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Lori Lightfoot bids farewell as Chicago Mayoral tenure comes to a close

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:13:48 GMT

CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot is expected to give a farewell speech to the city Monday as Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson prepares to officially take office on May 15.Lightfoot is set to deliver her remarks at 3 p.m. from the Broader Urban Involvement & Leadership Development, or BUILD, headquarters in Chicago's Austin neighborhood. The organization is a "nationally respected gang intervention, violence prevention, and youth development organization," according to their website.This will be one of the final public events of her time as mayor, which began in 2019 when she became the first openly gay, Black female mayor of the City of Chicago. Though Lightfoot ran for reelection, she lost her bid for a second term when she failed to get enough votes to make it into the city's April 2023 run-off election. Denied reelection, what’s ousted Lightfoot’s legacy? Johnson's inauguration will take place next Monday at Credit Union 1 Arena, making him Chicago's 57th mayor.WGN plans to livest...

Christopher Morel is back with the Cubs

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:13:48 GMT

CHICAGO — After a rookie season in which he showed promise, one of the best young players on the Cubs will get to start his second campaign with the team on Monday.Welcome Back!.The Cubs have called up Christopher Morel from Triple-A Iowa as he joins the major league club for the first time in 2023..Nelson Velazquez was sent to Triple-A Iowa as part of the roster move..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/adZSxX3QNc— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) May 8, 2023Christopher Morel, who has gotten off to a strong start to 2023 in the minors, is being called up by the major league team ahead of the start of a three-game series against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field.This will be the outfielder's first time with the team this season as he joined Triple-A Iowa after the conclusion of spring training. Morel's call-up is the second major promotion for the team in less than a week after calling up first baseman Matt Mervis last Friday. Outfieder Nelson Velazquez was sent down as part of the move.In 29 g...

Family loses toy elephant with son's ashes during Disney World vacation

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:13:48 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A family says they are in desperate need of help after losing their precious toy elephant while visiting Disney World last week.On Saturday, Iowa resident Liz Atkinson made a post on Facebook asking for help after losing a stuffed elephant that once belonged to her late son Gabryel.Pictured here: Sebastyan Atkinson carries the stuffed elephant that once belonged to his late brother Gabryel. His mother, Liz Atkinson, says they lost the toy while on a trip to Disney World. (Credit: Liz Atkinson)Atkinson said the elephant, named Bruce, was given to her son when he was in the NICU and was with him for over 50 surgical procedures that were done to save his life. Unfortunately, Gabryel did not survive."He slept with it every night and since his passing my husband and I have had it in our bed with us," Atkinson said.To honor their son's memory, the Atkinson family took their surviving son, Sebastyan, to Disney World on Gabryel's birthday. Active field search ends for...

Man who disappeared in California after texting 911 is found dead

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:13:48 GMT

(NewsNation) — A man who has been missing since 2021 after an Uber dropped him off has been found dead in Santa Monica, California.Beau Mann was last seen at a 7-11 in Los Angeles. An Uber picked him up from the store and then dropped him off in Santa Monica on Nov. 30, 2021. A text to 911 was the last anyone heard from Mann. A Facebook page set up to help search for the missing 39-year-old announced his remains were found "in a grassy area" about a mile from where he was dropped off.There were no details on the circumstances that led up to Mann's death. Mann's remains were found in the courtyard of an abandoned property on Santa Monica Boulevard, according to a police statement. The remains were identified using dental records and have been turned over to the Los Angeles County coroner to determine the cause of death. Texas mall shooting: Suspect identified as 33-year-old man His family believes foul play was involved in his disappearance, pointing to the fact that he bought a ba...

LIVE: Latest TxTag contractor penalized millions, but driver complaints persist

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:13:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Auto-payment issues, double billing, incorrect statements and customer service runaround — those are just some of the complaints KXAN has received, by the hundreds, from Texas Department of Transportation toll road and TxTag users.KXAN has uncovered TxDOT toll system problems for nearly a decade. During that time, the state agency has repeatedly vowed improvement.In this latest investigative effort, KXAN dedicated more than two dozen journalists to hold TxDOT officials accountable, fight for public records, catalog hundreds of tips and complaints, and sift through thousands of pages of vendor contracts. When TxDOT wouldn’t schedule an interview, we attended public meetings to question the agency’s top brass. One regional toll authority finds success in focusing on its customers. Explore» -->Despite years dealing with vendor hiccups and software glitches, TxDOT officials now say they’re seeing big improvements to TxTag and their toll road system — a system that imp...

