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California lawmakers approve new tax for guns and ammunition to pay for school safety improvements

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:51:35 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers on Thursday voted to raise taxes on guns and ammunition and use the money to pay for gun violence prevention programs and security improvements at public schools. The federal government already taxes the sale of guns and ammunition nationwide. The government gives that money to the states, which spend it on wildlife conservation and hunter safety programs. California’s proposed tax, if it becomes law, would be 11% — matching the highest tax imposed by the federal government on guns.Most states don’t have a special tax just for guns. Pennsylvania collects a $3 surcharge on gun sales and uses the money to pay for background checks. Fees in California total more than $37 on gun sales, with most of that money covering the cost of background checks.The bill — authored by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, a Democrat from Encino — cleared the California Senate on Thursday. It has already passed the state Assembly, but Assembly members must v...

An ailing American explorer trapped 3,000 feet deep in Turkish cave awaits difficult rescue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:51:35 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Rescuers from across Europe rushed to a cave in Turkey on Thursday, launching an operation to save an American researcher who became trapped almost 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) below the cave’s entrance after suffering stomach bleeding.Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.In a video message from inside the cave and made available Thursday by Turkey’s communications directorate, Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts.“The caving world is a really tight-knit group and it’s amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface,” said Dickey. “ … I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge....

Ta’Kiya Young, killed by police in an Ohio parking lot, is mourned along with her unborn child

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:51:35 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ta’Kiya Young treated her two little boys like kings, dressing them sharply, letting them have too many sweets, cooking them big gourmet meals of T-bone steak with broccoli, cheese and rice.The royal life also awaited her unborn daughter.When Young found out she was pregnant with her third child — a girl — she was thrilled. The 21-year-old Ohio mom and aspiring social worker bought a stack of adorable onesies in anticipation of the baby’s arrival. She scheduled a photo shoot to show off her baby bump. She applied for public housing and looked forward to the day when she and her growing brood would have a place to call their own.Instead, Young’s grieving family held her funeral on Thursday, exactly two weeks after a police officer in the Columbus suburbs fatally shot her in her car in a supermarket parking lot.About 100 people showed up at the Church of Christ in Columbus for Young’s service, many of them dressed in various shades of vibrant pink — her favorite ...

Severe flooding in Greece leaves at least 6 dead and 6 missing, villages cut off

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:51:35 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Widespread flooding in central Greece left at least six people dead, six missing and dozens trapped, with severe rainstorms feeding raging torrents that burst dams, washed away roads and bridges, hurled cars into the sea and left large areas without power or drinking water.Flooding triggered by rainstorms also hit neighboring Bulgaria and Turkey, with rescue teams in Turkey on Thursday recovering the body of a 53-year-old man who had been missing since floods gushed through a campsite near the border with Bulgaria, sweeping away bungalows. The recovery brought the death toll in Turkey to eight, and to a total of 18 in all three countries since the rains began Tuesday.In Greece, authorities deployed divers and swift water rescue specialists as residents in some villages took refuge on the roofs of their homes to escape floodwaters that rose to more than 2 meters (6 feet).More than 60 people, including a baby, were airlifted to safety in an operation involving te...

Kosovo’s president says Serb investigators are dragging their feet over attacks on NATO peacekeepers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:51:35 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Kosovo’s president on Thursday accused Serbian investigators of dragging their feet over an inquiry into attacks on NATO peacekeepers earlier this year in which dozens of troops and police officers were injured, some of them seriously.President Vjosa Osmani also called on European Union officials to refrain from showing any favoritism in talks next week aimed at improving Kosovo’s tense relations with Serbia.“Those who attacked NATO on the 29th of May are clearly known to law enforcement agencies,” she told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels after talks with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Video footage, Osmani said, shows that some “are police officers who came all the way from Serbia.”“They have not been suspended from their jobs,” she said. “They’re not facing any consequences whatsoever.”The clashes happened after Serbs living in the north of Kosovo boycotted local elections there. When newly elected ethnic Albanian mayors began to move into their new...

