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Australian castaway recounts comfort he felt adrift at sea, thanks to meditation, swimming and dog

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:04 GMT

MANZANILLO, Mexico (AP) — He quit his corporate job and moved to Mexico to pursue his dream of sailing solo across the ocean.Australian Timothy Shaddock, 54, bought his 30-foot catamaran two years ago in the Mexican Pacific resort of Puerto Vallarta. He needed a place to live and he liked the isolation.“Of course, living on a boat and sailing on a boat is two different things and that was more of a challenge,” Shaddock told The Associated Press Wednesday after stepping onto land for the first time in months.As his training ground Shaddock chose the Sea of Cortez, a narrow finger of water between the Baja California Peninsula and the Mexican mainland. “I was aware and the only preparation that you can really do is take the boat out to sea and test the boat at sea,” Shaddock said. He would take short journeys, noting what was working on the boat and what wasn’t, but was conscious that, in late April, hurricane season was coming. “It was either now or I could not really wait one more y...

Helicopter in firefighting operation crashes in northwestern Alberta, killing pilot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:04 GMT

PEACE RIVER, Alta. — A helicopter crash in northwestern Alberta has resulted in the third death in recent days involving wildfire-fighting efforts in Canada. “There are a lot of people across this country who have been stepping up during these very, very difficult forest fires, protecting their families, protecting their communities, protecting their fellow citizens,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a visit to Belleville, Ont., on Thursday.“And to have lost three firefighters, or individuals helping out in fighting the fires, is heartbreaking. Every single time one of these first responders or firefighters steps up, they’re doing it to keep their fellow citizens safe and they have families as well who worry about them when they go out.”RCMP said forestry workers were trying to resuscitate the pilot, who was the only one in the helicopter, when officers arrived on the scene near Haig Lake, 140 kilometres northeast of Peace River, Alta., on Wedn...

Video shows Oklahoma judge texting and scrolling on phone in trial over fatal beating of 2-year-old

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:04 GMT

CHANDLER, Okla. (AP) — A new judge in Oklahoma is facing scrutiny after courtroom video showed her scrolling through social media and texting on her cellphone throughout the murder trial for a man accused in the fatal beating of a 2-year-old, a newspaper reports.Security video obtained by The Oklahoman shows Lincoln County District Judge Traci Soderstrom texting or messaging for minutes at a time during jury selection, opening statements and testimony in the trial for a man in the death of his girlfriend’s son. At one point, Soderstrom searched for a GIF, an animated image.Soderstrom, 50, can also be seen checking Facebook during the trial, which began last month in Chandler, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City, the newspaper reported. Soderstrom was sworn in on Jan. 9 after being elected in November. Her four-year term expires in January 2027.Soderstrom declined to comment to the newspaper because the verdict could still be appealed, saying judges are pr...

Fleetwood among British Open leaders. McIlroy among the survivors.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:04 GMT

HOYLAKE, England (AP) — The British Open showed again Thursday that even after 163 years, golf’s oldest championship can still deliver a few surprises.It started with Christo Lamprecht, the South African amateur as tall as a flag stick and almost as thin, making three birdies over his last six holes and posting a 5-under 66 to become the first amateur in 12 years to share the 18-hole lead at the Open.Curiosity about the 22-year-old amateur turned to glee at the site of local hero, Tommy Fleetwood, running off three straight birdies on the back nine at Royal Liverpool to join him atop the leaderboard. Emiliano Grillo of Argentina became the third to post 66 by holing a birdie putt from 50 feet on the last hole.Not to be overlooked was Jordan Spieth hitting a shank; Rory McIlroy missing a 3-foot putt; Justin Thomas going bunker-to-bunker-to-rough — each shot further away from the flag than the previous one — in making a 9 on the 18th hole to post his highest round in a major at ...

Grassley releases full FBI memo with unverified claims about Hunter Biden’s work in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:04 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley released an unclassified document Thursday that Republicans claim is significant in their investigation of Hunter Biden as they probe the financial affairs of the president’s son and revive previously debunked claims of wrongdoing.Grassley of Iowa has been working alongside House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., as Republicans deepen their probe of the President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, ahead of the 2024 election. Comer had issued a subpoena for the document from the FBI.While lawmakers on the Oversight Committee have already been able to partly review the information, this is the first time the full form — which contains raw, unverified information — is being made public. Called an FD-1023 form, it involves claims a confidential informant made in 2020 about Hunter Biden’s alleged business dealings when he served on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Top Republicans have acknow...

