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2 environmentalists who were targeted by a hacking network say the public is the real victim

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Two environmentalists told a federal judge Thursday that the public was the real victim of a global computer hacking campaign that targeted those fighting big oil companies to get the truth out about global warming.A climate scientist and the director of a fund that creates initiatives to address climate change spoke at the sentencing of an Israeli man who prosecutors said enabled the hacking of thousands of individuals and entities worldwide.Aviram Azari, 52, of Kiryat Yam, Israel, was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for his role in a global computer-hacking network that authorities say targeted environmentalists, companies and individuals.“I was the target, but the public at large was the intended victim,” said Peter Frumhoff, director of science and policy and chief scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts.“It is our job to tell the world the truth about a world on fire” and who “lit the flame,” said Lee Wasserma...

Skilling: Possible showers, windy start to weekend for Chicagoland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

It was Day #4 consecutively in Chicago at or above 60-deg.  Today's 66-deg high is the 3rd warmest Nov 16th high on the books going back all 153 years since 1871.It was the warmest Nov 16th here in Chicago in nearly half a century---since a 67-deg high on this date back in 1975----48 years ago!The only warmer Nov 16's have been 67 in 1975 and 70-deg in 1896.  The places today in the 2% warmest Nov 16's on the books since 1871 here.A cold front passes overnight and ushers much cooler air into the area for daytime Friday.  And while weekend temps will make it into the low and mid 50s, they'll be markedly cooler than the comparatively "warmth" Chicagoans have experienced most of this work week.Some cold frontal showers which are to develop over Illinois in the overnight hours past midnight may linger into the opening few hours of Friday.  But clearing follows Friday and a beautiful sun-filled weekend is on the way but with cooler temps. While daytime highs will actually ...

Thieves steal car in Memphis, return it to owner the next day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) --- Police are on the hunt for two men they say are responsible for stealing a car out of a driveway in Memphis, but it's what happened next that has police and neighbors happily perplexed. This victim may be the luckiest unlucky man ever because the car he thought he would never see again showed up again the next day.  At least 23 injured after CTA train crash on North Side: CFD Surveillance video obtained by WREG shows the moment a man pulled up to his friend's home on Parkrose Avenue and got out of his black Mercedes. Moments later, two men cross the street and get in the car. The victim walked over, looking confused, until one of the men pulled a gun and pointed it at him as he ran, jumped down in the bushes, and hid.The thieves took off in the car up the road.  All of this happened right across the street from a school just before 11 a.m. on Thursday. Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland spoke with WREG earlier ...

Illinois releases monarch butterfly license plates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

CHICAGO -- Illinois residents can finally get their long-awaited monarch butterfly specialty license plate.State lawmakers made the announcement on Thursday saying it makes good on promise they made in 2016 after they passed legislation to create the state's first universal specialty plate. The move was aimed at limiting the number of specialty license plates. Snoop Dogg says he’s giving up smoking weed By 2018, more than 2,000 residents had pre-ordered the monarch butterfly specialty license plates.The funds will go towards protecting the endangered monarch butterfly from extinction as part of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Roadside Monarch Habitat Fund.For more information on the Illinois monarch butterfly license plates, click here.

Indiana judge says Richard Allen had access to Delphi documents all along and wasn't hindered

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. — The special judge assigned to the Delphi murders investigation has responded to the Indiana Supreme Court and said that Richard Allen's claim of not having access to all documents related to the case has no merit and that he has not been hindered in any way from accessing them. Previously, the original attorneys for Richard Allen — Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi — filed several motions with the Indiana Supreme Court after they were removed from the murder case by Gull in the aftermath of an evidence leak. The lawyers asked the Supreme Court to review Gull's handling of the case and accused her of violating public access by keeping some filings a secret along with claiming she hasn't provided Allen with complete access to all the documents involved in the case. Judge in Delphi murder case faces deadline to produce transcript of closed-door meeting Gull responded on Thursday by saying that Allen and his attorneys were incorrect and had complete access to al...

