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Death toll from Maui fires rises to 53, governor says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said Thursday that 53 people were killed in the devastating Maui wildfires, and the death toll will likely continue to rise.Search and rescue operations were continuing, Green said, and officials expect it will become the state’s deadliest natural disaster since a 1961 tsunami killed 61 people on the Big Island.More than 1,000 structures were destroyed by fires that are still burning in Lahaina and surrounding areas.“Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down,” the governor told The Associated Press.The wildfire that has brought sheer devastation to Hawaii’s Maui struck Lahaina, one of its most historic cities and the onetime capital of the former kingdom. pic.twitter.com/tcxc47zYQu— The Associated Press (@AP) August 10, 2023More than 1,000 structures were destroyed by fires that were still burning, he said.The death toll will likely rise as search and rescue operations continue, Green added, and officials expect it will become the state’s...

Connecticut school district lost more than $6 million in cyber attack, so far gotten about half back

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

NEW HAVEN (AP) — The city of New Haven lost more than $6 million in multiple cyberattacks on its public school district earlier this summer and has so far managed to recoup about half of the money, officials announced Thursday. The thefts, which occurred in June and involved hackers impersonating the city’s chief operating officer and private vendors in emails, came to light after a Connecticut school bus company raised questions about why it hadn’t yet been paid.“The individual or the individuals that did this are criminal. They are unbelievably unethical to not only steal money from the public, but steal money from New Haven public school children,” said Mayor Justin Elicker, a Democrat, during a news conference.Elicker said the FBI asked New Haven officials not to initially speak publicly about the hacking in order to protect its investigation. So far, $3.6 million has been recouped and the FBI has frozen additional funds, he said. Elicker could not provide a specific...

Recent shark deaths in Canada a sign that efforts to grow the population are working

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

An unusually high number of great white sharks found dead on Canadian beaches over the past year is a sign the population is growing, says a shark biologist.Four great white sharks were found washed up along beaches in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Quebec in the past 12 months, said John Chisholm from the New England Aquarium in Boston, Mass. That number is higher than previous years, he said in an interview Thursday.“The other part of this is how many go unreported as well,” he said.Great white sharks have been protected in Canada since the late 2000s and the United States since the mid-1990s, Chisholm said, adding that those conservation efforts may be leading to population growth.“In addition to the sharks being protected, the food that they eat has also been protected — the seals especially,” he said. “It’s a combination of factors that are contributing to increased numbers.”University of Prince Edward Island’s Atl...

Utah man killed after threats against Biden believed government was corrupt and overreaching

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

PROVO, Utah (AP) — An armed Utah man killed by FBI agents after making violent threats against President Joe Biden was described by his family Thursday as a gun enthusiast and devoted churchgoer who became distraught over what he saw as “a corrupt and overreaching government.” The family insisted in a statement that Air Force veteran Craig Deleeuw Robertson would not have acted on the threats and committed violence over political disagreements, despite court records in which prosecutors depicted him as radicalized.Robertson, who public records say was 74 years old, was killed Wednesday by agents trying to serve a warrant at his Provo home hours before the president landed in Utah to visit a Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) away.Prosecutors had filed three felony charges against Robertson under seal for alleged threats, including one this week that he was “cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle” in anticipation of Biden’s Uta...

6-year-old hospitalized in Crest Hill shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

CREST HILL, Ill. -- A 6-year-old child was taken to the hospital on Thursday after being shot in Crest Hill.According to the Crest Hill Police Department, officers responded to the 1400 block of Pioneer Road on reports of a shooting on Thursday. Family members found dead in Crystal Lake home identified Crest Hill PD said a 6-year-old was a passenger in a vehicle when they were shot. The child was transported to a local hospital in stable condition.Investigators believe the shooting was targeted and not random.No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing.Stay with WGN-TV as this story develops.

