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Meet the judge presiding over Trump’s criminal arraignment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:57 GMT

(CNN) — When Donald Trump enters a New York courtroom on Tuesday, he’ll face a seasoned judge who is no stranger to the former president’s orbit.Acting New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan has sentenced Trump’s close confident Allen Weisselberg to prison, presided over the Trump Organization tax fraud trial and overseen former adviser Steve Bannon’s criminal fraud case.But Trump’s historic arraignment on Tuesday will perhaps be Merchan’s most high-profile case to date, even after a long career atop the state-level trial court.Merchan has been described by observers as a “tough” judge, yet one who is fair, no matter who is before him.Here’s what you need to know.“A man of his word’Trump’s arraignment is likely to be a spectacle with a show of law enforcement and with the former president already fanning the flames on social media with his views on Merchan and his indictment.But in the courthouse, ...

Cooler and breezy Sunday, a few unsettled days this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:57 GMT

7Weather – What a day we had yesterday! Scattered showers through the morning, then highs reached the 60s as we broke out into some sun. That dynamic system that brought severe weather across the country is offshore. Behind it we have a gusty northwest wind.The northwest wind is bringing in colder air. Those high temperatures you see below were felt around midnight. As the wind cranked up overnight, temperatures fell into the upper 30s/40s. That wind direction also brings in drier air, so we’ll eventually see a lot of sunshine. It’ll be offset by the cool breeze. Highs will stay in the 40s. Overnight, the wind will relax and it’ll be mainly clear. That’ll help temperatures fall near/below freezing. By sunrise, we’ll see some filtered sun. Tomorrow morning will be the last of the cooler air for a few days. Temperatures then rebound to the 50s. The wind will be out of the southwest, so that wind coming off the chilly ocean water will keep it cooler ...

Column: April is shaping up to be an all-timer for Chicago sports fans. Here’s the schedule of must-see events.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:57 GMT

The spring of our discontent has arrived, and April figures to be an interesting month for followers of Chicago’s not-so Fab Five.Four of our professional teams — the Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox — are all in action, while the Bears are on the clock. Throw in a mayoral election and some inclement weather and you have the three staples of the Chicago food group — sports, politics and weather — intermingling. When all is said and done, it could be an April for the ages, a month of potential goodbyes and welcome backs, from Jonathan Toews and Nikola Vučević to Jason Heyward.April also marks the opening steps of the six-month slog for our two summer teams and very well could be the end of the line for our winter teams, the two occupiers of the United Center. Even for Chicago sports fans used to multitasking games, it’s everything everywhere all at once.The re-rebuild of the Hawks, not to be confused with the Stan Bowman-led rebuild ...

Ex-Arkansas GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson is running for president

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:57 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he’s running for president in 2024, offering himself as an alternative for Republicans ready to turn the party away from Donald Trump. “I’m running because I believe that I am the right time for America, the right candidate for our country and its future,” he said.Hutchinson told ABC’s “This Week” in an interview aired Sunday that he would make a formal announcement in April in Arkansas. “I’m convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America and not simply appeal to our worst instincts,” he said.Hutchinson, 72, left office in January after eight years as governor. He has ramped up his criticism of the former president in recent months, calling another Trump presidential nomination the “worst scenario” for Republicans and saying it likely benefit President Joe Biden’s chances in 2024.“I have made a decision and my decision is I’m going to run for president of the United State...

More Ecuadorians move to U.S., spared many others’ hurdles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:57 GMT

SPRING VALLEY, New York (AP) — Kléver Ortega and Cristina Lema had a good life until COVID-19 crippled Ecuador’s economy.Ortega was a house-painting contractor and there was work until demand dried up in the pandemic. The entrepreneurial couple launched a pair of food stands. “Then the pandemic hit those, too,” Lema said. With unemployment, instability and crime rising, they decided to leave for the U.S., following many friends, family and acquaintances.“We used to hear it in the street: ‘They left. Look who else abandoned their business and took off,’” Lema said. “That’s when we, too, told ourselves, ‘We aren’t earning enough to survive or pay debts.’”Ecuador — long known for remarkably low rates of crime, despite sitting in South America’s cocaine heartland — is earthquake-prone and has been struggling economically, fighting higher violence and losing its people in record numbers. Like Ortega and Lema, many are headed to the U.S.; the number of Ecuadorians detained near the border...

