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An ailing Thai elephant returns home for tender loving care after years of neglect in Sri Lanka

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:37:15 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — An ailing elephant that Thailand had presented to Sri Lanka more than two decades ago returned on Sunday to his native land to get medical treatment after animal lovers said the animal had been badly abused.The elephant, known in Sri Lanka as Muthu Raja, or Pearly King, was flown directly from the capital of the South Asian island nation to Chiang Mai province in the north of Thailand on a Russian Ilyushin IL-76 cargo plane on a flight that took about six hours. He was accompanied by a team of six people, including two veterinarians and four mahouts, or professional elephant trainers, three of them Thai and one from Sri Lanka.A special container was built to hold the 275-centimeter- (9-foot-) tall, four-ton creature. Several mahouts had been sent beforehand to Sri Lanka to help the elephant feel at ease in a cage so he wouldn’t panic while being transported.Video footage of his arrival in Chiang Mai showed the elephant conscious and appearing calm. Thailand’s Environm...

New reality for summer day camps: possible disruptions due to air quality

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:37:15 GMT

The summertime goal at Nicolas Hurtado’s camp is to get kids playing as much soccer as possible.But in the wake of exceedingly poor outdoor air quality, last-minute prep for summer fun at his north Toronto soccerclub has focused on planning much more sedate, indoor activities: arts and crafts, playing with bubbles and as a last resort, movie screenings.They’ll need alternative pursuits that can occupy kids for a few hours if they are forced indoors by poor air quality, he says, noting that campers and counsellors must this year brace for the likelihood that drills and matches will be sidelined by more than just rain or excessive heat.“When these things happen, we’re going to have to adjust,” Hurtado, director of business operations for North Toronto Soccer, says of bad air days.“And that doesn’t mean sit down and do nothing. But it means be creative and that it’s a time for Duck, Duck, Goose, or those kinds of camp games that are much ...

‘Parental rights’ group Moms for Liberty plans nationwide strategy for school board races in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:37:15 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Moms for Liberty, a “parental rights” group that has sought to take over school boards in multiple states, is looking to expand those efforts across the country and to other education posts in 2024 and beyond. The effort is setting up for a clash with teachers unions and others on the left who view the group as a toxic presence in public schools.The group’s co-founder, Tiffany Justice, said during its annual summit over the weekend in Philadelphia that Moms for Liberty will use its political action committee next year to engage in school board races nationwide. It also will “start endorsing at the state board level and elected superintendents.”Her comments confirm that Moms for Liberty, which has spent its first two years inflaming school board meetings with aggressive complaints about instruction on systemic racism and gender identity in the classroom, is developing a larger strategy to overhaul education infrastructure across the country.As the group has ...

Are you confronting a big medical bill? Attack it with a plan – and these tips

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:37:15 GMT

An enormous medical bill can trigger a wave of panic, but try to resist.That startling invoice that arrived in the mail may not be what you wind up paying. Errors or slow insurance payments may have inflated the total. Even if it’s accurate, financial aid or other assistance might help pare it.Sometimes a simple phone call clears up a problem. Other times, reinforcements are necessary. Debt experts say patients should attack medical bills with a plan. Here are key steps to take.CHECK THE NUMBERSDon’t stash the bill in a pile of mail and hope it goes away, but don’t rush to pay it without first understanding the amount.“Especially if it’s a really high bill, consider it like an opening offer,” says Caitlin Donovan, a spokesperson for the nonprofit Patient Advocate Foundation, which helps critically or chronically ill patients deal with debt and insurance problems.Medical bills can be rife with errors. They also may have been sent before insurance coverage was sorted out. Donovan reco...

2 dead and 28 injured, 3 critically, in Baltimore block party shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:37:15 GMT

Gunfire erupted at a block party in Baltimore on Sunday, killing two people, wounding 28 and leaving an extensive crime scene that marred the U.S. holiday weekend, police said. Three of the wounded were in critical condition.Baltimore Police Department Acting Commissioner Richard Worley told reporters there were a total of 30 victims during a press conference at the scene.The shooting took place just after 12:30 a.m. at a block party in the Brooklyn Homes area in the southern part of the city, Worley said.The shooting comes amid gatherings around the country leading up to the July Fourth holiday. Elsewhere, a shooting in Kansas left seven people with gunshot wounds and two more victims hospitalized after being trampled as people rushed out of a nightclub early Sunday morning, police there said.All of the Baltimore victims were adults. Nine victims were transported by ambulance and 20 victims walked into area hospitals with injuries from the shooting, Worley said.An 18-year-old woman...

