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Federal judge says Pennsylvania mail-in ballots should still count if dated incorrectly

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:59 GMT

Mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania without accurate handwritten dates on their exterior envelopes must still be counted if they are received in time, a judge ruled Tuesday, concluding that rejecting such ballots violates federal civil rights law.The decision has implications for the 2024 presidential election in a key battleground state where Democrats have been far more likely to vote by mail than Republicans. In the latest lawsuit filed over a 2019 state voting law, U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter ruled that county boards of election may no longer reject mail ballots that lack accurate, handwritten dates on their return envelopes. Baxter said the date — which is required by state law — is irrelevant in helping elections officials decide whether the ballot was received in time or whether the voter is qualified to cast a ballot.The GOP has repeatedly fought in court to get such ballots thrown out, part of a campaign to invalidate mail-in ballots and mail-in voting in Pennsylv...

Federal government posts $8.2 billion deficit between April and September this year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:59 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government recorded a budgetary deficit of $8.2 billion between April and September, $3.9 billion of which was in September. The finance department says in its monthly fiscal monitor that the deficit between April and September compared to a surplus of $1.7 billion during the same period last year. Government revenues increased by $3.5 billion, or 1.7 per cent, a reflection of higher higher interest revenues and other non-tax revenues.Program expenses excluding net actuarial losses were up $8.9 billion, or 4.8 per cent, from the same period a year earlier.Public debt charges were up $5.7 billion, or 33.1 per cent, largely due to higher interest rates but partly offset by lower Consumer Price Index adjustments on Real Return Bonds.Net actuarial losses decreased by $1.1 billion, or 23.2 per cent, compared with the same period last year.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2023.The Canadian Press

Congo and the UN sign a deal for peacekeepers to withdraw after more than 2 decades and frustration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:59 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s foreign minister and the head of the United Nations stabilization mission in Congo signed agreements Tuesday to end the presence of U.N. peacekeepers after more than two decades in the Central African nation.Congolese Foreign Minister Christophe Lutundula told national television that the ceremony marked the end of a collaboration “which has proved its limits in a context of permanent war, without the longed for peace being restored to eastern Congo.”In a speech to the U.N. General Assembly in September, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi called for an accelerated withdrawal of the 15,000 peacekeepers. Earlier this month, he told Congress that “the phased withdrawal of the U.N. mission must be responsible and sustainable.”While no firm timeline was announced Tuesday, observers say it’s unlikely to accelerate the withdrawal before the current election cycle is completed.Tshisekedi seeks another term in the Dec. 20 presidential election. Already ...

House Republicans issue a subpoena to deputy prosecutor in Hunter Biden’s case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans issued a subpoena Tuesday to a senior federal prosecutor involved in the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden, demanding answers for what they allege is Justice Department interference in the yearslong case into the president’s son. Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, called on Lesley Wolf, the assistant U.S. attorney for Delaware, to appear before the committee by Dec. 7, according to a copy of the congressional subpoena obtained by The Associated Press. “Based on the Committee’s investigation to date, it is clear that you possess specialized and unique information that is unavailable to the Committee through other sources and without which the Committee’s inquiry would be incomplete,” Jordan wrote in an accompanying letter to Wolf. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The subpoena to Wolf is the latest in a series of demands Jordan and fellow Republican chairmen have made as ...

Video shows Hwy. 427 blocked off for apparent street racing, suspects fled: OPP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:59 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say they were called about suspected street racing taking place on a blocked-off section of Highway 427 early last Saturday morning.OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt tells CityNews that officers were called at around 12:37 a.m.By the time they arrived on the scene, all the vehicles fled the area.One person was cited for speeding, Sgt. Schmidt said.A video of the apparent incident posted to social media shows the highway appearing to be totally blocked off to accommodate racers and dozens of spectators, with cars parked along the side of the highway.Street Racing On????Hwy427. Via: ( @areacode416ix ) #Hwy427 #Toronto #ONHwys #RoadSafety #streetrace #racing #OPP #onpoli #traffic pic.twitter.com/1lsXX16yBK— 401_da_sarpanch (@401_da_sarpanch) November 20, 2023In the brief video clip, two cars appear to be racing while someone lights fireworks in the background.

