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Chile arrests 55 people in a $275 million tax fraud case that officials call the country’s biggest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:47 GMT

SANTIAGO (AP) — Chile’s police on Friday arrested at least 55 people in a fiscal fraud case that could be one of the biggest in the country’s history, amounting to about $275 million and implicating small and mid-sized companies in different parts of the country.Marcelo Freyhoffer, a high officer at Chile’s tax agency, told journalists those arrested were associated with companies that did not render real services and committed fraud through false tax documents. Their goal was to pay less tax or obtain fraudulent tax returns, he said.Freyhoffer said the suspects will stand trial for tax crimes, criminal association, money laundering, customs fraud and making false declarations, and could be jailed for up to 15 years in what he called the country’s biggest fraud case ever. The investigation started in 2016 and touched companies operating in a wide range of areas, varying from construction to exporters of cell phones.Chile’s President Gabriel Boric said t...

Israeli strike on school kills Al Jazeera cameraman in southern Gaza, network says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:47 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — An Israeli strike killed a Palestinian cameraman for the TV network Al Jazeera and wounded its chief Gaza correspondent Friday as they reported at a school in the south of the besieged territory, the network said.Cameraman Samer Abu Daqqa and correspondent Wael Dahdouh had gone to the school in the southern city of Khan Younis after it was hit by a strike earlier in the day. While they were there, an Israeli drone hit the school with a second strike, the network said.Dahdouh was heavily wounded in his arm and shoulder, while Abu Daqqa fell bleeding to the ground. Speaking from a hospital bed, Dahdouh told Al Jazeera he was able to flee, bleeding, from the school and found several ambulance workers. He asked them to look for Abu Daqqa, but they said it was too risky and promised another ambulance would come for him, Dahdouh said.“He was screaming, he was calling for help,” said Dahdouh, his right arm heavily bandaged.Later that evening, Al Jazeera reported that an ambula...

Tweet from US government injects confusion into Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:47 GMT

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — U.S. diplomats on Friday injected confusion into next year’s presidential election in Venezuela by applauding the purported inclination of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and other government foes to appeal their bans on running for office.A tweet from the U.S. government’s unit that oversees Venezuelan affairs praised Machado’s “courage and willingness” to appeal the ban. But as she left the country’s highest court Friday evening, she told reporters she will not file an appeal because she has not been officially notified of the ban announced against her in June.“I am not going to resort to that procedure,” she said of the appeal process. She said she had established before the court a claim “that there is no disqualification” against her.With her campaign’s attorney by her side, Machado said that her legitimacy as a candidate comes from Venezuelan voters, not the government.Two of her campaign advisers and a spokeswoman as well as a spok...

Motorcycle group donate bikes for Worth Township kids ahead of holidays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:47 GMT

CHICAGO, Ill. -- The American Lawmen motorcycle group donated dozens of bikes to Worth Township to make sure children in need don’t miss out on Christmas. But that’s just the beginning as the bikes will be part of a much bigger toy giveaway in the coming days.To learn more, watch WGN's Angelica Sanchez's report in the video player above.

Offseason roadmap: The White Sox route back to the top of the AL Central

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:47 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox offseason has been anything but quiet — they've hired a new general manager, signed a pair of free agents and traded for a small trove of players from the Atlanta Braves, all before the conclusion of the winter meetings — but what does their path back to contention in the American League Central look like?Before we start diagraming the future, let's take a look back at where Chicago ranked in major hitting, pitching and fielding categories in 2023, and the moves the South Siders have already made this offseason.Record: 61-101 (4th in AL Central)HittingBatting Average: .238 (26th)Hits: 1308 (23rd)Doubles: 264 (19th)Home Runs: 171 (20th)Runs per game: 3.96 (29th)Walks: 377 (30th)Strikeouts: 1,424 (19th)PitchingERA: 4.87 (26th)Strikeouts: 1,470 (6th)Walks: 654 (29th)Strikeout-to-walk Ratio: 2.25 (27th)WHIP: 1.415 (24th)Hits/9: 8.62 (20th)Home Runs/9: 1.35 (26th)FieldingErrors per game: 0.59 (23rd)Double plays per game: 0.72 (27th)Offseason transactions t...

