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Regional delegation meets Niger junta leader, deposed president in effort to resolve crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:32 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — A delegation from nations in the region met for the first time Saturday with Niger’s junta leader and the country’s deposed president in a last-ditch diplomatic effort to peacefully resolve the country’s crisis.Representatives from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, led by former Nigerian head of state Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, met separately with Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, the junta leader, and toppled President Mohamed Bazoum. They joined efforts by the United Nations Special Representative for West Africa and the Sahel, Leonardo Santos Simao, who arrived on Friday, in trying to facilitate a resolution to the predicament.The meetings come after ECOWAS on Aug. 10 ordered the deployment of a “standby force” to restore constitutional rule in Niger. On Friday, the ECOWAS commissioner for peace and security, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said 11 of its 15 member states had agreed to commit troops to a military intervention, saying they were “ready to g...

Pacific coast battens down as Hurricane Hilary threatens ‘catastrophic’ flooding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:32 GMT

Hurricane Hilary headed for Mexico’s Baja California on Saturday as the U.S. National Hurricane Center predicted “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding” for the peninsula and for the southwestern United States, where it was forecast to cross the border as a tropical storm on Sunday.Officials issued an evacuation advisory for the tourist destination of Santa Catalina Island, 23 miles (37 kilometers) off the Southern California coast, while authorities in Los Angeles scrambled to get the homeless off the streets and into shelters.Hilary remained a Major Category 3 hurricane, set to plow into Mexico’s Baja peninsula on Saturday night before rushing north and entering the history books as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years.“I don’t think any of us — I know me particularly — never thought I’d be standing here talking about a hurricane or a tropical storm,” said Janice Hahn, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.The U.S. Nationa...

A look at fires, evacuations in N.W.T. and B.C.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:32 GMT

Thousands of people have been ordered to leave their homes as wildfires approach in the Northwest Territories, including some 20,000 people in the territorial capital of Yellowknife. Meanwhile, flames have devoured a number of houses as a wildfire burns in West Kelowna, a city in British Columbia’s interior. Here’s a look at the fires by the numbers:YellowknifeDistance between Yellowknife and the fire: about 15 kilometresSize of the blaze: 1,669 square kilometresPopulation of Yellowknife: approximately 20,000 peopleResidents ordered to evacuate: all of Yellowknife and thousands in other N.W.T. communitiesPercentage of residents who have evacuated: 95 per centNumber of wildfires burning in the N.W.T: 236West Kelowna Size of the fire that has spread around West Kelowna: 105 square kilometres, but officials say it is likely largerPopulation of West Kelowna: approximately 38,000 peopleNumber of West Kelowna properties ordered to evacuate: about 10,700Number of West Kelowna p...

Suspect arrested in killing of 11-year-old Texas girl whose body was left under bed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:32 GMT

PASADENA, Texas (AP) — A man suspected of sexually assaulting and killing an 11-year-old girl before stashing her body under her bed in her family’s suburban Houston apartment has been arrested, police said Saturday.The 18-year-old man was identified as a person of interest Friday. The Pasadena Police Department said in a statement Saturday that since then, investigators were able to obtain additional evidence linking him to the death of Maria Gonzalez, and they arrested him in Shreveport, Louisiana. Police said the 18-year-old will be charged with capital murder and is awaiting extradition to Texas.According to KHOU-TV, Pasadena Police Chief Josh Bruegger said investigators interviewed and collected DNA from the suspect the day Maria Gonzalez’s body was found, but said he wasn’t on their radar at the time.The Gonzales family released a statement thanking Pasadena and Louisiana police for arresting the suspect.“May he be burdened with the full weight of the law, for what...

Kansas judge allows ACLU to intervene in lawsuit over gender markers on driver’s licenses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:32 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has agreed to allow the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas to intervene in an ongoing lawsuit that seeks to force the state to list the sex that people were assigned at birth on their driver’s licenses.Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a lawsuit last month seeking to compel the Kansas Department of Revenue to permanently halt gender marker changes, pointing to a new state law with strict definitions of sex along biological lines. The state agency argues that the attorney general overstepped his authority.The ACLU sought to become a party to the lawsuit, arguing that the interests of its transgender clients would be irreparably harmed if Kobach prevails. The group says the state agency isn’t sufficiently raising constitutional arguments.In her ruling Friday, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported, Shawnee County Judge Teresa found that the ACLU has a substantial interest in the litigation because the group is raising constitutional questions that...