Mom of Colorado teen accused of trying to join Islamic State blames FBI ‘encouragement’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:04 GMT

DENVER (AP) — The mother of an 18-year-old who is accused of trying to become a fighter for the Islamic State group says her son has never had the motivation to follow through with things. Deanna Meyer testified Thursday that she does not think her son, Devin Meyer, would have taken action to travel to the Middle East were it not for the support of people he recently met who shared his views. That included FBI informants posing as Islamic State facilitators.“I bet my life he would never do that without that encouragement,” Deanna Meyer said in federal court in an unsuccessful attempt to convince a judge to allow her son to stay with her while he is being prosecuted. He was arrested Friday as he tried to board a plane to Turkey and has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.Deanna Meyer was responding to a question from Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter about whether her son, who has autism, understood the gravity of t...

Skilling: Warm weekend ahead but summer heat looms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:04 GMT

FIRST, THE THURSDAY WEATHER HEADLINES:---Chicago has continued to escape the brutal heat breaking records in the southern and Southwest U.S.--Thursday's high is likely to reach 88 degrees—and the day is likely to be the first to log an ABOVE AVERAGE daytime temp in 4 days. There were strong west-to-northwest winds which defeated any lake cooling today. Lake breezes return in the coming days.--July continues to post a slight temp deficit averaging, with today's temps factored in, 0.7 degrees below normal.---A few thunderstorms may flare south of Chicago Thursday evening—but they'll be moving away from the city.--A wind shift to the northwest is introducing slightly less humid air which will allow temps to drop below last night's 71-degree minimum temp—likely bottoming out around 66 at O'Hare.---Northwest upper steering winds continue to guide modest amounts of smoke off the 900+ fires still burning across Canada into Chicago's airspace---but ALOFT. So air quality here at ground level...

Actors, writers on strike rally in Chicago's Grant Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:04 GMT

CHICAGO (AP/WGN) — Striking screenwriters and actors held a rally in Chicago on Thursday as the labor dispute that has halted Hollywood spreads to more cities.While Los Angeles and New York are the epicenters of strike actions, in Chicago, hundreds of strikers — many wearing black SAG T-shirts — marched and chanted at Millennium Park. “We're union/United/Never be divided." A small brass band played ”This Land Is Your Land." One sign read: “Corporate Greed Stinks.” Cars honked their horns in support.Hundreds of union workers filled Grant Park in front of Buckingham Fountain, as the supporting cast included roofers, teachers, building engineers and bricklayers. Did Universal Studios trim trees to mess with striking workers? "Your fight is our fight, your fight is our fight," said Bob Reiter, the president of the Chicago Federation of Labor. "We're here because our quality of life as laborers and artists are being threatened," added SAG-AFTRA member Sydney Charles.Courtney Rue, an ac...

2 arrested after man shot during attempted armed robbery in Morgan Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:04 GMT

CHICAGO — A pair of teens are now in custody and charged with shooting a man during an attempted armed robbery.The man, 22, was shot in the chest around 1:45 a.m. Saturday near 110th and Western while reportedly trying to stop the thieves when he was shot. Off-duty Chicago officer killed in ATV crash on Far North Side: source "Things for the most part seem safe over here but things are getting worse," Adam Phillips, a Milano's pizza delivery driver, said. "We see things closer to us more and more now."According to CWB Chicago, the man is the son of a Chicago police officer and was leaving a bar near 106th and Western with his friend.The two walked a few blocks south when they were confronted by an armed robber. The man allegedly tackled the offender and was then shot at point-blank range.The accused gunman, Kevin Ross, 17, is charged with attempted murder and robbery. Christopher Brooks, 18, the alleged getaway driver, is also facing the same charges.CWB Chicago is reporting detec...

Boy, 16, charged after 2 people shot, 1 killed at Scene75 Entertainment Center in Romeoville

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:04 GMT

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. — A 16-year-old boy from Chicago faces felony charges following a double shooting at an entertainment center in Romeoville last month that left a 19-year-old dead and a 16-year-old hospitalized. The juvenile suspect, who police did not name due to his age, was taken into custody Thursday in the 4500 block of N. Magnolia Ave. in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood in relation to the June 23 shooting. Firefighters battle apartment fire in Elmwood Park Police responded to a call of shots fired around 8:40 p.m. in the 400 block of South Weber Road at Scene75 Entertainment Center. According to police, a verbal argument ended in gunfire. Police said the suspected shooter fled the scene. Despite police quickly identifying the suspect involved, when Illinois State Police troopers later encountered the vehicle near Interstate 80 at Torrence Avenue, the suspected shooter was not inside. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesThe 16-year-old was booked for first-degree murder and...