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Kevin McCarthy endorses Trump for president and would consider serving in his Cabinet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:17 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Retiring Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the ousted former House speaker, said he is endorsing Donald Trump for president and would consider serving in his Cabinet if the GOP front-runner were to win back the White House.McCarthy had a rocky relationship with the former president, notably when he declined to publicly support Trump’s bid for a second term, despite being one of his earliest and most loyal allies. But they always seem to patch things up, and as McCarthy prepares to leave Congress he gave his nod.“I will support the president. I will support President Trump,” McCarthy said in excerpts of an interview to air this weekend on “CBS News Sunday Morning.”McCarthy has not disclosed his post-Congress plans, but asked if he would willing to serve in a Trump cabinet, he said, “In the right position, look, if, if I’m the best person for the job, yes.”“Look, I worked with President Trump on a lot of policies. I, we, worked together to win the majority,” he t...

Mexico raids and closes 31 pharmacies in Ensenada that were selling fentanyl-laced pills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:17 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican authorities said Friday they have raided and closed 31 pharmacies in Baja California’s coastal city of Ensenada, after they were detected selling fake or fentanyl-laced pills.Marines and health inspection authorities seized 4,681 boxes of medications that may have been offered for sale without proper safeguards, may have been faked and may contain fentanyl.“This measure was taken due to the irregular sales of medications contaminated with fentanyl, which represents a serious public health risk,” the Navy said in a press statement.Mexico’s health authorities are conducting tests on the seized merchandise. Ensenada is located about 60 miles (100 kms) south of the border city of Tijuana.The announcement represents one of the first times Mexican authorities have acknowledged what U.S. researchers pointed out almost a year ago: that Mexican pharmacies were offering controlled medications like Oxycodone, Xanax or Adderall, but the pills were often fentanyl...

Family, friends 'outraged' after mother shot dead during mental health call in Morris; body cam released

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:17 GMT

Editor's note: Viewer discretion advised above.MORRIS, Ill. — Family and friends are “outraged” after a mother of three was shot and killed by Morris police responding to a mental health call in late September. WGN News obtained the body cam footage of the incident.It had been nine days since Alivia Schwab, 40, transitioned out of Bourbonnais Terrace, a mental health facility on Sept. 29.The mother who "lived for her kids" had been battling schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder for several years, according to family and friends. That morning while at her new apartment, 911 was called after Schwab informed a case manager in a phone call that she had a knife and was going to hurt herself. That information was relayed to the 911 center, according to the state's attorney's office.The case manager stayed on the phone with Schwab as police were dispatched to the complex in the 1800 block of Anne Lane. Two officers arrived at the scene at around 10:53 a.m.The officer who ended up firing thei...

Logan Square resident faces eviction over display of Palestinian flag

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:17 GMT

CHICAGO — Controversy is brewing over a flag flying outside of a Northwest Side apartment that could lead to a woman's eviction if she doesn't remove the flag, or the property manager doesn't rescind their eviction notice.The flag in question has hung outside of Manal Farhan's Logan Square apartment since October, the Chicago resident told WGN News.It's a Palestinian flag, which Farhan said she has displayed in support of the people of Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas War.The building's property management company — M. Fishman and Co. — said the flag must go, and is in violation of their lease agreement, which states, "Lessee shall not place nor permit any article or antenna outside of the windows, or on the exterior walls, or on the roof of the building." More from Kelly: Court denies Jussie Smollett’s request to toss conviction According to a company spokesperson, the phrase "any article" is intended to include everything — from a Chicago Cubs flag to Halloween decorations. The s...

Chicago City Council discusses ordinance meant to ease reporting, tracking of hate crimes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:17 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago City Council is reacting to the surge of hate crimes across the city and state with a proposed ordinance meant to make it easier to report and track how often they are happening.The city's Public Safety Committee took up the newly revised ordinance on Friday and will be sending it to the full city council next week. Chicago officer relieved of police powers after deadly pedestrian accident in River North Experts say it is estimated that 90% of hate crimes or incidents go unreported due in large part to uncertainty about who to report it to, or whether an ugly incident or harassment rises to the level of a hate crime.“'Chi vs Hate' finally gives Chicagoans a safe, accessible and responsive reporting environment,” said Alderwoman Debra Silverstein (50th Ward), who sponsored the ordinance.According to the ordinance, a 'hate incident' includes, "hateful graffiti or vandalism, derogatory insults, bullying or gestures, verbal online or written abuse and harassment,...

