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Before senior aide to Pennsylvania governor resigned, coworker accused adviser of sexual harassment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:03 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A senior adviser to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro who abruptly resigned this week had been accused earlier this year of sexual harassment by a coworker who said his behavior forced her to quit her job in the governor’s office.Mike Vereb, who served as Shapiro’s secretary of legislative affairs until his resignation on Wednesday, was accused in the woman’s complaint to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission of subjecting her to lewd, misogynistic and unwanted sexual advances during her brief stint working in the governor’s administration.Vereb didn’t immediately respond to a message left on his cellphone Thursday.A former state lawmaker, Vereb worked closely with Shapiro when he was attorney general. After the Democrat won the governor’s post, Verb assumed the role of shepherding the governor’s agenda through the politically divided Legislature.In a statement dated March 31 to the state Office of Administration, the wom...

Back-to-back tropical storms: Newly formed Rina trails Philippe out in the Atlantic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:03 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Rina formed Thursday in the Atlantic to the east of Tropical Storm Philipe, and forecasters said it was too early to tell how much further Rina might strengthen because of possible interaction between the back-to-back storms. Hours after gaining tropical storm status, Rina still had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.Rina was centered 1,110 miles (1,785 kilometers) east of the Northern Leeward Islands. No coastal watches or warnings are in effect for either, and there were no hazards affecting land. Rina was traveling north-northwest at a clip of about 14 mph (22 kph).Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Philippe was crawling slowly across the ocean at 2 mph (4 kph) in a west-northwestly direction. Forecasters said top sustained winds were about 45 mph (75 kph), with little change in strength expected. The hurricane center said the storm’s fate remains uncertain, adding Philippe could dissipate in the next f...

Nebraska police standoff ends with arrest and safe hostage release

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:03 GMT

Nebraska police on Wednesday arrested a 37-year-old man after a nearly 30-hour standoff and the release of three hostages, including two children. Police arrested the man, who had barricaded himself inside a home after crashing into the garage Tuesday, several hours after he released a woman he had held hostage for almost 24 hours. The two girls had been freed from the house Tuesday. All three hostages were uninjured, Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman said. Local law enforcement agencies have said the faceoff began when a deputy tried to pull the man over for a traffic violation Tuesday in Gering. The man fled, and police allege he shot at law enforcement vehicles during a brief police chase before crashing into the home.The man backed out of plans to release the woman multiple times during negotiations with an FBI hostage rescue team and other law enforcement officials, Overman said. The man shot about seven rounds at law enforcement during the standoff. The man hid behind w...

Adil Shamji bows out of Liberal leadership race, throws support behind Crombie

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:03 GMT

The Ontario Liberal leadership race is now down to just four candidates.On Thursday night, Adil Shamji announced that he was dropping out of the race and throwing his support behind Bonnie Crombie.Shamji, who is the MPP for Don Valley East, issued a statement saying he realized he wasn’t going to win and decided to bow out and support the Mississauga mayor.“From the very beginning, I have known that with four spectacular candidates in the race and myself, only one can come out as leader of our party,” he wrote. “Today, I acknowledge that this leader will not be me.“I will continue my campaign in a different capacity, still fighting for healthcare, housing, education, and the environment, but from now on, behind Bonnie Crombie and her team. It is a tremendous privilege to work with someone as committed to public service as Bonnie is, someone who possesses the unique talent of getting people excited and bringing them together behind a common vision.”Shamji adde...

9 years after mine spill in northern Mexico, new report gives locals hope for long-awaited cleanup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:03 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nine years after a massive waste spill from a copper mine in the northern Mexican border state of Sonora, locals are still suffering from “alarming” levels of soil, air and water pollution, Mexico’s Environment Department said Thursday.Summarizing a 239-page report, officials also confirmed, using satellite images, that the spill was not solely caused by dramatic rainfall, as was initially reported, but by the “inadequate design” of a dam at Buenavista del Cobre mine, owned by the country’s largest copper producer, Grupo México.Locals and environmental advocates say the report offers the clearest view yet of the catastrophic scale of the accident and, with it, new hope that Grupo México may finally be held financially accountable after almost a decade of legal battles and broken promises.“We expect that, with this new document, we’ll have an easy path for getting the money,” said Luis Franco, a community coordinator with regional advocacy group PODER. “At th...

