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Officials prepare for another bout of wildfires in Alberta as temperatures to rise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:51 GMT

Officials say they are preparing for hotter weather this coming weekend in central Alberta, posing a risk for more active wildfires after a brief reprieve.“The fire danger remains high in many northern areas of the province, which means that we can still see active wildfire behaviour there,” Christie Tucker, with Alberta Wildfire, told reporters Tuesday. “But in much of the southern and central parts of the province, firefighters have been helped by cooler temperatures and humidity.”Tucker said the mild conditions make it easier for crews to access fires and bring in heavy equipment to help create fire breaks around communities.As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 88 wildfires burning in the province, with 24 out of control. There were 24,000 people displaced. Indigenous Services Canada said in a release that nine First Nations were under threat. That includes Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, 360 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, where 1,600 people were forced to le...

Crump: Abuse victims set to sue Baltimore Archdiocese

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:51 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — After Maryland lawmakers recently eliminated the statute of limitations for child sex abuse lawsuits amid heightened scrutiny of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced plans Tuesday to bring a series of civil claims on behalf of victims.The threat of litigation comes as the the archdiocese faces continued fallout from a state report released last month that found more than 150 priests and other clergy in the archdiocese sexually abused over 600 children with impunity. The report, which the Maryland Attorney General’s Office produced after a yearslong investigation, paints a damning picture of the nation’s oldest Catholic diocese.Days after the report’s release, Gov. Wes Moore signed legislation to end Maryland’s statute of limitations for child sex abuse lawsuits effective Oct. 1. Previously, victims couldn’t sue after turning 38.Crump, best known for representing victims of police brutality, held a news conference Tuesday outside th...

Suspect in shooting outside Vegas school faces 25 felonies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:51 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — An 18-year-old accused of firing the shot that wounded an employee outside a middle school building in northeast Las Vegas is facing multiple felonies, police said Tuesday.The gunfire on Monday “took place a few blocks away from the school and a stray bullet struck the victim who was on school property,” Las Vegas police said in a statement identifying the suspect as Jessie Rios.Rios was being held Tuesday at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas on 25 charges including attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon and firearm offenses including discharging a gun within a prohibited area, court and jail records showed. If convicted, he could face decades in prison.Details about Rios’ arrest were not immediately made public by police, and jail records did not reflect if Rios had an attorney who could speak on his behalf. He was scheduled for an initial court appearance Wednesday. Las Vegas police Officer Luis Vidal said the school employee, a man who ...

Rare GOP votes in Texas for gun bill after mass shootings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:51 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — As a Republican in the Texas Capitol, Sam Harless turned heads: He voted in favor of a stricter gun law. In doing so, the Houston state representative helped advance a bill in the Texas House that would raise the purchase age for AR-style rifles like the kind used by an 18-year-old gunman in Uvalde last year. The vote came just days after eight people at an outdoor mall in Dallas were killed by a 33-year-old gunman, who President Biden said used an AR-15-style weapon. The bill has little chance of becoming law, but that did not stop powerful gun rights groups Tuesday from springing into action to stamp out the rare glimpse of momentum for supporters of tougher restrictions as mass killings continue to spread anguish in Texas. It underlined how almost any attempt to tighten gun laws in Texas is off the table in the state’s GOP-controlled Legislature, which in recent years has made gun access easier following other mass shootings and shows no appetite for re...

Student’s body found in cave after New Zealand hit by floods

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:51 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand police said they have found the body of a high school student in a cave after a school group got into trouble when floodwaters hit. A group of 15 students and two adults had set out Tuesday morning on a trip to the Abbey Caves in Whangārei as part of an outdoor education class, authorities said. The others made it out safely.The death has raised questions about why school officials chose to go ahead with the trip even after forecasters had warned that heavy rain was approaching.The district council website cautions people to “check weather forecast as caves can be prone to flash flooding.” The site says the cave system features dramatic limestone outcrops, sink holes and three significant caves. “We acknowledge this event has been very distressing for the school and wider community, and that there are a number of questions the public will have,” Police Superintendent Tony Hill said in a statement. “At the moment, police’s focus is on ...

