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Texas begins flying migrants from US-Mexico border to Chicago, with 1st plane carrying 120 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:09 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas began flying migrants from the U.S.-Mexico border to Chicago on Wednesday, a week after the city took a tougher stance on the buses that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has been sending north since last year.The first flight of 120 migrants arrived in the afternoon, according to Abbott’s office. The governor directed state officials to begin busing migrants to Democratic-led cities starting in April 2022. Over 80,000 migrants have since been relocated through the effort as part of the governor’s multi-pronged border security mission, known as Operation Lone Star, including 23,000 to Chicago. Chicago’s city council voted last week to toughen penalties on bus operators that don’t unload passengers at a designated arrival location or fill out city paperwork. The city has said operators began trying to drop people off in neighboring cities to avoid penalties including fines, towing or impoundment.Concerns have arisen about the living ...

Suspect located in kidnapping of 13-year-old girl from Imperial County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:09 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The suspect in the kidnapping of a 13-year-old girl from Imperial County was taken into custody, officials with FBI San Diego confirmed in a statement posted to the social media site X Wednesday.The FBI's announcement that Lorenzo Guerrero, 43, was located comes one day after authorities found Raine Gonzales, prompting the cancelation of the Amber Alert connected to the case.Gonzales had been missing since Dec. 10, when she was last seen with Guerrero near the intersection of I Street and 18th Street in Brawley, officials said. The relationship between the two remains unclear at this time.About a week later, on Sunday, authorities offered up a $10,000 reward for any information regarding the whereabouts of Gonzales and Guerrero.California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert issued Thursday afternoon for a 13-year-old girl who was last seen in Imperial County. (California Highway Patrol)In their statement Wednesday, FBI officials said Gonzales was located safely with the...

A Kansas City-area man has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges over aviation exports to Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:09 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City-area man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal criminal charges accusing him of conspiring with a business partner to illegally export aviation-related technology to Russia, even after its invasion of Ukraine. Douglas Edward Robertson’s plea to 26 criminal counts came a day after his business partner, Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky, pleaded guilty to two of those charges and agreed to the U.S. government’s seizure of $500,000 of assets, most of them held by their company, KanRus Trading Co.Prosecutors have alleged that KanRus supplied aircraft electronics to Russian companies and offered repair services for equipment used in Russian-manufactured aircraft. Buyanovksy, 60, was the company’s founder and president, and Robertson, 56, was its vice president. Their arrests in March came as the U.S. ramped up sanctions and financial penalties on Russia since its invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. Along with thousands of sanctions on ...

US senator’s son faces new charges in crash that killed North Dakota sheriff’s deputy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:09 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer’s 42-year-old son is facing additional charges in connection with the pursuit and crash that killed a North Dakota sheriff’s deputy this month.Ian Cramer, who is in jail, is now also accused of theft, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment for allegedly taking a family vehicle and driving through a closed garage door of a Bismarck hospital’s ambulance bay. The new charges were filed Tuesday.He was previously charged in Mercer County with homicide, reckless endangerment, preventing arrest and drug possession, among other counts, in connection with the Dec. 6 pursuit and crash. A state district court judge set a $500,000 cash bond on those charges, and Cramer is set for a Feb. 7 preliminary hearing on them.Cramer’s attorney did not immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment on the new charges. He has not entered any pleas yet.Charging documents say Ian Cramer’s mother was taking him to the poli...

US historians ID a New Mexico soldier killed during WWII, but work remains on thousands of cases

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:09 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — After years of combing through military records and making some key deductions, a team of U.S. government historians and researchers has finally put a name to case file X-3212, identifying an Army private from eastern New Mexico named Homer Mitchell who died during World War II.The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency this week announced the findings, which were confirmed by laboratory testing and brought closure to Mitchell’s family members.Mitchell is one of nearly 160 service members who have been accounted for over the last fiscal year as part of a massive, yearslong effort headed by the federal agency. The list of service members from various conflicts who have yet to be accounted for tops 81,000, but officials say more than 37,000 of those — mostly from WWII — are considered to be recoverable.Each case can take years and involves poring through old reports and medical records, said Sean Everette, who leads outreach and communications for the agency....

