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Confederate memorial to be removed in coming days from Arlington National Cemetery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:50 GMT

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A Confederate memorial is to be removed from Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia in the coming days, part of the push to remove symbols that commemorate the Confederacy from military-related facilities, a cemetery official said Saturday.The decision ignores a recent demand from more than 40 Republican congressmen that the Pentagon suspend efforts to dismantle and remove the monument from Arlington cemetery.Safety fencing has been installed around the memorial, and officials anticipate completing the removal by Dec. 22, the Arlington National Cemetery said in an email. During the removal, the surrounding landscape, graves and headstones will be protected, the Arlington National Cemetery said.Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin disagrees with the decision and plans to move the monument to the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park in the Shenandoah Valley, Youngkin spokeswoman Macaulay Porter said.In 2022, an independent commission recommended that th...

Higgins’ savvy goal-line play, McPherson’s field goal in OT help Bengals beat Vikings 27-24

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:50 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Tee Higgins made a savvy goal-line move to score a touchdown and force overtime and Evan McPherson made a 29-yard field goal to seal a 27-24 victory Saturday for Cincinnati over the Minnesota Vikings, keeping the Bengals playoff hopes alive without their star quarterback.Higgins caught a 21-yard pass from Jake Browning with under a minute remaining in the game and pulled off an acrobatic move to stretch the ball over the goal line and tie the game at 24.In overtime, a 4-yard run from Joe Mixon made it an easy chip shot for McPherson with 3:11 remaining.The Bengals (8-6) had taken over at their 41-yard line after stopping the Vikings (7-7) on fourth-and-short.Cincinnati erased a 17-3 Minnesota lead with its two fourth-quarter touchdowns.Browning was 29 for 42 for 324 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He completed passes to 12 different receivers.Mullens, the fourth quarterback to start a game this season for the Vikings, passed for 303 yards with two TD...

Authorities offer new details after body found in trunk of burning vehicle on South Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Authorities are offering new details after a person was found dead in the trunk of a burning vehicle on the city’s South Side early Friday morning. According to Chicago police, officers were called to the scene in the 3700 block of South Parnell Avenue in Bridgeport around 2:08 a.m., after reports of a vehicle fire in an alley in the area.  Renowned Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt dies at 88 Fire crews extinguished the blaze and after further investigation, crews found a person unresponsive in the trunk of the vehicle. Authorities say the victim was pronounced dead on the scene.  On Saturday, the Cook County Medical Examiner confirmed that the victim had been killed by a gunshot wound to the neck, and their death was ruled a homicide. Travis Scott performance at United Center postponed hours before show Authorities have not provided details on what started the vehicle fire or identified the victim involved. Police say an inve...

16-year-old boy charged with 1st degree murder in double fatal shooting of 14-year-old boy and his grandfather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:50 GMT

CHICAGO — A 16-year-old boy has been charged with first degree murder after he allegedly shot and killed a 14-year-old boy and his grandfather earlier this week.According to the Chicago Police Department, a 16-year-old boy was charged Saturday with two counts of first degree murder, each of which carry a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison, with a maximum sentence of natural life — aka those convicted stay in jail until they die.The 16-year-old boy was arrested by CPD officers in the 6700 block of South Artesian Avenue Friday after he was identified as the person who, three days earlier, fatally shot a 14-year-old boy and his 65-year-old grandfather in the 3500 block of West 61st Place. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police identify 14-year-old boy, grandfather killed in Chicago Lawn shooting Police said the 14-year-old boy, identified as Juan Medina Jr., was fatally wounded and pronounced dead at the scene, while his grandfather, Mario Medina, was taken to a local hospital in critical con...

Renowned Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt dies at 88

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Sculptor Richard Hunt, a renowned Chicago artist with works on display across the United States, has died.According to a press release shared on the artist's website, Hunt died on Saturday at the age of 88. The release said he "passed away peacefully" at his home in Chicago. Hunt, who was born in 1935, grew up on the city's South Side and attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 1950s, where he focused on sculpture.  Travis Scott performance at United Center postponed hours before show Prominent pieces by Hunt include the "Hero Construction," housed at the art institute, and "Swing Low," which currently hangs in the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.Most recently, Hunt completed a sculptural model for "Hero Ascending," a monument to Emmett Till that will be installed at Till’s childhood home, blocks away from the Woodlawn home where Hunt was born.Hunt served as a Commissioner for the National ...

