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Ticker: Warren Buffett tops 2023 charity donors; Turbine tested, but no power to grid, yet

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:49:44 GMT

Investment guru Warren Buffett topped The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of the biggest charitable donations in 2023, with his $541.5 million gift to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for his first wife, who died in 2004.The 2023 list of gifts from individuals or their foundations totaled more than $3.5 billion. Four universities received big gifts, along with four scientific research institutes and a health-care system. The other gifts went to a family foundation and a racial justice group. The list has 11 gifts because of ties. Eight of the donors are multibillionaires, and their combined net worth is $305.1 billion.Buffett’s gift is followed on the list by a donation from the mathematician and hedge-fund founder James Simons and his wife, Marilyn. The couple gave $500 million through their Simons Foundation to the State University of New York at Stony Brook.Turbine tested, but no power to grid, yetThe calendar flipped to 2024 on Monday, but Massachusetts...

A Hamas official killed in a Beirut strike had been on Israel’s hit list for years

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:49:44 GMT

By BASSEM MROUE (Associated Press)BEIRUT (AP) — Saleh Arouri, the deputy political head of Hamas and a founder of the group’s military wing, had been in Israel’s sights for years before he was killed in a drone strike in a southern suburb of Beirut on Tuesday.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had threatened to kill him even before Hamas carried out its deadly surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, sparking the ongoing brutal war in Gaza. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.Israel had accused Arouri, 57, of masterminding attacks against it in the West Bank, where he was the group’s top commander. In 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated Arouri as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist offering $5 million for information about him.Asked about assassination threats against him in an interview with Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen in August, Arouri said, “It is not strange for us for the commanders...

Michigan Republicans call for meeting to consider removing chairperson Karamo amid fundraising woes

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:49:44 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A group of Michigan Republicans plan to meet Saturday and discuss whether to remove Michigan GOP Chairperson Kristina Karamo following months of infighting among party members ahead of key Senate and presidential contests in the swing state.It’s unclear whether enough party members will attend for the gathering to be official, and Karamo has made clear that she won’t recognize the vote either way, but the call for the meeting signals a remarkable decline in support for the chairperson among her grassroots supporters. An election conspiracist who unsuccessfully ran for secretary of state in 2022, Karamo had been overwhelmingly elected in February to lead the state party through the next presidential election.A lack of fundraising and transparency during Karamo’s tenure has pushed many of her former supporters to seek to oust her. Karamo revealed during an Oct. 19 meeting that the party had nearly $500,000 in debt and opponents have argued that ...

Gun rights groups sue Colorado over the state’s ban on ‘ghost guns,’ which lack serial numbers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:49:44 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Gun rights groups have filed a federal lawsuit challenging Colorado’s ban on so-called ghost guns — firearms without serial numbers assembled at home or 3D printed that are difficult for law enforcement to trace and allow people to evade background checks.The litigation filed Monday is the latest of several Second Amendment lawsuits aimed at a slew of gun control regulations passed by Colorado’s majority Democratic legislature and signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis last year. The ban on ghost guns took effect Monday and follows a dramatic rise in their reported use in crimes, jumping by 1,000% between 2017 and 2021, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.The law bars anyone in Colorado except licensed firearm manufacturers from creating gun frames and receivers, which house internal components. It also prohibits the transport and possession of frames and receivers that don’t have serial numbers. The lawsuit filed by th...

Man shoots woman and police officers in Hawaii before being killed in New Year’s Day shootout

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:49:44 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — A man in Hawaii shot and wounded a woman, stole a car at gunpoint and was later killed in a shootout with police that left two officers wounded, authorities said.Police began searching for the man Monday, on New Year’s Day, after a woman said he shot her, Honolulu Police Chief Arthur “Joe” Logan said at a news conference. The man shot at officers at three different locations before officers shot him near the University of Hawaii’s main campus in Honolulu about 4 p.m., Logan said. The man was taken to a hospital, where he died, the police chief said. Two wounded officers underwent surgery Monday. Their conditions were not immediately known Tuesday. The officers “were shot while attempting to apprehend a dangerous attempted murder suspect,” Robert Cavaco, president of the Hawaii police union said in a statement Monday. “We are praying for the full and swift recovery of our injured brothers who risked their lives and sacrificed their safety today to protect the li...

