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Canada broadens pushback on ‘unfair, unjust’ U.S. softwood lumber duties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:51 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is broadening its pushback against the latest U.S. decision to keep imposing duties on Canadian softwood lumber. Trade Minister Mary Ng says Canada is launching challenges under the North American free-trade deal as well as before the U.S. Court of International Trade.Nine days ago, Ottawa sought a judicial review of last month’s Treasury Department assessment of the levies, which provided modest relief but maintained the combined duty rate at 7.99 per cent.Ng says Canada remains open to negotiating a resolution to the decades-old dispute, which she calls “unfair, unjust and illegal,” while arguing it increases housing costs.She is again urging U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to sit down and negotiate a resolution to the decades-old dispute. Such a deal would be challenging since the U.S. takes issue with a long-standing regulatory system in Canada that it says puts American producers at a disadvanta...

MS-13 gang member pleads guilty in 2016 slaying of two teenage girls on New York street

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:51 GMT

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A member of the violent MS-13 street gang pleaded guilty Thursday for his part in the murders of four people, including two teenage girls who were attacked with a machete and baseball bats as they walked through their suburban Long Island neighborhood seven years ago.Enrique Portillo, 26, was among several gang members accused of ambushing best friends Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16, in retaliation for a dispute among high school students in 2016.The murders in Brentwood, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of New York City, shook parents and local officials and cast a spotlight on the deepening problem of gang violence in the suburbs.As president, Donald Trump visited Brentwood and promised an all-out fight against MS-13, saying he would “dismantle, decimate and eradicate” the gang.Gang violence had been a problem in some Long Island communities for more than a decade, but local police and the FBI began pouring resources into a crackdown after the...

Trader Joe’s recall: Black bean tamales may contain undeclared milk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:51 GMT

(KARK/NEXSTAR) – Trader Joe's is recalling some Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Black Bean Tamales products due to the potential presence of an undeclared milk allergen. The products were sold exclusively at Trader Joe's stores.The recall is for Gourmet Black Bean Tamales products with a “Best Before” date of 06/19/2025 and Lot code 17023 printed on the vacuum-sealed packaging. The products also contain UPC number 717725000580. 5 recalls in 4 weeks: All the things from Trader Joe’s you should toss Texas Tamale Company, which makes the products, said some milk-containing products were mistakenly packaged in Gourmet Black Bean Tamales bags. Texas Tamale Company says affected products will be filled with white cheese and hatch green chiles instead of black beans.The affected items were only sold in the following states:AlabamaArkansasColoradoKansasLouisianaNew MexicoOklahomaTennesseeTexasPeople with an allergy or heightened sensitivity to milk could be at risk of serious or life-threat...

Former Illini tennis stars turned pickleball pros travel to APP Chicago Open in style

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:51 GMT

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — Pro pickleball returns to the northern suburbs this week for the APP Chicago Open in Highland Park.More than 850 of the sport’s top pros as well as amateurs will compete for gold medals and prize money –including the husband-and-wife duo of Ryler DeHeart and Megan Fudge. The pair started playing pickleball professionally about a year and a half ago, and when they roll up to tournaments, their whole life comes too. Bears bring back a QB, put a starter on IR “This is our home right here. We come back to our RV life,” Fudge said.Yes, the RV life. The two travel from tournament to tournament in their mobile home along with their two kids Lily and JR and two dogs."It was kind of Megan's idea to begin with, and I was against it for a while, but we had friends that had one, and we both realized we could live that life if we needed to,” DeHeart said. "For us to keep coming home, pack up and leave again every week it felt like it was Groundhog Day,” Fudge said. “...

Budget cuts force Midnight Circus to return to original venue in Welles Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:51 GMT

CHICAGO — Since 2007, the Midnight Circus has been entertaining Chicagoans. But the beloved show is back at its original venue in Welles Park due to a fight over funding.In a converted garage on the Northside, which now serves as the practice place for the dedicated professionals of what could be called the greatest show in the city, the Midnight Circus is about to take flight once again.Bella Diaz, a native of the Austin Galewood neighborhood, told WGN News she began gymnastics at the age of three and considers being a circus performer a chance to show other kids to dream big.FEATURED ON WGN: Coffee for a cause at new café in Arlington Heights"I feel so proud as someone from Chicago to go back to these communities and then see how I was as a little kid. To be like, 'Hey, you know you could grow up and do this.' It's not so completely outside the box and anything is completely possible," Diaz said. Diaz is one of about 20 performers whose opening night is a little over a week away. ...

