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Inmate stuck on US death row despite vacated death sentence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — When the U.S. prisons director visited the penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, this past week, she stopped by the federal death row where Bruce Webster is in a solitary, 12-by-7 foot cell, 23 hours a day. Webster’s not supposed to be there. A federal judge in Indiana ruled in 2019 that the 49-year-old has an IQ in the range of severe intellectual disability and so cannot be put to death. But four years on, the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Prisons haven’t moved him to a less restrictive unit or different prison.Why? His own lawyer, who secured a rare legal win in persuading a court to vacate Webster’s 1996 death sentence in the kidnapping, rape and killing of a 16-year-old Texas girl, says she’s baffled.“How can I not get this guy off death row?,” an exasperated Monica Foster said in a recent interview. “Well, I did get him off death row. But why can’t I physically get him off death row?”Asked about Webster’s continued placement on death r...

Pope slams ‘insinuations’ against John Paul II as baseless

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday publicly defended St. John Paul II, condemning as “offensive and baseless” insinuations that recently surfaced about the late pontiff.In remarks to tourists and pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Francis said he was aiming to interpret the feelings of the faithful worldwide by expressing gratitude to the Polish pontiff’s memory. Days earlier, the Vatican’s media apparatus had described as “slanderous” an audiotape from a purported Roman mobster who insinuated that John Paul would go out looking for underage girls to molest. The tape was played on an Italian TV program by Pietro Orlandi, brother of Emanuela Orlandi, the teenage daughter of a Vatican employee who lived at the Vatican. The disappearance of the 15-year-old in 1983 is an enduring mystery that has spawned countless theories and so far fruitless investigations in the decades since.Francis noted that in Sunday’s crowd in the square were pilgrims and other faithful in town to pray ...

Temps plunge, snow possible

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

The beautiful weather the Chicago area has experienced lately is coming to a crashing halt.Sunday will see rain at times with increasing wind and falling temps. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here The area will see temps plunge nearly 10 degrees Sunday afternoon with a lunchtime temp of 48 degrees and a dinnertime temp of 41 degrees.Rain showers and even snow showers with colder weather overnight. Light accumulating snow possible near dawn in far northwest Chicagoland. Low 33 in the city, colder inland.Full forecast details at the WGN Weather CenterMonday will be windy and mostly cloudy. Light snow is possible at times in the morning with a chance of rain in the afternoon. High 41.Extended outlook calls for a return to sunshine and seasonal temps on Tuesday. More clouds for Wednesday and Thursday with each day having a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Temps back in the low 60s on Wednesday and near 70 on Thursday.

2 dead, person in custody, after dispute on South Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are investigating a domestic dispute that ended in the death of two people, in two different locations on the city's South Side. According to police, a 55-year-old man walked into a home in the 8300 block of South Luella and shot a man in the head.The 55-year-old then chased a 26-year-old woman to the 8200 block of South Paxton where police say she was struck in the head with a blunt object. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Up Next: 2 teens shot in the Loop during large disturbance Responding officers placed the 55-year-old into custody.

Sunshine and mild air for your Sunday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Today will be just about perfect with sunshine, mild temperatures and low humidity. Breezy northeast winds will gust during the day as high as 15 to 25 mph.Gusty northeast winds this morning through 3 p.m.Saturday's high at Camp Mabry was 94°. That tied the record first set in 1924. Today's highs will be cooler because of the northeast breeze left behind by the cold front that came in Saturday afternoon/evening.Afternoon highs a little cooler than the normal of 80° El Niño watch issued: Here’s what that means Tomorrow will be partly cloudy with most highs in the upper 70s to low 80s.Rain and thunderstorms return Tuesday afternoon to Friday with a series of weather disturbances passing in the upper flow aloft. Updated predicted rain totals Tuesday to FridayA cold front arrives Friday morning/afternoon leaving drier air for Saturday under a partly cloudy sky. The early forecast for April 22 includes no rain.FIRST WARNING WEATHER: Stay up to date with your Central Te...

