A Nigerian man, Olushola Kazeem, has welcomed his first child after 13 years of waiting. Sharing the good news via X ion Friday, April 18, 2025, he wrote: ALHAMMDULLAH IT’S A BABY GIRL AFTER 13TH GOOD YEARS WAITING 
The post Nigerian man celebrates as he becomes a father after 13 years of waiting appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.
Source: Linda Ikeji
NYT Wordle is a satisfying and tricky test of vocabulary and logic that challenges players to guess a new five-letter word every day. However, things can get a little too challenging at times, and that probably explains why you’re here. So, if you don’t want to break your word-guessing streak or get too frustrated, take a look at today’s Wordle hints and answer for puzzle #1400 for April 19, 2025, down below!
Wordle is a word puzzle game by The New York Times. You are given six attempts to guess a five-letter word. The letters are highlighted in Yellow, Green, and Grey when you input a word. Yellow denotes that the letter appears in today’s Wordle answer, but it’s not at the right spot. Meanwhile, when a letter turns green, it means you have guessed the right letter in the right position. At last, a grey letter means the letter is not part of today’s answer.
While it may seem that winning at Wordle is easy, it is difficult to get that pesky five-letter word right. To help you out, here are some quick tips on how to play Wordle:
If you still need more details, learn how to play Wordle and check out more Wordle tips and tricks to ensure you get the answer almost every time.
We know you are here for Wordle hints and clues, and we are eager to help you. Like always, to assist you with today’s puzzle, we list the starting word for today’s Wordle answer, whether it has any vowels or repeating letters, and more.
After that, we also provide an additional hint for today’s Wordle game to get one step closer to the answer. So scroll down if you’re ready. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Today’s Wordle answer for Saturday, April 19, 2025, has two vowels.
If you guess the vowels correctly, there is a high possibility that you will guess the correct 5-letter answer in no time.
Well, there are no double letters in the Wordle answer today.
Today’s Wordle answer starts with the letter “I.”
Spoiler Warning:
Scroll slowly past this point. Major hint and answer for today’s Wordle #1400 lie ahead.
If the above-mentioned hints haven’t helped much, here’s the Wordle cheat hint that will definitely get you to the answer. The final hint for today is:
The folder where you receive your digital messages.
The answer for today’s Wordle on April 19, 2025, is INBOX.
Meaning of Inbox — It’s the electronic folder where you receive new emails or messages.
After a long time, a Wordle round made me sweat as much as today’s did. When SALTY didn’t lead anywhere, I knew it was going to be trouble. DINER did give me an “I” and an “N” in yellow, while POUCH had an “O” in its unoriginal position to offer. BOINK was my next try, and the sparkle in my eyes died rather quickly as every letter but “K” turned yellow.
With my last two tries left, I took a risk and tried ROBIN to get an idea of letter positioning. Only “B” seemed to be in its original position, but it did give me a solid idea, and INBOX turned out to be the Wordle answer for today! Phew, close call.
For regular Wordle players, we have curated the answers of all past Wordle answers in one place. If you are trying to find patterns in these word puzzles, check out our list of past Wordle answers.
Despite over 1,350 puzzles and nearly four years since its initial surge, Wordle is still going strong as a free-to-play word puzzle game that it is. What started as a simple game to pass the time during the pandemic has now become a daily habit for millions of The New York Times readers.
Just like reading your early morning newspaper, Wordle adds some productive value to your daily life as a brainteaser, which explains the incredible player base. Some avid Wordle players even stay up late to solve the puzzle as soon as it releases at 12:00 AM local time.
The fact that there’s a single puzzle on a daily basis that every player tries to solve makes it all the more competitive and challenging. According to a report by The Conversation, just in 2022, Wordle had around a whopping 3 million users across the world. As of 2025, one can only imagine where this number has soared.
That said, if you are one of them, I hope the Wordle hints we shared today helped you figure out the answer without having to scroll to the answer.
While there are a ton of words to start your Wordle with, we suggest using DINER, ROBIN, and XEROX today.
The NYT Wordle today starts with “I” and refers to a place where you receive digital messages. It has two vowels.
If you are unable to figure out puzzle #1400, then the Wordle answer today for April 19, 2025, is “INBOX.”
The answer for yesterday’s Wordle #1399 on April 18, 2025, was “DIRGE.”
Source: Beebom
The Lagos State police command has dismissed a report on the arrest of Boko Haram suspects in the state.