Migrant camp construction begins at former Jewel-Osco lot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:59 GMT

CHICAGO -- A former Jewel-Osco on the city's South Side may soon turn from a vacant lot into a migrant camp.At 115th Street and Halsted Street, a construction fence now stands where a Jewel-Osco once stood as plans are underway to covert the vacant lot into a migrant encampment.On Tuesday, Alderman Ronnie Mosley informed residents that the city is conducting environmental analysis and testing before winterized tents are installed.  Gov. Pritzker announces $160M in funding for migrant emergency response "We’re expecting in the next, I would say, two weeks or so to get those assessments back to let us know if that site will actually be viable to move forward," Alderman Mosley said.For weeks, residents of Morgan Park and elsewhere have been speaking out against the Johnson administration moving migrants into their community."This is absolutely a disgrace," South Side resident Annette Cain said. "Why would you put our taxpayer dollars on migrants and not on the people who’ve been livi...

Judge overseeing Delphi murders case against Richard Allen suffers 'urgent medical condition'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:59 GMT

ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. — Fran Gull, the Allen County Judge specially assigned to oversee the 2017 Delphi double murders case against Richard Allen, has not been handling her recent caseload amidst health issues and hospitalizations.According to a statement sent to FOX59/CBS4 by an Allen Superior Court official, Judge Gull has been working from home recently following a hospital stay where she received treatment for an urgent medical condition.The statement, which was sent Tuesday by Allen Court administrator John McGauley, said that Judge Gull consulted with a doctor on Nov. 2, 2023, after feeling sick for several days. The judge had met with attorneys in the Delphi case just two days prior on Oct. 31. Judge Gull says Richard Allen had access to Delphi documents all along and wasn’t hindered "Her doctor concluded that she required treatment for an urgent medical condition," McGauley's statement read. "Judge Gull was subsequently admitted to a Fort Wayne hospital for inpatient treatmen...

Wisconsin Supreme Court hearing over redistricting case turns testy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:59 GMT

The newly elected liberal justice on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court found herself in the spotlight Tuesday as a hearing over a lawsuit aiming to redraw the state’s legislative maps turned testy.The Wisconsin high court heard oral arguments in a legal challenge over the state’s maps that was filed by Democratic voters just one day after liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz kicked off her term. The lawsuit argues the state’s legislative lines are “unconstitutional” and “extreme partisan gerrymanders that violate multiple provisions” of the state Constitution, and it urges for the entire legislative map to be redrawn.But shortly after oral arguments started, Protasiewicz became the topic of discussion during oral arguments, which at times grew contentious as justices grilled attorneys on both sides.“Everybody knows that the reason we're here is because there was a change in the membership of the court. You would not have brought this action, right, if the newest justice had lost her election,...

Local universities behind new research that may help with detecting concussions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:59 GMT

With concussions in young athletes seemingly on the rise, schools and sports leagues are becoming more vigilant.Now, new research from the C.A.R.E. Illinois College of Medicine and the University of Illinois may help doctors do a better job of detecting concussions. Annabelle Shaffer, a C.A.R.E. Illinois med student, joined WGN Evening News at 4 p.m. to discuss the new study.Watch the full interview in the video player above.Sign up for our Medical Watch newsletter. This daily update includes important information from WGN's Dina Bair and the Med Watch team including the latest updates from health organizations, in-depth reporting on advancements in medical technology and treatments as well as personal features related to people in the medical field. Sign up here.

Woodstock man found guilty of criminal sexual assault of a child

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:59 GMT

MCHENRY COUNTY, Ill. — A jury has found a Woodstock man guilty of criminal sexual abuse, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser said.According to Mosser, 57-year-old Steven Grimmitt was found guilty on three counts of criminal sexual assault of a child and 13 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. 92-year-old man in custody after shooting woman inside South Side home Assistant State’s Attorneys Matthew Rodgers and Jake Matekaitis say Grimmitt sexually abused two victims, both younger than 13, between May 2012 and April 2014.“My thanks to the victims for coming forward and seeing this case through. I am grateful they trusted us to seek justice on their behalf. I also want to thank a third victim for showing remarkable strength and testifying about how Mr. Grimmitt abused her many years ago," Rodgers said. Damage ‘extensive’ at Calumet Fisheries after fire The Kane County State’s Attorney said Grimmit faces a minimum sentence of 18 years in prison and will have to register...