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Lawyers say election denier and ‘MyPillow Guy’ Mike Lindell is out of money, can’t pay legal bills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:08 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys who’ve been defending MyPillow chief executive and election denier Mike Lindell against defamation lawsuits by voting machine companies are seeking court permission to quit, saying he owes them unspecified millions of dollars and can’t pay the millions more that he’ll owe in legal expenses going forward.Attorney Andrew Parker wrote in documents filed in federal court on Thursday that his firm and a second firm representing MyPillow in lawsuits by Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems can’t afford what it would cost to represent Lindell and MyPillow through the rest of the litigation. Continuing to defend him would put the firms “in serious financial risk,” he wrote. It’s the latest in a string of legal and financial setbacks for Lindell, who propagates former President Donald Trump’s lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him, in part by rigged voting machine systems.The Associated Press left phone messages with Lindell on F...

Emergency resolution on pharmacare expected at NDP convention

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:08 GMT

OTTAWA — A group of grassroots NDP activists is planning to push for pharmacare to be a make-or-break element of the federal party’s supply-and-confidence deal with the Liberals at a policy convention next week.The agreement has the NDP supporting the minority Liberals on key votes in exchange for progress on shared priorities, including pharmacare.The activists are submitting an emergency resolution to declare that the future of the deal is contingent on legislation that commits to a universal and entirely public pharmacare program.The resolution comes after NDP health critic Don Davies revealed that the party rejected the Liberal government’s first draft of a pharmacare bill that is expected to be tabled this fall.Health Minister Mark Holland says conversations with the NDP continue, and the situation is still fluid. The resolution will likely be discussed on the last day of the NDP convention, if it makes to the debate floor. This report by The Canadian Press was firs...

Chicago City Council votes to raise tipped worker minimum wage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:08 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance Friday that would raise the pay for tipped workers who make less than minimum wage.Aldermen voted 36-10 in favor of the measure.The measure would phase in the minimum wage of $15.80 an hour over the next five years, start next July.Supporters call it a fair wage plan, while opponants said it will hurt businesses, like restaurants, that do not have big profit margins.This is a developing story. Check back for details.

Suburban teen aims to collect 1 million pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:08 GMT

OAK LAWN, Ill. —  A suburban teen has spearheaded an effort to collect 1 million pop top tabs.The aluminum is recycled and the money raised goes to the Ronald McDonald House Chapter in Oak Lawn helping families in their greatest time of need.Ulises Cardenas is a senior at Evergreen Park Community High School. He’s a standout student and athlete who also serves on the teen advisory council at the RMCH Oak Lawn chapter just across from Advocate Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn.He first found out about the Ronald McDonald House charity and its student involvement program by his guidance counselor, and his mom and dad encouraged him to go for it. He would soon set his goal of collecting 1 million pop tops.He was also awarded the Ray Schnauger Award for Student Excellence.Ulises is 57 pounds into his goal. About 787 pounds equates to 1 million tabs.Saturday the RMHC will hold it's annual Recycle with Ronald event at United Scrap Metal in Cicero.

Navy veteran, 28, found shot to death inside tow truck on West Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:08 GMT

CHICAGO — A 28-year-old man was found shot to death inside a tow truck on the city's West Side.Police said officers responded to a call of shots fired on the 3000 block of West Fifth Avenue around 1:30 a.m. Friday. Upon arrival, officers found 28-year-old Jack Jacobsen with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso sitting inside of the tow truck.According to police, Jacobsen was pronounced dead on the scene. A handgun was recovered next to the victim. A source said it appears there was some kind of altercation because two different kinds of shell casings were found.According to his attorney Thomas Glasgow, Jacobsen was a former Navy service member. A baby shower was planned for Saturday to celebrate his first child — and he was expected to get married soon. 63-year-old man questioned after 2 fatally shot inside home on South Side No one is in custody. Area Four detectives are investigating.A GoFundMe fundraiser has been created for Jacobsen's memorial costs and for his family.

