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‘It was hell’: Hostage freed after years in Africa recounts ordeal and frustrations with US response

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:40:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Islamic extremists drove up to the American missionary’s home in Niger under the cover of evening, gunning down two guards who stood watch. Jeff Woodke recalls seeing the muzzle blasts and hearing the screams before being thrown into a pickup truck that then sped away.So began more than six years of captivity, a period in which he says he was beaten, locked in chains for hours a day and pressured repeatedly to convert to Islam and endured self-imposed hunger strikes. “It was hell,” said Woodke, 62, who was released in March. “I think the hardest part was knowing that my family, if they were alive, they were suffering too.” As time progressed, he said, he began to feel that “it’s better for me to be dead than continue putting them through suffering. And that feeling grew and grew and grew. The last year I was there, I was asking them to kill me.”But the ordeal, he and his wife say, was compounded by years of frustrating interactions with the U.S. gov...

A new trial begins for Russian opposition leader Navalny that could keep him locked up for decades

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:40:39 GMT

MELEKHOVO, Russia (AP) — Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny went on trial Monday on new charges of extremism that could keep him behind bars for decades.The trial opened at a maximum security penal colony in Melekhovo, 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Moscow, where Navalny, 47, is serving a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court — charges he says are politically motivated.Navalny, who exposed official corruption and organized major anti-Kremlin protests, was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.Navalny, wearing his prison garb, looked gaunt at the session but spoke emphatically about the weakness of the state’s case and gestured energetically.Navalny has said the new extremism charges, which he rejected as “absurd,” could keep him in prison for another 30 years. He said an investigator told him that he would also face a separate military trial on t...

UN complains Russia won’t let aid workers into area of Ukraine dam collapse, Moscow says it’s unsafe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:40:39 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Kremlin’s spokesman said Monday that U.N. aid workers who want to visit areas ravaged by the recent Kakhova dam collapse in southern Ukraine can’t go there because fighting in the war makes it unsafe.The United Nations rebuked Moscow on Sunday for allegedly denying aid workers access to Russia-occupied areas where residents are stranded amid “devastating destruction.” The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said in a statement that her staff were engaging with both Kyiv and Moscow, which control different parts of the area, in a bid to reach civilians in need. They face a shortage of drinking water and food and a lack of power.Brown urged Russian authorities “to act in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law” and let them in.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn’t explicitly admit that Russia had blocked U.N. access, but told a conference call with reporters that Ukrainian attacks made a visit too risk...

Kimberly Palmer: Shopping on social media the smart way

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:40:39 GMT

When Ziwei Cong bought some sweatpants that caught her eye during a livestream shopping event on social media, she was disappointed when they arrived and didn’t fit well.“It’s very easy for me to become irrational during these kinds of shopping events,” says the assistant professor of marketing at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. She adds that the hosts can be very persuasive and hook you with limited- time offers to trigger impulse purchases.Social shopping, or purchases made through social media sites that sometimes incorporate livestreaming events with influencers, is booming. Almost half of U.S. consumers (47%) say they’ve made a purchase on social media, and 39% say they have bought that way and would do so again, according to 2022 data in a report released in April by the market intelligence agency Mintel.“Shopping on social media has really taken off more with younger consumers. They’re on their phones more and on social media more often, so it’s easier t...

Body pulled from Chicago River near Salt Shed identified as missing man Noah Enos

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:40:39 GMT

CHICAGO — A body that was pulled from the Chicago River in West Town Saturday morning has been identified, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.According to the ME's office, 26-year-old Noah Enos has been identified as the body recovered from the water near the 1300 block of North Elston Avenue near the Salt Shed around 9:45 a.m. Missing man last seen at Salt Shed concert; Police seek public’s help Police said Enos was pronounced dead on the scene. Enos was last seen June 12 at a concert at the Salt Shed. His friends say his phone died around 9:45 p.m. and no one had heard from him since.Detectives are conducting a death investigation.

