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Tropical Storm Ophelia gathers strength off the mid-Atlantic coast, promising heavy rain and wind

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:44 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Tropical Storm Ophelia was gaining strength as it churned toward the North Carolina coast on Friday, promising a weekend of heavy rain and windy conditions throughout the mid-Atlantic.Forecasters issued a hurricane watch for parts of eastern North Carolina, saying Ophelia showed the potential to gather even more strength as it passes over warm Gulf Stream waters in the coming hours. The storm is expected to make landfall in North Carolina on Saturday morning and dump as much as 7 inches (17.7 centimeters) across portions of the state and into southeast Virginia.The intensifying weather system spun up into a tropical storm on Friday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. A storm surge warning was in effect for some areas, with surges between 3 and 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 meters) forecast for parts of North Carolina, the hurricane center reported.The governors of North Carolina and Virginia declared a state of em...

At the edge of the UN security perimeter, those with causes (and signs) try to be heard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Daniel Pedro came to the U.S. from Angola five months ago. He works construction in the New York City borough of Queens. Kadija Tyler made the journey from Senegal to Harlem. She works in sales in a department store. Neither is a full-time activist. But they and many others this week spent the first days of the U.N. General Assembly holding homemade signs decrying what they call abuses in their homelands. Outside the enormous perimeter of police and barricades that surrounds the United Nations this time of year, there is a park dedicated to U.N.-centered protests. And a variety of dedicated groups show up in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza throughout the year to draw attention to their causes.The General Assembly, the most inherently international event, is also the most American — a place where people raised unfree come to speak out because they can.In official protest locations and just plain street corners, the heavily secured streets outside the United Nations complex wer...

Iowa man disappears on the day a jury finds him guilty of killing his wife

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:44 GMT

OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) — Police were searching for an Iowa man who failed to show up at his first-degree murder trial on Friday, the day a jury found him guilty of killing his wife.A judge issued an arrest warrant for Gregory Showalter Sr. of Ottumwa after he missed the reading of the jury verdict, according to the Ottumwa Courier.Showalter, 63, had been out on bail since August 2021, when a judge allowed him to post 10% of his $250,000 bond as long as he attended court hearings and wore a GPS monitor. He had been charged with first-degree murder and other offenses in the strangulation death of his wife, 60-year-old Helen Showalter.Prosecutors argued that Showalter killed his wife on July 31, 2021, and then dumped her body along the Des Moines River near Ottumwa. Her body was found floating in the river the next morning.Jurors reached a verdict just after 1 p.m. Friday and Showalter’s lawyer said he called his client and told him to come to the Wapello County Courthouse. When Show...

Gun violence is the ultimate ‘superstorm,’ President Biden says as he announces new federal effort

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday he was determined to stop gun violence in the U.S. as he formally launched the first-ever federal office to be dedicated to uncovering solutions and supporting communities ravaged by shootings. “After every mass shooting, we hear a simple message … do something. Please do something,” he said from the Rose Garden, where he was joined by lawmakers and families of victims of gun violence. “My administration has been working relentlessly to do something.”The new office of gun violence prevention will be led by Vice President Kamala Harris, a former prosecutor whose experience is perfect for this effort, Biden said. The office’s goals include ensuring a bipartisan gun safety law passed last year is fully implemented nationwide along with Biden’s executive actions to stop gun violence. It will seek to find new actions the White House can take unilaterally as further congressional support for gun safety laws seems sl...

Jewish groups celebrate as Quebec man sentenced to 15 months for fomenting hatred

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:44 GMT

MONTREAL — A Quebec man convicted of promoting hatred against Jews has been sentenced to 15 months in jail and three years of probation, in what Jewish groups are calling a major victory in the battle against antisemitism and online hate. Gabriel Sohier Chaput represents a continued risk to society because he hasn’t grasped the seriousness of his “highly reprehensible actions” or the harm they caused, Quebec court Judge Manlio Del Negro told a Montreal courtroom Friday.“Unfortunately, the years that have passed since the infraction was committed don’t appear to have shaken his radicalized convictions,” Del Negro said.“The delinquent expresses neither regret nor empathetic thoughts regarding his victims for his criminal act.” Sohier Chaput was found guilty in January, after the judge ruled that a 2017 article published on the neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer actively promoted hatred of Jewish people. The accused wrote more than 800 articles...

