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Lawmakers pass tax breaks for Missouri seniors

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri's senior homeowners would be spared from rate hikes on property taxes under a bill passed by state lawmakers Monday.If signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson, it would be up to counties to approve the property tax breaks. The freeze on property tax rates would only apply to the primary residences of people age 65 and older.“Our seniors need that safety to know that when they're paying into that system, they should be able to get it on the back end and enjoy a secure retirement," Republican House Speaker Dean Plocher said in a rare speech on the floor. Cherokee Street shooting: Police release images of suspects The legislation also would end state taxes on Social Security benefits beginning in 2024. Currently, Missouri residents only pay taxes on Social Security if they make more than $85,000 a year or, if married, they make $100,000 a year or more. Lawmakers extended the tax break to all seniors.“It helps some of our seniors who need that help, a...

Video shows Columbia, Missouri officer punch man on ground 5 times

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Two police officers in Missouri are under investigation after someone posted video online showing one of the officers repeatedly punching a man as police had him pinned to the ground.Columbia police Chief Geoff Jones said in a statement Monday that he asked the Boone County Sheriff's Department to conduct a criminal investigation into his officers' actions early Sunday morning while they were responding to a disturbance outside a bar. The Columbia Police Department will also conduct an internal investigation.The video last about 9 seconds and shows one officer pinning a man to the ground while a second officer punches the man in the face five times, causing the man to bleed. Check the radar - Severe weather expected In the background, someone can be heard saying, “He's punching him in the face. Oh my God.”Jones said he is thankful that someone brought the officers' conduct to his attention.“Police use of force must be reasonable,” Jones said. ”We have a high e...

Missouri lawmakers enter final week of session with major GOP priorities unfinished

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri lawmakers must adjourn for the year at 6 p.m. on Friday, leaving just five days to complete work on some of the highest-profile — and controversial — items on the GOP supermajority’s agenda. And while the last two legislative sessions were defined in their final week by the simmering tension between Republicans in the Senate, this year it will likely be clashes between the two legislative chambers that decides the fate of a laundry list of proposals. For weeks, House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, has lamented the slow pace of the Senate, complaining that top GOP priorities approved by the House languished across the Capitol rotunda in the Senate. “We continue to look for action out of the Senate,” Plocher told reporters late last month. “The House has lived up to the expectations of the conservative voters of this state… we’re just waiting for the Senate.” Missouri lawmakers approve largest budget in state history — almost $51 billi...

Children ages 10 to 12 can still be arrested in Colorado after lawmakers gut bill to raise minimum age of prosecution

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

Children between the ages of 10 and 12 will still be subject to arrest in Colorado after a bill seeking to raise the minimum age for criminal prosecution was drastically rewritten in the final 24 hours of the legislative session.The first version of the bipartisan bill, HB23-1249, would have banned the arrest and prosecution of kids ages 10 through 12 for any crimes other than homicide and instead proposed that a network of multi-disciplinary social services teams handle criminal behavior among that age group.The rewritten version passed by both the House and Senate on Monday does not raise the minimum age for arrest. Instead, it increases funding for the social services teams and requires the collection of data to assess the efficacy of services children are receiving under the current system.“This bill would’ve allowed us to invest in solutions that are proven to prevent crime, to protect our kids and to build safe communities,” sponsor Sen. James Coleman, D-Denv...

Flaunt Your Dad Bod: Most Women Prefer a Little Pooch Over Six-Pack Abs!

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

Move over gym bros! We have nothing but admiration for your hard work to attain those “gains” — but it’s time for the dad bod to shine! As it turns out, more women prefer this body type than physiques with washboard abs.Is the dad bod the new thing?Beauty is found in both men and women of all shapes and sizes. And what counts as beautiful, sexy, or alluring often changes. Though we can’t say if the dad bod will remain trendy, Advanced Dermatology commissioned a survey, and they found out that 70% of the women who were polled said they like the dad bod, 61% said this body type is attractive, and 49% said that it’s just straight up sexy!The admiration for the dad bod may be here to stay — 93% of the surveyed Americans said that they don’t judge people with this body type. In fact, they call it “the new six-pack.” But it’s not just the women who are swooning over this type of physique. Even men like seeing and/or having a dad bod. 49% of the men who were surveyed said that they prefer ...