With Panera facing lawsuits over 'Charged Lemonade,' dangers of highly caffeinated beverages come to forefront

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:17 GMT

CHICAGO — A second lawsuit has been filed against the fast-casual food chain Panera Bread because a man in Florida died after drinking the chain's highly caffeinated "Charged Lemonade" beverage.According to court documents filed in Delaware and obtained by multiple outlets, the family of 46-year-old Dennis Brown of Fleming Island, Fla., is suing Panera over Brown’s October death. Brown’s family says the man drank three of the "Charged Lemonades" after finishing a work shift at Publix on Oct. 9.It's the second such lawsuit filed since October, and Panera is now warning customers to drink its "Charged Lemonade" in moderation. Read more: Panera faces second lawsuit after ‘Charged Lemonade’ blamed for Florida man’s death Dr. Nick Cozzi, EMS medical director at RUSH University Medical Center in Chicago, joined WGN-TV's Ben Bradley for Medical Watch to discuss the dangers of consuming highly caffeinated beverages such as "Charged Lemonade.""The concern on some of the...

Keanu Reeves' Hollywood Hills home reportedly raided by burglars

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:17 GMT

(KTLA) – The Hollywood Hills home of actor Keanu Reeves has once again been targeted by burglars. On Wednesday night, police responded to an anonymous call of a trespasser on Reeves' property at around 7 p.m., sources with the Los Angeles Police Department told TMZ.Officers responded and found no suspects.The outlet said that around 1 a.m. on Thursday morning, police were alerted once more when an alarm on the property went off. Actor Alan Ruck sued over Hollywood pizza shop car crash Law enforcement sources told the site that security cameras on the property caught "multiple men with ski masks smashing a window" to break into the home.The suspects reportedly stole a firearm, but it's not known if anything else was taken.Reeves was allegedly not home during the incident. Detectives are looking through the camera footage on the property to get more information. Sources told TMZ that police are investigating whether or not the initial call was from someone attempting to scout the pr...

Pregnant Kentucky woman sues over state's two abortion bans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:17 GMT

(The Hill) — A pregnant woman in Kentucky filed a lawsuit on Friday demanding the right to an abortion, challenging the state’s six-week ban as well as its near total “trigger” ban. The lawsuit was filed in state court on behalf of an anonymous woman using the pseudonym Jane Doe, who is about eight weeks pregnant and can’t legally obtain an abortion in her home state. Doe is seeking class-action status on behalf of all Kentuckians who are pregnant or may become pregnant and can't legally access abortions because of the state’s laws.   Harvard president apologizes after backlash over remarks at antisemitism hearing The lawsuit seeks a court ruling that declares the state’s trigger and six-week bans unconstitutional and blocks them from being enforced any longer. Doe and the others in the class are suffering “medical, constitutional, and irreparable harm because they are denied the ability to obtain an abortion,” the lawsuit stated. She is joined in the lawsuit by the...

Elizabeth Shackelford: Ukrainians won’t submit to Russian rule. The horrors of the Holodomor help explain why

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:17 GMT

The last Saturday in November this year marked Holodomor Memorial Day, the 90th anniversary of the Great Famine when Soviet leader Josef Stalin’s autocratic regime ruthlessly starved 4 million Ukrainians to death.This horrific event is part of the historic backdrop shaping Ukraine’s response to Russia’s war. This experience is why, even as a stalemate sets in and winter approaches, the Ukrainian people oppose the idea of negotiating an end to this conflict.Ukraine has good reason not to trust that its people would be safe under Russian rule. Russia has a long history with Ukraine, but that history is a far cry from Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claims that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people.”Rather, Russia’s history with Ukraine is one of abuse, exploitation and horror.This was true of the Russian empire and the Soviet Union, and it remains so under Putin’s autocratic Russia today. But Holodomor is perhaps the starkest remind...

Burnsville charter school must make reforms after alleged misuse of funds by former officials

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:08:17 GMT

A Burnsville charter school will have to make internal reforms after the school’s founder and two ex-board members, who have also been charged in the “Feeding Our Future” scandal, allegedly misused nearly $300,000 in funds.Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Friday announced a settlement with Gateway STEM Academy after an investigation by his office found former school leaders steered school money to companies they owned or controlled.The attorney general said that wouldn’t have happened if the previous leadership had more oversight of school founder and former executive director Abdiaziz Shafii Farah and had policies in place to prevent conflicts of interest. Farah co-owned one of the companies that got money from the school.“Nonprofit charter schools must use their resources to further their educational mission, not to benefit insiders,” Ellison said in a news release announcing the settlement.Farah stopped leading the school he helped found after his indictment for wire f...