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City Council overwhelmingly approves Mayor Brandon Johnson's budget

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:27 GMT

CHICAGO — Members of the City Council set aside their differences and approved Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first budget with overwhelming support.The spending plan passed with 41 yes votes and eight no votes. The tax levy passed 40-9. Decreasing number of migrants arriving in Chicago, but shelters still remain in question The more than $16.7 billion budget closes a $538 million deficit while holding the line on property taxes.To win over last-minute holdouts, the Johnson administration added sweeteners.Among them was a new office dedicated to helping people returning from jail or prison, funding for alderpeople to hire one new ward staffer and a recent agreement to boost pay and pension benefits to police officers.The budget also contains a modest $150 million to support migrants, funds to combat homelessness, money to open shuttered mental health clinics and support for a non-police response to mental health emergencies."This is an investment in our city," said Ald. Walter Burnett (2...

Bears say QB Justin Fields healthy enough to start against Lions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:27 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears will have Justin Fields back at quarterback Sunday against the Detroit Lions for a stretch of games that could be critical to his future with the team.Coach Matt Eberflus announced the move following four missed starts by Fields because of a right dislocated thumb.“Our plan is to start him on Sunday,” Eberflus said. “He continues to progress this week. Returning to practice today is going to be a big part of the evaluation.”A decision on Fields’ fifth-year contract option is due next spring and the Bears can use these seven weeks to help decide if they want to go forward with Fields or possibly use one of their two first-round draft picks on a quarterback. Opinion: The clock is ticking on the Tyson Bagent Express “I think seven weeks is enough time to show consistency and being the high performer that we expect him to be,” Eberflus said. “I know he’s had some good performances along this year. Certainly, the last few have been solid.“We e...

Scientists claim to identify 'switch' to kill cancer, possibly revolutionizing treatment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:27 GMT

DAVIS, Calif. (NewsNation) — Scientists at UC Davis in California say they have identified a “switch” that can activate the death of cancer cells — potentially paving the way for new cancer treatment.Researchers from the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center claim the discovery can allow doctors to eliminate cancer cells without harming healthy cells. The researchers published their findings in the Nature journal Cell Death & Differentiation. ‘I thought I was invincible’: NewsNation’s Tom Dempsey shares cancer fight "You get targeted, specific killing of those cells that are potentially going to do you harm. Then the healthy cells are left untouched. That is just ideal," Dr. Jill Waggoner, a family physician, said. The implications of these new findings could potentially revolutionize cancer treatment. However, it has not yet been tested on animals or humans. It has proven successful in labs thus far."This is a game changer," said Dr. Jogender Tushir-Singh, an associate profes...

Lake County cow sculpture's winning name revealed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:27 GMT

Wednesday was a beautiful day at the Lake County Farm Bureau and its newest and greatest attraction was naturally the center of attention.The 14-foot beauty of a bovine’s name was revealed.The bureau's executive director Greg Koeppen first announced the runner’s up.“In third place, it was Milkshake, and in second place it was Elsie,” he said.It was Koeppen who conceived of the idea of commissioning the public art in front of the bureau' headquarters in Grayslake after seeing a similar one in Wisconsin’s Door County some 20-years ago as a nod to German immigrants who brought the Holsteins over in the 1800s.Like many places there aren't nearly as many dairy farms in Lake County's these days.Koeppen and the bureau board agreed a cow sculpture  would be the perfect way to draw attention to the county’s history and teach kids about the cows and farmers of yesteryear.Several months later, the masterpiece of Americana was complete at 14 feet high and 23 feet long and weighs 1,000 poun...

US shoots down drone launched from Yemen near Navy ship

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:27 GMT

(The Hill) — The U.S. on Wednesday shot down a drone launched from Yemen as it was headed toward a Navy destroyer, according to the Pentagon.The USS Thomas Hudner, an Arleigh-Burke class destroyer, was transiting international waters around the Red Sea when the drone was spotted in the direction of the ship, the Defense Department said, and the naval crew shot it down.There were no casualties and no damage to the U.S. naval ship.The clash is the latest in the Middle East, where the U.S. has been fending off a series of attacks from Iranian-backed groups since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7.Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Tuesday the U.S. has been attacked 55 times in the Middle East since October, with 27 attacks in Iraq and 28 in Syria.U.S. positions have also clashed with the Iranian-backed Houthis at least three times in Yemen.Last month, American forces shot down missiles they believe were headed toward Israel, while earlier this month the Ho...

