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Feds spend $2.4 million on cloud seeding for Colorado River

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:29 GMT

DENVER (AP) — The Southern Nevada Water Authority on Thursday voted to accept a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to fund cloud seeding in other Western states whose rivers feed the parched desert region. The weather modification method uses planes and ground-based cannons to shoot silver iodide crystals into clouds, attracting moisture to the particles that falls as additional snow and rain.The funding comes as key reservoirs on the Colorado River hit record lows and booming Western cities and industries fail to adjust their water use to increasingly shrinking supplies.“This money from Reclamation is wonderful, we just have to decide how exactly it’s going to benefit us,” said Andrew Rickert, who coordinates Colorado’s cloud seeding for the Colorado Water Conservation Board.The federal funding will go toward upgrading manual generators to ones that can be remotely operated, and using planes to seed clouds in key parts of the Upper Colorado Riv...

Family: Video of man’s death shows ‘absolute brutality’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:29 GMT

DINWIDDIE, Va. (AP) — Video from a state mental hospital shows a Black Virginia man who was handcuffed and shackled being pinned to the ground by deputies who are now facing second-degree murder charges in his death, according to relatives of the man and their attorneys who viewed the footage Thursday.Speaking at a news conference shortly after watching the video, the family and attorneys condemned the brutal treatment they said Irvo Otieno, 28, was subjected to, first at a local jail and then at the state hospital where he died March 6. They called on the U.S. Department of Justice to intervene in the case, saying Otieno’s constitutional rights were clearly violated. Otieno’s case marks the latest example of a Black man’s in-custody death that has law enforcement under scrutiny. It follows the the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, and the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.Ben Crump, who represented Floyd’s family and...

Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal from media over Quebec secret trial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:29 GMT

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal from the media over a so-called secret trial involving a police informant held in Quebec.The high court said Thursday it has agreed to hear the appeal brought by media organizations including Radio-Canada, La Presse, the Montreal Gazette and The Canadian Press, which had sought a partial or complete lifting of seals imposed on the case.In July, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled it could not release any information, saying the right of informants to remain anonymous supersedes the principle of court proceedings being open to the public.The original case involved an informant who was convicted of participating in a crime that he or she had revealed to police.The existence of the trial was first reported by La Presse and only became public because the informant appealed his or her conviction and the Court of Appeal in March 2022 released a redacted decision that set aside the conviction and was highly critical of the secrecy surro...

‘Nowhere for him to go’: Ontario parents of son with autism struggling to find care

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:29 GMT

An Owen Sound couple is frustrated by a lack of options available for their son with autism, who has spent the last eight months in the psychiatric unit of a hospital waiting to get the care he needs.Michelle and Sean Crooks have 23-year-old twin sons who both have been diagnosed with autism. During COVID-19, both of their sons struggled without a regular routine, but Aidan started exhibiting violent tendencies.“A year ago, we had been dealing with Aiden through the outpatient psychiatric unit and trying to try out some medications to see if that would help with sleeping and with lessening his aggressive behaviours. And it didn’t really work, and we ended up with more violence,” explained Michelle.It got to the point where the Crooks were forced to call 911, and the police and the mental health unit came to place him in psychiatric care.“Aiden was pretty out of control. In the end, he was attacking anybody. We were afraid and didn’t even want to go to w...

Man who spent 30 years in prison for Chicago murder he said didn't commit released

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:29 GMT

CREST HILL, Ill. — A man who has claimed his innocence for 30 years in a Chicago murder case was released from prison Thursday afternoon.A judge vacated Lee Harris' conviction Thursday morning and in the afternoon, prosecutors said there's not enough evidence to re-try the case. Man convicted of Gold Coast ‘ATM murder’ says he was framed Harris has proclaimed his innocence for all these years and was the subject of a WGN Investigates report that exposed serious questions about his conviction and the investigation that sent him to prison. "I've been unjustly convicted of a crime I had no part in," Harris said at the time. "I trusted the wrong people and that's what got me a 90 year prison sentence."Six years after WGN Investigates shared Harris' story, and 33 years after he was branded a murderer and sentenced to prison, his release essentially confirms his claims."I got 90 years for killing sombody I have never seen, somebody I never seen a day in my life," Harris said.In 1989, Ri...

