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Northern Ireland’s DUP resists pressure to end govt boycott

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland’s politicians have got the message. Some of them don’t like it. Unionist lawmakers have bristled as, with a united voice, leaders of the U.K., the EU and two U.S. presidents urged them to restore the mothballed Belfast government and reap the reward of more economic investment in Northern Ireland.“There can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity,” U.S. trade envoy Joe Kennedy III told a conference in Belfast on Wednesday.It was the latest in a series of messages pressing the Democratic Unionist Party to end a political crisis that is clouding 25th anniversary commemorations for the 1998 Good Friday peace accord that ended three decades of sectarian bloodshed known as “The Troubles.”The semi-autonomous Belfast government has been suspended since the DUP — which wants to keep Northern Ireland part of the United Kingdom — walked out more than a year ago to protest a post-Brexit customs border between Northern Ireland ...

Mississauga to vote today on whether to lift ban on legal cannabis stores

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

Mississauga city council will vote Wednesday on whether to end the city’s ban on legal cannabis stores.The city was one of dozens of municipalities to bar retail cannabis stores from their communities when legalization came into effect in 2018.There’s now growing concern over the increase in illegal pot shops. The city continues to be disproportionately served by the illegal market compared to communities that opted in, according to data from the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), the province’s wholesaler for legal retailers.A staff report recommends ending the ban, but at last weeks general committee meeting about half of councillors who spoke about the issue were not in support of the city lifting the ban. Those who voted against say they’re concerned about the placement of stores and claim residents have not been given enough time to offer input.Mayor Bonnie Crombie said she had originally been concerned that municipalities have no real control over where legal cann...

Arizona boy hospitalized twice before death in state care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

A 9-year-old boy who died last year while in the care of Arizona’s child welfare agency was hospitalized twice for a life-threatening diabetes complication in the weeks leading up to his death, according to an autopsy report released this month.The state took Jakob Blodgett into its custody on Dec. 9 after his father, Richard Blodgett, was arrested on suspicion of drug possession. Before the end of the year, Jakob was dead.The Maricopa County medical examiner’s report listed the boy’s cause of death as complications of Type 1 diabetes, including the serious complication known as ketoacidosis. The manner of death was listed as natural.Blodgett, 47, has said his son was diagnosed with diabetes as a toddler, meaning his body couldn’t produce enough insulin to survive.Blodgett, who already had a drug case pending when he was arrested, remains in custody in Holbrook, about three hours outside of Phoenix. In a message sent Monday night from the facility, he said he has been st...

Maine shooter had conviction prohibiting gun possession

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

BOWDOIN, Maine (AP) — A Maine man who police say killed four people in a home and then shot three others randomly on a busy highway had a criminal history that should have prevented him from legally possessing a gun, according to state records.The shootings in Maine began in the small town of Bowdoin, where four people were killed Tuesday. Then a chaotic scene developed in which shots were fired at vehicles on an interstate highway over 20 miles away in the community of Yarmouth, police said. Three people were shot there, and one remained in critical condition Wednesday.“This is an active investigation with a lot of moving parts,” Shannon Moss, state police spokesperson, said Wednesday.The gunman, identified as Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, was charged with four counts of murder but was not immediately charged in the highway shootings, she said. He was jailed while awaiting a court appearance. It was unclear if he had an attorney to speak on his behalf, a jail official s...

Stock market today: Wall Street slips, erasing gain for week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is slipping Wednesday following mixed earnings reports from big U.S. companies and another signal that inflation remains painfully hot around the world.The S&P 500 was 0.5% lower in early trading, threatening to erase the gain it’s built so far this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 141 points, or 0.4%, at 33,835, as of 9:45 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower. The Nasdaq was lagging the market as high-growth and tech stocks had some of the market’s sharper losses. They were hurt in part by higher yields in the bond market, which rose after a report showed U.K. inflation remained above 10% for a seventh straight month. Central banks around the world have been raising rates at a furious pace for more than a year, and the wide expectation is for the Federal Reserve to raise short-term U.S. rates again at its meeting next month. High rates can stifle inflation, but only by slowing the entire economy, raising the ris...

