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How 24 Sussex Drive became a rodent-infested unliveable dump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:09:59 GMT

In today’s Big Story podcast, this week’s report about dead rodents and their droppings in the walls at 24 Sussex Drive was gross, but it’s far from the first tale of how awful things are at the home that is meant to be the Prime Minister’s residence. The house has been in a state of disrepair, to put it mildly, for a decade or more, and almost nothing has been done to fix it.David Moscrop is a writer, political commentator, and the author of Too Dumb For Democracy. He joins us to discuss what the sorry state of 24 Sussex Drive says about the state of our country and its politics.“Talking about 24 Sussex is talking about the history of a petty, vindictive, small minded nation,” he said, “it really is the country in miniature.”So how did the PM’s official residence go from a stately mansion to a national embarrassment? And will we ever see the bipartisan agreement necessary to actually fix it?You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Appl...

Man, 18, charged with killing CPD Officer Andres Vásquez Lasso faces arraignment Wednesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:09:59 GMT

CHICAGO — The man accused of killing a Chicago cop last month faces arraignment Wednesday.Steve Montano, 18, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of police Officer Andres Vásquez Lasso. He is also facing a number of additional felony charges.Montano is being held without bond.On March 1, Vásquez Lasso was investigating a domestic-related call in the 5200 block of South Spaulding and saw Montano running from the scene with a gun.Court records say Officer Vásquez Lasso started chasing him, and the two men exchanged gunfire. The officer was shot several times and was killed. Bodycam video released from Louisville bank shooting Montano was shot and transported to a hospital in critical condition, but has since been released and is currently in Cook County Jail.Court is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

12-year-old in custody after loaded handgun found at East Chicago school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:09:59 GMT

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — A 12-year-old was taken into custody after a loaded handgun was found at an East Chicago school Tuesday morning.At around 8 a.m., officers were dispatched to the Light House Charter School, located in the 3900 block of Pulaski Street, on the report of a student with a firearm.At the school, police were directed to the principal's office where a 12-year-old was taken into custody. A loaded .40 semi-automatic handgun was recovered, police said.The student was transported to the Lake County Juvenile Jail and charged with dangerous possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm on school property.After a preliminary investigation, police believe a student overheard other students talking about having a gun in the school. That student reported the incident to a teacher and the student with the gun was located. Employee critical after steel pipe beating at Indiana State Prison in Michigan City The school was then placed on a soft lockdown as officers responded....

Ukraine to probe video allegedly showing soldier's beheading

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:09:59 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine promised Wednesday to investigate a gruesome video circulating on social media that purportedly shows the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier.The video spread quickly online and sparked outrage from Ukrainian officials. The Kremlin called the footage “horrible” but said it needed to be verified. The Associated Press was not able to verify the authenticity of the video or the circumstances of where and when it was shot.The video appears to show a man in green fatigues wearing a yellow armband, typically donned by Ukrainian fighters. He is heard screeching before another man in camouflage uses a knife to decapitate him.A third man holds up a flak jacket apparently belonging to the man being beheaded. All three men speak in Russian.Since Russia's forces invaded Ukraine more than a year ago, they have committed widespread abuses and alleged war crimes, according to the United Nations, rights groups and reporting by The Associated Press. The International Crimin...

Wednesday Forecast: Temps in low 80s with warm and windy conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:09:59 GMT

CHICAGO — Another day of summer-like temperatures Wednesday with sunny conditions. Windy, SW 15-20 G35. High: 82.Clear conditions tonight. Winds: SW 10-15 G25. Low: 56.Thursday Forecast: Mostly sunny, SW 10-15 G25. High: 82.Full forecast details at the WGN Weather Center

'Wizard of Oz' park to reopen in North Carolina

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:09:59 GMT

BEECH MOUNTAIN, N.C. (WJZY) - Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high ... on a North Carolina mountain. The Autumn at Oz Festival is kicking off in North Carolina's Avery County this September.The "Wizard of Oz"-themed amusement park drops visitors in the center of the Land of Oz – yellow brick road included. There are craft and food vendors, an "immersive theatrical experience," plus lots of photo opportunities. The park originally opened in June 1970 and was fully operational for about a decade before a fire destroyed two of the Emerald City buildings in 1975. New management was able to get the park up and running again by 1976 – but not for long. The amusement park shut down again in 1980. Forever stamps, First-Class Mail could become more expensive this summer: Here’s why In the late '80s, parts of the park had to be demolished because of "excessive vandalism and decay," Land of Oz North Carolina explains. "However, much of the park was saved including the Gale farmhous...

