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11 dead in clash between criminal gang and villagers in central Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Eleven people were killed in a clash Friday between gunmen from a criminal gang and residents of a small farming community in central Mexico, authorities said. Dramatic video of the fight posted on social media showed villagers in cowboy hats with sickles and hunting rifles chasing down suspected gang members amid bursts of automatic gunfire.Police in the State of Mexico, which abuts Mexico City, said the clash occurred in the hamlet of Texcaltitlan, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southwest of the capital. State police said eight of the dead were members of the criminal gang, while three were village residents. Police did not identify the gang, but the violent Familia Michoacana drug cartel has been dominant in that area for a decade.The video appeared to show the attackers wore military-style uniforms, some with helmets. Villagers apparently set their bodies and vehicles on fire.Local media said Familia Michoacana gunmen had shown up in the village earlier deman...

Skilling: Chicago sees warmest Dec. 8 in 32 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicagoans enjoyed the warmest daytime high temperature — 56 degrees — in three weeks today. Not since Nov. 17's high of 60 degrees had it been warmer in the city — and as far as Dec. 8's go, it was the warmest Dec. 8 since 1991 — but what all does that mean for the weather moving into next week for the fine folks of Chicagoland?TONIGHT: Clouding over. A period of rain arrives toward midnight or 1 a.m. — sooner in areas west — and continues the remainder of the night. Isolated thunder is possible.  Mild overnight with a low of 52.SATURDAY: Opens mild — some lingering rain is possible — but will exit by mid-morning. A good deal of cloudiness lingers but with occasional cloud breaks and some mixed sun from time to time. High 52 early — but falling slowly to 40 by sunset. WGN Seven Day Forecast Online SATURDAY NIGHT and SUNDAY: Cloudy spells, breezy and turning noticeably colder. A few passing snow flurries possible. Low Saturday night 30. High Sunday 32.MONDAY: Mostly sunn...

A sweet story: Customers help Loba, a beloved Chicago bakery, move into new location

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

CHICAGO — Valeria Socorro Velazquez Lindsten's award-worthy pastries have attracted a loyal customer base.So when she needed financial help to get her acclaimed business into a new location, her customers stepped up. Turns out they're sweet on Velazquez Lindsten's story, not just on her pastries.Velazquez Lindsten is the owner of Loba Pastry + Coffee, which has been in the news a lot lately.In May, Velazquez Lindsten moved the business into its new home at 3600 N. Lincoln Ave., at the corner of the Addison, Lincoln and Ravenswood intersection, near the border of North Center and Roscoe Village.Velazquez Lindsten has also been nominated for Pastry Chef of the Year in the Jean Banchet Awards, which recognize local talent in the food industry. Winners will be announced in a ceremony on Jan. 28.Loba Pastry + Coffee moved into its new location at 3600 N. Lincoln Ave. in May.Yes, things are going well for Velazquez Lindsten and Loba Pastry + Coffee these days. But how she's reached this p...

Charges filed against man accused of burglarizing 8 Chicago businesses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

CHICAGO — Charges have been filed against a man accused of burglarizing eight businesses across the city over a three-and-a-half-month period.According to Chicago police, 18-year-old Vernon Edwards, a Chicago Lawn resident, has been charged with eight felony counts of burglary.  Logan Square resident faces eviction over display of Palestinian flag Officers say Edwards was arrested on Wednesday for his alleged role in the burglaries that unfolded across several neighborhoods around the city between June 9 and Sept. 17. Officers provided the following timeline for the alleged burglaries: 4200 block of West 55th Street in West Elsdon on June 9 & August 22.5200 block of South Archer Avenue in Archer Heights on June 17.4300 block of West 51st Street in Archer Heights on June 17.900 block of West 35th Street in Bridgeport on June 23.5000 block of South Archer Avenue in Archer Heights on June 26.4400 block of South Archer Avenue in Brighton Park on June 26.6500 block of South Pu...

Ryan O'Neal, star of 'Love Story,' 'Paper Moon,' 'Peyton Place' and 'Barry Lyndon,' dies at 82

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ryan O'Neal, the heartthrob actor who went from a TV soap opera to an Oscar-nominated role in "Love Story" and delivered a wry performance opposite his charismatic 9-year-old daughter Tatum in "Paper Moon," died Friday, his son said.“My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us,” Patrick O'Neal, a Los Angeles sportscaster, posted on Instagram.No cause of death was given. Ryan O'Neal was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, a decade after he was first diagnosed with chronic leukemia. He was 82. “My father, Ryan O’Neal, has always been my hero,” Patrick O’Neal wrote, adding, “He is a Hollywood legend. Full stop.”“He meant the world to me. I loved him very much and know he loved me too," Tatum O’Neal told People magazine in a statement. "I’ll miss him forever. and I feel very lucky that we ended on such good terms.”Ryan O'Neal was among the biggest movie stars in the world in the 1970s, working ...

