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Johnson elected Chicago mayor in victory for progressives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:02 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Brandon Johnson, a union organizer and former teacher, was elected Chicago mayor on Tuesday, a major victory for the party’s progressive wing as the nation’s third-largest city grapples with high crime and financial challenges.Johnson, a Cook County commissioner endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, won a close race over former Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas, who was backed by the police union. Johnson, 47, will succeed Lori Lightfoot, the first Black woman and first openly gay person to be the city’s mayor.Lightfoot became the first Chicago mayor in 40 years to lose her reelection bid when she finished third in a crowded February contest. The top two vote-getters, Vallas and Johnson, advanced to Tuesday’s runoff after no candidate was able to secure over 50% to win outright.Johnson’s victory topped a remarkable trajectory for a candidate who was little known when he entered the race. He climbed to the top of the field with organizing and financial help from the po...

Liberal wins Wisconsin court seat ahead of abortion ruling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:02 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Democratic-backed Milwaukee judge won the high stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court race Tuesday, ensuring liberals will take over majority control of the court for the first time in 15 years with the fate of the state’s abortion ban pending.Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz, 60, defeated former Justice Dan Kelly, who previously worked for Republicans and had support from the state’s leading anti-abortion groups. It’s his second loss in a race for Supreme Court in three years.“I feel great. I could not feel better,” Protasiewicz told The Associated Press after her win. “I am surprised of the results and the magnitude of the victory here. We are absolutely delighted and thrilled.”The new court controlled 4-3 by liberals is expected to decide a pending lawsuit challenging the state’s 1849 law banning abortion. Protasiewicz made the issue a focus of her campaign and won the support of Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights groups.The c...

Victim of alleged terrorist knife attack on Surrey, B.C., bus is out of hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:02 GMT

SURREY, B.C. — The victim of what RCMP allege was terrorism on a Surrey, B.C., bus on Saturday has returned home from hospital after his throat was slashed in an attack a family member says could have easily killed him.Chris Jensen says his partner’s brother suffered a knife wound stretching from the back of his neck to near his throat, just below the left side of his jaw.He says the victim, who he calls his brother-in-law, returned from hospital Tuesday to the home in Surrey, where he lives with Jensen and his partner.Jensen says his brother-in-law described getting onto the bus and then turning to help a man he thought was falling before he saw the knife.He struggled with the armed man and eventually succeeded in pushing the attacker off the bus after being wounded.Abdul Aziz Kawam, who is due to reappear in Surrey provincial court on Wednesday, is charged with attempted murder, assault causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, and assault with a weapon, all in association wi...

Kikuchi’s performance gets Blue Jays back on track versus Royals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:02 GMT

Yusei Kikuchi fired five solid innings as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 4-1 on Tuesday, stabilizing a starting rotation that had stumbled out of the gate to open the season.Kikuchi gave up one earned run, a solo shot to Franmil Reyes, which was his only blemish on the night. He scattered three hits, walked one and struck out two batters. The southpaw threw 47 of his 69 pitches for strikes with plenty of velocity on his fastball, which averaged 97.8 mph, coupled with a dangerous slider that generated six whiffs.“Really quality strikes and generated weak contact, minus the homer. That was the key, and that’s what we have been saying the last couple of days with our starters. Not just throwing strikes, but quality strikes,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.Many anticipated Kikuchi’s first start of the season after he dominated throughout the spring when he looked like a different pitcher, striking out 31 batters across 20 2/3 innings in ...

Stormy Daniels must pay $122,000 in Trump legal bills

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:02 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stormy Daniels must pay nearly $122,000 of Donald Trump’s legal fees that were racked up in connection with the porn actor’s failed defamation lawsuit, an appeals court ruled Tuesday.The decision in California came at about the same time that that Trump became the only ex-president to be charged with a crime. Trump pleaded not guilty in a New York City courtroom to a 34-count felony indictment accusing him falsifying business records in a scheme to hush up allegations of extramarital affairs with Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal that broke during his first White House run.Daniels, whose real name is Stephane Clifford, alleges she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and was paid $130,000 as part of a nondisclosure agreement days before the 2016 presidential election. She sued him for defamation after he dismissed her claims of being threatened to keep quiet about the tryst as a “total con job.” A judge threw out the case in 2018.On Tuesday, a commi...