Friday Forecast: Cloudy, rain arriving late

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:47 GMT

CHICAGO — Increasing clouds Friday with temperatures in the lowers 50s. Winds: SSW 5-10. High: 52. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Cloudy conditions increase tonight and rain arrives late. Winds: SSE 5-10. Low: 38.Saturday Forecast: Cloudy, rain showers, SE 5-10 G15. High: 43.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Man in custody after chase ends in crash in Waukegan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:47 GMT

WAUKEGAN, Ill. — An 18-year-old, man is in custody on Friday after allegedly leading authorities on a chase that ended in a crash in Waukegan.Authorities say it all started at a home in the 1100 block of Bellows Way in Volo after a man reported to Lake County Deputies that he had his car stolen around 7 a.m. on Friday morning.According to deputies, surveillance video captured by the victim showed a white SUV pull up to his home before two men, who appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties, exited the vehicle and approached his Kia Stinger which was parked in the driveway. Violent crime spree ends in Bridgeport neighborhood, death of suspect Deputies say one of the men then allegedly got into the driver's seat of the KIA and drove off.Thanks to traffic cameras, sheriff’s telecommunicators located the stolen Kia driving in a caravan with two other stolen cars.The two other vehicles included a white Hyundai Tucson, which authorities say had been stolen in Lincolnshire and ...

Christmas Scrooge: Man steals nutcrackers from North Carolina home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:47 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITYS NEWS) — It happened in the blink of an eye. Someone wearing a sport coat with a shirt or towel over his head took off with two nutcrackers from a home in Charlotte, North Carolina. “At first I was assuming it was going to be teenagers or something being silly and pulling a prank,” said homeowner Cassie Albergotti.At the end of her doorbell video, you can see a man get in a car and drive away. Albergotti says this person knew exactly what they were doing.  ‘Who would do that?’ Cornelius wreath thief targets local business What they perhaps didn't know is how these Christmas decorations were sentimental to her family. “I don't know what drew them to take them,” she said. “They were a gift from my parents when we first bought our house. So personally, they were just kind of special to me.” The nutcrackers were the perfect touch to her Christmas décor. They were wooden, colorful and nearly 4 feet tall. Every year, "Grinches" steal wreat...

Austin real estate economist says market normalizing, but affordability still distant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As 2023 closes, the Austin Board of Realtors offered its thoughts on the next year in the city's housing market. ABoR Economist Clare Losey spoke with KXAN about her review of 2023 and predictions for 2024. Previous: What’s next for the Austin housing market heading to fall 2023 2023 in reviewThe last year in the Austin Metro was a continuation of local trends that began in 2020, Losey said — rapid growth and evolution, along with an "unsustainable" growth in home prices."Over the past year and a half or so now, as mortgage rates have inched higher, that initial wave of demand for homeownership during the COVID-19 pandemic has trickled off. We've seen that the housing market, especially here in Austin, has normalized to a certain extent and reached a more sustainable level of home sales activity as well as price growth," Losey said. Related: Home prices in Austin continue to cool but have a ways to go to reach pre-pandemic levels However, affordability is still a...

3 injured after 3-vehicle crash in southwest Austin, ATCEMS says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:50:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Three people were injured after a three-vehicle crash in southwest Austin on Friday, Austin-Travis County EMS said on social media.Shortly after 2 p.m., medics responded to 2900-3115 Bee Cave Road where two people were reported as pinned in their vehicle. However, medics said they were able to extricate both people.Three people were taken to St. David's South Austin Medical Center — two with critical, life-threatening injuries and one with minor injuries, medics said.Two other people were evaluated and refused EMS on the scene. No other information was available on Friday.