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Victim’s mother says drunk driving charge was wrongly dropped in fatal UBC crash case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:11 GMT

RICHMOND, B.C. — The mother of a young man killed by a speeding driver on the University of British Columbia campus says the criminal justice system “leaves victims in the dust,” after her son’s killer was sentenced to three years in jail on Tuesday. Debbie O’Day-Smith’s son Evan Smith and fellow University of B.C. student Emily Selwood were hit and killed by a vehicle driven by Tim Goerner on Sept. 26, 2021. Goerner was originally charged with impaired driving causing death, but those charges were dropped and he pleaded guilty last month to dangerous driving causing death.A two-day sentencing hearing in provincial court in Richmond, B.C., concluding Tuesday. A joint submission from the defence and Crown prosecutor said Goerner, 23, should serve three years in jail and be banned from driving for five years. Provincial court Judge Glenn Lee accepted the submission, ruling that the punishment was in line with similar cases in the past. He told the court t...

Peace Corps agrees to pay $750,000 to Chicagoland family of dead volunteer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:11 GMT

The Peace Corps has agreed to pay $750,000 to the family of a 24-year-old volunteer from Illinois who died in 2018 in East Africa after the agency’s doctors misdiagnosed a case of malaria, a law firm announced Tuesday.Bernice Heiderman of Inverness, Illinois, died in January 2018 on the island nation of Comoros after texting her mother that the local Peace Corps doctor wasn’t taking seriously her complaints of dizziness, nausea, fever and fatigue, said Adam Dinnell, a partner at the Houston-based law firm of Schiffer Hicks Johnson PLLC.The doctor told her to drink water and take aspirin, said Dinnell, whose firm filed a federal lawsuit for damages in Chicago on behalf of the Heiderman family. Senator proposes plan that lifts nuclear moratorium and requires new oversight rules in Illinois The woman’s mother, Julie Heiderman, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview the family feels that with the settlement, the Peace Corps has taken some accountability for her daughter's ...

Veteran's Voices: WWII pilot Ed McGuire's long journey home to Chicago

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:11 GMT

CHICAGO — Eighty years after he left Chicago’s South Side to fight in World War II, Ed McGuire finally made it home.The journey stretched across three continents, eight decades, and a lifetime of questions for his relatives.  A HERO’S WELCOME, A SOLIDER’S SENDOFFOn Saturday, October 28, those distant relatives – joined by hundreds who lined the streets – gave McGuire a hero’s welcome and a soldier’s sendoff. “That sense of community is what makes this country great,” said Ned McAuliffe, one of McGuire’s grand nephews.Among the mourners was retired U.S. Army Colonel Wayne Kirkpatrick: “Citizens with their hands over their heart as the American flag and the hearse goes by,” said Kirkpatrick, who is the chairman of Rolling Thunder Illinois, which provided an escort for McGuire’s casket.At Most Holy Redeemer parish in Evergreen Park, family and community members gathered for a long-delayed funeral. None of those who attended the funeral ever met McGuire, but there is no doubt ...

Chicago city council meets after bullying allegations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:11 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago City Council met Tuesday to consider bringing up censuring Mayor Brandon Johnson's former council floor leader over a case of alleged bullying last week.Last Thursday, Ald. Ray Lopez (15th Ward) said he had to stand between Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward), the former floor leader, and Ald. Emma Mitts (37th Ward) so Mitts could enter the chamber to vote on an advisory referendum that would ask Chicago voters to decide if the city should remain a sanctuary city. Lights shut off during immigration chaos at Chicago City Council special meeting The former floor leader was trying to prevent the chamber from having enough elected leaders to conduct a meeting legally.“It’s completely unacceptable to grab, restrain and block one of our colleagues and physically restrain and block to do her dully elected job,” Lopez said.On Monday, Ramirez-Rosa resigned his two leadership positions and issued an apology saying, “I feel awful about everything that happened. I have ...

