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Signature-gathering starts anew for mapmaking proposal in Ohio that was stalled by a typo

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:51:39 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Backers of a proposal to reform Ohio’s troubled political mapmaking system will finally be able to start gathering signatures, after clearing a second round of state approvals Monday.Citizens Not Politicians now has until July 3 to collect roughly 414,000 signatures required to put its constitutional amendment before voters in November 2024. Supporters are expected to fan out across the state beginning this week to try to make next fall’s statewide ballot.Their proposal would replace the current Ohio Redistricting Commission, made up of three statewide officeholders and four state lawmakers, with an independent body selected directly by citizens. The new panel’s members would be diversified by party affiliation and geography.The effort has experienced repeated delays. It began with two early rounds of objections to their petition language by Republican Attorney General Dave Yost before wording was initially certified. The Ohio Ballot Board then unanimously clea...

Police in Haiti detain a new suspect in the 2021 slaying of President Jovenel Moïse

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:51:39 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Authorities in Haiti on Monday arrested a new suspect in the July 2021 slaying of President Jovenel Moïse.Macky Kessa, a former mayor of the southern coastal city of Jacmel, was detained but has not been charged, his attorney, Jimmy Jean-Baptiste, told The Associated Press.He said Kessa is being held in Haiti’s notorious National Penitentiary in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and that he plans to seek his release.It wasn’t immediately clear why Kessa was detained. Jean-Baptiste declined further comment, noting that the investigation is ongoing.The arrest occurred after Kessa met with Judge Walther Wesser Voltaire, who is investigating the case and has interviewed several other suspects who have been languishing in jail for more than two years. Voltaire is the fifth judge to be appointed to the case, with previous judges stepping down for various reasons, including fear of being killed. Voltaire did not immediately return a message requesting comment. He ha...

A man is charged with threatening a Palestinian rights group as tensions rise from Israel-Hamas war

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:51:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Utah man has been charged with threatening a Palestinian rights organization in Washington in a case that was unsealed Monday as tensions rise in the U.S. from the devastating war between Israel and Hamas. Kevin Brent Buchanan, 62, of Tooele, Utah, called the unidentified group at least five times in three days and left profanity-laced messages such as “You’re the enemy,” “you’re being tracked” and “dead person walking,” prosecutors wrote in court documents. The organization reported the messages with the help of another anti-discrimination group. FBI agents tracked the phone number to Tooele, located about 34 miles or 55 kilometers west of Salt Lake City, and linked him to the phone through purchase records, prosecutors said. No attorney was immediately listed for Buchanan. A message seeking comment left at a phone number associated with him was not immediately returned. The threats began Oct. 31 and continued through Nov. 2, two days before the grou...

Kansas oil refinery agrees to $23 million in penalties for violating federal air pollution law

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:51:39 GMT

COFFEYVILLE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas refinery has agreed to pay more than $23 million for violating the federal Clean Air Act and breaching a 2012 settlement for earlier pollution problems, the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday.The federal agencies said the violations by Coffeyville Resources Refining and Marketing and its affiliated companies, collectively known as CRRM, resulted in illegal emissions from 2015 to 2017 that included an estimated 2,300 excess tons (2,000 metric tons) of sulfur dioxide from its oil refinery in Coffeyville in southeastern Kansas.But CRRM’s efforts to come into compliance with federal requirements since the investigation began have already eliminated more than 39,000 tons (35,000 metric tons) per year of carbon dioxide emissions that can contribute to climate change, the agencies said in a joint news release. That’s equivalent to using nearly 4 million fewer gallons of gasoline per year, they said.The EPA al...

Big game trophy hunters among targets of new ban on importing raw ivory into Canada

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:51:39 GMT

OTTAWA — Canadian trophy hunters will be barred from bringing home elephant tusks or rhinoceros horns as Canada adopts new trade controls to help stop the critical decline in the animals’ populations.Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says that as of January 8, raw ivory will only be allowed to be imported into Canada for research and scientific purposes or for use by law enforcement.Canada currently allows raw ivory to be imported for personal reasons, including as trophies from hunting.Elephants and rhinoceros have become critically endangered, in large part because of the demand for their ivory tusks and horns.Kelly Butler, campaign manager for Humane Society International/Canada, says more than 400 elephant tusks were legally imported into Canada between 2010 and 2019, and 95 per cent of them were for personal use, including as the trophies of big game hunters travelling back from Africa.Butler says more than 700,000 people petitioned Canada to make this change, and ad...

