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Smoke from Alberta wildfires spreading through Canada and parts of the United States

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:06 GMT

Smoke from dozens of active wildfires in central Alberta is spreading across the country and in some parts of the United States.A map created by AirNow that tracks wildfires and air quality in North America shows the smoke from Alberta reaching the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario and New England.AirNow’s partners include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Park Service, as well as several local agencies. More than 29,000 people in Alberta have been ordered to leave their homes in recent days.There are 89 active wildfires burning as of this morning, with 26 listed as out of control.A coronation celebration originally planned for Saturday at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden has been cancelled due to the fires. Premier Danielle Smith has said military personnel are to be deployed to prevent looting and maintain order in evacuated communities. The provincial government has announced one-time payment...

Review: In ‘Still,’ Michael J. Fox moving tells his story

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:06 GMT

I’ve always liked Michael J. Fox and always will. I suspect most people feel the same way. That’s surely partly because, as Marty McFly in “Back to the Future” and Alex P. Keaton in “Family Ties,” Fox was a fixture of so many childhoods. But there’s also a way that Fox remains forever boyish — a charming pipsqueak, a plucky kid with a touch less confidence than he lets on. His sheer geniality and universal appeal has remained indomitable, even in the face of a degenerative brain disorder. “I’m a cockroach,” Fox says in Davis Guggenheim’s glossy, entertaining and often affecting documentary, “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.” In Guggenheim’s film, Fox recounts his life, career and arduous battle with Parkinson’s disease, with which he was diagnosed at age 29. The documentary, debuting Friday on Apple TV+, does this through candid on-camera interviews with Fox along with narration read by the actor. And while there’s footage of here ...

Missing Blue Jays 50/50 winner comes forward to claim $2.8 million jackpot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:06 GMT

It took a little over a week, but the winner of the Blue Jays’ 50/50 draw at their game on April 11 has come forward to claim her $2.8 million prize.The Jays Care Foundation says Deb from the Hamilton region was the lucky winner after purchasing 250 tickets, worth $100, during the game versus the Detroit Tigers.The winner was announced on May 1, but no one came forward originally and everyone at the game was asked to check their ticket. It took a week but Deb has finally collected her prize.According to the foundation, Deb refers to herself as “the Blue Jays’ number one fan” and has been a Jays Care supporter for many years.“This draw is not only life-changing for her but also for the thousands of kids in Jays Care programs who will benefit from the $2.89 million that will be invested in programs across the province for youth who are traditionally left on the sidelines,” said Jays Care executive director Robert Witchel in a statement.The entire pr...

Pakistan’s ex-PM Imran Khan arrested, sparking violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:06 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested and dragged from court Tuesday as he appeared to face charges in multiple graft cases, a dramatic escalation of political tensions that sparked violent demonstrations by his angry supporters across the country.The arrest of Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022 but remains the leading opposition figure, represented the latest confrontation to roil Pakistan, which has seen former prime ministers arrested over the years and interventions by its powerful military.At least one person was reported killed in clashes between protesters and the military in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, with another five people wounded there, while about 15 injuries were reported amid similar violence in Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Lahore. Police fired tear gas to disperse demonstrations.Amid the violence, officials at Pakistan’s telecommunication authority said regulators blocked social media,...

DA tweaks Jonathan Majors’ charge, lawyer says he’s innocent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:06 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Jonathan Majors was confronted Tuesday with a revised domestic violence charge stemming from a woman’s allegations that the Marvel star twisted her arm, struck her head and shoved her into a vehicle in New York City in March.Majors, appearing by video, did not enter a plea to the misdemeanor assault charge and said little else at the arraignment, which lasted all of three minutes. Prosecutors say the charge was rewritten to reflect the perspective of Majors’ 30-year-old accuser, rather than the police officer whose account was used in the original version — an indication she is cooperating with authorities.Majors, 33, still faces other misdemeanor charges in connection with his March 25 arrest in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, some of which are punishable by up to a year in jail.His lawyer, Priya Chaudhry, says Majors is innocent. She blasted prosecutors after Tuesday’s hearing for pursuing what she called a “witch hunt” against the actor.Chaudhry said...

