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An evacuation order finds few followers in northeastern Ukraine despite Russia’s push in the region

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:39 GMT

KUPIANSK, Ukraine (AP) — The thunder of mortar fire echoes in the distance as 5-year old David approaches his mother with an innocent request: Can he play with the baseball bat a relative gave him as a gift?Valeria Pototska rolls her eyes and tells her son no for the umpteenth time. It’s a toy for big kids, she scolds. The boy, who doesn’t so much as flinch when the weapons not far from their town in northeast Ukraine shoot off more rounds, pouts and pedals away on his bicycle.Other neighborhood children frolic in a playground in Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, seemingly immune to the war unfolding 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away. Ukrainian authorities this month ordered a mandatory evacuation of the village and three dozen other populated areas as war returned to Kharkiv province. So far, most residents have refused to go as the battle inches closer to their backyards. “It’s normal,” Pototska said of the soundtrack of weapons that punctuates the monotony of their daily lives. Olena Kanivet...

Clashes between US-allied Arab and Kurdish fighters in east Syria kill 3 and raise tensions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:39 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Clashes broke out Monday between two U.S.-backed groups in eastern Syria, leaving three gunmen dead and raising tensions in the region where hundreds of American troops are deployed, opposition activists said.The clashes raise concerns of more divisions between U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters in eastern Syria that borders Iraq and where the Islamic State group once enjoyed wide presence. U.S.-backed fighters play a major role in targeting sleeper cells of the Islamic State group that still carry out deadly attacks.Monday’s clashes came a day after the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces detained the commander a formerly allied group and several other members of his faction after they were invited to a meeting in the northeastern city of Hassakeh on Sunday.The SDF did not confirm the detention of Ahmad Khbeil, better known as Abu Khawla. He heads the Deir el-Zour Military Council, which was allied with the SDF in its yearslong battle against the I...

Man seriously hurt after motorcycle, SUV collide in Scarborough intersection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:39 GMT

A man is in hospital with serious injuries after a crash involving a motorcycle and an SUV in Scarborough.Emergency crews were called to the intersection of Victoria Park and Lawrence around 5:10 a.m. Monday.Paramedics confirm the motorcyclist, a man in his 50s, was taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the SUV suffered minor injuries.The intersection is closed in all directions.

Monday Forecast: Temps near 80 with mainly sunny conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:39 GMT

CHICAGO — Temperatures near 80 degrees with mainly sunny conditions. Cooler lakeside, Winds: ESE 5-10. High: 80/75. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly clear tonight. Winds: SW 0-5. Low: 63.Tuesday Forecast: Mostly sunny, 30 percent chance of rain/storm. Winds: NNE 5-10 G20. High: 83/79.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Son stolen from mother's arms at birth 42 years ago hugs her for first time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — "Hola, Mama.”What seems like an unremarkable greeting between mother and son was in this case anything but.Forty-two years ago, hospital workers took Maria Angelica Gonzalez’ son from her arms right after birth and later told her he had died. Now, she was meeting him face-to-face at her home in Valdivia, Chile.“I love you very much,” Jimmy Lippert Thyden told his mother in Spanish as they embraced amid tears.“It knocked the wind out of me. ... I was suffocated by the gravity of this moment,” Thyden told The Associated Press in a video call after the reunion. “How do you hug someone in a way that makes up for 42 years of hugs?”His journey to find the birth family he never knew began in April after he read news stories about Chilean-born adoptees who had been reunited with their birth relatives with the help of a Chilean nonprofit Nos Buscamos.This undated image provided by Jimmy Thyden shows Thyden as a child with cat Rusty. Now 42, Thyden got to embrace his birth m...

