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Sister of North Korean leader derides South Korea’s president but praises his predecessor

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:15:51 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has derided South Korea’s conservative president for being “foolishly brave” but called his liberal predecessor “smart” — rhetoric likely meant to help stoke domestic divisions in South Korea.Her statement Tuesday came as a response to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s New Year’s Day address, in which he said he would bolster South Korea’s military capability and enhance its alliance with the U.S. to cope with North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats.Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has made such comments numerous times. Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, used Yoon’s latest remarks as an opportunity to fire off derisive rhetoric against him.“Since his inauguration he’s been clamoring for the strengthening of the South Korea-U.S. extended deterrence and focusing on their joint military drills, bringing the fate of South Korea to the brink,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. ...

Gold miner Agnico Eagle Mines acquires minority stake in Canada Nickel

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:15:51 GMT

TORONTO — Gold miner Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. has acquired a minority stake in Canada Nickel Co. Ltd. in what it says is an early stage investment in the growing critical minerals sector.Under the deal, Agnico Eagle says it has bought 19.6 million units of Canada Nickel in a flow-through offering at a price of $1.18 per unit for a total of $23.1 million.Each unit includes one share of Canada Nickel and 0.35 of a share purchase warrant, which entitles the holder to acquire a share at a set price of $1.77 at any time before Dec. 29, 2026, subject to conditions.The investment gives Agnico Eagle a 12 per cent stake in Canada Nickel on a non-diluted basis and also gives it a right to maintain its stake in Canada Nickel in future financings and to nominate one person to the company’s board of directors.Canada’s mining industry has been increasing its focus on critical minerals like copper, nickel and cobalt needed as part of the transition away from fossil fuels.Canada Nickel, ...

Honeymooning couple shares story of being in cab that crashed into tree near Millennium Park ice rink

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:15:51 GMT

CHICAGO — If you think you have an interesting story to tell about your honeymoon, you've probably got nothing compared to Joel Obrecht and Teresa Fedor of Toledo, Ohio.The newlyweds were honeymooning in Chicago over the New Year's holiday when they almost wound up on the ice rink at Millennium Park. But in a taxicab, not on ice skates.Obrecht and Fedor were the passengers in the cab that veered off the road and crashed into a tree near the ice rink in Millennium Park in the Loop on Monday afternoon. The couple, married just four days ago, says they hailed the cab near their hotel to go to Millennium Park. The driver, a 66-year-old man, attempted a U-turn in an effort to drop Obrecht and Fedor off on Michigan Ave., but he hit a curb and wound up driving over two different medians, across three lanes of traffic, over a sidewalk and through fence barriers and a bike rack before finally hitting a tree near near the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink. Woman in toll road crash struck, killed b...

A missing person with no memory: How local investigators solved the cold case of Seven Doe

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:15:51 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Buried at the edge of a Chicago Catholic cemetery are an elderly person’s remains marked only by a cement cylinder deep in the ground labeled with the numbers 04985. The person died in 2015 at a nursing home not remembering much, including their own name.They went by Seven.Now police specializing in missing people and cold cases have discovered Seven’s identity in one of the most unusual investigations the Cook County sheriff’s office has pursued and one that could change state law. Using post-mortem fingerprints, investigators identified Seven as 75-year-old Reba C. Bailey, an Illinois veteran missing since the 1970s.The breakthrough is bringing closure to generations of relatives and friends. But whether they knew the name or the numeral, the investigation has unearthed more mysteries about how Reba, a Women’s Army Corps veteran raised in a large family, became homeless with no recollection, aside from wanting to be identified as a man called Seven.Public records, i...

Toyota recalls 1M newer cars for faulty airbag sensors

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:15:51 GMT

Toyota has recalled many of its most popular models for a short circuit in the airbag sensor that can prevent the airbag from deploying in the event of a crash, the NHTSA disclosed Monday. The issue is unrelated to the Takata airbag recall that has roiled the industry in the last few years, amounting to the biggest automotive recall in history. The airbag sensor issue afflicting Toyota and Lexus vehicles is still a sizable one, accounting for 999,901 vehicles from the 2020-2022 model year.The issue specifically applies to vehicles with Occupant Classification System sensors that detect if someone is in the front passenger seat. The circuit board could have been deformed during production from the supplier, and moisture can enter the capacitor in the circuit. If the sensor has been compromised, the SRS warning light will illuminate in the cluster, as well as a "Passenger Airbag OFF" light, even if there's a passenger in the seat. Another message may display, and ultimately, since the...