Analysis: Trump hush-money case raises thorny legal issues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:02 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The coverup is worse than the crime, the expression goes. And in the hush money case against former President Donald Trump, prosecutors say the coverup made the crime worse.In an indictment unsealed Tuesday, prosecutors say the 45th president falsified records about three hush-money payments in order to keep potentially damaging stories from coming to light as he campaigned for the presidency. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said it was his effort to cover up crimes related to the 2016 election that allowed prosecutors to elevate the charges to felonies. The indictment, however, raises many thorny issues about state and federal law that could provide openings for the defense to attack the charges to try to get them tossed before the case even gets to trial. “The bottom line is that it’s murky,” said Richard Hasen, an expert in election law and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles law school. “And the district attorney did not offer a d...

LIVE BLOG: Brandon Johnson elected Chicago mayor, defeating Paul Vallas, AP projects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:02 GMT

CHICAGO — Former teacher and union organizer Brandon Johnson has been elected Chicago mayor, according to Associated Press projections.City Council seats, as well as suburban mayor and village presidents races, continue to be decided.The Chicago mayoral race pitted former Chicago schools CEO Paul Vallas, a moderate Democrat endorsed by Chicago’s police union and several trade unions, against progressive Johnson, the Cook County Board Commissioner, who was backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and several public sector unions. All Chicago and Illinois Election ResultsTuesday's runoff election is due to no candidate receiving over 50% of the vote on the Feb. 28 election. On that day, Vallas, 69, was the majority frontrunner. Johnson, 46, followed and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot finished third in the polls. The soon-to-be-ousted Lightfoot was the first city mayor in 40 years to seek reelection and lose.WGN News’ special coverage begins at 7 p.m. and will include analysis and updates fr...

Thunderstorm Warning issued for parts of Chicago area

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:02 GMT

Hours after storms rocked the Chicago area Tuesday's another round of severe weather is winding up.A Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been issued for Northern Kendall County, Southeastern DeKalb County and Southern Kane County until 10 p.m.Hail and wind gusts of up to 60 mph are possible. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here WEDNESDAY: Warm through much of the morning. Scattered t-storms may grow severe in some areas for a time late morning. Then partial clearing, turning very windy and noticeably cooler in the afternoon and evening. Wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph. High 74—but falling to the mid 40s to low 50s by nightfall.WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Clouds scatter, breezy and colder. Low 36—low 30s inland.Latest warnings and watches from the National Weather Service.THURSDAY & FRIDAY: Mostly sunny and cooler. Wind shift off Lake Michigan Friday further cooling lakeshore areas. Highs both days 54—but 40s along the lake Friday.SATURDAY: Partly sunny, milder—especially away from Lake...

Liberal candidate Janet Protasiewicz wins Wisconsin Supreme Court race

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:02 GMT

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz is projected to win the vacant seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, marking the first time in 15 years that the court will have a liberal majority, according to The Associated Press.Protasiewicz and her challenger, former state Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, were seeking to replace outgoing conservative Justice Patience Roggensack on the court. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has a 4-3 conservative majority, but with Roggensack’s retirement, the partisan lean of the court hung in the balance. The election will have clear consequences for a host of issues in the state, including a contested 1849 abortion ban that offers very limited exceptions, redistricting and even possible challenges to the 2024 election results.Though the judicial race is technically nonpartisan, Protasiewicz and Kelly were seen as the liberal and conservative contenders, respectively. The two made it into the Tuesday race after they became the tw...

When will the Chicago mayor race be called?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:02 GMT

CHICAGO -- Polls are closed in Chicago and now, ballots are being counted.But the question arises: Will the Chicago mayor's race be called Tuesday night? See the results for the Chicago mayoral race here The Associated Press called the election for Brandon Johnson just after 9:30 pm. Tuesday night.According to the Chicago Board of Elections, 530,382 total ballots have been cast as of 7 p.m. Tuesday. Chicago has 1,597,901 registered voters, but Tuesday's election saw only a 33% total citywide turnout.Mail-in ballots that were submitted on Election Day will not be counted until Wednesday. There's no way to know how many of those vote by mail ballots were returned Tuesday and not yet counted. As of Monday night, 91,000 people who had requested vote by mail ballots hadn't yet returned them; however many people requests ballots but don't actually vote.Final election results will not be officially certified until April 18, two weeks after election day. 2023 Chicago Runoff and Illinois...