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South America’s presidents gather in Brazil for first regional summit in 9 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:31 GMT

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — South America’s leaders will gather in Brazil’s capital on Tuesday as part of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s attempt to reinvigorate regional integration efforts that have previously floundered amid the continent’s political swings and polarization.Analysts say Lula senses an opportunity for integration because of the political affinities of the region’s current governments and appears to want to test leaders’ willingness to cooperate through a revived Union of South American Nations, or Unasur.First established 15 years ago in Brazil’s capital during the second presidential term of Lula, a former trade unionist, the regional bloc sought to integrate the 12 South American nations culturally, socially, politically and economically. Unasur’s promotor was late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, who saw it as means to counteract U.S. influence in the region and the group had a reputation among some as having a lefti...

Two 2-years-olds among 48 shot across Chicago over holiday weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:31 GMT

CHICAGO — At least 48 people were shot across Chicago over the holiday weekend — including three teenagers and two toddlers.Of the 48 shootings, nine victims died from their injures.According to police, two 2-year-old children were shot in separate accidental incidents on Saturday evening.One of the shootings happened in the 7900 block of South Hermitage just before 11 p.m. and another occurred in the 1500 block of West Jonquil Terrace around 6 p.m. Saturday. Both incidents involved the children accidentally discharging a firearm they were playing with.One victim was struck in the forearm and the other was struck in the hand. Both were transported to an area hospital in fair condition. At least 41 shot, 9 dead over Memorial Day weekend as Johnson urges City to work together These two incidents are part of a list of more than 40 shootings since around 5 p.m. Friday.The weekend violence began Friday evening with shots fired at North Avenue Beach. The shootings continued throughout t...

Memorial Day commemoration held in Grant Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:31 GMT

CHICAGO — On this Memorial Day, local officials gathered in Chicago's Grant Park to remember the nation's fallen heroes. The solemn commemoration was held Monday under the General John Logan statue and memorial at 900 South Michigan Avenue.Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and other leaders were in attendance. The event included a wreath laying and rifle salute.WGN Reporter Sean Lewis has the more details in the video player above.

Monday Forecast: Temps in mid 80s with partly cloudy conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:31 GMT

CHICAGO — Mostly sunny conditions Monday and cooler by the lake. Winds: ENE 5-10 G15. High: 83/72.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog Partly cloudy tonight. Winds: ENE 5-10. Low: 59.Tuesday Forecast: Partly cloudy Tuesday with 20% shower chance, cooler lakeside. Winds: E 5-10. High: 87/75.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Supreme Court preview: the major decisions still to come

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:31 GMT

(The Hill) – The Supreme Court’s decision season is in full swing.The justices in the coming weeks will hand down major rulings on student debt relief, affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act, with opinions in 30 remaining cases expected to be released by June 30.  Here’s a preview of the major decisions.Student Debt ReliefThe fate of President Biden’s student debt relief plan rests with the justices, who are weighing two separate challenges: one from six Republican-led states, the other from two individual borrowers.At stake is whether more than 40 million Americans will receive debt relief — as well as a major Biden campaign promise.The plan, currently on hold, would cancel up to $20,000 in loans for Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 for other borrowers, if the individual’s income is less than $125,000. The income limit is doubled for married couples.The conservative-majority court during February’s oral argument cast doubt that the administration had the autho...

How a Netflix true crime show helped find a missing teenager

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:31 GMT

(NewsNation) — For six years, Kayla Unbehaun's family searched for her. Now 15 years old, Kayla is back home with help from an episode of Netflix’s "Unsolved Mysteries" series on parental abductions.Kayla was 9 years old when she went missing on July 5, 2017. She wasliving full-time with her father Ryan Iserka but visiting her non-custodial mother, Heather Unbehaun, in the Chicago suburb of South Elgin."I had gone to her house to pick up my daughter on my way home from work, and they weren't there," Iserka said during an interview in 2020. "Her family was at her house having dinner and they had told me that she didn't come back from a camping trip and they didn't know where she was." Police: Body of escaped Ohio inmate found in river Police issued a felony kidnapping warrant for Heather Unbehaun's arrest on July 28, 2017, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).Iserka tried to stay positive, writing letters to her."There is a lot of people who...

Murph Challenge: What it is and how to participate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:31 GMT

(WPHL) – If you've ever taken a CrossFit class or been to your local gym on Memorial Day, you may have heard of the Murph Workout Challenge. The Murph Challenge honors the life of fallen Navy Seal Lieutenant Michael Murphy from Patchogue, New York, who died serving in Afghanistan in 2005. Now, every year on Memorial Day, people do the Murph Challenge to honor the sacrifices of those who served in our armed forces. Why is Memorial Day in the spring? The Murph consists of the following exercises, all of which are done while wearing a 20-lb. vest: A one-mile run100 pull-ups200 push-ups300 squatsAnother one-mile runThe grueling workout is meant to challenge you physically and mentally. Those who are up for the challenge can register on the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation website. Murph Challenge Participants can pay to register, submit their completion times, and then compare with others. Are you flying the flag correctly for Memorial Day? The foundation used...

Austin City Council to prioritize backlogged Land Development Code adjustments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- It's something the University of Texas researchers say is a top solution for making our city -- and major cities around Texas -- more affordable: Incentivizing development by adjusting land development codes. Austin City Council has passed several amendments to its code to do that over the past year. Many of those adjustments you've seen right here on KXAN, including making it easier to open and operate a daycare in childcare deserts and eliminating parking minimums city-wide. But just because the council signs off on an amendment doesn't mean it's a done deal. City of Austin leadership said they were working through staffing shortages which makes it more challenging to get the amendments finalized. Austin could get rid of minimum parking requirements city-wide this year "There are amendments that seem like they would be really straightforward but they're hard and parking is one of them," Brent Lloyd, who works on Austin's Land Development Code revision team, s...

Pedestrian killed after crash in northeast Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — One person died after a vehicle reportedly struck them Monday in northeast Austin, according to Austin-Travis County EMS. Paramedics said the crash happened at about 6:13 a.m. near the intersection of Johnny Morris Road and Johnny Morris Cove, which is east of the U.S. 183 tollway and north of Loyola Lane. According to a tweet, ACTEMS reported that its paramedics "obtained a deceased on scene pronouncement for an adult patient after resuscitation effort were unsuccessful." Paramedics did not plan on releasing any more information about the death as of early Monday afternoon. KXAN will work to gather more information about this investigation and will update this story as soon as those details are released.

Talk to teens about the 100 deadliest days of the driving year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:31 GMT

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – As we head into the “100 deadliest days” for teen drivers, which fall between Memorial Day and Labor Day every year, it is important to know what you can do to help your teenager understand fatal crashes are a reality that can happen to them.Teens were involved in 955,913 auto crashes, 4,000 of which were fatal, and suffered 359,268 serious injuries in the year 2018. And teens are two and a half times more likely to have reckless behavior when another teen is riding with them.2020 statistics show male teens between 16 and 19 had three times the risk of becoming a fatality in a crash than female teens in the same age group. The steering wheel and partial dashboard of an automobile. (File/Getty)The likelihood of a teen dying or being seriously injured increases three times when teens have more than one passenger. More crashes involving teens happen on Friday than on another day of the week.Fifty-five percent of fatal accident victims from 2019-2021 were 2...