Showers, storms for Sunday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:37:15 GMT

Heavy rains start out Sunday, with thunderstorm likely. Cooler but still muggy. Air quality: Moderate. High of 75. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Decreasing clouds Sunday night. Low 63Monday will be mostly sunny, warmer with a slight chance of afternoon showers and storms. High mid 80s inland, lower 80s lakesideExtended outlook calls for partly cloudy skies Monday night with lows near 70.Independence Day this year looks hot with highs near 90 and muggy. A slight chance-- around 20% of showers/storms in the afternoon/evening.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog Near 90 on Wednesday with a chance of showers/thunderstorms in the afternoon.More clouds and cooler on Thursday with highs in the upper 70s-- and some rain likely for the afternoon.Sunshine finishes out the week with highs near 80 for Friday and Saturday. 

Radio's 'King of the Oldies' Dick Biondi passes away

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:37:15 GMT

Dick Biondi, Chicago's AM radio "King of the Oldies" has passed away.Throughout the ‘60s, he helped introduce much of the U.S. and Canada to rock and roll with stints at Chicago’s two AM Top-40 stations, WLS and WCFL.RIP to one of my first radio idols, @DickBiondi. He died June 26th at age 90 after decades of entertaining Chicago. Robert Feder provides the best coverage of his life and impact. https://t.co/eNmeGbSXph@WGNTV @WGNMorningNews @WGNRadio— DeanRichards (@DeanRichards) July 2, 2023In 1984 his signature voice helped launch oldies station WJMK where he stayed until 2005.He finished his career spinning golden oldies and classic rock at WLSHe passed away Monday at the age of 90.

France has a 5th night of rioting over teen's killing by police amid signs of subsiding violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:37:15 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Young rioters clashed with police into early Sunday and targeted a mayor’s home with a burning car, injuring members of his family, as France saw a fifth night of unrest after the police killing of a teenager. Overall violence, however, appeared to lessen from previous nights.Police made 719 arrests nationwide by early Sunday following a mass security deployment aimed at quelling France’s worst social upheaval in years. The crisis posed a new challenge to President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership and exposed deep-seated discontent in low-income neighborhoods over discrimination and lack of opportunity. The 17-year-old whose death Tuesday spawned the anger was laid to rest Saturday in a Muslim ceremony in Nanterre, a Paris suburb where emotions over his loss remain raw. He has been identified publicly only by his first name, Nahel.As night fell Saturday, a small crowd gathered on the Champs-Elysees to protest his death and police violence but met hundreds of officers with b...

Low rain chances during the week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:37:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Afternoon showers and thunderstorms Saturday deposited some moderate to heavy rain in parts of the Hill Country. Two reporting stations measured more than one inch of rain. A gauge 4 miles north of Doss recorded 2.56" of rain. A gauge 17 miles southeast of Mason measured 1.22". CENTRAL TEXAS RAINFALL TOTALS Rain moved into the southern Hill Country overnight. There were a few brief pockets of moderate to heavy rain over parts of Blanco, Burnet, and Lampasas Counties. Overall, there will be a 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms today. Low rain chances will continue to be part of the forecast Monday and Tuesday. Low rain chances Wednesday become a little more numerous Thursday due to an increase in moisture from the sea breeze, moisture that moves in from the Gulf of Mexico.Highest rain chance comes ThursdayCamp Mabry's high Saturday was 102°, two degrees shy of the normal. It's the 16th day this season with that triple-digit high. Most highs today will reach th...

Man sentenced to 10 years for 2020 fatal San Marcos crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:37:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man pleaded guilty to three charges in connection with a 2020 crash in San Marcos that left one person dead. Kyle Nissen, 33, pleaded guilty in April to three charges: intoxication manslaughter and two counts of intoxication assault with serious bodily injury. His plea bargain had a sentence of 10 years in prison, which began April 19. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man turns himself in, charged with intoxication manslaughter after deadly San Marcos crash In 2020, Nissen was charged after he was involved in a multi-car crash in San Marcos where 61-year-old David Hollinbeck of San Antonio died, according to San Marcos police. According to police reports, before hitting the first car, Nissen was going about 40 miles per hour over the speed limit of 55, and his blood alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit.Texas Department of Criminal Justice inmate records show Nissen is projected to be released in November 2027 with parole eligibility starting in June 2024.