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At least 1 person is dead and 2 are missing as Tropical Storm Franklin batters Dominican Republic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tropical Storm Franklin unleashed heavy floods and landslides in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday after making landfall in the country’s southern region, killing at least one person and leaving two others missing.The storm began to slowly spin away late Wednesday afternoon from the island of Hispaniola that the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti after dumping heavy rain for several hours. Forecasters warned the storm could drop up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in the Dominican Republic, with a maximum of 16 inches (41 centimeters) for the country’s western and central regions. Meanwhile, up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain are forecast for Haiti, with nearly 8 inches (20 centimeters) for the country’s eastern regions.“The population of the Dominican Republic must all be right now, without exception, in their homes, the homes of friends and family, or in shelters,” said Juan Manuel Méndez, emergency operation...

18-year-old at large, teen charged after 15-year-old shot in Palatine dies, ID'd

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

PALATINE, Ill. —  A 15-year-old boy critically wounded after a shooting in unincorporated Palatine last week has died, and been identified, according to multiple sources Wednesday. The Cook Count Medical Examiner's Office identified the 15-year-old boy as Damian Hernandez.An 18-year-old male and a 14-year-old boy face charges in connection with the deadly shooting. On Aug. 17, just before 5:20 a.m., Palatine police officers responded to a call of shots fired in the 1700 block of E. Clear Creek Bay. Arriving officers located several shell casings and eventually discovered the 15-year-old boy nearby with a gunshot wound to the upper body.The boy was rushed to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge in critical condition. He died days later from his injuries on Tuesday, Aug. 22. 3 charged with murder after man killed in Aurora home invasion That same day, a 14-year-old was charged in juvenile court for his role in the shooting. The juvenile faces felony charges of ...

Mug shots released in Trump Georgia election case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Rudy Giuliani turned himself in at a jail in Atlanta on Wednesday on charges related to efforts to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.The former New York mayor, was indicted last week along with Trump and 17 others. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said they participated in a wide-ranging conspiracy to subvert the will of the voters after the Republican president lost to Democrat Joe Biden in November 2020.Bond for Giuliani, who was released after booking like the other defendants, was set at $150,000, second only to Trump’s $200,000.Rudolph Giuliani Jenna EllisSidney Powell Ray Smith Cathleen Latham Kenneth Chesebro David Shafer Giuliani, 79, is accused of spearheading Trump’s efforts to compel state lawmakers in Georgia and other closely contested states to ignore the will of voters and illegally appoint electoral college electors favorable to Trump.Other high-profile...

Indiana Task Force works towards 'overhaul' of state's tax system

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS-- An Indiana task force is working towards what the chairperson calls a potential "overhaul" of the state's tax system. Wednesday's meeting, which featured nearly three hours of testimony from state tax experts, marked the first of several meetings planned for the new "State and Local Tax Review Tax Force."The group started out by looking into three key issues:The State DebtState-managed pensionsThe State's short- and long-term financial outlookThe State Budget Agency says Indiana currently has a healthy balance between revenues and costs. However, the agency's chief economist told the task force the overall amount of revenue coming in is going down, and isn't expected to stabilize until next year. The chairperson of the task force says there are also growing concerns if the state remains complacent with the current tax system, Indiana could lose its competitive advantage to bring in more business. That's why the chairperson said the task force has assigned smaller work...

In ‘Ahsoka,’ a ‘Star Wars’ fan favorite returns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

For many casual viewers, “Star Wars” is the domain of familiar faces: the heroic Jedi Luke Skywalker, the nefarious Sith Lord Darth Vader, the roguish smuggler Han Solo and the tenacious Princess Leia.But over the years, the universe of “Star Wars” has expanded far beyond the realm originally imagined by George Lucas. For viewers who have not been inclined or able to consume all of the seemingly endless array of “Star Wars” sequels, prequels, TV spinoffs, and book and video game adaptations, keeping up with the recurring characters can feel a bit like trying to memorize an intergalactic phone book. You might know the droids R2-D2, C3PO and BB-8. But what about L0-LA59, C1-10P and L3-37?The title of the latest “Star Wars” series, “Ahsoka,” premiering Wednesday on Disney+, may be unfamiliar even for viewers who consider themselves relatively knowledgeable about the franchise. The title character, played by Rosario Dawson in the series, has never appeared in a live-action “Star Wars” m...

