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How the US helping Ukraine acquire F-16s shows that for military aid, ‘no’ can become ‘yes’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:03 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has once again buckled under pressure from European allies and Ukraine’s leaders and agreed to provide more sophisticated weapons to the war effort. This time it’s all about F-16 fighter jets.Ukraine has long begged for the sophisticated fighter to give it a combat edge as it battles Russia’s invasion, now in its second year. And this new plan opens the door for several nations to supply the fourth-generation aircraft and for the U.S. to help train the pilots. President Joe Biden laid out the agreement to world leaders meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday, according to U.S. officials.So far, however, the U.S. has provided no details and said decisions on when, how many, and who will supply the F-16s will be made in the months ahead while the training is underway. Details on the training are equally elusive. U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss decisions not yet made public.Still, with this decision, the Biden admini...

United States returns ‘Earth Monster’ Olmec sculpture to Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:03 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico announced Friday that a huge 2,500-year-old Olmec stone sculpture has been returned from the United States. The almost six-foot-tall (two-meter) “Monster of the Earth” sculpture appears to represent the gaping maw of a monster that is big enough to swallow people, and may represent a symbolic entrance to the underworld. Experts say the sculpture is important because of the insights it provides on the cosmological vision of the Olmecs, considered a founding culture of Meso-America.Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the sculpture was handed over at the Mexican consulate in Denver, Colorado, on Friday. Experts believe the sculpture was taken clandestinely in the 1960s from Chalcatzingo, a lesser-known ruin site south of Mexico City. “It was like an open wound, not having this artifact,” Ebrard said.The Associated Press

California governor seeks to speed up water, clean energy projects delayed by lawsuits, permits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:03 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday pledged to fast-track hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of construction projects throughout the state, including a pair of large water endeavors that have languished for years amid permitting delays and opposition from environmental groups.For the past decade, California officials have pursued the water projects in the drought-prone state. One would construct a giant tunnel to carry large amounts of water beneath the natural channels of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to drier and more populous Southern California. The other would be a massive new reservoir near the tiny community of Sites in Northern California that could store more water during deluges — like the series of atmospheric rivers that hit the state earlier this year — for delivery to farmers.But neither project has been built, despite promises from multiple governors and legislative leaders. Environmental groups have sued to block the tunnel p...

Firefighters heard, couldn’t rescue 2 killed in massive North Carolina fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:03 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Crews searching the rubble of a massive construction fire in North Carolina on Friday found the bodies of two people who firefighters couldn’t reach to save before the flames became too intense.Authorities didn’t identify the victims, but officials said two workers were missing after the Thursday fire on the site of a new apartment building in the upscale South Park neighborhood of Charlotte.No one else was injured in the five-alarm fire, including more than 90 firefighters and a worker trapped for a time on top of a crane as a fire engine sprayed water on the metal to keep it from collapsing.“I’ve never ever seen a fire of this magnitude,” said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings, a 31-year veteran of the force. “It’s devastating, heartbreaking.”Investigators think the fire started about 9 a.m. Thursday in a trailer used to spray insulation into the building’s walls, Charlotte Fire Chief Reginald Johnson said.The c...

Illinois lawmakers pass state budget ahead of deadline

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:03 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Illinois lawmakers wrapped up a busy week in Springfield Friday after passing the state's budget by the democratic imposed May 19 deadline.The Illinois General Assembly technically has until the start of the fiscal year in July pass the state budget, but they tend to aim for a May 31 deadline."Well that’s come and gone, and the reason they wanted to do that was essentially to give them the rest of the month to get other things done and do other work.," WGN Political Analyst Paul Lisnek."By May 31 they can pass a budget with a majority vote, but after May 31, in the month of June prior to the beginning of the fiscal year on July 1, it will require a supermajority to pass the budget.” Lawmakers approve south suburban cargo airport study Aside from the budget, things got heated Thursday on the Senate floor during several Democratic-led measures.One of those – an amendment to House Bill 1286 -- that would give businesses the option to create all-gender multi-occup...

