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Republican wins state House special election in central Pennsylvania; GOP 1 seat away from control

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:58 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican Michael Stender on Tuesday won a special election for a vacant central Pennsylvania seat in the state House of Representatives, a GOP hold that means majority control of the chamber will be decided by a second special election, in the Philadelphia suburbs.Stender, a Shikellamy school board member, firefighter and former EMT, was endorsed by former Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver, the Republican who represented the district before winning a state Senate special election earlier this year. Stender beat Democrat Trevor Finn, a Montour County commissioner. The district also includes part of Northumberland County.Stender’s win gives Republicans 101 seats, one less than the minimum needed to control the agenda in the 203-member House chamber. The Associated Press has not called the second special election, in Delaware County.If Republicans retake the House, freshman Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro will have no chamber to aid his agenda going into the final month ...

More than a dozen people, 3 dogs rescued from apartment fire in downtown Portland, Oregon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:58 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters rescued over a dozen people and three dogs from a dramatic apartment building fire Tuesday in downtown Portland, Oregon.Portland Fire & Rescue tweeted about 10:45 a.m. that they had responded to the blaze and shortly after said rescues were underway. Fire officials said before noon that firefighters had been for a time told to pull back because of the fire’s growth. Crews then did one of several checks to make sure all the firefighters were accounted for, officials said.Rick Graves, told The Associated Press Tuesday that the department was confident everyone got out of the building, which had about 50 units and was built in 1910. A few cats may have perished, he said.Photos and video posted by the fire agency showed black smoke pouring out of the four-story building and firefighters helping residents and even a dog down ladders to safety.Several times, windows exploded as the fire ripped through the structure. Authorities were concerned the bui...

Durham report takeaways: A ‘seriously flawed’ Russia investigation and its lasting impact on the FBI

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bungled applications to eavesdrop on a former aide of then-candidate Donald Trump. Flawed research by a former British spy tasked with a sensitive, and political, assignment. And an FBI scrambling against the election-season clock to untangle suspicions about foreign government collusion that it feared could have grave national security implications.A 306-page report by Justice Department special counsel John Durham is refocusing negative attention on one of the most politically significant investigations in FBI history: the probe into whether Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign was conspiring with Russia to tip the outcome of the election.The findings aren’t flattering for the FBI, with Durham asserting that it rushed into the investigation without an adequate basis and routinely ignored or rationalized evidence that undercut its premise. The report catalogs a series of errors — though many were already documented years ago by a separate Justice Departm...

Child dead, 23 people missing after hippopotamus capsizes canoe on river in Malawi

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:58 GMT

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — A 1-year-old child died and 23 people were missing and feared dead after a hippopotamus charged into and capsized a canoe on a river in southern Malawi, authorities said Tuesday.The long wooden canoe was carrying 37 people across the Shire River on their way to neighboring Mozambique when it was hit by the hippo in the Nsanje district on Monday. Malawian police rescued 13 with the help of World Food Program personnel who were working in the area and provided boats for the rescue operation, Nsanje District Police Commissioner Dominic Mwandira said.The people were feared dead because the search had been going on for more than 24 hours, police spokesperson Agnes Zalakoma said.Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera sent Minister of Water and Sanitation Abida Mia to the scene. She said locals told her hippos often caused problems in the area and they wanted authorities to relocate some of the animals.___More AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africaGregory Gondwe...

2 juveniles shot outside Chicago Public Library in Garfield Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:58 GMT

CHICAGO -- Two teens have been hospitalized after being shot outside of a Chicago Public Library branch in Garfield Park Tuesday evening.According to the Chicago Police Department, officers responded to the Henry E. Legler Regional Branch of the Chicago Public Library on the 100 block of South Pulaski in Garfield Park just after 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Former Lake Zurich Lacrosse Club president accused of embezzling $160K Upon arrival, CPD discovered two individuals had been shot. A 16-year-old boy with two gunshot wounds to the legs was transported to a local hospital in good condition.A 12-year-old boy was also shot. A library security guard rushed to his aid, carrying him inside and calling for an ambulance. The 12-year-old boy was transported to a local hospital in fair condition. Former DuPage County corrections officer accused of having sex with inmate A witness said they heard this all started over adults getting into a fight with a group of younger kids outside the librar...

