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GOP’s Scalise ends his bid to become House speaker as Republican holdouts refuse to back the nominee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Steve Scalise ended his bid to become House speaker late Thursday after hardline holdouts refused to back the party’s nominee, throwing the GOP majority into deeper chaos and leaving the chamber still unable to function.Scalise told GOP colleagues at a closed-door evening meeting of his decision and pointedly declined to announce backing for anyone else, including his chief rival, Rep. Jim Jordan, the far-right Judiciary Committee chairman backed by Donald Trump who had already told colleagues he no longer would seek the job.Next steps are uncertain as the House is essentially closed while the Republican majority tries to elect a speaker after ousting Kevin McCarthy from the job.“I just shared with my colleagues that I’m withdrawing my name as a candidate for speaker-designee,” Scalise said as he emerged from the closed-door meeting at the Capitol.Scalise, R-La., said the Republican majority “still has to come together and is not there.”He had been worki...

Idaho’s longest-serving death row inmate is scheduled for a November execution by lethal injection

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:41 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — An Idaho judge issued a death warrant on Thursday for the state’s longest-serving death row inmate, scheduling his execution for next month. Thomas Creech was convicted of killing two people in Valley County in 1974 and sentenced to death row. But after an appeal that sentence was reduced to life in prison. Less than 10 years later, however, he was convicted of beating a fellow inmate to death with a sock full of batteries, and he was again sentenced to death in 1983. The death warrant was issued by 4th District Judge Jason Scott Thursday afternoon, and the Idaho Department of Correction said Creech would be executed by lethal injection on Nov. 8. “The Department has secured the chemicals necessary to carry out an execution by lethal injection,” the department wrote in a press release. Idaho prison officials have previously had trouble obtaining the chemicals used in lethal injections. The state repeatedly scheduled and canceled another inmate’s plann...

Why an RCMP investigation is bad timing for Ford government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:41 GMT

Premier Doug Ford learned this week his government is now the focus of an RCMP investigation into the Greenbelt land swap. That is likely to make it tougher for the provincial Conservatives to weather the scandal and still win the next election.The investigation comes on the heels of Ontario Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s report which found more than 90 per cent of the land removed from the Greenbelt favoured developers with ties to then-housing minister Steve Clark’s chief of staff, Ryan Amato, and the property owners stood to net $8.3 billion as a result of the swap.Both Clark and Amato have since resigned in the wake of Lysyk’s report and one in which the province’s integrity commissioner found the housing minister violated ethics rules.If the RCMP decides to lay criminal charges, it could come at the worst possible time for Doug Ford.“These investigations usually take about a year, maybe a year and a half. That puts you right in the middle of the provincial ele...

Paul Lisnek on race for Speaker of the House, Israel and more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:41 GMT

WGN Political Analyst Paul Lisnek joined WGN Evening News to discuss several big stories from the week.The topics include the latest on the race for Speaker of the House, Israel, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's budget proposal. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines Tune in on Sunday’s for WGN-TV Political Report with Paul Lisnek.

There’s a moose on the loose in southern Minnesota

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:41 GMT

A southern Minnesota couple’s rare sighting of a large animal Sunday evening between Lake Crystal and Madelia elicited an identical response.“When my wife and I spotted it, we said at the same time ‘Is that a … moose?'” said Phil Radel, of Nicollet, who was driving on Minnesota 60.The example of North America’s tallest mammal was munching on corn in a field near the Butternut turnoff.“I pull over, off the road, and we watched him for a while,” said Radel. Lindsey Radel snapped photos of the moose, a yearling buck.The Radels’ three children, ages 10, 9 and 7, would have preferred a closer encounter with the animal, which didn’t exhibit any aggression or agitation despite a reputation for being temperamental.“They wanted to get out of the car and pet him,” said Phil Radel, who turned down their request.On Monday morning, the Radels reported their sighting to a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources hotline.“The...

Wild blank Florida 2-0 in season opener

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:41 GMT

Brock Faber scored his first NHL goal and Filip Gustavsson stopped 41 shots as the Wild beat defending Eastern Conference champion Florida, 2-0, in the opener for both clubs Thursday at Xcel Energy Center.Faber scored to give the Wild a little bit of breathing room early in the first period.With Florida skating circles around Minnesota, outshooting the Wild 10-2, Faber got the puck just inside the blue line and snapped a wrist shot through traffic that flew untouched past Sergei Bobrovsky into the far corner for a 1-0 lead at 7:54.The Wild held onto that lead throughout the first period with some timely defensive plays and, most conspicuously, the play of Gustavsson, who faced a barrage of early Grade A chances from the Panthers. Florida outshot the Wild 13-6 in the period, and many of those 13 shots required quick glove and pad saves.Minnesota came out in the second period ready for Florida’s speed and matched it with a tenacity that was missing in the first. The Wild had their fir...

UAlbany students speak on Israel and Palestine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:41 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -In a letter sent to the student body, Student Affairs of UAlbany reached out with resources for those struggling due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Advice includes practicing self-care and talking to supportive people both at school and back home.In response, the UAlbany Muslim Student Association gathered community members to listen to both groups affected by the conflict. They feel that Muslim voices aren’t being heard enough. "We’ve seen the university sent a letter that acknowledges the loss of life on Israel’s side but doesn’t on the Palestinian side," described Public Relations Chair of the UAlbany Muslim Student Association, Ousmane Diallo. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! As speakers discussed political struggles, they made sure to tie back to the humanitarian issues of the war. "We really do mourn the innocent lives lost on both sides of this battle. At the end of the day, death is deat...

Driver sentenced for causing deadly Greene County crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:41 GMT

ATHENS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Coxsackie man was sentenced for causing a deadly crash in September 2022. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The Greene County district attorney's office said John Peterson, 36, was sentenced to seven to 21 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide.Prosecutors said he was impaired by drugs and alcohol when he crossed into the wrong lane of State Route 9W in Athens and crashed into another car. The other driver, Danielle McKenna, of Cairo, died at the scene.

NYS facing federal lawsuit over gas stove ban

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:41 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A ban on natural gas lines in new buildings in New York State is facing a new legal challenge. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! A coalition including gas and construction companies as well as labor unions filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday and claims the law will hurt businesses, workers, and consumers by raising costs and forcing businesses to lay off workers. They also said the ban cannot be enforced because it's pre-empted by federal law.It was included in this year's state budget and prohibits gas lines in new construction in smaller buildings by 2026 and in larger buildings by 2029 with some exceptions. Supporters of it say it will help reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Saratoga Springs still searching for permanent shelter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:41 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Housing advocates are still looking for a place to put a permanent, year round shelter in Saratoga Springs. A temporary shelter that's run by a nonprofit organization opened in June on Adelphi Street. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! City leaders formed a task force over the summer to find a more long-term solution. The task force is tentatively scheduled to present possible locations at a meeting next week, but one advocate said they still have some work to do."We still do have some struggles with finding a location," Hanna Hurley, a member of the Saratoga Springs Task Force on Homelessness, said. "I think drawing inspiration from Shelter of Saratoga's model. I'd love to find a place like that, so we could have a single room occupancy or have the kind of privacy benefits that Code Blue is going to bring this year to this new, low barrier shelter that will be going in."