PHOTOS: Hummingbirds take flight in Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- As springtime continues in Central Texas, a KXAN viewer captured one of only a handful of hummingbird species to grace us with its presence in the Lone Star State.While there are more than 300 species of the hummingbird globally, only 18 are traditionally spotted in the United States, per the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Of those 18 species, nine are commonplace here in Texas, with the most common including the Ruby-throated hummingbird and Black-chinned hummingbird.While there are more than 300 species of hummingbirds, only 18 are found in the United States. A KXAN viewer captured some in their backyard in April. (KXAN Viewer Photo)While there are more than 300 species of hummingbirds, only 18 are found in the United States. A KXAN viewer captured some in their backyard in April. (KXAN Viewer Photo)What it lacks in size, the hummingbird makes up for in sheer power. Hummingbirds can rev their speed from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in just three feet,...

4 tidbits from Colorado’s proposed $38.5 billion budget

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

Colorado lawmakers have sent their annual budget bill to Gov. Jared Polis, which will dictate state spending for the next fiscal year and ripple out for years to come.The roughly $38.5 billion spending proposal — which includes a $1.2 billion increase to the general fund —  funds the state government’s operations and programs. Lawmakers on the Joint Budget Committee, which drafts the document and ushers it through the General Assembly, characterized their effort largely as a “year of implementation” after a downpour of federal money that helped buoy efforts on things like the environment, education and affordable housing.“We’re delivering for Colorado families by making record investments in K-12 education, supporting our health care workers, and creating safer communities — all while keeping our state on solid financial footing,” state Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, a Democrat and chair of the committee, said in a statement. “We’ve work...

Improving Investor Behavior: The balance of trust and anxiety

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

At the time of its construction, the Brooklyn Bridge was one of the largest structures the world had ever seen. Opening in 1883 to connect Brooklyn with Manhattan, it was twice the size of any other suspension bridge. But the then-modern marvel of engineering raised suspicion from the general public. Citizens feared the massive structure was simply too big to support its own weight, and rumors circulated about its likely collapse into the East River.In an effort to subdue these concerns, developers encouraged citizens to walk on the bridge a week before its grand opening. Brave and curious members of the public cautiously stepped afoot. Anxiety was high. Suddenly a scream was heard, and panic ensued. In less than 15 seconds, the entire bridge was engulfed in fear and chaos. The resulting stampede left 12 dead and many more injured.Steve BoorenThe cause of the panic? A woman had tripped and fallen. When anxiety is high, irrational behavior often accompanies it.Controlling such emotio...

Big-game hunting interest soars beyond Colorado’s capacity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

Soaring interest in Colorado’s big-game hunting seasons — for animals like deer, elk and bear — far outpaces the number of licenses that state wildlife officials have to offer, driving business for outfitters and raking in cash for the state.Colorado Parks and Wildlife received nearly 218,000 applications last year for deer-hunting licenses, but the agency only had about 102,000 to give, state data shows. For elk, wildlife officials received nearly 238,000 applications for just over 123,000 available licenses.For moose, the contrast is even starker. The state received more than 53,000 applications for moose hunting licenses, more than 90 times higher than the 592 allotted last year. That’s a 326% increase from the 16,494 moose applications the state saw a decade earlier.The story’s the same for bear, mountain lion, bighorn sheep and mountain goats, said Joseph Livingston, a spokesman for Colorado’s Department of Natural Resources.The rising interest is due to a rel...

Denver looks to extend deadline for exemption from new development rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

Denver intends to push back a final deadline determining which developments are exempt from new regulations enacted last year, a move that will give breathing room to hundreds of projects in the planning stages.Currently, projects seeking to be grandfathered in from the “Expanding Housing Affordability” ordinance must have their site-development plan approved by the city by Aug. 31, just over five months from now.But the Hancock administration is now asking the City Council to effectively push back that date by a year. Under a proposal made public Thursday, projects would need to at least receive the third round of site-development plan comments by May 17, 2024. If that deadline is met, developers would be given until Aug. 31, 2024 to get the plans completely approved.A small number of projects subject to additional subdivision or large development review would see their final deadline pushed back from Dec. 31 of this year to as late as Dec. 21, 2024.The council still needs to vote ...