A report emerged on Thursday that security agents had arrested hundreds of suspected Boko Haram members in some parts of the state.
However, the command refuted the claim in a statement issued on Friday in Lagos by its spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin.
Hundeyin said that following the reports, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, directed an immediate investigation into the report to ascertain the authenticity of the claim.
He said: “The outcome of the investigation reveals that there is nowhere throughout Lagos State that the group mentioned in the report – Boko Haram – was seen or sighted or arrested.
“Furthermore, in the trailer park communities mentioned, the leaders, operators, and drivers in the indicated places in the report clarified to the police that there were no such elements of Boko Haram seen or arrested in those localities.
“The command, notwithstanding, deployed surveillance police detectives, the Lagos State Police Intelligence Department (SID), and other formations of the Force to the mentioned places for the purpose of verification of the claim.
“No one confirmed the presence or arrest of such group members as reported in the write-up throughout Lagos State.
“Therefore, the report in its entirety is false, malicious, and ill-intended to cause fear and apprehension in the minds of the public.
“Members of the public are encouraged by the Commissioner of Police to go about their duties and other means of livelihood without fear or apprehension.”
Source: Ripples Nigeria
By The Seattle Medium
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration has withheld nearly $1 billion in Head Start funding so far this year, representing a 37% decline in grants awarded compared to the same period last year, according to newly released data from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The funding shortfall is already forcing program closures across the country—including in Washington state—and placing the future of thousands of vulnerable children, families, and educators at risk.
The sharp funding drop coincides with a broader push by the administration to dismantle Head Start, a federal program that provides early childhood education, health services, and family support to low-income children. President Trump is finalizing a proposal to eliminate the program altogether, while simultaneously shuttering half of the regional offices that manage Head Start operations and firing dozens of federal staff tasked with ensuring these centers can continue to serve local communities.
This week, a Head Start provider in Lower Yakima Valley, Washington, announced it would close indefinitely due to not receiving its annual federal grant. The closure affects more than 400 children and 70 staff members, leaving families without child care and educators without jobs.
In response, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued a strongly worded statement condemning the administration’s actions.
“As he works to give more tax breaks to billionaires like himself, Donald Trump is doing everything he can to destroy Head Start—without a care in the world for the hundreds of thousands of working families across the country who depend on it,” said Murray.
“So far this year, Trump has slow-walked $1 billion in funding from going out the door to Head Start programs, and we are beginning to see the devastating consequences: centers closing, kids kicked out of the classroom, teachers losing their jobs, and entire communities losing out. In Washington state, hundreds of kids will be kicked out of Head Start programs—sending their parents scrambling—if this isn’t immediately rectified.”
“Trump isn’t content to simply hold up funding—he wants to eliminate the program altogether and rip pre-K and essential support away from families nationwide. Democrats won’t let a proposal like that go anywhere in Congress—but make no mistake: Trump is already doing all he can to wreck the program on his own, withholding funding and shuttering the offices and firing the people who get local Head Start centers what they need to serve families,” Murray continued. “Now, we’re seeing the ruinous consequences. I’m going to keep fighting back with all I’ve got—because we’ve got to keep mobilizing and opposing this administration’s cruel agenda to help billionaires and hurt working families.”
From January 1 to April 15, 2025, the Trump administration disbursed just $1.605 billion in Head Start grants. That compares to $2.548 billion during the same period last year—a $943 million difference. The delays come despite Congress funding Head Start at $12.27 billion for both fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
Head Start centers rely on predictable funding cycles to continue operations. Even short delays can trigger layoffs, classroom closures, and disruptions to critical early learning services.
The cuts are hitting states across the board. California saw a decline of more than $128 million, New York nearly $65 million, and Texas more than $61 million. In Washington state, Head Start funding dropped from $50 million last year to just $13.6 million so far in 2025—a nearly $36.5 million cut.
Since early 2025, the Trump administration has undertaken aggressive moves to dismantle Head Start’s infrastructure. In February, dozens of staff were laid off from the HHS Office of Head Start and Office of Child Care. In April, HHS closed half of the regional offices responsible for supporting and overseeing local programs, without providing a clear plan for how services and oversight would continue uninterrupted.
The lack of transparency and strategic planning has alarmed advocates and lawmakers alike, who say the administration is undermining one of the country’s most successful early education initiatives. Since its founding in 1965, Head Start has served nearly 40 million children and families, with over 750,000 currently enrolled and more than 17,000 Head Start centers in operation—many serving rural and underserved communities.