Lawsuit claims Northwestern ignored rape allegations from women's lacrosse player

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

CHICAGO -- A new lawsuit filed against Northwestern University accuses the school and its board of trustees of negligence and failing to act on a reported rape.According to Crain's Chicago, the suit filed on Wednesday by a former member of Northwestern's women's lacrosse team claims the university allowed another athlete with a history of sexual assault allegations to enroll. As Northwestern players speak, t-shirts cause a stir The suit also claims that school officials failed to properly investigate after she reported that he raped her.Northwestern said it immediately reported the allegations to the University's Office of Civil Rights and Title X compliance.It says the accusations are currently under investigation and the school remains in contact with the alleged victim.

Video shows moment car crashed through Ohio Aldi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

LAKEWOOD, Ohio (WJW) — Newly released video shows a shopping aisle was busy with half a dozen shoppers when a car crashes through the store's exterior brick wall and into the aisle and shelves. The video was released Thursday by police in Lakewood, Ohio, a day after the crash happened at a Lakewood ALDI, leaving one person with minor injuries.**Warning: The video below may be graphic. There were only minor injuries. Police say a man they arrested for shooting into a busy Bay Village park is also charged with an unrelated murder Police said an older man mistakenly hit the gas pedal and the car accelerated through the parking lot of the store on West 117th Street, slamming into the store at about 25 mph Wednesday afternoon.In the video, you can see outside the store's window into the parking lot as the car drives right between two parked cars just as a woman is getting out of her car. That woman wasn't hit. The car then crashes through the store, knoc...

37 employees at Illinois developmental center accused of PPP fraud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

PARK FOREST, Ill. -- An Illinois watchdog implicated several more state workers in an investigation into pandemic-era fraud.According to a report, 37 employees at the Ludeman Developmental Center in Park Forest have resigned, been fired, or face discipline for defrauding the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The Great Grift: More than $200 billion in COVID-19 aid may have been stolen, federal watchdog says The employees-involved are being accused of receiving Paycheck Protection Program loans of at least $20,000 each for businesses that reportedly did not exist or did not earn the income claimed in the paperwork.Dozens of workers across the state, along with the Ludeman Developmental Center employees, will lose their jobs due to pandemic fraud.

Christie: GOP candidates who don't qualify for first debate should drop out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

GOP presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Wednesday that those in the 2024 primary who don’t qualify for the party’s first debate later this month should drop out of the running. “If you don't make the debate stage, you should leave the field. I think it’s that simple,” Christie said in a Fox News Digital interview, calling the debate requirements “the first winnowing process.”“If you haven’t made the stage, I think it’s time to go," he added said. The former governor called the Republican National Committee (RNC) requirements for the event “fair ones.” In order to get on the Aug. 23 stage in Milwaukee, candidates have to meet specific polling benchmarks, hit 40,000 unique donors and sign a loyalty pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee.Christie has said he's met the RNC’s donor requirements, and it appears he’s also met the polling bar. He said on ABC that he’ll do whatever he has to do to get on the debate stage, but he’s also called t...

LIVE: TCEQ public meeting on proposal to build private dam for recreation on South Llano River

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:54 GMT

JUNCTION, Texas (KXAN) — A private dam proposed on the South Llano River, a major tributary to the Highland Lakes, is the center of a debate in the Hill Country this week as a public hearing set for Thursday evening approaches.It all started in 2018 when then-CEO of Phillips 66, Gregory Garland, filed an application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or TCEQ, to dam up the river and create a private pool. KXAN First Warning Weather forecast But under extraordinary drought and low river flow conditions, neighbors are worried about the strain this may put on a scarce resource. Drying up: the South Llano RiverThe South Llano River in Junction is flowing at its lowest level since 2018, according to USGS data. (KXAN Photo)"It's too depressing to see it in the condition that it's in right now," Linda Fawcett said from the shores of the South Llano River in Junction, the water source for the community of 2,500 residents. Fawcett has been co...