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Fallen Chicago Fire Department lieutenant remembered during visitation services

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:57 GMT

NORRIDGE, Ill. — Visitation services were held Wednesday for Chicago Fire Department Lt. Jan Tchoryk.CFD members and the community are saying their final goodbyes to a fallen hero until 9 p.m.Tchoryk died on April 5 while responding to a fire at a high-rise in the Gold Coast. He was one of two Chicago firefighters who died in the line of duty in just two days. "This job is dangerous and you never know if you're coming home," CFD Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt said. Cause of death revealed for Chicago fire lieutenant Tchoryk is remembered by his loved ones and peers as a proud father, an avid motorcyclist and a Navy veteran who came from a large family. But to Timothy Nelson, he was a stranger and a hero he never met."It's a very thankless job and it takes a special person to put that uniform on, to protect people they do not know, not knowing if they're going to go home to their families, so I want to say thank you," Nelson said. He traveled from Oak Creek, Wisconsin and has bee...

Dog returns home after 150-mile Alaskan sea-ice odyssey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:57 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A 1-year-old Australian shepherd took an epic trek across 150 miles (241 kilometers) of frozen Bering Sea ice that included being bitten by a seal or polar bear before he was safely returned to his home in Alaska.Mandy Iworrigan, Nanuq's owner who lives in Gambell, Alaska, and her family were visiting Savoogna, another St. Lawrence Island community in the Bering Strait, last month when Nanuq disappeared with their other family dog, Starlight, the Anchorage Daily News reported.Starlight turned up a few weeks later, but Nanuq, which means polar bear in Siberian Yupik, was nowhere to be found.About a month after Nanuq disappeared, people in Wales, 150 miles (241 kilometers) northeast of Savoonga on Alaska’s western coast, began posting pictures online of what they described as a lost dog. Sam’s Club offering $10 memberships to celebrate milestone birthday “My dad texted me and said, ‘There’s a dog that looks like Nanuq in Wales,’” Iworrigan said.She reac...

High temp days, Cooler nights ahead for Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:57 GMT

What a phenomenal day—one which screams summer (even though, in reality, we have a way to go—the summer solstice, the astronomical beginning of summer, is still 69 days away. It arrives Wednesday, June 21 this year at 9:48 a.m.)Today's 82-deg high is the warmest April 12 in 46 years (since an 85 degree high on this date in 1977).My check of the records shows only three other April 12's which were warmer in the 153 years of weather records dating back to 1871:1941: 83 degrees1971: 86 degrees1977: 86 degreesThat places today among the warmest 3% of all April 12's on the books!We have a rex block in place aloft. That a blocking pattern with a big dome of warm air over Lower 48 deflecting the storm-carrying jet stream to the north and a wet low pressure system on the Gulf Coast to the south. Blocking patterns in the atmosphere slow the progression of air masses,  In this base, a blocking pattern is good news because it locks the warm air in over Chicago through Saturday.In time, the air...

Justin J. Pearson reappointed to TN House seat after expulsion: 'A movement is rising'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:57 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A county commission voted Wednesday to reappoint Tennessee state Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D-Memphis) to the state House seat from which he was expelled.All seven commissioners present with the Shelby County Commission voted yes on the reappointment.Pearson released a statement shortly afterward thanking supporters."I’m so humbled and grateful to once again represent District 86," Pearson wrote, in part. "Thank you to those who rallied, marched, wrote letters, posted on social media and prayed for this moment. I thank the members of the Shelby County Commission for their courage to do what is right, to protect the representation that voters in District 86 went to the polls twice to earn."Pearson added that his district had seen "more than our share of struggles" and vowed to work toward "justice for those who mourn the loss of loved ones to gun violence and endure the stubborn racial and financial disparities that have no place in our world." VP Harris voices...

Virginia man wins $100,000 after playing same numbers on 20 lottery tickets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:57 GMT

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WAVY) – With just a few days before Easter, a Virginia man fittingly put all of his eggs in one basket – he played the same lottery numbers 20 times and it paid off.Fekru Hirpo, of Alexandria, won $100,000 in a single Pick 4 drawing on April 5 using his lucky numbers, 2-5-2-7, according to the Virginia Lottery.The top prize of $5,000 for the Pick 4 game is far less than the pot Hirpo won. But because all 20 of Hirpo’s tickets had the four same winning numbers, he was able to multiply the jackpot.“Mr. Hirpo told Lottery officials he doesn’t usually play with so many tickets containing identical numbers, but something just told him to do it,” according to a news release. Mega Millions: Can a jackpot winner remain anonymous? Not in these states The odds of his number combo paying off? One in 10,000, according to the lottery.Hirpo bought his tickets from a Four Mile Run Shell in Arlington.He says he has no immediate plans for what he will do with his winnings.It’s not...

