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Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin says he’s not running for open US Senate seat

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:21 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, a congressman from the suburbs of the nation’s capital, announced Friday he will not run for the U.S. Senate seat that is opening with the retirement of Sen. Ben Cardin.Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Reform Committee who is in his fourth-term, had been weighing a run for the rarely open Senate seat, but said in a statement Friday evening that he would instead seek reelection in the House.Raskin announced in April that he had completed chemotherapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with a 90% prognosis of no relapse and that his cancer was in remission. It was the second time Raskin had been diagnosed with cancer. He previously battled colorectal cancer in 2010.Raskin, 60, played a leading role in recent years as House Democrats twice impeached then-President Donald Trump and investigated Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. He was the lead impeachment manager when the House impeached Trump one week aft...

UN condemns killings of two more Indigenous residents on Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:21 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.N. human rights office said Friday it condemned the killing of two more Indigenous residents on Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast. The office called on the Nicaraguan government to investigate and punish the crimes. The government has not yet confirmed or commented on the two killings.“The communities in this region have been seriously affected by violence in 2023,” the U.N. office said in its social media accounts. The area where the attacks occurred, known as the Bosawas nature reserve, is set aside for Indigenous groups and environmental protection. But settlers want to clear the land to ranch and farms. The reserve also has been hit by illegal mining and logging.Such killings often go unpunished in Nicaragua, where many of the settlers are thought to be former soldiers.The U.N. rights office said it “calls on the government to investigate and find those responsible for these attacks, take action to prevent this from happening again, and guarantee the rights of ...

Nebraska mom pleads guilty to giving daughter pills for an abortion and helping bury the fetus

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:21 GMT

MADISON, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska mother pleaded guilty Friday to giving her 17-year-old daughter pills for an illegal abortion last year and helping to burn and bury the fetus. Under a plea agreement, Jessica Burgess, 42, of Norfolk, admitted to providing an abortion after 20 weeks of gestation, false reporting and tampering with human skeletal remains. Charges of concealing the death of another person and abortion by someone other than a licensed physician were dismissed.Burgess was accused of helping her then-17-year-old daughter, Celeste Burgess, end her pregnancy. Madison County District Court documents show she ordered abortion pills on the internet. After the teen aborted the 29-week-old fetus, the two burned the remains and buried them in a field north of Norfolk in northeastern Nebraska. Authorities later found the burned fetus.Madison County Attorney Joe Smith has said it’s the first time he has charged anyone with illegally performing an abortion after 20 weeks, a restricti...

2 men arrested in Texas shooting that killed 3 and injured 8 at a gathering after a July 4 festival

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:21 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Two men were arrested Friday in a shooting that killed three people and injured eight others as a crowd of hundreds gathered in a Texas neighborhood on the eve of the Fourth of July, police said.Christopher Redic Jr., 20, and Brandon Williams, 19, were both taken into custody on murder charges related to the shooting late July 3 in the Fort Worth neighborhood of Como, Fort Worth police Chief Neil Noakes said. Noakes said investigators believe the shooting was gang-related and followed some kind of altercation.“I don’t know specifically whom they were shooting at,” Noakes said. “There’s a potential that altercation is what initiated the violence to occur.”He said there could be additional arrests. Police had previously said several men fired indiscriminately into the crowd. The shooting erupted about two hours after the end of the Independence Day celebration called ComoFest in the historically Black neighborhood. The celebration had been held in a park several bl...

Turkey’s Erdogan hosts Zelenskyy, says Ukraine deserves membership in NATO

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:21 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early Saturday for Ukraine joining NATO, saying the war-torn country deserves to join the alliance.Erdogan made the comment at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived in Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraine’s entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end. NATO leaders meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week are expected to reaffirm that Ukraine will join their alliance one day.“There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership,” Erdogan told reporters,His support for Ukraine comes as Turkey has been holding off giving its final approval to Sweden joining NATO, saying Stockholm is not effectively cracking down on Kurdish militants and other groups that Ankara views as threats to its security.Sweden, along with Finland, abandoned its decades-long neutrality and applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion o...