SIU probing fatal police shooting of man in school parking lot in Kirkland Lake

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:51 GMT

The province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is probing the fatal police shooting of a man at a school parking lot in Kirkland Lake on Tuesday morning. The SIU says Ontario Provincial Police were called to the Duncan Avenue South and 2nd Street East area at around 7:30 a.m. for reports of a man carrying an edged weapon. “The officers encountered the man in the school parking lot of École secondaire catholique l’Envolée du Nord,” the SIU explained in a release. “The man refused to drop the weapon, and an interaction ensued.”Police say one officer fired a conducted energy weapon, while a second officer shot the man with his firearm. The man, aged 66, was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. “Four investigators and three forensic investigators have been assigned to the case,” the SIU said. “The post-mortem is scheduled for tomorrow in Sudbury.

Vigil held at CPD's 5th District police station in honor of fallen officer Areanah Preston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:51 GMT

CHICAGO — A vigil was held at the Chicago Police Department's 5th District Tuesday in remembrance of officer Areanah Preston, who was shot and killed outside her Avalon Park home early Saturday morning.According to police, Preston had just returned home from a tour of duty, when she was found with a gunshot wound in the 8100 block of South Blackstone Avenue around 1:42 a.m.Police said an officer administered medical aid before Preston was taken to a local hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.Preston was set to graduate with a master's degree in Law from Loyola University Chicago Saturday, with dreams one day of joining the FBI to further a career investigating sex crimes, according to Loyola Law Professor Sara Block."I think she saw herself as someone who could both overcome challenges, and help other people," said Block, one of Preston's professors at the Loyola School of Law. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Multiple in custody after fatal shooting of CP...

Father injured while shielding 4-year-old son from gunfire in Chicago neighborhood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:51 GMT

CHICAGO (WGN) — A man is speaking out from his hospital bed two days after he was shot in a Chicago neighborhood while trying to protect his young son from gunfire. At the intersection of 70th and Clyde, Donald Muhammad says he was trying to take his 4-year-old son out of the car Sunday night when gunfire erupted. The father said he barely parked and exited the car before the gunshots erupted."This is an epidemic and it doesn’t just affect me, it affects children every day. It affects adults. It affects innocent people," Muhammad told Nexstar's WGN. It's why Muhammad says he's chosen to speak out after surviving the shooting. ‘Unimaginable’: Groom planning wife’s funeral after newlyweds hit by suspected DUI driver "Physically, I’m well but emotionally and mentally, you’ll never get over that, especially when it involves children," he said. Muhammad, a 6-foot-8-inch security and public safety professional, said it wasn’t only his training that kicked into gear but his instinc...

Children's author accused of murder allegedly had history of trying to poison husband

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:51 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (KTVX) — A Utah mother who wrote a children's book about coping with death is now accused of murdering her husband — and is believed to have tried poisoning him multiple times in the past, a court document alleges.On Monday, Kouri Darden Richins, of Kamas, was arrested and charged with murdering her husband, Eric Richins, in March 2022. Not much is known about Kouri or if police have identified a motive that would support the accusations, but here is what we do know about the woman who has captured headlines nationwide. Utah mom accused of murdering man she wrote children’s book about BACKGROUNDBased on a will signed by Eric in November 2020, the pair were married for nearly nine years before he was found dead in their bedroom in March 2022. The two had three kids together, all sons, the oldest no older than 10. Court documents show Kouri ran her own realty agency and Eric was the co-owner of a stone masonry company based in Utah. The two reportedly signed a prema...

East Chicago family suing after noise complaint allegedly led to police raid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:51 GMT

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — Homeowners say a noise complaint led East Chicago police to raid their apartment without probable cause.  Now, they’re filing charges.  WGN News obtained cell phone video of a police raid on April 28. In the video, an officer is heard shouting, "'Do you wanna get bit? Do you want to get bit for doing nothing? Put your hands up, rollover.'"  The homeowners told WGN News they were hosting an anniversary party when police raided their apartment.   Mayor Lightfoot issues emergency declaration over migrant arrivals "Out of nowhere, we get a very loud pounding on the door and when we opened the door, guns were drawn," said Tanisha O'Neal.The rest was caught on camera as four officers and a canine unit entered the apartment.  People at the party say police swapped their guns for tasers and waved them around carelessly. The officers arrested two men – Laquan Afolavan and Craig Ginn – though their lawyer says they did nothing wrong.   "There was no reason for...