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Illinois, Iowa politicians demand gun control after mass shooting at Texas elementary school

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Illinois, Iowa politicians demand gun control after mass shooting at Texas elementary school


Lawmakers in Iowa and Illinois are calling for speedy gun management measures and coverage modifications that might enable them to expedite reform after a gunman shot and killed 19 kids and two academics at Robb Elementary Faculty in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old shooter had simply bought two assault rifles on his birthday.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, referred to as for a suspension of the Senate’s filibuster rule to allow a majority of Senators to move gun security reforms that she mentioned might save lives and that almost all of People assist.

“What occurred in Texas (Tuesday) is each guardian’s nightmare,” Duckworth mentioned. “I’m heartbroken for these households and offended as hell at Republicans’ shameless inaction to avoid wasting the lives of harmless kids. We all know easy methods to cease these assaults from taking place as typically as they do. We all know there will likely be one other and one other and one other assault within the weeks and months forward if we do nothing. And we all know who’s stopping motion.

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Persons are additionally studying…

“The Senate ought to instantly — at a 50-vote threshold — vote on commonsense gun security reforms that the American individuals have demanded for too lengthy,” Duckworth mentioned. “For each sufferer of this tragedy and each tragedy earlier than it, sufficient should be sufficient.”

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U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, referred to as the capturing “heartbreaking and tragic” and demanded that lawmakers to enact gun reform.  

“My coronary heart is with the households and mates of those lives misplaced,” Durbin mentioned.

“I implore — beg — my Republican colleagues to affix Democrats in lastly making modifications to our gun legal guidelines to assist stop People from re-living this gun tragedy far too typically. We can not proceed to sit down on our palms and permit harmless lives to be misplaced. Congress should act.”

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a press release on Twitter.

“It’s heartwrenching and enraging to listen to the information of the elementary college students and their instructor gunned down in Texas,” Pritzker mentioned. “My prayers are with their households, and my resolve is with all People who’re working to finish mindless gun violence wherever it happens.”

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U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, additionally issued a press release on Twitter.

“I’m a mom who raised three boys — at present’s tragic information makes me sick to my abdomen,” Bustos mentioned. “My coronary heart breaks for the youngsters and households of Robb Elementary Faculty.

“These harmless lives have been taken too quickly. It’s time for Congress to take motion.”

Iowa lawmakers

On a name with reporters, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, referred to as for increasing the Secret Service Nationwide Menace Evaluation Heart to focus extra on faculty violence prevention. The middle does analysis on greatest practices for violence prevention and coaching on figuring out and stopping threats. The invoice would increase its concentrate on faculty violence prevention. 

Democrats hoping to unseat Grassley — Abby Finkenauer, Mike Franken, and Glenn Hurst — pointed to Grassley’s lack of assist for restrictions on gun entry and contend he has did not act to forestall mass shootings. 

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa tweeted: “A mindless, horrendous act of evil. My coronary heart is with all these in Texas proper now.”

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks tweeted: “Please pray for the security of everybody in Uvalde.”

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Iowa Democratic Celebration Chairman Ross Wilburn on Wednesday referred to as out Grassley for blocking laws final 12 months within the wake of a Michigan faculty capturing that might increase background checks for firearms purchases.

Grassley acknowledged the Michigan faculty capturing was a “stunning act of violence,” however mentioned the invoice was “hostile towards lawful gun house owners and lawful firearms transactions.”

He additionally mentioned “so-called ‘common’ background checks won’t stop crime, however will flip in any other case law-abiding residents into criminals.”

As an alternative, Grassley urged senators to undertake his proposal to enhance the Nationwide Immediate Prison Background Verify System.

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“The vast majority of People – together with gun house owners – agree that common background checks are key to ending gun violence in our nation,” Wilburn mentioned in a press release. “We should move commonsense gun reform now. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have a option to make, do they stand with the gun foyer, or with our nation’s kids?”





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Illinois

Western Michigan wins 72-70 against Northern Illinois

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Western Michigan wins 72-70 against Northern Illinois


Associated Press

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Chansey Willis Jr. had 18 points in Western Michigan’s 72-70 win over Northern Illinois on Tuesday night.

Western Michigan took the lead for good with 2:28 remaining on a layup from Max Burton to make it a 67-66 game. James Dent Jr. missed a 3-pointer for Northern Illinois to end it.

