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Commission on Presidential Debates announces dates and locations for 2024 general election debates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:51 GMT

(CNN) — The first presidential debate is set for mid-September 2024, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday, setting up the earliest ever start to the presidential debate schedule.The bipartisan commission, which has sponsored every general election presidential debate since its founding in 1987, will host three next year, with the first on September 16 at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.The second debate will be on October 1 at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia, and the third will be on October 9 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.There will also be one vice presidential debate on September 25 at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.Typically, the first debate has been in late September or early October. In 2020, the first debate was on September 29, but amid an uptick in pandemic-era early voting, the Trump campaign called for an additional early September debate.The schedule tweak also means that the debates wil...

Death, preterm labor reported in Listeria outbreak linked to recalled peaches, plums, nectarines

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:51 GMT

(CNN) — Eleven cases of Listeria infection have been reported in seven states in an outbreak linked with peaches, plums and nectarines, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. One person died, and a pregnant person who became ill went into early labor.Three cases were reported in both California and Florida, with other cases reported in Colorado, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. However, the CDC says the number of cases is probably higher because some people with Listeria infections get better without medical care, so their illnesses aren’t reported.Testing showed that HMC Farms peaches were contaminated with Listeria that’s closely related to the bacteria from some of those sickened in this outbreak. HMC Farms has recalled peaches, plums and nectarines sold in stores between May 1 and November 15 last year and this year. The stone fruit was sold individually and in 2-pound bags.The CDC advises anyone who has recalled fruit to throw it out a...

Marauding cross-country storm threatens Thanksgiving week travel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:51 GMT

Joseph Wilkinson | New York Daily NewsA poorly timed storm system is expected to bring wind, rain and even snow to the eastern half of the U.S. during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.The worst of the storm will strike New York and the tri-state area on Tuesday, with flight delays and weather-related traffic jams possible from Tuesday afternoon into the night.At least 55 million Americans are expected to travel over the next several days for the Thanksgiving holiday, and anyone on the move east of the Rockies could encounter stormy conditions.Severe thunderstorms are predicted for the Midwest and the South on Monday, as the gathering storm rumbles across the plains. Tornados are possible in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi from Monday afternoon through Monday night, according to Accuweather.Meteorologists believe the storm system will then push north and east, dumping rain from Pittsburgh to Atlanta on Tuesday morning. Across Appalachia and the Great Lakes, the storm c...

Documentary about Buffy Sainte-Marie wins International Emmy Award

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:51 GMT

NEW YORK — A documentary about folk legend Buffy Sainte-Marie, made before her Indigenous ancestry was called into question, has won an International Emmy Award.“Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On,” directed by Madison Thomas and narrated by Sainte-Marie, won in the arts programming category.The award is presented by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.Producers describe the film as a retrospective of Sainte-Marie’s life and career, including interviews with famous friends and colleagues, never-before-seen archival material and cinematic recreations.The singer-songwriter’s ancestry was challenged in a CBC investigation last month that presented several identity documents that suggested she is Italian American.Saint-Marie has denied the accusations.Sainte-Marie’s story of her birth, childhood and identity has shifted throughout her six-decade career, with her identifying as Algonquin and Mi’kmaq before saying she was Cree, adop...

Mentally ill man should not have been in jail where he died, inquest hears

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:51 GMT

A handcuffed, mentally ill man was slapped, struck multiple times in the head area, sprayed twice in the face with a pepper spray foam and restrained face down on the ground as correctional officers took him from a shower to his cell at an Ontario jail, a coroner’s inquest into his death heard Monday.Soleiman Faqiri was subjected to “various incidents of use of force” in the moments leading up to his death on Dec. 15, 2016, at the Central East Correctional Facility in Lindsay, Ont., east of Toronto, according to an agreed statement of facts read at the inquest.He was then left alone, face down with his hands cuffed behind his back and a spit hood _ a hood or mask meant to prevent someone from spitting _ on his head, inside his cell for close to a minute until an operations manager became concerned that Faqiri wasn’t breathing, the statement said.When officers removed the spit hood, there was fluid inside and Faqiri was unresponsive, the statement said. A medi...

