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Weekend Break: 37th annual Scottish festival & Highland Games

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:28 GMT

Join WGN's Weekend Morning News with Weekend Break at the 37th annual Scottish Festival & Highland Games.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Musical recording artist Shab on performing at Pride Fest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:28 GMT

Musical recording artist, Shab, joins WGN Weekend Morning News to share more about her performance at Pride Fest this evening as well as her experience with being a refugee from Iran.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

'Undetermined substance' killed California couple found dead in Mexico hotel room, prosecutors say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:28 GMT

(KTLA/NEXSTAR) – Two Americans vacationing in Mexico were found dead in their hotel room on Tuesday, and autopsies now suggest the cause of death to be "intoxication by an undetermined substance," according to prosecutors in Mexico's Baja California Sur.The findings align with earlier statements from local police. A friend of the couple also said she was told the couple had died of carbon monoxide poisoning, in an account she shared in an online fundraiser created earlier this week.The bodies of John Heathco, 41, and Abby Lutz, 28, were discovered inside a room at the upscale Hotel Rancho Pescadero in the village of El Pescadero around 9 p.m. Tuesday, the Baja California Sur Attorney General’s Office previously confirmed to ABC News.The couple had been dead for 10 or 11 hours before they were found, prosecutors said.El Pescadero is located on the Pacific coast of the Baja Peninsula, roughly one hour north of Cabo San Lucas. Amount of warming triggering carbon dioxide in air hits n...

How to manage a car payment you can’t afford to make

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:28 GMT

If you find yourself among the growing number of car owners unable to make a car payment on time, there are steps you can take to help get back on track and minimize any financial damage.Last year, after many pandemic-related aid programs ended, the number of consumers with late car payments began to steadily rise. According to credit reporting agency Experian, 1.89% of auto loans were 30 days delinquent in the first quarter of 2023. That’s compared with 1.56% during the same period in 2021. Auto loans with payments 60 days late — what most lenders consider severely delinquent — were at 0.76% in the first quarter of 2023 and surpassed pre-COVID levels late last year.Opinions of auto and finance industry experts are mixed. Some view the increase in late car payments as a return to normal after the percentage of delinquent auto loans dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also point out that the number of delinquent loans, as a percentage of all auto loans, is still relatively low...

Hyundai Ioniq 6 undercuts Tesla Model 3 with $5,000 price cut

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:28 GMT

(Green Car Reports) -- Thanks to increased rebates, the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 is now cheaper to buy than a Tesla Model 3.Hyundai recently increased rebates on the Ioniq 6 from $3,750 to a maximum $5,000 for the SE and SEL trim levels, CarsDirect found. The top Limited trim level gets a smaller $2,000 rebate, and unlike the rebate for lower trim levels, it’s in the form of a dealer cash incentive, which dealers can simply pocket as profit.2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6The $5,000 rebate effectively brings the base price of an Ioniq 6 down to $37,715. The Tesla Model 3 currently starts at $41,630. However, the base Model 3 is rated at 272 miles of range, compared to 240 miles for the base Ioniq 6 SE. The Ioniq 6 SE Long Range, with a larger battery pack, offers a 361-mile range that outdoes all current Model 3 variants.In a first drive, Green Car Reports found the Ioniq 6 manages to stand out not just from the Model 3 and Polestar 2, but from the whole EV crossover crowd....

Albany man arrested on gun charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:28 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An Albany man has been arrested for illegally possessing a loaded firearm, according to police. Nalone Latimer, 23, is facing multiple charges. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On June 16 at 10:30 a.m., police conducted a traffic stop in the area of Central Avenue and Colvin Avenue in Albany for a traffic violation. While interviewing the driver, who was identified as Latimer, deputies observed a loaded Taurus INTL 9mm handgun on the floor of the driver’s seat underneath Latimer's legs. Police say Latimer did not lawfully possess the firearm and was placed into custody. In addition to the traffic violation, he was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. State Trooper shot while conducting a traffic stop on I-88 Latimer will be arraigned in Albany City Court on June 17.

Blue whales are thriving in California waters - the story of their amazing comeback

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:28 GMT

Everyone loves a good comeback, and one of the most impressive stories in Southern California is still being written - the resurgence of Pacific blue whales. If you've recently taken a Southern California whale-watching tour, you may have been lucky enough to come across earth's largest animal. Pacific blue whales grow up to 110 feet long and can reach a weight of 200 tons. They spend their winters off the coast of Mexico, but migrate north for summer feeding, and Californians are seeing them with more regularity. Decades ago, blue whales were nearly hunted to extinction, and although still listed as protected under the Endangered Species Act, marine biologists and researchers are heralding a "conservation success story," unlike any other.A blue whale is shown, apparently entangled in some kind of fishing line, off the coast of Dana Point on June 27, 2016. (Credit: Capt. Dave's Dolphin & Whale Safari)According to a study published in 2014 by researchers at the University of Wash...

Foreign criminals a growing problem in Southern California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:28 GMT

Republican and Democratic congressional members are raising awareness of foreign criminals coming into Southern California to commit violent crimes.  Amid news that Chilean criminal gangs have been burglarizing homes in Orange County, officials are concerned about a particular visa program that allows Chilean nationals to come into the United States on 90-day visas without having to provide a criminal background check.  US warns of violent crime at popular tourist destination O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer says the program causes issues in court when someone is arrested and comes before a judge and they are unable to prove a criminal background, if any. If they are released on a lower bail or no bail at all, they usually don’t show up for future hearings. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held a roundtable discussion in O.C. with law enforcement and lawmakers on Friday to address the rising crime and discuss concerns and potential changes to the visa waiver program....

'An undetermined substance' killed Abby Lutz and John Heathco, Mexico prosecutors say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:28 GMT

Prosecutors in Mexico's Baja California Sur state said Thursday that autopsies on two Americans found dead in their luxury hotel room suggest they died of “intoxication by an undetermined substance.”Local police initially said gas inhalation was suspected as the cause of death.The state prosecutor's office said the bodies bore no signs of violence. The office did not say what further steps were being taken to determine the exact cause of death.Friends have identified the victims as Abby Lutz, 28, and John Heathco, 41, or Orange County. The nutritional supplements company LES Labs, based in Covina, California, lists Heathco as its founder. According to her Facebook profile, Lutz was originally from Utah and was working as a Nanny in Orange County.Abby Lutz and John Heathco were found dead at a resort in Baja California Sur. June 2023. (Facebook)“While on a beautiful trip in Mexico, Abby and her boyfriend thought they had food poisoning and went to the hospital to get treatment,”...

Two killed in Oakland shooting, stabbing early Saturday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:28 GMT

OAKLAND — A man was fatally shot and another man stabbed to death within 15 minutes early Saturday in different areas of the city, authorities said.The names of the victims have not yet been released.The shooting, which claimed the life of a 21-year-old man, happened about 3:04 a.m. Saturday in the 2100 block of 39th Avenue in East Oakland.Police responding to a gunshot detection system alert found the man, who lives in the area, unconscious and bleeding from at least one gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Police are trying to determine a motive for the shooting and whether the man was shot by someone who approached him on the street or fired from a vehicle. No arrests have been made.The stabbing was reported about 2:53 a.m. in the 100 block of 14th Street in downtown Oakland.A 27-year-old man was found stabbed on the north sidewalk, across the street from the main library. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:17 a.m., authorities said.P...