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Suspect detained after blast at residential building in Germany injures police, firefighters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:57 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German police have detained a suspect in connection with an explosion at a residential building that injured dozens of first responders on Thursday, some of them seriously, officials said.Police said two officers and three firefighters received life-threatening injuries in the blast at a high-rise building in the town of Ratingen. Four firefighters were seriously injured and 22 police officers suffered minor injuries, they said.The body of a dead woman was recovered from the building, police said. The identity of the person and the circumstances of her death weren’t immediately known.Firefighters and police were initially called to the building in the morning after being alerted about the possibility of a person in distress inside a 10th floor apartment.Police said they were still investigating what caused the blast, which happened shortly after the suspect opened the apartment door. The man then started a fire, preventing police from entering the unit.Following the ex...

123-year-old schooner will be leaving Maine after auction sale

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:57 GMT

ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — A 123-year-old schooner that was once declared the “Official Windjammer of Maine” by state lawmakers has new owners, and it will be leaving Maine.Two brothers who are lifelong sailors had the winning bid this week for the Victory Chimes, which is on the National Register of Historical Places.Miles and Alex Pincus, who operate two floating restaurants in New York, haven’t yet decided what they will do with the schooner. It will eventually be leaving Maine, but the final location has not been decided, a spokesperson said.“We’ve admired Victory Chimes for quite some time. When she went up for auction, we felt a responsibility to step in and ensure her preservation. We don’t have a plan yet other than to get her into safe harbor,” they said in a statement.Victory Chimes, which has been taking guests on pleasures cruises on the Maine coast since the 1950s, became so synonymous with Maine that the 2003 state quarter featured a sailing vessel modeled afte...

'What would happen if I bashed you with this bat?': $800K bond for Chicago woman accused of battery spree

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:57 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman accused of a battery spree involving a baseball bat on the Northwest Side is facing an $800,000 bond.Denise Solorzano, 26, of Chicago, was charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery in a public place, four felony counts of aggravated battery/use of a deadly weapon and one felony count of aggravated assault.The charges stem from an alleged battery spree where eight women were attacked — five with a black and yellow metal baseball bat.The first alleged incident happened in the 4200 block of North Richmond Avenue at around 3 p.m. on Sunday. Prosecutors said Solorzano drove up in a white Subaru sedan and yelled at a 33-year-old woman, "I'm going to beat your ass." The woman was punched multiple times and was driven to the hospital by her husband.About an hour later in the 4000 block of West Lawrence Avenue, a 19-year-old woman heard from behind, "what would you do if I punched you in the face?"The woman had her hair grabbed and was punched three times in t...

Elon Musk says he’s found a new CEO for Twitter, a woman who will start in 6 weeks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:57 GMT

(AP) — Elon Musk said Thursday he has found a new CEO for Twitter, or X Corp. as it’s now called.He did not name the person but she will be starting in about six weeks.Musk, who bought Twitter last fall and has been running it since, has been insisting he is not the company’s permanent CEO.The Tesla billionaire said in a tweet Thursday that his role will transition to being Twitter’s executive chairman and chief technology officer.Musk has been saying for nearly six months that he plans to find a new CEO for San Francisco-based Twitter.In mid-November, just a few weeks after buying the social media platform for $44 billion, he told a Delaware court that he does not want to be the CEO of any company.While testifying, Musk said “I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time.”More than a month later, he tweeted in December: “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job.” The pledge came after millions of...

Justin Steele's Cubs record streak ends, but great 2023 start doesn't

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:57 GMT

CHICAGO — Even with the end of a franchise-record streak, things are still quite positive when it comes to one of the most promising young Cubs' pitchers. Justin Steele surrendered three earned runs for the first time in a start since July 13, ending his streak of 14 games with two or fewer earned runs given up. That was tied for the longest in Cubs history dating back to 1912 with Jake Arrieta, who had the same amount from July 30, 2015 through April 4, 2016.But that wasn't going to dampen the spirits of the pitcher, who delivered another quality outing to help the Cubs prevent a sweep at the hands of the Cardinals.Steele went six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and three walks in 91 pitches at Wrigley Field on Wednesday evening. Thanks to a strong night by the Cubs' offense, that was plenty in a 10-4 victory that gets the team to 18-19 on the season.It's another positive moment for the left-handed starter who has enjoyed a strong stretch since the ...

