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Coal power, traffic, waste burning a toxic smog cocktail in Indonesia’s Jakarta

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:15 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Against the backdrop of smokestacks from a nearby coal power plant, the sky above Edy Suryana’s village stays grey for months at a time, while ashes and the stench of smoke hang in the air.Suryana has spent more than three decades living in the shadow of the power plant in northern Java, just 60 miles from Jakarta, Indonesia’s most populous city. She and other villagers have watched as their loved ones suffered from coughing fits, itchy skin and other health problems that many believe are partly because of the ever-present smog. Pollution is causing a rise in respiratory illnesses and deaths in northern Java, including Jakarta, experts say. Smog in the metropolis of 11.2 million people comes from a combination of the coal-fired plants, vehicle and motorcycle exhaust, trash burning and industries, and many in the city are demanding that the government take action. Emissions from coal-fired power plants contribute to greenhouse gases that rise into the atmosp...

Book on tribalism in the modern world wins Balsillie Prize for Public Policy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:15 GMT

TORONTO — Anthropologist David R. Samson has won the Balsillie Prize for Public Policy for his book about how tribalism can be harnessed for good and ill.The Writers’ Trust of Canada awarded the prize to “Our Tribal Future: How to Channel Our Foundational Human Instincts into a Force for Good.”The $60,000 award goes to a book of non-fiction that advances policy debates.Samson’s book posits that the desire to form “tribes” is behind some of the division in today’s society, but that it shouldn’t be eliminated outright and can instead by used to make things better.Jurors praised the book as essential reading with “deep and enduring implications.”The runners-up, which each receive $5,000, are “Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups: Canada’s Quest for Interprovincial Free Trade” by Ryan Manucha; “Power and Prediction: The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence” by Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Ga...

‘A unifier’: Fans and band pay tribute to Les Cowboys Fringants singer Karl Tremblay

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:15 GMT

MONTREAL — There was an outpouring of sadness, tears and love at Montreal’s Bell Centre on Tuesday as thousands of music fans joined the remaining members of beloved folk-rock band Les Cowboys Fringants in paying tribute to lead singer Karl Tremblay. Tremblay died earlier this month at age 47 after a long bout with prostate cancer, spurring a wave of grief and affection from across the province that led Premier François Legault to offer the singer a national funeral.Tuesday’s event featured music, as could be expected for a man whose voice was an ever-present mainstay of shows, festivals and radio airwaves for over 25 years. The crowd burst into a lengthy standing ovation when Tremblay’s bandmates Marie-Annick Lépine, Jérôme Dupras and Jean-François Pauzé took the stage, delivering speeches and eventually leading the crowd in a version of the band’s song “Sur mon épaule” (On my shoulder). It was a performance reminiscent of one the band’s la...

Suburban English teacher creates space for empathy and for students to be themselves

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:15 GMT

OAK LAWN, Ill. — WGN’s November Teacher of the Month is a high school English teacher in the southwest suburbs.Students say Mrs. Shatha Odeh is fun and relatable and she’s building genuine bonds in the classroom.At Oak Lawn Community High School, Mrs. Shatha Odeh has been teaching English for more than 20 years.One of her own teachers planted the seed.“Her name is Katy Cunningham. She’s at Reavis High School and she’s still there,” she said. “And I wanted to be just like her — touch students, connect with students, make them want to learn. And I thought it was such a beautiful art - the art of teaching.”Odeh says the art of teaching branches out well beyond the subject matter to delivery and relationship building. “As educators we have to find ways to keep their attention and keep them interested,” she said.It’s why she taps into TikTok, sharing unpublished videos with reviews and reminders for students. Nominated a teacher here! Senior Ava Johnson was in Odeh’s class, last s...

Former freshman All-American, 1st-team All-MAC wide receiver from South Suburbs hits the transfer portal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:15 GMT

DEKALB, Ill. — A wide receiver who played high school football in the southern suburbs and earned both freshman All-American and First Team All-Mid American Conference (MAC) honors, has hit the transfer portal, according to a post on X Tuesday.Trayvon Rudolph, who played football at Crete-Monee High School from 2016-19, announced his intent to enter the transfer portal after spending three seasons at Northern Illinois University.NIU wideout and return man and former @CreteMoneeFB standout Trayvon Rudolph entering the transfer portal. https://t.co/RCmqt2m3AF— Josh Frydman (@Josh_Frydman) November 28, 2023Rudolph was a freshman All-American in 2020 and a First Team All-MAC selection by Pro Football Focus in 2021, his best season with the Huskies, where he caught 49 passes for 877 receiving yards (17.9 yards-per-catch) and seven touchdowns. Rudolph also returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and scored a rushing touchdown in 2021.Originally a walk-on before earning a schola...