State employee union rallies for raises, cost-of-living adjustments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Members of the Texas State Employees Union (TSEU), Texas AFL-CIO chapter and Texas Communication Workers of America (CWA), as well as retirees and supporters, held a Lobbying Day at the Texas State Capitol on Wednesday.The TSEU is asking lawmakers for:a $10,000 per year raise for all state employees and university workers;a pension increase for retired state employees; and,more funding and staff for state services and universities. The day began with a march; union members and supporters gathered at Woolridge Square before walking to the capitol. RELATED: UT social work students to protest unpaid field placements At the capitol's south steps, TSEU leadership and representatives from other allied unions spoke at a rally.TSEU President Judy Lugo said high worker turnover and an increased cost of living have made state workers' already hard jobs "near being impossible.""We are here today, along with many allies, to bring the simple message to our elected leaders: Pay...

'A ripple effect': Make A Wish eyes $150K fundraising goal to support Central Texas kids

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Sixteen years ago, a Disney cruise commercial inspired then-four-year-old Sam Benesch to request a Make-A-Wish trip to Florida to meet all his favorite Disney characters. Now, years later, Benesch is a Make-A-Wish program intern working to help other Central Texas children's dreams come true.For nearly 40 years, Make A Wish Central & South Texas has helped grant more than 5,500 wishes to children diagnosed with cancer, diseases and other health complications. Now, the organization is rallying the public to support World Wish Day on April 29, with a monthlong goal of raising $150,000 to help grant 20 wishes for area children. RELATED: Austin FC grants 7 year old’s Make-A-Wish, signs him as honorary player For recipients, their families and their healthcare teams, each have said receiving a wish has helped renew hope and excitement in kids as they battle life-threatening conditions, giving them something to look forward to and greater motivation to stick with the...

Dripping Springs dances into 6A boys soccer semifinals after up-and-down season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:57 GMT

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas (KXAN) — Coming off a Class 5A state title game appearance a year ago, the Dripping Springs Tigers boys soccer team barely made the playoffs in its first year in Class 6A this season. Needing to win their last two games in district play to edge Westlake for the fourth and final playoff spot, the Tigers (14-11-2) did that and then won their next five postseason games to advance to the 6A semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday. They'll take on Allen at Birkelbach Field in Georgetown.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersFor a team that had an overall losing record before the massive late-season tear, Tigers head coach Josh Hill likened his team's attitude to the classic line from the 1985 cult classic film, "The Goonies.""Never say die," Hill said about his team. "There were so many opportunities for us to pack it in and say this wasn't our season, but every ti...

New streaming app to ‘Max’ programming from HBO, Discovery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:57 GMT

Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled a streaming service Wednesday combining iconic HBO programming such as “The Sopranos” with a mix of unscripted TV series in a push to reap more subscribers from what so far has been a muddled media merger.The $16-per-month service, called Max, will be released May 23 in the U.S. and automatically replace the company’s existing HBO Max service in what is being promised as a seamless transition. Max will gradually become available in the rest of the world, with Latin America next up on the slate.The existing Discovery Plus app featuring reality and unscripted series such as “Fixer Upper” and “Naked and Afraid” from a collection of TV networks will continue to be offered. That’s even as all that programming is made available within the new Max app, which will be marketed with the tagline “The One To Watch.”The transition comes a year after the completion of a roughly $43 billion deal that spun off the AT&T’s WarnerMedia Division that includes HBO, CN...

St. Paul shoplifter sentenced for shooting liquor store worker over 6-pack of beer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:57 GMT

A Minneapolis man was sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison Wednesday for shooting a liquor store employee over a six-pack of beer last year in St. Paul.Jalen William Dyson, 29, was charged with attempted murder in connection with the daytime shooting at Park Liquors on Snelling and Hague avenues. A February plea agreement called for a 130½-month prison term, which was handed down by Ramsey County District Judge Jacob Kraus.Jalen William Dyson (Courtesy of the Ramsey County sheriff’s Office)According to the criminal complaint, liquor store workers reported that a man wearing a full face mask left without paying for a six-pack of beer at 3:45 p.m. on Jan. 23.A worker who followed the shoplifter out of the store told him, “I’ll take that stuff back that you took,” when the man, who was later identified as Dyson, turned and shot him twice from five to seven feet away. The worker was wounded in the abdomen, in tremendous pain when police arrived and had surgery to repair damage t...