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Shiffrin, Odermatt are favorites again as Alpine skiing season starts amid climate change issues

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:49 GMT

SOELDEN, Austria (AP) — Just a fraction of the talk in the buildup to this weekend’s Alpine skiing World Cup opening has been about who will win the races or if Mikaela Shiffrin and Marco Odermatt are going to dominate the season again.The main topic is whether in times of global warming a winter sport season should still start as early as October.Amid growing environmental concerns surrounding the sport, the World Cup has its traditional start with two giant slaloms on a glacier in Austria coming up, with the women racing on Saturday and the men on Sunday.Those are the first two in a series of 90 races until mid-March, evenly divided between women and men, making for the busiest season in the 57-year history of the World Cup.In a season not interrupted by Olympics or world championships, the calendar includes the first cross-border downhills from Zermatt in Switzerland to Cervinia in Italy in November, which were canceled when they were first scheduled last year.The men’s circuit i...

U.S. man sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex exploitation of 3 B.C. children

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:49 GMT

SURREY, B.C. — An Oregon man has been sentenced to 20 years in a U.S. federal prison for sexually exploiting three British Columbia children.RCMP say 37-year-old Kevin McCarty of Happy Valley, Ore., used social media to stalk the children online, then coerced them into making and sharing sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves.Police say he threatened to share the images with their friends and family unless they sent more, and in two instances he told the victims they should kill themselves if they did not comply.RCMP in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island received the first complaint in May 2021 about a child being sexually exploited online, which police say led them to McCarty, who was later connected to cases in two other B.C. municipalities. Police say they notified U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, which took conduct of the case. Police say an Oregon court sentenced McCarty earlier this month to 20 years in prison and supervised released in the United States aft...

Democratic US Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland says he will not seek reelection in 2024

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:49 GMT

U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes of Maryland will not seek reelection in 2024, choosing to depart his seat after an 18-year run, the nine-term Democrat announced Thursday. Sarbanes, who has represented Maryland’s traditionally blue 3rd congressional district since 2007, said in a statement he wants to return to working in different areas of public service, like nonprofits and volunteer work. “For some time now, I have found myself drawn back to that kind of work — wanting to explore the many opportunities to serve that exist outside of elected office,” he said. Sarbanes said he is committed to seeing out the remainder of 14 months in office, but wanted to make the announcement “specifically for the benefit of candidates interested in running for my seat in next year’s election.” He called his time serving in U.S. Congress “a truly humbling opportunity to make a difference.” The Democratic Party controls all of Maryland’s U.S. Congress seats, as well as the offices of governor, se...

In closing days of Mississippi governor’s race, candidates clash over how to fund health care

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:49 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Thursday that he is working to ease financial problems for struggling hospitals — but the Democratic nominee for governor, Brandon Presley, said Reeves is hurting the state by refusing to expand Medicaid.In the final days before the Nov. 7 general election, both candidates spoke to hundreds of business people during Hobnob, a social event hosted by Mississippi Economic Council, the state’s chamber of commerce.“Our nation is struggling, particularly in rural areas with health care,” Reeves said. “And I want everyone to know that I am committed to addressing the problem.”Under a proposal Reeves released last month, hospitals would pay higher taxes so the state could draw more federal Medicaid money. It’s unclear whether the plan will receive federal approval, or how long that process could take. Reeves said the changes would generate about $689 million, which would be split among hospitals in the stat...

AFN chief warns lawyers may ‘take advantage’ of child-welfare settlement recipients

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:49 GMT

OTTAWA — The interim national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is urging those eligible to receive compensation from a landmark class-action settlement to be careful that lawyers do not try to take advantage of them.Interim national chief Joanna Bernard says she’s heard about lawyers reaching out to eligible claimants to represent them after the Federal Court approved $23 billion in compensation for more than 300,000 First Nations children and their families over chronic underfunding of on-reserve child-welfare services.Bernard says a system is in place to dole out monies, and claimants don’t need costly representation from lawyers, who she warned could try to “take advantage of our people.”The settlement this week came more than 15 years after the Assembly of First Nations and the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society jointly launched a human-rights complaint that sparked a years-long legal battle with the federal government.One class-action la...

