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What are the health concerns with poor air quality?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:07:22 GMT

The poor air quality in New York and New Jersey is making headlines as smoke from those wildfires in Canada continues to smother the region - and it's expected that the bad air could linger for days, if not weeks.Last month we saw some of that wildfire smoke hit the Chicago area as well. Related: Here’s how you can check the air quality in Illinois Kristina Hamilton is the Advocacy Director for American Lung Association and joined WGN News to talk about this crisis with the air quality.Sign up for our Medical Watch newsletter. This daily update includes important information from WGN's Dina Bair and the Med Watch team including latest updates from health organizations, in-depth reporting on advancements in medical technology and treatments as well as personal features related to people in the medical field. Sign up here

Police search for man who robbed, sexually assaulted victim in south Austin parking lot

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:07:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Police are asking for the community's help to identify a man suspected of robbing someone at gunpoint and then sexually assaulting them outside a south Austin apartment complex. Detectives released a sketch of the suspect during a news conference Thursday. They said the man first approached the victim with a gun and demanded their belongings Sunday at about 10:14 a.m. This happened in the parking lot by an apartment building in the 9400 block of South First Street, which is close to West Slaughter Lane. Police said the man then sexually assaulted the victim and ran, and they have yet to arrest him. Austin apartment issues 10 p.m. curfew, do residents have to follow it? Police said the suspect last had on a black bandana and a t-shirt with random letters covering it. He's described as a white or Hispanic man who's 18 to 25 years old with a heavy build and is about 5'1" to 5'3". He has short black hair and well-kept eyebrows, according to police. Police shared a s...

Dripping Springs Montessori School closes abruptly, parents left waiting for full refunds

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:07:22 GMT

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- The Dripping Springs Montessori School closed its doors and shut down business a little more than a month ago. Parents said the school had been open for less than a year and they were shocked by the announcement. Caught by surpriseKatie Baron said her two daughters started going there toward the middle of March. Just five weeks later, she said they got an email announcing the school was closing. The letter blamed a teacher shortage and said last month's tuition would be refunded. Baron said parents were only given eleven days' worth of notice. "Mostly for our kids, it was really sad," Baron said. It came as a surprise to her because she said a week before that email, there was a Parents Night with no mention of the school shutting down. "They said they were expanding, and they were so excited about their plans to take over the space next door and have two different areas for the older kids and the younger kids to be divided," Baron said. "You know, it se...

Texas to deploy buoys as new barriers at border, Abbott says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:07:22 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) —Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday afternoon a "new, water-based barrier of buoys" will be installed at the Texas border soon. Abbott made the announcement after signing several border security-related bills that passed during the 88th Legislative Session. Abbott said the installation of the buoys will start "immediately.""These buoys will allow us to prevent people from even getting to the border," Abbott said.Col. Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the deployment of the first 1,000 feet of buoys will start in Maverick County's Eagle Pass. McCraw added the buoys can be deployed quickly and are movable.Images of the concept were displayed on each side of the table where Abbott, McCraw and Major General Thomas Suelzer, the Adjutant General of Texas, were sitting for the press conference. One image showed someone attempting to get over the barriers.Concept image of adding buoy barriers to the Rio Grande (Nexstar Photo)Im...

How many special sessions could Texas have?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:07:22 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – As top Republicans in Texas show no signs of compromising over property taxes, one of the charges in the legislature's first special session this year, lawmakers appear poised to return for yet another special session — or more, if needed.“I will call special session after special session after special session until a solution is reached,” Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday. How long is a special session?In Texas, one special session is limited to a maximum of 30 days. As KXAN's Monica Madden explained on Wednesday, both the Senate and House would have to adjourn or the first session run of time before Abbott can call a second session.Why is another special session likely this year?The Texas House adjourned indefinitely on the evening of May 30 on the first day of the special session after passing the two bills Abbott called on lawmakers to pass.The Texas Senate has not passed the House version, and senators were still meeting as of June 7.While both the House and Senate...

