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Michigan regulators approve $500M pipeline tunnel project under channel linking 2 Great Lakes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:04 GMT

Michigan officials approved a $500 million plan Friday to encase in a protective tunnel a portion of an oil pipeline that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes, leaving just one more regulatory hurdle for the contentious project.The state’s three-person Public Service Commission approved the project in the Straits of Mackinac on a 2-0 vote. Commissioner Alessandra Carreon abstained, noting she just joined the commission four months ago.The commission’s chairperson, Dan Scripps, said that an oil spill in the straits, which link Lake Michigan to Lake Huron, would be catastrophic. The tunnel is the best way to mitigate the risk as the state transitions to renewable energy sources, he said.The plan still needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is still compiling an environmental impact statement. A final decision may not come until 2026.Enbridge Energy has been operating the Line 5 pipeline since 1953. The pipeline moves up to 23 million gallo...

Bombs are falling on Gaza again. Who are the hostages still remaining in the besieged strip?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:04 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — A weeklong cease-fire that brought the exchanges of dozens of hostages held by Hamas for scores of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel gave way Friday morning to resumed fighting between Israel and Hamas. As mediators scuttle between the warring sides in a last-ditch effort to broker another swap, questions emerge on who remains in captivity in the besieged enclave.Hamas and other militants seized around 247 hostages in their deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which more than 1,200 people were killed. Israel has pummeled the Gaza Strip in return, killing at least 13,300 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to health authorities in the Hamas-ruled territory.Here’s a closer look at the fate of the hostages.HOSTAGES STILL IN CAPTIVITYIsrael said on Friday that 136 hostages remain in Gaza. They include 119 men and 17 women and children, according to military spokesperson Daniel Hagari. Roughly 10 of the hostages are 75 and older, the ...

Fines for illegally parking in Toronto jump 150% starting Friday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:04 GMT

If you plan to illegally park on city and private property, be prepared to pay more should you get caught.Starting Friday, drivers caught illegally parking on municipal and private property will get a ticket for $75 – a 150 per cent increase from the previous fine of $30.The fine was approved by city council at its meeting back in October after a report showed most drivers preferred to take the chance of a $30 fine rather than pay the posted parking rate.“The reason why drivers risk being issued a parking violation notice is because most times the penalty amount is less than what they would be required to payfor parking,” read a report by city staff which recommended the increase in the fine.The report showed that the number of parking violation notices in city lots increased by more than 11,000 to over 106,000 in 2022 from the previous year, while violations in private lots jumped by more than 56,000 in 2022The new fine is in line with fines for parking violations...

South Korea launches its first spy satellite after rival North Korea does the same

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:04 GMT

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — South Korea on Friday launched its first military spy satellite, a little over a week after North Korea claimed to put its own spy satellite into orbit for the first time as tensions rise between the rivals.Launched from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, it was the first of five spy satellites South Korea plans to send into space by 2025 under a contract with SpaceX. The event had been scheduled for earlier this week but was pushed back because of weather conditions.South Korea has had no military reconnaissance satellites of its own in space and has partially resorted to U.S. spy satellites to monitor moves by North Korea. When operated together with South Korea’s so-called three-axis system — preemptive strike, missile defense and retaliatory assets — experts say spy satellites will significantly boost the country’s defense against North Korea. After two launch failures earlier this year, North...

Northern lights: Chance to see aurora returns Friday as solar storm continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:04 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Dazzling auroras may light up the skies of northern states again Friday night, and we've got ongoing geomagnetic storm activity to thank. The solar storm activity peaked Thursday night into early Friday morning, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center, a division of NOAA. "While it's correct that the really big increase in activity is now on the decline, it doesn't mean we are out of this yet," Lt. Bryan Brasher, a project manager with the Center, said on Friday. "We are still forecasting continued storming for this evening, with a possibility of aurora becoming visible over the far Northern Tier states this evening." We’re surrounded by space junk: What is it, and should you be worried? Even as things calm down, multiple coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, can still impact Earth as our magnetosphere "bounces back," Brasher said. CMEs are explosions of plasma and magnetic material from the sun that can impact navigation, communication and radio signals&...