Source: Seattle Medium
Image Credits: GETTY IMAGES
Manchester United may still be enduring a miserable Premier League campaign.
However, their dramatic 7-6 aggregate win over Lyon in the Europa League quarter-finals has at least provided fans with a historic moment to savour.
Despite that, the club’s domestic struggles remain a key talking point.
Pep Guardiola couldn’t resist a subtle dig at United when addressing Manchester City’s own difficult season.
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The reigning Premier League champions have already seen their grip on the title slip away.
City are now locked in a tense battle to simply secure Champions League qualification.
City sit fifth – a position that will be enough this season.
But the pressure remains, with Aston Villa and Chelsea both applying pressure.
Guardiola, however, has refused to get too downbeat about his side’s situation, insisting things could be far worse.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Everton, the Spaniard said:
“Hopefully next season, we can be there, deal with the big clubs in Europe.
“We can challenge them better than we have done this season but what we have done in the latest seven years we were there.
“Even when we were out, we compete really well.”
He continued: “I don’t think it’s a bad thing to fight to qualify for the Champions League.
“We could be in a much lower position in the Premier League if you had done fewer good things than we have done in these four, five months.
“People say we are fourth now but I say yeah we could be 11th or 12th or 13th or 14th.
“I don’t have any doubts about that. So I take it like ‘okay, it has not been good but it’s in our hands.’”
The comments came at a time when Manchester United are languishing in 14th place, having lost 14 of their 32 matches so far this season.
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Ruben Amorim’s side are already guaranteed to record their worst ever Premier League finish.
However, the Red Devils remain in the hunt for Champions League football through Europa League success.
United are set to face Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals.
While Tottenham, also struggling a point behind United, will take on Bodo/Glimt in the other tie.
Guardiola’s pointed remarks about being grateful not to be stuck in 13th or 14th offered a timely reminder of just how far United have fallen, despite their European exploits.
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Source: Centred Devils
China dumps the US and bets on Russia
This decline commenced merely two months prior, coinciding with the reinstatement of the Trump administration and the resurgence of a stringent trade policy. China represents a significant and expanding market for liquefied natural gas exports, especially from Texas. According to census data, energy exports constitute 39% of Texas’s total exports to China.
(Source: REUTERS/SCANPIX)
Long-Term Consequences for LNG Shipping and Challenges Ahead:
1. Decreased Tonne-Mile Demand: As China increases its LNG imports from neighboring countries, such as Russia, the reduction in long-haul voyages between the US and China will lead to a decline in overall tonne-mile production.
2. Insufficient Offsets from Other Regions: Increases in LNG shipments from Canada or Africa will not adequately compensate for the tonne-miles lost due to the diminished flow of LNG between the US and China.
3. Limited US-Asia Trade Growth: The lack of robust LNG trade between the US and China will hinder the expansion of US-Asia shipping, especially if demand in Europe begins to stabilise.
4. Increased Russian Pipeline Gas Supply: The development of initiatives like Power of Siberia 2 may further diminish the demand for LNG, thereby lowering the need for shipping services.
U.S.-China trade tensions have resurfaced, significantly impacting the global LNG market. The US has reinstated major tariffs, leading China to impose a 15% retaliatory tariff on US liquefied natural gas (LNG). Consequently, China has halted imports of US LNG, redirecting shipments to Europe and disrupting established trade routes. This shift is further supported by a 24% year-over-year drop in China’s LNG imports for the first quarter of 2025 and strong gas deliveries from Russia via the Power of Siberia pipeline…
IMAGE: The Yamal LNG liquefied natural gas plant in the seaport of Sabbeta on the western shore of the Ob Bay of the Kara Sea (Source: NS Energy)
“China may completely abandon American LNG” – Pavel Maryshev, economist
Amid the trade war, Beijing has suspended purchases of American liquefied natural gas. Analysts do not rule out that this will be the case for a long time. China plans to purchase even more LNG from Russia. What volumes are they counting on, and why Moscow will meet them halfway…
Stopped import
Last year, China received 8.3 million tons of LNG from Russia. This is the third figure after Australia (26.19) and Qatar (18.34). In fourth place is Malaysia – 7.69.
There were also American imports (4.2 million tons), but due to Trump’s unprecedented trade tariffs, Beijing stopped this.