What to look for as the Chicago Sky open the 2023 WNBA season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:03 GMT

CHICAGO — It's a much different feeling around the team than it was a year ago - and all you have to do is look at the roster. Most of the players from the team last year and the one that captured the 2021 WNBA championship are no longer with the Sky. It's now Kahleah Copper who is front and center for the team as they enter a new era with a host of new players hoping to jumpstart a new era of the team. Head coach James Wade, who built the team in his role as general manager, now will try to defy expectations and return the Sky to the WNBA playoffs for the fifth year in a row. That road starts tonight as they open the regular season against the Minnesota Lynx at the Target Center in Minneapolis at 7 p.m.Here are a few storylines around the team as they open up their 40-game schedule.(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)A host of roster changes & goodbyesA look at the Sky's opening night roster shows the enormity of changes they've made Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, Alli...

Nebraska passes abortion, gender-affirming care ban

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:03 GMT

(The Hill) — Nebraska lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to legislation that bans gender-affirming health care for transgender minors and prohibits abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy, sending the measure to Republican Gov. Jim Pillen.Pillen is expected to sign the bill — which state lawmakers passed by a 33-15 party-line vote — into law on an emergency clause, which means the measure will take effect immediately.Abortion and medical care for transgender youth are two of the most hot-button issues in state legislatures this year, and conservative lawmakers in the unicameral legislature merged both into a single bill. Contaminated eyedrops now linked to 4 deaths, 14 cases of blindness: CDC The abortion ban was added as an amendment to Legislative Bill 574, a bill that would restrict access to gender-affirming medical care for transgender young people, in the final days of Nebraska’s legislative session.Democrats were rejoicing late last month when a bill to ban abortion ...

In viral video, man says Tampa owes each Black resident $3M in reparations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:03 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A local resident told Tampa City Council members Thursday that every Black resident in the city is owed "at least $3 million in reparations.""All this nonsense y’all talk about — this nonsense homelessness, and all this other garbage y’all talk about, police violence and all this stuff — don’t nobody real care about that," resident Tony Daniel said during his time allotted for public comment. Parents of transgender kids seek to block DeSantis ban on gender-affirming care for minors "We care about our reparations and we have to put white people on notice that we want our reparations," he added. "Our fore-parents and us, we didn’t work for free and underpaid and all this nonsense and the white folks get away with it.”Video of Daniel's public comments trended on Twitter Friday.“They talk about the great city they’re building. No! We want our reparations," Daniel said. "Three million dollars per person — $3 million per person right here in this city, that’s the on...

Contaminated eye drops linked to another death, 81 infections: CDC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:03 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — An outbreak linked to recalled eye drops has infected 81 people in Florida and in 18 other states, according to a recent update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The CDC said it is investigating the strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Health officials said the strain, called VIM-GES-CRPA, had never been reported in the United States prior to the outbreak. It has been reported in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. Target recalls nearly 5 million Threshold candles due to burn hazard Four deaths have been linked to the drug-resistant bacterial infection traced to the contaminated eye drops.“Most patients reported using artificial tears,” the CDC said. “Patients reported over 10 different brands of artificial tears and some patients used multiple brands. EzriCare Artificial Tears, a pre...

Beach Park bicyclist struck, killed by vehicle in North Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:03 GMT

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. — A crash in North Chicago claimed the life of a suburban bicyclist, police said Friday. On Thursday, around 10:50 p.m., authorities responded to Route 41, north of Casimer Pulaski Drive, for a crash with injuries involving a bicyclist. The bicyclist was pronounced dead a the scene. Girl charged as adult in high-speed police chase with man on hood of car The Lake County Coroner’s Office identified the bicyclist as 36-year-old Kyle Summy of Beach Park.The crash remains under investigation by the North Chicago Police Department and Lake County's Major Crash Assistance Team of Lake County. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesThe driver involved remained at the scene.