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US House panel investigates ties between US Interior secretary, environmentalists

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:07:02 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Republican members of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources are raising concerns about ties between Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and an Indigenous group from her home state that advocates for halting oil and gas production on public lands. The members on Monday sent a letter to Haaland requesting documents related to her interactions with Pueblo Action Alliance as well as those of her daughter, Somah, who has worked with the group and has rallied against fossil fuel development.The request comes just days after Haaland decided to withdraw hundreds of square miles in New Mexico from oil and gas production for the next 20 years on the outskirts of Chaco Culture National Historical Park — an area considered sacred by some Native American communities.U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, the Arkansas Republican who chairs the committee, said Congress has a duty to oversee federal agencies and the cabinet secretaries who lead them and that what he called Haaland&#...

Suspect in Natalee Holloway disappearance to challenge extradition from Peru to US, lawyer says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:07:02 GMT

LIMA, Peru (AP) — The lawyer for the main suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway on Monday said his client has changed his mind and plans to challenge his extradition to the United States.Defense attorney Máximo Altéz announced the decision of Dutchman Joran van der Sloot just hours after the Peruvian government confirmed the extradition would take place Thursday. Altéz said van der Sloot reversed course following a meeting with Dutch diplomats.“He does not want to be extradited to the United States of America,” Altéz said, adding that he intended to file a writ of habeas corpus. “He was visited today by his embassy (representatives) who made him see the mistake he was making by being extradited without due process.”The attorney said van der Sloot was never notified of an open extradition process, and as a result, was not able to challenge it. Less than a week ago, Altéz had said his client explained in a letter he did not plan to challenge t...

Senegal violence threatens country’s stability as experts call on government to instill calm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:07:02 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal experts called on the government on Monday to instill calm after days of the deadliest violence in years and concerns it could have lasting consequences.Days of clashes between security forces and supporters of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko have killed at least 16 people and injured hundreds of others. Police have arrested 500 people, some of whom used Molotov cocktails and weapons. “(There’s) the threat of chaos. The threat of civil war,” Alioune Tine, founder of Afrikajom Center, a West African think tank, told The Associated Press in an interview Monday in the capital, Dakar. “We have never ever lived this situation in Senegal … We cannot go fighting among ourselves and we have to stop now, to make peace now, to be united now.”The clashes first broke out last Thursday, after Sonko was convicted of corrupting youth but acquitted on charges of raping a woman who worked at a massage parlor and making death threats against her. Sonko, who d...

B.C. officials push back on safe supply critics, seeing ‘no sign’ drugs are diverted

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:07:02 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia officials have rebutted claims that drugs prescribed through the province’s safe supply program aimed at curbing overdoses are being re-sold to young people, helping fuel the deadly opioid crisis.B.C.’s representative for children and youth, Jennifer Charlesworth, says her office hasn’t seen any indication that youth are using drugs “diverted” from the safe supply program.Her remarks come after Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre recently told the House of Commons that federal and B.C. government policies are worsening the overdose crisis because prescription hydromorphone “gets sold to kids” by those taking part in the program, with the profits used to buy fentanyl.B.C.’s chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe — who joined Charlesworth and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry at a news briefing — says toxicology tests show hydromorphone hasn’t been present in any significant number of deaths.Lapointe says officials ar...

California officials: Florida picked up asylum-seekers on Texas border and flew them to Sacramento

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:07:02 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The state of Florida picked up asylum-seekers on the Texas border Monday and took them by private jet to California’s capital city at taxpayer expense for the second time in four days, California officials said, prompting allegations that migrants were misled and catching shelters and aid workers by surprise.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials were mum, as they were initially last year when they flew 49 Venezuelan migrants to the upscale Massachusetts enclave of Martha’s Vineyard, luring them onto private jets from a shelter in San Antonio.As California Attorney General Rob Bonta investigated the migrants’ transportation, local officials and faith-based groups sought to provide housing, food and other resources to the more than three dozen new arrivals. Many were from Colombia and Venezuela, and California had not been their intended destination.California Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, lashed out at DeSantis as a “small, pathetic man” ...

'It's really odd': Family pleads for information about missing Logan Square woman

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:07:02 GMT

CHICAGO — The family of a missing Logan Square woman is anxious to learn her whereabouts after she hasn't been seen or heard from since Friday. AJ Battaglia says his life was turned upside down when he got a late-night call from his sister's roommate. Brittany Battaglia (Photo provided by AJ Battaglia )"You see this stuff on the news all the time and once it happens to you, your mind is everywhere. It's really odd," Battaglia said. The roommate informed Battaglia that she hadn't seen nor heard from his sister, 33-year-old Brittany Battaglia, since Friday, June 2. Battaglia told WGN News that the news was alarming. SEE ALSO: Missing 12-year-old girl last seen in Oakland, Chicago police say"We noticed Friday that her location was stopped sharing with us," he said. "My parents and I, and my sister, we all share our location, so we thought that was a little funny."Brittany Battaglia resides in the 1900 block of N Kimball Ave., near Armitage Avenue. According to her brother, a man Britta...

Lakeside Pride Marching Band helps Buffalo Grove celebrate love, respect for all

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:07:02 GMT

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill. — Molly Pinta organized Buffalo Grove's first Pride Parade back in 2019.  After attending Aurora's Pride Parade, the 13-year-old middle schooler asked her parents why her hometown didn't have one. On Sunday, the northwest suburb celebrated its third Pride Parade with the help of the Lakeside Pride Marching Band.  WGN photojournalist Kevin Doellman captured the sights and sounds.  Mayor Brandon Johnson, political leaders help kickoff Pride Month in West Town Watch the full story in the video player above.

Chance of showers, thunderstorms before sunny Tuesday afternoon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:07:02 GMT

Monday NightIncreasing clouds Low: 62TuesdayA 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 73. North wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.Tuesday NightMostly cloudy, with a low around 57. North wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog WednesdayPartly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 73. North northeast wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.Wednesday NightMostly clear, with a low around 57. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

CPD interim Supt. Waller talks short-term, long-term plan to address violence, offers condolences

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:07:02 GMT

Over the weekend, 46 people were shot, and at least nine killed across the city.Among the incidents was a shooting early Sunday morning, when gunfire erupted in the 4800 block of West Iowa. Nearly 100 people were gathered for a celebration of life when, according to police, an argument broke out around 1 a.m. and unknown offenders began firing shots. 25-year-old Terry’a Adams was killed and six others wounded. Woman killed, 6 injured in shooting at memorial gathering on West Side The Chicago Police Department held a news conference Monday asking the public's help for information.The CPD’s own numbers show that while murders are down slightly so far this year compared to last and in 2021, other crime is up. Robberies are up 16 percent from the same time last year and up 37 percent from 2021. Related: Mayor Johnson promises “more sophisticated, sharper response” after weekend violence in Chicago By far the biggest jump is in vehicle thefts. More tha...

Dean Richards on the James Beard Awards red carpet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:07:02 GMT

CHICAGO -- WGN's Dean Richards stopped by the 2023 James Beard Awards at the Lyric Opera of Chicago downtown Monday.The James Beard Foundation hosted their 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 5. The James Beard Foundation honored the nation’s top food authors, broadcast producers, hosts, journalists, podcasters, and social media content creators on Saturday, June 3. The full list of winners, which includes Book, Broadcast Media, and Journalism can be found here.The James Beard Foundation also honored the nominees for their Leadership Award on Sunday, June 4.To watch the 2023 Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony LIVE, click here.