Metro Transit breaks ground on the B Line from downtown St. Paul to Uptown Minneapolis

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:13:48 GMT

Metro Transit held a ceremonial groundbreaking on Monday for the B Line, a bus rapid transit route that will soon link Uptown in Minneapolis to the Union Depot transit hub in downtown St. Paul.Construction on stations and improvements east of Hiawatha Avenue are expected to get underway this spring, followed by stations west of Hiawatha Avenue a year from now. Service, which will largely replace the Route 21 corridor, the state’s busiest local bus route, is scheduled to roll out in late 2024.The goal is to improve travel times on the 11-mile corridor by up to 20% through bus-only lanes, transit signal priority, all-door boarding and advance or off-board fare payments.The groundbreaking, attended by U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and the St. Paul and Minneapolis mayors, among other dignitaries, was held at 2701 27th Ave. South in Minneapolis, a Lake Street stop served by the Route 21 and multiple bus routes located within walking distance of the Blue Line.

St. Paul files appeal in public records fight over Summit Avenue bike trail

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:13:48 GMT

On Thursday, a Ramsey County District Court judge appointed a compliance facilitator and gave the city of St. Paul two weeks to produce internal emails, text messages and documents related to the proposed Summit Avenue bike trail, as requested by bike trail opponent Robert Cattanach.On Friday, the city fired back with a legal appeal that says, in a word, no.The city’s seven-page filing with the Minnesota Court of Appeals seeks to overturn Ramsey County District Court Judge Patrick Diamond’s May 4 order on the basis that, since last July, multiple city departments have already produced nearly 2,500 pages of documents in response to Cattanach’s 18 records requests.Calling their records searches to date exhaustive, officials with the mayor’s office indicated in an email last week they would comply with any decision of the court pending the outcome of their legal appeal, but “duplicating work already conducted by city staff at taxpayers’ expense does ...

Capital Pride Parade and Festival 2023 announced

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:13:48 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Pride Center of the Capital Region has announced the 2023 Capital PRIDE Parade and Festival. The annual event, which is the largest pride celebration in the northeast outside of New York City and Boston, is scheduled for June 11. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The festival will be held at Washington Park in Albany. The parade will kick off at 11:45 a.m., starting down State Street, onto Lark Street, and then Madison Avenue. Hosted by Fly 92.3's Shawn Gillie, this year will feature performances from Martha Wash, Nina Sky, and Erin Harkes' band Hark (formerly the Erin Harkes Band). Additionally there will be appearances from the Gay Men's Chorus, Carmie Hope & Frieda Munchon, and the Capital Pride Drag Revue. New York State invests $5M into local arts centers Capital PRIDE and the Capital Pride Parade and Festival benefit the critical programs and services of the Pride Center of the Capit...

Common Roots buys CH Evans Albany brewery

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:13:48 GMT

SOUTH GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Common Roots Brewing Company has come a long way since the fire. After losing its original space in a spring 2019 blaze, the South Glens Falls brewery has rebuilt, with a second building now on the rise across the street. Next, the company is looking to plant new roots further south. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Common Roots is set to purchase CH Evans Brewery at the Albany Pump Station. In a joint announcement on Thursday, the company announced that it would purchase the pump station building and take over operations starting in November.“We are both excited and humbled to be continuing the CH Evans legacy while bringing this historic building into the Common Roots family,” said owners Christian and Bert Weber in a release. “We are thrilled to be able to continue the historic operations at the Albany Pump Station while expanding the Common Roots brand there.” Queensbury restaurant ra...

Teen dead after being trapped under sand at North Carolina beach

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 12:13:48 GMT

FRISCO, N.C. (WNCT) — A 17-year-old boy died Saturday after being trapped under several feet of sand at a beach in Frisco, North Carolina, according to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Family and friends were looking for the teen, who was only identified as being from Chesapeake, Virginia, and found him buried under several feet of sand. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Officials said law enforcement rangers responded at around 2 p.m. to a 911 call of a male teen trapped in a hole. The hole was dug in a back-dune area behind the primary dune and could not be seen from the beachfront, a press release from the park explained. Officials said the teen became buried after part of the adjacent dune collapsed into the hole.Rangers worked with family members to get the teen out while also performing CPR. Dare County Emergency Medical Services personnel and Hatteras Island Ocean Rescue staff assisted but the teen died at the scen...