Investigation underway after woman, 12-year-old girl robbed, carjacked on Far South Side

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:11 GMT

CHICAGO — An investigation is underway after a robbery and carjacking on the city's Far South Side last week, police say.According to Chicago police, it all unfolded just before 9 p.m. on Thursday in the 9300 Block of South Pleasant Avenue in the city's Beverly neighborhood.  Chicago crime experts offer tips on how to avoid carjackings, minimize harm Police say a 46-year-old woman and a 12-year-old girl were exiting a black Audi A7 in the area when they were approached by two men on foot. The two men then held the victims up at gunpoint and pushed the older woman to the ground before demanding her car keys.According to police, the two men then took the victim's belongings and fled the scene in the stolen car, heading eastbound. Neither of the victims were injured in the robbery and carjacking and police say no arrests have been made.  Tips from Chicago crime experts on how to avoid robberies, minimize harm Anyone with information that could help authorities in their investi...

Democrat Andy Beshear wins reelection in Kentucky governor's race

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:11 GMT

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear was projected to win reelection in Kentucky, according to Decision Desk HQ, fending off a challenge from his Trump-backed Republican challenger. Beshear, who has seen strong approval despite being the Democratic governor of a red state, defeated Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron after a competitive race, winning his second term in the governor’s mansion. He will hold onto the seat he flipped blue back in 2019, when he beat then-Gov. Matt Bevin (R). Polls generally showed Beshear holding onto a lead ahead of Tuesday’s elections — but an Emerson College Polling survey released last week found Beshear and Cameron tied at 47 percent each. Kentucky has been a closely watched contest amid the off-year elections, sandwiched between last year’s midterms and next November’s presidential election. The gubernatorial race in the Bluegrass State — as well as another in Mississippi — are being looke...

WWE NXT is moving to the CW Network in 2024

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:11 GMT

(KTLA) -- The WWE announced that its television program NXT is headed to the CW Network in October 2024 as part of a new five-year deal. NXT is one of WWE's most important weekly properties and showcases the company's "up-and-coming" entertainers, known as WWE Superstars. The CW will broadcast 52 live weekly events as part of the agreement, according to a joint statement from the network's parent company, Nexstar Media Group, and the WWE. Russian Olympic officials appeal suspension by IOC The program currently airs on the USA Network and has also operated as a digital-exclusive property in the United States.Dennis Miller, president of The CW Network, said NXT will play an integral role in the company's continued expansion into live sporting events.WWE Superstars are pictured in this promotional image from World Wrestling Entertainment. Beginning in October 2024, WWE NXT will be broadcast exclusively on the CW. (CW/WWE)"WWE NXT is a perfect fit for The CW thanks to its dynamic you...

ELECTION RESULTS: 2023 November election in Texas

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:11 GMT

App users, view full election results by tapping here.

Community members rally to revive historic Taylor theatre

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:11 GMT

TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — A business owner in Taylor is leading the charge to give the historic Howard Theatre an encore. She said as more development moves into the city, she wants to preserve this nearly century-old staple from being torn down.Channing Kingery-Bowles owns the Taylor Soap Bar just a few shops away from the Howard Theatre on Main Street. She said she first saw for sale signs go up in the theatre's windows roughly six months ago.As she waited to see if another local would buy it, Kingery-Bowles said she became increasingly worried the city's longtime theatre would be no more."I was very concerned with all the development coming to the area that someone might come in and tear it down. I didn't want to see that happen," Kingery-Bowles said.She said the theatre had faced some hardships in recent years. Kingery-Bowles said the theatre was closed throughout the pandemic, then reopened from time to time. However, a flood last year has caused this move to sell."It was just a w...

Hays CISD needs 15 additional School Resource Officers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:11 GMT

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) --- On Tuesday, the Hays County Commissioners approved a resolution supporting Hays CISD in providing an armed School Resource Officer at each campus. The resolution states that the county, the Hays County Sheriff's Office and Hays CISD are working together on a plan to get 15 additional SROs."The HCISD and the HCSO envision implementing a phase-in approach to providing such additional SROs as funding is allocated for the positions," the resolution stated. House Bill 3 This comes as new legislation, House Bill 3, requires school districts to have at least one armed security officer at every campus. Districts have the option to claim a Good Cause Exception to HB 3. Hays CISD did that back in August. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Hays CISD approves good-cause exception for HB 3 According to the resolution, the district said it can’t comply because of a “lack of available qualified personnel.”The resolution said the board would develop and document an alternative sta...