to implement Medicare for All, I don't get any money from insurance companies or anyone that would influence my vote otherwise, which is what a lot of Congress members do.” Chavez added that gas prices are extremely high because of a conflict that nobody asked for in the U.S. “We don't want to fund those wars. We don't want our gas prices to be high,” said Chavez, who serves on the board for Nuview Union School District in Riverside County. “Being in Congress and being a voice against funding that war would be very important to me.” Chavez also wants to do something about the cost of housing. “Corporate landlords are buying up one-third of all the houses in our country, and they're basically raising the prices on regular Americans,” said Chavez. “One of my plans is to ban corporate landlords from buying up all the houses, ban Wall Street landlords from buying up all the houses, because I believe that houses are for people.” This is the first campaign of any sort for Ferguson Porter, who is not related to gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter. “What prompted me to run was when our district lines changed after the census, the Coachella Valley was broken up, and we had been represented by Democrat Dr. Raul Ruiz for several years, and he was very popular in our district,” Porter told The Center Square. “When the district lines changed, we in Palm Springs and other parts of the Coachella Valley were represented by Republican Ken Calvert.” After Will Rawlins tried to unseat Calvert, Porter said he wanted to step up for his community and run. “I frankly had been telling my husband for three years I was thinking about running, and he finally told me, ‘Well, either run or shut up because you're driving me crazy,’ ” Porter said. When asked for his platform, Porter said he’s a big believer in reforming government. “We want to help voters with housing, climate change, affordability, wealth inequality, education and healthcare,” said Porter. “All the things I'm in favor of helping people with, Democrats can't do that if we're not in the majority. And right now, the way things are going, Republicans aren't interested in helping people or fixing policy ideas.” Porter described Trump as “the worst president” ever. “He ran on a campaign of affordability and helping people, and he's not helped people with their prices,” said Porter. “He's made life and affordability worse for people, starting with the tariffs, and now with the war in Iran, we've seen gas prices jump.” Schaefer told The Center Square that the country does need some new thinking, but he has the most experience and the best education of any of the candidates. “I’m currently a state official. I represent 10 million Californians on the Board of Equalization in Sacramento, and I’ve done that for eight years,” said Schaefer. “I’m ready for prime time to take it another step for Congress.” Schaefer is also a graduate of Georgetown Law School and was on the staff of U.S. Sen. Tom Kuchel, a California Republican, in the 1960s. When asked for his thoughts on affordability, gas prices, housing, homelessness and ICE, Schaefer said he did not want to be another talking head. His goal is to “have a speaker of the House who is a Democrat,” who Schaefer will then support and help pass legislation. Republicans currently hold a razor-thin majority in the House, and Democrats could take control by flipping a few seats in November's midterm election. “I will be a supporter rather than a dissenter or somebody trying to confuse the situation,” said Schaefer, who once ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Palm Springs. “I want what’s good for the country, and as a representative of District 48, my focus here will be to have good constituent services.” Schaefer added he has been disappointed with Trump's return to the White House. “I’ve seen his ego gone mad. I’ve seen so many people hurt by him. I’ve seen so much tradition kicked into ancient history, and I don’t feel at all comfortable,” said Schaefer. “I long for the day when we have a new president.” While his “goal is to have a Democratic president,” Schaefer said there have been Republican presidents that he admired. He named Dwight Eisenhower and said he liked a lot of things Ronald Reagan did. Kevin O’Neil is a Republican candidate for District 48. O’Neil is the founder, chairman and CEO of CYVA Research Corp., a small business based in San Diego. O’Neil said he wants to fight corruption and address the affordability crisis with technology and entrepreneurship. “Let's stop this logjam of getting anything done in Congress, and let's have some focused solutions,” O’Neil told The Center Square. “Let's incentivize companies like Boston Dynamics and say, ‘Hey, you're building great weapons here, but how about building some tools to help us survive, food-wise, water-wise, shelter-wise?” Speaking of food, O’Neil envisioned “the capabilities of an Amish farmer built into a robot” that would work a garden and feed a family. When it comes to shelters, O’Neil said he does not think there’s anything unimaginable about building a house for less than $300. “I think that should be a goal,” said O’Neil. “I think we ought to, as a bunch of engineers and lawmakers and citizens, simply say, ‘Let's solve this problem.’” O’Neil also noted that he signed a pledge to support biblical values. “The organization is called Salt And Light Council, they’re based here in San Diego, and I’m the only one [Republican candidate] who signed this pledge,” said O’Neil. “I’m just trying to distinguish myself from my Republican counterpart.” The Salt and Light Council told The Center Square that O'Neil signed the pledge, but the race's other Republican candidate, Desmond, did not. Another candidate, veteran and civil rights activist Luis Reyna, is running with no party preference. “I’m just tired with the way things are going,” Reyna told The Center Square. “So I figured if I don't do this now, then I can't just sit around and complain about it.” Reyna wants to be a voice for veterans, including immigrants who were deported after serving in the U.S. military. “To me, that’s just asinine,” said Reyna. “It’s been a systemic problem with our government for a long time.” The cost of living is also on Reyna’s radar. The candidate would like people to revisit the idea of a universal tax, a concept that often involves a single flat income tax or a national consumption tax on goods and services that replaces all other taxes. Reyna said a universal tax would allow low- and middle-income Americans to keep more of their money. Right now, he said, “people pay too many taxes” for a variety of things. “If we have one universal tax, that will help kind of to bridge the gap or eliminate the tax for the bottom 50% of earners,” said Reyna. “The top 1% pay 40%, contribute 40% to our taxes, so there is some room there to help the American working class keep a little bit more of that money in their pocket.” Reyna also proposed that Congress reconsider money sent to other countries. As much as the U.S. may need to help other countries, Reyna said the government needs to help people in the U.S. Meanwhile, Campa-Najjar’s campaign appears to be self-funded. Federal Election Commission data shows a February 2025 donation in the amount of $4,771.89. Chavez’s campaign is largely self-funded. FEC data shows various contributions from himself to the campaign ranging from hundreds of dollars to $10,000. The rest appears to be mostly small donations from individuals anywhere from $10 to $500. Contreras has received numerous donations from ActBlue Technical Services. FEC data shows those amounts ranging from tens to $250. Contreras has also received donations from individuals anywhere from $50 to $2,000. Porter’s campaign has taken in various donations from Act Blue. Data from FEC shows that Porter has also pumped in thousands of dollars into his own campaign on several occasions. Riker has made several donations to his campaign, with FEC data showing those amounts in the thousands of dollars. Records also show ActBlue donations. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Political Action Fund pitched in $1,000 on Feb. 3. Campaign fundraising data for Shaw, O’Neil, Reyna and Clemons was not available. Von Wilpert has received numerous donations in the amount of $5,000 from organizations including Women’s Political Committee Federal, UnitedDemocrats PAC, Take Back The House PAC, No Vote Left Behind PAC, and the NEA Fund For Children And Public Education. FEC data also shows individual and ACTBlue donations. Desmond has received several $5,000 donations from New Majority Federal PAC, Eureka Political Action Committee, and Air Line Pilots Association PAC. In addition to many individual donations, FEC data also shows the Desmond Victory Fund has chipped in money for the campaign. Candidates for District 48 that did not voice opinions in this article could not be reached for comment by The Center Square. Voting centers will be open May 23 to June 1 in Voters' Choice Act counties and May 30 to June 1 elsewhere. Election Day hours at the polls are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. June 2. For more information, go to the Secretary of State's website, sos.ca.gov. Early election results will be published on the evening of June 2 at www.thecentersquare.com/california.