Record Russian budget will boost defense spending, shoring up Putin's support ahead of election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:27 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Russia's State Duma took a step forward Wednesday towards approving its biggest-ever federal budget which will increase spending by around 25% in 2024, with record amounts going on defense.Defense spending is expected to overtake social spending next year for the first time in modern Russian history, at a time when the Kremlin is keen to shore up support for President Vladimir Putin as Russia prepares for a presidential election in March.Record low unemployment, higher wages and targeted social spending should help the Kremlin ride out the domestic impact of pivoting the economy to a war footing, but could pose a problem in the long term, analysts say.The draft budget "is about getting the war sorted in Ukraine and about being ready for a military confrontation with the West in perpetuity,” said Richard Connolly, an expert on Russia's military and economy at the Royal United Services Institute in London.“This amounts to the wholesale remilitarization of Russian society...

6-year-old assaulted with bat in Georgetown assault dies, WCSO says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:27 GMT

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- A 6-year-old who was assaulted with a baseball bat by his neighbor in September died on Tuesday, the Williamson County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) confirmed in a news release Wednesday.Jeremy Diaz was recovering from the attack since it happened on Sept. 11. His family said he suffered multiple fractures to his skull from the attack. Fundraiser helps 6-year-old boy assaulted with baseball bat by neighbor Jeremy Diaz (Photo: Arturo Diaz)WCSO said the assault was a random act.The family’s neighbor, 39-year-old neighbor Daniel Logan, was arrested by WCSO after he was accused of breaking into their home and assaulting Jeremy with a baseball bat. Georgetown man arrested, accused of assaulting 2 people, including 6-year-old, with bat Logan was charged with two first-degree felonies, including injury to a child and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a family member, according to officials."Our hearts are heavy as we learn of the passing of Je...

Largest-ever Texas Lottery prize, worth more than $157 million, claimed by South Dakota lottery trust

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:27 GMT

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the ticket was claimed in Austin by a lottery trust based in South Dakota. AUSTIN (KXAN) — The largest-ever Texas Lottery prize has been paid out to a lucky person in South Dakota.The Mega Millions ticket, worth $360 million, was claimed at the Texas Lottery Commission headquarters in Austin by the Blue Yucca Trust of Rapid City, South Dakota. A lottery trust helps keep the winner of lottery prizes worth $1 million or more anonymous.The winner chose the cash value option, meaning they took home $157,367,045, before taxes. Almost 2,000 Texans have won more than $1 million in state lottery history The ticket had been purchased at a Stripes convenience store in San Angelo for the Oct. 6 drawing. The retailer also received a $1 million bonus for selling the jackpot-winning ticket.The winnings are the largest-ever Lottery prize in Texas, surpassing a $157 million prize claimed by an anonymous Leander resident in Octob...

Hope Breakfast Bar to open fifth location in Woodbury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:27 GMT

Hope Breakfast Bar is spreading like wildfire — but don’t call it a chain.Owners Brian and Sarah Ingram prefer it to be known as a “collection of restaurants,” the latest of which will open next year in Woodbury, across the street from Kowalski’s on Radio Drive.It will be Hope number five, for those who are counting. The original, opened in 2019, is in St. Paul. The two other full-service restaurants are in St. Louis Park and Eagan, and there’s a smaller, counter-service version in Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul.Sarah and Brian Ingram of Purpose Driven Restaurants. (Courtesy of Michael Boeckmann)“Every time we do a Hope, we try to make the design a little different,” Brian Ingram said. “My biggest fear is that anyone will look at this as a chain.”The restaurant’s tagline is “Believe in Breakfast” and the operation gives 3% of its profits to its nonprofit, Give Hope, which is focused on “helping neighbors in need.”This Hope will have a giant coffee bar and kitchen on ...

Ramsey County designates two St. Paul locations as winter warming spaces for the homeless

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:27 GMT

Ramsey County has designated two overnight winter warming spaces for the homeless, which will be supported by the county’s free shuttle van service. As of Wednesday, Catholic Charities’ St. Paul Opportunity Center at 422 Dorothy Day Place is the county’s official overnight location for single adults and couples.On Dec. 1, Central Baptist Church at 420 N. Roy St. will begin accepting families and young people ages 14 to 24 overnight.The warming space locations will remain open every night from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. through the end of March, with seating, blankets, light snacks and hot beverages such as hot cocoa and coffee. Warming essentials like hats and gloves also will be provided to those in need of cold weather supplies, according to a written announcement from Ramsey County.The county has extended its hours from last year, when warming spaces opened at 9:30 p.m. nightly and closed at 6:30 a.m.The warming spaces are opening two weeks earlier than last year and have...