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Top Biden aide tells Chinese diplomat that US wants to ‘move beyond’ spy balloon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Wang Yi during talks in Vienna this week that the Biden administration is “looking to move beyond” tensions spurred by the U.S. shooting down a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the continental United States, according to a senior Biden administration official.The meeting was not publicized by Washington or Beijing ahead of the high-level talks on Wednesday and Thursday in the Austrian capital. The White House described the wide-ranging discussions, in which the two leaders spent more than eight hours together, as “candid” and “constructive.”The administration official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting, said that both sides recognize that the February incident was ”unfortunate” and are now looking to “reestablish standard, normal channels of communications.”The talks are the latest in a series of small signs that ...

Suspect in stabbings of mother and child in Edmonton dies in hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:14 GMT

EDMONTON — The suspect in the stabbing deaths of a mother and child outside a school last week has died in hospital, police said Thursday. The man was shot by Edmonton police last Friday after a 35-year-old woman and her 11-year-old child were stabbed outside Crawford Plains School in the southeastern part of the city. “Investigators have determined that the 33-year-old male is the sole person responsible for the deaths of the mother and child,” police said in a news release.“As the suspect was incapacitated in hospital and has now passed away, charges cannot be laid, and the suspect will not be named.”An autopsy on the man is scheduled for Tuesday. Family members have identified the mother as Carolann Robillard and the child as Sarah Miller, who had recently started using the first name Jayden.The Edmonton Medical Examiner determined this week that the woman and child both died of multiple sharp-force injuries, adding that the deaths are considered homicides...

Florida man pleads guilty to threatening poll workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:14 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A South Florida man faces up to five years in federal prison for threatening election workers during the August 2022 primary.Joshua David Lubitz, 38, of Sunrise, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Miami federal court to threatening election workers, according to court documents. His sentencing is scheduled for July 25.According to court documents, Lubitz was at a Sunrise Senior Center polling station last August when he was heard counting election workers and saying, “Should I kill them one by one, or should I blow the place up?” Lubitz was also heard saying, “My dad would love this; it would be easy,” as well as, “This would be nice and sweet.”As Lubitz drove away from the polling site, he extended his arm toward two poll workers and made a threatening gesture toward them with his hand, prosecutors said.Sunrise is located about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Miami.The Associated Press

Facing influx of asylum-seekers, New York City says it has reached its limit on migrants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The end of a pandemic-era immigration restriction could send a new wave of asylum-seekers toward New York City — a place that has long prided itself on welcoming the world’s huddled masses. But as migrants gathered at the southern U.S. border, Mayor Eric Adams warned his city would be unable to accommodate the expected influx.City officials expecting to receive busloads of migrants from Texas and other border states have explored housing the newcomers in airplane hangars, a race track, gymnasiums or even tents in Central Park. Others could wind up on the streets, advocates feared, despite the city’s court-ordered commitment to provide all residents with access to a place to stay.Faced with what he described as a “humanitarian crisis,” Adams, a Democrat, has taken a series of steps aimed at easing pressure on the city’s overcrowded homeless shelter system.On Wednesday evening, he temporarily suspended portions of New York’s longstanding law guaranteeing shelter ...

Virginia judge says law banning sales of handguns to young adults is unconstitutional

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:14 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal judge in Virginia has ruled that a law banning licensed federal firearms dealers from selling handguns to young adults under 21 violates the Second Amendment and is unconstitutional.The ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Payne in Richmond, if not overturned, would prevent dealers from selling handguns to 18- to 20-year-olds.In his 71-page ruling, Payne wrote that many of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship are granted at the age of 18, including the right to vote, enlist in the military without parental permission and serve on a federal jury.“If the Court were to exclude 18-to-20-year-olds from the Second Amendment’s protection, it would impose limitations on the Second Amendment that do not exist with other constitutional guarantees,” Payne wrote. “Because the statutes and regulations in question are not consistent with our Nation’s history and tradition, they, therefore, cannot stand.” Payne’s ruling is the la...