Spain’s Sánchez warns drought now a major national concern

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s prime minister warned lawmakers Wednesday that the acute drought afflicting the southern European country has become one of its leading long-term concerns.“The government of Spain and I are aware that the debate surrounding drought is going to be one of the central political and territorial debates of our country over the coming years,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told the Madrid-based Parliament.The territorial tensions between regions over water that Sánchez referred to are already being seen in protests over the rerouting of water and disputes between farmers and ecologists.Three years of scant rainfall and high temperatures put Spain officially into long-term drought last month.The national weather service said 2022 was the hottest year ever recorded, when average daily temperatures rose above 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time since records started in 1961. The country has warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (34 F) since the 19...

WATCH LIVE | Mayor Lightfoot presides over final scheduled Chicago City Council meeting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot will preside over her final scheduled Chicago City Council meeting Wednesday.Along with Lightfoot, several members of city council will also be attending their last scheduled meeting, with a number of speeches expected honoring those who are leaving.This was certainly not how Lightfoot wanted this to go. She did not make it to the run-off after finishing third in the February election. Lightfoot is leaving Brandon Johnson's administration, however, in a better place budget-wise than previous outgoing mayors have done for their predocessors.She reportedly passed along some advice to Johnson's administration — don't screw this up.Lightfoot will likely be remembered for her combative style of politics and guiding the city through COVID-19.Along with Lightfoot, about a dozen city council members will enter the chamber for the last time Wednesday as sitting alderpersons, barring of course any emergency meetings. Brandon Joh...

Ohio 13-year-old dies after trying TikTok challenge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A 13-year-old Ohio boy has died after participating in a TikTok challenge.Jacob Stevens, of Greenfield, was taken off life support this week after he overdosed on Benadryl.The social media challenge advises users to take 12 to 14 pills to hallucinate. TikTok removed all videos relating to the challenge and is now offering resources for substance abuse.Justin Stevens, Jacob’s father, had confirmed on a GoFundMe page that his son would be removed from life support because he had "no brain activity.""We do not think it's fair to keep him on this," wrote Justin Stevens, who was asking for donations "so that we can have a proper funeral and send off."Jacob’s parents described him as well-mannered, funny and loving. He enjoyed listening to music, playing football and spending time with his friends, according to his obituary. ‘Incredibly lethal’: Drug Enforcement Administration breaks down xylazine risk Following the teen's death, local substance abuse officials are...

Texas cheerleader shot after parking lot mix-up outside grocery store

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) — A Texas high school cheerleader was hospitalized Tuesday night after a shooting in a grocery store parking lot. Elgin Police said a 25-year-old man fired shots into a car at an H-E-B parking lot and injured two people. Lynn Shearer, owner of Woodland's Elite Cheer Co., said four cheerleaders who go to her gym were involved in the shooting. "It was unfortunate. These girls were just trying to get home," Shearer said. Shearer said the cheerleaders carpool from the Austin area to her gym in Eglin."These kids have grown up in our gym. We've known them for years, some of them literally, since they were, you know, 8, 10 years old," Shearer said. "So they're like our family."Shearer said Washington is well-known across the country for her cheerleading. (Photo: Jacky Sauceda)Shearer said Washington is well-known across the country for her cheerleading. (Photo: Jacky Sauceda)Shearer said Washington is well-known across the country for her cheerleading. (Photo: Jacky Sau...

Dean's Home Video: 'The Diplomat,' 'Dead Ringers,' & more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:58 GMT

CHICAGO — A show that centers around an ambassador to the UK & a show based on a 1980s psychological thriller are among the new streaming releases this week. "The Diplomat" stars Keri Russell as the new Ambassador to Britain which debuts Thursday on Netflix. Meanwhile, "Dead Ringers," which was released in 1988 as a film, gets a new life in 2023 as a Prime Video miniseries that's set to stream on Friday.Dean Richards featured both of these on this week's edition of "Dean's Home Video" on Wednesday's WGN Morning News.He also discussed other releases like Season 2 of "Beavis & Butthead," "Ghosted," "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Once and Always," "Dear Mama," and more.You can watch this edition of "Dean's Home Video" from the April 19th WGN Morning News in the video above.Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!