Latest news with #SB100
Mint
18-07-2025
- Mint
Japanese brand AKAI launches three new soundbars in India under its Soul Series range
AKAI is turning up the volume in the best way possible. The Japanese consumer electronics brand has introduced its Soul Series soundbars in the Indian market, offering three models under this new range called the SB100, SB120 Pro and SB160. Designed for home entertainment, these soundbars combine performance with compact design. First up is the SB100. This compact speaker might look small but throws out 100 watt RMS. It runs on a 2.1 channel setup powered by a Class D amplifier. You also get a 5.25 inch subwoofer and dual 2.25 inch drivers. Connectivity? Covered. It comes with HDMI ARC, USB, Bluetooth 5.0, optical and AUX. Need quick adjustments? Try the EQ modes or use the remote. Yes, it even has a tidy LED display. Move a little up the ladder and you get the SB120 Pro. It brings a loud, room-filling sound with 120W RMS power. Big bass, strong mids, and smart controls make it great for everyday entertainment. It connects to almost everything and looks cool doing it. Toss in a remote and LED display, and you are ready to vibe. The most powerful in the range is the SB160. It is aimed at users who want louder, richer sound. With a 6.5 inch subwoofer and four 2.25 inch drivers, it delivers 160 watt RMS output. This makes it suitable for everything from gaming to high-volume movie nights. Like the others, it features HDMI ARC, Bluetooth, USB, AUX, and optical input. It also comes with a remote and LED display for easy control. Each soundbar in the Soul Series focuses on delivering functional design with relevant features for everyday users. All three models come in a compact rectangular form and are built to fit within Indian living rooms without needing complex setups. The EQ modes allow users to tune sound profiles based on the content they are watching or listening to. AKAI has priced the Soul Series soundbars starting from ₹ 5990. The models are available through online platforms as well as offline retail outlets. By launching this range, AKAI appears to be targeting households looking for accessible and reliable sound upgrades for their televisions, without shifting to bulky home theatre systems.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In final days of session, legislature advances Landry immigration agenda
Officers with Louisiana State Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement escort a man arrested March 13, 2025, at the Port of Lake Charles. ICE reported 11 arrests of people working at the port who did not have legal status to be in the United States (Photo courtesy of ICE). Two controversial state bills in the Louisiana Legislature — both designed to aid federal and state crackdowns on immigration — are in the final stages of becoming law after passing overwhelmingly in the state House of Representatives Monday. With days to go in the spring legislative session, Louisiana's House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of Senate Bill 100, which requires agencies to track undocumented immigrants who receive state services, and Senate Bill 15, which makes it a crime for law enforcement agents, and others, to refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agencies. The session is set to adjourn on Thursday. The bills both advance the priorities of Gov. Jeff Landry, a conservative immigration hardliner and ally of President Donald Trump. Senate Bill 100, sponsored by Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia, which requires service providing public agencies – including the state Department of Education, Department of Corrections and the Department of Children & Family Services – to collect data and report to the State on the immigration status of people who receive those services. It passed 74-27 Monday afternoon. Senate Bill 15, sponsored by Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, criminalizes the failure of local officials – including sheriffs and other law enforcement officers – to cooperate with federal immigration agencies, with penalties of up to 10 years in prison. It also criminalizes acts by everyday Louisiana residents deemed to obstruct or 'thwart' federal immigration enforcement efforts. It passed 71-30. If Senate Bill 15 becomes law, it would directly conflict with immigration policies adopted by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office and, potentially, the New Orleans Police Department, both of which are under federal orders to limit their cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal immigration agencies. Both have already passed the Senate. SB100 will now head back to the Senate for Senate President Cameron Henry's signature and then to Landry's desk for his signature. Senate Bill 15, however, was amended in the House before final passage. The Senate will have to vote to approve the amended version before it can move on to become law. Advocates against the pieces of legislation say the bills, once effected, will push Louisiana's immigrant community into the shadows. 'With the passage of SB 100 and SB 15, our state has sent a chilling message: that Immigrant families and anyone seeking safety or services are seen as expendable.' said Tia Fields, who manages policy for advocacy group Louisianan Organization for Refugees and Immigrants in Baton Rouge. 