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Deadly flooding in China worsens as rescues and evacuations intensify

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Heavy rain and high water levels on rivers in northeastern China were threatening cities downstream on Friday, prompting the evacuation of thousands, although the country appears to have averted the worst effects of the typhoon season battering parts of east Asia. Hebei province, which surrounds the capital Beijing on three sides, issued alerts for several of its cities. The province of Heilongjiang to the north was evacuating entire villages in anticipation of life-threatening deluges. Rescue work remains underway. At least 20 people have been reported killed in Beijing’s outer suburbs and another 27 were missing following the weekend storms that quickly overwhelmed drainage systems. Beijing usually has dry summers, but had a stretch of record-breaking heat this year that broke dramatically over the weekend with almost a week of constant rain and drizzle. Power was knocked out in areas, public transport and summer classes were suspended and citizens of the metropolis...

Man in custody after shooting leads to hours-long SWAT standoff on North Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Police arrested a man who barricaded himself inside an apartment following a shooting on the city's North Side.Police responded to a 9-1-1 call from a child of a person shot in the 2200 block of West Carmen around 11:25 p.m. Thursday.Upon arrival, officers discovered two men and a woman exiting the residence. The woman was shot in the jaw and transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital where she is listed in fair condition.Police said they believe the man that shot the woman barricaded himself inside the home. SWAT officers attempted to make contact with the man, which turned into an hours-long standoff.SWAT officers entered the home just after 3 a.m. and took the man into custody. Deadly shooting leaves 1 dead, 1 critical in South Shore One officer was seen carrying a baby outside of the building, it is unknown if the child lived inside the home.The circumstances leading up to the shooting are unclear at this time. Charges have not yet been announced.

PHOTOS: Day one of Lollapalooza 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

CHICAGO -- Festival-goers raced into Grant Park on Thursday as Lollapalooza 2023 has finally arrived.Lollapalooza 2023 kicked off it's four day music festival on Thursday with headliners Karol G, The Rose, Diplo, and Billie Eilish, along with dozens of artists from rap to electro pop and indie to pop-punk. Lollapalooza 2023: What to know before you go The festival takes place every year in Chicago's Grant Park from Thursday, Aug. 3 to Sunday, Aug. 6. Gates will open at 11 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. each day.Friday tickets are sold out. Get on waitlist here.

Friday Forecast: Temps in mid 80s with isolated showers expected

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Sunshine with increasing clouds Friday. Cooler lakeside and isolated showers. Winds: ENE 5-15 G20. High: 84/78. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly cloudy tonight. Winds: NNE 5-10 G15. Low: 68.Saturday Forecast: Mostly cloudy, 30% rain/t'storm, cooler lakeside, E 5-15. 85/78. PM storms likely.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

5-year-old girl dies after being struck by starting gate at harness race

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

EFFINGHAM, Ill. (AP) — A 5-year-old southern Illinois girl has died after a starting gate being hauled by a car prior to a harness race struck her while she was sitting in the grandstand at a county fair, authorities said.Harper Finn, of Altamont, died Wednesday evening at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, the St. Louis city medical examiner's office said.She was hurt Sunday afternoon at the Effingham County Fair. While attending the race, the girl was struck by the folding arm of the starting gate attached to a car that failed to close when it extended into the grandstand, the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office said. Man in custody after shooting leads to hours-long SWAT standoff on North Side She was rushed to a local hospital and later airlifted to the St. Louis hospital.

As heat wave bears down, Greek zoo serves frozen meals to animals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

SPATA, Greece (AP) — At first sight, Tiembe studies his frozen breakfast with hesitation: Chunks of red meat and bone packed in a foot-long block of ice.The 15-year-old Angolan lion eventually licks the ice before gnawing pieces of meat-free.Animals at the Attica Zoological Park outside the Greek capital were being fed frozen meals Friday as temperatures around the country reached 40 C (107.5 F) and were set to rise further, in the fourth heat wave in less than a month.Ring-tailed lemurs lick a fruit popsicle, at the Attica Zoological Park in Spata suburb, eastern Athens, Friday, Aug. 4, 2023. A large number of animals being fed frozen meals at the Attica Zoological Park outside the Greek capital Friday, as temperatures around the country touched 40C (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and were set to rise further, in the fourth heat wave in less than a month. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)Tiembe, a 15-year-old Angolan lion, licks his frozen breakfast, chunks of red meat and bone pac...

Andrew Tate released from house arrest while he awaits human trafficking and rape trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Andrew Tate, the divisive internet influencer who is charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, won an appeal on Friday to be released from house arrest, his spokesperson said.Tate won't be able to leave the country. He also will not be allowed to be "in close proximity with any of the other defendants, any of the witnesses or any of the alleged victims and their immediate family,” his spokesperson, Mateea Petrescu, said in a statement.“This positive outcome gives us confidence that more favorable developments are on the horizon," Petrescu said.The decision at the Bucharest Court of Appeal comes after prosecutors formally indicted the 36-year-old Tate in June along with his brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women in the same case. All four were arrested in late December near Bucharest and have denied the allegations against them.The court’s decision says all four defendants will be subje...

More Americans say they can never retire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

(The Hill) -- A growing share of working Americans don’t think they will ever retire, recent surveys suggest. Retirement is a time-honored life stage and a near-universal expectation in working America. Yet, a comfortable retirement requires savings, and many workers fear they don’t have enough. In a July poll conducted jointly by Axios and Ipsos, 29 percent of workers under 55 answered a retirement query with, “I don’t think I will ever retire.” Asked why not, three-quarters of the never-retire group said they could not afford to stop working. A smaller share said they didn’t want to. “How to make the dollars and cents of retirement work is a constant balancing act for those who are retired and Americans hoping to reach that milestone one day,” said Clifford Young, president of Ipsos Public Affairs. Another survey, from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), found that one-third of workers now expect to retire at 70 or later, or never. A third repo...

Second wildfire in Bastrop County 100% contained

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

BASTROP COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- The Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management responded to a wildland fire located near Hellinger Road. The fire, named the Mesquite Field Fire, is separate from the 100-acre Powder Keg Pine Fire that broke out Tuesday. Powder Keg Pine Fire in Bastrop estimated at 117 acres Officials said the Mesquite Field Fire burned roughly 38 acres and is now 100% contained, as of shortly after 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The Mesquite Field Fire has burned about 37 acres in Bastrop County and is 80% contained, according to officials. (KXAN photo/Jake Sykes)While this fire didn't cover as much ground as Tuesday's Powder Keg Pine Fire, it still gave people quite the scare Wednesday. "My neighbor called and said there was a fire out here," said Paul Todd, whose farmland is close to where the fire started. "So I came out here as quick as I could. My thought was to get out here and make sure everything was okay, and everybody's house, whatever I could do to help my neigh...

What happens if you don't wash your car?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Amid Central Texas' ongoing drought and heat wave, any reprieve from rainstorms is far and few between. That also means your vehicle hasn't received a free rinse down courtesy Mother Nature.But how bad is it if you seldom wash your car -- or, even more extreme, never take it to the car wash or clean it yourself?What happens if you never wash your vehicle?According to online auto resource Carwash Country, any dirt or grim left on your vehicle is abrasive and can deteriorate the car's clear coat over time. Once that clear coat has worn away, that can lead to rusting, pitting, fading and other impacts to the paint layer and sheet metal of the vehicle.While older cars are already vulnerable to all these vehicles woes, not washing your vehicle can speed up the process and cause damages years before they might've happened naturally. What are some weird car issues technicians are seeing during the Texas heat spell? Going through a car wash helps remove dirt and grim on t...