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Australia to release convicted terrorist from prison under strict conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A convicted terrorist whom Australia had wanted to strip of his citizenship and deport will be released into the community on Tuesday under strict conditions.Algerian-born Muslim cleric Abdul Benbrika will be released from prison on a supervision order for 12 months following a ruling by Victoria state Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth. Police had argued for the order to last for three years.Benbrika must wear an electronic ankle bracelet to track his movements and abide by a nightly curfew. The 63-year-old was convicted in 2008 of three terrorism charges related to a plot to cause mass casualties at a public event in Melbourne. No attack took place.He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and would have been released in 2020. But his sentence was extended by three years under a recent law that allowed the continued detention of prisoners convicted of terrorism offenses if a judge ruled they posed an unacceptable risk to the community if released....

Woman arrested after crashing into Forest Park storefront

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

FOREST PARK, Ill. — A 55-year-old woman has reportedly been arrested after crashing her car into a Forest Park storefront late Sunday night.According to the Forest Park Police Department, a vehicle crashed into M.E. Marketplace Retail Co-Op & Model Esteem in the 7400 block of West Madison Street just after 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. Suburban high school wrestler ineligible for senior year after transfer Upon arrival, officers discovered the entire glass storefront window was pushed away from its frame. Officers also found the vehicle involved parked directly in front of the store.An officer on scene reported that when they approached the driver, she had slurred speech and denied taking a field sobriety test due to “bad knees and two lazy eyes.” The driver was taken into custody.While at the police station, authorities say the driver began trying to tie her shoes but had no shoelaces and reportedly told officers that she thought she was in Melrose Park. The driver also reportedly at...

Deadly storm batters Northeastern US, knocking out power, grounding flights and flooding roads

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A storm barreled into the Northeastern U.S. on Monday, flooding roads and downing trees, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, forcing flight cancellations and school closures, and killing at least four people. More than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania by mid-morning, and parts of several other states got more than 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts reached nearly 70 mph (113 kph) along the southern New England shoreline.Power was knocked out for hundreds of thousands of customers in an area stretching north from Virginia through New England, including nearly 423,000 in Maine and about 200,000 in Massachusetts as of Monday night, according to poweroutage.us. The weather service issued flood and flash-flood warnings for New York City and the surrounding area, parts of Pennsylvania, upstate New York, western Connecticut, western Massachusetts and part...

High-rise residents still out one year after fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

CHICAGO — For 55 years, Mildred Richardson has called a high-rise near Lake Michigan home. But the senior citizen has been without access to her apartment for nearly a year and there’s no end in sight. “People have built large buildings in a year’s time,” Robinson said. “I don’t know whose fault it is. I don’t what the problems are. All I know is I’m out of my home.” One person died and 143 apartments were damaged last January when smoke and flames tore through several floors of the building located at 4850 South Lake Park Avenue on the South Side. Since then, they say building management has offered conflicting statements on when repairs would be complete.    Related: 1 killed, 9 injured, 50 displaced after high-rise apartment fire in Chicago The building is home to many senior citizens who tell WGN Investigates insurance that has helped cover the cost of alternate housing runs out in a few weeks.     “If I can’t find something I can afford...

Better Business Bureau investigates Austin bridal shop, brides left without dresses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) --- The Better Business Bureau said its investigating a bridal shop in Austin. It's after customers said the shop wouldn't respond to text or calls about their orders and unexpectedly closed. The situation left brides without their wedding dress. 'It's a lot of money'Lisa Garcia had everything planned out for her wedding day in February 2024. "This is the venue we're getting married at," Garcia said. "It's Canyonwood Ridge. It's out in Dripping Springs."But something Garcia was missing was her dress; a dress she paid for but never received. "I was just like, I don't know what to do," Garcia said. "I don't have a dress and I'm 90 days out from my wedding."Garcia was one of the brides left without their wedding dress after shopping at Belle Saison Bridal in north Austin. She said she paid for the dress in full and was told it would be ready in October. "That's $3,000," Garcia said. "It's a lot of money."But when the time came for the dress to be ready, she couldn't get i...