'Let's be clear: these bills aren't about public safety. They're about punishment.' If enacted, Senate Bill 15 will be the first state law in the U.S. that criminalizes interference with immigration enforcement efforts, considered to be civil matters, or refusals to cooperate with federal immigration agencies. During debate on the House Floor on Monday Rep. Candace Newell, D-New Orleans, repeatedly asked how the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office would follow the law, which directly contradicts an agency policy that was created under federal court order. The bill requires jailers, including sheriffs, to honor administrative requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to hold an immigrant beyond their release date from jail so that they can be brought into ICE custody. But a Sheriff's Office policy prohibits the agency from honoring hold requests except in cases where a jail detainee is accused of a particularly serious crime. The policy exists as the result of a 2013 federal court settlement stemming from a 2011 civil rights case in which two men said they were illegally held in the city's jail for months at the request of ICE. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, another immigration hardliner, is challenging that settlement agreement. Louisiana already has a law, Act 314 of 2024 – enacted through Senate Bill 208, sponsored by Miguez and passed last year – that blocks local law enforcement agencies from adopting so-called 'sanctuary' like the one at the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. But unlike Senate Bill 15 — which calls for prison sentences of up to 10 years — that is a civil law, carrying no jail time for failure to comply. 'The Orleans Parish Sheriff, who should be trying to get out from under the handcuffs of the consent decree, [is] using that as a shield to avoid the possible implications of refusing to cooperate with ICE,' Morris told committee members. Will Harrell, senior program monitor for the Sheriff's Office said while he's disappointed that the bill passed, he is 'not surprised with the outcome, given the anti-immigrant climate.' He said he's concerned about how Orleans Parish Sheriff, Susan Hutson, will follow both the state law and the federal court order 'The sheriff does not intend to be a breaker of laws,' Harrell said. 'It's just a question of which law we need to follow.' Senate Bill 100 mirrors a 2024 executive order from Landry, signed in the early days of his governorship, that requires state departments and their sub-agencies to calculate and report on the amount of money that undocumented immigrants are costing the state. According to Rep. Michael Johnson, R-Pineville — who brought the bill to the House floor — Landry and Murrill requested SB15 be crafted to codify the language in that executive order. Undocumented immigrants are already shut out of some state-administered services. They are ineligible for food stamp benefits or Medicaid, for example, and they can't get drivers' licenses. But they attend schools, get medical treatment at public hospitals and use emergency shelters, among other things. Advocates against the bill said recording identifying information like citizenship or immigration status, will not only affect undocumented immigrants, but also people who may not trust their government for other reasons, making it less likely that they seek out essential services like medical care. 'Not all of these services require any kind of identification right now, [like] the low barrier homeless shelters or food banks or things like that, and there are people who are going to be unwilling to get benefits if it requires of citizenship verification,' Sissy Phleger, a safety net analyst for state think tank Invest in Louisiana, said in a phone interview last week. 'It is going to burden people in Louisiana who don't have enough to eat. I don't have a place to live and that seems cruel and unnecessary.' During discussions over the bill on the House floor, Democratic Caucus chairperson Rep. Matthew Willard, D-New Orleans, expressed concern over the proposed penalties in the bill: the withholding of funding to agencies that do not comply. 'For me it seems kind of like a threat,' Willard said. Johnson called the penalty an 'incentive' to follow the law. 'This is just transparency,' Johnson said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE This article first appeared on Verite News New Orleans and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
MCHS promotes student leadership with Cougar Council
McLean County High School (MCHS) is focusing on preventing student alcohol, nicotine and drug use through a student leadership organization called the Cougar Council. Led by Leandra Keister, the McLean County Public School (MCPS) community education director, and Becky Tanner, the high school's Youth Services Center coordinator, the Cougar Council recruits students who display leadership skills for membership in the organization. 'Sometimes we operate on an invitation-only basis but sometimes we open up applications to students that want to participate in Cougar Council,' said Keister. 'We try to select members to represent all areas of student life like athletes, band members and ROTC participants.' Cougar Council, according to Keister and Tanner, focuses on alcohol and substance abuse prevention at the high school. 'Other schools might have similar clubs or programs, but we're always getting recognized at events and conferences for being leaders with the Cougar Council, along with Webster County,' Keister said. The club has existed since before Tanner took the position as Youth Services Center coordinator at MCHS, but Keister said that, like many clubs and organizations, Cougar Council had to revamp following the COVID-19 pandemic. Student members of the Cougar Council help to design events and activities surrounding October's Red Ribbon Week and dress-up dates during prom week to help promote the abstinence of alcohol, nicotine or drugs during the prom festivities. 