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Typhoon Mawar lashes Guam, US island territory known as ‘Where America’s Day Begins’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:33 GMT

The powerful Typhoon Mawar that lashed Guam on Thursday has interrupted travel and tropical island life for residents and U.S. military members in one of the nation’s most remote territories.The island in the Pacific Ocean is known for a cheerful greeting drawn from the Indigenous Chamorro language: “Hafa Adai,” which generally means “Hello.” Visitors learn that Guam is “Where America’s Day Begins,” as it is hours ahead of Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. mainland, and the jet-lagged traveler will certainly notice the humidity.They’ll also see seagulls and sunsets, but probably no songbirds. Non-native brown tree snakes, introduced after World War II, decimated the native jungle bird population on the largest of the tropical Mariana Islands.People born on Guam are U.S. citizens with a huge time difference from those on the mainland. The sun rises 14 hours earlier for the 170,500 people who live on Guam than in New York City. Wednesday afternoon in Washington, D.C., was ...

Postal workers’ union settles defamation lawsuit with B’nai Brith

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:33 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says it has agreed to settle its lawsuit against Jewish activist group B’nai Brith Canada.The lawsuit stems from news releases in 2018 by B’nai Brith saying CUPW was aligned with a pro-terrorism union, calling their leadership “radical” and accusing them of being aligned with a “path of violence and extremism.” CUPW co-operates with similar organizations in other countries, including with one that speaks for Palestinian postal workers, and has also supported an international boycott of Israeli products on the grounds that Israel mistreats Palestinians in the occupied territories. The union sued B’nai Brith for malicious defamation, and the organization sought to block the lawsuit but was unsuccessful. The union says in a press release Wednesday that it will receive an undisclosed amount from B’nai Brith, that the organization will remove the two articles in question from its website, and th...

U.S. will not default, but Republicans won’t be to blame if it does, McCarthy says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:33 GMT

WASHINGTON — The United States won’t go into default on its debt, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicted Wednesday — but the highest-ranking Republican on Capitol Hill also said it won’t be his fault if it does.The double-barrelled message from the Speaker of the House of Representatives, whose caucus is locked in a spending standoff with the White House, came amid the ongoing, ominous countdown to the so-called “X-date.” That’s when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the U.S. government will run out of the money it needs to pay all of its bills without Congress agreeing to raise the debt ceiling — a day which could come as soon as June 1. “I don’t think there’ll be a default, and I don’t see how you would blame Republicans,” McCarthy told a news conference on Capitol Hill. Democrats, he said, have done nothing to prevent the standoff, even since February when McCarthy first indicated he wanted to see spending cuts before...

GOP-led Oklahoma Legislature agrees on largest-ever budget with little input from governor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:33 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Republican leaders in Oklahoma, who control every lever of political power in the state, unveiled their largest-ever budget proposal this week, the result of bruising negotiations that left the GOP governor fuming and even some Democrats happy with what it included. The $13 billion state budget, a nearly 20% increase over last year’s final spending plan, did not include one of Gov. Kevin Stitt’s top priorities of cutting the state’s income or grocery sales tax. House and Senate leaders also apparently blindsided the governor by voting to extend tobacco compacts with several Oklahoma-based Native American tribes that Stitt was hoping to renegotiate to get a better deal for the state.Stitt’s office didn’t immediately comment Wednesday on the spending plan that easily passed the House and is expected to clear the Senate on Thursday. But during a press availability last week, Stitt said he was continuing to urge the Legislature to cut t...

Shell agrees to pay $10 million for air pollution at massive new Pennsylvania petrochemical plant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:33 GMT

Shell has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that it polluted the air around its massive new petrochemical refinery in western Pennsylvania, the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Wednesday.Shell acknowledged that the plant, located along the Ohio River about 30 miles (48 kilometers) outside of Pittsburgh, violated air emissions limits, officials said. The multibillion-dollar facility opened in November, only to be shut down months later after the company said it identified a problem with a system that’s designed to burn off unwanted gases. Shell said it has made repairs and planned to restart the plant on Wednesday.Under an agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Shell Chemicals Appalachia LLC — a subsidiary of British oil and gas giant Shell plc — will pay a civil penalty of about $5 million, a portion of which will go toward environmental projects in Beaver County. The company will funnel a total of $6.2 million to th...