Jan. 6 rioter charged for attacking police with baton sentenced to over 4 years in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:50 GMT

(The Hill) — A Michigan man, who has described himself as a militia leader, was sentenced to more than four years in prison Friday for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the Capitol.Matthew Thomas Krol, 65, assaulted at least three officers, injuring one of them, with a baton that he stole from the officers, prosecutors said. Court documents show that he pushed his way through a crowd of rioters on the Lower West Plaza of the Capitol grounds, threw a water bottle at law enforcement and then attacked the officers.U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced Krol to four years and 3 months in prison — though he will get credit for the time he's served since his arrest in February 2022, the Associated Press reported.“The course of my life was changed that day, and he was part of the mob that ensured I’d lose my career,” former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell said in the courtroom.Ahead of the sentencing, Krol apologized to Gonell — who retired from the department a yea...

This winter's El Niño could be one of the strongest in 70 years. What does it mean for you?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:50 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – The 2023-2024 El Niño is growing more likely to be one for the record books. In an update released Thursday, the Climate Prediction Center said this winter's El Niño was slightly favored to be "historically strong." The national forecasters gave it about a 54% chance of being one of the five strongest since 1950. Those odds are up from last month, when the Climate Prediction Center gave this year's El Niño a 35% chance of being among the strongest ever, like the one we saw in 2015-2016 or 1997-1998.But a super-strong El Niño doesn't necessarily mean super-strong impacts, like storms, flooding or heavy snow. "While stronger El Niño events increase the likelihood of El Niño-related climate anomalies, it does not imply expected impacts will emerge in all locations or be of strong intensity," says the Climate Prediction Center. What are they expecting to happen this winter? As with any weather, it depends on where you live. The precipitation outlook for December, Januar...

Deadly fighting continues in Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - The U.S. is pushing for changes in Israel's offensive against Hamas as its military forces continue airstrikes and tank shelling.Israel's military said it mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages during its ground operation. This comes as the White House's national security advisor was in Israel to discuss scaling back the war.National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with the presidents of Israel and Palestine Friday to try and de-escalate the war between Israel and Hamas."We are now in the middle of a high-intensity phase,” he said.The Israel Defense Forces have continued heavy airstrikes and ground battles in Gaza with a rising civilian death toll.  But Israel's president says the IDF will soon transition to a new phase in the war."We can see the end of that campaign not far away, in the next few weeks," said Isaac Herzog.Palestine's Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh wants an immediate ceasefire."The United States has been calling upon Israel to avoid...

Plane crashes in Christoval windmill farm, no survivors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:50 GMT

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — A plane crashed just outside of San Angelo on a windmill farm in Christoval on Thursday with no reported survivors.According to the Texas Department of Public Safety on the scene, with assistance from the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office, they were made aware of a plane crash that occurred at 1:28 p.m. just four miles south of the Christoval on ranch land.First responders were immediately dispatched to the area and attempts for a search and rescue were made for any possible survivors. Responding authorities included Border Patrol, the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office and the Christoval Volunteer Fire Department, DPS and San Angelo EMS.There was an unknown number of occupants on the plane, and no survivors were reported. The scene has been secured for further investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Former state trooper who assisted his father’s drug trafficking organization sentenced to 18 months in prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:50 GMT

McALLEN, TEXAS (ValleyCentral) — A former state trooper who assisted his father’s drug trafficking organization was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Thursday.Pablo Talavera Jr., 36, of Pharr ran a license plate through a law enforcement database for his father, a drug smuggler who transported methamphetamine from Texas to Tennessee.“He’s made a terrible mistake,” said attorney Carlos A. Garcia of Mission, who represented Talavera Jr. “To which he has admitted. And accepted responsibility.”Pablo Talavera Jr. (Courtesy of the Texas Department of Public Safety.)Talavera Jr. graduated from the University of Texas-Pan American and joined the Texas Department of Public Safety in June 2015.Other members of the Talavera family picked a different path.His father, Pablo Talavera Sr., and his uncle, Elias Talavera, headed a drug trafficking organization that smuggled “large quantities of methamphetamine” from the Rio Grande Valley to Jackson, Tennessee, according to documents filed by ...