'Some of our students were also able to attend a workshop about grant writing,' Keister said. 'Their grant application finished third in the state and it focused around creating 'Quit Kits'.' A Quit Kit is a collection of items and resources that are passed out to individuals in the community who are seeking a means to help with smoking cessation. 'I love that we've been able to help members of the community with the Quit Kits,' said sophomore Cougar Council member Mason Howard. 'Being a part of helping someone make a positive change has been rewarding.' Keister said that club members were also able to meet with members of the Kentucky state Congress to discuss SB 100, a bill to help with keeping vaping devices out of the hands of minors. 'I enjoyed being a part of the Frankfort trip. 'It was great to see how we could make a difference as students,' said Howard. 'And the students recently received word that the bill had passed,' Keister said. 'So it was neat for them to be able to see that they can make a difference in the state.' Keister said members of the Cougar Council also host the McLean County Community Coalition meetings. 'Each student presents a topic from the agenda to the group attending the meeting,' she said. Addison Benningfield, a junior, said that she's enjoyed participating in those meetings and watching her peers get involved in school activities and around the community. 'I like that we're able to participate in the Community Coalition meetings and that we get to talk about what we do with Cougar Council during the meetings,' she said. Senior Cougar Council member Kate Hayden said that she even got the opportunity to participate in a national anti-vaping advertising campaign thanks to her participation in Cougar Council. 'The campaign had a theme of 'More than the Boxes' suggesting that we are more than the stereotypes that people give us as students because lots of people believe that all high school students vape or drink alcohol,' she explained. 'It was such a cool experience and volunteer opportunity. I had friends calling and texting me to say that they saw me on a commercial.' Keister said that the club tries to add new members during the spring semester so that when the next semester comes around, the Cougar Council members already know the rules and what happens during club meetings. 'That way we're not having to start the new school year off with all brand new students who don't understand how Cougar Council operates,' she said. Freshman Eli Brown said that knowing that he's been able to make a difference in the community is what keeps him coming back to meetings and events. 'I'd heavily encourage any student interested in joining to fill out an application or accept the invitation. 'Just knowing that we, as students, can make a different in the community while making friendships is something that makes Cougar Council something exciting to join,' he said.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Local teen testifies about vaping
ASHLAND At 14, Delanie Crump has appeared before a Senate committee to testify about something she believes in. The Boyd County High School ninth-grader spoke to the General Assembly's Senate committee on education and the licensing and occupations committee in February about the negative impact vaping can have on youth using statistics to explain the urgency of the issue. She was urging the Senate to pass SB 100, which further enforces Tobacco 21, the law prohibiting those younger than 21 from purchasing tobacco or e-cigarette products. Crump, daughter of Daniel Crump and Brianna Davis, said the bill, which passed and will become law in January 2026, requires tobacco retailers to have a license to sell products and requires the use of a database to keep track of sellers; it also requires compliance checks on retailers and harsher penalties on those who violate the laws. These measures aim to enforce compliance, which would decrease underage sales. "This isn't just about lung cancer 30 years down the line. It's about kids dropping out of sports because their lungs can't keep up. It's about the anxiety and depression that nicotine addiction fuels. It's about academic distraction and under-performance. It's about an entire generation being stolen before they've had a chance to live fully," she said in her speech to the committees. Crump's mother said she was shocked to learn her daughter would speak to lawmakers. "It's not every day you see a 14-year-old who is brave enough to do that, especially on something as important as underage vaping," Davis said. "I'm so proud of her using her voice to make a difference." Crump said she enjoys public speaking, but she was nervous about speaking to the committee. "I've never spoken in a setting like that," she said. "However, once I was in the hearing room and on the stand, the nervousness went away, as I was focusing on what I was saying and how to say it in a way that would be most impactful. Following the speech, I was satisfied with the way it went, and I felt that the anxiousness leading up to it was worth it." Vaping wasn't an issue on her radar, but Crump said she joined the Youth Advisory Board for #icanendthetrend, a program through the University of Kentucky that aims to prevent vaping. Davis said joining the youth advisory board was a whim, but it turns out Crump found her passion. "They've really challenged all the students on the board and she made great friends in the process. She realized she wants to major in health care, thanks to this