2 million people fled America's big cities from 2020 to 2022. But why?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:09:59 GMT

(The Hill) -- Two million people fled America’s largest cities from 2020 to 2022, new research shows, signaling that a retreat from urban centers to suburbs, exurbs and smaller cities in the early months of the pandemic has hardened into an enduring and potentially worrisome trend. More than 1.2 million people left the nation’s large urban counties between July 2020 and July 2021, according to a report published this month by the Economic Innovation Group, a bipartisan public policy organization. Another 860,000 people departed between July 2021 and July 2022. Only a fresh influx of immigrants saved big cities from dramatic population declines. Even with the immigrants, 17 of the nation’s 25 largest counties suffered population losses between April 2020 and July 2022, according to census data tabulated by The Hill.  “The metros, as a group, lost population for the first time since at least 1990, and probably for decades before that,” said William Frey, a demographer a...

Lawmaker calls Texas gang database ‘scary,’ urges reform

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:09:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Lawmakers in the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee discussed a bill Tuesday that could reform the state’s gang database system, a law enforcement tool used to catalog dangerous street gang members. But critics say the database can target the wrong people and violate their rights.Mary Gonzalez, D-Clint, authored House Bill 230. She told the committee it is a “simple” bill that requires notifying people if they’ve been placed in the gang database, provides a way for people to get removed if they’ve been wrongfully included and requires audits. Audit: TX gang database flawed, thousands of records miss validation “We do want to support the work of our law enforcement agencies, but we just want there to be reasonable guardrails on this very important tool,” Gonzalez said at the hearing.Several people spoke briefly in support of the legislation, and nobody spoke against it.Michelle Farris, a representative of the Texas Department of Public Safety who sp...

Georgetown ISD appoints interim superintendent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:09:59 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) – The Georgetown Independent School District Board of Trustees appointed an interim superintendent Tuesday.Accordioning to a district announcement, trustees unanimously named Lindsay Harris to the job starting May 1 when current superintendent Fred Brent becomes Superintendent Emeritus. Related: Georgetown ISD’s superintendent to retire The district said Harris has been Chief Strategist for Leadership & Culture. According to the district, she has worked with campus principals and the Communications, Human Resources, and Student and Campus Services departments.Harris has a masters degree in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University and bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Texas A&M University, according to GISD.The district said Harris has a superintendent certificate for the state of Texas and served as a middle school campus principal for ten years, with principal experience in Georgetown ISD and Bryan ISD. She also taught Span...

Scandia marks first anniversary of Swedish sister-city relationship

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:09:59 GMT

Scandia will celebrate the first anniversary of its sister-city relationship with Mellerud, Sweden, next week with an online ceremony and fika.The event, which will be at 11 a.m. April 20 at the Scandia Community Center, will include Swedish songs performed by the Bettes drἅgar Choir from Mellerud, American songs by Unexpected Company Chorale and remarks by Mellerud Mayor Karl-Olof Pettersson and Scandia Mayor Christine Maefsky.The celebration will be broadcast simultaneously via Microsoft Teams. A free fika – a Swedish coffee break with Scandinavian treats such as a kransekake cake, princess torte and krumkake waffle cookies – will follow, said Patti Ray, a member of Scandia’s Sister City Committee. .Scandia sought Mellerud to be its sister city because many of the city’s founding families came from the area, including the Isaacsons, Abrahamsons, Dahlins, Edstroms, Kunos and Andersons, Ray said.The committee over the past year has worked on connecting the cities in a number of diff...