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Federal judges select new congressional districts in Alabama to boost Black voting power

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:43:30 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Federal judges selected new congressional lines for Alabama to give the Deep South state a second district where Black voters comprise a substantial portion of the electorate. The judges ordered on Thursday the state to use the new lines in the 2024 elections. The three-judge panel stepped in to oversee the drawing of a new map after ruling that Alabama lawmakers flouted their instruction to fix a Voting Rights Act violation and create a second majority-Black district or something “quite close to it.”The three-judge panel selected one of three plans proposed by a court-appointed expert that alters the bounds of Congressional District 2, now represented by Republican Rep. Barry Moore, in southeast Alabama, who is white. The district will now stretch westward across the state. Black voters will go from comprising less than one-third of the voting-age population to nearly 50%.The Supreme Court in June upheld a three-judge panel’s finding that Alabama’s pri...

Statistics Canada says country posts $718M merchandise trade surplus for August

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:43:30 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s merchandise trade balance shifted to a surplus in August, helped by strong growth in exports of unwrought gold and crude oil, Statistics Canada said.The agency said Thursday that Canada posted a trade surplus of $718 million in August compared with a revised deficit of $437 million in July.BMO economist Shelly Kaushik said it was the first surplus since April.“Energy prices propelled a modest surplus in Canada’s merchandise trade account,” Kaushik wrote in a report.“But, stronger-than-expected volumes suggest merchandise trade could add to third quarter growth. Even so, the economy is expected to slow meaningfully in the second half of the year.”The merchandise trade surplus came as total exports rose 5.7 per cent to $64.6 billion. Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products rose 29.1 per cent in August to a record $8.5 billion, boosted by exports of gold to the United States. Meanwhile, higher prices helped lift energy product ...

Biden memo directs US agencies to restore ‘healthy and abundant’ salmon runs in the Northwest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:43:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a move that conservationists and tribes called a potential breakthrough, President Joe Biden has directed federal agencies to use all available authorities and resources to restore “healthy and abundant” salmon runs in the Columbia River Basin.Biden’s order stops short of calling for removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Lower Snake River in Washington state, an action that tribes and conservation groups have long urged to save threatened fish populations. But it directs a host of federal agencies to do all they can to restore salmon and honor U.S. treaty obligations with Pacific Northwest tribes.“Wild salmon, steelhead and other native fish populations in the Columbia River Basin are essential to the culture, economy, religion and way of life of tribal nations and indigenous peoples,” Biden said in the six-page presidential memo released last week.Actions since 1855, including the federal government’s construction and operation of dams, have cha...

Woman, 18, charged in fatal stabbing of 16-year-old girl in Loop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:43:30 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman has been charged in the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old girl in the Loop.Egypt Otis, 18, faces one felony count of first-degree murder in the death of Heaven Taylor. According to Chicago police, the stabbing happened on the 0-100 block of West Van Buren Street just before 11:30 p.m. Tuesday.Police said Taylor was in a physical altercation with Otis, who then took out a knife and stabbed Taylor twice in the chest — then fled the scene.Heaven Taylor, 16 (Family photo)Taylor was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, where she was pronounced dead a short time later. Police said Otis was arrested Wednesday after being identified as the offender who fatally stabbed Taylor, and she was charged accordingly. 16-year-old girl stabbed to death following altercation in Loop Otis is scheduled to attend a detention hearing Thursday.       

3 in custody after CPD squad car struck by gunfire on South Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:43:30 GMT

CHICAGO — Three people are in custody after a Chicago police squad vehicle was hit with gunfire on the city's South Side.Police said officers responded to a ShotShotter alert around 8:50 p.m. Wednesday in the 4700 block of South Elizabeth.Upon arrival, officers heard multiple gunshots coming from an unknown direction. According to police, one of the rounds penetrated through the windshield of a responding officers' vehicle.Officers on scene saw people running southbound from the scene and into a residence in the 4800 block of South Elizabeth.Police said three people were detained. 17-year-old boy shot and killed in Round Lake Beach One officer was transported to a nearby hospital for minor lacerations from shattered glass and is in good condition.According to police, officers did not discharge their weapons.The shooting is under investigation by Area One detectives.