Fighting Illini's Jer'Zhan Newton cleans house at Big Ten Awards

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:15 GMT

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Jer'Zhan Newton, the University of Illinois' star defensive tackle, took home top honors in just about every category he qualified for during Big Ten awards season, the conference announced on Tuesday.Newton was voted the Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year by conference coaches and media. Newton is the fourth Illini in history to earn the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award, joining Dana Howard (1993, 1994), Darrick Brownlow (1990), and Moe Gardner (1990).Newton was also voted a First Team All-Big Ten selection by coaches and media.One of the most disruptive players in the nation, Newton led Power-5 defensive tackles in quarterback pressures for the second straight season in 2023, according to PFF. His 44 pressures this season leads all Big Ten defensive tackles by 15, and he also led Big Ten defensive tackles in sacks with 7.5, which ranked second overall in the conference. Over th...

Charges filed against man accused of shooting Bedford Park officer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:15 GMT

BEDFORD PARK, Ill. — Charges have been filed against a man accused of shooting a Bedford Park police officer after he and another man allegedly attempted to steal a car on Sunday.According to Bedford Park police, 24-year-old Raul Perez is facing one count of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer, one count of attempted aggravated vehicular hijacking, and an armed habitual criminal charge. FBI agents offer reward for information on man who attempted to rob banks in Chicago Police say the charges stem from an alleged shooting that took place after an altercation broke out between him and a Bedford Park police officer.According to police, officers responded to reports of a crash in the 6700 block of South Archer Road around 3:40 p.m. and found an unoccupied vehicle that was heavily damaged. Police then determined that the vehicle had been reported as stolen in a carjacking in Chicago.Police say after reviewing surveillance video, two men were seen fleeing the scene of the...

David Braun wins Big Ten COTY, 6 other Cats take home honors

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:15 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern University head football coach David Braun was voted Big Ten Coach of the Year by conference coaches and media Tuesday, and six other Northwestern football players took home all-conference honors.Braun earned the honor unanimously from coaches and media after leading the Wildcats to a 7-5 regular season record (5-4 in Big Ten) in his first season at the helm. His seven wins are the most by a Northwestern first-year head football coach since 1903, while his five conference wins are the most by any first-year Wildcat head coach, and represent the first time a Big Ten team has gone from one overall win to a winning record in conference since Iowa did so back in 1968.Northwestern's six-win improvement from 2022 to 2023 is the largest win improvement by any FBS team this season. Since 2000, the Wildcats are one of just five teams to win six or more games the year after finishing 1-11. Braun's seven wins are tied with Coastal Carolina's Tim Beck for the most ...

Are immigration issues making voters more conservative?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:15 GMT

(NewsNation) — The migrant crisis came into sharper relief on the national front over the past year after governors from border states began bussing hundreds of thousands of migrants to traditionally blue "sanctuary cities" like New York, Chicago, Denver and others, plunging them into crisis in turn. The result has been a shifting of political sentiment as local Democratic leaders spar with President Joe Biden over the handling of the border. In a statement that was surprising for a Democratic elected official, New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned back in September the migrant crisis would "destroy" his city. The city, at that point, had spent about $2 billion caring for the migrants and projected spending $12 billion by 2025 if there was no federal funding. The mayor even refused to meet with Biden amid repeated requests for federal aid and more recently announced widespread budget cuts as the city continues to grapple with an increasingly expensive migrant crisis. A similar situa...

Man arrested after attacking another man on wheelchair caused his death, APD says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A man was arrested after he was accused of attacking another man sitting in a wheelchair, which ultimately caused his death, according to the Austin Police Department.On Saturday, Nov. 18, the Austin Police Department responded to an "urgent check welfare call" in the 3500 block of Rogge Lane, according to an APD news release. The call to dispatch indicated a man was on the ground not breathing and CPR was in progress.Ronnie Green, 62 | Courtesy Austin Police DepartmentThat man was later identified as Baron Godwin, 68, according to police. Godwin was later pronounced dead at the scene. MAP: Where have Austin’s homicides occurred in 2023? Investigators arrived on the scene and believe "Godwin was on his wheelchair when he was attacked by Ronnie Green, which caused Godwin’s death," according to police. Green, 62, was arrested and charged with injury to the elderly, which is a third degree felony and was booked on a $50,000 bond.Anyone with any information should con...