A January 2025 gun violence restraining order found signs that suspected mosque shooter Caleb Vazquez would carry out violence

Austin approved another density bonus program aimed at boosting affordable housing, while critics warn of neighborhood impacts. The post Austin takes another stab at density bonus program promoting affordable housing construction appeared first on Austin Current.

巴基斯坦军方最高领导人阿西姆·穆尼尔周五抵达德黑兰，继续寻求解决美伊冲突的方案。但伊朗对近期达成协议的预期有所降低。

巴基斯坦軍方最高領導人阿西姆·穆尼爾周五抵達德黑蘭，繼續尋求解決美伊衝突的方案。但伊朗對近期達成協議的預期有所降低。

With a Southern California wildfire only growing in size, firefighters in Ventura County have increased response efforts near a former nuclear reactor and rocket testing site. The Sandy Fire’s roughly quarter-of-a-mile proximity to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, or SSFL, prompted at least one family to evacuate when the blaze began Monday. Nuclear research ended […]

根據伊朗媒體的報道，巴基斯坦軍方最高領導人阿西姆·穆尼爾（Asim Munir）周五抵達伊朗首都德黑蘭，以便繼續推動美伊衝突的和平斡旋工作。美國國務卿魯比奧周四曾表示，希望穆尼爾此行能夠“推動局勢取得進展”。

根据伊朗媒体的报道，巴基斯坦军方最高领导人阿西姆·穆尼尔（Asim Munir）周五抵达伊朗首都德黑兰，以便继续推动美伊冲突的和平斡旋工作。美国国务卿鲁比奥周四曾表示，希望穆尼尔此行能够“推动局势取得进展”。

پشت پرده سفر پنج روزه ژنرال پترائوس به بغداد؛ قطع نفوذ جمهوری اسلامی شرط واشنگتن برای عراق

مخالفت جمهوری‌خواهان با تلاش دموکرات‌ها برای محدود کردن اختیارات جنگی رئیس جمهوری آمریکا

اعزام ۵ هزار نیروی آمریکا به لهستان؛ تقویت حضور نظامی در جناح شرقی ناتو

Adam Hamawy is one of 12 Democrats vying to replace Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman in Congress. The primary is June 2.

El Ministerio de Vivienda inició este viernes la demolición de cuatro viviendas en El Olivar de ...

The Belhaven softball team advances to the NCAA Division III World Series at Salem, Virginia. It will be the Blazers’ second trip to the national championship series in the past three years.

A 11ª Vara Federal de Curitiba reconheceu a omissão do poder público na titulação do território quilombola João Surá, em Adrianópolis (PR), e determinou medidas urgentes para a regularização fundiária da comunidade, que se arrasta há quase duas décadas. A decisão liminar, proferida na quarta-feira (13), atende a Ação Civil Pública (ACP) movida pela associação […] Fonte