Allina Health reverses policy cutting off clinical care to patients with substantial unpaid bills

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

Allina Health System announced Wednesday that it was reversing a policy cutting off non-emergency care to its patients who owed more than $4,500 in medical bills.The Minneapolis-based nonprofit health system, which operates more than 100 hospitals and clinics in Minnesota and western Wisconsin and brings in $4 billion a year in revenue, sometimes rejects patients for clinical care who are deep in debt, according to internal documents and interviews with doctors, nurses and patients, the New York Times reported in June.Less than two weeks later, Allina announced it would “reexamine” its policy but would not restore clinical care for patients who already had services cut off.On Wednesday, Allina issued a statement saying it was reversing its policy:“Our policy that interrupted the scheduling of non-emergency, outpatient clinic care for patients who do not engage after significant outreach to support the resolution of their medical debt has been extensively reviewed. ...

Other voices: The robotaxi revolution is here. L.A., other cities need to be able to regulate driverless cars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

LOS ANGELES — It was not a great start to the robotaxi revolution. One day after California officials allowed a massive expansion of autonomous vehicle taxi service in San Francisco earlier this month, nearly a dozen self-driving Cruise vehicles came to a stop in the middle of a busy neighborhood, blocking other cars and tying up traffic for about 15 minutes until the cars woke up and moved along.The problem was caused by cell connectivity issues, according to Cruise. So many people were in the area for a music festival that cellular networks were overwhelmed and the company couldn’t communicate with the cell-connected cars.Nobody was harmed and the delay was relatively minor. But the incident again raised alarm over the commercial rollout of robotaxis that are still having technical problems, including blocking streets and interfering with emergency responders. What happens if there’s an earthquake that knocks out cell service? Will the streets become clogged by d...

Elizabeth Rosenthal: Big Pharma’s playbook will bankrupt Americans who can’t afford medications

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

America’s pharmaceutical giants are now suing to block the federal government’s first effort at drug price regulation. Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act included what on its face seems a modest proposal: The federal government would for the first time be empowered to negotiate prices Medicare pays for drugs — but only for 10 very expensive medicines beginning in 2026 (an additional 15 in 2027 and 2028, with more added in later years). Another provision would require manufacturers to pay rebates to Medicare for drug prices that increased faster than inflation.Those provisions alone could reduce the federal deficit by $237 billion over 10 years, the Congressional Budget Office has calculated. Those savings would come from tamping down on drug prices, which are costing an average of 3.44 times (sometimes 10 times as much) as what the same brand-name drugs cost in other developed countries, where governments already negotiate prices.Without any guardrails, drug...

Other voices: For the party’s sake and the nation’s, GOP must renounce Trump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

The latest indictment of Donald Trump, an unprecedented fourth set of charges handed down against him in a span of four months, has spawned chatter across America’s airwaves and dinner tables about the GOP’s prospects in 2024. Will they be doomed not just by the dark shadow cast by the cases against Trump but also by what is sure to be his continuing obsession with perpetuating the lie that he won the 2020 presidential contest?If Trump ends up being the GOP nominee, it’s likely that much of the party will, like lemmings, continue to hew to Trump’s irrational, self-serving script and echo his indefensible assertions.Republicans even want Trump’s main competition right now, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, to treat the former president with kid gloves. That kind of blind, self-destructive loyalty should have Republicans more than concerned about their party’s chances. But the GOP should be worried about something even more ominous.As long as the GOP, part...

Letters: Good intent, St. Paul Council. But child-care proposal is poorly thought out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

Good intention. Poor planSt. Paul has been a wonderful place to raise my children and, more recently, to help raise my grandchildren. As a city taxpayer, I support government efforts to raise revenue to support families, kids, and especially our childcare workforce. However, in all such efforts, the devil is in the details, and the more I’ve learned how we’d raise revenue, the more it gives me pause.Childcare IS expensive. Families at all income levels pay punishing sums of money for it. Apart from regular opportunities to spend time with my granddaughter, easing the financial pressure on my son and daughter-in-law is the main reason I assist them with childcare. Truthfully, childcare should be as available to everyone as our public schools. If it’s needed, it’s available for little or no cost, regardless of family income.So, while I support the intent of the ballot question recently approved by St. Paul’s City Council, I find it poorly thought out.As written, its financial un...