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US speeds up Abrams tank delivery to Ukraine war zone

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:33 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is speeding up its delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, opting to send a refurbished older model that can be ready faster, with the aim of getting the 70-ton battle powerhouses to the war zone in eight to 10 months, U.S. officials told The Associated Press.The original plan was to send Ukraine 31 of the newer M1A2 Abrams, which could have taken a year or two to build and ship. But officials said the decision was made to send the older M1A1 version, which can be taken from Army stocks and will be easier for Ukrainian forces to learn to use and maintain as they fight Russia’s invasion.The officials spoke on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because the plan has not yet been publicly announced. Pentagon officials are expected to make the announcement soon.The Biden administration announced in January that it would send the tanks to Ukraine — after insisting for months that they were too complicated and too hard to maintain and repair. The decisi...

Vote to force top aide to testify on foreign interference not a confidence matter: PM

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:33 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a motion to compel his chief of staff to testify about foreign interference at a parliamentary committee will not be considered a matter of confidence in the Liberal minority government.There will be a vote later today on a Conservative motion to get Katie Telford to appear before the House of Commons ethics committee by mid-April.The Liberals have filibustered another committee for weeks to prevent a similar motion from passing there, so the Conservatives brought a new motion before the entire House of Commons on Monday.Trudeau says the Conservatives are turning the debate into a “political circus” and the government will not add to that by making the motion a confidence vote, which could have opened the door to an election.Trudeau says he is happy to highlight what he argues is his government’s more serious approach, which includes appointing former governor general David Johnston as a special rapporteur to look into th...

Japan’s PM offers Ukraine support as China’s Xi backs Russia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:33 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise visit Tuesday to Kyiv, stealing some of the global attention from Asian rival President Xi Jinping of China, who is in Moscow to show support for Russia against the West over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.The two visits, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) apart, highlighted the nearly 13-month-old war’s repercussions for international diplomacy as countries line up behind behind Moscow or Kyiv. They follow a week in which China and Japan both enjoyed diplomatic successes that have emboldened their foreign policy.Kishida, who is to chair the Group of Seven summit in May, will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Ukrainian capital, coinciding with Xi’s talks with President Vladimir Putin.Kishida will “show respect to the courage and patience of the Ukrainian people who are standing up to defend their homeland under President Zelenskyy’s leadership, and show solidarity and unwavering support for Ukr...

German prosecutors examined late pope in abuse probe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:33 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors looking into historical cases of sexual abuse by clergy in the Munich archdiocese said Tuesday that they initially investigated the late Pope Benedict XVI on suspicion of being an accessory to abuse, but later dropped the probe.Munich prosecutors examined 45 cases of possible wrongdoing by church officials that arose from a report into how the archdiocese handled abuse cases between 1945 and 2019. The then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was archbishop there from 1977-1982, and the report by a law firm commissioned by the archdiocese and released in January 2022 faulted his handling of four cases during that time. Benedict, who died in December nearly 10 years after his retirement as pope, asked forgiveness for any “grievous faults” in his handling of abuse cases, but denied any personal or specific wrongdoing.Prosecutors said that that “three (at the time) living church personnel managers” were listed as suspects for a time during their investigation, Ger...

Recovering teacher shot by 6-year-old: ‘It’s changed me’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:33 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia teacher who was shot and wounded by her 6-year-old student said it has changed her life and she has vivid memories and nightmares about that day.“I just will never forget the look on his face that he gave me while he pointed the gun directly at me,” first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner said during an exclusive interview with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie about the student. “It’s changed me. It’s changed my life.” She said she’s still in shock and can’t make sense of it, in a portion of the interview that was aired Tuesday morning on “Today.”“I’m not sure when the shock will ever go away because of just how surreal it was and the vivid memories I have of that day. I think about it daily. Sometimes I have nightmares,” she said.Speaking publicly for the first time since the Jan. 6 shooting, Zwerner said in a portion of the interview that was aired Monday on “NBC Nightly News” that she’s had a challenging recovery incl...

