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THU, 2/21/2019

Thursday, February 21, 2019

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Police say “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett has turned himself in to face a charge of making a false police report when he said he was attacked in downtown Chicago by two men who hurled racist and anti-gay slurs and looped a rope around his neck.

Police: 'Empire' actor staged attack to 'promote his career'

"Empire" actor Jussie Smollett staged a racist and homophobic attack because he was unhappy about his salary and wanted to promote his career, Chicago's police superintendent said Thursday.
The long-awaited conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation appears nigh, as The Washington Post’s Devlin Barrett, Josh Dawsey and Matt Zapotosky reported.

Four big questions as the Mueller report looms

The probe will likely wrap up soon. Here's what to watch for.
FILE - In this June 21, 2017, file photo, special counsel Robert Mueller departs after a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Robert Mueller's Russia probe has to end with a report. But anyone looking for a grand narrative on President Donald Trump, Russian election interference and all the juicy details uncovered over the last 20 months could end up disappointed. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Waiting for final Mueller report? It may be short on detail

Robert Mueller's Russia investigation has to end with a report, but anyone looking for a grand narrative on President Donald Trump, Russian election interference and all the juicy details uncovered over the past 20 months could end up disappointed.
Peter Tork, a blues and folk musician who became a teeny-bopper sensation as a member of the Monkees, the wisecracking, made-for-TV pop group that imitated and briefly outsold the Beatles, died Feb. 21. He was 77.

Peter Tork, endearingly offbeat bassist and singer in the Monkees, dies at 77

Peter Tork, a blues and folk musician who became a teeny-bopper sensation as a member of the Monkees, the wisecracking, made-for-TV pop group that imitated and briefly outsold the Beatles, died Feb. 21. He was 77.
FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2018 file photo, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former lawyer, leaves federal court after his sentencing in New York. A judge has agreed to postpone the start of Cohen’s prison sentence by two months to May 6. New York Judge William Pauley signed off on the delay Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, after Cohen’s lawyer said he needed more time to recover from shoulder surgery. They noted prosecutors did not object to the one-time extension. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
Cohen talking to Senate panel Tuesday, kicking off busy week
President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, will testify behind closed doors to the Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter
Kentucky’s public employee pension system, $39 billion in the red, is among the worst-funded retirement plans in the country and has vexed lawmakers for years as they sought a solution. Now some lawmakers think they’ve found at least a partial fix: sports gambling.
How state lawmakers are placing their bets on sports gambling to fix pension systems
Several bills introduced this year would legalize it in the state, a step made possible by a U.S. Supreme Court decision last May that ended Nevada's monopoly. A portion of the money the state would take in would go toward plugging the gap in the underfunded pension system.
FILE - This Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015 file photo, shows the reconstructed wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, put on display during a press conference in Gilze-Rijen, central Netherlands. Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 broke up high over Eastern Ukraine killing all 298 people on board. A Dutch safety watchdog says airlines around the world need more and better information to make risk assessments about flying over conflict zones. The Dutch Safety Board issued a report Thursday Feb. 21, 2019, following up on its publication in 2015 of a probe into the cause of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over war-ravaged eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
Airlines need better info before flying over conflict zones
A Dutch safety watchdog says that airlines around the world need more and better information to make risk assessments about flying over conflict zones
A U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Humvee stands by as a truck that is part of a convoy evacuating hundreds out of the last territory held by Islamic State militants, passes in Baghouz, eastern Syria, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. The evacuation signals the end of a week long standoff and opens the way to U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) recapture the territory. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
More than 150 IS militants handed over to Iraq from Syria
Iraqi security official: US-backed Syrian militia fighting IS in Syria hands over more than 150 Iraqi militants to Iraq
British Prime Minister Theresa May, left, is greeted by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker prior to a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and British Prime Minister Theresa May meet Wednesday for their latest negotiating session to seek an elusive breakthrough in Brexit negotiations. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
EU's Juncker: Not optimistic no-deal Brexit can be avoided
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says despite constructive talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May he remains downbeat on the prospect of Britain avoiding a chaotic exit from the bloc next month
Man arrested after police tweet re-creation of girl's 1973 killing
Police say a DNA match, not the live tweets, brought them to a suspect in 11-year-old Linda O'Keefe's killing.
FILE - In this Jan. 29, 2019, file photo, former Israeli Chief of Staff Benny Gantz speaks at the official launch of his election campaign in Tel Aviv, Israel. Gantz and Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, said early on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019 they'll present a joint list for the upcoming Israeli elections that "will constitute the new Israeli ruling party." In a joint statement, the two said they were "motivated by national responsibility." (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)
Top centrist Netanyahu rivals unite for Israeli election run
Israel's primary centrist challengers to Prime Minister Netanyahu announce they are joining forces ahead of April vote
Ford begins probe into whether gas mileage was overstated
Ford Motor Co. says it has launched an investigation into whether a flawed mathematical model caused it to overstate gas mileage and understate pollution from a wide range of vehicles
                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
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Jeff Knox/jknox@dailyherald.comMourners place a flower at the crosses outside of the Henry Pratt company in Aurora on Sunday, Feb. 17 in memory of the 5 employees killed on Friday.
Aurora prays for victims of Friday's mass shooting
Shards of broken ice pile up against the breakwater and the ice on the surface of the lake has many textures as it begins to thaw after the deep freeze on February 2, 2019, at North Avenue Beach, in Chicago.
The beauty of winter
The Daily Herald Archive, Assignment # 8,883, Larry Cameron photo: An Air National Guardsmen in his plane in December of 1967.
Through the Film Magnifier: Mike Royko, Ronald Reagan, Poplar Creek, Air National Guard and more.
The Pulte and White families of Libertyville take advantage of an ice-skating rink they both built in the White’s backyard as temperatures returned to normal in Libertyville.
Hover over The Week in Pictures for a while
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