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Boris Johnson ally quits UK government with a blast at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:15 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British environment minister who is close to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson quit on Friday, accusing the current government of apathy toward climate issues.Zac Goldsmith said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was “simply uninterested” in the environment.“This government’s apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced makes continuing in my current role untenable,” he wrote in a resignation letter released on social media.He said Britain has “visibly stepped off the world stage and withdrawn our leadership on climate and nature.”Goldsmith, Sunak and Johnson are all members of the governing Conservative Party.Goldsmith, 48, is a long-time conservationist who was appointed to Parliament’s unelected House of Lords by Johnson before Johnson resigned almost a year ago amid ethics scandals.Goldsmith’s resignation comes the day after he was among eight allies of the former prime minister criticized by lawmakers for trying to undermine a committee investigating whe...

Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen had been a huge Facebook fan. Now he’s threatening to ban it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:15 GMT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s long-serving, tough-talking leader, Hun Sen, on Friday said he is considering banning Facebook in his country, largely because he is fed up with the abuse he receives on it from his political enemies abroad.Pulling the plug on Facebook for millions of Cambodian users would be the last stage in a lightning estrangement this past week between the 70-year-old prime minister and the social media platform. He had been an enthusiastic user, posting family snapshots alongside dire warnings to his foes, and recently livestreaming his many, sometimes hours-long speeches.On Wednesday, he suddenly announced he will no longer upload to Facebook and will instead use Telegram to get his message across. Telegram is a popular messaging app that also has a blogging tool called “channels.”Hun Sen said he was making the switch because Telegram is more effective and makes it easier to communicate when he is traveling to countries that ban Facebook use — such as Ch...

Friday Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of afternoon storms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:15 GMT

Friday: Mostly cloudy, chance for afternoon/eve thunderstorms, humid, cooler lakeside, W 5-10. High: 92, low: 86Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, chance for scattered storms, WSW 0-5. Low: 70Saturday: Mostly cloudy, still humid, thunderstorms, cooler lakeside, WSW 0-5. High: 86, low: 77wgntv.com/weather

Record-breaking travelers expected amid holiday weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:15 GMT

 CHICAGO -- Record-breaking crowds of travelers are expected to hit the skies and roads this fourth of July holiday weekend. From a handful of cancellations and several delays giving a slow start to the holiday weekend -- that is expected to change. Triple is predicting more than 2.8 million people in Illinois will travel 50 miles or more this holiday weekend -- a four percent increase from 2022. Nearly 90 percent of those travelling this weekend will be driving but nearly 2 million passengers are expected to pass through both O'Hare and Midway between Friday and the rest of the weekend. LIST: Major NASCAR street closures in downtown Chicago Several O'Hare goers attested to the pain of travelling over a holiday weekend. "It actually got delayed like 4 times.," Cameron Culver, a traveler going to Atlanta said. "It's been delayed to 9:45. It was meant to leave at 9," another traveler, Robert Wright who is going to New Orleans said. Nationally, Triple believes a record-breaking 50.7...

Boy, 16, shot in knee in Chicago Lawn overnight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:15 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 16-year-old boy was shot in the knee in the city's Chicago Lawn neighborhood overnight. According to police, the boy was walking on the sidewalk near the 6100 block of South Kedzie Avene around 2:40 a.m. when he heard shots and felt pain. 3 siblings missing from North Side; may be headed to Kentucky with older brother Police said a black sedan was seen speeding away northbound. The boy sustained a gunshot wound to the right knee and was transported to Christ Hospital in good condition. There is no one in custody and police are investigating the incident.