Illinois electric vehicle rebate program out of funds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Illinois Electric Vehicle Rebate Program has reportedly run of out of funds for the latest rounds just weeks after opening.Illinois Environmental Protection Agency officials said that the number of application received for the Electric Vehicle Rebate Program has already surpassed the $12 million approved by the state. ORIGINAL: Illinois to offer rebates for electric vehicle buyers The funds were intended to last multiple application cycles and cover the entire 2024 fiscal year.Moving forward, the state said the program will prioritize applicants that qualify as "low-income." The maximum rebate is $4,000.

Austin ISD says it caught up on helping 200+ special ed students. It happened in 12 days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Independent School District said on Thursday it met one of the first deadlines the Texas Education Agency set out to fix the district’s special education system.The school district has been under the watch of a state-appointed monitor since September. The board of trustees voted 8-1 to accept the deal from TEA after state investigators found the district repeatedly failed to evaluate students suspected of needing special education services on time.  In a letter to parents, the district said it met TEA’s Oct. 31 deadline to evaluate students who had been waiting since the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school year. District officials also said they created education plans for all those students. At 15, she needs special education and homebound services to learn. For weeks, she got neither But according to data previously provided by TEA and AISD, it would mean the district created education plans for more than 239 students in a matter of 12 days.The district report...

CDC reports a 'staggering' rise in measles infections globally, Texas doctor urges people to get vaccinated

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report Thursday showing that measles cases increased by nearly 20% globally in 2022, following a steady decline in measles vaccination coverage in recent years. Compared to 2021, deaths globally have increased by 43%, according to the CDC.“The increase in measles outbreaks and deaths is staggering, but unfortunately, not unexpected given the declining vaccination rates we’ve seen in the past few years,” said John Vertefeuille, director of CDC’s Global Immunization Division, in a press release. “Measles cases anywhere pose a risk to all countries and communities where people are under-vaccinated. Urgent, targeted efforts are critical to prevent measles disease and deaths.”  Measles is a highly contagious virus that can be spread when a person sneezes or coughs. The virus is so contagious that if one person becomes infected, around 90% of not immune people around them will also become infected.&nb...

Woodbury City Council broke open meeting law when it suspended SRO program, state says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

A state official says Woodbury City Council violated Minnesota’s open meeting law in September when members called a closed session and temporarily suspended a school resource officer contract.In a non-binding opinion issued this week, Minnesota Department of Administration Commissioner Tamar Gronvall said members of the council improperly used attorney-client privilege exemptions to hold a closed session on Sept. 6, where they moved to end the officers contract.Woodbury City Administrator Clint Gridkey on Thursday defended the council’s use of a closed session and said they are working with city legal counsel to review the opinion.“The Woodbury City Council fully believed it had a good-faith legal basis to go into closed session on September 6 to address the potential for litigation regarding prematurely breaching the school resource officer contract,” he said in a statement. “This was a complex legal situation that needed to be addressed expediently due to recent changes in ...

Rice Creek Commons development of former TCAAP site considers additional housing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:58 GMT

The Arden Hills development project known as Rice Creek Commons may add an additional 500 housing units to the 427-acre property.The former Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant parcel, which was bought in 2013 by Ramsey County, will be redeveloped to include business, retail and a proposed 1,960 housing units, said Kari Collins, director of community and economic development for the county.The goal for the sprawling development is a cohesive mix of residential and commercial neighborhoods surrounding a town center. The additional 500 units would be constructed in the southwest neighborhood and the southern part of the town center, according to a September presentation given by Alatus, the project’s developer.Housing density was a previous sore spot for the project as the city wanted fewer housing units and the county wanted more.“Through exploration in 2023, we feel the site is ready to accommodate 1,960 homes to be more accommodating to the housing needs the region is facing right now...