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Virginia Democrats warn Republicans will ban abortion; GOP says their rhetoric is fearmongering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Republicans stepped up their criticism this week of the rhetoric being used by their Democratic opponents in abortion-focused messaging in this year’s critical legislative elections. A recent flurry of Democratic-sponsored ads and mailers in battleground districts expected to determine political control of the General Assembly have warned that Republicans would use a newfound legislative majority to ban abortion, including in cases where the pregnancy resulted from rape or a mother’s life was at risk. Virginia, currently under divided political control, now allows elective abortions in the first and second trimesters and is the only Southern state that has not implemented new restrictions since the end of Roe v. Wade. In their messaging, Democrats have cited recent strict bans enacted in other GOP-led states, along with Republican candidates’ legislative records, past public statements and news articles, to bolster their claims. Republ...

Bank records show accused killer was in the same city on day a B.C. girl was killed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

VANCOUVER — A senior investigator at Vancouver City Savings Credit Union saysa bank account registered toIbrahim Ali shows transactions in Burnaby, B.C., on July 18, 2017, the same day a 13-year-old was murdered in a city park. Rick Mihic told Ali’s first-degree murder trial in B.C. Supreme Court that there were three purchases made from Ali’s account that day, including one from a Freshslice Pizza and two others from a Chevron.However, he testified he wasn’t able to tell the address of the businesses or the time the purchases happened from the records.Ali has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of the teen, whose name is under a publication ban.The girl’s body was found in Burnaby’s Central Park early on July 19, 2017, just hours after her mother reported her missing.Crown attorney Isobel Keeley said in her opening statement in April that the court would hear evidence showing the murder was random, but cellphone and bank records prov...

Winnipeg man pleads guilty to manslaughter over death of Saskatchewan RCMP officer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

REGINA — A Winnipeg man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a Saskatchewan RCMP officer. Alphonse Stanley Traverse pleaded guilty to the charge in Regina Court of King’s Bench for his role in Const. Shelby Patton’s death.RCMP have said the 26-year-old Mountie was hit by a vehicle in 2021 in the town of Wolseley, east of Regina, after stopping a suspected stolen truck. Traverse also pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing a motor vehicle. He is expected to make a another court appearance in January for sentencing. Marlene Velma Louise Pagee of Winnipeg is also facing one count of accessory to murder after the fact over Patton’s death.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2023.The Canadian Press

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs law to protect doctors who mail abortion pills to other states

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law on Wednesday that aims to stop other states from prosecuting doctors and pharmacists who mail abortion pills to patients in places where the procedure is banned.California already has a law protecting doctors who provide abortions from out-of-state judgements. But that law was designed to protect doctors who treat patients from other states who travel to California.The new law goes further by forbidding authorities from cooperating with out-of-state investigations into doctors who mail abortion pills to patients in other states. It also bans bounty hunters or bail agents from apprehending doctors and pharmacists in California and transporting them to another state to stand trial for providing an abortion.Other states, including New York and Massachusetts, have similar laws. But California’s law also bars state-based social media companies — like Facebook — from complying with out-of-state subpoenas, warran...

Following theft, Balmain shows defiance with flowers in rose-filled Paris Fashion Week show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

PARIS (AP) — At Paris Fashion Week, designer Olivier Rousteing, the creative mastermind behind Balmain, put on a defiant runway display Wednesday, just days after garments from his collection were stolen from a truck loaded at Charles de Gaulle airport. Rousteing poured his woes into a show that radiated opulence through a floral lens amid rebellious and haunting melodies. The celebrity applause — including from Cher and Kim Cattrall — also may have helped buoy him a little.Here are some highlights of spring summer 2024 shows:FROM STEIN TO STEM: BALMAIN’S NOD TO AN ICONIC FRIENDSHIPWhen Gertrude Stein, a close confidant of house founder Pierre Balmain, penned “a rose is a rose is a rose,” she likely never envisaged its metamorphosis into a Paris runway’s guiding theme. Yet, Rousteing, embracing this iconic friendship, orchestrated a floral ode for Balmain’s Spring 2024 show.Rousteing channeled the essence of Balmain’s couture from the late 1940s and early 1950s, celebrating Pierre’s...

