St. Paul Public Works will begin the second year of its even/odd parking pilot program, alternating parking on either side of the street on a weekly basis beginning Sunday in the Snelling-University and Selby-Western neighborhoods.

The parking restrictions will take effect west of Snelling Avenue and north and south of University Avenue, within the area bounded by Thomas Avenue, Snelling Avenue, St. Anthony Avenue/Interstate 94 and Aldine Street. In the intersection of Selby and Western avenues, the same program will take effect within the area bounded by Selby Avenue, Western Avenue, Summit Avenue and Dale Street.

The goal is to make room for emergency vehicles and plows and prevent the roads from becoming packed with ice and snow. The parking rules in these areas remain the same, regardless of the amount of snow or whether a Snow Emergency is declared.

Drivers will be expected to park on the side of the street with even-numbered addresses on these Sundays: Jan. 4, Jan. 18, Feb. 1, Feb. 15, March 1, March 15 and March 29. They will be expected to park on the side of the street with odd-numbered addresses on these Sundays: Jan. 11, Jan. 25, Feb. 8, Feb. 22, March 8, March 22 and April 5.

There is a grace period on Sundays from 3 to 9 p.m. to allow drivers time to move their cars.

During the education phase, from Jan. 4 to Jan. 17, the city will place flyers on cars parked on the wrong side to inform drivers about the pilot program. The city will begin ticketing and towing cars not parked according to the weekly alternating parking cycle rules Jan. 18 to April 11.

Virtual and in-person community meetings were held in December to discuss the two pilot areas.

The program will be in effect until April 11. The city plans to do further testing in additional pilot areas next winter.

For more information, go to stpaul.gov/NewSnow

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By HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The Trump administration can continue to withhold Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood and other health centers that provide abortions while a coalition of mostly-Democratic states challenge the cuts, a federal appeals court ruled.

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The decision Tuesday in one of multiple lawsuits filed after President Donald Trump signed tax breaks and spending cuts legislation in July that Medicaid reimbursement for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers that received more than $800,000 in 2023. The lawsuits include two filed in Massachusetts by 21 states and the District of Columbia and Planned Parenthood itself, and a third filed in Maine by a network of medical clinics there.

In the Massachusetts cases, a federal judge issued separate preliminary injunctions siding with Planned Parenthood in July and the coalition of states in early December. But an appeals court overturned the first order on Dec. 12 and put the second on hold Tuesday.

“Although we are disappointed in the court’s decision, we remain committed to holding the federal administration accountable and ensuring vulnerable Californians can access the health care they need,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Maine lawsuit has been dismissed at the request of the clinics that challenged the cuts.

Maine Family Planning, which operates 18 clinics in many of the poor and rural areas of the state, shut down their primary care operations in October due to the loss of funding.

In August, a federal judge ruled against restoring funding as the lawsuit proceeded, and the clinics appealed. But earlier this month, the network notified the court that it was ending the lawsuit.

“As the Trump administration has dismantled the nation’s health care system, we have remained focused on delivering high quality care to our patients, particularly those across rural Maine,” CEO George Hill said in a statement Wednesday. “Though our lawsuit will not continue, we are not wavering in our commitment to our patients and to advocating for the health care system that Mainers need and deserve.”

The Center for Reproductive Rights, which represented Maine Family Planning, said Wednesday that clinic leaders have decided to focus their resources on treating patients.

“The Trump administration on the other hand has no regard for patients or how the ‘big beautiful bill’ has made healthcare even harder to access in this country,” the center said in a statement.

Planned Parenthood, which did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday, has said that nearly half its patients rely on Medicaid for health care aside from abortions, which was already not covered by the federal insurance program that serves millions of low-income and disabled Americans. At least eight states have directed state funds to compensate Planned Parenthood for the lost funding, including Connecticut, where Gov. Ned Lamont recently announced $8.5 million for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England.

