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Feinstein returning to Senate after facing resignation calls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office disclosed Tuesday that she is returning to Washington following an absence of more than two months in which the oldest member of Congress faced calls from within her own party to resign.The 89-year-old California Democrat announced in early March that she had been hospitalized in San Francisco and was being treated for a case of shingles. But an expected return later that month never happened. Few details emerged on Feinstein’s condition, and some Democrats openly complained that her lengthy absence was compromising the Democratic agenda in the Senate, including slowing the push to confirm President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees. Some in the House urged her to step down. Earlier this month, Feinstein said in a statement that “there has been no slowdown.”Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer confirmed Feinstein’s return in a statement and said he was pleased “my friend Dianne is back in the Senate and ready to ro...

US troops arrive at border as migration curbs set to end

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 550 U.S. active duty troops have begun arriving along the U.S.-Mexico border in the first group of military support ahead of an expected increase of migrants, U.S. defense officials said Tuesday.The movement of troops is part of efforts to beef up security along the southern border as the U.S. prepares for the end of immigration restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic. Those restrictions are set to expire Thursday, leading to concerns about whether that will result in an increase in migrants trying to enter the U.S. starting Friday. The forces will mainly be used to help monitor and watch the border, or do data entry and support, and are “not there in any way to be interacting with migrants,” said Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary. The goal is to free up U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel to do law enforcement activities.“They needed assistance performing some of those back shop type requirements so that they can focus on ...

Father shot while shielding 4-year-old son from crossfire in South Shore

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:53 GMT

CHICAGO — A man is speaking out from his hospital bed two days after he was shot in the South Shore neighborhood while trying to protect his young son amid crossfire. At the intersection of 70th and Clyde, Donald Muhammad says he was trying to take his son out of the car Sunday night when gunfire erupted. "This is an epidemic and it doesn’t just affect me, it affects children every day. It affects adults. It affects innocent people," Muhammad told WGN News. Video shows bat-wielding woman attack women with stroller in Albany Park It's why Muhammad says he chose to speak out after surviving the shooting. "Physically, I’m well but emotionally and mentally, you’ll never get over that, especially when it involves children," he said. Muhammad was with his four-year-old son, who he was dropping off at his mom’s house. The father said he barely parked and exited the car before the gunshots erupted."It wasn’t semi-automatic gunfire, it was literally just automatic," Muhammad said. The sec...

Updated recommendations for breast cancer screenings can help with earlier detection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:53 GMT

CHICAGO — A radical change in advice about screening women for breast cancer was announced Tuesday.Get screened earlier. It will save lives. For Black women it's even more important.After years telling women to wait until 50 for their first mammogram, the nation's top doctors are urging women to back that up by a decade.But some who devote their lives to finding breast cancer say even those recommendations don't go far enough. Breast cancer screenings should begin at 40, not 50, new guidelines say Dr. Sarah Friedewald is chief of breast imaging at Northwestern Medicine.“One in six breast cancers occur in women in their 40s,” she said. “If we are screening these patients, we will find a cancer, smaller and more easily treatable.”Friedewald said that's the goal: find cancer early when it is most treatable.“Information is power,” she said. “Come, get your mammogram, find out if there’s anything wrong. And if there is, it’s something we can address and potentially save lives.”But for ...

Chicago-area woman and convicted felon charged after federal 'straw purchasing' investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:53 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman from the Chicago-area has been federally charged with conspiring to 'straw purchase' 19 handguns in Wisconsin on behalf of a convicted felon.Sonya Brown, a 49-year-old resident of Oak Park, was charged with conspiracy to violate federal firearms laws, while the convicted felon — 49-year-old Simone Dunn — was charged with illegal possession of a firearm. Both were arrested Monday.Federal investigators said Brown purchased the guns from licensed dealers at stores and gun shows in Wisconsin and falsely certified on federal forms that she was both a Wisconsin resident and the actual buyer of the firearms.In reality, investigators said Brown purchased the guns on behalf of Dunn, with whom she lived with in the Chicago-area. Dunn was previously convicted of murder and several other felonies, and cannot lawfully be in possession of a firearm. Alleged firearm straw-purchaser arrested in connection to death of Bradley officer “Straw purchasers enable the unlawful possessi...

