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Water beads could pose life-threatening risk to children: Health Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:18 GMT

Health Canada is warning parents and guardians to be mindful of purchasing water beads for their children after several international incidents where youths who had ingested them sustained life-threatening injuries.Health Canada said the tiny beads — also known as jelly beads, hydro orbs, crystal soil, sensory beads or orb beads — are water-absorbing and can grow up to 1,500 times their size when placed in water.The primary point of focus is cautioning parents to ensure children don’t swallow these beads, which can be fatal.“Water beads can be very harmful if swallowed or put in the ears or nose,” Canada’s health agency said. “If ingested, water beads can continue to grow inside the body leading to potentially life-threatening injuries, such as intestinal or bowel obstruction.”Health Canada noted that water beads are most often found in a wide range of products that may be accessible to children. These include toys, art kits, stress ba...

US to control land sales to foreigners near 8 military bases

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:18 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreign citizens and companies would need U.S. government approval to buy property within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of eight military bases, under a proposed rule change that follows a Chinese firm’s attempt to build a plant near an Air Force base in North Dakota.The Treasury Department’s Office of Investment Security is set to propose the rule on Friday. It would give expanded powers to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which screens business deals between U.S. firms and foreign investors and can block sales or force the parties to change the terms of an agreement to protect national security. Controversy arose over plans by the Fufeng Group to build a $700 million wet corn milling plant about 12 miles (19 kilometers) from the Grand Forks Air Force Base, which houses both air and space operations. As opposition to the project grew, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, all Republicans, raised ques...

Alabama inmate who escaped with jailer help enters plea deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:18 GMT

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama inmate charged in the death of a jail official who helped him escape pleaded guilty Thursday to escape in exchange for having the murder case dismissed. Casey Cole White entered the plea agreement in Lauderdale County Court, avoiding a June trial on the felony murder charge. He continues to await trial on a separate murder charge. Authorities said White escaped from an Alabama jail in 2022 with the help of Vicky White, the assistant director of corrections for Lauderdale County and a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office. Law enforcement officials initially thought that the inmate had kidnapped the female jailer but later learned the pair had a jailhouse romance. An 11-day manhunt for the pair ended in Indiana as authorities caught up with them. Casey White was recaptured, and Vicky White died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Casey White was charged in her death because Alabama law allows someone to be charged with murder if someone is killed whi...

Friday classes canceled after fire at Glenbrook South High School

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:18 GMT

GLENVIEW, Ill. — Friday classes are canceled at Glenbrook South High School after a fire on Thursday afternoon.The school said the accidental fire was reported shortly before dismissal around 3 p.m. and the fire alarm was activated. IDOT announces new construction project on Kennedy Expressway The school said no homework will be due until classes resume and AP exams will be rescheduled.No injuries were reported, according to public safety officials and the school.The school said no one is allowed back in the building until an all-clear has been given by the fire department. They said anyone who tries to go into the building will be turned away. All home athletic events, except for the men's lacrosse game and Thursday night's band concert have been canceled.The school said students' items will stay where they left them.

2 men accused of taking $1.1M during armored truck robbery tracked down using Apple AirTag

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:18 GMT

Investigators tracked down two suspects accused in connection with an armored truck robbery Tuesday, thanks to the help of a hidden Apple AirTag inside a bin of stolen money, court documents show.In a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in federal court, authorities recommended Devonte Davis, 26, and Darrell Singleton, 18, be charged with armed robbery. Singleton was already wanted by the FBI for his alleged involvement in another armed robbery of a Brink’s truck last October, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Investigation Chicago Field Office confirmed.According to authorities, the robbery happened at approximately 9:25 a.m. Tuesday outside Jewel-Osco on 183rd Street in south suburban Homewood. Brink’s records show the robbers took approximately $1.1 million, court documents reveal. FBI: Armored truck robbed in Homewood; bank robbed on North Side The criminal complaint alleges two guards exited the armored truck and went into the store. When one returned, he was appro...

Chicago police find 13-year-old girl missing from Little Village

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:18 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police have found a missing 13-year-old girl last seen Wednesday. IDOT announces new construction project on Kennedy Expressway Chicago police said Thursday the teen had been located.

Passenger who missed flight makes bomb threat, forces evacuation at LAX

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:18 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — A JetBlue flight from Las Vegas was evacuated after landing in Los Angeles on Thursday after reports of a suspicious package on board.At around 2 p.m., authorities said a disgruntled passenger who missed his flight made a statement saying his luggage “contained a possible bomb” aboard the aircraft. RECALL: Advil sold at Family Dollar may have been improperly stored The JetBlue plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport and was moved to an isolated area. Passengers and crew aboard the plane were evacuated and taken back to the terminal on shuttle busses as police inspected the aircraft.A JetBlue flight from las Vegas to Los Angeles was evacuated after reports of a suspicious package on board. (KTLA)A JetBlue flight from las Vegas to Los Angeles was evacuated after reports of a suspicious package on board. (KTLA)A JetBlue flight from las Vegas to Los Angeles was evacuated after reports of a suspicious package on board. (KTLA)A JetBlue flight from las Vega...

Trash or treasure: Unclaimed property now up for auction in Illinois

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:18 GMT

CHICAGO — Trash or treasure? Illinoisans can decide as the state is currently auctioning off unclaimed items. State Treasurer Michael Frerichs says more than 200 unclaimed property items are now up for auction. (Photo/WGN)"We have all types of interesting items out there," said state Treasurer Michael Frerichs on the more than 200 unclaimed property items now up for auction. When someone dies in Illinois and their personal items go unclaimed, the state steps in."It’s frequently because they passed away and they didn’t tell her love ones about it," Frerichs said. "If they don’t know where to claim it, it gets turned over to us and we love to reunite people with this property, their children or grandchildren. But after about 10 years, if we can't track them down, we need to create space in our vault." Illinois firefighters get hands-on training with electric vehicles Occasionally, that rare sports item comes up."That Mickey Mantle baseball card that your father had in the safe depo...

Clive Crook: A Biden-Trump rematch? American democracy is apparently broken

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:18 GMT

A lot can happen between now and next year’s election, but President Joe Biden’s decision to run and former President Donald Trump’s barely diminished standing with Republicans make a repeat of their 2020 contest quite likely. Pause for a moment to consider this prospect — and the epic failure it represents.The Democrats’ best offer to the nation is a leader who’s 80 going on 90, who can’t safely be allowed off-script or put in front of reporters, whose grasp of policy and his own personal history was tenuous even in his prime, and who’s accused of involvement in his son’s peddling of influence.The Republicans’ leading applicant for the world’s most important job is admittedly still a youngster at 76. On the other hand, he led an administration that set new standards of chaotic and incompetent government, encouraged a riotous assault on the U.S. Capitol, is the subject of several criminal and civil investigations, and...

Other voices: The Supreme Court needs a real ethics code

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:18 GMT

“Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants,” wrote Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, in a 1913 essay. The dictum has proved so apt over the years as to become a cliché. Unfortunately, it now needs to be applied to the court itself.Few U.S. institutions are subject to as little formal scrutiny as the Supreme Court. In theory, members of the court are subject to the same financial disclosure rules as other high-level federal officials. Yet with no one empowered to enforce those rules but themselves, the justices have all too often seemed to be above the law. The situation increasingly feels untenable.Take Justice Clarence Thomas’s relationship with Texas real-estate developer Harlan Crow. A major conservative donor, Crow has for decades entertained Thomas and his wife on annual vacations that have included cruises on his yacht, flights on his plane, and stays at an exclusive California retreat. Although federal law requires disclosing gifts worth more than...