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Russia targets Ukraine’s port of Odesa and calls it payback for a strike on a key bridge to Crimea

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:01:51 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine said its forces shot down Russian drones and cruise missiles targeting the Black Sea port of Odesa before dawn Tuesday in what Moscow called “retribution” for an attack that damaged a crucial bridge to the Crimean Peninsula.The Russians first sought to wear down Ukraine’s air defenses by firing 25 exploding drones and then targeted Odesa with six Kalibr cruise missiles, the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command said.All six missiles and the drones were shot down by air defenses in the Odesa region and other areas in the south, officials said, though their debris and shock waves damaged some port facilities and a few residential buildings and injured an elderly man at his home.The Russian Defense Ministry said its “strike of retribution” was carried out with sea launched precision weapons on Ukrainian military facilities near Odesa and Mykolaiv, a coastal city about 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the northeast.It destroyed facilities preparing “terror attack...

Man charged in 2001 suburban sexual assault after DNA hit

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:01:51 GMT

WEST CHICAGO, Ill. — An Arizona man has been charged with a west suburban sexual assault dating back to 2001.Alberto Gomez, 51, of Florence, Arizona, is facing three counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, three counts of criminal sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.His bond was set at $5 million.Late last year, West Chicago police learned of a DNA hit from a sexual assault kit collected in Nov. 2001.On that night, a woman was alone in her apartment when she awoke to Gomez allegedly standing in her bedroom. He's accused of striking her multiple times and sexually assaulting her.Police said he fled after the assault and lived in the area at the time.Gomez has been in federal custody since his arrest on illegal re-entry charges last November. He was transferred to the DuPage County Jail last week where he currently remains.

'We heard this loud boom:' Emergency slide falls from plane into backyard on Northwest Side

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:01:51 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department responded to a non-criminal case on the City's Far Northwest Side Monday afternoon where a plane part appeared to fall from the sky."We heard this loud boom," said local resident Sam Deane.According to police, officers responded to a home in the 4700 block of North Chester near Lawrence Avenue and Cumberland Avenue, where plane debris had fallen into the backyard, slightly damaging the home.After officers arrived, the debris was moved out in front of the home into the street, where it was taken from the scene."They were just having lunch upstairs in our unit and they just heard a loud boom and I guess it hit the side of the building," said Patrick Devitt, a resident of the building where the plane derbis fell. "The only thing that we were worried about at the beginning was like, oh yeah, it's real loud, stuff like that and you get used to it, but you never think that something like that is going to happen."According to the Federal Aviation Adm...

Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks discuss 'The Beanie Bubble' on 'Dean's A-List Interview'

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:01:51 GMT

CHICAGO — It was an entertaining morning on "Dean's A-List Interview" as two prominent actors discussed an upcoming movie about a toy craze in the mid-to-late 1990s. In the end, the discussion wasn't just about the release of "The Beanie Bubble" movie with Dean Richards.In this edition of "Dean's A-List Interview," Elizabeth Banks and Zach Galifianakis discussed the film that's set to be released on Friday on Apple TV+. Yet the actress took some time to discuss her own memories of Beanie Babies while the actor shared his love of gardening with Dean. On top of that, Galifianakis talked about one of his memories of a visit to Chicago and reflected on a trip to WGN-TV.You can watch both interviews on this edition of "Dean's A-List Interview" in the video above or below from the July 18 WGN Morning News.Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too! ...

'This weekend was tragic': Deadly Austin weekend highlights low APD staff numbers

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:01:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin's deadliest weekend so far in 2023 has some searching for more public safety solutions.Police are currently investigating one homicide from Saturday, and three from Sunday. As Austin Police Department Cpl. Jose Mendez provided an update at one of Sunday's homicide scenes, he — in an uncustomary move — addressed how APD staffing shortages have and will impact these current investigations. APD: 1 dead after ‘verbal altercation’ near abandoned building in east Austin “I know that the detectives are somewhat overwhelmed due to having a shortage of them,” Mendez said. Homicide detectives have had to pull double duty helping out with patrol shifts as APD works to fill roughly 300 officer vacancies. "It doesn't matter if it's homicide or some other crime. All of these detectives are being forced to go work patrol and supplement patrol shifts, so these caseloads are not getting picked up by other detectives," Jennifer Szimanski, public affairs director for the Comb...