Prosecutors to present final evidence in Ed Burke trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:04 GMT

CHICAGO — Prosecutors in former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke's corruption trial plan to present their final evidence in a critical part of the case.It's perhaps the most significant of the four so-called schemes that prosecutors are presenting to the jury. They are arguing that Burke pressured the developers of the Old Main Post Office to hire his private law firm, in exhange for Burke taking official actions to help the developers.Jurors have been watching secretly recorded videos and listening to wiretapped phone calls that show Burke discussing his dealings with developers.Some of the recordings were made by former Alderman Danny Solis, who agreed to cooperate with the FBI after confronted with evidence of his own crimes.The focus, so far Friday, has been on the contract Burke's law firm signed to represent the developers on another property in Chicago, "The Sullivan Center" on State Street.In a recorded phone call, Solis congratulates Burke on getting the Sullivan Center business, ...

Friday Forecast: Temps in mid 40s, rainfall increases

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:04 GMT

CHICAGO — Widespread rainfall Friday morning tapers to scattered showers and drizzle this afternoon as temperatures hold in the lower 40s.  Rain becomes widespread again this evening, before scattered showers taper and end overnight.  Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Some snow is possible in far northwest counties as temperatures fall into the upper 30s. Saturday Forecast: Saturday will be cloudy with highs in the lower 40s.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

MedWatch Digest: Malaria cases on the rise, WHO warns — and more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:04 GMT

For Friday, Dec. 1, WGN’s Dina Bair has new medical information, including: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch Pediatric pneumonia outbreak in OhioAn outbreak of pediatric pneumonia cases has led to an "extremely high" number of hospitalizations.  Ohio is the first state in the nation to report an outbreak of the strain called "white lung syndrome." The average age of the affected children is eight. The youngest is three.  The most common symptoms are a cough, fever and fatigue.  Warren County, Ohio has seen at least 142 cases since August.  Health officials there have yet to find a common thread between the cases.  Parents are worried it's linked to a surge in similar cases in China and other countries worldwide. Malaria cases riseA dire warning from the World Health Organization: the world is in danger of losing the fight against Malaria. Cases of the mosquito-born disease rose by about five million in 20-22, exceeding global targets to contain it.&...

Sayonara Santos: locks already changed at congressional office

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:04 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Well, at least we know one part of Congress works efficiently: the security team.  A mere couple of hours after his expulsion from the House of Representatives, George Santos has already lost access to his office. After a tumultuous 11 months in office, a resolution to expel Santos passed 311-114, with two voting present. Shortly thereafter, a security team could be seen changing the locks to the now unoccupied office.Santos had fought the expulsion effort, leading his own defense during House floor debate and in conducting a news conference and interviews. How to watch the fourth Republican presidential debate “I will not stand by quietly,” Santos declared as lawmakers on Thursday evening debated his removal. “The people of the Third District of New York sent me here. If they want me out, you’re going to have to go silence those people and go take the hard vote.”In early March, the House Ethics Committee announced it was launching an investigation into...

Disney World's Haunted Mansion finally adds fan-favorite character from Disneyland ride

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:04 GMT

BAY LAKE, Fla. (WFLA) — The Hatbox Ghost is haunting Disney World's Haunted Mansion for the first time in the character's history.The animatronic character had first appeared in Disneyland's Haunted Mansion in 1969, appearing as a ghost whose head would periodically vanish from his shoulders and appear in a hatbox held in his left hand. But the character was removed shortly after its debut due to technical issues. Then, in 2015, Disneyworld brought the Hatbox Ghost back to the Haunted Mansion, having recognized the continuing popularity of the character even in his long absence."Although brief, his presence sparked a decades-long following, and this reclusive resident of the Haunted Mansion was never forgotten," reads a 2015 entry from the Disney Parks Blog. Disney has ‘enough room to build another Disneyland’ in California city, chairman says Disney World's version of the Haunted Mansion, however, had never been visited by the Hatbox Ghost until recently: On Thursday, the "grim g...