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Chicago Bears get permit to demolish grandstand exterior at Arlington Park with new stadium issue still up in the air

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:01 GMT

The Chicago Bears got the go-ahead Friday to begin demolition of the grandstand exterior at the former Arlington International Racecourse — considered for many years to be one of the most beautiful racetracks in the country.The demolition is expected to begin Friday.The Bears have plans to build a new enclosed football stadium on the site, as part of a $5 billion housing and entertainment district. But team officials have said they will not build there unless they get an agreement on property taxes and public subsidies for infrastructure like roads and utilities.The team began demolition of the interior of the grandstand May 30. Piles of rubble could be seen on the paddock track, where spectators could see horses up close before they raced.The village of Arlington Heights and Cook County approved the permits to begin tearing down buildings on the property. Other structures include stables, offices and dorms where jockeys, trainers and their families used to live.Demolition wil...

Brockton murder suspect faces new charges after police say he seriously injured a woman while fleeing from them

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:01 GMT

A suspect on the Massachusetts State Police Most Wanted list for allegedly shooting a man to death in Brockton last year now faces new charges after allegedly seriously injuring someone after striking the woman’s car as he fled from police.David K. Lynch, 24, whose last address known to State Police is Weymouth, has been wanted by police since Nov. 2 when Brockton Police responded to a shooting on West Park Street that left one man dead. The investigation alleges that the victim approached a vehicle Lynch was in, “a dispute occurred” and then Lynch shot him down.On Thursday, police say they spotted him at the wheel of a BMW X1 SUV, in which there was another male passenger, in a Holiday Inn parking lot in Middleboro around 3 p.m. When local and state police moved in, they say he took flight and rammed their cars before making a getaway on Route 44.State Police in a statement Thursday said that they pursued but then lost sight of the vehicle — but roughly 5 minutes later, police radi...

Justice Department accuses Minneapolis police of rights violations after George Floyd’s killing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:01 GMT

By JIM SALTER and MARK VANCLEAVE (Associated Press)MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department alleged Friday that Minneapolis police have systematically discriminated against Black and Native American people for years and often violated constitutional rights following a sweeping investigation that began after George Floyd was killed.The two-year probe found that Minneapolis officers used excessive force, including “unjustified deadly force,” and violated the rights of people engaged in constitutionally protected speech. The investigation also found that both police and the city discriminated against people with “behavioral health disabilities” when officers are called for help.“We observed many MPD officers who did their difficult work with professionalism, courage and respect,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told a news conference in Minneapolis. “But the patterns and practices we observed made what happened to George Floyd possible....

NBA suspends Ja Morant 25 games for 2nd social media video involving a gun

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:01 GMT

Memphis guard Ja Morant has been suspended for the first 25 games of the upcoming season for flashing a handgun in a social media video for a second time, the NBA announced Friday.The Grizzlies star player was shown in the video in May flashing the gun while sitting in the passenger seat of a car. The livestream on Instagram came after Morant served an eight-game suspension for a video in March showing him flashing a handgun in a strip club.Morant is due to make around $33.5 million this season. He now stands to lose just over $300,000 per game during this suspension — or approximately $7.5 million. He also will have to adhere to certain conditions before being reinstated, the NBA said.“Ja Morant’s decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concern...

Food inflation may be easing but prices won’t return to pre-pandemic levels, RBC says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:01 GMT

TORONTO — A new report from RBC says the cost of filling a grocery cart is finally stabilizing, but don’t expect food prices to go back to pre-pandemic levels. The report released this week says the main drivers of food inflation, such as global supply chain issues and transportation costs, have eased but prices won’t drop any time soon. RBC says food prices have soared by 18 per cent over the past two years, adding to the strain on Canadian household budgets amid rising interest rates. Supply chain bottlenecks, shipping costs and volatile prices of raw food commodities, such as wheat and oils, have stabilized and concerns about the impact of geopolitical strife — mainly the war in Ukraine — have eased. But RBC warns that drought and other extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and could “meaningfully limit” farm production, which would affect the food supply chain.The report points to shrinking livestock herd sizes in Canada and the United States ...