Tuesday’s court decision makes that kind of action even more important, Connecticut Attorney General William Wong. He called the ruling a “disappointing setback,” but noted the legal process has a long way to go.

“This defunds essential, preventive healthcare, including cancer screenings, birth control, and testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “We will keep fighting to protect access to essential healthcare and to keep partisan politics out of doctors’ offices.”

Health and Human Services press secretary Emily Hilliard said Wednesday the department doesn’t comment on litigation but added, “We remain committed to protecting the integrity of Medicaid programs to ensure full compliance with the law.”

Associated Press writers David Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, Ed White in Detroit and Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed.

By SOPHIE BATES, Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man handed an illegal prison sentence years longer than the maximum penalty for his crime has been granted clemency by Mississippi’s governor, weeks after the man’s brother received clemency in a similar case.

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Gov. Tate Reeves announced Wednesday that he was granting clemency to Maurice Taylor. The man’s brother, Marcus Taylor, received clemency earlier this month from the governor for another illegal sentence.

In February 2015, both brothers accepted plea bargains and pled guilty to conspiracy to sell a Schedule III substance.

At the time, the maximum penalty for conspiracy to sell a Schedule III substance was five years. Yet Maurice Taylor was sentenced to 20 years in prison with five years suspended, and Marcus Taylor to 15 years.

“Like his brother, Maurice Taylor received a sentence more than three times longer than allowed under Mississippi law,” Reeves wrote in his announcement. “When justice is denied to even one Mississippian, it is denied to us all.”

In May, the Mississippi Court of Appeals had ruled that Marcus Taylor’s sentence was illegal, but did not commute his sentence because Taylor had missed the deadline to apply for post-conviction relief. After rehearing that case in November, the court reversed course and ordered his release.

In Wednesday’s order, Reeves wrote that Maurice Taylor’s post-conviction counsel contacted his office for the first time a few weeks ago, providing legal documents in his case. Maurice Taylor must be released within five days, according to Reeves’ order.

The Associated Press was not immediately able to identify and contact Maurice Taylor’s post-conviction counsel.

The brothers are the only people to receive clemency from Reeves.

By The Associated Press

Two iconic celebrations to ring in the New Year — the Rose Parade in Southern California and the midnight ball drop in New York City — are in for some rough weather.

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Marching bands, floats and throngs of spectators are bracing for a rare dose of New Year’s Day rain and even thunder at the prestigious Rose Parade in Pasadena. Across the country, in New York City, hats and gloves were as necessary as noisemakers Wednesday for what could be the coldest ball drop in many years.

Rain forecasts for the 137th Rose Parade, which has been dry for 20 years, have grown all week.

“It’s looking like a wet one,” AccuWeather meteorologist John Feerick said. “It may not be raining the whole time. There could be some pretty good downpours. A rumble of thunder or two is not out of the question.”

People were allowed to show up Wednesday to secure spots along the nearly 6-mile route in Pasadena, but predictions of overnight rain could make the wait miserable. The two-hour parade starts at 8 a.m. Thursday and is typically attended by hundreds of thousands of people, in addition to millions more watching on national television.

Organizers are making only small changes, said Candy Carlson, communications director for Pasadena Tournament of Roses, the group that organizes the parade ahead of the Rose Bowl college football game.

The tops will be up on convertibles carrying grand marshal Earvin “Magic” Johnson and other VIPs, she said.

In New York City, forecasters predict temperatures in the low 30s Fahrenheit amid snow flurries when hundreds of thousands of people witness the ball drop in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

The midnight temperature in New York could be “the coldest since the cusp of 2017 and 2018,” AccuWeather meteorologist Jesse Ferrell said.

Elsewhere, rain is possible in Las Vegas, where several casinos will be shooting fireworks from rooftops. During Nashville’s Big Bash, a New Year’s Eve event at a park, temperatures will be in the low 30s when an illuminated music note drops at midnight in the Tennessee city.

New Orleans will be in the mid-40s Fahrenheit for a free concert and fireworks along the Mississippi River.