Ukraine

Mark Rein will lead a group of 15 volunteers from the Peoria area and elsewhere departing Friday on a second humanitarian mission to the west-central city of Ternopil in war-stricken Ukraine.

The Peoria City Council approved donating a 20-year-old Peoria Fire Department engine, set to be rotated out of service this spring, to the not-for-profit U.S. Ambulances for Ukraine.

Amid recent calls to host a town hall meeting with constituents, U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood says he frequently makes himself available to the public.

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood says more support from European allies is needed to help Ukraine defend against the Russian invasion, and that America needs to guard itself from threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party.

Russian president Vladimir Putin is sending 300 thousand additional troops to Ukraine to beef up the nation's flagging invasion effort.

Recent mass shootings across the nation are prompting discussions about what Congress should do to limit gun violence. The war in Ukraine also remains a hot subject in the headlines. Republican Rep. Darin LaHood, who represents parts of Greater Peoria, shares his insight on these current events.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says he believes Russia's actions in the country's ongoing invasion of neighboring Ukraine constitute a genocide.

Andrew Larson is the director of market development for the Illinois Soybean Association.