Man hospitalized after Albany Park shooting leaves teen dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:58 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 15-year-old boy was shot and killed in Albany Park Tuesday evening.According to the Chicago Police Department, officers responded to the 3500 block of West Leland in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood on reports of a person shot just before 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Former Lake Zurich Lacrosse Club president accused of embezzling $160K Upon arrival, officers discovered a 27-year-old and a 15-year-old suffering from gunshot wounds at the scene. 1 killed, 1 critical after Fox Lake restaurant shooting The 27-year-old man was struck once on the buttocks and was transported to a local hospital in fair condition.The 15-year-old boy was struck on the torso and transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.A witness said that multiple men fled the scene on foot after the shots were fired.No suspects are in custody at this time. The investigation is ongoing.Stay with WGN as this story develops.

Wildfire smoke from Canada sweeps over Chicago sky

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:58 GMT

ALBERTA, Canada -- Canadian wildfire smoke has arrived in the Windy City!The dramatic change in the sky across Chicago Tuesday afternoon wasn't the product of our Pneumonia Front.The hazy orange cast to the sky which swept over Chicago skies Tuesday afternoon marked the arrival of wildfire smoke off some of the 200 wildfires burning across Canada, many in Alberta and British Columbia. ‘Pneumonia Front’ to send temps crashing Tuesday night Wildfire smoke shrouded the sky in parts of southern Alberta, Canada, on Tuesday, amid an air-quality alert in the region, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).Footage captured by Cindy Faas shows hazy conditions in Ogden, southeast Calgary, just after 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning. Smoke from multiple wildfires was forecasted to cause “poor air quality and reduced visibility in the area” throughout the day, the ECCC warned.The fires have forced the evacuation of up to 30,000 residents in the past ...

San Antonio Spurs win top pick, chance at French star in highly-anticipated NBA Draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:58 GMT

(KTLA) - The San Antonio Spurs have won the No. 1 pick in the NBA's Draft Lottery, clearing the way for them to select French phenom Victor Wembanyama in June's draft.The Spurs were tied for the best odds to win the top prize in Tuesday's Draft Lottery, beating out the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons, each having a 14% chance to win the top pick. Odds were not in the favor of Detroit, who had the worst record in the league but fell out of the top four picks.The NBA "flattened" lottery odds in 2017 in an effort to deter teams from intentionally losing games to better their draft odds, a practice known among NBA circles as "tanking."Despite reduced odds for the league's worst teams, there was no shortage of NBA franchises willing to spend a season in the muck for any chance to be the team to ultimately draft Wembanyama. 11 teams have never won the NBA Finals: Could that change this year? The 7-foot-5 French center is widely regarded as the most dominant and high-upside NBA prosp...

Willie Nelson's 90th birthday concerts getting a theatrical release

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- If you missed out on Willie Nelson's 90th birthday concerts last month in Los Angeles, you can see all the special performances honoring the 12-time Grammy winner in a limited theatrical run.“Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90” will be shown in theaters on June 11, with an encore presentation on June 13 and 14. Recorded at the Hollywood Bowl over two nights in April, the concert film will include performances by Nelson, Keith Richards, Neil Young, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Snoop Dogg and many more.Nelson, who was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, is having a banner year as a nonagenarian. He was honored with an educational endowment at the University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs and will have a new book about his songwriting called “Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind My Songs,” coming out on Oct. 31 through William Morrow.The Texas actor, activist and songwriter penned hits like “Crazy,” “Funny How Times Slips Awa...

That’s a really big snowbird: Vintage train makes annual migration north from St. Paul to Osceola

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:58 GMT

For train buffs like Brian and Sandra Rockholt, the annual train migration of the Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway from St. Paul to Osceola, Wis., is as exciting as Christmas or a birthday celebration.“It’s like the first day of school,” Sandra Rockholt said Tuesday as she waited for the restored vintage train to pass under the pedestrian bridge just north of Hamline Avenue and Pierce Butler Route in St. Paul. “I’m a retired teacher, and there’s that same feeling of excitement.”Rockholt and her husband, Brian, a volunteer brakeman for the railway, joined a group of about a dozen people Tuesday morning at the Jackson Street Roundhouse, the headquarters of the Minnesota Transportation Museum, to send off the freshly restored and newly painted train.“There it goes!” said Brian Rockholt as it departed the roundhouse at 10:43 a.m.The Rockholts ran to their blue Subaru Outback to “chase” the train as it made its way along BNSF track to the Northtown Yard in Minneapolis. Yes, the tra...