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Pence seeks ‘common sense’ Social Security, Medicare reform

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:45 GMT

As he mulls a 2024 presidential bid, former Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday called for “common sense and compassionate solutions” to reform entitlement programs and the nation’s debt burden, suggesting changes to Social Security and Medicare programs hurtling toward insolvency, particularly for younger generations, without naming specific recommendations.“What we need now is leadership because, if we act in this moment with the support of this generation, we can introduce common sense reforms that will never touch anyone who is in retirement, or anyone who will retire in the next 25 years,” Pence told an audience of college students at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. “It’ll just take courage to do it, and that’s where your generation will come in.”What to do with Social Security and Medicare, as the programs close in on projected insolvency dates, has emerged as a dividing line for Republicans seeking to lead their party in the 2024 president...

Lead Derek Chauvin prosecutor appointed to be state judge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:45 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — One of the state’s lead prosecutors who helped convict Derek Chauvin of murder in the May 2020 killing of George Floyd has been appointed as a judge in Hennepin County, Minnesota’s governor announced Tuesday.Gov. Tim Walz said Matt Frank “will be a remarkable judge who will approach this position with the understanding that justice is a process, not a result.”Frank is an experienced attorney with the state Attorney General’s Office, and he helped lead the state’s prosecution of Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers who were charged in Floyd’s killing. Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter and sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. He later pleaded guilty to a federal count of violating Floyd’s rights and was sentenced to 21 years on that count, to be served concurrently. Frank also helped broker guilty pleas for two other former officers on charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter. A fourth forme...

Ex-judge rejects free speech defense in Project Veritas case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The First Amendment protection for journalists should not keep prosecutors from seeing most evidence gathered in a probe of people connected to conservative group Project Veritas, a former federal judge appointed to the case said in a report Tuesday.Barbara Jones told U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres that she recommends letting prosecutors view most of the 1,000-plus documents gathered through search warrants for a probe into how the group received a diary purported to belong to President Joe Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden.Neither Project Veritas nor any of its staffers have been charged with a crime. The group says its activities were newsgathering and were ethical and legal.Jones, who formerly served as a federal judge in Manhattan, acknowledged that courts have long recognized a qualified evidentiary privilege for information gathered during a journalistic investigation.But she wrote that the privilege is not absolute and that it offers the greatest protection w...

Police: Suspect still at-large after Eisenhower rollover crash that injured 2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:45 GMT

COOK COUNTY, Ill. — One suspect is still at-large and two people are in the hospital after a three car rollover crash on the Eisenhower Expressway that lead to a foot pursuit Tuesday.According to the Maywood Police Department, their officers were called to the area of South 9th Avenue and St. Charles Road sometime Tuesday morning for a person waving a gun out of a dark grey BMW SUV.After arriving in the area, officers found the vehicle in question near the intersection of North 6th Avenue and Lake Street and attempted to stop it, but the vehicle fled the area. Police terminated pursuit after the offending vehicle sped up going through the intersection of South 9th Avenue and St. Charles Road. Man shot, killed during Rogers Park home invasion Afterward, a parked Maywood police officer saw the offending vehicle drive down the eastbound entrance ramp onto the Eisenhower Expressway near South 9th Avenue. Once on the Eisenhower, the offending vehicle continued driving at a high rate of...

1 dead following house fire in Orland Hills

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:45 GMT

ORLAND HILLS, Ill. — One person has died following a fire in a home in Orland Hills.According to a spokesperson for Orland Hills, the fire broke out around 2 p.m. Tuesday in the 8900 block of Beacon Lane.Emergency crews arrived to find one person trapped inside the home. A second person was outside the home. Kevin Fox, wrongly charged in daughter’s 2004 death, dies in crash One person was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the spokesperson.Three police officers and the second person were evaluated on the scene but declined transportation to the hospital. The cause of the fire is under investigation.The cause of death has not yet been released.