Kangaroo injured after jumping from car on Kansas interstate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:15 GMT

BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. (WDAF) – Police in Kansas have located the owners of a young kangaroo after they believe a driver hit the animal on an interstate Wednesday night.Officers from the Bonner Springs and Edwardsville police departments found the injured kangaroo hiding in tall grass near I-435 and Kansas Highway 32 in Kansas City, Kansas, around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. Zebra bites man’s arm in Ohio: 'This zebra has been aggressive in the past' Police originally believed the animal was a wallaby. The owner later clarified that it was a young kangaroo. The owner said the kangaroo, named Star, had jumped out of the window of his car.Pictures provided by police in Bonner Springs show the kangaroo with numerous cuts and injuries.BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. -- Bonner Springs Police found an injured wallaby on I-435 June 28, 2023, They believe it was hit by a car. (PHOTO: Bonner Springs Police)BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. -- Bonner Springs Police found an injured wallaby on I-435 June 28, 2023, They beli...

Texas abortion ban led to almost 10,000 additional live births

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:15 GMT

(The Hill) - A research paper published on Thursday linked 9,799 additional live births in Texas to an abortion ban that the state passed in 2021, confirming what researchers had expected to happen after the bill was passed.The Texas Legislature passed a bill in September of 2021 that effectively banned abortions about 5 to 6 weeks after a woman's last menstrual cycle.While researchers generally expect abortions to drop and live births to rise after an anti-abortion measure is passed, the extent to which this will occur is not always known.Now researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have estimated that roughly 9,800 live births in Texas occurred between April and December 2022 that wouldn't have if the abortion ban hadn't been in place at that time.Through statistical modeling and looking back at previous live birth data from all 50 states and D.C., researchers found that there would have been 287,289 live births in Texas in that time period if the 2021 ...

City of Austin closings for the Fourth of July

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The City of Austin said Thursday many offices will be closed on Tuesday, July 4. Parks and RecreationThe city said all City of Austin Recreation Centers, Senior Centers as well as Museums and Cultural Centers will be closed on Tuesday. City parks, playgrounds, tennis centers, and golf courses will be open for their regularly scheduled hours on Independence Day. View City pool hours here. Austin Public LibraryAustin Public Library branches, Austin Central Library, and the Austin History Center will be closed on Tuesday. Library resources that are available remotely can be accessed at the Austin Public Library website.Recycling, Compost and Trash CollectionThe city will close Austin Resource Recovery administrative offices on Tuesday. Curbside services will not be affected by the holiday and the Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center will be open by appointment only. Austin EnergyThe city said Austin En...

4th positive West Nile sample of 2023 found in Williamson County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:15 GMT

The video in this story aired on June 20, 2023 GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) – The Williamson County and Cities Health District said Thursday a mosquito trap sample collected in Georgetown tested positive for West Nile virus. WCCHD said this is the fourth reported West Nile virus-positive trap in five weeks of the 2023 season.According to WCCHD, the positive sample was collected from a trap site near Blue Hole Park which is located near 200 Austin Ave. The health district said it was the first time a positive sample was collected from that location.Positive mosquito samples were previously detected in Georgetown (Geneva Park) and Jarrell (Sonterra Community), WCCHD said.“As we near the July 4th holiday and enjoy outdoor activities (especially at dusk when the mosquitoes that carry West Nile virus are most active) I encourage everyone to use an EPA-approved insect repellent, empty wading pools when not in use, and ensure permanent pools are properly maintained and chlorinated,” ...

John Schmidt: Success in other cities shows that a strong police superintendent can reduce violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:15 GMT

CHICAGO — As the Justice Department official who was responsible for implementing the 1994 federal crime law, I had a ringside view of changes in U. S. policing in the 1990s. I came to one clear conclusion: The single-most important factor in determining whether cities made real progress in reducing violent crime was the quality of police leadership.Three cities were the poster children for crime reduction in the ’90s.New York City went from 2,200 homicides in the early ’90s to 650 by 2000; last year, it had 433.San Diego went from almost 170 homicides to 54 by the end of decade; it had 51 last year.Boston went from 150 to 40; it had 41 last year.An independent assessment of police department effectiveness based on crime rates and other factors in recent decades put the police in those three cities at the top of the list.Not coincidentally all three of those cities had exceptional police leaders. William Bratton in New York City brought to the job a relentless focu...