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With new video, Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota edges closer to Republican presidential race

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:19:39 GMT

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum took another step toward entering the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, posting a YouTube video on Monday touting his rise from a small town boy to a self-made software entrepreneur and a successful governor who has cut red tape and taxes.Although the video doesn’t mention it, Burgum has signed several new laws this year that restrict abortion rights and the rights of transgender people. One law bans schools and government agencies from requiring their employees to refer to transgender people by the pronouns they use. Another law — among the strictest in the nation — bans abortions throughout pregnancy with only slim exceptions up to six weeks’ gestation.Burgum is expected to announce his candidacy on Wednesday at a midday event in Fargo, two GOP operatives who had knowledge of Burgum’s plans told The Associated Press last month. The 66-year-old would enter an increasingly crowded field dominated by ex-President Donald Trump and Flor...

Prison service to review decision to transfer killer Bernardo to medium security

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:19:39 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal prison service says it will have a second look at its decision to move convicted killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security facility as political leaders of all stripes react to the news with shock and outrage.In a statement, the Correctional Service of Canada says it will make sure the decision was appropriate, based on evidence, “and more importantly, adequately considered victims.”The service says Bernardo’s crimes were horrific, but it remains mum on the reasons for the transfer from a maximum-security prison.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday he understands how “shocked and appalled” Canadians are at the decision.Trudeau said that’s why Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino will be raising the matter with the commissioner of the correctional service this week. Bernardo’s move to a facility in Quebec was made public last week after the correctional service notified the lawyer representing the families of 15-ye...

US sanctions Russian intelligence-linked group over efforts to destabilize pro-Western Moldova

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:19:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed sanctions Monday on a group of people linked to Russian intelligence who it said had helped the Kremlin destabilize Moldova’s democratically elected, pro-Western government through protests in the Moldovan capital earlier this year.The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated seven members of a group linked to a sanctioned Moldovan oligarch, Ilan Shor, who fled Moldova in 2019 to evade a string of corruption charges and has since lived in Israel, where he was born. Shor, 36, is also the leader of Moldova’s Moscow-friendly Shor Party, which has held recurring anti-government protests since last fall. The protesters have demanded that the government fully subsidize citizens’ winter energy bills during a cost-of-living crisis and “not involve the country in war.” They also have called for Moldovan President Maia Sandu to step down.“These actors are a part of Russia’s global information operations that have also tar...

Mississippi harms free speech by requiring state permits before protests, lawsuit says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:19:39 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A new Mississippi law will restrict free speech by requiring people to obtain permission from state law enforcement officials for any protest near the statehouse, Governor’s Mansion or other state government buildings in the capital city of Jackson, according to a lawsuit that seeks to block the mandate from taking effect July 1.“Those who peacefully protest without state government authorization and who are charged with crimes for doing so may be prosecuted and sentenced to prison. This chills protected speech,” said the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign and several other organizations.The federal lawsuit was filed Thursday against the two people authorized to issue permits for protests or other events in parts of the majority-Black city: Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell and the chief of the state-run Capitol Police department, Bo Luckey.“These two officials, both white men, wil...

Britain’s Princess Eugenie gives birth to second son

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:19:39 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Princess Eugenie has given birth to a baby boy, Buckingham Palace announced Monday. Eugenie, the niece of King Charles III, and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, welcomed their son, Ernest George Ronnie Brooksbank, on May 30th. The baby, who weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce, is the couple’s second child. The couple’s eldest child, two-year-old August, is now a big brother.“He is named after his great great great Grandfather George, his Grandpa George and my Grandpa Ronald,” the princess said on her Instagram page. “Augie is loving being a big brother already.”Eugenie, 33, is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York. The child is 13th in line to the throne.The new parents uploaded one photo of the infant wearing a blue and white stocking cap and another of August gently touching his brother’s head. The Associated Press

B.C.’s Eby says Asia trade mission that omitted China helps prepare for ‘the worst’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:19:39 GMT

British Columbia Premier David Eby is wrapping up an Asian trade mission that omitted China and instead focused on Japan, South Korea and Singapore, a move Eby said was to guard against “the worst” happening in the region.Eby said the trip is part of an effort to grow trade and reduce the risks that come with international uncertainties, including those surrounding China, B.C.’s second-largest trade partner.The premier and his delegation have met, so far, with a range of businesses including a large Japanese rental housing company looking to break into the Canadian market.“Right now we see the tensions caused by the war in Ukraine, and sanctions on Russia, the relationship between the U.S. and China, Canada and China, and the volatility of international relationships,” Eby said in a phone interview from Singapore. “And it’s very obvious to me and to many British Columbians that being dependent on one or two major trading partners disproporti...

