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Federal Reserve announces interest rate hike as default looms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:03 GMT

WASHINTON (Nexstar) -- The federal reserve announced another interest rate hike as part of ongoing efforts to lower inflation.The move comes as the government is quickly approaching a point in which it could default on its debts and obligations, which the Federal Reserve chairman warns would be unprecedented.“We have raised interest rates by five percentage points in a little less than a year,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said. Powell announced another quarter point interest rate hike on Wednesday and says they have worked to cool down the housing and investment markets, which is helping to lower inflation."We are seeing other effects of our policies tightening on demand," Powell said.Inflation still hasn't decreased to the target two percent mark, but the bigger economic concern is quickly becoming whether the United States government could default on its loans and obligations.“We understand there is more work to do,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.In C...

Chicago police searching for 13-year-old girl missing from Little Village

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:03 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are asking for help finding a missing 13-year-old girl last seen Wednesday.Alexandra Juarez is described as being about 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair. IDOT announces new construction project on Kennedy Expressway According to the Chicago Police Department, Juarez was last seen in the 2800 block of West 23rd Place, which is in Little Village.She was last seen wearing a red hoodie with beige cargo pants.Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 911 or SVU detectives at 312-746-8251.

RECALL: Advil sold at Family Dollar may have been improperly stored

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:03 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Family Dollar is recalling several over-the-counter Advil products sold in its stores between the dates of June 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, over concerns they may have been stored outside of required temperatures.Family Dollar says stores have been notified and are expected to quarantine and discontinue affected products immediately. Customers should stop using the items and can return products to the Family Dollar store of purchase, with or without a receipt. Tricked by TurboTax? How much your check could be The retailer says the recall affects the following products:UPC no.Product0901458Advil 200 mg tablets 100-count0901839Advil 200 mg caplets 24-count0902867Advil Dual Action caplets 36-count0913023Advil tablets 50-count0916071Advil Liqui-Gels 40-count0999259Advil tablets 6-count0999841Advil Liqui-Gels Minis 20-countOf the recalled products, the following batch numbers are affected for each product.UPC no./ProductBatch no.0901458/Advil 200 mg tablets 100-count3P8G, ...

Is it legal to garden in the nude in Illinois?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:03 GMT

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) -- If you're taking part in World Naked Gardening Day, you might want to consider whether it is legal to do so in order to avoid a potential indecent exposure charge. World Naked Gardening Day is a day where gardeners tend to their plants and flowers while wearing no clothes or shoes. The goal is to connect to the origins of gardening and our natural relationship with Mother Nature.In 2023, the festivities will kick off on Saturday, May 6. Can I be arrested for not showing up for jury duty in Illinois? The event is described as, "an annual tradition that celebrates weeding, planting flowers and trimming hedges in the buff."A question some may ask is, can you be arrested for public indecency if you’re naked gardening on your own property? Or, if you’re naked gardening in your own house with the window open and a neighbor sees you?According to Illinois law, public indecency is always considered a sex crime, and there are two forms of public indecency that ...

See how many music festivals are within a 1-hour drive of Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:03 GMT

Fifty-odd years ago, Michael Lang, Artie Kornfeld, Joel Rosenman, and John P. Roberts put on what has come to be arguably the best-known music festival of all time: the Woodstock Music and Art Fair. Advertised as three days of peace and music, the event attracted some 400,000 attendees (twice the expected 200,000 maximum) who were entertained by 32 acts. While Woodstock certainly wasn't the first music festival to be held in the U.S., it changed the course of the industry from community-run and just-for-fun to commercial and competitive.About 32 million Americans attend music festivals each year, according to Billboard. Almost half of these are millennials, who place a lot of value on experiences and travel. Organizers, recognizing the generation's priorities and massive spending power, have started making their events not just parties but destinations. Rather than running festivals in rural areas like Bethel, New York, many of the country's biggest events are now held within a...

