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Italy smashes cross-border migrant smuggling ring

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:47:04 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italian police on Wednesday arrested 29 suspected smugglers as they smashed a transnational operation that for years brought migrants illegally into Italy by sea and then moved them overland to northern Europe, authorities said.The nearly four-year-long investigation was spearheaded by prosecutors in Calabria, the “toe” of the Italian peninsula, where many of these migrants arrive from Turkey or Greece, often on well-outfitted sailboats that elude detection by police or military personnel. Depending on how much the migrants could pay — investigators said some paid as much as 15,000 euros ($16,500) apiece just for the sea leg of the voyage — the passengers on the land routes to northern Europe either took trucks, trains or taxis across Italy’s northern land borders. Transit points included Ventimiglia, an Italian city near its border with France and Trieste, in eastern Italy near Slovenia. Police said colleagues in Turkey, Greece, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Britain a...

George Santos in custody on 13 federal charges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:47:04 GMT

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is in custody Wednesday after being indicted on 13 federal charges, including wire fraud and money laundering.The charges comprise seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. He is in custody at the federal courthouse on Long Island, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Santos will be arraigned at approximately 1 p.m.Santos’s surrender came one day after reports surfaced that federal prosecutors had filed criminal charges against the congressman. The charges, however, remained unsealed until Wednesday morning.The New York Republican has been the subject of intense scrutiny since before he was sworn in amid questions about his resume and biography. A number of entities are said to be looking into him, in addition to the House Ethics Committee, which launched an...

36-year-old man shot, killed in Aurora

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:47:04 GMT

AURORA, Ill. — A man was shot and killed early Monday morning in Aurora.Just after 12:15 a.m., Aurora police responded to the 2300 block of Candleberry Lane on the report of shots fired.When they arrived, officers discovered a 36-year-old man, later identified as Isaiah Ayala, of Aurora, inside a residence suffering from gunshot wounds. CPD: Man shot after running away from attempted robbery at Near West Side gas station He was transported to a local hospital where he died a short time later.No one is in custody.

CPD: Man critically injured in Loop park stabbing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:47:04 GMT

CHICAGO — A man is in critical condition following a stabbing in the Loop Tuesday.Just after 8:20 p.m., authorities responded to Pritzker Park, located in the 300 block of South State Street on the report of a stabbing.A man, whose age was not given, told police another man attacked him with a sharp object.He was stabbed multiple times in the torso and was transported to Northwestern in critical condition. Mayor Lightfoot issues emergency declaration over migrant arrivals The suspect was taken into custody and charges are pending.

1st babies born in Britain using DNA from 3 people

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:47:04 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain's fertility regulator on Wednesday confirmed the births of the U.K.'s first babies created using an experimental technique combining DNA from three people, an effort to prevent the children from inheriting rare genetic diseases. Britain's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority said fewer than five babies have been born this way in the U.K. but did not provide further details to protect the families' identities. The news was first reported by the Guardian newspaper. In 2015, the U.K. became the world's first country to adopt legislation specifically regulating methods to help prevent women with faulty mitochondria — the energy source in a cell — from passing defects on to their babies. The genetic defects can result in diseases such as muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, heart problems and intellectual disabilities. About one in 200 children in Britain is born with a mitochondrial disorder. To date, 32 patients have been authorized to receive such treatment. For...

Video captures fatal hit-and-run in Los Angeles

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:47:04 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) - Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department have released footage of a fatal hit-and-run in hopes that the public can identify the driver.  The incident occurred on Oct. 16, 2022, at around 3 p.m. near the intersection of 54th and Cimarron streets, officials said.  Surveillance footage shows the victim, described as a man in his 20s, riding a motorcycle eastbound on 54th Street behind a dark-colored sedan that was traveling in the same direction. In the footage, the driver of the sedan can be seen making an unsafe turn causing the victim to slam into the driver’s side rear of the vehicle and strike the pavement.  Surveillance footage captured a fatal hit-and-run in South L.A. on Oct. 16, 2022. (LAPD)Surveillance footage captured a fatal hit-and-run in South L.A. on Oct. 16, 2022. (LAPD)Surveillance footage captured a fatal hit-and-run in South L.A. on Oct. 16, 2022. (LAPD)The sedan can be seen in the video slowing down after the impact, but ...

Another solar storm may bring northern lights to US Wednesday, Thursday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:47:04 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - Amid high solar activity, many states have already had multiple chances to see the northern lights over the last two months. Another round of activity on the sun has caused a geomagnetic storm watch, bringing another chance for parts of the U.S. to see the auroras. On Sunday, a partial halo coronal mass ejection, or CME, "erupted from the Sun," according to the National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center (SPWC). The CME is expected to impact Earth Wednesday, prompting a geomagnetic storm watch that stretches into Thursday.CMEs are explosions of plasma and magnetic material from the sun that can reach Earth in as little as 15 to 18 hours, NOAA explains. Solar flares and CMEs (which can occur at the same time) can impact navigation, communication and radio signals on Earth, and CMEs are able to create a stunning show in the night sky. According to NASA, CMEs can create currents in Earth’s magnetic fields that send particles to the North a...

WATCH LIVE | Chicago's next police superintendent — an update from the search team

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:47:04 GMT

CHICAGO — The city's new Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) continues its search for Chicago's next police superintendent.The CCPSA is set to update the public on their search efforts and "share insights on the candidate review process," according to a press release. Who Might be Chicago’s ‘next’ Top Cop? The scheduled update follows a series of public hearings which the commission used to gather community feedback on what qualities they would like to see in Chicago's next top cop.Ultimately, the CCPSA will provide a list of three finalists to soon-to-be Mayor Brandon Johnson. The deadline for that list is July 14. Johnson will then have 30 days to either select one of the finalists or reject all of them which would force the commission to start the entire process over.WGN plans to livestream the update within this story beginning at approximately 9 a.m.

Winner of Westminster dog show shares name with late rock 'n roll icon

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:47:04 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) – This Buddy Holly no longer has to sigh, “That’ll be the day.”A petit basset griffon Vendéen named for the late rock ‘n’ roll legend won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show Tuesday night, a first for the rabbit-hunting breed. Buddy Holly bested six other finalists to garner the most prestigious dog show award in the United States.“I never thought a PBGV would do this,” handler and co-owner Janice Hayes said. “Buddy Holly is the epitome of a show dog. Nothing bothers him.”Handler Janice Hays, left, her husband, Eric, center, and breeder Gavin Robertson pose for photos with Buddy Holly, a petit basset griffon Vendéen, after he won Best in Show during the 147th Westminster Kennel Club Dog show. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)Indeed, his white-tipped tail didn't stop wagging while he competed in the stadium where the U.S. Open tennis tournament's top matches are played. Not even while he posed for countless pictures after a win that Hayes called “so surreal.”“We...

Dean's Home Video: 'Air' and 'The Mother'

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:47:04 GMT

CHICAGO — The story of how the greatest professional basketball player helped grow one of the world's most iconic brands will start streaming this week. "Air" is the story of how Nike courted future Bulls' superstar Michael Jordan when they were in their early years as a shoe company. It's set to be released on Prime Video on Friday, and is featured in this week's "Dean's Home Video."Dean Richards also takes a look at Jennifer Lopez's first movie of 2023 - "The Mother" - a film he spoke to the actress about on Tuesday. Along with that, he also previewed Crater," season 3 of "The Great," a Michael J. Fox documentary, and more.You can see the full "Dean's Home Video" from the May 10 WGN Morning News in the video above. Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.