Teen boy killed on Labor Day saved 10-year-old friend in 2020 shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:51:35 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 15-year-old boy who was critically injured after a drive-by shooting in 2021, and who helped save a friend with a gunshot wound a year earlier, was fatally shot Monday night. A 15-year-old boy who was saved by Chicago police after a drive-by in 2021 and saved a friend suffering gunshot wounds a year earlier, was killed Monday night. The medical examiner's office identified the boy as Swaysee Rankin. Chicago police said a boy was dropped off to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds to the body and was later pronounced dead. On April 26, 2021, Rankin was injured after a drive-by shooting in South Chicago while he was walking home from school with a friend. He suffered gunshot wounds to the back and abdomen. 16-year-old seriously injured, 3 others hurt in Northwest Indiana crash Two Chicago police officers were credited with saving the, then 13-year-old boy. He remained in critical condition, but family said he would be okay.At the time, Rankin's mother recalled her ...

'The Picklr' pickleball facility coming to 3 suburbs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:51:35 GMT

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Three new indoor pickleball facilities are coming to the suburbs.The Picklr, headquartered in Utah, announced Thursday a major expansion into 11 states — including Illinois.The three new locations will be built in Naperville, Mundelein and Villa Park. The Mundelein location is expected to open in mid-November. The Picklr says locations offer professional-grade outdoor surfacing, onsite snacks and drinks, and access to free leagues, tournaments and clinics. Former Illini tennis stars turned pickleball pros travel to APP Chicago Open in style Pickleball has exploded in popularity across the country recently.It's unknown when the Naperville and Villa Park locations will open.

New sighting in search for escaped Pennsylvania inmate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:51:35 GMT

(WHTM) – An eighth sighting of escaped inmate Danelo Cavalcante was reported on Thursday afternoon as Pennsylvania State Police work to find the man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend.Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police confirmed an eighth sighting was reported on Thursday afternoon and law enforcement is now working with an 8-10 square mile radius."We will eventually capture him, and when we do he's going to prison," said Lt. Col. Bivens.The search for Cavalcante is now on its eighth day after video showed the 5 foot tall inmate crab walking up a prison wall before officials say he pushed through razor wire to access the roof."This is an outrage, it should have never happened, said Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan on Thursday. Ryan says Cavalcante will not return to Chester County Prison and will go to a state corrections facility once he is found. Officials on Wednesday provided a timeline of Cavalcante’s escape last Thursday:8:33 a.m. – Cavalcante...

How 'The Super Bowl Shuffle' built the fandom of the latest Chicago-area Bears player

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:51:35 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — It's a positive thing that has happened for a few players throughout the over 100-year history of the NFL franchise and will again in 2023. What's unique is the story for each Chicago-area native who plays for the Bears, and Dan Feeney has his own as he joins the team in 2023. For one, he's the second Orland Park native and former Sandburg High School standout in as many years to play for the Bears. In 2022, it was offensive lineman Michael Schofield who represented both on the team, and now Feeney will do the same this year after the Bears acquired him from the Dolphins in August."He texted me and he was like 'Hey, you following me around the NFL now? What's going on?," said Feeney of what Schofield said after he was traded to the Bears. The seventh-year offensive lineman, who also played for the Chargers and Jets, also had his story on how he became a fan of the team. It concerns a family member and a song she'd like to play while Feeney was growing up. ‘I’m...

One person dead after vehicle-pedestrian crash in southeast Austin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:51:35 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- One person is dead after a vehicle-pedestrian crash in southeast Austin Thursday, Austin-Travis County EMS said on Twitter.Shortly after 1:45 p.m., medics responded to the crash at East Ben White Boulevard and Montopolis Drive.One adult person was pronounced dead on the scene, medics said.No other information was available, and the incident remained under investigation Thursday.