MedWatch Digest: Americans are getting shorter — and more

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:15:51 GMT

For Jan. 2, WGN’s Dina Baur has the latest on new medical information, including: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch Respiratory illnesses on the riseA trifecta of respiratory illnesses will soon get worse, but it also depends on where you live. CDC data shows COVID-19 and flu cases are on the rise while RSV cases have remained high. In the last week of 2023, close to 30,000 new patients were hospitalized for COVID-19, the highest since last January. Another 14,000 Americans were hospitalized for the flu. Part of the problem remains low vaccination rates for COVID-19, flu and RSV.A CDC map of infections shows they're the highest in New Mexico and in southeastern states. While the lowest are in Montana, Nebraska, Vermont, and West Virginia. Popular inhaler now harder to get As of Jan. 1, 2024, the Flovent inhaler that thousands of asthma patients rely on, is no longer available. While there's a generic version available, it's more difficult to get. The manufacturer behind the inhal...

Why would anyone use 'silent karaoke?' This is why.

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:15:51 GMT

Why would someone use "silent karaoke?" Tuesday's WGN Morning News 9@9 segment with Larry Potash, Robin Baumgarten, Pat Tomasulo and Paul Konrad — plus a cameo from Dan Ponce — shows you exactly why. 6@6: A dating theory, expensive mobile homes, a haunted penthouse and more! Dean’s A-List Interview: Dan Levy

Harvard president resigns amid plagiarism claims, backlash from antisemitism testimony

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:15:51 GMT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard University President Claudine Gay resigned Tuesday amid plagiarism accusations and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing where she was unable to say unequivocally that calls on campus for the genocide of Jews would violate the school’s conduct policy.Gay announced her departure, which came just months into her tenure, in a letter to the Harvard community.She and the presidents of MIT and the University of Pennsylvania came under fire last month for their lawyerly answers to a line of questioning from New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who asked whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” would violate the colleges’ code of conduct. The three presidents had been called before the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce to answer accusations that universities were failing to protect Jewish students amid rising fears of antisemitism worldwide and fallout from Israel’s intensifying war in Gaza, which faces heightened criticis...

'Finally free:' Gypsy Rose Blanchard has busy first week after release

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:15:51 GMT

(NewsNation) — Gypsy Rose Blanchard, released from a Missouri prison last week after serving eight years, shared a message with her supporters on social media."I'm finally free," she said in a video posted over the weekend on TikTok and Instagram.Blanchard, 32, spent the better part of the last decade in prison after admitting in court to asking her ex-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn to kill her mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard, who experts say likely suffered from Munchausen Syndrome by proxy. Godejohn was given a life sentence after being found guilty for his part in Dee Dee Blanchard's death. Gypsy Rose Blanchard said years of physical and psychological abuse are what drove her to commit the 2015 crime. Throughout Gypsy Rose Blanchard's childhood, her mother fabricated symptoms and subjected her to false medical diagnoses and treatments for conditions including leukemia and muscular dystrophy. She was forced to use a wheelchair and a feeding tube, though she didn't need either. ...

Attempted kidnapping thwarted at Florida Walmart, video shows

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:15:51 GMT

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. (WFLA) – A Florida man is facing charges after he allegedly attempted to kidnap a 4-year-old child at a Walmart on Friday.The Lee County Sheriff's Office said the incident, which was caught on camera, happened on Dec. 29 at a Walmart in Lehigh Acres. The suspect, Pablo Pintueles Hernandez, attempted to take the 4-year-old away from his family by grabbing the boy by the wrist, according to surveillance footage posted to Facebook by Lee County deputies. He also allegedly told the child, "Let's go," when he grabbed the boy, officials wrote. Frontier flies unaccompanied minor to Puerto Rico instead of Cleveland As seen in the video, a family member pulls the boy away from the suspect within seconds. The suspect is then seen walking away after what appears to be a verbal interaction with the family member.Deputies later arrested Pintueles Hernandez at his home for false imprisonment of a child 13 years old and under. "What this criminal did is incredibly disturbing,"...