A bright spot during a bad road trip for the Cubs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:03 GMT

WASHINGTON D.C. — The club can't get back to Chicago fast enough after a forgettable week against National League East teams. Over the course of seven games on the road, the Cubs were swept by the Marlins in Miami then lost 3-of-4 to the Nationals in Washington D.C. The last of those came in heartbreaking fashion on Thursday, as a three-run comeback by the visitors was erased by a walk-off homer by the Nationals' Alex Call in the ninth off Brad Boxberger. Of the six losses on the road trip, including Thursday, the Cubs lost five by a single run, and drops the club back under .500 at 15-16.Yet this lost road trip did have a bright spot - and it concerns a rookie who finally got his chance on the major league level. A big moment for Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya as he steps to the plate for his first major league at-bat with his parents in the stands at Nationals Park in Washington D.C. pic.twitter.com/bQRpfiaRxZ— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) May 4, 2023Cubs rookie catcher Miguel Am...

18-wheeler crash cuts PfISD's access to internet, phone lines

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:03 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for May 4, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) -- An 18-wheeler crash with network and power poles Wednesday night cut Pflugerville ISD's access to its internet and phone lines, PfISD posted on social media. PfISD said all campuses have power with lights and air conditioning, and school was expected to continue as normal Thursday.The district expects the outage for internet and phone lines to continue potentially through Friday, and PfISD Superintendent Douglas Killian said the district planned to send updates to parents Thursday evening.However, PfISD said no visitors were allowed any campuses, due to the Raptor system being down and cannot run the Raptor background check. Additionally, staff will not be able to return any emails.Killian said the PfISD Board of Trustees workshop scheduled for Thursday has been canceled. The board's workshop new meeting date and time will be posted on the PfISD website as soon as they are set.

Del Valle student awarded $40K Amazon engineering scholarship

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:03 GMT

DEL VALLE, Texas (KXAN) -- A Del Valle High School student was named a recipient of the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship, which includes a $40,000 scholarship to study computer science or engineering at their school of choice, as well as a paid Amazon internship following their freshman year of college.Del Valle High School senior Noel Mendez was just one of 400 high school seniors across the country named as a recipient. The scholarship sought out eligible students from underserved communities.And Mendez has plenty to celebrate: He found out in mid-April he has been accepted into Harvard University, where he will attend in the fall following his graduation from Del Valle ISD later this month.Statewide, 52 students from Texas were awarded the scholarship, with more than 70% of recipients identifying as Black, Latino or Native American. Of the 400 high school seniors, 50% identified as a woman or nonbinary, per an Amazon news release.Recipients were selected based on their academic...

Rapper 50 Cent will headline Xcel Energy Center on tour marking 20th anniversary of debut album

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:03 GMT

Rapper/actor/entrepreneur Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson will celebrate the 20th anniversary of his multi-platinum debut album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” with an extensive world tour that lands at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center on Sept. 15.Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. May 12 through Ticketmaster, which is using the Verified Fan program. Fans can register through Sunday for a presale that starts May 10. Neither the venue nor the promoter announced ticket prices. Busta Rhymes and Jeremih will open, with additional special guests to be added.Raised by his grandparents, Jackson boxed and sold drugs as a teenager. His 1994 arrest inspired his stage name, a metaphor for change. Two years later, he met Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay, who taught him how to write songs. He landed a deal with Columbia Records and recorded the album “Power of the Dollar.” But after Jackson was attacked and shot nine times outside his grandmother’s home in 2000, the label dropped Jackson and left the record...

St. Paul: Hamline-Midway Library to close May 28, with demolition this fall. Preservationists: No.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:03 GMT

Two sides in an escalating fight over the uncertain fate of the Hamline-Midway Library launched separate salvos on Thursday, with the city announcing a closing date this month in advance of planned demolition, and historic preservationists organizing a party on the library’s front lawn in advance of likely legal action to stop it.The St. Paul Public Library system issued a written statement Thursday indicating the library will close to the public on May 28 for decommissioning. All books and materials will be moved into storage over the course of several months in advance of demolition and construction of a new building, which could begin this fall and take up to 18 months.The library system has $8.1 million, obtained through the city’s capital investment budget, to put toward a new structure, which was designed with greater accessibility for the disabled, safety features, community spaces and modern technology in mind, as well an outdoor reading garden and interactive ch...