Quebec coroner hears from grieving families; concern over gunman’s medication change

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

MONTREAL — The older brother of a mentally ill man who killed three people at random during a 24-hour shooting spree in the Montreal area last year told a coroner Wednesday he questions why his medication regime had been changed before the killings.Sakir Shaikh said that Abdulla Shaikh’s mental health problems first arose in 2018 and resurfaced two years later, leading to two lengthy stays in hospital. But Sakir said Wednesday he questions why the hospital adjusted his brother’s medication from monthly injections to every three months, noting the next injection was scheduled for a few days after he was killed by police. He did not specify what the medication was.Coroner Géhane Kamel is presiding over the inquiry into the August 2022 murders of André Lemieux, 64, Mohamed Belhaj, 48, and Alex Lévis Crevier, 22, as well as the death of Abdulla Shaikh, 26, who was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police at a Montreal motel. He had two ghost guns — homemade artisanal wea...

1 dead, 2 hurt after RV destroyed in fire at suburban gas station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

STICKNEY, Ill. — One person is dead and two others are injured following a fire at a gas station in the southwest suburbs.Emergency crews remain on scene at the Gas-N-Wash gas station in the 3800 block of South Cicero in Stickney near the border of Cicero and Chicago.The blaze was reported around 3:30 p.m.Video obtained by WGN News from the CitizenApp showed the RV engulfed in flames.The area remains blocked off for an investigation. One lane on southbound Cicero Avenue is open at Pershing, however, as crews continue to investigate. Heavy delays continue in both directions. No word on what caused the blaze at this time.This is a developing story. Check back for details.

Skilling: Cloudy remainder of the week, possible showers may hit Chicagoland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

Chicagoan say NO signficant sunshine today. It's been a damp Wednesday marking the 7th consecutive day to log an ABOVE NORMAL TEMP (thanks to all the moisture today holding overnight temps up) and the 8th straight day of easterly wind in Chicago, which has whipped up waves on Lake Michigan.The persistence of the late season "warmth" and of the easterly winds is LIVING PROOF our showery upper air low pressure and a sprawling early autumn Canadian high pressure to the north are "hung up" in an UPPER ATMOSPHERIC BLOCKING PATTERN.  Blocking patterns slow weather system progression thus producing "extended stays" for weather. You essentially get "trapped" in the weather which is in place when the blocking pattern develops for a extended period of timeRainfalls with the current sporadically rainy have been ALL OVER THE MAP in terms of totals—with as much as 1.96" have fallen the past 2 days in Lake Geneva and 1.66" at Pell Lake—both in southern Wisconsin—plus 1.30" in Poplar Gro...

CPS seeking bus drivers as shortage leaves students finding other ways to get to, from school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

CHICAGO -- Many school districts across the nation are experiencing a bus driver shortage, including in the Chicago Public Schools system.The Chicago Public Schools are forcing buses to limit the number of students they can transport to and from school.Incentives such as bonuses and higher hourly wages are being offered by school bus vendors, according to CPS' Operations Chief Charles Mayfield.Despite the efforts, the Chicago Board of Education has been forced to limit bus service to its most vulnerable population: students with disabilities, known as Diverse Learners, and students dealing with temporary living situations.The CPS' Operations Chief has urged parents to check with their school office about travel stipends for families with Diverse Learners and Students in Temporary Living Situations (STLS). A stipend of $500 a month based on attendance.Chicago Public Schools announced new funding to help selective enrollment and magnet schools families, but in a message released on We...

Spotted lanternfly found in Illinois: Should you be worried about them?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:52 GMT

(NEXSTAR/WGN) — Depending on where you live, you may have come face to face (literally, they have flown into people’s faces) with the spotted lanternfly. The invasive species has been detected in more than a dozen states. Add Illinois to the growing list.The Illinois Department of Agriculture has confirmed the first detection of spotted lanternfly (Lycorma deliculata) in Illinois. But do residents need to be concerned? The short answer, as you may have guessed, is yes. But, you can’t exactly prepare for the lanternfly’s arrival either. The spotted lanternfly is native to China and was first reported in the U.S. in 2014. A Pennsylvania forester noticed the bug, pictured below, found one in the southeastern portion of his state. The bug has since spread to at least 14 other states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture: Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia and...