2 Chicago postal workers robbed at gunpoint, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:45 GMT

CHICAGO — Two Chicago postal workers were recently robbed at gunpoint, the latest in a string of armed robberies involving city mail carriers, police told WGN News on Tuesday. The latest incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. Monday in the 6400 block of N. Hoyne Ave., on Chicago's North Side. According to police, a male carrier was in an alleyway when an armed suspect approached and stole postal property. SEE ALSO | $50K reward offered after armed robbery of USPS carrier on West SideThe armed suspect made off in a nearby white four-door sedan, possibly a Toyota Camry, police said.Days earlier, on Thursday, March 16, Chicago police said a postal carrier parked in the 100 block of S. Seeley Ave., on the city's Near West Side, was also robbed at gunpoint.Around 11:30 a.m., the postal worker was inside a parked vehicle when a gold Lexus approached and an armed suspect exited and demanded postal property. The victim complied and the Lexus drove off in an unknown direction.READ MORE | 4 posta...

Chicago suburb tops 'Best Places in Live in Illinois' list

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:45 GMT

LAKE COUNTY, Ill. — A Chicago suburb with a population of a little over 1,300 is the best place to live in Illinois, according to the latest rankings from Niche.com.Bannockburn was not only named the best place to live in the state but also ranked 8th out of 544 for Places with the Best Public Schools in Illinois. SEE ALSO | Brookfield Zoo named 5th best zoo in new pollThe north suburban community in Lake County scored an 'A+' grade for public schools, health and fitness and family upbringing. The suburb was also given an 'A' grade for crime and safety, nightlife, and outdoor activities. Closely following with an 'A-' grade, Bannockburn ranks the best in the state for jobs and daily commutes. The rest of the breakdown:Diversity — BHousing — B-Weather — C+Cost of Living — The top 10 'Best Places in Live in Illinois' are ranked below:1.) Bannockburn2. ) Long Grove3. ) Clarendon Hills4. ) Naperville5.) Inverness6.) Hinsdale7.) Buffalo Grove8.) Western Springs9.) Kildeer10.) EvanstonNic...

Body found in Illinois River near Peoria

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:45 GMT

PEORIA, Ill. -- A unidentified body was removed from the Illinois River near Peoria Tuesday morning.According to the Peoria Police Department, the body was discovered by a person walking on the bike trail, who called 911.The body was found by Peoria police around 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday just north of the Riverplex, according to Nexstar affiliate WMBD-TV. Man shot, killed during Rogers Park home invasion Jamie Harwood, the Coroner for Peoria County, the body was found on the bank of the river, and partially submerged.Harwood said that they are not releasing any additional information on the body until it has been identified and the next of kin has been notified.No other information is available at this time.

City of Austin collecting second round of storm debris March 31

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:45 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Resource Recovery (ARR), a department of the City of Austin, has started its second pass through the city to collect storm debris from customers, according to a news release from the city. This latest collection should be completed later this week.ARR is also on the schedule to finish the final pass by the end of April, the release said.According to the city, ARR is collecting an unprecedented amount of debris from the winter storm. So far, crews have collected more than 166,000 tons of debris in more than 23,000 truckloads through March 20.Crews typically collect approximately 6,000 tons of material in a year of semiannual large brush collections, the city said.Customers do not need to call 311 to request a collection for the final citywide pass, the release said. Crews are driving all streets and picking up debris that is properly set at the curb, the city said. Furthermore, all existing 311 service requests for storm debris will be closed at the end o...

Rural districts fret as Gov. Abbott rallies supporters for 'school choice' at Capitol

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:45 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Gov. Greg Abbott hosted a rally for "parental empowerment" at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, advocating for his plan to subsidize private education in front of supporters his team bussed to Austin.Senate Bill 8 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday. That legislation, which the governor dubs the "parental bill of rights," would create education savings accounts the state would fund with $8,000 per eligible family to send their children to private or home school.Gov. Abbott said Texas would increase funding for public education this session while also lambasting unspecified policies in public schools he argued hurt transparency and teach harmful material."Our children are being taught a radical, woke agenda," Abbott told the crowd. "Listen, there's no reason why any student should have a woke agenda pushed on them. Our schools are for education, not indoctrination."Gov. Greg Abbott holds rally at Texas Capitol for "school choice." ...