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Charcoal cooking, week-long queues for gasoline: Fuel shortages slam Cuba’s countryside

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:04:01 GMT

MARIEL, Cuba (AP) — Rosa López, a 59-year-old housewife, lit a charcoal stove to boil sweet potatoes and prepare scrambled eggs for her grandchildren. The gas cylinders she normally uses to cook her meals have not been available for almost two months in Mariel, a port town west of Havana.Not far from there, on the highway to Pinar del Río and under a scorching sun, Ramón Victores spent one week waiting in line at a gas station, hoping to fuel up the 1952 red Chevrolet he uses for work, moving produce from one town to another.Cuba’s most recent fuel shortage has crippled an already fragile economy, but it is hitting rural villages particularly hard, with residents resorting to coal fires to cook their food, scrambling to find transport to take them to work and spending days — and nights — at the gas station waiting to fuel up.The Associated Press visited a dozen villages in the provinces of Artemisa and Mayabeque, to the east and west of Havana, to talk to people about how the fuel s...

Greece says it’s investigating claim migrants were illegally deported back to Turkey

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:04:01 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s outgoing prime minister says he has ordered a probe into a report that authorities illegally deported a group of migrants who had reached an eastern Aegean island from Turkey, allegedly leaving them on a raft at sea for Turkish authorities to pick up.Kyriakos Mitsotakis — who will be replaced Thursday by caretaker Prime Minister Ioannis Sarmas, a senior judge, ahead of elections on June 25 — strongly denied that Greece has an official policy of returning newly arrived migrants to Turkey. Such illegal deportations are known as pushbacks.In an interview with CNN late Tuesday, Mitsotakis said that he takes the alleged incident reported by the New York Times “very seriously.”“It is already being investigated (by) my government,” he said. “I have made numerous times the distinction between (the reported pushback), which is a completely unacceptable practice, and between our obligation, which is … intercepting (migrants) on our sea border with Tu...

Why is Target pulling some Pride merch? The retailer’s response to hostile backlash, explained

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:04:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — After intense backlash from some shoppers, Target is removing certain items and making other changes to its LGBTQ+ merchandise nationwide ahead of Pride month.In confirming the changes to this year’s Pride collection, which has been on sale since early May, the Minneapolis retailer cited safety concerns for employees that have been Targeted by hostile customers.“Since introducing this year’s collection, we’ve experienced threats impacting our team members’ sense of safety and wellbeing while at work,” Target said Tuesday in a written statement. “Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans.”The confrontations in Target stores are taking place as state legislatures introduce a record number of bills targeting LGBTQ+ individuals across the country. Some advocacy groups have criticized Target’s response — calling on the retailer to not back down to hate-filled backlash and reaffirm its support with the LGBTQ+ community.Here ar...

KCSD: Suspect dead after 48 hour crime spree, shootout with police in Geneva

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:04:01 GMT

GENEVA, Ill. — A man is dead after going on a two-day-long crime spree that ended in a shootout with police at a busy intersection in Geneva late Wednesday afternoon, according to Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain.Police said the suspect had been on a 48-hour suburban crime spree when he carjacked a vehicle in Aurora. Kane County Sheriff's Deputies spotted the stolen vehicle and pursued him, which led to a crash near the intersection of Fabyan Parkway and Randall Road shortly before 4 p.m.According to KCSD, there was an exchange of gunfire between deputies and the suspect. The suspect is dead, while no serious injuries have been reported for the deputies involved.A police dog was also hit during the incident and severely injured, deputies said. Video captures woman setting fire at Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines; charged with arson No other information is available at this time.A press conference in planned to begin at 5 p.m. CST. Stay with WGN News as this story will be...

Skilling: Cloudy in Chicagoland until Thursday afternoon

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:04:01 GMT

Temps plummeted to late April levels today—even cooler on the Lake Michigan shoreline amid winds which have gusted as high a 36 to 44 mph up and down the western Lake Michigan shoreline—from Wisconsin into northeast Illinois.Temps, which peaked at 86 Tuesday, were more than 20 degrees cooler at O'Hare today—only reaching 67. And along the Lake Michigan shoreline, temps have hovered around 50-deg as the day's powerful, full fetch "NNE" winds traveled the length of chilly Lake Michigan into the Chicago area. Southern Lake Michigan water temps hover around 53 degrees—but are in the upper 40s mid-lake.Waves at the Wilmette buoy came in at 8 ft. Wed afternoon and white caps were visible as far as the eye could see out over Lake Michigan Wednesday.Normal lows this time of year are in the low 50s—so tonight's mid 40s will come in 7 degrees below normal—and sub normal highs are predicted Thursday with highs likely to average a few degrees cooler than today.But coming days will see the press...