AG: Illinois lottery employee stole, redeemed winning tickets

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:29 GMT

CHICAGO -- An Illinois lottery employee has been charged for stealing and redeeming winning lottery tickets Wednesday.57-year-old Dean Derrick, of SpringfieldAccording to the Illinois Attorney General's Office, 57-year-old Dean Derrick, of Springfield, allegedly stole books of instant lottery tickets from retailers while working as a Lottery sales representative for the Illinois Lottery.Derrick reportedly removed certain books, which he then took to separate retailers to redeem for prize money. His actions are believed to occur between March 23 and April 13, 2022.Derrick was charged Wednesday with four counts of theft of governmental property greater than $500 but less than $10,000, class 2 felonies punishable by three to seven years in prison; seven counts of official misconduct, class 3 felonies punishable by two to five years in prison; and three counts of wire fraud, class 3 felonies punishable by two to five years in prison.The Attorney General's Office alleges Derrick gave a c...

FBI: Suspects burglarized Lincoln Park Bank of America by breaking into nearby building

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:29 GMT

CHICAGO — At least two males are suspected of burglarizing a Lincoln Park-area Bank of America by accessing a vacant building near the bank, authorities said Thursday. The burglary occurred Sunday, March 12, sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 6 a.m., at the Bank of America in the 2100 block of N. Clybourn Ave. Police: Man dies after shooting in Walmart parking lot on Chicago’s South Side According to police, the suspect broke into Method: broke into the vacant building next to the bank and drilled through the wall to access the vault.A silver/metallic color SUV and a black/dark sedan may have been used to flee the scene.Tips may be reported anonymously to (312) 421-6700 and tips.fbi.gov.

Chicago man gets 20 years for failed carjacking at suburban gas station

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:29 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago man was sentenced to two decades behind bars for an armed carjacking attempt at a Downers Grove gas station in September of 2021. Demario Butler, 31, received his sentence Thursday after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm in January. Prosecutors said Butler and another male, who prosecutors allege is 24-year-old Pierre Baugh, approached a woman at the BP gas station in the 4300 block of Main St. Butler demanded the victim's keys and cell phone while threatening the use of a firearm. Benedictine University student faces felonies for child porn: Police The victim obliged.Both Butler and Baugh ran off to the mini-mart and entered their getaway vehicle When the car failed to start, both men fled the scene on foot. Butler was taken into police custody on Oct. 22, 2021. Baugh is due in court on March 17.   

'Reckless, dangerous': US releases video of Russian jet hitting drone

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:29 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The Pentagon released video Thursday of an alleged Russian attack on an unmanned U.S. drone.A Russian fighter jet had collied with the surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday. U.S. officials say it illustrates Russia's continued aggression.The 42-second clip shows two back-to-back interactions. First, the Russian jet swoops past the U.S. drone while dumping fuel. Moments later the jet returns, allegedly striking the drone's propeller. After temporarily losing signal, video shows the damage.Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the press secretary for the Pentagon, said it was "reckless and dangerous behavior.""We felt that it was important to provide this imagery," Ryder said. Senators temper outrage over Russian jet provocations to avoid escalation The Pentagon says it released the video to prove the attack occurred, after Russia denied it."Our words and our actions speak for themselves and similarly Russia's inaccurate information," Ryder said. "Grasping at straw...

Uber rolls out 'Record My Ride' feature in more cities — are there privacy concerns?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:29 GMT

(KDVR/NEXSTAR) — Ride-sharing giant Uber is expanding an optional safety feature in more cities across the U.S. — "Record My Ride" lets both riders and drivers record audio of their ride right on their phones in the event of safety issues. But should you worry about your privacy?Here's how it works: riders and drivers can add the safety feature in the app's Safety Toolkit section. After it's enabled, the option to "record audio" can be initiated by hitting "start." Both parties can begin or end a recording at any time during a trip. The feature automatically shuts off after a trip is completed. IKEA mirrors recalled over laceration hazard Uber says audio files are encrypted and stored on the device of the person who enabled it. The company explains that "no one can listen to the audio — including Uber, the rider or the driver" while the recording is on a device. Uber does not have access to it unless one of the parties submits an issue and attaches it. Only at this time will the a...