Father admits to fatally shooting 3 young sons at Ohio home, prosecutors say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:01 GMT

MONROE TOWNSHIP, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man accused of fatally shooting his three young sons admitted to planning the killings and lined them up before executing them with a rifle, prosecutors said Friday. Chad Doerman, 32, who is also accused of wounding the boys’ mother at the family’s home, has been charged with aggravated murder, authorities said.Clermont County’s chief prosecutor of Municipal Court, David Gast, said during Doerman’s arraignment Friday that one of the boys tried to flee into a nearby field but Doerman “hunted” his son down and brought him back to their home before killing him. Doerman’s bail has been set at $20 million. He was being held in Clermont County Jail. Deputies responded to the home in Monroe Township shortly before 4:30 p.m. Thursday after receiving a pair of 911 calls, one apparently from the mother who was screaming that “her babies had been shot” and another from a passing motorist who said a girl was running down the street sa...

Families, loved ones, await word on loved ones in Manitoba bus crash that killed 15

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:01 GMT

DAUPHIN, MAN. — Flags were at half-mast as residents of a western Manitoba city awaited word on the fate of loved ones, while police started to piece together what caused a crash between a semi-trailer and a bus carrying seniors on a day trip to a casino, killing at least 15. “There’s a lot of uncertainty right now,” Brad Michaleski, the provincial legislature member for Dauphin, said Friday in an interview.“We’re just trying to get a handle on how large an issue is this for our area and we’re patiently waiting (on) RCMP.”Mounties said they are working with the medical examiner’s office to confirm identities and pass on information to loved ones of the victims.The bus had 25 people, 10 of whom were sent to area hospitals with head injuries and broken bones.Sandra Kaleta said she is involved with the Dauphin Active Living Centre, which organized the trip, and said she had considered going on the bus Thursday. “I don’t know why I changed my mind,” Kaleta said. “I jus...

Toronto, Peel police experiencing ‘exponential’ increase in accidental 911 calls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:01 GMT

Both Toronto police and Peel police say they are experiencing a “exponential increase” in accidental 911 calls due to recent software updates on mobile phones.In Toronto, the 911 call centre received an average 6,500 calls per day in May of 2023, up from 5,200 in 2002. Of those calls, 70 per cent were 911 calls and almost 50 per cent of those were accidental.Anytime a 911 caller doesn’t respond or hangs up on an operator, the operator must make contact by calling back whether there is an emergency or not which can take up to 90 seconds. It comes at a time when 911 call volume and wait times are high.Peel police say recent software updates to the Emergency SOS feature on Android devices makes it easier to dial 911 unintentionally and users are encouraged to turn the setting off.TPS says they are working to reduce call wait times by hiring communication operators, of which it takes up to 18 months to train. They have also introduced text messaging notifications to re...

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat to visit Iran, latest in restoring diplomatic ties after 7-year rift

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:01 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat is coming to visit Tehran, the latest step in the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two Mideast rivals, according to a statement from Iran on Friday. The statement said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will meet his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, on Saturday. Prince Faisal is also expected to officially inaugurate the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran. Both nations resumed the work of their diplomatic missions in the other country in recent weeks.The Iranian foreign minister’s visit comes after a visit to Saudi Arabia by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier in June. In March, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions.It was a major diplomatic breakthrough negotiated by China, lowering the chance of further conflict between Riyadh and Tehran — both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region.Iran has been blamed...

Cleanup under way after storms hit swath of Southern states, killing at least 5, destroying homes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:01 GMT

PERRYTON, Texas (AP) — Cleanup efforts continued Friday after severe storms — including some that produced tornadoes — tore across a swath of Southern states, killing at least five people as they destroyed hundreds of homes, tossed vehicles into buildings and left hundreds of thousands without electricity.In Perryton in the Texas Panhandle, Ochiltree County Sheriff Terry Bouchard said three people were killed when the tornado struck Thursday afternoon.Another person died Thursday night in the Florida Panhandle when at least one confirmed tornado cut through Escambia County, toppling a tree onto a home, county spokesperson Andie Gibson told the Pensacola News Journal.Also, a Mississippi man died after a tree fell on him during stormy weather early Friday. Canton Police Chief Otha Brown told WLBT-TV the man was killed after high winds toppled over a tree onto his carport as he was entering his car.In Texas, of the homes searched so far in Perryton, all but one occupant had been accoun...