Kennedy cousin whose murder conviction was overturned sues former cop, Connecticut town

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:49:44 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, whose murder conviction in the 1970s killing of a teenager in Connecticut was overturned, is suing the lead police investigator in the case and the town of Greenwich for alleged malicious prosecution, civil rights violations and other claimed wrongdoing.Skakel, 63, a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy’s widow, Ethel Kennedy, was found guilty in 2002 of the 1975 bludgeoning death of Martha Moxley, who lived across the street from the Skakel family in wealthy Greenwich and whose body was found in her family’s backyard. Both Skakel and Moxley were 15 at the time of her death.The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned Skakel’s conviction in 2018, after he had served more than 11 years in prison, saying his defense lawyer failed to present evidence of an alibi. A state prosecutor announced in 2020 that Skakel would not be put on trial again and the murder charge was dropped.The new lawsuit alleges the investigator, Frank Garr, was intent...

Suburbs put the brakes on migrant bus arrivals after crackdowns in Chicago and New York

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:49:44 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — In Edison, New Jersey, the mayor warned he would send people back to the border if they came to his city in buses. In Rockford, Illinois, authorities said 355 migrants who landed on a charter flight wouldn’t be staying. “NO MIGRANT BUSES THIS EXIT,” signs along Interstate 55 in Grundy County, Illinois, southwest of Chicago said ahead of Christmas weekend.Nervous officials in suburbs and outlying cities near Chicago and New York are giving migrants arriving from the southern border a cold shoulder amid attempts to circumvent restrictions on buses in those two cities, opening a new front in response to efforts led by Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to pay for migrants to leave his state. The suburban backlash comes amid what the acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection calls “unprecedented” arrivals, with illegal entries topping 10,000 several days last month. For months, big-city Democratic mayors including Eric Adams of New York and Bran...

'Luckily, they’re okay': 2 adults, toddler pulled to safety after crashing car into pond in Naperville

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:49:44 GMT

NAPERVILLE — A man, a woman and a 2-year-old girl are safe on Tuesday afternoon after they were pulled to safety by first responders after crashing their car into a pond in the west suburbs.Authorities say crews were called to the scene of the crash in the 3300 block of Cedar Glade Road in Naperville just before 1 p.m.Officers who were nearby when the call came in rushed to the scene and found the white SUV partially submerged in the retention pond near the 95th Street Library."From the radio call, we knew there was a baby in the water, but we didn’t know of any other occupants. Officers quickly responded in, got in the water, and found that there were two adults along with a two-year-old child in the car.” Commander Michaus Williams, from the Naperville Police Department, said. Honeymooning couple shares story of being in cab that crashed into tree near Millennium Park ice rink Three responding officers jumped into the water and were able to break the vehicle's windows to pull th...

Cubs announce new manager Craig Counsell's 2024 Major League coaching staff

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:49:44 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs 2024 coaching staff under new manager Craig Counsell is set, with a number of notable names making a return, as well as some significant fresh faces looking to help re-energize the club toward postseason contention next season.Returning Coaching Staff MembersOf the 14 listed members of Counsell's 2024 coaching staff, ten are returnees from the 2023 coaching staff and are holding the same positions with the Cubs.Tommy Hottovy (Pitching Coach), Dustin Kelly (Hitting Coach), Willie Harris (Third Base Coach), Mike Napoli (First Base Coach), Daniel Moskos (Assistant Pitching Coach), Juan Cabreja (Assistant Hitting Coach), Jim Adduci (Assistant Hitting Coach), Jonathan Mota (Major League Coach), Alex Smith (Major League Coach) and Garrett Lloyd (Bullpen Catcher) are all returning to the same positions they held last year. Art mystery solved: Owner of Wrigley Field painting meets artist behind it thanks to WGN PromotionJohn Mallee, a former Cubs hitting coach f...

'Bachelorette' Rachel Lindsay's husband, Bryan Abasolo, files for divorce after 4 years of marriage

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:49:44 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The bloom is off the final rose for “Bachelorette” star Rachel Lindsay and husband Bryan Abasolo, who found love on the reality dating show. Court records show that Abasolo filed to end their marriage Tuesday. He cited irreconcilable differences for the breakup and his filing in Los Angeles Superior Court says the pair separated on Dec. 31. “After more than 4 years of marriage, Rachel and I have made the difficult decision to part ways and start anew,” Abasolo said in a statement posted to his Instagram account. “Sometimes loving yourself and your partner means you must let go.” After competing on Season 21 of “The Bachelor,” Lindsay gained fame as the first Black lead on any iteration of “The Bachelor” franchise when she was picked as “The Bachelorette” in 2017. She chose Abasolo as her winning suitor and they married in August 2019. Lindsay, an attorney and author, recently left her correspondent position at entertainment news show “Extra.” Abasolo is a chiropra...