Waukegan woman dead after rollover crash, ejected from car

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:19:39 GMT

WAUKEGAN, Ill. -- A driver is dead after a vehicle rolled over several times and ejected a passenger Monday afternoon. Police identified the victim as a 31-year-old Waukegan resident. According to witnesses on the scene, the vehicle was traveling at a high speed northbound on Green Bay Road when it crossed into the southbound lanes and back into the northbound lanes.Police stated that the vehicle travelled off the roadways and rolled over several times. ‘Was hit 25 times’: Mother wants justice after 16-year-old son gunned down in Joliet Waukegan Fire Department attempted life-saving measures on the woman before transporting her to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. A passenger in the vehicle, a 50-year-old woman from Waukegan, was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.Waukegan police located 8.8 grams of what they tested to be heroin in the car. The reason for the vehicle losing control is unknown.There was no other information provided.

Chicago police sergeant on trial for pinning teen to the ground in Park Ridge

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:19:39 GMT

PARK RIDGE, Ill. — A bench trial is underway Monday for a Chicago police sergeant who pinned a teenager to the ground last year in Park Ridge.Michael Vitellaro is charged with felony official misconduct and aggravated battery. Video of the incident captured the officer, who was off-duty at the time, with his knee on a teen's back as the boy is lying facedown on the sidewalk in front of the Starbucks at 100 South Northwest Highway. Chicago cop charged after video shows him pinning down teen in front of Park Ridge Starbucks Nicole Nieves says her son, Josh, was moving what appeared to be an abandoned bike out of the way when the encounter occurred. The sergeant accused Josh of trying to steal that bike, which belonged to the officer’s son. Nieves said her son had his own bike with him.Vitellaro, a 22-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, was relieved of his police powers.

Loyola Medicine donates ambulance, medical supplies to Ukraine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:19:39 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — An ambulance donated by Loyola Medicine to Ukraine, covered with signatures and messages of support, was blessed ahead of being shipped overseas. On Monday, Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich joined Loyola Medicine leaders, Serhiy Koledov, Consul General of Ukraine in Chicago, and elected officials at a press conference to bless the ambulance and mark the beginning of its long journey to Ukraine. SEE ALSO: Blinken warns Ukraine cease-fire now would result in ‘Potemkin peace,’ legitimizing Russian invasionLoyola gave the medical emergency vehicle a tune-up and filled it with stretchers and additional EMS supplies. 'US Ambulances for Ukraine' will deliver the vehicle to the frontlines of war-torn Ukraine. "We are beyond excited and grateful to be helping those in Ukraine," said Tim Prokop CCEMT-P, operations manager for Loyola Medicine Transport.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesSince March 2022, U.S. Ambulances for Ukraine has facilitated the donati...

The secret summer lives of American schools

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:19:39 GMT

(The Hill) – Every summer, America’s tens of thousands of public schools undergo a transformation as regular but radical as any in nature. Emptied of their students and staff, many hibernate. But others transform.Public school buildings take up around 2 million acres of land, according to the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, often in the middle of communities where they are most accessible. And in the summertime lull, they play host to everything from water parks to church services.“This year, we're going to have a Minecraft coding camp in our building,” Crystal Thorpe, the principal of Fishers Junior High School in Fishers, Ind., told The Hill, adding that her campus will also be used for basketball, volleyball and orchestra camps.   See a paw print sticker on a mailbox? Why you shouldn’t remove it Camps and summer school classes are indeed both highly popular options. Research group Think Impact found more than 3.3 million students went to summer school in 2020 to either retake ...