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Willis had seven assists for the Broncos (5-13, 2-4 Mid-American Conference). Javaughn Hannah added 17 points while shooting 6 for 12, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc while they also had six rebounds and five assists. Donovan Williams shot 4 of 8 from the field, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 5 for 7 from the line to finish with 15 points.

Dent Jr. led the Huskies (4-14, 0-6) in scoring, finishing with 18 points, two steals and two blocks. Quentin Jones added 17 points, seven assists, two steals and two blocks for Northern Illinois. Ethan Butler also had 13 points and three blocks. The loss is the sixth in a row for the Huskies.

Williams put up 13 points in the first half for Western Michigan, who led 39-27 at halftime.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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Illinois joins several states filing suit over Trump order ending birthright citizenship

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Illinois joins several states filing suit over Trump order ending birthright citizenship


Illinois joined a list of states filing a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s new executive order aiming to end birthright citizenship.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced the lawsuit Tuesday, arguing Trump’s order violates the constitutional rights to which all children born in the U.S. are entitled.

“That one of Donald Trump’s first day[s] in office as president should be so diametrically opposed to our values as Americans is incredibly disappointing, though not surprising. The children born in the U.S. to immigrants are entitled to the rights and privileges that go along with U.S. citizenship,” Raoul said in a statement. “We need to discuss bipartisan commonsense immigration reforms, but denying birthright citizenship, which dates back centuries and has been upheld twice by the U.S. Supreme Court, is not the solution. As Attorney General, and as the proud son of Haitian immigrants, I will continue to stand with my fellow attorneys general to defend the constitutional rights of all children born in this country.”

Attorneys general from more than a dozen other states also sued to block Trump’s move.

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The order would end a decades-old immigration policy known as birthright citizenship guaranteeing that U.S.-born children are citizens regardless of their parents’ status.

Trump’s roughly 700-word executive order, issued late Monday, amounts to a fulfillment of something he’s talked about during the presidential campaign. But whether it succeeds is far from certain amid what is likely to be a lengthy legal battle over the president’s immigration policies.

Here’s a closer look at birthright citizenship, Trump’s executive order and reaction to it:

What is birthright citizenship?

Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. People, for instance, in the United States on a tourist or other visa or in the country illegally can become the parents of a citizen if their child is born here.

It’s been in place for decades and enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, supporters say. But Trump and allies dispute the reading of the amendment and say there need to be tougher standards on becoming a citizen.

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What does Trump’s order say?

The order questions that the 14th Amendment extends citizenship automatically to anyone born in the United States.

The 14th Amendment was born in the aftermath of the Civil War and ratified in 1868. It says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Trump’s order excludes the following people from automatic citizenship: those whose mothers were not legally in the United States and whose fathers were not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents; people whose mothers were in the country legally but on a temporary basis and whose fathers were not citizens or legal permanent residents.

It goes on to bar federal agencies from recognizing the citizenship of people in those categories. It takes effect 30 days from Tuesday, on Feb. 19.

What is the history of the issue?

The 14th Amendment did not always guarantee birthright citizenship to all U.S.-born people. Congress did not authorize citizenship for all Native Americans born in the United States, for instance, until 1924.

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In 1898 an important birthright citizenship case unfolded in the U.S. Supreme Court. The court held that Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the country. After a trip abroad, he had faced denied reentry by the federal government on the grounds that he wasn’t a citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act.

But some advocates of immigration restrictions have argued that while the case clearly applied to children born to parents who are both legal immigrants, it’s less clear whether it applies to children born to parents without legal status.

What has the reaction to Trump’s order been?

More than a dozen states, plus the District of Columbia and San Francisco, sued in federal court to block Trump’s order.

Raoul and multiple other states said the executive order means, for the first time since the 14th Amendment was adopted in 1868, that babies born each month who would have been citizens will no longer enjoy the privileges and benefits of citizenship.

“If allowed to stand, the infants stripped of their United States citizenship under the executive order will lose their most basic rights and will be forced to live under the threat of deportation. They will lose eligibility for a wide range of federal benefits programs, including their ability to obtain a Social Security number and, as they age, to work lawfully. They will also lose their rights to vote, serve on juries, and to secure passports. Despite the Constitution’s guarantee of citizenship, thousands of children will – for the first time – lose their ability to fully and fairly participate in American society as a citizen,” Raoul said in a statement.