Large police presence in Dolton, search underway for carjacking suspect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:57 GMT

DOLTON, Ill. -- A search is underway in Dolton after a carjacking suspect led police on a pursuit Thursday morning.A source with police said a carjacking suspect led officers on a chase that ended in the area of 130th Street and South Doty Avenue in Dolton on Thursday. Woman charged in series of baseball bat attacks on Northwest Side According to police sources, an off-duty officer's vehicle was reportedly rear-ended as the carjacking suspect attempted to get away. The suspect has been described as a 30-year-old man driving a Hyundai.No injuries were reported. No arrests have been made at this time.The Dolton Police Department, Chicago Police Department, and the Cook County Sheriff's Office responded to scene as the search for the suspect continues.No further information has been provided at this time.Stay with WGN as this story develops.

Severe and flash flooding concerns begin late Friday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Impactful weather bringing the threat for severe storms and, more significantly, flash flooding looks set to begin as early as late Friday afternoon and continuing through the weekend into early next week. NEW BLOG: HOW TO PREPARE FOR FLASH FLOODING Not since 2018 have we seen widespread, significant river and lake flooding in the Hill Country, and not since 2015 have we seen it in the Austin Metro area. Both of those happened during an El Niño pattern -- a pattern that is quickly reestablishing itself as we speak in the Pacific Ocean.There's no guarantee we see anything like the flooding of those two events, but with several inches of rain on the way, we should prepare for dangerous weather.A Flood Watch has been issued for all of Central Texas beginning Friday 7 p.m. through Saturday 8 p.m. with the potential this could get extended into Sunday. A Flood Watch means conditions are favorable for flash flooding or stream, creek or river flooding during the watch pe...

Key deadline looms in legislature

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:57 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Thursday promises to be a deadly night for legislation in the Texas House as the legislative clock winds down.Any bill not yet passed through the lower chamber on second reading by midnight is practically dead. The deadline will pass as many of the leadership's top priorities are far from finished, but it will not impact the most hotly-debated headline items of the session.Gun safety regulations The most contentious legislative debate to form early Thursday afternoon surrounded the gun safety regulations pushed by the families of children killed in Uvalde. Democrats attempted to revive the bill that would raise the age to buy assault-style rifles to 21. House Bill 2744 died in the Calendars Committee after receiving surprise approval by the House Select Committee on Community Safety earlier this week. Without support from Calendars Committee chairman Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, it was not placed on the schedule for debate in the full House.In lieu of that, Rep. Jo...

Title 42 is ending. Here's what it has done, and how US immigration policy is changing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is putting new restrictions into place at its southern border to try to to stop migrants from crossing illegally and encourage them instead to apply for asylum online through a new process. The changes come with the end of coronavirus restrictions on asylum that have allowed the U.S. to quickly turn back migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border for the last three years. Those restrictions are known as Title 42, because the authority comes from Title 42 of a 1944 public health law that allows curbs on migration in the name of protecting public health. Disinformation is swirling and confusion is setting in during the transition. A look at the new rules (and the old ones):WHAT IS TITLE 42 AND WHAT DID IT DO? Title 42 is the name of an emergency health authority. It’s a holdover from the Trump administration and it began in March 2020. The authority allowed U.S. officials to turn away migrants who came to the U.S.-Mexico border on the grounds of preventing the sprea...

Five players to watch as Vikings host rookie minicamp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:57 GMT

A couple of weeks after the 2023 NFL Draft, the Vikings are set to host their rookie minicamp this weekend at TCO Performance Center in Eagan.This will be the first chance for the rookies to showcase themselves in front of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, head coach Kevin O’Connell and everyone else in the organization.The Vikings will have their members of the draft class on campus Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with organized team activities to follow over the next few weeks.Here are five players to watch this weekend:Jordan AddisonUndoubtedly the most intriguing name the Vikings have to offer this weekend is receiver Jordan Addison. Though many thought they were poised to select a defensive player in the first round of the draft, the Vikings simply couldn’t pass on Addison when they were on the clock. He is a player who theoretically should be able to play either on the outside or in the slot with ability to get open. It will be interesting to see how those skills s...