Water woes persist in north suburban communities as boil order nears a week

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:21 GMT

HAWTHORN WOODS, Ill. — A boil order remains in effect through the weekend for many in the northern suburbs as a stretch of non-safe drinking water nears a week. Aqua executive Jim Bilotta apologized to the communities of Hawthorn Woods, Forest Lake, and Kildeer on Friday, adding that full restoration of water service is the company’s highest priority.“We have three different survey crews out right now leak detector companies, and as they find something, we'll address it right away," Bilotta said.RELATED: Many in northern suburbs spend holiday weekend without safe drinking waterAqua Illinois says they’ll continue handing out cases of water at the local aquatic center until the boil order is lifted. But more needs to be done, according to Hawthorn Woods resident Rick Epstein, who has dealt with a six-day-long water boil order. He hopes that the Illinois Commerce Commission takes a closer look at what went wrong so it doesn’t happen again."We fully support that and I think it’s importa...

CPD: Missing Chicago man may need medical attention

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:21 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department is asking for the public's help in locating a missing 64-year-old who may be in need of medical attention.Marco Nunez, 64, was last seen on the 2400 block of West Farwell Ave near Chicago's Warren Park on Friday, July 7. CPD: Missing Chicago elderly woman last seen on June 28 Nunez is described as 5-foot-11, weighing 225 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He may be in need of medical attention.Anyone with information regarding Marco Nunez's whereabouts are asked to contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-744-8266.

'How did that happen?': Couple says Southwest Side animal hospital lost their dog

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:21 GMT

CHICAGO —  One question is constantly replaying in the minds of one Chicago couple after they say the facility watching their two dogs lost one of them: “How did that happen?”  On June 30, Paul and Abigail Chavez dropped off their dogs at Brighton Park Animal Hospital before leaving for a Walt Disney World road trip with their children. “We said, 'She’s a hopper. She likes to climb things. Can you put her somewhere else?' So they did.” Chavez said.   ‘It’s been hell’: Northwest Indiana family remembers positive spirit of daughter killed in tailgating crash Paul Chavez said when his phone rang on July 5, however, he never expected to hear the words that his dog, Henny, a one-year-old Belgian Malinois, was missing. “He was stating that he was sorry, that he was very embarrassed, and that has never happened before,” Chavez said.  According to Chavez, management called and informed him that a handler brought Henny for a walk, and when she got sp...

Lincoln Presidential Library, Museum receives $100K grant

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:21 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) -- The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is getting a $100,000 grant from a prestigious Chicago-based foundation.The Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust is providing the funds to help the museum develop an interpretive plan that will shape museum exhibits and plans for decades to come, museum officials said. The goal is to make the library and museum more relevant to a broader array of visitors. Young athletes host signing day on South Side to celebrate success “We are honored that the Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust appreciates what we do and wants the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum to remain a vibrant leader in the field,” said Christina Shutt, the museum's Executive Director. “This grant will go a long way toward ensuring our future is as exciting as our past.” Museum officials said they intend to create an interpretive plan setting out the best ways to present Lincoln so that vis...

U.S. jobs reports cools off for June, adds 209,000 jobs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- The latest jobs report released Friday shows the U.S. economy grew by more than 200,000 jobs in June."That means we regained all the jobs lost during the pandemic and created nearly four million additional jobs on top of that," National Economic Council Deputy Director Joelle Gamble said.That's more than 13 million jobs added since President Biden took office, pushing the unemployment rate to just 3.6%. "That's because the President came in with a plan to grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom up," Gamble said."I think today's number probably was encouraging," said Ron Hetrick, a senior economist at Lightcast.Hetrick said although June's job growth is a bit lower than expected, it's still a good sign."I like a 200,000 gain because it's the kind of gain that we would expect right now," Hetrick said. "It's still positive but it's not something that indicates we're out of control."Experts say the slower growth is just what the Federal Reserve is loo...