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Helicopter carrying state workers crashes into remote Alaska lake, no survivors found, officials say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:31 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — No survivors were found after a helicopter carrying a pilot and three state workers crashed in a shallow lake in Alaska’s North Slope region, officials said Friday.The helicopter had been chartered by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, the department said in a statement Friday. It was carrying three employees from the Division of Geological and Geophysical Survey who had been conducting field work.“DNR is praying for our employees and the pilot, their families, and the DNR team,” the statement said. “We are continuing to await updates from the search and rescue effort.”The helicopter, a Bell 206, was reported overdue Thursday night. A North Slope Borough search and rescue team in a helicopter found debris matching the description of the missing helicopter, but no bodies had been seen or recovered, D.J. Fauske, the borough’s director of government and external affairs, said in a text to The Associated Press on Friday.The wreckage was found in a shall...

Police launch tip line in missing B.C. children’s alleged abduction

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:31 GMT

SURREY, B.C. — Police have launched a dedicated phone line and email account to gather tips for the Amber Alert case involving two missing British Columbia children alleged to have been abducted by their mother.Surrey RCMP say that the suspect, Verity Bolton, has access to “a number of trailers” along with a blue 2012 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup that was previously identified in the case.Police say in a statement they believe Bolton is travelling with both eight-year-old Aurora and 10-year-old Joshuah Bolton, along with her 74-year-old father Robert Bolton and 53-year-old boyfriend Abraxas Glazov.Authorities issued an Amber Alert on July 19 after the children were not returned as planned to their father, who has primary custody.Police say Verity Bolton was last seen at a Kamloops, B.C. grocery store, while the children were last seen July 7 at a gas station in Merritt, B.C.Investigators are asking those who may have information about the case to call 604-599-7676 or email surr...

DeSantis, in deeply conservative Utah, says he’s driven more by faith in God than by politics

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:31 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Ron DeSantis boasted Friday about his lengthy list of endorsements and support in Utah, telling a group of backers in the deeply religious state that he was driven by faith in God more than political ideology.As he works to reset a campaign confronting financial pressures and a static position in the Republican primary field, the Florida governor called the race a “state by state” contest and tried to endear himself to political leaders by likening Utah’s growing economy and their conservative governing strategies to his own.Speaking in front of a group of 17 state lawmakers in the Western state’s capital, DeSantis defended his campaign’s strategy and support in early states including Iowa and New Hampshire while pledging to focus on Super Tuesday contests like Utah’s.The state’s March 5 primary could be a beacon of strength for the Florida governor’s stalled bid. His primary rival Donald Trump has performed comparatively worse than othe...

Lionel Messi not in starting lineup for his Inter Miami debut against Cruz Azul

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:31 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami debut began on the bench.Messi was not in the starting lineup but was expected to play Friday night when Inter Miami hosted Cruz Azul in a Leagues Cup match at his new home stadium. Team officials said all tickets — about 21,000, in a newly expanded stadium — had been sold, though plenty were available for resale in the hours leading up to the match.Messi arrived with the team about two hours before game time, dressed in the team colors — pink T-shirt, black shorts. He stopped for a few photos and handshakes as he entered the tunnel leading to the locker room.It wasn’t clear how much Messi, a World Cup champion for Argentina and someone who Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham calls the best player ever, would be on the field in his debut. New coach Tata Martino said in recent days he would leave that decision up to Messi, who hasn’t played much of late and is working his way back into match shape.Messi signed a...

North Korea fires cruise missiles, stays mum on US soldier who crossed into country

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:31 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired several cruise missiles toward its western sea Saturday, South Korea’s military said, marking the second launch event this week apparently in protest of the docking of a nuclear-armed U.S. submarine in South Korea.While adding to its barrage of missile launches in recent months, North Korea remained publicly silent for a fifth day on the fate of an American soldier who bolted into the North across the heavily armed Korean border this week.South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches were detected beginning around 4 a.m. but did not immediately report how many missiles were fired or how far they flew. It said the U.S. and South Korean militaries were closely analyzing the launches.On Wednesday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from an area near its capital, Pyongyang. They flew about 550 kilometers (341 miles) before landing in waters east of the Korean Peninsula.The flight distance of those missiles roughly mat...