'She was struggling': Austin ISD still working to finish delayed special education evaluations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – While Austin Independent School District officials work to overhaul its special education system, middle school student Aaliah Delfierro is starting the 8th grade. Delfierro, 13, is one of the hundreds of students within the district who were not evaluated for special education services on time. In the 4th grade, at the urging of a teacher who suspected Aaliah might need special education services, her mother requested a special education evaluation from Austin ISD. According to state law, the district was supposed to complete the evaluation no more than 45 school days later. Instead, Aaliah’s student records show, that the district did not evaluate the student until more than a year later.The evaluation identified she was diagnosed with ADHD. In her individualized education plan, it stated "the student was without services due to a late initial evaluation and could use additional support to accelerate her progress."“She was struggling during all that time and not ge...

Class of 2027 moves in to Siena College

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:51 GMT

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- 1,000 freshman students moved in to Siena College ahead of the upcoming academic year. “It’s the best day of the year at Siena," John Bond, Associate Director of Admissions, said. "There’s a lot of nerves but also a lot of anxious energy too, so it’s an exciting time to welcome our newest members of the Saint family.”  Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Bond said enrollment at the school is on the rise and, with the upcoming inauguration of their new President, Dr. Charles Seifert, its a big year for the school. Parents and students echoed that excitement as they enter this new chapter. “I’m familiar with the campus because I did Saints camp so I wasn’t super nervous," Donavan Dubois, from Pittsfield, Massachusetts. "Honestly, now that I’m here it’s hitting me all at once, but other than that I feel very welcome.”  “I’m sure tonight I’ll really be missing him but I’m so excited," Pat Winkle said...

Eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 shut down by vehicle fire near Golden

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:51 GMT

The eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 are shut down near Golden, and traffic is being diverted on to U.S. Hwy. 6.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Heavy rain, flash flood shuts down I-70 through Glenwood Canyon Crime and Public Safety | Jack-knifed semitruck leads to extended road closure in Commerce City Crime and Public Safety | Interstate 70 along Floyd Hill reopens after rock blasting operation forced safety closure Crime and Public Safety | I-70 reopen after rockslide with massive boulders closed stretch on Western Slope Crime and Public Safety | Eastbound I-70 west of the tunnel reopens following fatal motorcycle crash Drivers should expect delays in the area. The area is near Colorado 470, according to the Colorado State Patrol and Colorado Department of Transportation.The vehicle that caught fire is a semi truck hauling cardboard, according to the Colorado State Patrol. The driver has esca...

California panel votes to increase storage capacity at Aliso Canyon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:51 GMT

California regulators on Thursday approved a controversial proposal to greatly increase storage capacity at the site of the nation's largest known methane leak, which sickened thousands of families and forced them from their Los Angeles homes in 2015.Despite opposition from lawmakers and nearby residents, the California Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 to to permit underground storage of up to 68.6 billion cubic feet of gas at the vast Aliso Canyon field on the northern edge of Los Angeles County as a way to guard against fuel price spikes.That's more than a 50% increase over the current cap at the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Facility, which is slated to be closed in 2027. It's also near the maximum capacity of 86 billion cubic feet but within safety standards set by another state agency.“This vote is a slap in the face to the community members who have been living with the ongoing consequences of the worst gas blowout in American history,” Andrea Vega of the group Food ...

Saudi Arabia issues death sentence over critical tweets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:51 GMT

By Hande Atay Alam and Celine Alkhaldi | CNNA Saudi court has sentenced a retired teacher to death over his comments online, say his brother and advocacy group Human Rights Watch.Muhammad al-Ghamdi, a 54-year-old retired Saudi teacher, was sentenced “following 5 tweets criticizing corruption and human rights violations,” his brother Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi tweeted last week.According to Human Rights Watch, Muhammad al-Ghamdi was arrested last year and given little access to a lawyer before his conviction in July “under article 30 of Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism law for ‘describing the King or the Crown Prince in a way that undermines religion or justice,’ article 34 for ‘supporting a terrorist ideology,’ article 43 for ‘communication with a terrorist entity,’ and article 44 for publishing false news ‘with the intention of executing a terrorist crime.’”“Repression in Saudi Arabia has reached a terrifying new stage when a court can hand down the death penalty for nothing more th...