Iraqi federal and Kurdish officials reach oil export deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:57 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Authorities in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region said Sunday they have reached a deal with the central government in Baghdad that will allow oil exports from the northern Kurdish region by way of Turkey to resume.Officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish government, have long been at odds over oil revenues, a dispute that has been exacerbated by the lack of a federal law detailing the sharing of funds from oil and gas exports.The agreement comes after an arbitration process by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) last sided with Iraq over a long-standing dispute over the independent export of oil by the Kurdish regional government.Exports via a pipeline that goes through Iraq’s Fish Khabur border crossing to Turkey’s Ceyhan port will resume this week, according to Lawk Ghafuri, spokesperson for the Kurdish regional government.Iraq filed for arbitration against Turkey in 2014 after the Kurdish region began exporting the resource without the cons...

$90 cream and $10 toothpaste: Companies target big spenders

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Companies from toothpaste makers to even discounters are adding more premium items like designer body creams and services as they reach out to wealthier shoppers who are still spending freely even in the face of higher inflation and a volatile economic environment.Think $10 toothpastes and $90 creams on supermarket shelves.Retailers and consumer product companies felt justified in raising prices to offset higher costs from gnarled supply chains and Russia’s war in Ukraine last year. But as those financial pressures ease, some are looking for new ways to pump up sales and profits by focusing on premium items amid an overall sales slowdown. “If you want to hedge against the economic challenges, you hedge your bets by chasing after the upper income,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry adviser at market research firm Circana.Many companies that normally cater to middle-income shoppers are unleashing a bevy of premium items in an attempt to grab consumers with more money ...

US Midwest, South reel from pack of tornadoes that killed 26

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:57 GMT

WYNNE, Ark. (AP) — Residents across a wide swath of the South and Midwest on Sunday raced to assess the destruction wreaked by storms that dropped possibly dozens of tornadoes and killed at least 26 people in small towns and big cities.The storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital, collapsing the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois and stunning people throughout the region Saturday with the damage’s scope.Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least eight states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered trees and laid waste to neighborhoods across a broad swath of the country. The dead included at least nine in one Tennessee county; four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas; three in Sullivan, Indiana; and four in Illinois. Other deaths from the storms that hit Friday night into Saturday were reported in Alabama and Mississippi, along with one near Little Rock, Arkansas, where city officials said more than 2,600 buildings were in a tornado’s path.Residents ...

Sunday Forecast: Mostly sunny and mild, high 50s

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:57 GMT

Sunday's forecast is looking mostly sunny, breezy & milder. Cooler lakeside. SW 15-20, G30 mph. Air quality in the Good category in Chicagoland. High: 58Sunday Night: Increasing clouds late and not as cold. SSW 10-20 mph, decreasing overnight. Low: 43Monday: Mostly cloudy and chance of showers. Cooler by the lake. S/E 5-10 mph. High mid 50s. Full forecast details at the WGN Weather CenterExtended outlook calls for Tuesday's low 60s to be accompanied with showers/thunderstorms -- some could again be strong to severe. Sunnier and cooler on Wednesday with highs in the seasonal mid 50s. Near 50 and sunny on Thursday. Cloudy on Friday with highs near 50. 

Spring and summer arts and fun: From glass to paper to bedsheets, stories of culture and the self take many forms at Twin Cities galleries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:57 GMT

If there’s a theme to be found in the Twin Cities art scene this spring and summer, it’s this: Fine art is more than just painting.It’s also glass, at the Cafesjian Art Trust. Woodcarving, at the American Swedish Institute. Billowing textiles, at the Walker Arts Center. Ancient bronze, at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Bookbinding and printing, at the Friedli Gallery. Experimental sculpture, at Night Club, downtown St. Paul’s newest contemporary gallery.Here’s a selection, arranged by month, of some of the many gallery shows and studio exhibitions coming up in St. Paul and the greater Twin Cities this season.A quick note: Plenty of art fairs, including the St. Paul Arts Crawl, are also taking place this spring and summer and are included in the Festivals and Family Fun section of our arts guide.AprilOpenings:April 7, Book Arts Exhibition — Friedli Gallery, St. Paul: Book artist Erin Maurelli is curating an exhibition that focuses on printing arts — including letterpress, zines, s...