Tucker Carlson to launch show on Twitter after Fox News ouster

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:53 GMT

(The Hill) - Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson plans to launch a new show on social media platform Twitter, the pundit announced on Tuesday.Carlson, in a three-minute video posted to his account carrying more than six million followers, made no mention of Fox News specifically but blasted the news media more generally for what he described as groupthink.Carlson said the best anyone in the news business can hope for is “the freedom to tell the fullest truth that you can. But there are always limits.” Five possible reasons Tucker Carlson and Fox News are parting company Fox and Carlson parted ways earlier this month, when the network ousted him from his prime-time hosting slot, which he held for six years.A wildly popular figure on the political right, Carlson’s segments and commentary earned both he and the network regular scorn for his takes on matters of race, immigration, gender identity and other issues.An Axios report published on Tuesday said Carlson’s attorney has sent Fox...

Kansas driver in Bud Light beer can costume arrested on suspicion of DUI

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:53 GMT

OTTAWA, Kan. (WDAF) -- Deputies in Kansas stopped a driver on Friday who may have been having a little too much fun on Cinco de Mayo.Franklin County deputies south of the metro pulled over a suspected drunk driver in the northbound lanes of Interstate 35. ‘Unacceptable’: Video of TSA worker’s handling of bomb dog draws outrage When they asked the driver to exit his car for a field sobriety test, deputies discovered he wore a Bud Light beer can costume over his clothes."A career in law enforcement is exciting, and you get to experience something new every day. Sometimes you see things you can’t believe!" the Franklin County Sheriff's Office wrote on its Facebook post Saturday morning. Video shows Missouri officer punch man on ground 5 times Deputies eventually arrested the driver on suspicion of driving under the influence and transported him to the Franklin County, Kansas Jail in Ottawa.The suspect has since posted bond and is no longer in custody.

Community members speak to Chicago students on the dangers of fentanyl

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:53 GMT

CHICAGO — One pill can kill. That was the message for some high school students on Chicago’s Far Southwest Side Tuesday in the effort to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl.Community members shared stories with students at Brother Rice High School as part of Fentanyl Awareness Day.To share their stories.Kim Novak was among them. Eight years since the death of her daughter to fentanyl poisoning, Novak’s work to prevent other deaths continues.“This is killing too many of our children,” she said. “And it doesn’t just kill a child that died, it kills the spirit of their siblings, their parent, their family members … it doesn’t affect just one person.” Overdose death rate involving fentanyl tripled in recent years: CDC John LaGigila, a Chicago firefighter paramedic, also spoke to the students. He is with the Patrick William Roche Foundation and sees the impact of the fentanyl crisis every day.“It’s horrific. It’s horrific,” she said. “We do everything we can. Sometimes t...

'Unimaginable': Groom planning wife's funeral after newlyweds hit by suspected DUI driver

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:53 GMT

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCBD) – A groom who was seriously injured in a crash after leaving his own wedding reception last month has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home, according to family members.Aric Hutchinson and his new bride, Samantha Miller, were riding in a low-speed vehicle on South Carolina's Folly Beach when an allegedly intoxicated driver slammed into the back of their vehicle. Miller, still in her wedding dress, suffered blunt force trauma and died at the scene. Hutchinson and two others were taken to a hospital with serious injuries. Boat painted to honor Samantha Miller, Aric Hutchinson Family members said Hutchinson is now recovering at home after multiple surgeries, including broken bones in his legs and face, and broken vertebrae.“He is physically recovering at home while trying to come to terms with the loss of his beautiful wife. Now he is doing the unimaginable of planning Sam’s funeral along with her family,” his mother, Annette Hutchinson, s...

Flash flood threat overnight tonight, then again Mother's Day weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- There is a fairly rare 3 out of 4 'moderate' risk of flash flooding twice in the next week -- a risk designation we have only seen twice in the last year.A low pressure system is spinning right on top of Central Texas, drawing in copious atmospheric moisture from the warm Gulf of Mexico waters and lifting it to produce rain and thunderstorms. Kingsland in the Hill Country saw a quick 1.67" of rain Tuesday afternoon, while rain generally remained lighter elsewhere.A rare moderate risk (3 out of 4) of flash flooding has been prescribed to our eastern counties overnight tonight into Wednesday morning underneath the spinning storm system. We may see efficient nocturnal rain processes create slow-moving heavy thunderstorms from Austin eastward overnight and early Wednesday. Flash flooding is possible during the Wednesday morning commute in some areas.After some isolated rain totals overnight of 3-5 inches in our eastern counties, rain tapers off late Wednesday with drier...