opportunity," Davis said. "I'm so grateful the program exists. I was also so impressed with the amount of respect the senators showed to her during her testimony. They were very encouraging and supportive. Senate Bill 100 is now becoming a law, thanks to these kids and the adults who believed in their bill." Crump's knowledge about vaping has grown, and learned some important facts, including: • Nearly one in 10 middle school students and one in five high school students uses e-cigarettes. • Flavored tobacco products, like menthols and sweet, fruity vapes, are directly designed to appeal to youth. • Nicotine can permanently damage developing brains. "These changes aren't radical. They're necessary. Every delay costs more lives. Every loophole in legislation lets addiction thrive," Crump said of the new law. Crump said the experience of speaking to the General Assembly was enriching. "I believe the most important lesson I learned was that anyone can make a difference, and the power of communities coming together," she said. "It was incredible to see so many other young people from around the state who are passionate about the issue coming together to make a change and actually seeing changes in progress. It taught me to never underestimate what can be done when people come together toward change." (606) 326-2661 | lward@
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposal to ban flags that represent political viewpoints in schools & public buildings advances
The rainbow flag of the gay pride movement and the flag of the United States (Getty Images) Members of the LGBTQ community unsuccessfully urged members of a Senate committee on Tuesday to reject a proposal that would ban local governments and public colleges and universities from displaying a flag that represents a political viewpoint. Including ones that represent a 'racial, sexual orientation and gender, or politically ideology viewpoint.' The measure (SB 100) is sponsored by Republicans Randy Fine from Brevard County and Jonathan Martin from Lee County. 'If someone wants to walk in here draped in a flag of any political group, so be it, it's their First Amendment right. If you want to hang it your yard, so be it. But a teacher should not be hanging a political flag in their classroom, having a government take a position on political views,' Fine told the Senate Community Affairs Committee. 'That is the idea. You shouldn't be hanging them on flagpoles. Government should be in the governing business. Politics should be left to the politicians.' LGBTQ advocates said the measure is aimed at local governments that display the Pride flag in June during Pride Month, and argued there is no compelling reason to pass such mandates on to local governments. 'The flag ban bill is unnecessary, unclear, unconstitutional, and dangerous,' said Jon Harris Mauer, public policy director with Equality Florida. 'This bill is unnecessary. It does not help Floridians struggling with insurance and housing affordability. Instead it is a made-up solution to a cultural war for political purposes. But it will have real harms.' 'It's wrong because LGBTQ+ is not political and this bill sends a message that our diversity shouldn't be celebrated and people identifying as LGBTQ+ should be ashamed of who they are and hurts the fight against bullying,' said Tallahassee resident Colton Taylor. 'I believe we should embrace each other lovingly, have compassion, see each other's humanity, protect the LGBTQ+ community, and recognize that diversity is our strength.' John Labriola with the Christian Family Coalition of Florida supported the bill. 'The bill does not mention LGBTQ flags but it does say that you can't have political flags, which that flag would be,' he said. After he was challenged on that assertion by South Florida Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones that the Pride and/or Black Lives Matter flags were political, he fired back. 'The LGBT flag promotes a specific viewpoint that there should be special rights for LGBT people which isn't going —' Labriola began. 'Special rights or equal rights?' Jones interjected. 'No, special rights. We believe in equal rights. We don't believe in special rights,' Labriola said. Perhaps most controversially, the bill would allow active or retired members of the armed forces or National Guard to 'take reasonable efforts to stop someone from desecration, destruction, or removal of the United States flag.' 'I don't want a retired military person to want or feel that they would have to enforce this bill,' said Naples Republican Kathleen Passidomo. 'I do not want to see a 90-year-old veteran getting into an altercation with someone twice his size.' Although she supported it on Tuesday, Passidomo, chair of the Rules Committee, said that unless constitutional problems are resolved for the measure, 'I don't see it going forward.' Fine argued that the citizens who spoke out about how their First Amendment rights would be violated if the measure passed wouldn't feel the same way if some of those local governments were flying 'Make America Great Again' flags. The bill passed along party lines. With Fine leaving the Senate today to campaign for a congressional seat next week, Lee County Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin will carry the bill the rest of the way this session. It has one more committee stop before making it to the floor. The measure's House companion (HB 75) is being sponsored by Republicans Berny Jacques from Pinellas County and David Borrero from Miami-Dade County. It has yet to be heard in any committee so far. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