Idaho judge sentences 5 from white nationalist group to jail for conspiracy to riot at Pride event

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:31 GMT

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) — Five members of the white nationalist hate group Patriot Front have been sentenced to several days in jail for conspiring to riot at a Pride event in Idaho.Judge James Stow sentenced each of the men on Friday to five days in jail with credit for two days already served, the Coeur d’Alene Press reported. Forrest Rankin, Devin Center, Derek Smith, James Julius Johnson and Robert Whitted are also not allowed to be within 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of the Coeur d’Alene City Park while on unsupervised probation for a year.The men were also fined $1,000 each. If they successfully complete probation they will be able to have the charges dismissed.A Kootenai County jury on Thursday found them guilty of the riot charge after about an hour of deliberation. The men were accused of planning to riot at the Coeur d’Alene LGBTQ+ Pride event in 2022.A total of 31 Patriot Front members, including one identified as its founder, were arrested June 11, 2022, after someon...

No children’s remains found in Nebraska dig near former Native American boarding school

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:31 GMT

An archeological dig for a lost children’s cemetery near the Nebraska site of a former Native American boarding school has ended after two weeks — and no remains were found. Dave Williams, the state’s archeologist, said the team searching near the former Genoa Indian Industrial School plans to meet on Zoom with representatives of 40 tribes across the U.S. next week to determine next steps.“I would have preferred that we found the children,” said Judi gaiashkibos, a member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and the executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs. “But we have to remain hopeful. They’ve been gone more than 90 years. I feel like I have to remain steadfast and committed.” The search for gained renewed interest after hundreds of children’s remains were discovered at other Native American boarding school sites across the U.S. and Canada in recent years. Dogs trained to detect the odor of decaying remains searched the area last summer and indicated there ...

Man linked to deaths of four women in Oregon reportedly assaulted one earlier, victim’s father says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:31 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man being investigated in the deaths of four women in Oregon had previously attacked and choked one of them, her father said. But the man was not arrested until months later — only after the women’s bodies were discovered scattered across northwest Oregon.The bodies had raised fears a serial killer was targeting young women in the area. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that investigators and prosecutors from nine law enforcement agencies have found links between the four deaths, with at least one person of interest identified.The statement did not name the person, but a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation said Tuesday it is Jesse Lee Calhoun. The official requested anonymity because they are not authorized to comment publicly on the case. Calhoun was arrested on June 6 by members of two sheriff’s departments with U.S. Marshals Service assisting, the official said.The bodies of Kristin ...

Magnificent Mile pop-up shop aims to give back to Ukraine

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:31 GMT

CHICAGO — As the war in Ukraine rages on, some native Ukrainians living in Chicago are doing their part to help friends, loved ones, and strangers back in their homeland. Khrystyna Bodnarchuk is one of a team of native Ukrainians now living in Chicago. She is part of a team that has launched a pop-up store on Michigan Avenue, displaying goods in what is now war-torn Ukraine. The money raised will help rebuild a children's hospital in Eastern Ukraine, heavily damaged by the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Though the children’s hospital suffered extensive damage, it remains operational as a frontline facility.  Russia arrests a hard-line nationalist who accused Putin of weakness in Ukraine “This beautiful cause, in such a beautiful space, where people can see the beauty and the talent and the love from Ukraine," Bodnarchuk said. "(It's a) good collaboration and a good cause."Bodnarchuk moved with her family to the US about a decade ago. Chicago has long been a place where Ukrainians have f...

Camp provides Chicago kids refuge from violence, stress

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:31 GMT

WEHATON, Ill. — A west suburban camp is giving hundreds of Chicago kids refuge from some of the city’s most violence-plagued neighborhoods.Every week this summer, nearly 80 kids will load onto a bus outside West Garfield’s Off the Street Club to a secluded place 25 miles outside the city called Camp Mathieu. Camp provides Chicago kids refuge from violence, stress From camper to executive director, Arnett Morris spends nine weeks at Wheaton's Camp Mathieu and  oversees nearly a thousand kids from Chicago every summer"The reason Off the Street and Camp Mathieu is so important to me is because it was once my salvation,” Morris said. “As a kid, I came to this camp and it saved my life. On the West Side, the word safety is almost non-existent. You can walk into a situation any day and be in a lot of trouble." More from Erin: Organization has compassion blooming in vacant lots on South Side The camp provides a reprieve from the stress these kids intimately know."When you come to ...