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NATO unity will be tested at upcoming summit. Ukraine’s possible entry may be the biggest challenge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues with no end in sight, NATO’s much-celebrated unity faces fresh strains when leaders gather for their annual summit this week in Vilnius, Lithuania.The world’s biggest security alliance is struggling to reach an agreement on admitting Sweden as its 32nd member. Military spending by member nations lags behind long-standing goals. An inability to compromise over who should serve as NATO’s next leader forced an extension of the current secretary-general’s term for an extra year.Perhaps the most difficult questions are over how Ukraine should be eased into NATO. Some maintain admitting Ukraine would fulfill a promise made years ago and be a necessary step to deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. Others fear it would be seen as a provocation that could spiral into an even wider conflict.“I don’t think it’s ready for membership in NATO,” President Joe Biden told CNN in an interview airing Sunday. H...

Multiple armed robberies conducted on Divvy bikes in Loop: CPD

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:54 GMT

CHIAGO -- Chicago police issued an alert over multiple armed robberies conducted on Divvy bikes in the city's Loop over the past month. According to police, a group of two to four armed individuals approached victims, threatening force and taking their belongings. In one incident an automobile was taken. Police also said Divvy bikes were also used by individuals in many of the incidents.100 block of South State St on June 19, 2023 at 2:30 AM.400 block of South LaSalle St on June 25, 2023 at 1:50 AM.0-100 block of North Michigan Ave on June 25, 2023 at 2:04 AM.0-100 block of West Congress Pkwy on June 25, 2023 at 2:16 AM.100 block of North Dearborn Ave on June 25, 2023 at 2:40 AM.0-100 block of East Madison St on June 25, 2023 at 3:00 AM.0-100 block of South Wells St on June 25, 2023 at 4:22 AM.600 block of South Plymouth Ct on June 26, 2023 at 5:20 AM.600 block of South State St on June 26, 2023 at 5:30 AM.0-100 block of South Michigan Ave on June 26, 2023 at 5:35 AM.1100 block of S...

Sunday Forecast: Partly cloudy, warmer afternoon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:54 GMT

Sunday: Sunny AM, partly cloudy afternoon & warmer. WNW 3-7 mph. Air quality is Good with areas of Moderate air quality. High 83, upper 70s by the lake.Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. WSW 3-15 mph. Low 63Monday: Sunny, hot & more humid. Cooler lakeside. SW 10-15 mph. High near 90 Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Extended outlook calls for hot and humid weather again on Tuesday with highs likely in the mid to upper 80s—though a few spots could hit 90. Chance of showers/thunderstorms and some of those in the afternoon and evening could be strong to severe. Wednesday looks like on off showers and thunderstorms with highs in the upper 70s. 

At least 23 injured after fiery CTA bus crash on LSD: CFD

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:54 GMT

CHICAGO -- Chicago Fire reported of a fiery CTA bus crash on DuSable Lake Shore Drive that left at least 23 injured in the city's Kenwood neighborhood early Sunday morning. According to Chicago Fire Department, Lake Shore Drive northbound is closed due to a crash involving a car and a CTA bus near the 4400 block of South DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Multiple armed robberies conducted on Divvy bikes in Loop: CPD Fire said six were transported to the hospital, 13 are in good condition and three are in critical condition. Seven individuals refused medical attention.WGN is following the incident and will update as more information is available.

Heat Advisory returns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A Heat Advisory goes into effect at 1:00 this afternoon. Counties under this latest advisory are shaded in orange. Maximum heat index values this afternoon will climb up to 106° to 112°. Heat Advisory for some of Central Texas starting early this afternoonHighest heat index readings Saturday afternoon included 109° at La Grange and 107° at Camp Mabry.Saturday's high at Camp Mabry was 102° making it the 17th day of a high reaching three digits. This number will increase to 24 by Saturday. This afternoon's normal high is 97°The upper-level ridge of high pressure will be near El Paso this afternoon. It will maintain a hold on the weather pattern all week even as it moves away by the end of the week. Its reach into Central Texas means, as aforementioned, highs reaching 100° and higher going out to at least Saturday.Upper high to dominate all weekThe presence of the high will continue to serve as a lid over the atmosphere meaning that we face seven more days of no rain f...

