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Muslim mayor blocked from White House Eid celebration

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Secret Service said Monday it blocked a Muslim mayor from Prospect Park, New Jersey, from attending a White House celebration with President Joe Biden to belatedly mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.Shortly before Mayor Mohamed Khairullah was set to arrive at the White House for the Eid-al-Fitr celebration, he received a call from the White House stating that he had not been cleared for entry by the Secret Service and could not attend the celebration where Biden delivered remarks to hundreds of guests, according to the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.U.S. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed that Khairullah was not allowed into the White House complex, but declined to detail why. Khairullah was elected to a fifth term as the borough’s mayor in January.“While we regret any inconvenience this may have caused, the mayor was not allowed to enter the White House complex this evening,” Guglielmi...

Texas Gov. Abbott to Chicago Mayor Lightfoot: Tell Biden to secure the border

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:49 GMT

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday responded to calls from the mayor of Chicago to stop sending migrants to her city, saying she should instead call on President Joe Biden to secure the border. ‘We simply have no more shelters:’ Lightfoot implores Abbott to stop sending migrants Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had penned a letter to Abbott, asking him to stop sending people, even as more migrants were expected to arrive Monday, adding that Chicago had no more shelter, space, or resources to accommodate an increase of individuals at this level.In response to Lightfoot, Abbott said Texas' busing strategy was needed to "provide much-needed relief to overwhelmed, small border communities amid the Biden Administration's growing border crisis.""If you truly want to 'work together to find a real solution' to this border crisis gripping our nation, you must call on the Biden Administration to do its job by securing our border, repelling the illegal immigrants f...

Police: Chicago carjacking suspect could be elementary student

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:49 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department believes a recent car jacking suspect could be an elementary school student.An attempted car jacking in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood happened on the 7000 block of South Merrill around 12 a.m. Friday.Chicago police sent out a community alert Sunday. A half an hour before Friday nights incident, CPD said someone grabbed a victim's keys near the 2100 block of East 70th Street, taking their vehicle. Both incidents happened within block of O'Keefe Elementary School. 6 dead after dust cloud cause 60-car crash, closes I-55 for 28 miles "She came face to face with a young boy that couldn’t be any more than ten-years-old," Block President of Paradise on Merrill Diane Hodges said.The suspects in two car jackings in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood have different descriptions. The first incident, involved a man wearing a furry jacket and a red and black ski mask. The younger offender wore a hooded sweatshirt, black jeans, and a mask."It’s...

VIDEO: Black bear surprises principal at West Virginia school dumpster

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:49 GMT

NICHOLAS COUNTY, W.Va (WOWK) – The principal at Zela Elementary School in West Virginia's Nicholas County got quite a surprise while checking the dumpster Monday morning.According to security footage posted by the Nicholas County Board of Education, Zela Elementary School Principal James Marsh was unlatching the lid of a dumpster outside the school around 7:15 a.m. Monday, May 1. As he removed the latch, the lid began to move and a black bear poked its head out of the dumpster, inches away from Marsh. 7 bodies found in search for two missing Oklahoma teens: authorities The video shows Marsh dart away from the dumpster as he spots the bear. The bear then immediately runs in the opposite direction around a shed and toward a wooded area."Who says principals don't deserve hazard pay????" the Nicholas County BOE said in a Facebook post accompanying the video.There is no word at this time how the bear ended up in the dumpster. Nexstar's WOWK has reached out to the school board to learn ...

White House estimates 20K Russians killed in Ukraine war since December

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:49 GMT

The Biden administration estimates that since December Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties, including more than 20,000 killed, White House national security council spokesman John Kirby said Monday.  Among those killed, Kirby estimates that nearly half were soldiers from the private military company Wagner Group, which is heavily involved in the grinding fight for Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.  “Russia has exhausted its military stockpiles and its armed forces,” Kirby told reporters. “Just since December, we estimate that Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties, including over 20,000 killed in action. . . . It’s really stunning, these numbers.” Kirby said the source of the new 100,000 figure is “based on some downgraded intelligence that we’ve been able to collect,” though he did not elaborate. He would not give the estimated number of casualties for Ukrainians, deferring to Kyiv on the information.  “We've never talked about Ukrainian casualties in the war,” Kirby sa...

