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Illinois Democrats say abortion-access protections are a promise: ‘You’re safe here’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:26 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Access to abortion is essentially locked down in Illinois. But Democrats are looking for ways to further protect the practice and its availability, including to outsiders who potentially face home-state penalties for seeking treatment here. Legislation approved by both houses of the General Assembly include requiring Illinois insurers to cover abortion-inducing drugs, penalizing crisis pregnancy centers if they distribute inaccurate information and requiring colleges to offer reduced-price emergency contraception on campus. Reaching beyond the borders is a high-tech House-approved measure that would require that interstate agreements over license-plate reading technology include a promise they not be used to track people traveling to Illinois for an abortion. It has its sights set on statutes such as the recent “abortion-trafficking” law signed in Idaho. Lawmakers say they are not circling the wagons amid an increasingly hostile landscape since the U.S. Supr...

Limo service manager convicted of manslaughter in rural New York crash that killed 20 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:26 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A limousine service manager was convicted Wednesday of manslaughter in a crash that killed 20 people in rural New York, one of the deadliest U.S. road wrecks in two decades. Jurors reached their verdict during their second day of deliberations in the trial of Nauman Hussain, who ran Prestige Limousine. He faces the possibility of up to 15 years in prison at his May 31 sentencing. Hussain looked disappointed on hearing the verdict. He was taken into custody. A message seeking comment was sent to his attorney.Applause could be heard in the audience as the jury was discharged. Packed with birthday revelers, the stretch-style SUV went off the road in 2018 after the vehicle’s brakes failed. The heavy limo hit a parked car and trees before coming to rest in a streambed in Schoharie, a village west of Albany. Seventeen passengers, the driver and two bystanders were killed.___Maysoon Khan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News...

Saskatchewan running coal power later than 2030 would be illegal: Guilbeault

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:26 GMT

OTTAWA — Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says it would be against the law for Saskatchewan to run its coal-fired power plants after 2030, unless the emissions from those plants are captured.Canada’s five-year-old regulations on coal power require all power plants that rely on coal to be closed, converted to natural gas or equipped with carbon-capture systems by the end of 2029.He says those regulations exist under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and as such, violating them would be an offence under Canada’s Criminal Code.But Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says that to maintain reliable and affordable electricity supplies, his province is looking at running its three coal plants until the end of their planned lifespans, which all go well beyond 2030.Saskatchewan also expects to run its natural gas power plants to the end of their lives, which Moe says would mean the province couldn’t have a net-zero electricity grid until 2050.Canada’s current...

Boy, 13, missing out of Englewood may be in need of medical attention

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:26 GMT

CHICAGO — A 13-year-old boy from the South Side is missing and may require medical attention, Chicago police said Wednesday.Takai Williams was last seen Tuesday in the 6400 block of S. Sangamon in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood.According to police, Wiliams stands 5-foot-7-inches and weighs 138 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesAnyone with information is asked to contact police at (312) 747-8380 or call 911.

Glendale Heights man facing 8 child pornography charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:26 GMT

GLENDALE HEIGHTS, Ill. — A suburban man was arrested Tuesday following a search warrant related to a child pornography investigation.Felix Alejandro, 61, is facing eight counts of possession of child pornography. On Tuesday, officers executed a search warrant at his Glendale Heights home, located in the 000 block of Shorewood Drive.Alejandro's bond was set at $250,000.

More than 1M tax returns flagged for potential identity fraud: IRS

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:26 GMT

(The Hill) -- More than 1 million tax returns have been flagged for potential identity fraud with more than $6 billion in refunds requiring additional review, according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). An interim report on the 2023 tax filing season that the IRS composed last week and publicly released on Tuesday states that the agency identified almost 1.1 million returns that need to have additional review because of identity theft filters, as of March 2. The IRS confirmed 12,617 returns to be fraudulent, preventing $105.3 million in refunds from being distributed. The total confirmed to be fraudulent is up about 3,000 from the 9,626 that were confirmed to be fraudulent as of the same time last year.  IRS will launch test run of free online tax-filing system The report states that the agency is using 236 filters to identify possible fraud in returns during the 2023 season, up from 168 filters used last year. It states that the filters include criteria base...

Search underway for missing South Side man

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:26 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department are asking for the public's help in locating a missing 25-year-old who was last seen on May 5.Ricardo Rojas, 25, was last seen on the 5700 block of South Artesian Avenue near Chicago's Gage Park on Friday, May 5. Boy, 13, missing out of Englewood may be in need of medical attention Rojas is described as 5-foot-8, weighing 130 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts are asked to contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-747-8380 or call 911.

Police can order bystanders to stay 25 feet away under new Indiana law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:26 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN) — Under a new Indiana state law, you could be placed under arrest if you're standing less than 25 feet away from a police investigation.House Enrolled Act 1186 gives police a 25-foot buffer to perform any of their duties. If a member of the public is asked to provide that distance and doesn't comply, they can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500. What’s the ‘best’ home improvement store? Indiana is among the first states to pass such a law, according to Indiana State Rep. Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville), who introduced the legislation."The encounters, as we've seen, have increasingly [been] getting more and more violent with people who aren't necessarily involved in the situation at all," McNamara said."It was a very good thing for not just the safety of law enforcement officers, but for the safety of our citizens," said Chief Kyle Prewitt of the Plainfield Police Department, who supports the...

114 dogs rescued from 'sickening, unsafe conditions' in North Carolina

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:26 GMT

HERTFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WAVY) - More than 100 dogs and puppies were rescued Tuesday from a North Carolina property the Humane Society calls a "large-scale alleged cruelty situation."Local authorities served a search and seizure warrant on the dilapidated property, which included a mobile home and several outdoor pens and yards. Even though much of the property was obscured by debris and an overgrown fence line, those who responded described "generally filthy conditions from the road and could smell feces."Over the course of eight hours, 114 dogs, mostly Australian shepherds, were taken off the property. Suitcase ‘moving’ along North Carolina highway leads to animal rescue The Humane Society said the dogs and puppies "appeared to suffer from a lack of basic care and were living in unsanitary, hazardous conditions typically seen in severe neglect situations."A veterinarian at the scene said many dogs appeared thin. Some had visible ribs and hip bones protruding, the Humane Society sa...

Pause on student loan payments about to end for millions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:26 GMT

The Biden administration has given its clearest indication yet that the years-long pause of student loan repayments will come to an end in the coming months.Optimism that the White House would keep offering borrowers relief from making their payments was crushed last week, when Education Secretary Miguel Cardona told a Senate panel that the payments would officially resume due to the pandemic emergency being over. That means borrowers, who have been jolted around since March 2020 with last-minute extensions and uncertainty over exactly when they should expect payments to start up again, will finally have to make payments — many for the first time.President Biden said in November that payments would resume either 60 days after the Supreme Court rules on his student loan forgiveness plan — which would permanently eliminate some debt — or 60 days after June 30, whichever came first.But student loan groups had been optimistic the president was bluffing again, hoping for another ext...