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Niger coup leaders refuse to let senior US diplomat meet with nation’s president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:04 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — A senior U.S. diplomat said coup leaders in Niger refused to allow her to meet Monday with the West African country’s democratically elected president, whom she described as under “virtual house arrest.”Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland also described the mutinous officers as unreceptive to U.S. pressure to return the country to civilian rule.“They were quite firm about how they want to proceed, and it is not in support of the constitution of Niger,” Nuland told reporters. She characterized the conversations as “extremely frank and at times quite difficult.”She spoke after a two-hour meeting in Niger’s capital, Niamey, with some leaders of the military takeover of a country that has been a vital counterterrorism partner of the United States.In speaking to junta leaders, Nuland said, she made “absolutely clear the kinds of support that we will legally have to cut off if democracy is not restored.”If the U.S. determines that a democratically elected...

Thousands of flight cancelations and power outages as strong storms move into DC area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:04 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of U.S. flights were canceled or delayed Monday as forecasts warned of destructively strong storms, including tornadoes, hail and lightning, and residents were warned to stay indoors and prepare for the worst.Rain began falling in the Washington area shortly after 5 p.m., and the skies gradually turned an ominous dark gray, a precursor to the severe weather and mass power outages that were predicted. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for the greater D.C. area, lasting until 9 p.m., as well as a flood warning extending through Tuesday morning. A special Weather Service statement warned, “There is a significant threat for damaging and locally destructive hurricane-force winds, along with the potential for large hail and tornadoes, even strong tornadoes.”The storms’ spread was massive, with tornado watches and warnings posted across 10 states from Tennessee to New York. The National Weather Service said the area of greatest concern ce...

B.C. festival evacuated due to wildfire, more properties on alert over long weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:04 GMT

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Organizers touted it as the “hottest music festival” of the summer, but attendees at the Under the Stars event near Princeton, B.C., this weekend likely didn’t take it literally before a fire erupted nearby.A wildfire sparked by an all-terrain vehicle forced the evacuation of the event’s 1,000 participants as flames spread in the village of Coalmont, a community of about 500 residents approximately 20 kilometres west of Princeton in the province’s interior. In a statement Monday, Princeton RCMP said a quartet were riding ATVs near Coalmont Sunday evening when one of the vehicles caught fire, and flames rapidly spread near the viallage. Emergency crews and Mounties, along with BC Wildfire Service personnel, showed up on the scene and said all festival-goers were safely evacuated, though no one was injured and no evacuation orders were issued. Elsewhere over the weekend, dozens more properties in the B.C. Interior have been placed on evac...

Carcinogens found at nuclear missile sites as reports of hundreds of cancers surface

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:04 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force has detected unsafe levels of a likely carcinogen at underground launch control centers at a Montana nuclear missile base where a striking number of men and women have reported cancer diagnoses.A new cleanup effort has been ordered.The discovery “is the first from an extensive sampling of active U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile bases to address specific cancer concerns raised by missile community members,” Air Force Global Strike Command said in a release Monday. In those samples, two launch facilities at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana showed PCB levels higher than the thresholds recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency.PCBs are oily or waxy substances that have been identified as a likely carcinogen by the EPA. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a blood cancer that uses the body’s infection-fighting lymph system to spread.In response, Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, has directed “immediate measures to be...

Firearm count added against Indiana man charged in block party shooting that killed 1, injured 17

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:04 GMT

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) — A prosecutor Monday filed a felony firearm sentencing enhancement against a Muncie man charged with two counts of aggravated battery in connection with a shooting that left one person dead and 17 others wounded in the central Indiana city.The sentencing enhancement filed against John L. Vance Jr., 36, can add an additional five to 20 years to his total sentence if he is convicted, Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman said.Vance also is charged with criminal recklessness and possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.Hoffman has acknowledged the charges against Vance don’t specifically refer to the July 30 shooting death of 30-year-old Joseph E. Bonner III of Muncie. The shooting unfolded at a block party in the city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis attended by hundreds of revelers as police were calling the venue’s owner to shut down the gathering, authorities have said. Bonner was among those attending, Muncie Police Chi...