1 killed in shooting at Ohio mall; 2 teens arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:39 GMT

ABOVE: Raw video of Columbus police evacuating Easton Town Center Sunday.COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) - One person is dead and two teens have been arrested after a mall in Columbus, Ohio, was locked down following a shooting Sunday evening.According to a Columbus police dispatcher, the initial call for the incident at Easton Town Center was received at approximately 6:14 p.m. Shelter in place order lifted after threat in Sunbury Within one minute of the call, the victim was found by an officer working special duty at the center, Columbus Police Sgt. Joe Albert said. The officer rendered aid to the victim, but the person was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m. at a local hospital.Police confirmed on Monday morning that the victim was a juvenile male and that two 13-year-old boys were arrested, with one charged with murder and the other charged with obstructing justice. Albert said law enforcement officers immediately locked down the area and began investigating near where the victim was found an...

One round of rain for the week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Those who missed out on yesterday's rain will have one more opportunity before our next dry stretch settles in.Scattered storms and showers and expected to return this afternoon. Like Sunday, these storms are likely to drop surrounding temperatures fairly quickly once developed... but not everyone will see rain. Those lucky enough to find themselves under a shower could pick up anywhere from 0.1"-0.25" (isolated pockets of more). BLOG: Could PDO mess with our wet El Niño? After today, hot and dry conditions will take over. Lower humidity will bring more "comfortable" conditions, but temperatures will still run 5°-8° hotter than average.Tracking the TropicsTropical Storm Idalia is expected to enter the southern Gulf of Mexico later today, strengthening into a hurricane as it does so. The latest update from the National Hurricane Center has Idalia as a Category 3 hurricane near landfall late Tuesday night or Wednesday morning near the Big Bend of Florida.What is now...

Central Texas Red Cross volunteers 'spread thin' during busy fire season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Officials for the Central Texas chapter of Red Cross say it needs more volunteers after a string of fires and natural disasters this summer.Between January and June this year, there were 22 home fires where Red Cross volunteers were called to help, but that number increased significantly in July and August. There were 77 fires in those two months with 55 happening in August alone, according to Red Cross volunteer Richard McAlister. Last week, Austin experienced an apartment fire on Sam Rayburn that displaced 60 people, including families with small children. "We used to operate in an environment that we kind of defined as an acute disaster phase," McAlister explained. "We knew that during the summer we would get hurricanes, and we knew that we were going to get fires, but now we're moving into a more chronic phase where there doesn't seem to be a season anymore."Volunteer numbers fall short McAlister said volunteers in Central Texas are not only helping with the inc...

Silver Alert issued for 68-year-old San Antonio man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:39 GMT

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KXAN) -- A Silver Alert was issued Monday morning for a 68-year-old man who has a diagnosed cognitive impairment and was last seen in San Antonio Sunday morning. Juan Valdez is described as a white man that is 5'7" and 170 lbs with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing an unknown colored t-shirt, blue jeans, and gray sneakers. Valdez was last seen at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday in the 1700 block of West French Place in San Antonio. That's in the Woodlawn Lake area just west of Interstate 10. Law enforcement officials believe Valdez's disappearance poses a credible threat to his health and safety.If you have any information regarding Valdez, contact the San Antonio Police Department at 210-207-7660.

Oak Park Heights city administrator retiring after 20 years: ‘He has the answers’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:39 GMT

On Oak Park Heights City Administrator Eric Johnson’s best days, he got to get out and talk to residents.“You’ve got to be reachable, get out from behind your desk, go out there and talk to folks and see what’s going on,” said Johnson, who retires this week after 20 years as city administrator. “You can’t do the job from behind a desk, or if you’re stuck in a meeting in St. Paul.”When a resident once called City Hall to complain that water was running off the street and coming up her driveway, Johnson and a public works employee headed out to tour the site. “That wasn’t really happening, but we walked the site with her and we talked with her and engaged with her,” he said.Johnson helped explain that the woman’s driveway was pitched the wrong way, causing water runoff from her roof to end up in her basement. “It was nowhere near the street,” he said. “We said, ‘If you fix your driveway, we can do some work down at the end of the driveway.’ It made the resident feel listen...