18-year prison sentence for Cook County man guilty of Hinsdale luxury car thefts

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:04:01 GMT

HINSDALE, Ill. – When police rolled up to a luxury car dealership in west suburban Hinsdale in 2021, they found a $250,000 Ferrari idling and two suspects making a getaway. Image of dashcam video obtained by WGN Investigates.An officer used his own squad car to pin in the suspects and take them into custody. Now, a DuPage County judge has sentenced one of the men to 18 years in prison for the crime.RELATED: 16-year-old, man arrested after attempted auto theft of Ferrari in Hinsdale, video showsRaJohn Stewart, 26, of Country Club Hills, later pled guilty to one felony count of aggravated unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle. Stewart and a 16-year-old were charged with breaking into a Land Rover dealership and Continental Motors on Ogden Avenue in Hinsdale. RaJohn StewartPolice said the 16-year-old was armed with a handgun and an extended ammunition clip as he ran in a scene captured on police dash cam video. An officer tased the teen and took him into custody along with ...

Suspect in woman's death captured in South Carolina after multistate manhunt

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:04:01 GMT

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD/WIVB) - After a manhunt spanning multiple states and multiple days, a man wanted for questioning in the death of a New York mother earlier this month has been captured in South Carolina.Michael Burham, 34, was wanted for questioning in the May 11 homicide of 34-year-old Kala Hodgkin in Jamestown, New York, Nexstar's WIVB reported. Burham has several active warrants, including sexual assault, unlawful imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child, and arson, according to police.As authorities searched for Burham, Jamestown police confirmed Sunday they were working with police in North Charleston, South Carolina after an elderly couple reported being kidnapped from their Pennsylvania home and driven to the city by Burham. 'It’s unimaginable': Family of murdered Jamestown mother demands justice as killer remains at large Late Tuesday, Burham was reportedly spotted near Broomstraw Hill Road following an hours-long search in the Francis Marion National F...

Richard Barnett, who put feet on Pelosi's desk, sentenced to 4.5 years for role on Jan. 6

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:04:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (KARK) – A federal judge sentenced Richard “BigO” Barnett, of Gravette, Arkansas, to jail time and a fine in federal court Wednesday.The sentence in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia was for 54 months for Barnett’s part in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the nation’s Capitol.(FILES) Richard Barnett, a supporter of US President Donald Trump, holds a piece of mail as he sits inside the office of US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi after protestors breached the US Capitol in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 6, 2021. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images) Judge grants Barnett’s motion to delay sentencing Barnett’s attorneys had moved for an acquittal and retrial on Monday. That request was denied by the court on Tuesday.The 62-year-old Barnett had been found guilty by a jury on Jan. 23 of eight charges including theft of government property and civil disorder for his actions on Jan. 6. Famously, Barnett had been pictured with his feet on then-Hous...

No deal yet to raise debt ceiling as deadline looms

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:04:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are still on two separate pages when it comes to a debt ceiling, as the June 1 deadline looms.With just over a week left to avoid potential economic catastrophe, a deal to raise the debt ceiling has not been reached.House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters Wednesday that Republicans' goal has not changed."You have to spend less than you spent last year. That's not that difficult to do," McCarthy said. "We have the highest debt than we ever had before. I just don't think that's right."Democrats called cuts to the country's welfare programs like Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program "inhumane.""We will not let that stand," said Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas.On Wednesday, leaders of the House Progressive Caucus slammed McCarthy's refusal to compromise and raise taxes on wealthy Americans and businesses."They're not negotiating at all," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.To avoid defaulting on the ...

Officer cleared in shooting that killed Grammy winner

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:04:01 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) - The investigation into a deadly officer-involved shooting that happened in a Nashville neighborhood earlier this year has been closed, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI).The TBI said Mark Capps was shot and killed by a Metro SWAT officer on Jan. 6. Capps was wanted on assault and kidnapping warrants involving his 60-year-old wife and 23-year-old stepdaughter, authorities say, after he allegedly held them hostage at gunpoint all day. Colleagues, friends react to death of Grammy award-winning engineer killed by SWAT officer The Grammy-winning sound engineer was seen in body camera footage answering the door and an officer can be heard yelling “Show me your hands” before firing seconds later. Capps died at the scene.Nashville District Attorney General Glenn Funk said in a statement that the shooting was “reasonably necessary," and no charges have been filed.Capps' website says he is a multiplatinum Grammy award-winning Engineer/Mixer/P...