Giddings bus driver faces DWI charge after hit-and-run crash with 14 kids onboard

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:49 GMT

GIDDINGS, Texas (KXAN) — A Giddings ISD bus driver faces a charge of DWI with a child passenger after an incident Monday involving a hit-and-run accident.According to the Giddings Police Department, Sherry Francis, 65, was taken into custody after police received a report of a hit-and-run crash on North Orange Street at 7:47 a.m. At the time of the crash, officers said there were 14 children in the bus but no one was injured and damage to the car Francis hit was "minimal."GPD said during the investigation that "probable cause was established that Ms. Francis was impaired by a substance other than alcohol," and was then taken into custody. GPD said Francis consented to have her blood drawn for testing, and she was given a $7,500 bond and released on personal recognizance. The charge is a State Jail Felony, GPD said.

Austin bar builds bat homes with season underway

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:49 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A southeast Austin bar taught a class on how to care for some of our most loyal and beloved creatures.The Buzz Mill, in partnership with ecologist Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation, held a class on how to build bat houses. Tuttle dedicated his career to bat conservation, researching the species across the world for more than 60 years.The conservation said these houses are important, because bat populations are declining, in large part due to a lack of available roosts. How Austin Bat Refuge cares for bats affected by cold snap "When you have a bat house and it's occupied, it's a really fun activity to have friends over and watch the bats come out, and it's an easy way to teach people about how important bats are just to have them around," Teresa Nichta, who is a co-founder of Merlin Tuttle's bat conservation, said.Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in the world. Texas Parks and Wildlife estimates there are about 1.5 million bats living under the Congres...

After latest burglary at Lowertown coffee shop and restaurant, owners find community support ‘amazing’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:49 GMT

A string of burglaries at a downtown St. Paul coffee shop and restaurant has been discouraging for the owners, but they’ve been buoyed by the outpouring of community support they’ve received.The latest incident — and the one that caused the most damage — happened early Friday at Lost Fox in Lowertown. The business’s motion detector went off about 4:30 a.m. Large windows to the building had been shattered, but not much was taken, said Annie Rose, who owns Lost Fox with her husband.After Friday’s break-in on Fourth Street, across from Union Depot and its Green Line light-rail station, a Lost Fox Facebook post displayed photos of the damage and read, “I am so tired. Come have a coffee this weekend so we can pay our deductible. We could probably use some words of encouragement.”The support has “been amazing,” Rose said Monday. “There’s been a line out the door. … We’ve had people come in to get a coffee,...

First Friday returns to Albany

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:49 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A community favorite is coming back to the Capital Region. First Friday in Albany is returning after being put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.It's a celebration of arts and culture that partners businesses with artists to promote their work and the creative economy. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "The arts transform. The arts challenge us. They make us better leaders, better people, so being able to celebrate that with First Friday, it's wonderful to have that leadership and bring that back," Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said.Artists can sign up to participate online.

Polis signs bill that expands immunity protections for people who report overdoses

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:37:49 GMT

When lawmakers passed a lengthy bill last year to tighten criminal penalties for fentanyl users and dealers, they simultaneously undermined the state’s immunity protections for drug users who try to save people from overdoses.That loophole was closed Monday, when Gov. Jared Polis signed HB23-1167 into law. The measure expands criminal immunity protections to more substance users who try to stop overdoses as part of the state’s broader efforts to address its ongoing drug crisis, which killed more than 1,650 residents last year.“It’s going to save lives,” said Rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy, a Lakewood Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill. “It’s an important step to make sure that people who are struggling with addiction know that if they’re around a person who is facing an overdose, the only thing they have to worry about is saving that person’s life.”Under the state’s Good Samaritan law, a person who calls 911 and cooperates with autho...