Monday Forecast: Temps in mid 80s with decreasing clouds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:40:39 GMT

CHICAGO — Decreasing clouds Monday and warm conditions, cooler lakeside. Air quality: Moderate. Winds: NNE 5-10 mph. Highs: 84/73. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Hazy evening and a bit breezy tonight, then partly cloudy skies. Winds: NE 10-15 mph. Low 63.Tuesday Forecast: Mostly sunny and warm, except lakeside. Winds: NE 10-15 mph. Highs: 83/72Extended outlook calls for a pattern of dry weather for the rest of the week with hazy sunshine from Canadian wildfire smoke. Temps inland stay mostly in the mid to low 80s and cooler by the lake each day by about  5 to 10 degrees cooler by the lake. A chance of afternoon showers/t'storms is back in the forecast for the coming weekend—but the bulk of each day looks partly sunny. Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Incarcerated students to get federal aid on the path to higher education

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:40:39 GMT

(NerdWallet) - Higher education could soon become more affordable for more than 700,000 of the incarcerated people in the U.S. Starting July 1, they’ll become eligible for Pell Grants for the first time in nearly 30 years, regardless of sentence length or conviction.Pell Grants are a type of need-based financial aid from the federal government that gives recipients up to $7,395 per academic year to cover college costs like tuition, books and other fees. Unlike a loan, the grants never need to be repaid; students qualify based on financial need.Incarcerated people — those in juvenile justice facilities and local, state and federal correctional facilities — will be able to use these Pell awards to pay for prison education programs (PEPs), which can lead to credentials like a professional certificate, an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree from a partner university.Though the change is effective July 1, students may not be able to enroll in a PEP using Pell Grants immediately, says...

Governor signs bill for four years of Texas Veterinary Board oversight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:40:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation authorizing four years of oversight for the agency tasked with regulating the state's animal doctors. Lawmakers passed the bill in the final hours of the 88th legislative session, to attach the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners (TBVME) to another state agency temporarily, in order to help with data collection and management issues. The legislation stipulates that the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) will take over policymaking and administrative decisions for TBVME. BACKGROUND: Lawmakers move to reform Texas Veterinary Board ‘plagued’ with problems The Board has faced issues over the last six years obtaining and maintaining a database to keep regulatory and disciplinary information about its licensees -- issues which have been documented by the Sunset Advisory Commission in several reviews and reports. KXAN investigators have been following those calls for reform, after discovering some di...

Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul is torn down to make room for new mental health hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:40:39 GMT

Demolition of M Health Fairview’s Bethesda Hospital is nearing completion.Located near the State Capitol building, the former physical rehabilitation and acute care facility closed in November 2020, ending a nearly 140-year history of medical care amidst a major downsizing of Fairview Health Services’ medical offerings in downtown St. Paul.The building was converted temporarily into a COVID crisis hospital, and later a Ramsey County homeless shelter, at the height of the pandemic, but plans call for Minneapolis-based Fairview to erect a new mental health hospital in its place.Work crews continue demolishing the old Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul on Friday, June 16, 2023. The hospital was founded in 1883 and most recently served as a long-term acute care hospital. It is being demolished to make way for a 144-bed mental health hospital. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)Bethesda rose from religious roots. The Rev. A.P. Monten of the First Lutheran Church of St. Paul launched medi...

5 things to know this Juneteenth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:40:39 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Happy Juneteenth! Juneteenth commemorates the official end of slavery in the United States. We also hope all the dads and father figures out there enjoyed Father's Day on Sunday! According to Meteorologist Jill Szwed, most in the NEWS10 viewing area will enjoy partly sunny skies and seasonable temperatures. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! A state trooper was shot on Friday in the upper left arm while conducting a traffic stop. The male shooting suspect was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Also, police are investigating a fatal car crash in Northumberland. These stories, and more, are covered in your five things to know this Monday morning. 1. State Trooper shot while conducting a traffic stop on I-88There was a heavy police presence on I-88 in Duanesburg on Friday morning. According to New York State Police, Trooper Richard Albert was shot in the upper left arm when he conducted ...