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EU defends its Libya migrant record over UN team allegations

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:58:51 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Tuesday defended its record on helping relieve the suffering of migrants in Libya after U.N.-backed investigators accused the 27-nation bloc of abetting human rights abuses and other crimes in the largely lawless north African country.Libya is a major departure point for people from northern Africa and elsewhere willing to make the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing in poorly maintained boats in search of better lives or sanctuary in Europe.At least 529 migrants were reported dead and 848 others missing off Libya last year, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM). More than 24,680 people were intercepted by the Libyan coastguard as they tried to leave, and brought back.Presenting a report on Monday by a U.N.-commissioned fact-finding mission to Libya, investigator Chaloka Beyani said that EU assistance to the Libyan authorities, migration department and the coastguard “has aided and abetted the comm...

Unprecedented construction needed in B.C. to offset record immigration: Report

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:58:51 GMT

VANCOUVER — A new report says home construction in British Columbia will need to rise to unprecedented levels to offset the impact of record immigration on the housing market. The B.C. Real Estate Association says the province must build 25 per cent more new homes than usual for the next five years to address deteriorating housing affordability. It says construction needs to be ramped up to a record 43,000 housing completions a year for the next five years to counteract rapid population growth.Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist with the association, says lowering price growth so incomes can catch up to prices is integral to improving housing affordability in B.C.He says increasing supply would ease the upward pressure on housing prices from an immigration-driven demand shock and if sustained, help improve overall affordability.The report says B.C. is expected to welcome an estimated 217,500 new permanent residents from 2023 to 2025, nearly double the historical average immigration l...

Woman shot in face while driving in Lawndale

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:58:51 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman was shot in the face while driving late Monday night in Lawndale.At around 11:40 p.m., police responded to the 3900 block of West 16th Street on the report of a shooting.Police said a 28-year-old woman was driving westbound on 16th Street when shots were fired from an unknown suspect. 39-year-old man shot while driving on South Side The woman was shot in the face and transported to Mt. Sinai in critical condition.No one is in custody. Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.

CTA employee charged after man found dead in Blue Line stairwell

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:58:51 GMT

CHICAGO — A CTA employee has been charged in connection with the death of a man found beaten in a CTA stairwell early Saturday morning.Police have charged 39-year-old Emmett Richardson with aggravated battery. Richardson was arrested Saturday afternoon and identified as the man who beat a 54-year-old man at the CTA LaSalle Blue Line station. Previous Coverage: CPD investigating after man found dead in stairwell at CTA’s Lasalle Blue Line Station, CTA employee in custody The 54-year-old was found unresponsive in a stairwell landing around 4:01 a.m. Saturday in the 100 block of West Congress Parkway.The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.Richardson is due in court Tuesday. No additional information has been released.

$1.1 million jackpot won in northern Illinois

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:58:51 GMT

ILLINOIS — A fourth Lucky Day Lotto jackpot has been won in March after two tickets were sold matching all five winning numbers.The tickets were purchased for Sunday's midday draw and had the numbers 1 - 5 - 21 - 25 - 41. Chicago suburbs’ most expensive home for sale One ticket was bought in Lakemoor at Woodman's Food Market, while the other was bought in Durand at Kinney Pump House.The jackpot prize will be split between the two tickets meaning each is worth $550,000. That also means the retailers which sold the tickets will receive a $5,500 bonus.

Migrants set mattresses afire at Mexico center where 39 died

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:58:51 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Migrants fearing deportation set mattresses ablaze at an immigration detention center in Mexico, starting a fire that left 39 dead, Mexico’s president said Tuesday. It was one of the the deadliest incidents ever at an immigration lockup in the country.Hours after the fire broke out late Monday, rows of bodies were laid out under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, which is across from El Paso, Texas, and a major crossing point for migrants. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue swarmed the scene.Thirty-nine people died and 29 were injured and are in “delicate-serious” condition, according to the National Immigration Institute. There were 68 men from Central and South America held in the facility at the time of the fire, the agency said.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called the incident unfortunate and said the director of country’s immigration agency was on the scene.“They never imagined that this would cause this terri...

Pair in fishing scandal plead guilty to cheating in walleye tournament

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:58:51 GMT

CLEVELAND (WJW) — Two men accused of cheating in a walleye fishing tournament on Lake Erie pleaded guilty on Monday.Jacob Runyan, 43, of Ashtabula, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 36, of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, were each indicted in October on felony charges of cheating, attempted grand theft and possessing criminal tools, and a misdemeanor count of illegal animal ownership. They initially pleaded not guilty. Man accused in fishing scandal faces new charge after bowling alley incident But on Monday, each pleaded guilty to a felony count of cheating and a misdemeanor animal ownership violation. The remaining charges were dismissed.The pair is due for sentencing on May 11.Jacob RunyanChase Cominsky in a Cuyahoga County court on charges related to the fishing tournament (WJW photo).Jacob Runyan, left, and Chase Cominsky, sit in court as they are arraigned, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, in Cleveland. The two pleaded not guilty to cheating and other charges in a lucrative fishing tournament on ...

Trump says he feels like Elvis after Jan. 6 choir song hits No. 1 on the charts

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:58:51 GMT

(The Hill) -- Former President Donald Trump said he feels “like Elvis” after his song with a group of men convicted for the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol hit the top of music charts. “It’s Donald Trump and the J Six prisoners,” Trump said in a new interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity.“On iTunes and on Amazon and on Billboard, which is the big deal, No. 1. Donald Trump," he said. "So now I feel like Elvis."The single “Justice for All” — a rendition of the “The Star-Spangled Banner” sung by prisoners as Trump recites the Pledge of Allegiance — hit number one on Billboard’s digital song sales chart.  5 big questions if Trump gets indicted It also hit the top of the iTunes sales chart. The proceeds benefit those incarcerated in connection with Jan. 6.“It was No. 1. And you know what that is? That's a tribute to the fact that people feel that J Six people have been very unfairly treated,” Trump said. The former president opened his first official 2024 ...

Dean's A-List Interview: Taron Egerton on 'Tetris'

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:58:51 GMT

CHICAGO - If you grew up over the last generation, there is a good chance that you played this addictive game on one of the many platforms it was available. Now the story of "Tetris" and how it came from Russia to America is headed to Apple TV+.The movie, which is named after the famed puzzle game, stars Golden Globe winner Taron Egerton in the role of Henk Rogers, who took the game created in the Soviet Union worldwide in the 1980s. Ahead of the film's release on Friday, Dean Richards spoke to Egerton on "Dean's A-List Interview" on Tuesday's WGN Morning News. The actor discussed playing a number of unique roles in his career along with his own experience playing "Tetris."You can watch this edition of "Dean's A-List Interview" with Egerton in the video above or below. 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!

'LaSalle Street Reimagined' progresses to next stage

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:58:51 GMT

CHICAGO — Underutilized office space in The Loop will become apartments as part of a plan being pushed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot during her final weeks in office.LaSalle Street Reimagined was first presented to the public in Sep. 2022 with the goal of encouraging redevelopment and reinvestment along LaSalle Street between Washington Street and Jackson Boulevard. The initiative aims to provide TIF District backed grant funding for the "conversion of underutilized commercial spaces with mixed-income residential uses and related public amenities," and to "create a more neighborhood-oriented atmosphere within the corridor’s ground-level interior spaces," according to the plan's proposal. WGN Poll: Vallas leading Johnson in Chicago Mayoral runoff election Nine initial responses were narrowed to a list of six, and Tuesday Lightfoot has an event scheduled for an announcement about LaSalle Street, according to a release from her office.WGN plans to livestream the announcement in its entiret...