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Pope Francis asks Church to identify 21st-century martyrs slain ‘only because they are Christians’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:57 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has set up a special commission tasked with identifying those he calls the “new martyrs” of the 21st century — Christians who have been slain in some cases simply for attending Mass or for helping the poor.The Vatican on Wednesday released a copy of a letter in which the pope announced the commission will be part of the Holy See’s saint-making office. “As I have said so many times, martyrs ‘are more numerous in our time than in the first centuries,’” of the Church, Francis wrote in the letter dated Monday. He was referring to the early years of Christianity, when many were slain for refusing to renounce their faith, seen as a threat to Roman imperial rule. Modern-time martyrs include clergy as well as “lay people and families, who, in various countries of the world, with the gift of their life, offered the supreme proof of charity,” Francis wrote. The martyr initiative is timed to coincide with a church jubilee, or Holy Year, schedule...

4 shot at Fourth of July gathering in Englewood

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:57 GMT

CHICAGO — Four people were shot early Wednesday in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood.According to Chicago fire officials, the four people were shot near 56th Street and Ada Street at what neighbors said was a Fourth of July gathering.Two were taken to the hospital in critical condition. The condition of the other two people are not yet known.Ada Street is currently closed from 57th Street to Garfield. Westbound 56th Street is closed between Throop and Loomis.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesResidents tell WGN News about 100 people were in attendance of the block party celebrating the holiday when gunfire errupted.Police are investigating.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Road shut down after Elmhurst deadly crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:57 GMT

ELMHURST, Ill. — Authorities in Elmhurst are investigating a deadly crash Wednesday morning.Just after 6 a.m., Elmhurst police said a two-vehicle crash closed St. Charles Road between York Street and Poplar Avenue.At least one person has died. SkyCam9 over the scene showed what appeared to be a head-on collision between two dark-colored SUVs.Motorists should use either North Avenue or Butterfield Road as detours.WGN News will update this story once more information becomes available.

Philadelphia shooting suspect identified, police say fired 'seemingly at random'

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:57 GMT

(The Hill) -- The suspect in Monday night’s shooting in Philadelphia that left five people dead has been identified as 40-year-old Kimbrady Carriker, according to CNN.Carriker was set to be arraigned Wednesday on charges of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and simple assault, CNN reported.Four adults and a teenager were killed and two children were injured Monday when the shooter — who was equipped with a bulletproof vest, multiple ammunition magazines, a scanner, an “AR style gun” and a handgun — opened fire in the Kingsessing neighborhood of Philadelphia.  5 killed, 3 kids injured after mass shooting in Philadelphia Police pursued the shooter on foot as they continued “actively shooting a firearm” and arrested them in a nearby alley, police said.Police Commissioner Danielle M. Outlaw said at a news conference on Tuesday that the alleged shooter fired “seemingly at random.” “Let me crystal clear: What happened last night in our Kingsessing neighborhood was ...

Post-July 4 travel expected to be smoother as people return home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:57 GMT

(NewsNation) — There's good news for people returning from their July Fourth holiday — the trip home likely will be smoother than it was getting there. A projected 43.2 million drove to their Independence Day destinations, according to AAA, while a record 2.9 million people flew the Friday before the Fourth, according to the Transportation Security Administration.A spokesperson for Delta Air Lines told NewsNation the company estimates it will fly about 3.2 million people from June 30 through July 5, or about 530,000 passengers per day. That's 10% more than Delta flew during the same period in 2022.Still, according to NerdWallet, Wednesday wasn't expected to be a particularly busy travel day.Transportation Security Administration data compiled by NerdWallet shows the day after the Fourth of July has been a consistently light travel day. "July Fourth travelers in 2023 can feel confident that a July 5 flight itinerary will afford them cheaper airfare plus less congested airport queues,...

Dog in carrier found hanging on Oklahoma Humane Society's front door

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:57 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Over the weekend, staff at the Oklahoma Humane Society found a dog in a precarious position.The Chihuahua was left in a carrier hanging from their front doors."He's doing good," said Roshelle Anderson with OK Humane. "He was a little Chihuahua."Dog left on OK Humane Society's doors. (Image courtesy Roshelle Anderson.)Dog left on OK Humane Society's doors. (Image courtesy Roshelle Anderson.)Anderson said it's not clear how long the pup was there or who left him. However, he is now doing well. As Fourth of July nears, experts weigh in on how to care for pets during fireworks But Anderson said this story points to a bigger problem, especially now that many local animal welfare facilities are closing their doors due to the canine flu.The Oklahoma Humane Society is seeing more and more pets come to them, but they can't take them all in."We have an intake and it's already bursting at the seams," Anderson said. "Unfortunately, we aren't a shelter, so we can't take ...

'Smallville' actor Allison Mack released from prison for role in sex-trafficking case tied to cult-like group

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:57 GMT

The television actor Allison Mack, who pleaded guilty for her role in a sex-trafficking case tied to the cult-like group NXIVM, has been released from a California prison, according to a government website.Mack, best known for her role as a young Superman’s close friend on “Smallville,” was sentenced to three years behind bars in 2021 after pleading guilty two years earlier to charges that she manipulated women into becoming sex slaves for NXIVM leader Keith Raniere.Online records maintained by the Federal Bureau of Prisons said Mack, 40, was released Monday from a federal prison in Dublin, California, near San Francisco. Her release was first reported by the Albany Times-Union.Mack avoided a longer prison term by cooperating with federal authorities in their case against Raniere, who was ultimately sentenced to 120 years in prison after being convicted on sex-trafficking charges.Mack helped prosecutors mount evidence showing how Raniere created a secret society ...

'Please do something': Kids' private files dumped online after school hacks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:57 GMT

The confidential documents stolen from schools and dumped online by ransomware gangs are raw, intimate and graphic. They describe student sexual assaults, psychiatric hospitalizations, abusive parents, truancy — even suicide attempts.“Please do something,” begged a student in one leaked file, recalling the trauma of continually bumping into an ex-abuser at a school in Minneapolis. Other victims talked about wetting the bed or crying themselves to sleep.Complete sexual assault case folios containing these details were among more than 300,000 files dumped online in March after the 36,000-student Minneapolis Public Schools refused to pay a $1 million ransom. Other exposed data included medical records, discrimination complaints, Social Security numbers and contact information of district employees.Rich in digitized data, the nation’s schools are prime targets for far-flung criminal hackers, who are assiduously locating and scooping up sensitive files that not long ago were committed to...

It’s time to accept that higher mortgage rates are here to stay

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:57 GMT

(NerdWallet) - The era of low mortgage rates is over. Embracing this reality will hasten your owning a house that meets your needs.Low rates flourished for 11 years, as the 30-year mortgage remained below 5% from February 2011 to April 2022. Since then, it has remained mostly above 5%, averaging 6.72% in June in Freddie Mac's weekly survey.Some forecasters predict that rates will decline over the next 12 months. But they don't foresee rates dropping below 5% anytime soon. If you want to buy a home, it's tempting to be in denial that this is happening. But as you start to accept that we're now in a time of higher rates, you can achieve closure (literally, when you close on the purchase of a home)."People are still working through their five stages of grief on this mortgage rate stuff," says Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist for Bright MLS, the real estate listing service for the mid-Atlantic region. "And I think you have to reach the stage of acceptance at some point that certainly ra...

University of Texas Police Department welcomes new chief

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- New leadership is joining the University of Texas at Austin Police Department Wednesday with the swearing in of new police chief Eve Stephens.UTPD will host the swearing-in ceremony at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Stephens joins UTPD after retiring from the Austin Police Department in March, following almost 24 years of service there.