Timberwolves down Miami for best road win of season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

The Timberwolves had one box left to check during their impressive start to the season — beat a healthy, good team on the road.Check.Minnesota rallied from a 17-point deficit to down the Heat 112-108 on Monday night in Miami.It did so on the back of its defense, which hasn’t always traveled this season. That looked to be the case in the first half, as Miami scored 66 points on 58 percent shooting over the first two quarters.But, as has often been the case this season, Minnesota locked in after the break. Miami scored just 17 points in the third quarter as Rudy Gobert started to dominate the interior. Even in the fourth, the Heat went 9 for 25 from the field, often resorting to Bam Adebayo’s mid-range jump shots.Adebayo returned from an injury absence just in time for Monday’s contest. Ditto for Heat guard Tyler Herro. Herro set the offensive tone for Miami (15-12) in the first half, but he wasn’t nearly as much of a factor from there.“First half, ...

Brazen gunmen seen in Central West End in stolen cars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Neighborhood surveillance cameras catch brazen car crime in St. Louis’s Central West End neighborhood.Authorities hope sharing the video will prevent the capture of the brazen gunmen and keep them from striking again.The video is from just before 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10.There was a man at an alley dumpster throwing away trash. He had no idea what was going on when two cars came around the corner and stopped right up the street from him. The drivers did not pull over to the curb and stopped in the middle of the street.The man at the dumpster glanced in their direction. He might have noticed the shattered glass of the rear passenger window of a black Kia next to the black Hyundai but did not approach the vehicles. That was probably a good thing.“Just somebody yelling, ‘Hey stop’ or ‘What are you guys doing’ may be enough to initiate a response from the criminals,” Jim Whyte, Central West End Security Initiative, said. “It could have been catastrophic for the community.”B...

Conflicting stories after police SUV crashes into south St. Louis bar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

ST. LOUIS - FOX 2 has asked the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for additional clarification after hearing differing accounts about the cause of an overnight crash involving a police vehicle.The crash happened just before 12:30 a.m. Monday at Bar: PM along the 7100 block of South Broadway, in the Carondelet neighborhood.Two St. Louis police probation officers, each with less than one year of experience, were driving northbound on Broadway in a 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe. The driver lost control of the police vehicle, overcorrected, and crashed into the front facade of the bar.Neither officer was injured in the crash.Two bar workers, including Chad Morris, who co-owns the bar, were closing up for the evening at the time of the crash. They were also unharmed.Morris lives above the bar with his husband, James Pence. Pence was in the residence when he heard the crash and came downstairs to see what had happened.Police claim that the driver of the Tahoe "believed he was traveling too ...

Archdiocese of St. Louis, LGBTQ community react to Vatican news

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

ST. LOUIS – On Monday, the Vatican announced it would allow same-sex couples to receive a blessing from a priest. It’s one of many recent moves the Catholic Church has made to be more inclusive of LGBTQ Catholics.In November, the Vatican began allowing priests to baptize transgender people while also giving them the blessing to become godparents.However, Monday’s move should not be confused with a blessing of marriage, as the church still views marriage as a sacrament between a man and a woman.On Monday, the Archdiocese of St. Louis released a statement, writing, “This announcement allows for same-sex couples who seek God's grace to receive a simple blessing from a priest. The blessing should not be imparted during a ceremony or civil union. Additionally, we are discouraged from offering blessings in a manner that could be seen as or confused with a wedding."STL Pride Director of Inclusion and Diversity Jordan Braxton said the move is a step in the right direction but believes the c...

Addressing in-school fights in Ferguson-Florissant School District

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

HAZELWOOD, Mo. – A community-wide meeting was standing room only Monday evening as residents answered the call to action from the Ferguson-Florissant School District.Parents, staff, and neighbors lined up with suggestions on ways to address behavioral issues that are happening inside the schools.Superintendent Joe Davis opened the meeting to the public as the district addressed recent fights at McCluer High School. Brazen gunmen seen in Central West End in stolen cars Despite the number of fights being down across the district this year compared to last year, Davis said school officials are seeing an increase in fights happening at the high school level.Davis said Monday's meeting addressed a number of issues from the community and said there are some changes the district can address immediately."I think the therapy piece is critical. We have teletherapy now. We have a good relationship with Hazel Health,” Davis said. “But hiring more therapists in our schools and more counselors ...