According to Kpler and LSEG, China bought nothing from the US in March. And Bloomberg reports that this has been happening for more than 60 days. The only time it lasted longer was five years ago, during the previous trade standoff with Washington.
“Beijing is not risking anything. The contracted volumes will be resold, and new agreements will not be concluded,” explains Pavel Maryshev, a member of the expert council at the Russian Gas Society.
Additional fees and duties primarily affect suppliers from the external market. The domestic market is not being restructured overnight, so importers are redirecting resources to other countries, says Khadzhimurad Belkharoev, associate professor at the Institute of World Economy and Business of the RUDN University Faculty of Economics.
IMAGE: Arrival of two tankers with liquefied gas from the Yamal LNG project in China (Source: RIA Novosti / Evgeny Odinokov)
Buy from Russia
Even if the trade dispute is settled, China will be able to function effectively without relying on American supplies.
Beijing intends to increase purchases from stable and proven partners, in particular, Russia, noted the Chinese Ambassador to Moscow Zhang Hanhui at the Eurasian Oil and Gas Forum.
There are all the possibilities for this. In 2024, the country produced 34.7 million tons of LNG (5.4% more than in 2023), of which a record 33.6 million were exported. At the same time, the reorientation to Asia made it possible to compensate for losses in European markets. Up to 31 million cubic meters were pumped through the Power of Siberia pipeline alone.
“By the way, production at Arctic LNG-2 is resuming, which strangely coincided with the worsening of relations between Washington and Beijing. Perhaps this indicates China’s readiness to purchase even more gas,” Maryshev reasons
IMAGE: Tanker Sun Arrows loads its cargo of liquefied natural gas from the Sakhalin-2 project in the port of Prigorodnoye, Russia (Source: AP Photo)
Up to 100 million tons
The Power of Siberia 2 pipeline from Yamal in northern Russia to China via Mongolia would allow exports to be expanded, but its prospects are unclear.
Experts explain the freezing of the project by changes in the architecture of the international economy and the appearance of additional free volumes of LNG on the market.
“Global infrastructure projects that require significant investment and cooperation are gradually losing relevance. In addition, pipeline gas deprives the buyer of room to manoeuvre. By and large, investments in the “pipe” shackles the recipient for many years. This is why Chinese partners are so cautious in this matter. And the dynamics of the global LNG market allow us to expect further supply growth,” says Maryshev
By 2030, liquefied gas production will increase by at least 30%. This will probably be enough for the Chinese.
There are currently two large-capacity plants operating in Russia: Yamal LNG (design capacity: 17.4 million tons per year) and Sakhalin-2 (9.6). Novatek’s second facility, Arctic LNG-2, is partially ready, but was hit by US sanctions in November 2023. However, according to Reuters and Bloomberg, it has already shipped its first batches of fuel.
Within five years, it is planned to launch Murmansk LNG, Arctic LNG-1 and Ob LNG. This is another 47 million tons per year. All three projects should make a significant contribution to the implementation of the country’s energy strategy, according to which LNG production will reach 90-105 million tons per year by 2050.
IMAGE: Russian President Vladimir Putin at the ceremony of sending the first technological line for liquefying natural gas on gravity-based foundations as part of the Arctic LNG2 project at the Novatek-Murmansk Large-Tongue Offshore Construction Centre (Source: RIA Novosti / Media Bank)
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Source: TLB
The son of a Leon County Sheriff’s deputy killed two people at Florida State University and wounded six others on Thursday after gaining access to his mother’s handgun and going on a campus rampage, police said.
The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, was shot by officers and taken into custody before being transported to the hospital, according to police. He is believed to be an FSU student. His mother was assigned by the sheriff’s office to protect a local public school.
Police did not immediately release the names of the victims, six of whom were being treated in the hospital for their wounds. Authorities said during a Thursday afternoon press conference that the two people killed did not attend the school as students.
Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell did not give a motive for the shooting. But Leon County Sheriff Walter McNeil said the sheriff’s office knew the shooter well, as he was a member of the agency’s Youth Advisory Council.
“He has been steep in the Leon County Sheriff’s family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have … so it’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons,” McNeil said.
The attack, which rattled students and sent police scrambling to the university’s Tallahassee campus, took place around noon. Police swarmed the university’s Tallahassee campus with guns drawn, responding to reports of gunfire near the student union. Students hid in classrooms and in the library.