Movie Review: A transformed Zac Efron gives his all in tragic, true-life wrestling tale ‘Iron Claw’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:09 GMT

It doesn’t take long to understand the level of commitment Zac Efron brings to “The Iron Claw” as Texas wrestling brother Kevin Von Erich. Just one look at the taut mass of muscle and sinew he’s become for the role will do the trick.It’s also clear from the get-go how invested writer-director Sean Durkin was in telling the true-life tale of the Von Erich family wrestling dynasty, which — shockingly, to those of us unfamiliar with the story — suffered a set of tragic losses almost too staggering to imagine. It’s hardly a spoiler alert to say that Kevin, by 35, was the only surviving brother of an original six. (He is now 66). Indeed, so devastating is the story that Durkin felt the need to excise brother Chris, one of three lost to suicide, from this retelling entirely.Durkin has said he was a committed wrestling fan from his childhood in England, where he scoured magazines to learn more about the exploits of the Von Erichs, who made their name in the colorful, high-flying, ent...

Two railroad crossings are temporarily closed in Texas. Will there be a significant impact on trade?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:09 GMT

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The federal government has closed railroad crossings in two Texas border towns, raising concerns about the potential impact on cross-border trade and American consumers.Customs and Border Protection announced Sunday that it would temporarily stop railroad operations in Eagle Pass and El Paso starting Monday. It did not say how long rail operations would be paused.Carriers and politicians have decried the move that closes two of the six available railroad systems between Mexico and the U.S.“This train doesn’t just stop at Eagle Pass. This train doesn’t just impact Texas,” Rep. Tony Gonzalez, a Republican congressman who represents the affected region, said Tuesday during a news conference. “This train impacts all of America, goods that are going all over America.”WHY IS IT HAPPENING?CBP reported as many as 10,000 people entering the country illegally every day through the southwest border this month. Closing the railroad would free up customs o...

Art mystery solved: Owner of Wrigley Field painting meets artist behind it thanks to WGN

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:09 GMT

On Wednesday afternoon in Oak Park, the 20-year mystery that confounded Daniel Kamen was solved. He finally met the artist behind his prized painting of the Wrigley Field bleachers.To understand how the chance meeting finally came to fruition, we have to take a step back. WGN first introduced Chicagoland to Kamen a couple weeks ago. PREVIOUS REPORTING: An art mystery: Buffalo Grove man seeking to discover artist of beloved Wrigley Field painting The retired chiropractor and super fan of the Chicago Cubs had been gifted a painting of Wrigley Field's bleachers with a number of caricatures incorporated into the piece of art. On the bottom of the painting, a signature reading "Tommy '05" was inscribed.Originally, Kamen thought it might be a nod to former Cubs infielder Tommy Brown, who played for the North Siders from 1952 into 1953."Leo Durocher named him buckshot because his arm was so, so scattered," Kamen said at the time. "He would be a shortstop and throw to first base and it wo...

Swedish Hospital donation drive aims to help migrant families for the holidays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:09 GMT

It’s not just medical care — hospitals are anchors in the community. Right now, even the needs outside their walls are plenty. For the small Neighborhood Healthcare Hub, it’s a big haul at Swedish Hospital on Chicago’s North Side. “It’s so much more than just the care that is delivered within these walls,” said Jenise Celestin, assistant director of community impact and engagement with Endeavor Health. “All of our team members have been waiting for the opportunity to give and respond to this immediate, most pressing need.” And they delivered! Dropped off under the tree and in collection boxes throughout the facility, the cold-weather gear was rounded up by the hospital’s public safety officers.  More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch "We know that there is an influx of arrivals coming into this community. What can we do?" Celestin asked. "How can we have a tangible impact on their needs? What do they most need and how can we respond to those needs?” Celestin asked. Boots, bl...

'He's so tiny and so fluffy': Baby sea otter finds home at Shedd Aquarium after nearly 3,000 mile journey

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:09 GMT

CHICAGO — The story of how one baby sea otter made its way to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium all the way from coastal Alaska began one cold October morning in the small town of Seldovia.Members from the Alaska Sea Life Center (ASLC) spotted a small ball of fur nestled near the water, seemingly abandoned, along the coast of Seldovia Bay, an area of Alaska that's about a six-hour drive and ferry ride south of the state's highest populated city, Anchorage."When pups are this little, mom is always near by or with the pup," said Katie Roxbury, senior trainer at the Shedd Aquarium. "So, the fact that they didn't see the female raised some alarms."Now considered an endangered species, the sea otter population in Southwest Alaska has experienced a sharp decline in recent years, which led to the ASLC team bringing him to a facility in hopes of nursing the little guy back to health.There are only a handful of centers in the United States capable of providing the 24/7 care a baby sea otter requires ...