Review: A career comeback and a fine album from Eilen Jewell

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:14 GMT

“Get Behind the Wheel” by Eilen Jewell (Signature Sounds)The swagger of Eilen Jewell’s ninth studio album offers no hint it came together after she thought her career might be over amid a succession of personal setbacks.Instead of calling it quits, Jewell found the inspiration that led to “Get Behind the Wheel,” an engaging collection of slightly psychedelic songs that evoke the sprawling landscape of her native Idaho.The set benefits by stellar electric guitar work from Jerry Miller, whose solos shimmer, chime, slash and burn. He plays twangy tag with Fats Kaplin’s pedal steel on three songs, and teams with co-producer Will Kimbrough to create a celebratory twin-guitar squall on the cathartic “Alive.”The accompaniment elevates Jewell’s tunes about love at high volume and the cycle of life. “Lethal Love” has a ’50s vibe thanks to a rumba beat propelled by drummer Jason Beek, and “Outsiders” would fit in a Spaghetti Western. The set also includes imaginative covers of Van Morrison (“...

Kansas governor thwarts small legal settlement with business over COVID-19 restrictions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:14 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ Democratic governor on Thursday scuttled a small legal settlement favored by top Republican officials between the state and the owner of a Wichita fitness studio forced to shut down during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic and then operate under restrictions.The settlement would have cost the state $4,305.46 and ended a lawsuit filed in December 2020 by Ryan Floyd and his business, Omega Bootcamps Inc. The case has yet to go to trial in Sedgwick County District Court in Wichita, and Attorney General Kris Kobach asked Gov. Laura Kelly and eight leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature to sign off, as required by state law.Six of those eight legislative leaders are Republicans, and all six voted to approve the settlement during a live online WebEx meeting that Kelly convened. But Kelly opposed it, along with the House and Senate’s top Democrats, and under Kansas law, the governor’s action decided the issue.Kelly did not ...

Fire: 4 people shot near 61st and Union in Englewood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:14 GMT

CHICAGO — Four people were shot Thursday in Englewood, according to the Chicago Fire Department.The shooting happened around 5:30 p.m. near West 61st Place and South Union Avenue. ‘What would happen if I bashed you with this bat?’: $800K bond for Chicago woman accused of battery spree According to the fire department, two people were taken to the hospital in grave condition, one person is in serious to critical condition and one person is in fair condition.All of the people who were injured were adults, the fire department said. Additional information hasn't been released at this time. This is a breaking news story and will be updated as information becomes available.

From catching to coaching: Steve Ruzich's leaves his baseball legacy at South Suburban College

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:14 GMT

SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. — He's been a Hall of Famer for almost a decade, but a baseball coach in the south suburbs is hardly slowing down.For 37 years, Steve Ruzich been in the dugout at South Suburban College, a junior college program in South Holland that has experienced plenty of success during his tenure. He's collected over 1,300 wins for the Bulldogs, who play in the National Junior College Athletic Association's Division I with a host of championships collected. "It's never been about me," said Ruzich of his time at SSC. "It's always been about giving something back to the game."Initially he'd hoped that would be through his play as a catcher on the field when he was a standout at the College of St. Francis (now University of St. Francis) in Joliet. He was drafted by the White Sox in the 30th round of the 1985 MLB Draft and played in six games with the club's Gulf Coast League team.But that would be it for Ruzich's pro baseball career, and at 24, he was on the search for a way t...

Calumet City couple, social worker partnered in $1M Medicare fraud scheme, prosecutors allege

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:29:14 GMT

CHICAGO — A married Calumet City couple behind a nonprofit service for seniors allegedly schemed with a social worker to fraudulently obtain more than $1.16 million from Medicare.All three are charged with health care fraud, according to an unsealed federal indictment. Richard and Tammie Pitts operated American Warriors which offered psychotherapy services to residents of senior living facilities in the Chicago area from 2019 to 2021.  More than 600 catalytic converters recovered in largest single bust in the country, sheriff says The indictment alleges that the couple schemed with social worker Charlo Jordan and submitted defrauding claims to Medicare for psychotherapy services that were not provided.As part of the scheme, Richard Pitts invited residents of the senior facilities to attend breakfast meetings, which often included guest speakers or group activities, as a way to identify Medicare beneficiaries whose information would then be used for fraud.When the pandemic caused t...