A video recorded from behind bushes and shared with the Miami Herald by an FSU student showed an armed person striding calmly on the sidewalk, squaring up and taking at least three shots as people ran and screamed.
Near the shooting location, laptops, towels, backpacks and bottles of water were scattered in a grassy area, abandoned in a moment of panic.
“Everyone was running,” said 19-year-old freshman Raiden Paniagua, who was eating Chick-fil-A on a campus lawn when the mayhem began. “I was so scared.”
By 3:17 p.m., Tallahassee Police said they’d secured the campus, but were continuing to treat the student union and surrounding area as a crime scene. A Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare spokeswoman said six people were being treated in the hospital, one in critical condition.
News of the shooting reverberated in the Florida Capitol, which was briefly put on lockdown, and reached all the way to Washington.
“It’s horrible that things like this take place,” said President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters Thursday from the Oval Office.
Reports of a shooting on campus first emerged at 12:02 p.m. over the school’s emergency alert system.
“Continue to seek shelter and await further instructions,” the university told students. “Lock and stay away from all doors and windows and be prepared to take additional protective measures.”
On campus, FSU student Victor Alonso, 19, was in his government class inside the HCB Classroom Building next to the student union when his phone lit up with alerts.
He read the message: an active shooter was on campus. “There’s no way,” he thought.
Moments later, panic broke out in his classroom. Alonso and other students scrambled to barricade the doors. He heard gunshots, followed by helicopters circling overhead.
Officers soon arrived at the door, shouting commands. “They made us go down the hall with our hands up,” Alonso told the Herald in an interview from his dorm room.
He said law enforcement kept relocating them across campus.
“They ended up evacuating us like four or five times to different buildings,” he said.
At one point, he sheltered in what he described as an AC repair unit, later huddling in a courtyard. He was finally allowed to return to his dorm about two hours after the initial alert.
“Everyone’s angry,” Alonso said. “I just don’t know how this can happen — it’s disgusting.”
Raeleen McDaniel, 26, was in a classroom watching a video about Korean history when she heard the gunshots.
“At first we thought it was the video, but then we realized it was real shots,” McDaniel said in an interview with the Herald.
McDaniel recalled seeing students running in the hallway and dropping down to the floor. Her classroom was located near the student union.
“People go there to study,” she said, visibly distraught as a friend comforted her. About two hours had passed since the shooting had been reported, and what had occurred was still sinking in.
“I knew that a shooting was something that was possible because it is so common, but I never thought it would happen to us,” she said.
Local and state police rushed to the scene, as well as agents from the FBI’s Jacksonville office.
Videos posted to social media shortly after the shooting was first reported showed students walking with their hands raised, and officers running with guns drawn. Later, videos showed police calmly directing students about where they could and couldn’t go on campus.
In the wake of the shooting, officers searched the campus, clearing rooms, using the word “Seminole” to let students know that it was safe to come out from hiding. Tallahassee Police told students to contact their families. They were offered rides to the The Donald L. Tucker Civic Center, which was set up as a family reunification center.
Classes for the rest of the week were canceled.
The handgun used during the shooting was the former service weapon of his mother, who was allowed to buy the weapon for her personal use, police said. The 20-year-old was also in possession of a shotgun, police confirmed.
“We have not confirmed anyone was shot with a shotgun but that could change,” FSU Police Chief Jason Trumbower said. At this point in the investigation, Trumbower said he did not believe the shotgun had been used.
McNeil said the sheriff’s deputy has not been suspended but added that there would be a thorough investigation into the matter.
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© 2025 Miami Herald.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Source: American Military News
The Anambra Police have arrested a suspected rapist over the death of one Michael Somtochukwu, 15, in Unubi, Nnewi South Local Government Area of the state.
The police revealed that the suspect, Chidiebere Mbene, 33, also allegedly raped the teen’s elder sister before he fled the scene.
According to the police, the incident that occurred on April 15 has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Awka for a comprehensive investigation.
The command further reiterated its willingness to rely on community support to apprehend suspects and identify unrepentant criminals in the State.
Anambra Police Arrest Alleged Serial Rapist Behind Teenagers Death is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler
By Kevin Hardy, Stateline.org
As every state surrounding Idaho legalized marijuana, state Rep. Bruce Skaug started to view it as inevitable that the Gem State would follow suit.
Not anymore.