Pritzker: Illinois has spent $328M on helping Chicago's migrant crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:03 GMT

CHICAGO -- Governor JB Pritzker said the state of Illinois has spent $328 million to help manage Chicago's migrant crisis and he's calling on the federal government to pitch in.Pritzker said on Thursday he has concerns about the $29 million "base camp" planned to house the migrants currently living in Chicago police stations, but the governor didn’t publicly explain what his concerns are.The City of Chicago has received more than 15,000 migrants. Some pointing to Republican governors for sending migrants to Chicago, but the democratic mayor of El Paso, Texas, chartered two buses of migrants to the city last weekend.Gov. Pritzker responded to democratic mayor of El Paso sending migrants to Chicago:"[He] needs to listen to the cities that he’s sending folks to and start thinking about whether or not this should be spread across the country. Why is he not sending anybody to Idaho, Wyoming?"The Illinois governor also stated that he has spoken with the Department of Homeland Security and...

Skilling: Cloudy here and there, but 80s return this weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:03 GMT

Prediction of warming for Chicago in the days ahead intact, weekend temps here to average 10 to 14 degrees above normal and sunnier skies expected.An unseasonably warm weekend is on the way, though southeasterly lake breezes—in other words, winds which blow in from the southeast and therefore move over the area from Lake Michigan—will be present. They will come off southern Lake Michigan waters which have cooled 10.5 degrees since late August and now average 62 degrees with some shoreline locations reporting mid 60-deg water temps.The southeast weekend winds  will modestly lower beach and shoreline temps compared to the low and mid 80s expected inland. On Saturday, for instance, inland temps will surge to 83 Saturday while beachside temps in Chicago will reach 75. And on Sunday, the inland to lakeside spread should be 86 degrees inland to 77 on area beaches.Still, average weekend temps are expected to come in 10 to 14-degrees above normal.  And the WARMER THAN NORMAL WEATHER REGIME ...

Migrant students attacked after school in Rogers Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:03 GMT

CHICAGO -- Recent video shows a chaotic scene what appears to be Chicago minors and adults attacking a group of migrants in Rogers Park Wednesday afternoon.The families, who arrived from Venezuela a few months ago, said their children were attacked after school near Sullivan High School by a group made up of minors and some adults.Mirna Mendez, the mother of 15-year-old Asdrubal, said her son was hit twice with a bat and kicked several times, leaving him bruised with broken ribs and a black eye.Asdrubal said he's always been looked at differently for being new and learning the language, but he never imagined it would have lead to this.Another student, Anthony who was hospitalized after being kicked to the ground and hit with a bat during Wednesday's attack, said he's never experienced anything like this before.In a letter sent to families of Sullivan High School, Principal Jeff Cooks says safety is his top priority:“Physical altercations involving members of our school community hav...

Jerome Bettis talks Notre Dame, Bears & playing with asthma

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:03 GMT

CHICAGO — When "The Bus" makes a stop to talk, he's got a lot to say on a number of topics, and that was the case this week. Jerome Bettis had some thoughts on his alma mater, Notre Dame, the Bears while also talking about how he dealt with asthma during his successful football career. A former standout running back for the Fighting Irish, Bettis talked with WGN News Now about what he's seen out of Marcus Freeman's team so far in 2023. Despite the loss to Ohio State in heartbreaking fashion last Saturday, Bettis was quite complimentary of what the Irish will have to offer this fall. He also continues to watch football, and having played in the NFL for 13 years, Bettis had some thoughts on how the Bears along with quarterback Justin Fields handle a bad start to this season. As part of his appearance for Aire Serv, Bettis also discussed how he dealt with asthma during his entire playing career, and the steps he took to make sure he could be at his best on the field. The Hall of Famer ...

Will County Animal Control: Suspect(s) used dog for paintball target practice

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:03 GMT

WILL COUNTY — The Will County Animal Control Department (WCACD) is looking for the public's help in finding the suspects responsible for using a dog as paintball target practice, among other signs of abuse.WCACD officials said an animal control officer responded to a call Wednesday about a trapped dog on the caller's property, a local farm in unincorporated Washington Township near the village of Beecher. When the animal control officer arrived, they found the dog — later named Hermione — scared and caught in a trap. After calming her down and safely removing her, the ACO noted Hermione was underweight, had infections in both of her ears, and was clearly shot multiple times on both sides of her body with purple paint from a paintball gun. Photos of Hermione (Courtesy: Will County Animal Control Department)Photos of Hermione (Courtesy: Will County Animal Control Department)Photos of Hermione (Courtesy: Will County Animal Control Department)“She is recovering nicely and is receiving t...