Vote on resources to help asylum seekers tabled during Chicago City Council meeting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:33 GMT

CHICAGO — A vote to address financial resources for asylum seekers living in makeshift shelters across Chicago was tabled during Wednesday's city council meeting.Before the meeting wrapped up, a protest in the morning led by some city council members was interrupted.The protest was led by Ex-cons for Community and Social Change and they demanded those who are getting out of prison aren't overlooked. Mayor Johnson presides over his first Chicago City Council meeting "They got housing for us to go in prison but no housing for us when we return," one person said.Part of the coalition's proposal includes three types of shelters, some housing up to 400 people and others with no more than 30 people."This plan should be implemented to house every single person experiencing homelessness across the City of Chicago," another person said. "These issues are hand-in-hand and we should be working together."During Wednesday's city council meeting, several aldermen deferred discussion and a possi...

ISP reveals details about crash that claimed Ohio 'honest work' farmer's life

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:33 GMT

CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) -- The Illinois State Police has revealed new information about a crash on Interstate 74 that resulted in the death of an Ohio farmer known for a viral Internet meme. Farmer known for ‘It ain’t much, but it’s honest work’ meme dies at 76 in Illinois Dave Brandt, 76, was the face of the meme dubbed "It ain't much, but it's honest work." A friend and colleague told WCIA sister station WCMH that Brandt was in Central Illinois picking up red corn and was driving back to his Carroll, Ohio, farm when his truck crashed.State Police officials said the crash happened Thursday on Interstate 74 near Farmer City. Brandt, they said, was driving eastbound when for undisclosed reasons, he lost control of his truck. The truck rolled over and Brandt was ejected.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesBrandt was taken to Carle Hospital in Urbana, where he died from his injuries two days later.

A design gets a group of Chicago students national recognition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:33 GMT

CHICAGO — A group of high school students from Chicago were crowned champions this spring in an event that tested their creativity and ingenuity.One of the teams in the city's ACE Mentor Program - which aids students interested in architecture, construction, and engineering - won first place in the Construction Industry Round Table (CIRT) national design and construction contest in April in Washington D.C.The 20 students on Chicago Team 11 were given the $5,000 prize for their design for a school of the future, which was the category for their competition. Participants come from a mix of public and private schools, including Chicago Public School students Whitney Young, Jones College Prep, and Lindblom Math and Science."It was just so rewarding to see how amazing this experience was," said Kayla Magdaleno, a senior at Bennett Day School of the competition. "To be able to work with everyone and see our progress over the weeks. It was super rewarding and honestly the biggest confiden...

Wisconsin DNR estimates state's elk herds have grown to around 500 animals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:33 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin wildlife officials estimate the number of elk in the state will grow to more than 500 animals by July.The Department of Natural Resources began reintroducing elk to the state in 1995 by importing 25 animals to the Clam Lake region. The agency began another reintroduction effort in 2014 that called for importing up to 150 elk from Kentucky to bolster the Clam Lake herd and establish a second herd in Jackson County.The DNR authorized the first modern-day elk hunt in 2018 after the Clam Lake herd surpassed 200 animals.According to a report that DNR biologists plan to present to the agency board Wednesday, the Jackson County herd should stand at around 155 to 160 elk by the time the calving season is over in July. The Clam Lake herd should stand at around 355 animals by that time.The Jackson County herd lost at least 13 elk in 2022. Seven animals were killed in car crashes, and two were harvested illegally. The remaining four died of sickness or reasons un...

President Biden calls for Congressional action on the first anniversary of Uvalde shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:38:33 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - President Biden addressed the country on the first anniversary of the elementary school shooting that took the lives of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas."God bless those 21 blessed souls lost on this day in Uvalde and may God bless their families, we're thinking of you," Biden said.President Biden honored the victims and continued his calls for Congress to take action and pass legislation that addresses gun violence in the country."I know for a long time it's been hard to make progress, but there will come a point where our voices are so loud, our determination so clear, we can no longer be stopped," Biden said.The U.S. Department of Education reports 135 school shootings so far this year, with 19 of them resulting in death."We cannot normalize in this country the death of children," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said.Cardona says there is something fundamentally wrong if lawmakers value guns more than the lives of students."It's not a Republ...