Skaug, a Republican, supported two bills this legislative session taking aim at marijuana use: one to impose a mandatory minimum $300 fine for possession and another that would take away the right of voters to legalize pot at the ballot box.
He believes other states are starting to regret liberalizing marijuana use, because of potential health concerns and lackluster revenues from marijuana sales.
“Looking around at other states that have legalized marijuana, it’s not improved their states as a place to raise a family, to do business,” he said. “It just hasn’t come through with the promises that we heard years ago for those states.”
Idaho’s not alone. After years of expanding legal access, lawmakers in several states this year have targeted marijuana in various ways.
To help close budget gaps, officials in Maryland, Michigan and New Jersey have proposed raising marijuana taxes. Health concerns have pushed lawmakers in states including Colorado and Montana to attempt to cap the level of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the primary psychoactive component in cannabis, in marijuana products sold at dispensaries. And some lawmakers have even tried to roll back voter-approved medical marijuana programs.
“This year in particular, we’re playing defense a lot more than we have in the past,” said Morgan Fox, political director at the advocacy group National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.
To some extent, he said, the pendulum on marijuana liberalization is swinging back. But Fox said recent legislative efforts are not indicative of waning public support for legalization. He said prohibitionist politicians have been emboldened to act against the will of voters.
Polling from the Pew Research Center has found little change in support for legalization in recent years: 57% of U.S. adults say that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational purposes.
Colorado and Washington state began allowing recreational marijuana sales in 2014. Today, 24 states and the District of Columbia allow recreational sales, and 39 states and the district have sanctioned medical marijuana.
“There’s been this air of inevitability for a while,” said Daniel Mallinson, an associate professor of public policy at Penn State Harrisburg who researches marijuana legalization.
With medical marijuana programs operational in most states, Mallinson said there is pressure to expand recreational marijuana, especially given uncertainty over whether the federal government will act on the issue.
“Recreational is still in its takeoff period,” he said.
But he acknowledged that new medical research has raised concerns among some lawmakers. One study published in January found a link between heavy marijuana use and memory function. Other studies have found a higher risk of heart attacks among people who use cannabis.
Mallinson said the research on marijuana is “very young,” as many institutions are wary of conducting clinical trials because of federal drug laws. The federal government classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug— the same classification as drugs such as heroin and ecstasy.
“There’s a mixture of science and politics in this area,” he said. “ … I could imagine seeing in these really conservative states like Idaho, you know, this kind of a backlash, like, we don’t want this here at all, so we’re going to try to put up barriers to even considering it.”
In Idaho, Skaug said he pursued the state’s new mandatory$300 fine for marijuana possession to bring more consistency to how the state handles marijuana cases.
While Idaho law previously allowed fines of up to $1,000, he said judges had issued fines as low as $2.50.
“So that wasn’t the right message. That’s not even worth the time to write the ticket,” he said. “So it’s not that we’re going to arrest more people for misdemeanor possession of marijuana, but there will be more citations in the amount of $300.”
Skaug also backed a proposed constitutional amendment that would give only the legislature the power to legalize marijuana and other drugs. That question will go to voters next year.
Skaug said he’s worried outside groups would influence a public vote to legalize marijuana by pouring millions into a ballot initiative campaign. If the amendment he supports passes, it wouldn’t ban pot — it would leave legalization up to lawmakers.
“If the evidence comes back that says marijuana or some other drug is positive in the medical community and a good thing, then the legislature can legalize that,” he said. “But we’re going to leave it with the legislature.”
Advocates have been trying without success to get enough signatures to put a medical marijuana question on the ballot for more than a decade in Idaho, said Democratic state Rep. Ilana Rubel. The House minority leader, Rubel said she hit “a firm brick wall” in pitching medical marijuana legislation in Boise, where GOP lawmakers privately tell her they don’t want to look soft on crime.
She views the proposed amendment as another example of the GOP-controlled statehouse being out of touch with regular Idahoans. She said the state’s closed Republican primaries have led to more conservative stances from lawmakers.
“I think this is one of those issues where there is just a huge, huge gap between what the people of Idaho want and what they’re going to get from their legislature,” she said.
A 2022 poll commissioned by the Idaho Statesman found that nearly 70% of Idahoans supported legalizing medical marijuana.
But even discussions about medical marijuana are shut down in Idaho because of concerns about problems with drugs in liberal cities such as Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Rubel said.