Weather headlines: El Nino continues to propel warm December

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

Chicagoans enjoyed the warmest daytime high temperature — 56 degrees — in three weeks Friday.  Note since Nov. 17's high of 60 degrees in the city, has it been warmer here. The high of 56 Friday was 17 degrees above normal and the warmest Dec. 8 in Chicago of the past 32 years (since a 60-deg high on Dec 8, 1991).Only five Dec. 8's in the 81 years since 1942 (the year Midway Airport became the official weather Chicago observation site, with O'Hare to follow in 1970) have been warmer. That means Friday was among the 6% warmest Dec. 8's on the books here over the past 81 years—and it put today's warmth in rare meteorological territory.The warmth Friday was the result of Pacific air — and indications are that a temperature downturn Sunday and into the open days of next week will be temporary. Westerly upper winds are to keep the warmer than normal temperatures dominant over the coming two weeks, which takes up to Christmas week itself.The El Nino pattern — known for producing above nor...

Man walks with long rifle in front of Austin schools, 'terrorized' students and parents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Parents of students at two north Austin schools told KXAN they are terrified of seeing a man with a long rife walk the path in front of their children’s schools for several days, sometimes twice a day, in December. The Austin Police Department confirmed to KXAN that Isaiah Smith, 28, who walked in front of St. Francis School and Webb Middle School with weapons, has also been seen downtown at the Austin Public Library.Isaiah Smith, 28, carries a long rifle in front of an Austin school (Photo Courtesy E.Johnson)“We've seen the individual. He has come in to take care of Library business – he checked out a book. But this is a public place,  and this is an open-carry state, unfortunately. So there's no way we can keep them out at the moment,” said Roosevelt Weeks, Director of the Austin Public Library. “[People] feel the library is a safe and welcoming place,” Weeks continued. “With someone with a long rifle, that's kind of upsetting for a lot of people. That doesn't...

LIST: Holiday events happening this weekend - December 9 & 10

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — In need of holiday plans this weekend? Below is a list of events taking place Saturday and Sunday in Austin and Central Texas.Saturday, Dec. 9:Lost Pines ChristmasThe Bastrop Lost Pines Christmas Festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will feature Christmas caroling, hot cocoa, popcorn, hot dogs, s’mores, window decorating, letters to Santa and so much more.  The 2023 Lost Pines Lighted Christmas Parade will also take place in Downtown Bastrop at 6 p.m. The parade is expected to have floats, firetrucks, unicycles, vintage cars, dancing, Santa and more, according to the city.“This tradition literally lights up the Bastrop Christmas festivities,” the city said. 59th annual Austin Trail of Lights returns Dec. 8-23 YMCA Snow EventCHASCO Family YMCA’s Christmas Dreams and Snowy Things Celebration in Round Rock begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. Santa is expected to arrive between 10:45 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.YMCA said the spirit of C...

Doorbell footage captures accused shooter leaving home morning of shooting spree

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KXAN) — A doorbell camera caught the moments a man now accused of killing six people left his home to embark on a shooting spree through Austin and San Antonio. What we know about the suspect in Tuesday’s shooting spree in Austin, San Antonio Shane James, 34, was arrested Tuesday night, booked into the Travis County Jail early Wednesday morning, and charged with capital murder of multiple people.According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, the first of James’s victims were his parents, Phyllis James, 55, and Shane James, Sr., 56. The couple was shot inside a home on Port Royal Street in San Antonio between 10 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. Tuesday.The doorbell video KXAN obtained from a neighbor captured a man they say is James pacing in the front yard and street outside that home the Monday night before the shootings.Daytime footage from that Tuesday morning then showed James allegedly behind the wheel of a dark-colored sedan driving driving away from the home,A th...

Bret Stephens: Silence is violence — but not when it comes to Israeli rape victims?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

On Sunday, CNN’s Dana Bash asked Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., why so many progressive women have been silent about the extensive reports of widespread rape and sexual assault carried out by Hamas against Israeli women during the massacres of Oct. 7.What followed was a master class in evasion, both-sidesism and changing the subject from the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.“I’ve condemned what Hamas has done,” Jayapal allowed, briefly, before moving immediately to condemn Israel. Bash persisted: “I was just asking about the women, and you turned it back to Israel. I’m asking about Hamas.”“I’ve already answered your question, Dana,” Jayapal replied, adding that while rape was “horrific,” it “happens in war situations. Terrorist organizations like Hamas obviously are using these as tools. However, I think we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians.”A day after the CNN interview, I attended a conference at the United Nations headquarters in...