'Lewis,' Target's hot new Halloween decoration, goes viral thanks to mysterious catchphrase

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:08 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Like every good horror villain, Target’s hot new Halloween decoration is mysterious, imposing and absolutely insistent on repeating a ridiculous catchphrase.“Lewis,” as he’s been named by his manufacturer, is an 8-foot light-up Halloween decoration with the face of a jack-o’-lantern and a hooded, tattered robe. He’s also capable of saying several prerecorded catchphrases — and one, in particular, has catapulted him to viral stardom.“I am not a jack-o’-lantern,” he states firmly. “My name is Lewis.” Halloween decor at New York house prompts fire department response Lewis has now become the star of dozens, if not hundreds of TikTok videos with millions upon millions of combined views. Many users are also filming their own trips to Target to see — and hear — Lewis for themselves.“This feels like meeting a celebrity,” one user wrote of her trip.“I love his sass,” another TikTok commenter said of Lewis' voice.Some have also documented Lewis’ other sayings, which include “I’...

Search warrant: Police believe woman found in west Austin fire burned alive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:08 GMT

Editor's Note: The above video is KXAN's previous coverage of the homicide investigation.AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Police believe a woman firefighters found dead in the Northwest Hills area of west Austin last month was burned alive, according to a search warrant issued by the Austin Police Department.Earlier this week, the police department identified that woman as Melissa Davis, 33. Police are investigating her death as a homicide. Police identify body found while AFD responded to northwest Austin grass fire Firefighters responded to an area near the intersection of Mesa Drive and Cat Mountain Drive around 5 a.m. on Sept. 29 following a 911 call about the fire.According to a search warrant for the victim's cell phone, which police believe she had with her before she was killed, the fire covered a 10-foot area and firefighters found a body engulfed in flames. Police said officers "smelled a strong odor of accelerant" near the body, which was in a small grassy area next to a person's fence...

Victim identified, suspect arrested in south Austin homicide investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:08 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Court documents filed Thursday provided additional details surrounding a Tuesday homicide investigation in south Austin.According to court documents, police responded shortly before midnight for a call regarding a possible dead person in the 1100 block of Cumberland Road.When police arrived, a man’s body was found inside a vehicle, and Austin Police identified the man as 20-year-old Rickye Henderson. PAST COVERAGE: Police investigating homicide in south Austin; City’s 50th of the year According to police, Henderson was unresponsive and had injuries consistent with a gunshot wound.Court documents said two witnesses were inside the vehicle when the shooting occurred. Both witnesses told police Willie Joe Tyron Jones III, 20, took out a black handgun and shot Henderson.According to the documents, Austin Police officers found Jones as he attempted to leave the scene.Travis County jail records showed Jones was being held on a murder charge and bonds of more than $1 mill...

St. Mark's Medical Center in La Grange to cease operations Oct. 12

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:08 GMT

LA GRANGE, Texas (KXAN) -- St. Mark's Medical Center in La Grange announced it is closing its doors and ceasing all operations next week. St. Mark's said in a press release, dated Oct. 4, that it will cease all operations effective 7 a.m., Oct. 12. The release said the closure results from St. Mark's "ongoing inability to meet its financial obligations."Earlier this year, St. Mark's transitioned to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation that preserved emergency department services and most outpatient care while additional funding was pursued to offset a $13 million debt from mortgage, years of revenue shortfalls and rapidly escalating expenses, according to the release. RELATED: Fayette County: Lack of finances causes rural hospital to stop services "Even with the new REH designation, the Board was clear that St. Mark's needed additional outside financial support to pay the hospital’s mortgage," said Dudley Piland, St. Mark's Board Chair. "After several unsuccessful efforts t...

Remembrances of Monica, 8th grader fatally shot in St. Paul: She had a life ‘full of potential,’ ‘infectious smile’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:08 GMT

Monica Holley, the 14-year-old fatally shot in St. Paul Wednesday, is being remembered as someone who “brought joy to our community.”She was an eighth grader at Highland Park Middle School in St. Paul, and lived in the Greater East Side area where she and three other teens were shot.As of Friday, no one was under arrest and police said they continue to investigate the circumstances of the shooting outside an apartment building on Hazelwood Street near East Maryland Avenue that also injured 13- and 15-year-old girls and a 19-year-old woman.“It’s unconscionable that a child would have their life stolen in such a heinous manner,” St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said in a statement Friday. “When a shot is fired and a life is lost — especially a young life so full of potential — the impact is felt by our entire community.”Monica took part in Breakthrough Twin Cities at Mounds Park Academy in St. Paul, which describes it as “a challenging academic en...