Ex Sex: Why We Want It and What It Means

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

They say people tend to want what they can’t have. There may be some truth to that. However, sometimes, the things we want are the things we already had — in this case, it’s a person, our exes! But not all of them or the relationship we had with them. In some cases, ex sex is what people seek from their former flame — and it’s quite a common occurrence.Does ex sex help someone move on or does it do the opposite?In a study published by Archives of Sexual Behavior, they found out that it’s common for people to hook up with their former lover — while they’re still moving on from the *same* said partner! The researchers conducted two surveys. One was for the participants to provide a daily report about how they feel they’re moving on from their exes — from day 1 to 2 months post-breakup; the second survey was for participants to answer questions regarding their attempts to initiate rebound ex sex — and how it ultimately turned out for them. Most participants reported that ex sex did occ...

Explainer: What’s behind Syria’s return to the Arab League?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

By Kareem Chehayeb and Abby Sewell | Associated PressBEIRUT — The Arab League’s decision to re-admit Syria after shunning it for 12 years was a significant symbolic victory for Damascus, part of a larger regional realignment and an indication of the United States’ waning role, analysts say.But it may not immediately bring the reconstruction dollars that Syrian President Bashar Assad is hoping for. Nor is it likely to bring the changes Syria’s neighbors want, such as an agreement on refugee returns and moves to reduce drug trafficking.Syria is returning to the Arab fold even though there is no sign of a resolution to the country’s uprising-turned-civil war, now in its 13th year. The long-stalemated conflict has killed nearly a half million people since March 2011 and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million. Multiple mediation attempts have failed.The league approved Syria’s readmission at a closed-door meeting in Cairo on S...

Three-bedroom home sells for $2.3 million in San Jose

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

5495 Blossom Vista Avenue – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 5400 block of Blossom Vista Avenue in San Jose was sold on April 14, 2023. The $2,325,000 purchase price works out to $1,772 per square foot. The house, built in 1960, has an interior space of 1,312 square feet. The property features three bedrooms, two baths, a garage, and two parking spaces. The backyard also has a pool. The unit sits on a 6,715-square-foot lot.These nearby houses have also recently been purchased:In October 2022, a 2,220-square-foot home on Sharon Court in Los Gatos sold for $2,120,000, a price per square foot of $955. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 5,937-square-foot home on the 100 block of Dover Street in Los Gatos sold in January 2023, for $4,675,000, a price per square foot of $787. The home has 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms.On Keene Drive, San Jose, in December 2022, a 1,390-square-foot home was sold for $1,730,000, a price per square foot of $1,245. The home has 2 bedrooms and...

Antioch launches first mental health crisis response team

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

ANTIOCH — Isabella Collins vividly remembers the cold late December day when her brother Angelo, overcome with anxiety and paranoia, spun into a mental health crisis, prompting her to call 911.But the responding officers were not intervention specialists and were ill-equipped to deal with a mental health emergency. Within minutes, the Antioch officers physically restrained Angelo Quinto and he soon went limp on the hardwood floor, his family said. Three days later the 30-year-old Navy veteran died in a hospital.“I asked if there was somebody else that I could have called and a lot of people, everybody, said that I did the right thing,” Collins said. “But I’ve often said that the right thing wouldn’t have killed my brother.”Collins, speaking to a crowd Monday at a city of Antioch press conference on mental health emergency calls, said she has since regretted making that call.“It’s a regret that I will live with forever,” she said.At the time there were no other opti...

Letters: Keeping talent | Short on solutions | Detentions help | Gun rights | Israel’s shoulders

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Thao’s budgetaims to keep talentRe: “Budget aims to avoid drastic cuts” (Page A1, May 2).I’m a Local 21 member working in the Department of Transportation as a public works supervisor and I’ve given the city of Oakland 26 years of faithful service. I thank Mayor Thao for balancing the budget while protecting the essential work I and my crews do every day, preventing layoffs and making an investment in the understaffing crisis we face in DOT and across the city.We have been struggling to recruit and retain staff because past administrations have refused to address wage inequities. We see senior staff with institutional knowledge leave for other jurisdictions only to get paid more for the same or a lower position elsewhere.The mayor’s budget proposal includes funding for a citywide analysis to find out where the city is falling behind so we can then focus our resources on making those job...