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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state plans to “fight back.”

“Here in Illinois we are going to stand up, we are going to fight back. We are going to follow the law and we are going to make sure they are following the law,” he said.

New Jersey Democratic Attorney General Matt Platkin said Tuesday that presidents might have broad authority but they are not kings.

“The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence, period,” he said.

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a U.S. citizen by birthright and the nation’s first Chinese American elected attorney general, said the lawsuit was personal for him.

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“The 14th Amendment says what it means, and it means what it says —- if you are born on American soil, you are an American. Period. Full stop,” he said. “There is no legitimate legal debate on this question. But the fact that Trump is dead wrong will not prevent him from inflicting serious harm right now on American families like my own.”

Not long after Trump signed the order, immigrant rights groups filed suit to stop it.

Chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts along with other immigrant rights advocates filed a suit in New Hampshire federal court.

The suit asks the court to find the order to be unconstitutional. It highlights the case of a woman identified as “Carmen,” who is pregnant but is not a citizen. The lawsuit says she has lived in the United States for more than 15 years and has a pending visa application that could lead to permanent status. She has no other immigration status, and the father of her expected child has no immigration status either, the suit says.

“Stripping children of the ‘priceless treasure’ of citizenship is a grave injury,” the suit said. “It denies them the full membership in U.S. society to which they are entitled.”

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Other states that have filed suit include California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.



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List of school closings: More than 100 Chicago-area schools closed due to dangerous cold

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List of school closings: More than 100 Chicago-area schools closed due to dangerous cold


More than 100 schools, colleges and daycares across Northeastern Illinois have announced closures or shifts to e-learning Tuesday as dangerously cold wind chills as low as -30 sweep across the Chicago area.

The closures range from the city to the suburbs, including elementary, middle and high schools in Palos Hills, Oak Lawn, Lyons, Calumet City, Crystal Lake, Elgin, Carpentersville, Antioch and Grayslake.

According to Chicago Public Schools 2024-25 calendar, CPS students had an already scheduled day off Tuesday for “Teacher Institute Day.”

Multiple private schools and daycares were also closed, the Emergency Closing Center reported. The latest list of closures can be found here (NOTE: If you are accessing this link from our app, please go to your mobile browser).

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The cold also forced Amtrak to cancel some trains lines in and out of Chicago, including The Wolverine, The Borealis and the Hiawatha, and led to more than 40 cancellations at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

NBC 5 reporter Lisa Chavarria early Tuesday said inside the airport, it didn’t feel much warmer.

“Employees even have their coats, hats and gloves on,” Chavarria said. “With it being -7 here, it’s frigid inside.”

As of 5:20 a.m., temperatures across Northeastern Illinois were below zero, the NBC 5 Storm Team said, with readings ranging from -5 to -10 degrees. Wind chills were even colder, NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman said, with “feels-like” temperatures of -29 in DeKalb, -27 in DuPage and Morris, -24 in Waukegan and -20 in Kankakee.

“Bundle up from head to toe” NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman said early Tuesday morning. “The Arctic cold will peak this morning….We are in the heart of the brutal cold right now.”

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According to the National Weather Service, an extreme cold warning was in effect until 12 p.m. for Lake, McHenry, DeKalb, Kane and LaSalle Counties in Illinois, and Kenosha County in Wisconsin. In those parts, dangerously cold wind chills around 30 degrees below zero “could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.”

In DuPage, Cook, Kendall, Grundy, Will and Kankakee Counties in Illinois and across parts of Northwest Indiana, a cold weather advisory was in effect until 2 p.m., the NWS said.

“The coldest wind chills are expected through this morning,” the NWS said. “Winds chills down between -20°F to -35°F can be expected area wide under this arctic air mass. If you must go out: cover all exposed skin as frostbite can occur in under 20-30 minutes.”

Tuesday’s high temperature in the afternoon will be in the single digits for most areas, Roman said, with wind chills easing up slightly, between -10 and -20. Some relief was on the way Wednesday, with highs in the 20s, Roman said.

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“A high of 25 will feel a lot warmer than the -25 we are feeling right now,” Roman said, of Wednesday’s conditions.

Wednesday could also see chances for scattered snow showers “at any point of the day,” Roman said, though totals aren’t expected to be more than an inch

By the weekend, temperatures will be above-average, Roman said, climbing into the 30s.





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