At East Side arts organization Second Shift Studio Space, four new artists-in-residence will explore Native beadwork, geology, dreams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:54 GMT

Growing up in the Oglala Lakota Nation, Jaida Grey Eagle didn’t see many contemporary fine-art portraits of Native people.So now, the St. Paul-based photographer and bead artist is creating them herself.Starting this month, Grey Eagle will be one of four yearlong artists-in-residence at Second Shift Studio Space of St. Paul, a nonprofit arts organization on the East Side.Made by St. Paul-based Oglala Lakota artist and photojournalist Jaida Grey Eagle in 2022, “Isabella in Blue” is a cyanotype portrait on canvas with Native beadwork. Much of Grey Eagle’s work focuses on portraits of people, particularly women from her tribe in South Dakota. (Photo courtesy Jaida Grey Eagle)Other resident artists are Dahn Gim, who uses a variety of materials, including water, to explore isolation, displacement, and women’s bodies; Anna Lehner, who creates glass sculptures and other installations inspired by the Earth’s tectonic plates and geologic change; and Ivonne Yáñez, originally...

No lawyers for miles: Rural Colorado’s shortage of attorneys is “hitting a crisis point”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:54 GMT

Attorney Kim Verhoeff has taken to recruiting her neighbors to the legal profession.Buried in work and worried about her town’s future, she’s pitched career changes to friends and acquaintances, a teacher, a social worker — you can make a good living as an attorney, there’s lots of work to be done, I’ll help you get established. It’s become a practiced spiel, occasionally taking the tone of a used car salesman.“Do you want to be an attorney?” she asked a reporter during a recent phone call.When Verhoeff started her career 30 years ago, close to a dozen private attorneys worked in Lamar, the town of about 7,600 people in southeast Colorado where she lives. But in the decades since, attorneys have retired or moved away without new lawyers arriving to fill their shoes. Just three or four private attorneys work in town now, she said, and there’s more demand for legal services than they can collectively handle.“It’s a prob...

Plane that crashed, killing 6 people, was trying to land in heavy fog

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:54 GMT

Six people were killed when a jet crashed near the French Valley Airport in Murrieta early Saturday morning, marking the second deadly crash at the airstrip in less than a week.According to the FAA, the Cessna C550 business jet crashed just north of the airport around 4:15 a.m.The 45-minute flight, which had departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, went down in a field and burst into flames.The flight, which had departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, went down in a field and burst into flames. (KTLA) Family of missing young girl found at Camp Pendleton says she was raped “Deputies located an aircraft fully engulfed,” the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said. “Six occupants from the plane were located and pronounced deceased at the scene.”The crash caused a small brush fire that crews were able to extinguish in one hour, the Riverside County Fire Department said.The identities of the victims were not immediately released. They were c...

14-year-old girl found in barracks at Camp Pendleton in alleged sex trafficking case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:54 GMT

A 14-year-old girl who was found at Camp Pendleton two weeks after she went missing was allegedly raped by a Marine on the military base, her family said. According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the girl was reported missing by her grandmother on June 13.A deputy responded to the grandmother's home on the same day to take a missing person report, the department said.The grandmother allegedly told the deputy that her granddaughter ran away on June 9.A video posted on TikTok by the girl’s aunt claims that the girl, who is Native American and has a learning disability, disappeared from her home on June 10 and wasn’t found until June 27 at Camp Pendleton, located in Oceanside, north of San Diego. At the time of her disappearance, the girl’s information was entered into missing person databases which informed other law enforcement agencies of her disappearance.  Former Orange County Marine killed in missile strike in Ukraine Military police at Camp Pendle...

Scientists: Lake Tahoe is regaining legendary clarity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:54 GMT

LAKE TAHOE – At midnight, researchers aboard the vessel John Le Conte — an old 37-foot diesel-powered salmon trawler — dropped a net into icy cold waters.What was surprising wasn’t what they caught. It’s what they didn’t: Invasive shrimp, which have long held sway over America’s most famous alpine lake, upsetting its balanced ecosystem.In a rare piece of environmental good news, the harmful predators are almost gone. In their place are helpful creatures who are safely returning to eat algae and other fine particles. Scientists say this mysterious shift may be restoring the lake’s legendary clarity.Lake Tahoe’s average visibility has increased from 52.8 feet deep to a stunning 71.7 feet in the past three years, although this summer’s runoff has created some temporary murkiness. That’s like seeing seven stories underwater. In the last five months of 2022, the visibility increased to 80.6 feet, a level not seen since 1988, when it was 81 feet.Daphnia tinted green after cons...