B.C. RCMP officer was getting chest compressions, another had leg wound: witness

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:44 GMT

COQUITLAM, B.C. — At least two RCMP officers have been injured in what is being described as a critical incident in the Metro Vancouver city of Coquitlam. Carley Hodges said Friday near the scene that she saw one officer being taken out of a building on a stretcher while getting chest compressions. “They were bringing him to the ambulance and they were giving him CPR, they were going back and forth, like really going at it,” said Hodges, adding that she saw blood on the injured officer. A second officer was bleeding from the leg with a tourniquet above it, she said. Hodges said she saw a man in handcuffs and described a frantic scene, with “tons of police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks coming in.” Premier David Eby told reporters that a critical incident had happened in the city, but the public was no longer in danger. Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said he was briefed about the incident along with the premier and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth. Stewart...

Lawn mowers and equipment valued at $100,000 stolen from parking lot at Soldier Field

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:44 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Lawn mowers and other equipment valued at around $100,000 have been stolen from a parking lot at Soldier Field, home to the Chicago Bears, a spokesperson said.The equipment belonging to a subcontractor was taken sometime overnight Wednesday, stadium spokesperson Luca Serra said.The equipment was wedged between a trailer and a fence, he said.“They tore out the fence overnight and walked away with $100,000 in equipment,” Serra told the Chicago Tribune.“It has nothing to do with the Bears,” he said.The equipment was insured, and the stadium and subcontractor are working with police to identify the thieves and determine what steps can be taken to better secure the area, Serra said.The theft was not recorded by surveillance cameras, he said. Such a major theft hasn’t happened at the stadium before, Serra said.“Unfortunately, you can’t put a security guard by everything,” Serra said. “We hope that this is just a one-off.”The Chicago Police Department said detectives a...

Human case of West Nile virus reported in Lake County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:44 GMT

LAKE COUNTY, Ill. — The Lake County Department of Public Health has confirmed its first human case of West Nile virus for 2023.Health officials said Friday that a Lake County resident in their 60s became ill in early September."Nobody likes to get sick, especially from something as little as a mosquito bite,” said Lake County Health Department's executive director Mark Pfister. “By taking steps to protect ourselves from mosquitoes, we can keep potentially severe illness at bay.”SEE ALSO: 2 DuPage County residents die from West Nile virusIn 2023, 144 out of 676 — 21% — batches of mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile virus.Health officials used this incident to encourage Illinoisians to practice the "4 Ds of Defense":Drain: Drain those items that collect standing water around your home, yard, or business. Scrub and refill pet water dishes and birdbaths regularly.Defend: Use an insect repellent containing DEET when outdoors and reapply according to directions.Dress: Wear long ...

Fall arrives in Chicago on a warm note

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:44 GMT

Here's what's ahead this final full weekend of September and over the coming two weeks;First a warmer than normal weekend is ahead—and a weekend which should average 6-deg warmer than last weekend. And as indicated yesterday, modeling indicates we're in an EXTENDED PERIOD OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS with each day over the coming 2 weeks predicted to average ABOVE NORMAL.  This week will finish 3-deg above normal; next week should come in 6-deg above normal and the week after is to come in 9-deg above normal if current forecast trends continue. As also indicated yesterday, an ATMOSPHERIC BLOCKING PATTERN IS COMING TOGETHER ACROSS EASTERN & CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA. What's known as a REX BLOCK is developing aloft. This is where an expanded dome of warm air develops at the same time low pressure develops to the south. When that happens, the jet stream splits around the block and a good deal of weather movement between the two streams slows down.  This will have the effect of locking the abo...

'The Great Dechurching' hitting cities across America

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:44 GMT

CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Throughout the nation, one can spot aging, abandoned churches falling into despair, with some even bearing graffiti inside. However, on any given day, you could pass by an unassuming building like Soul City Church in Chicago without realizing that hundreds of Gen Z'ers gather there to worship. What becomes evident is American spirituality isn't fading away; rather, it's undergoing a transformation. A third of US adults identify as spiritual not religious, poll YouTubers are also providing virtual tours of these dilapidated, graffiti-covered old churches, offering viewers a glimpse inside.These churches, once community cornerstone, now have empty pews. However, what might not be immediately evident is the vibrant gathering of young people, often in modest surroundings, uniting to worship.Pastor Jarrett Stevens of Soul City Church in Chicago is very aware of the dechurching trends, but appears to have found a solution."The average age of our church right now ...