Milton real estate agent facing sexual assault charge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:32 GMT

A Milton real estate agent has been charged in an alleged sexual assault investigation in Mississauga.Peel police say sometime in August a man and another person met as part of a real estate meeting in the area of Hurontario Street and Eglinton Avenue West. It was during this meeting that the victim claims they were sexually assaulted.Rony Lazar, 33, of Milton is facing a charge of sexual assault. He has a court appearance scheduled for September. “The accused currently works as a real estate agent and provides career and investment counselling for prospective realtors in the Mississauga area,” police said in a statement. “The investigation is ongoing, and investigators believe there may be additional victims.”Anyone with additional information is asked to contact police.

Pritzker signs Illinois food desert bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:32 GMT

CHICAGO (WTVO) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill Friday that invests $20 million toward ridding the state of "food deserts."The funding will be used to support existing grocers and encourage new grocery stores to open.“The Illinois Grocery Initiative is the latest expansion of our holistic approach to ensuring Illinois families can reach the big building blocks of a good life,” said Pritzker. “When our residents struggle to keep a roof over their head, can’t put food on the table, or have to choose between paying for basic medical care and keeping the lights on—that’s a failure of the system. That’s why I’m proud to sign into law the Illinois Grocery Initiative—a first-of-its-kind $20 million investment to open or expand grocery stores in underserved rural towns and urban neighborhoods.” Englewood Save-A-Lot faces more push-back during town hall meeting Those receiving grants will then be designated as high-impact businesses, which opens the door for more tax credits and o...

Chicago nonprofit celebrates 5th anniversary with back-to-school event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:32 GMT

CHICAGO — CPS students return to class on Monday and there are several back-to-school giveaways taking place this weekend. One event is celebrating the anniversary of a nonprofit that uses basketball to put young people on a path to healing. McKinley Nelson was only 21 years old when he launched Project sWish, informed by the lessons he learned while focusing on his own mental health, after losing friends to gun violence in Chicago."I wanted to alleviate the pain I went through for the next kid coming up behind me," Nelson said. Non-Profit Prepares College-Bound Students For Success The nonprofit uses basketball as a way to open the door to critical conversations, transformation and healing."A lot of those guys that I lost, we played basketball together growing up, and I knew they would rather be playing basketball with me than in the streets risking their life. So I wanted to develop basketball programming to keep the city safe," Nelson said.  Back-To-School Essential...

NOAA releases fall weather predictions for Illinois

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:32 GMT

ILLINOIS (NEXSTAR) – Sick of the summer heat? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has got some bad news for you.The agency released its 90-day forecast Thursday, predicting the broad weather conditions we expect to see around the country between September and November. For the vast majority of the country, it’s looking like a hot summer will transition into a warm fall.The Northeast and Southwest have the highest chances of seeing above-average temperatures this fall, according to NOAA. Tom Skilling's 7-day Chicago Forecast No states are expecting a colder-than-average fall season, but a swath of the Midwest and Plains states have equal chances of warm or cool weather.This means for Illinois, it’s a coin toss whether the state will see warmer or cooler weather as we approach fall. For some states, those hot temperatures are expected to be paired with clear skies – or at least few rain clouds. Only the Southeast and Alaska are expecting above-average precipitat...

Did the Frito Pie originate in Texas or New Mexico?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:32 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — It may be a Texas classic and you may like to consider it a Texas creation, but the origin of the Frito Pie — the cheesy, crunchy county fair treat — is not so cut-and-dry. In fact, Texas is in a long-standing rivalry with another state for birthplace bragging rights.And a winner appears to have been proven with historical records, but you'll have to keep reading to find out. What’s the deal with the Bass Pro Shops pyramid in Memphis? The popularity of Fritos Pie, as it's officially called by the Frito-Lay company (though it's often colloquially just called "Frito Pie") goes back to the 1950s and '60s, when the ease and availability of snack products like Fritos began making their way into American mealtimes. Fritos Corn Chips themselves date back the 1930s, when, as Frito-Lay explains, co-founder C.E. Doolin purchased the recipe from a San Antonio manufacturer and began selling the chips from his Model T Ford. Frito-Lay North America would go on to be headquartered i...