Second suspect arrested in Morgan State University shooting

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:51:39 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — A second suspect has been arrested in a shooting at Morgan State University that left five people injured during homecoming celebrations at the historically Black college in northeast Baltimore, federal authorities said Monday.Jovon Williams, 18, was arrested Friday and charged with attempted first-degree murder and other counts, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. He was taken into custody in Washington, D.C., where he also faces drug and gun charges in a separate case. Police have already arrested another teen they said was involved in the shooting, but he hasn’t been publicly identified because he’s a minor. Officials said neither suspect has a known connection to the university.The shooting took place Oct. 3 after a coronation ceremony for this year’s Mister and Miss Morgan State. Students were making their way from a campus auditorium to the student center for a coronation ball when gunfire sent them scattering. Four of the victims were students, and police...

Car crashes into business in Oak Lawn

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:51:39 GMT

OAK LAWN, Ill. — A portion of South Cicero Avenue in Oak Lawn was closed on Monday afternoon after a car crashed into a business near 105th Place, police say. According to a post shared by the Oak Lawn Police Department on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, a section of South Cicero Avenue was closed between 105th place and 107th Street after a car crashed into the Dollar Tree store in the area. Police say the the northbound lanes have since reopened but the southbound lanes will remain closed until about 5 p.m. on Monday. Chicago Traffic: Visit the WGN News traffic map for the latest real-time updates Currently, it is unclear what led to the crash or if anyone was injured. This is a developing story, stay with WGN for the latest updates.

Missing teen last seen leaving home in Edison Park

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:51:39 GMT

CHICAGO — A search is underway on Monday for a teen girl missing from her home on the city's North Side, police say. According to Chicago police, 16-year-old Nevin Shehadeh, has been missing since around 10 a.m. on Sunday. Police say the teen girl was last seen leaving her home in the 7600 block of West Devon Avenue in Edison Park and has not been heard from since.  Car crashes into business in Oak Lawn Officers say the teen girl, who has black hair and hazel eyes, stands 5-foot-6 and weighs around 240 pounds. Authorities did not provide a description of what the girl was wearing at the time she went missing. Officers notified the public about Shehadeh's disappearance in a news release sent out on Monday morning.  Illinois among states impacted by Listeria outbreak linked to peaches, nectarines and plums Anyone with information on the whereabouts of 16-year-old Nevin Shehadeh is asked to call CPD Area 5 Detectives at 312-746-6554.Tips for police can also be filed at&...

Palatine man arrested after high speed chase ends after crashing into parked cars

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:51:39 GMT

PALATINE, Ill. — A Palatine man attempted to evade police officers Sunday night before crashing into a group of parked cars, police say. According to the Palatine Police Department, officers were driving on North Rand Road and Williams Drive around 9 p.m. on Sunday when they attempted to stop a vehicle that was traveling at a high rate of speed southbound on Rand Road. Man hit by car while crossing street in Des Plaines Police say the driver refused to stop and fled into a nearby parking lot on the 1300 block of Geneva Drive.While in the parking lot, the suspect was reportedly driving recklessly and crashed into multiple parked cars.According to police, the driver, 24-year-old Carlos Miranda Pina, of Palatine, then exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot, but was apprehended by police a short time later. Palatine officers recovered a loaded handgun at the time of the arrest.Pina faces several charges, including unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, aggravated fleein...

‘Epidemic of violence’ against transgender community highlighted in new report

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 17:51:39 GMT

(The Hill) -- The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights group, on Monday released its annual report on fatal violence against transgender and gender-nonconforming people in the U.S., describing the past year as an “epidemic of violence” targeting the community. At least 33 transgender and gender-nonconforming people were killed in the last 12 months, according to Monday’s report, released on Transgender Day of Remembrance. An overwhelming majority were young people of color, with Black transgender women disproportionately impacted.  FBI crime statistics show anti-LGBTQ hate crimes on the rise Most victims were killed by a friend, family member or romantic partner, the report said, and guns were involved in most cases. A 2022 report from Everytown for Gun Safety, a national gun control organization, found that known transgender homicides had jumped 93 percent over four years — from 29 killings in 2017 to 56 in 2021 — ...