'The photos are wowing all of us'; NASA reflects on one year of James Webb Telescope discoveries

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:01:51 GMT

SPACE (KXAN) - "Whatever's out there, Webb is going to see it," reflected Mike Menzel, a NASA engineer who has been working on the James Webb Space Telescope for 26 years. The telescope is celebrating one year of service this month."As an engineer who was on this for 26 years, my favorite was the first deep field image," Menzel said. He serves as the Missions Systems Engineer for Webb. Before that, he worked on the Hubble telescope. "In 12 hours, we broke the Hubble record. We saw a galaxy whose lights have been traveling to us for about 13.4 billion years."Webb is the largest satellite NASA has ever launched into space. Unlike Hubble, Webb sees in infrared light, which travels further and through objects. Scientists have described it as acting like a time machine."If you look at Neptune in the visible light, you'll barely see any rings at all. But when you look at it in James Webb [with] the infrared, bang, they pop out vividly."Looking back in time and spaceThe accomplishments of ...

Is Threads still considered a rival to Twitter? Expert weighs in

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:01:51 GMT

(KXAN) -- Social media apps Twitter and Threads continue to compete for users.Since it’s July launch, more than 100 million people have signed up for Threads.“We saw 5 million users in the first four hours,” said branding expert Tyler Mount. “It has over 100 million signups, which is already 28% of Twitter's user base of 350 million.”Mount, a St. Edward's University graduate, expects the pace of Threads’ signups to slow down but adds “this could be Elon Musk’s biggest nightmare.” Twitter threatens Meta with lawsuit over rival Threads app Twitter has undergone a number of changes under Elon Musk’s leadership, including implementing a ‘view-limit’ on how many posts users can read.Musk has taken to Twitter to fire back at critics while taking jabs at his rival.“It has been very clear that Elon Musk is not a fan of Threads,” said Mount.  Much of that has played out on social media. “This level of publicity centered around him and the figurehead of his biggest rival is quite geniu...

FBI searching for a 'Most Wanted' man in the St. Louis area

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:01:51 GMT

ST. LOUIS – The FBI is turning up the heat in the manhunt for the first St. Louis area suspect to make the FBI’s nationwide Ten Most Wanted list in nearly 60 years. Donald Eugene Fields II’s alleged crimes against children certainly show he belongs on the list, according to the FBI.“Worst case scenario … it’s a nightmare,” said Jay Greenburg, Special Agent-in-Charge for the FBI-St. Louis.Fields II, 59, now appears on wanted posters, websites, and billboards across the country.Fields II allegedly offered sex with a minor girl in his care to another man, in exchange for vacation trips and more.“The allegations involve cash, cars, motorcycles, Christmas presents,” Greenberg said. “Exchanging a child’s innocence for a thing of value converts this from hands on sexual abuse into sexual trafficking.”Fields II was indicted on a federal sex trafficking charge December 2022. He already faced state charges of statutory rape, sodomy, and molestation filed in 2019 for alleged sexual abuse of at...

Trump notified he is target in DOJ's Jan. 6 investigation

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:01:51 GMT

Former President Trump said Tuesday morning that he has been alerted he is a target of the Justice Department’s Jan. 6 investigation focusing on his efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. Trump said he received the “target letter” Sunday evening.“Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an arrest and indictment.”It had been clear that Trump’s actions would be a central focus of the investigation, as Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to review the matter last year to determine “whether any person or entity unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power.”But as Trump states, receiving a target letter is often a sign someone will soon face charges.Trump pursued a multi-pronged plan to remain in office, turning to the ...

North St. Louis storm damage remains after 15 days

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:01:51 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A north St. Louis street that's already seen more than its share of trouble was recently hit by storm damage. The storms uprooted a big tree pushing up the sidewalk. It’s blocking people from walking down the street.Local Gregory Allison told Elliott Davis it’s been like this too long.”It’s been 15 days since this happened and after 15 days I would expect it to be cleaned up," Allison shared. "I was expecting it to be cleaned up a lot sooner than that. It's dangerous I did report it as being a dangerous situation.”He says he’s not ready to point fingers or assign blame.”When I talked to Forestry Division last, the gentlemen I spoke with said that they are understaffed, and I’ve talked to other people that worked for the city, and they’re saying the same thing that the city is understaffed and if you go on the city’s website it does say they are hiring, so it could be a personnel issue.”That’s just the latest problem on this block with a lot of troubles. Clerk sho...