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US to open northernmost diplomatic post in Norway; only mission above Arctic Circle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

OSLO, Norway (AP) — The United States will soon open a small diplomatic mission in Norway that will be its northernmost in the world and only such facility above the Arctic Circle, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Thursday.The move, which Blinken announced at a news conference in Oslo after attending a NATO foreign ministers meeting, comes as competition over the high north’s resources with Russia intensifies. Blinken said the U.S. would open what is known as an “American Presence Post” in Tromsoe, which sits 350 kilometers (217 miles) north of the Arctic Circle. The post will open later this year and be staffed by a single U.S. diplomat with the title of “consul.” “We’re here to work with like-minded allies to advance our vision of a peaceful, stable and cooperative Arctic,” Blinken said before meeting Norway’s foreign minister whose country is preparing to assume the chairmanship of the Arctic Council, which is headquartered in Tromsoe.Norway will take ...

Saudi Arabia executes Nepal man after conviction for stabbing Saudi to death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday executed a Nepali national after his conviction for stabbing a Saudi to death. The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported the execution of Santa Bahadur Pune, saying it took place in the kingdom’s Al-Jawf region. It did not say how Pune had been killed. However, Saudi Arabia typically carries out executions by beheadings. Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s top executioners. It occasionally executes foreigners. The Associated Press

Pakistan’s police arrest top ally of former premier Imran Khan amid crackdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s police on Thursday arrested a top official in former premier Imran Khan’s political party as authorities move to rein in the outspoken politician’s supporters and allies. Pervez Elahi, who is the president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was arrested in a raid in the eastern city of Lahore. Khan is head of the party, as chairman.The latest police raid that netted Elahi was quickly denounced by Khan’s party. Amir Mir, who is information minister for the Punjab province, said Elahi was nabbed in a corruption case.The latest development comes a day after former British Cabinet ministers, senior law officers, renowned journalists and legal rights organizations issued an appeal for the release of Murad Akbar, the brother of attorney Shahzad Akbar, a rights lawyer linked with Khan.Khan himself was detained last month, sparking violent protests. Since then, police have detained thousands of Khan’s followers for alleged involvement in t...

Heather Mack to plead guilty at mother's murder hearing, attorney says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

CHICAGO — Heather Mack plans to plead guilty to charges related to the murder of her mother in Bali, Mack's attorney confirmed to WGN News Thursday.Mack has been awaiting trial for conspiring to murder her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack, 62, of Oak Park. The hearing is set for June 15.The body of Wiese-Mack was found badly beaten inside the trunk of a taxi parked at a hotel in Bali in August 2014. Mack, who was almost 19 and a few weeks pregnant at the time, and her then-21-year-old boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, were arrested a day later. Chicago judge orders Heather Mack to stay in jail as she awaits trial in mother’s Bali murder Mack spent seven years in prison in Indonesia before she was deported. She was arrested in 2021 shortly after returning to the the U.S. In November of 2022, Mack lost custody of her daughter whom she gave birth to while in prision in Indonesia. A Cook County judge ordered that the child be placed with a maternal cousin in Colorado.Schaefer remains in pri...

FBI offer $5K for info on 'Stuffed Bear Bandit' in armed bank robbery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are in pursuit of a man who held stuffed animals during an armed robbery incident at a bank on the South Side earlier this year. Police are searching for a man in connection to a robbery of a PNC bank in the 8700 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue on March 6. Police said he entered the bank three times. The first time, he was clutching two stuffed animals, which what police believed to be a Winnie the Pooh plush and a Dalmation plush. The FBI has named him the "Stuffed Bear Bandit." Police reported that he entered the bank a second time without the stuffed animals and finally a third time when he violently robbed the bank. The man threw decorative rocks at the teller window before threating the life of an employee, demanding money while displaying a firearm.Police reports described the man between the ages of 40-50, 5'6''-5'8" tall and a medium build. He was seen wearing a black skull cap, black sunglasses, a black face mask, a black hooded jacket, blu...

'Just want a chance': Man with autism starting alternative baseball league in suburbs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

NORTHBROOK, Ill. — A man from Georgia is expanding the baseball league he started to the Chicago area to give those with disabilities a chance to play America's pastime.Taylor Duncan, 27, was diagnosed with autism at the age of four and grew up absolutely loving baseball.Duncan said as he got older, there were fewer opportunities to play the sport he loved with coaches deeming his disability as a safety issue.Taylor as youngsterTaylor being honored at a Braves game"I really had the desire to give back to others like myself," Duncan told WGN News. "Baseball provides valuable lessons like character, becoming a team player and learning how to communicate."So in 2016, Duncan got to work because he knew from his own experiences that these types of positive experiences for people with disabilities can become harder to find after high school."Once those with disabilities graduate out of high school, (opportunities) can completely fall off the cliff," Duncan said. "There's got to be more se...

The List: Celebrating the days of June

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

There are many different holidays in June beyond Father's Day and Flag Day. Today Larry is highlighting them all.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Elgin man arrested in Texas for $4M worth of cocaine in semi-truck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

CHICAGO, Ill. — A man from Elgin was arrested in Marshall, Texas for holding millions of dollars worth of cocaine in a semi-truck, police said.According to police, 34-year-old Ariel Martinez from Elgin, Illinois was pulled over by police in the 1500 block of South East End Boulevard in Marshall around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. FBI offer $5K for info on ‘Stuffed Bear Bandit’ in armed bank robbery Police found 39 plastic-wrapped bundles of cocaine weighing 43 kilograms, in the semi-truck. Photo courtesy of Marshall PDMartinez was arrested and transported to Harrison County Jail. The incident is still under investigation.

'80s pop sensation Tiffany involved in accident on Tennessee highway: 'Extremely lucky'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

NASHVILLE (NEXSTAR) –  Tiffany, the singer responsible for hit songs such as “Could’ve Been” and “I Think We’re Alone Now” in the late '80s, was involved in what could’ve been a "major accident" on a Tennessee highway last week.A representative for the singer, whose full name is Tiffany Darwish, confirmed to Nexstar that Tiffany was traveling through Nashville when a tire rolled under her car.“Last week, Tiffany was driving on [Interstate 65] when a tire from a truck came rolling across the highway, hit her car, and got stuck under the driver's side,” a spokesperson for the singer said. Tire flies off race car, hits parked car during Indy 500 Her rep added that her car’s transmission was “torn apart,” and both the front and sides of the car suffered damage."I'm extremely lucky and thankful because a major accident could have happened,” Tiffany wrote in a statement shared with Nexstar.Tiffany, seen here performing in Nashville in 2015, said she's "extremely lucky" she avo...

Judge orders continued probation for teen sex trafficking victim who killed alleged abuser

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:28 GMT

DES MOINES, IOWA (WHO) - A teenage sex trafficking victim who fatally stabbed the man she accused of abusing her was resentenced Wednesday to probation, telling an Iowa judge that she now has a support system to help keep her on track.Prosecutors agreed that Pieper Lewis should continue her probation rather than be incarcerated. Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham told the judge that her office “sees her as a human being,” that she is vulnerable to revictimization and that there is low risk she will commit more violence.Pieper Lewis appears in Polk County court, Wednesday, May 31, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. Lewis was resentenced to probation for killing 37-year-old Zachary Brooks in June 2020. Lewis said that she was trafficked to Brooks against her will and sexually assaulted multiple times when she was 15. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Des Moines Register via AP)Lewis, now 18, had faced a 20-year prison sentence for the June 2020 fatal stabbing of 37-year-old Zachary Brooks, ...