Nearly all teens on Idaho YMCA camp bus that crashed have been released to their families

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:04 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Nearly all of the teenagers aboard an Idaho YMCA camp bus that rolled on a winding highway late last week have been released to their families, police said Monday.Troopers are continuing to investigate the cause of Friday’s crash, which sent all those on the bus to local hospitals, Idaho State Police said in a statement. Police said previously that 11 passengers were hospitalized, seven in critical condition, following the crash. The bus was carrying about 30 campers and staff back to Boise from the Treasure Valley YMCA’s camp at Horsethief Reservoir.Police said Monday that injury updates would not be provided. Troopers are working with the bus company to access pertinent information related to the crash, police said Monday. The bus driver was treated at a hospital and released, police said over the weekend.The YMCA had contracted with Caldwell Transportation for the bus service. The Associated Press left messages with the company on Monday seeking comment....

Texas judge dismisses murder charge against babysitter who served 15 years over toddler’s death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:04 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge dismissed a murder charge on Monday against a babysitter who served 15 years in prison after being convicted in the death of a toddler who choked on a wad of paper towels, which medical experts later concluded was the result of an accident and not intentional. Rosa Jimenez has been out of prison since 2021 after a judge ruled that a new trial was warranted at a minimum. Earlier this year, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that “false testimony” in her original 2005 trial entitled her to relief. That led to State District Judge Karen Sage granting a request on Monday to dismiss the original charges against Jimenez, who was babysitting 21-month-old Bryan Gutierrez when he choked and died in 2003. “For the past 20 years, she has fought for this day, her freedom, and to be reunited with her children,” said Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project and Jimenez’s attorney. Jimenez had been sentenced to 99 years in pr...

Clayton Harris III joins race to replace Kim Foxx as Chicagoland’s top prosecutor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:04 GMT

CHICAGO — For serious competitive primary campaigns, it’s just about go-time. So Clayton Harris III, who’s hoping to succeed Kim Foxx as States Attorney, is stepping up public appearances.He’s been angling for months, even attending a Democratic Party candidate pre-slating event in June."I’ve got that Johnny Cash song, 'I've Been Everywhere,' playing in the car," Harris III said. Mayor Johnson talks Chicago’s top cop search, migrant relocation Now it’s official, Harris' campaign for Cook County States Attorney is off to the races."My focus is safety and justice, and we can do both," Harris said. "It’s not one or the other, it’s both."A former Assistant State’s Attorney, City Hall staffer and counsel at the Chicago Department of Transportation, Harris was careful not to criticize outgoing States Attorney Kim Foxx."I am the balance, the bridge, the evolution of what has been going on and we’re going to move forward to ensure that our communities feel safe and that we’re being safe ...

Fence at Ukrainian Village residence has tenants upset, concerned for safety

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:04 GMT

CHICAGO -- One week ago, Ukrainian Village resident Josie Defries said a dispute between landlords turned ugly.Defries said a woman who works for a Chicago Real Estate Company bought the apartment building next door at 1743 West Huron Street in February and had an argument with the neighboring landlord about the placement of garbage dumpsters out back.Now, tenants in adjacent 1741 West Huron Street, walk out their read door to find a chain link fence that runs through the gangway from the front sidewalk to a rear gate. The fence now blocks these residents from getting to their cars or even to take out their garbage.The post near the front sidewalk also blocks the gate from closing. Residents said it's not only a safety hazard, but a major inconvenience.If you want to build a fence on your property a permit is needed, but in the city of Chicago, as long as the fence is see through like a chain link and is below 5-feet tall, a permit is not required. The fence at the Ukrainian Village...

'Let's Make A Deal' host Wayne Brady comes out as pansexual

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:04 GMT

(The Hill) — Wayne Brady is pansexual, the entertainer and television host said in an interview with People Magazine published Monday. “I am pansexual,” Brady told People, which means he finds people attractive regardless of their sex or gender.“Bisexual — with an open mind!” Brady added. Brady said that he first shared the news of his sexuality with his ex-wife, Mandie Taketa, who told the magazine that she said knew the news would mean he could now be happier.Brady, who is currently the host of CBS’s "Let’s Make A Deal," said that he is excited to see where life will take him, adding that he has done his own research about being pansexual. Bryan Randall, Sandra Bullock’s longtime partner, dies at 57 from ALS: report “So, I came to pansexual because — and I know that I'm completely messing up the dictionary meaning — but to me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual or non-binary. Being able to be attracted across the ...