| | | | | | The medicinal use of hallucinogenic mushrooms is making inroads in U.S. states as military veterans advocate for the therapeutic value of psychedelic drugs, including in conservative states like Utah, Texas and Oklahoma. At least four states have approved studying their medicinal properties in the last two years and several U.S. cities have also decriminalized so-called magic mushrooms. Oregon is the first, and so far only, state to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin, the psychedelic active ingredient found in certain mushrooms. But studying them has gotten approval not only in blue states like Hawaii, Connecticut and Maryland but also GOP-led Utah, Texas, and Oklahoma, where the state House passed a bill this year. | | | | | | Kyrie Irving cost himself millions of dollars in salary. He may have cost the Brooklyn Nets any realistic chance of winning the NBA title. His decision not to be vaccinated against the coronavirus left him ineligible to play in New York for most of the season. Irving was criticized for being stubborn and selfish, for thinking only about the individual in a sport that's about the team. But on the eve of the postseason, Irving isn't second-guessing anything, saying he knows he "made the right decision for me." The Nets open the playoffs Sunday against the Boston Celtics. | | | | | | An Arizona Supreme Court decision means victims of long-ago child sex abuse can proceed with lawsuits against groups like the Boy Scouts of America. The court refused to overturn lower court rulings that found a 2019 law creating a one-time window for victims to sue is constitutional. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and its southern and central Arizona affiliates are being sued by two men who allege their "Big Brothers" abused them in the 1970s and 1980s. The group said the new law violated their due process rights by changing the statute of limitations, but trial court judges disagreed. The Supreme Court last week refused to overturn those decisions. Phoenix attorney Robert Pastor says he can now try to prove Big Brothers Big Sisters was negligent. | | | | | | Month by month, more of the roughly 40 million Americans who get help buying groceries through the federal food stamp program are seeing their benefits plunge. The reductions come even as the nation struggles with the biggest increase in food costs in decades. The payments to low-income individuals and families are dropping as governors end COVID-19 disaster declarations and opt out of a still-ongoing federal program that made their states eligible for dramatic increases in SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps. The increased benefit were in response to surging unemployment after the COVID-19 pandemic swept over the country. The result is that depending on the politics of a state, people find themselves eligible for significantly different levels of help buying food. | | | | | | California top health official says the state has no plans to impose new statewide pandemic restrictions despite a rise in coronavirus cases. The spike is primarily due to a new highly transmissible omicron variant. Health Secretary Mark Ghaly says the most populous state has seen a much slower increase than in previous waves and in other U.S. regions. He defended California's recent focus on encouraging individuals to get vaccinated and boosted, wear a mask where appropriate and take other precautions to "make good, thoughtful personal decisions to protect themselves." He also has seen no indication that local officials plan to toughen their approach despite an increase in case rates. | | | | | | Abortion-rights groups have gone to court seeking to restore abortion services in Kentucky. Their lawsuits come a day after the Republican legislature imposed new abortion restrictions. The suits say the two remaining abortion clinics in Kentucky can't immediately comply with new restrictions. The suits were filed in federal court. Plaintiffs are asking a judge to block the new abortion law from taking effect while the case is litigated. The legislature overturned Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's veto of the sweeping abortion measure Wednesday. It includes more than 70 pages of revisions to existing abortion laws and creates new reporting requirements. | | | | | | Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to impose additional inspections of trucks entering Texas from Mexico was his latest move in an unprecedented foray into border security, which has long been the federal government's domain. The two-term governor, like many Republican Party leaders, calls illegal immigration and drug smuggling from Mexico a "crisis" and fully blames President Joe Biden. His latest actions follow the Biden administration's decision to end pandemic-related restrictions for those claiming asylum at the border on May 23. Border officials stopped migrants 164,973 times in February, a daily average of nearly 5,900. They stopped migrants an average of 7,101 times a day during the week that ended March 28. Under pressure, Abbott repealed the inspection order Friday. | | | | | | Sponsored Content: Venture outside this spring for your daily workouts. Whether you are going to the gym, on a run, or simply a walk, these shoes will have you stepping out with comfort, support, and style. | | | | | | |
