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Fire at a Texas prison forces inmates to evacuate, but no injuries are reported

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:42:54 GMT

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Fire broke out Friday morning at a state prison in Texas, forcing more than 300 inmates to evacuate but injuring no one, an official said.About 320 inmates were moved from the prison in Huntsville, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) north of Houston, according to Robert Hurst, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.Huntsville firefighters and police were on the scene, Hurst said, and the cause of the fire was not immediately known.The Huntsville prison houses about 1,700 inmates and is where condemned inmates are executed.The Associated Press

Floods fill tunnels leading to Detroit airport, force water rescues in Ohio and Las Vegas

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:42:54 GMT

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — Heavy rains across parts of the United States flooded an Ohio highway where people were rescued from their cars, covered the Las Vegas Strip with water and temporarily closed a busy airport terminal outside Detroit.Parts of the western United States have been deluged in recent weeks with rain from Tropical Storm Hilary, and much of the central U.S. was beaten down by deadly sweltering heat. In Hawaii and Washington, emergency crews battled catastrophic wildfires.Areas in southeast Michigan got over 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) of rain by Thursday morning, resulting in street flooding in the Detroit area, including tunnels leading to Detroit Metropolitan Airport in the suburb of Romulus, officials said. Officials reopened the airport’s McNamara Terminal Thursday afternoon.Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer activated the State Emergency Operations Center on Thursday evening to provide support to affected communities “as they respond to the impacts of flooding.”A...

India’s Modi visits Greece, the first visit to the country by an Indian prime minister in 40 years

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:42:54 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The prime ministers of India and Greece pledged to boost their countries’ trade, business and defense ties Friday during a visit to Athens by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Modi’s visit is the first to Greece by an Indian prime minister in 40 years since Indira Gandhi visited the country in September 1983.Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the two countries enjoyed relations stretching back to antiquity.“Based on these strong foundations of our long-term relations, we have the great joy of upgrading our cooperation now to a strategic relationship,” Mitsotakis said in a joint televised statement distributed by Greece’s state broadcaster. Reporters were not permitted to attend, and no questions were taken.Modi said the two decided to reinforce bilateral relations in the defense and security sectors, as well as in infrastructure, agriculture, education and technology.“In the sector of defense and security, we agreed to reinforce our military ties a...

Far-right Israeli security minister lashes out at supermodel Bella Hadid over her criticism of him

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:42:54 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s far-right national security minister lashed out at supermodel Bella Hadid on Friday for criticizing his recent fiery televised remarks about Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. In an interview earlier this week with Israel’s Channel 12 following two deadly Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the occupied territory, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir argued that his right to freedom of movement as a Jewish settler outweighs the same right for Palestinians. “My right, the right of my wife and my children to move around Judea and Samaria, is more important than freedom of movement for the Arabs,” Ben-Gvir said on TV Wednesday, using the biblical name for the West Bank. “The right to life comes before freedom of movement.”Addressing Mohammad Magadli, a well-known Israeli-Arab television host who was in the studio, Ben-Gvir added: “Sorry, Mohammad. But that’s the reality.”His statement drew widespread criticism as commentators seized...

Democrats accuse tax prep firms of undermining new IRS effort on electronic free file tax returns

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:42:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats are accusing big tax preparation firms including Intuit and H&R Block of undermining the federal government’s upcoming electronic free file tax return system and are demanding lobbying, hiring and revenue data to determine what’s going on. The lawmakers accuse the companies of lobbying against the new program, hiring former government workers to sway public interest against free file for all, and deliberately sabotaging a government program that offered free tax prep services, according to letters obtained by The Associated Press. On Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., sent letters to the executives of Intuit, H&R Block, the American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights and the Free File Alliance, a group of tax preparation companies that provide free online services through the IRS website.Warren and Porter are seeking specifics on the amount of money firms have made since being members of...

Maui has released the names of 388 people still missing after deadly wildfire

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:42:54 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Maui County released the names of 388 people still missing Thursday more than two weeks after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, and officials asked anyone who knows a person on the list to be safe to contact authorities.The FBI compiled the list of names. The number of confirmed dead after fires on Maui that destroyed the historic seaside community of Lahaina stands at 115, a number the county said is expected to rise. “We also know that once those names come out, it can and will cause pain for folks whose loved ones are listed,” Police Chief John Pelletier said in a statement. “This is not an easy thing to do, but we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to make this investigation as complete and thorough as possible.”Names on the list were deemed validated if officials had a person’s first and last name and a verified contact for the person who reported them missing, officials said.An additional 1,732 people who had be...

Texas trial over Biden policy letting migrants from 4 countries into US to wrap up Friday

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:42:54 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A trial over a lawsuit seeking to end a key element of President Joe Biden’s immigration policy that allows a limited number of people from four countries in the Americas to enter the U.S. on humanitarian grounds was set to conclude Friday.However, U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton in Victoria, Texas, was not expected to rule immediately on the legality of the humanitarian parole program once closing arguments wrap up. A decision could come months down the road.At stake is whether the federal government can continue a program that is allowing up to 30,000 people into the U.S. each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Migrants paroled under the program have sponsors in the country who vouch for them financially.The program has been successful at reducing migration and a humanitarian crisis on the southwest border and has also allowed federal agents to focus on border security, Brian Ward, a prosecutor with the U.S. Justice Department, said during closing argu...

Friday Forecast: Mostly cloudy with wide temp range

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:42:54 GMT

CHICAGO — Mostly cloudy Friday with a slight chance for showers. Wide temp range, highs between 83/77 degrees. Winds: NNE 5-10. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Partly cloudy tonight with slight chance of thunderstorms. Winds: E 5-10. Low: 68.Saturday Forecast: Mostly cloudy, cooler lakeside. Winds: NNE 5-15 G25. High: 77/74.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

March on Washington turns 60 with miles to go

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:42:54 GMT

On Aug. 28, 1963, more than a quarter million people walked in the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom — the same march that saw the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. give his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Now, 60 years later, the march is being recreated as advocates highlight the fight still ahead for equality.The 1963 march helped lead to a host of new laws, including the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The landmark legislation banned segregation in public places and prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. But the fight for those rights was hard won. Despite President Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, Black Americans had been forced to live a life of second-class citizenship for decades. They were also constantly terrorized and brutalized by white Americans. Those who fought for their freedoms were arrested, beaten and threatened, while others — like Medgar Evers, Fred Hampton, Malcolm X, and, o...

Fund for homeless students finds success after name change

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:42:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Homeless Student Assistance Fund, once known as the Public School Energy Assistance Fund, increased in the number of donations and donors after a vital name change made earlier this year. The money in the fund, which is made up of donations from Austinites through their utility bill, will go to eight school districts in the Austin area to help students who do not have a permanent home and are facing obstacles. A name change makes a big difference In 2013, the City of Austin Utilities started three programs that residents could donate to. Those included the Customer Assistance Program, the Parks and Libraries Fund, and the Public School Energy Assistance Fund. The energy assistance fund would allow school districts to pay for things such as energy upgrades to buildings or electric bills. Scott Johnson, a private citizen who volunteered to build up the Parks and Libraries Fund, saw the energy assistance fund was not successful. Johnson said the fund would bring in...