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Jill Biden calls swearing in of the 1st woman national archivist ‘momentous’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — First Lady Jill Biden saluted Colleen Shogan, the first woman to be sworn in as national archivist, saying on Monday that democracy’s power is “made real with access to history, unfiltered and uncensored.” Shogan, a former government and politics professor at George Mason University, heads the National Archives and Records Administration, which maintains billions of documents — including the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Louisiana Purchase, Harriet Tubman’s Civil War pension claims and Thomas Edison’s patent for the lightbulb.During a formal swearing-in ceremony, Biden noted that the nation’s historic documents were once held by George Washington and later by the State Department, before being entrusted to the National Archives, founded by Congress in 1934. “The history of a democracy belongs to its people, and we must preserve it with care for future generations,” the first lady said. “As far back as the Constitutional Conven...

Man who crashed car hours before Hurricane Idalia’s landfall is fourth Florida death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:16 GMT

DADE CITY, Fla. (AP) — A fatal single-vehicle crash just hours before Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida has been declared the state’s fourth death from the Category 3 storm, officials said Monday.A 40-year-old man driving in heavy rain went off the roadway and hit a tree near Dade City in the Tampa Bay area on Aug. 30, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Hurricane Idalia made landfall later that morning with 125 mph (201 kph) winds across the state in Florida’s remote Big Bend region.Other Idalia-related deaths in Florida confirmed by the state’s 25 local district medical examiners are a man who died in a traffic crash near Gainesville hours before Idalia made landfall, a windsurfer who went missing that same day off Florida’s Space Coast and an older adult who was struck by a falling tree after the storm passed while clearing debris with a tractor.A man in Valdosta, Georgia, also died when a tree fell on him as he tried to clear another tree ...

Colorado deputies who tased a man multiple times are fired following an investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:16 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Two Colorado sheriff’s deputies were fired after an investigation found their repeated use of Tasers against a man, including in his lower lip, was unjustified, the Las Animas County Sheriff’s office confirmed Monday.Deputy Mikhail Noel and Lt. Henry Trujillo violated a number of agency policies, including inappropriately using a Taser against Kenneth Espinoza while he was handcuffed and inaccurately reporting what happened, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office.Investigators also recommended referring the matter for a criminal probe, alleging that Noel’s and Trujillo’s actions during the traffic stop escalated the use of physical force, bodily injury and false arrest. It is unknown if a criminal investigation has been launched.“The existence of excessive and unlawful force was so apparent here that there’s really only one conclusion,” said attorney Kevin Mehr, who’s representing Espinoza in lawsuits against the deputies and the sherif...

Joliet rodeo accused of animal abuse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:16 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. — A popular Joliet rodeo has been hit with a temporary restraining order after an animal rights group documents alleged animal abuse.  This is part of a Mexican-style rodeo act which is popular not just in Illinois but around the country.  They’re well-attended with musical acts, food and alcohol being a big part of the experience. they can operate as long as owners follow animal welfare rules. Recently, an organization approached Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow with a video that showed a steer suffering a leg injury during a Joliet Labor Day rodeo act. Steve Hindi leads the organization “Showing Animals Respect and Kindness” or SHARK.He said, as far as he could tell, the animal didn’t get the proper care that day.   Recent investigates from Lourdes: Chicago’s ‘Rat’ Rage Grows “He should’ve been secluded if a vet is not on site,” he said. “The vet should have been called immediately and the animal needs to be put down. It ...

AJ Freund DCFS trial begins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:16 GMT

MCHENRY COUNTY, Ill. — The trial for two former DCFS workers accused of reckless conduct related to the death of 5-year-old AJ Freund in April 2019 began on Monday.Andrew Polovin and Carlos Acosta were taken into custody and charged with two counts of endangering the life of a child and health of a minor and one count reckless conduct back in Sept. 2020.Both pleaded not guilty.Last December, a judge ruled that nearly 20 police reports that Polovin and Acosta allegedly failed to review will be allowed to be used in the trial.The same month Freund was killed, Acosta and Polovin were placed on desk duty and they both left the agency later that year.Carlos Acosta (L) and Andrew Polovin (R)Polovin was Acosta’s supervisor in the months before Andrew “AJ” Freund’s body was found in a shallow grave near his family’s Crystal Lake home in April 2019. Freund was tortured and beaten prior to his death.Documents allege that Polovin and Acosta “knowingly caused or permitted (AJ) … to be placed in...