“A very large number of red states have legalized medical marijuana, and they haven’t seen any of the parade of horribles that has been presented whenever we introduce this idea,” she said. “There’s just a lot of hysteria and paranoia about where this is going to lead that is really not tied to reality.”
In several states, lawmakers have aimed to restrict the potency of marijuana products.
Montana state Sen. Greg Hertz, a Republican, said he doesn’t want to end recreational marijuana sales, which voters approved in 2020. But he said today’s products are much stronger than people may realize.
“People were voting for Woodstock weed, not this new high-THC marijuana,” he said.
A bill he sponsored this year would have banned sales of recreational marijuana products, including flower and edibles, exceeding THC levels of 15%. Montana currently allows up to 35% THC in flower, with no limit on other products.
That legislation stalled, but Hertz said he plans to pitch a similar measure during Montana’s next legislative session in 2027.
A separate bill reducing the state’s dosage of THC for edibles just passed the legislature. The measure, which now heads to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, would change the individual dosage limit on edibles such as gummies from 10 milligrams to 5 milligrams.
Hertz said the state rushed into its liberalization of marijuana without fully understanding the consequences.
He pointed to state health department data showing rising emergency room visits related to marijuana and dozens of cannabis poisoning cases in recent years — including 36 involving children 10 years or younger.
“We probably opened up the barn door too wide,” he said. “I’m just trying to slow this down a little bit.”
With many states facing gaping budget holes this year, marijuana has proven a popular target from Democrats and Republicans looking to raise revenues without across-the-board tax increases.
Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore in January proposed hiking the cannabis tax from 9% to 15% to help close the state’s $3 billion budget hole. In March, lawmakers agreed to a budget framework that would raise the state marijuana tax to 12%.
Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine proposed doubling marijuana taxes from 10% to 20% — a notion that has so far faced opposition in the legislature.
In Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed a new 32% wholesale tax on marijuana growers to help fund road improvements. That tax would be on top of the 10% excise tax on recreational marijuana and the state’s 6% sales tax.
Whitmer said it would close a loophole that has exempted the marijuana industry from wholesale tax, which is applied to cigarettes and other tobacco products. Michigan lawmakers, split sharply along partisan lines, have until Sept. 30 to approve a state budget.
Lawmakers in some states have even taken aim at voter-approved medical marijuana programs this year.
In South Dakota, a bill that failed in committee would have gutted the medical marijuana program overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2020.
In November, Nebraska voters widely supported ballot measures to roll out a medical marijuana program — winning majority support in each of the state’s 49 legislative districts.
But setting up the regulatory scheme has proven controversial, the Nebraska Examiner reported. Lawmakers are pursuing legislation that would define which medical conditions and forms of cannabis would qualify.
Medical marijuana advocates say overly strict rules would hamper the program and undermine the will of voters. But some legislators insist on limitations to prevent widespread access to marijuana.
“We make it legal for anything and everything, it’s essentially recreational marijuana at that point,” state Sen. Rick Holdcroft, a Republican, told the Nebraska Examiner this month.
Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be reached at khardy@stateline.org.
©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Originally Published:
Source: Paradise Post
Published 12:53 pm Friday, April 18, 2025
Lorenzo Armon Whatley, 24, of Troy, pled guilty this week for his part in what law enforcement has come to call the “Gantt 9 Robbery,” based on the number of people arrested for the crime. Whatley and eight others forced their way into Felix Jones’s home in Gantt in an attempt to rob him.
“All of the defendants went to prison except for one,” said District Attorney Walt Merrell. “A female present at the scene did not take part in the crime and instead sat in the car. Everyone else, including Whatley, forced their way into Jones’s residence to assist with the robbery. Whatley and a few others were armed with pistols.”
For his part in the robbery, Whatley was sentenced to 15 years in the Alabama Department of Corrections.
“So far, each defendant has been sentenced to a term consistent with the extent of their involvement in the crime,” Merrell said. “Whatley has no prior felonies, but a crime of this serious nature doesn’t allow much room for leniency. Someone could have been killed that night. We are fortunate this is not a murder case.”
Merrell expressed his appreciation for the “hard work of Covington County Sheriff’s Office and the Gantt Police Department, as well as the help of the Andalusia Police Department. They all worked together for the common good and did a great job.”
Merrell said he expects the case against the last defendant, Ramone Smith of Andalusia, to be tried later this year.
Source: Andalusia Star