Wildlife biologist 'hit' by lightning while filming YouTube video in Florida

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:43:30 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A wildlife expert visiting the Florida Everglades to shoot a promotional video had a close encounter he was not expecting.Biologist and TV host Forrest Galante, who has made appearances on the Discovery Channel, was recording a video while standing knee-deep in the swamps of the Florida Everglades when a bolt of lightning struck right next to him."Out of nowhere, boom!" Galante recalled in an interview posted to his YouTube channel."I got hit," he said seconds after scrambling out of the water. "I felt it. I got hit. It hurt.""I realized only on reviewing the footage that I just had a lightning bolt hit 15 feet behind me that has gone shooting up my legs, into my waist, into my heart, and into my mouth, actually," Galante added. ‘The Dead Zone’: I-4 named one of the most haunted roads in America He noted he didn't see the flash of lightning because he was facing away from it, but he said his legs seized up."I'm literally paralyzed for just a fraction of a se...

Woman accused of crashing weddings and stealing gifts in three states arrested in Mississippi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:43:30 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) - A woman accused of crashing weddings across three states and leaving with the bride and groom's money and gifts was arrested at a ceremony Saturday in Pontotoc County, Mississippi. The Pontotoc County Sheriff's Department hasn't released details about what happened but did say Sandra Lynn Henson was charged with petit larceny, trespassing, and disturbing the peace. In Mississippi, petit larceny is defined as stealing property worth less than $1,000.The sheriff's department said Henson had been arrested for the same crimes in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. Mississippi bride says stranger stole gifts at wedding In March of 2021, a Marshall County bride told Nexstar's WREG Henson had ruined her special day by taking the cards, money, and gifts guests brought with them to her wedding.The Marshall County Sheriff's Department was able to identify Henson after she was caught on camera removing items from the gift tables.Courtesy: Florence Police DepartmentI...

Andrew Whitworth talks Bears on GN Sports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:43:30 GMT

CHICAGO — So far in the 2023 season, the Bears are one of the teams that's been talked about a lot in the NFL, and for all the wrong reasons.The team enters their Thursday night match-up with the Commanders in Landover, Maryland last in the league at 0-4. They just tied their franchise record for a lead blown in a 31-28 loss to the Broncos in front of the home fans last year and look generally out of sync.Already there is talk that Matt Eberflus' job could be in danger early in his second year while there is a lot of doubt being cast on the moves made by general manager Ryan Poles.What can the Bears' do to save their season - and maybe this era of the team?Andrew Whitworth, a two-time NFL first-team All-Pro offensive lineman, 2021 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, and current Amazon Thursday Night Football analyst, joined GN Sports to discuss what he's seen out of the Bears so far this season.He touched on a number of issues for the team as they get ready for Thursday night's gam...

Dean's A-List Interview: Audra McDonald

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:43:30 GMT

Dean sits down with Audra McDonald on "An Evening with Audra McDonald."Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!

'A hauntingly real tragedy': Why Austin Ghost Tours says national franchises are putting business at risk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:43:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As spookiness descends upon Austin, small local business Austin Ghost Tours said it is struggling. With Halloween on the horizon, this is a time when it should be booming. Owner of Austin Ghost Tours Jeanine Plumer said she and others in her line of work are living a real-life scary story. "What has happened is the concept of the local ghost tour has become a national franchise," Plumer said. "They spend a ton of money advertising, but the thing that they're doing is using our name... nobody cares."This spooky tale is nearly identical in at least three other cities: Fort Worth and Galveston, as well as Washington, D.C. "With these national chains... I'll get phone calls from people confusing my company with theirs," Gin Keel, owner of Spooky Galveston and Ghost Tours of Galveston, said. David Besgrove, of Cow Town Winery in the Fort Worth Stockyards, said they do ghost tours in the stockyards weekly, and they have also noticed an increasing problem with national ghos...