White Sox-Royals game postponed Monday night due to rain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:16 GMT

CHICAGO — The start of the White Sox second-to-last homestand of the 2023 season will have to wait thanks to Mother Nature.Due to rain in the Chicago area, the team has postponed their game on Monday night against the Royals which was scheduled to begin at 6:40 p.m. The White Sox-Royals game scheduled for Monday evening at Guaranteed Rate Field has been postponed due to rain..It will be made up as a straight doubleheader Tuesday beginning at 3:40 p.m..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/ocZkWGF4JL— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) September 11, 2023They won't wait long to make the game up with little time left in the season, so both teams will take part in a straight doubleheader on Tuesday. Game 1 will begin at 3:40 p.m. with the second game starting 30-to-45 minutes after that contest but not before 6:40 p.m. Gates at Guaranteed Rate Field will open at 2:40 p.m. and fans with tickets to the originally scheduled game on Tuesday can attend both games. Those holding tickets for Monday's game ...

Where Sunday ranks among the Bears' worst opening games

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:16 GMT

CHICAGO — Even for a team coming off a three-win season, Sunday was a worst-case scenario for the Bears to open the 2023 season. The team was dominated by the Jordan Love-led Packers 38-20 at Soldier Field in one of the more forgettable season openers in recent memory. Some have wondered where the defeat ranked among the worst first games in Bears' history. From a margin perspective, it's high, but nowhere near the top. The 18-point defeat to Green Bay is the eighth-worst defeat in Bears' Week 1 history and is the second-worst at home. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)The worst opener in Bears' history was on September 7, 2003, when the Dick Jauron-led team was trounced by the 49ers 49-7 at Candlestick Park. It was the start of a 7-9 season and the end of the Jauron era of the team.Three times the Bears have lost their season opener by 28 points, which is the second-worst in team history. That includes the worst Week 1 loss at home which occurred in 1975, when the Colts beat the...

Police seek help locating woman missing since June

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:16 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are seeking help from the public as they search for a woman who was last seen in the city's Dunning neighborhood over two months ago. According to Chicago police, 40-year-old Olha Solovei-Zmiievska has been missing since Saturday, June 24. Solovei-Zmiievska was last seen around 11 a.m. in the 6200 block of West Belmont Avenue in Dunning. Police investigate string of early-morning armed robberies in Hyde Park, Kenwood Authorities say Solovei-Zmiievska is known to frequent the area near North Central Avenue and West Belmont Avenue and areas near the 2900 block of North Central Avenue in Belmont Cragin.According to police, Solovei-Zmiievska may have also been seen in the area near North Pulaski Road and West Fullerton Avenue in Logan Square and may also frequent the area of 500-600 South Austin Avenue in Chicago.  Police investigate string of armed robberies at liquor stores, bar on Northwest Side Police say Solovei-Zmiievsk has brown eyes and brown hair and h...

Vegas rapper arrested on murder charge after police say he wrote a song about the killing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:16 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) —  The lyrics in a rap music video on social media depict a Las Vegas man rapping about a murder he committed two years earlier, according to Las Vegas police documents.That was just one piece of evidence in the arrest report for 25-year-old Kenjuan McDaniel, who is currently being held at the Clark County Detention Center on charges of murder.McDaniel was taken into custody on an arrest warrant on Aug. 29, 2023, for a deadly shooting that occurred at an apartment building complex on W. Lake Mead Boulevard near Jones Boulevard on Sept. 18, 2021. Randall Wallace, 32, was killed in the shooting.For the past few years, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department followed leads to track down the suspect's car, which was captured on surveillance video, the handgun used in the shooting, as well as decipher the lyrics of a rap video recently posted on YouTube.During the investigation, detectives learned from witnesses that a shooting on July 19, 2021, was related to ...

American researcher rescued from deep Turkish cave more than a week after he fell ill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:16 GMT

TASELI PLATEAU, Turkey (AP) — Rescuers pulled Mark Dickey, an American researcher, out of a Turkish cave on Monday, more than a week after he became seriously ill more than 3,000 feet below its entrance, said the Speleological Federation of Turkey.Teams from across Europe had rushed to Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains to aid Mark Dickey, a 40-year-old experienced caver who became seriously ill on Sept. 2 with stomach bleeding. He was on an expedition to map the cave, which is the country’s third deepest.Dickey was too frail to climb out himself, so rescuers carried him with the help of a stretcher, making frequent stops at temporary camps set up along the way.Members of the CNSAS, Italian alpine and speleological rescuers, carry a stretcher with American researcher Mark Dickey during a rescue operation in the Morca cave, near Anamur, southern Turkey, Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. A rescue operation is underway in Turkey’s Taurus Mountains to bring out an American researche...