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'She lived her life fearlessly': Fallen Chicago police officer Aréanah Preston laid to rest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:20 GMT

CHICAGO — Family and friends shared a complete picture of fallen Chicago police officer Aréanah Preston's life on Wednesday, remembering the 24-year-old's sincerity, outgoing personality and fearlessness. The familiar yet somber tone of bagpipes filled the air outside the 95th Street Church Wednesday morning as her coffin passed by hundreds of fellow officers, who stood saluting their fallen colleague.Once inside, fellow officers, elected officials, loved ones and family paid their last respects to someone many described as warm and intelligent with a contagious smile.  Funeral services held Wednesday for slain CPD officer Aréanah Preston "For Aréanah's life to be cut short as she was living her dream, it doesn’t seem fair," said former CPD interim Supt. Eric Carter.Over two hours, mourners shared tales of a woman who was small in stature but big in personality. Preston was someone who loved the color yellow and sunflowers. Many described her as a young person who was genuinely a ...

IHOP launches pancake-inspired coffee

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:20 GMT

CHICAGO (WTAJ) — If you've ever wanted coffee to taste like your breakfast, IHOP has you covered. Pancake-inspired IHOP indulgent coffee is available across the country for the first time through their partnership with Kraft Heinz. The IHOP Coffee is made with 100% premium arabica beans and comes in three unique flavors.Photo Courtesy: IHOP/ Amy RozenzeweigSignature Blend for a rich and smooth medium finishButtery Syrup to immerse your tastebuds in delicious syrupy pancakesChocolate Chocolate Chip featuring an indulgent fudgy chocolate flavor"With more than 56 million cups of coffee sold per year, it only made sense to bring the joy of our coffee to retailers nationwide with innovative flavors inspired by our best-selling pancakes,” Kieran Donahue, Chief Marketing Officer, IHOP® said. “Kraft Heinz is the perfect partner to bring our iconic flavors to our guests and help serve up joy each morning with IHOP® Coffee as part of our fans’ morning routines.” Wendy’s iconic chili coming ...

10 hikers lost near 'Last Chance Trail' in California rescued thanks to iPhone feature

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:20 GMT

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KTLA) – Authorities rescued 10 hikers after they were reported missing in Southern California's Santa Paula Canyon earlier this week.On May 12, the group of hikers went missing near the Last Chance Trail area around 8 p.m., according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.When the group failed to return, guardians for the hikers contacted deputies to report the group as missing and possibly in need of assistance.Authorities later received a text from the hikers who said they were unable to find their way back from the canyon. Woman’s death at Yellowstone under investigation, man arrested The hikers were able to contact dispatch through the Apple Emergency SOS feature and provided authorities with “valuable information such as a possible location and if immediate medical aid was needed.”Thirteen members from the Upper Ojai Search and Rescue Team responded to the trailhead to begin their search.Rescue crews hiked approximately four miles into the Santa Paula C...

Likelihood that Earth briefly hits key warming threshold grows bigger and closer, UN forecasts

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:20 GMT

(AP) - There's a two-out-of-three chance that the world will temporarily hit a key warming limit within the next five years, the United Nations weather agency said Wednesday.But it likely would only be a fleeting and less worrisome flirtation with the internationally agreed upon temperature threshold. Scientists expect a temporary burst of heat from El Nino — a naturally-occurring weather phenomenon — to supercharge human-caused warming from the burning of coal, oil and gas to new heights. Temperatures are expected to then slip back down a bit.The World Meteorological Organization forecasts a 66% likelihood that between now and 2027, the globe will have a year that averages 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the mid-19th century.That number is critical because the 2015 Paris climate agreement set 1.5 degrees Celsius as a global guardrail in atmospheric warming, with countries pledging to try to prevent that much long-term warming if pos...

What did DPS arrest people for in Austin?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:20 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) report obtained by KXAN outlines the more than 17,000 traffic stops and nearly 700 arrests DPS made in Travis County between March 30 and May 6.On March 30, DPS began the Austin Violent Crimes Task Force (ACVTF) project to assist Austin Police (APD) with crime-curbing efforts amid an APD staffing shortage.The program is currently on pause as troopers assist with border-protection efforts, but is expected to return. Looking through a set of about 300 trooper arrests, the majority of arrests for possession of marijuana less than 2 ounces. In about 70% of those cases, people also had more serious violations or warrants out for their arrests. So in about 30% of those cases, marijuana possession was the only charge. "We haven't had a Class B marijuana charge since around the time COVID started," said defense attorney Benjamin Gergen. "And now we've seen 5-10 in the last month alone. And again, those are cases where we're basicall...

Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. will be resentenced without a court hearing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:20 GMT

FARGO, N.D. — The man convicted of killing North Dakota college student Dru Sjodin 20 years ago is to be resentenced without a hearing after a judge overturned his death sentence in 2021.The U.S. Attorney’s Office in North Dakota and defense attorneys for Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. have asked federal Judge Ralph Erickson to convert the sentence in the case to life imprisonment, according to court documents filed Tuesday. Rodriguez has waived his right to be present at any sentencing hearing.Erickson will have to approve the request before Rodriguez is moved off death row.Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. and Dru Sjodin (AP Photo/File)The 70-year-old Rodriguez is being held at a high security federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind.Rodriguez was initially sentenced to death in 2007 after a jury found the convicted sex offender guilty of kidnapping and killing Sjodin. Rodriguez abducted the 22-year-old University of North Dakota student from Pequot Lakes, Minn., on Nov. 22, 2003, from the Columbia Ma...

Paid sick time requirement passes Minnesota Legislature; Walz plans to sign bill

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:20 GMT

Minnesota will soon require all employers to provide workers with more than a week of paid sick time each year.A final jobs and labor package passed by the House and Senate on Tuesday night creates a new “sick and safe time” mandate, where employers must offer 48 hours of paid time each year for illness, medical appointments, child care or seeking help for domestic abuse. Around 900,000 workers in Minnesota do not have any paid time off, and most of them are low-wage, supporters say.Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers say their jobs and labor package jobs and labor package will protect worker safety and economic well-being. The bill passed the House 70-61 and the Senate 34-32 on Tuesday on party-line votes, with no Republican support.“When this session began, we told people across our state that we would build an economy that works for all Minnesotans,” said Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic in a floor speech ahead of the bill’s passage.“It helps ensure that no working Minnesotan h...

Derek Chauvin appeals George Floyd murder conviction to Minnesota Supreme Court

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:20 GMT

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin appealed his murder conviction in the killing of George Floyd to the Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday, saying the district judge’s decision not to move the proceedings out of the city deprived him of a fair trial.His attorney, William Mohrman, filed a petition for review with the state’s highest court a month after the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld Chauvin’s conviction for second-degree murder and let his 22½-year sentence remain in place.Morhman had unsuccessfully asked the appeals court to throw out the ex-officer’s conviction for a long list of reasons, including the massive pretrial publicity. But the three-judge panel last month sided with prosecutors who said Chauvin got a fair trial and just sentence. Chauvin raises several of those arguments again in his latest appeal.“We’re very hopeful that the Minnesota Supreme Court will accept review of the case,” Mohrman said.Floyd died on May 25, 2020, aft...

Montana says 1st-in-nation TikTok ban protects people. TikTok says it violates their rights.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:20 GMT

HELENA, Mont. — Montana became the first state in the U.S. to enact a complete ban on TikTok on Wednesday when Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a measure that’s more sweeping than any other state’s attempts to curtail the social media app, which is owned by a Chinese tech company.The measure, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, is expected to be challenged legally and will serve as a testing ground for the TikTok-free America that many national lawmakers have envisioned. Cybersecurity experts say it could be difficult to enforce the ban.“Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party,” Gianforte said in a statement.TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter argued that the law infringes on people’s First Amendment rights and is unlawful. She declined to say whether the company will file a lawsuit.“We want to reassure Montanans that they can cont...

NYSP honor two fallen troopers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:20 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- It was a somber day at the New York State Police Academy on Wednesday. Troopers honored two fallen members of the force at their annual memorial and awards ceremony.Both honored sergeants died in 2022 due to illnesses connected to their duties at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "Today is a day of remembrance, honoring the sacrifice that state police members back on a daily basis," NYSP Superintendent Steven Nigrelli said. "But specifically this year, Sgt. Ivan M. Morales and Sgt. F. Brent Chomyszak, who gave their lives serving the state of New York and made sure that our citizens and our communities were safer."Thirty other law enforcement officials were given awards. The highest award for heroism went to Trooper Francis Rush, who rescued a trapped driver who had driven into a lake in Dutchess County.