Volunteer youth bowling coach and ‘hero’ bar manager among Maine shooting victims

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:49 GMT

A volunteer youth bowling coach known for encouraging children and a bar manager whose father said died “a hero” were among the at least 18 people killed and 13 injured in two mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine. According to Maine State Police, seven people died Wednesday night at Sparetime Recreation bowling alley, six were male and one was female. Eight more people, all male, died at Schemengees Bar and Grille; seven were killed outside the establishment; one inside. Three others died after being taken to area hospitals.Authorities have not released the victims’ names, but their family members have been confirming their deaths.BOB VIOLETTE:Retiree Bob Violette, 76, devoted himself to his volunteer job coaching the youth bowling league that was practicing Wednesday night, said Patrick Poulin, whose teenage son has been a member for three years.“He’s taught so many people over the years how to bowl, and he wasn’t getting paid,” he said. “We’ve really been focused on tryin...

Wife of ex-Alaska Airlines pilot says she’s in shock after averted Horizon Air disaster

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:49 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The wife of a former Alaska Airlines pilot who prosecutors say tried to cut the engines of a Horizon Air flight while riding in the cockpit jump seat said Thursday she knew her husband was struggling with depression but that she was in a state of shock over his arrest.“This is not my Joe,” Sarah Stretch told reporters after attending her husband Joseph Emerson’s first appearance in federal court in Portland, Oregon.“He never would’ve done that. He never would’ve knowingly done any of that,” she added, her voice quivering. “That is not the man that I married.”Ethan Levi, a defense attorney for Emerson, said that Emerson was not suicidal or homicidal while on board the Horizon Air flight. “There was no intention to harm himself or other people,” he said.Levi added that Emerson wanted to thank the flight crew for their “timely and heroic actions.”State and federal prosecutors accused Emerson of trying to engage an emergency fire suppression system while ridi...

Galewood residents opposed proposed shelter for migrants

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:49 GMT

CHICAGO — Community members in Galewood are upset over a plan to house migrants inside an industrial building at 1900 North Austin.There are several businesses operating here but residents said they were told a 3,000-square-foot vacant space inside would be converted to a migrant shelter next month. Residents continue to protest against plan for Brighton Park migrant camp The building is currently zoned as commercial. During a city meeting on the migrant crisis Thursday afternoon, officials were asked about another commercial building in West Town identified as a possible shelter space. The city says it is working quickly to get migrants indoors and out of police stations as colder weather approaches."We didn't vote for our neighborhoods to be infiltrated like this," Bryant Gallimore, a Galewood resident, said.From commercial spaces to a planned tent base camp in Brighton Park, the city is clashing with neighbors against migrants moving into their areas.Officials said they are try...

Tentative deal between UAW, Ford has Chicago autoworkers excited about the future

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:49 GMT

CHICAGO — Nearly 17,000 striking auto workers have left the picket lines after the tentative deal was reached with Ford Motor Company. The United Auto Workers union said Wednesday it agreed to terms with the Detroit automaker, ending the nearly 6-week-old strike.On Chicago's East Side, Local 551 union members celebrated the victory. "There was a big sigh of relief last night and a lot of celebration," said UAW Local 551 president Chris Pena. Autoworkers reach a deal with Ford, a breakthrough toward ending strikes against Detroit automakers Ford was the first of Detroit's big three (General Motors and Stellantis) automakers to negotiate a settlement after thousands of workers walked off the job in mid-September. Locally impacted was the plant in Hegewisch where workers striked for 27 days. Local 551 union member Scott Houldieson said picketers were fighting for their future. The four-year deal still has to be approved by 57,000 UAW leadership and union members at the company, but ...

Downton Abbey Experience opening in Skokie this November

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:11:49 GMT

SKOKIE, Ill. — Locals won't have to go far to step into the world of the British drama Downton Abbey. Starting next month, the Downton Abbey Experience is coming to Old Orchard Mall in Skokie. Limited engagement for the experience that transports guests to post-Edwardian England opens on Nov. 10 and runs through March 31, 2024.Guests can waltz through some of the sets from Miss Patmore's Frenetic Kitchen all the way up to the glamorous dining room.  Fans can also peruse through props and gaze at costumes worn by characters on the show. Click here to join the waitlist. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines Downton Abbey ran for six seasons on PBS, spawning two feature films.