Tuesday Forecast: Temps near 70s with lots of sun

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:06 GMT

CHICAGO — Starting Tuesday morning with areas of fog, with some dense fog along the lake. This will burn off by midmorning. Clouds will clear to mostly sunny by the afternoon with light northeasterly winds. Temperatures expected to reach the mid and upper 60s for areas inland, and upper 50s for areas lakeside. High for O'Hare expected to be 67. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Quiet conditions stick around through the next few days. Wednesday highs will be into the upper 70s with mostly sunny skies, and low 80s with sunshine on Thursday. Our next chance of showers is back in the forecast on Friday with hit and miss showers expected throughout the weekend.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

When will the Bears' 2023 schedule be announced?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:06 GMT

LAKE FOREST — Fans have known who the Bears will face in the 2023 NFL season for a few months now, but when they will is something they have to wait for.But that's finally going to end this week when the National Football League reveals the entire schedule for the upcoming campaign. The league is set to announce its regular season schedule for the Bears and the 31 other teams on Thursday, May 11 at 7 p.m. central time. That's when the dates and times for all 17 games of the second year of the Matt Eberflus era will be announced - and perhaps even a location change as well. Of course, it's tradition for the league to announce a few games before Thursday evening and typically a fair amount of the schedule is leaked out before that through various outlets.One of the rumored games already is a potential match-up with the Chiefs in Frankfurt, Germany, the Bears' first international game since 2019. But Peter King of NBC said that might not be a done deal as the schedule release approache...

Robert De Niro becomes a father for the 7th time at age 79

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:06 GMT

Robert De Niro has welcomed another child. The 79-year-old is now the father of seven.A representative for De Niro confirmed the birth to The Associated Press on Tuesday but said no other details or statement were expected.The Oscar winner is also a parent to Drena, 51, and Raphael, 46, from his first marriage; and twins, Julian and Aaron, 27; Elliot, 24; and Helen Grace, 11, from his second marriage.De Niro is currently promoting the new comedy “About My Father,” which opens on May 26.De Niro is a two-time Oscar winner for his supporting role in “The Godfather: Part II” and best actor in “Raging Bull.” In 2011, he was also honored with the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award for his impact on the world of entertainment and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom five years later.

Is it illegal to take the tags off of mattresses?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:06 GMT

(WHTM) – When shopping for a new mattress for your bedroom, it can be intimidating since there are so many options. But there is one thing that is fairly consistent on every mattress in the U.S. – the tag on your mattress says it is illegal and punishable by law to remove it. But is it really illegal to remove the tag? The answer is both yes and no. If you are the consumer, or the buyer of the mattress, you can remove the tag after you purchase it with no consequence. But it is illegal for the mattress manufacturer to do it. According to Shovlin Mattress, the purpose of the mattress tag is to let the consumer know exactly what is inside the mattress, what the mattress consists of as a whole and when it was manufactured. It also reassures the consumer that the mattress is brand new and has never been sold previously. Shovlin Mattress says that before the 20th century, mattresses were made up of many materials of all different qualities. A manufacturer could claim the inside of a matt...

Illinois trooper shot, motorist dead in exchange of gunfire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:51:06 GMT

MT. VERNON, Ill. (AP) — A state trooper was wounded and a motorist killed early Tuesday in an exchange of gunfire along an interstate highway in southern Illinois, police said.Illinois State Police said preliminary findings indicate that troopers were responding to help a motorist at about 3 a.m. along Interstate 64 when an altercation happened. Police said the motorist displayed a firearm and exchanged gunfire with troopers, leaving the suspect dead and a 16-year-veteran trooper hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.SEE ALSO: Multiple in custody after fatal shooting of CPD officer, sources say The shooting happened near Mt. Vernon, the Jefferson County seat, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) southeast of St. Louis, closing the interstate’s eastbound lanes for more than three hours.State police said the agency’s own internal investigators are handling the case, and no more details were available to be released.