Michigan man accused of attempting to kill woman at Des Plaines motel

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:33 GMT

DES PLAINES, Ill. — A man was arrested Saturday after allegedly beating and attempting to kill a woman inside a motel room.Just before 3:15 a.m., Des Plaines police responded to a Best Western, located in the 1200 block of Lee Street, on the report of a domestic battery.Officers were directed to a room after several complaints of a possible disturbance. Outside of the room, officers heard a man, later identified as Kyle Brown, 37, of Southfield, Michigan. A 38-year-old woman, also of Michigan, then opened the door and ran out screaming "save me, save me," police said.Brown was then observed laying on the floor with his hands up in the air. He was taken into custody for further questioning.Police believe Brown was dating the woman and he allegedly struck her in the face while driving earlier in the night. The woman then told the hotel clerk that she got into an argument and to contact police if Brown returned. Man shot, killed during Rogers Park home invasion Police said Brown even...

Tom gets his second chance at the ‘Grand Prize Game’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:33 GMT

CHICAGO – There are thousands of people from Chicagoland who had the honor of seeing one of the greatest children’s television programs in American history live from the WGN studios.There are only a select few, however, who were able to participate in the signature contest on the “Bozo Circus” or “The Bozo Show through the years: The Grand Prize Game.A number of people throughout the years had stories of how close they came to joining Bozo the Clown to throw the ball into the six buckets to win a host of prizes. For some kids, it was a painful near miss that they still talk about to this day.As part of WGN’s 75th anniversary celebration, we’re offering a few of these people the chance to live their dreams as adults and play The Grand Prize Game on WGN Morning News.This week we had Tom Malatia come to the studios to get his shot to play the game again.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up ...

PBS documentary on Anthony Fauci chronicles career of crises

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:33 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — There's a moment in the new PBS documentary about Dr. Anthony Fauci when a protester holds up a handmade sign reading, “Dr. Fauci, You Are Killing Us."It says something about Fauci that it's not initially clear when that sign was waved in anger — in the 1980s as AIDS made its deadly rise or in the 2020s with COVID-19 vaccine opponents.“American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci,” offers a portrait of an unlikely lightning rod: A government infectious disease scientist who advised seven presidents. Fauci hopes it can inspire more public servants like him.“I just felt that there needed to be a story of people understanding what public health officials go through, but also I hope as a source of inspiration for young people who are either in science or interested in going into science,” he told The Associated Press. The documentary airs Tuesday and later streams.Fauci allowed a film crew to follow him for 23 months starting in January 2021. The documentary covers hi...

Can you go to jail in Illinois if you get a tattoo before turning 18?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:33 GMT

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois lowered the legal age for a person to get a tattoo from 21 to 18 in 2006. But no one under the age of 18 can get a tattoo in Illinois, even with a parent or guardian's permission.The other problem is a lot of tattoo shops might not follow the new law, especially if the teen has their parent's consent. We're not tattooing anyone under 18, but there are going to be other shops that will, ultimately giving all shops a bad name," Leon Battiste, manager of Artkore Tattoos in Normal, told VidetteOnline. Can you bring marijuana on a plane through a TSA checkpoint? Illinois actually considers it a crime to tattoo anyone under the age of 18, or for anyone under the age of 18 to even be on the premises of a tattoo parlor.So, if you get a tattoo and you're under 18, you won't go to jail — but your tattoo artist could lose their license and face a fine.Tattoo shops also need to be licensed. Tattooing from a home or any other unlicensed premises is forbidden.

Texas Senate passes bill on harsher penalties for tampering with ankle monitors

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:33 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Monday, the Texas Senate passed a bill that would make it a crime for a person to knowingly remove or disable and ankle monitor tracking device that they're required to wear as a condition of house arrest, parole or release on bail.According to Sen. Joan Huffman (R-Houston), the bill's author, 76,940 people are currently on parole in Texas, and 4,315 of them have a monitoring device. She said in the last year, 1,127 monitor straps were either cut, or an active warrant remains for a cut strap. Gov. Abbott wants more penalties for ankle monitor violations Currently, it is only a parole violation to tamper with or destroy an ankle monitor. The bill would make it either a third-degree or state-jail felony to do so. A state-jail felony, according to the Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA), is one step below a third-degree felony. The charges would also apply if the person used a third-party to tamper with the device. In a robbery spree that ended at The Domain...