All 9 aboard US Navy plane that overshot runway escape injury, Hawaii official says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:51 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — The Honolulu Emergency Medical Services Department was called to respond to a downed military aircraft in Kaneohe Bay on Monday, but when they got to the scene, military officials told the emergency workers that all nine people on board made it safely to shore and there were no injuries, spokesperson Shayne Enright said.Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer Ryan Fisher said the Coast Guard responded but that rescue operations were quickly called off. “It sounds like all parties involved were rescued,” he said.The P-8A aircraft overshot the runway at a Marine base on Kaneohe Bay, said U.S. Marine Corps spokesperson Gunnery Sgt. Orlando Perez. He did not have further information.The P-8A is often used to hunt for submarines and used in reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. It is manufactured by Boeing and shares many parts with the 737 commercial jet.The base is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Honolulu on Oahu. Audrey Mcavoy, The Associated Press

CEO of Fortnite game maker casts Google as a ‘crooked’ bully in testimony during Android app trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:51 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney on Monday portrayed Google as a ruthless bully that resorts to shady tactics to protect a predatory payment system.His portrayal came in testimony in an antitrust trial focused on Epic Games’ attempt to upend Google’s store for Android phone apps.Sweeney’s more than two-hour stint on the witness stand in San Francisco came less than a week after Google CEO Sundar Pichai defended before the 10-member jury the way his company runs its Play Store for Android apps. It’s one of two antitrust cases against Google, whose tech empire valued at $1.7 trillion is being threatened by legal attacks seeking to break it up.Testimony in the Android phone app case is scheduled to finish before Christmas.The other case, focused on Google’s dominant search engine, ended last week, but won’t be decided by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., until next year.While Sweeney sought to depict Google as a greedy monopolist un...

911 call center says it misidentified crossing before derailment of Chicago-bound Amtrak train

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:51 GMT

NEW BUFFALO, Mich. (AP) — A 911 call center on Monday took some responsibility for an Amtrak train derailment last week in southwestern Michigan, saying it misidentified a crossing and contacted a different railroad to warn that a car was stuck on tracks.The train with 200 passengers crashed into the empty car and a tow truck Thursday night near New Buffalo, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Chicago. Six people on the train were taken to a hospital, though their injuries weren’t serious.The Chicago-bound train derailed but remained upright.The Berrien County Public Safety Communication Center said it received two 911 calls about a car on the tracks, roughly 40 minutes before the crash.Because of a “software issue,” the wrong crossing was identified and CSX railroad was contacted — not Amtrak, the county said.“It appears a technology failure and misidentification of a crossing contributed to the accident,” 911 Director Caitlin Sampsell said in a statement.Sampsell’s...

City of Chicago trying to collect $15M in rat fines

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:51 GMT

CHICAGO -- In August, two Chicago families dealt with severe rat infestations, with one of them having no choice but to move out of their northwest side apartment building.In 2022, the City of Chicago received more than 50,000 rat complaints. ORIGINAL: Chicago’s ‘Rat’ Rage Grows A WGN investigation found that even when the city stepped in rat-related fines were rarely paid with less than 20% of the dollars collected. In fact, one real estate company owed $15 million in fines.The "Illinois Answers Project" has now found that the City of Chicago will be going after that real estate company which will look to sell a string of properties. The 50 ‘rattiest cities’ in the US, as ranked by Orkin In the last month, Mayor Brandon Johnson also increased the rodent control budget by $1.5 million to address some of its staffing issues.In 2022, Orkin named Chicago the rat capital of the U.S. for the eighth consecutive year.

Illinois releases 2023 dangerous toys list

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:51 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Illinois Public Interest Research Group unveiled its 2023 dangerous toys list at Lurie Children's Hospital on Monday.They focused heavily on high tech toys this year, which often have apps, microphones and cameras involved. African cat injured, dies after escaping home in Vernon Hills: police The Meta Quest Virtual Reality headset is sure to be on some kids wish lists, but experts say it could pose significant dangers for children.Low tech toys can be dangerous too, including beads that expand when doused in water. They can cause serious health problems, even death, if swallowed.Experts said many recalled toys are still being sold by private sellers on the internet.