State boys tennis: Mahtomedi’s Sam Rathmanner knocks off top seed in second round of Class 2A singles

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:07:22 GMT

Mahtomedi junior Sam Rathmanner delivered a stunning upset Thursday, knocking off top-seeded Collin Beduhn of Wayzata in the second round of the Class 2A individual state tournament, 7-5, 6-1.Beduhn was the defending state runner-up and essentially a co-favorite to capture the singles crown, along with the defending champion, Edina’s Matthew Fullerton.But the unseeded Rathmanner crashed the party, earning himself a date with Edina’s Nolan Ranger, the tournament’s fifth seed, in Friday’s 8 a.m. semifinal at Baseline Tennis Center on the University of Minnesota campus.Harding’s Ashton Adesoro will compete in the other semifinal. The No. 3 seed rallied to beat Minnetonka’s Maddox Lundell 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the second round. Adesoro will battle Fullerton in the semis.In doubles, third-seeded Jack Allaben and Brandon Pham of Mahtomedi eased through to the semis, where the No. 3 seed will battle second-seeded Aaron Beduhn and Brad Hagan of Wayzata. Blake&...

Adam Minter: PGA merger with LIV Golf is only the beginning

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:07:22 GMT

Human rights and golf were rarely mentioned in the same breath until the launch last year of LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed tour organized to challenge the PGA. Fans, sponsors, players and PGA executives claimed to be appalled at the involvement of a country connected to 9/11 and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, among other long-standing human rights concerns. Predictably, then, the news on Tuesday that the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have agreed to a merger largely backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has come as a shock.It shouldn’t. Ownership of a professional sports franchise is a key means for wealth to project status and soft power in the 21st century. It was just a matter of time before Saudi Arabia and other authoritarian governments decided to join the market.For the PGA, which has always been about generating revenues, acceptance was inevitable. Other professional U.S. sports organizations will inevitably follow its lead when presented with the opportunity.Image ...

Lawmakers to vote on Clean Slate bill

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:07:22 GMT

ALBANY,N.Y. (NEWS10)-- The legislative session will be extended by at least one day. The Senate and Assembly are expected to vote on the Clean Slate bill on Friday. The legislation would seal certain conviction records after a person is released. For misdemeanors it would be 3 years and for felonies, 8 years. Convictions such as murder and sexual offenses wouldn’t be sealed. At the Capitol on Thursday, Republican lawmakers and others who are against Clean Slate legislation voiced their concerns."People who are hiring workers have a right to know who they are hiring and their background. People that rent apartments or houses have a right to know who they are putting in their house. This law is completely irresponsible," said Republican Assemblymember, Mike Tannousis. He said people can already apply for sealing orders in New York State and that this would be an unnecessary law. While the Republicans say they aren’t against giving people second chances, they don’t believe this is the ...

Pivot! Animal rescuers successfully guide horse that fell into Illinois basement

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:07:22 GMT

BOND COUNTY, Ill. - An animal rescue team from Missouri made a 250-mile roundtrip into southern Illinois two weeks ago to rescue a horse that had fallen into the basement of a home.According to Bill Schmidt, president of the MERS - Large Animal Rescue team, the group received a call around 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 28, about a horse in need of rescue in Sorento, Illinois.The 8-year-old horse had fallen through an egress window and into the basement.Schmidt said a veterinarian was already at the scene.Seven members of the Large Animal Rescue team arrived at the home by 8:30 p.m.The horse had suffered some small cuts, but was otherwise calm and healthy. Revisting Mike Shildt’s comments on his Cardinals departure After consulting with the on-site veterinarian, Schmidt said the team determined the only realistic way to get the horse free was to guide him up a narrow staircase and onto the first floor of the home.The veterinarian gave the horse a mild sedative while the owners cleared the ...

MDC: If you see this invasive fish in Missouri, kill it

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:07:22 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The Missouri Department of Conservation is warning fishers about an invasive species that has made way into Missouri waters, one the agency says should be killed if you reel it in. A fisher in Wayne County reeled in a northern snakehead on May 19 in the Duck Creek Conservation Area. The fisher was using bait when he or she stumbled upon the non-native species. Revisting Mike Shildt’s comments on his Cardinals departure The Missouri Department of Conservation says this if the second northern snakehead reeled in from Missouri waters on record and the first one spotted since 2019 in Dunklin County. Snakeheads are native to Asia, though considered aggressive predators in U.S. waters. MDC says they prey on native species and compete for resources. Snakeheads have a snake-like appearance with a longer anal fin than a similar-looking bowfin fish. “This fish has a wide temperature tolerance, can spawn multiple times in one year, and can survive in low-oxygenated wat...