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At 109, education pioneer Edith Renfrow reflects on 'The greatest century we have seen'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:42:32 GMT

CHICAGO — Edith Renfrow Smith is about to turn 109 years old, and as she sits down in a leather chair in the dining room at a senior home, she’s ready to talk about everything, just don’t ask her how she’s feeling. “Don’t ask me,” she said. “I am not sick. I am old. You know, birthdays come around every year.” Food fighters: New Chicago-based U.S. Army Reserve unit provides meals, morale to soldiers Smith has seen and experienced more than almost anyone alive. Her first birthday, July 14, 1914, was two weeks before the start of World War I.She has been alive for two pandemics, two World Wars, the moon landing, the fall of the Soviet Union and the election of President Barack Obama. “I think this has been the greatest century we have seen,” she said. “There have been so many changes.”The technological advances have been staggering. She’s lived through the dawn of radio, television, and the internet, but nothing wowed her like her family’s first telephone, installed back in 1917 whe...

11 confirmed tornadoes after Wednesday night's storms: National Weather Service

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:42:32 GMT

CHICAGO — The National Weather Service confirmed Thursday a total of eleven tornadoes after Wednesday night’s storms.The first Elgin tornado had a maximum intensity EF-1 and maximum wind speed of 100 mph. The track roughly started east of Rt. 47 and ended near the railroad tracks west of Villa Olivia Golf Course.The NWS says the second tornado in Elgin had a max intensity of EF-0 with max wind speed of 85 mph. The tornado began close to McDonald Road and ended along Hopps Road.A NWS team confirmed a third tornado after grounds were surveyed from Burr Ridge to Stickney. A EF-1 with max winds near 110 mph was identified.The fourth tornado confirmed by NWS was reportedly an EF-0 with a maximum wind speed of 85 mph in northeastern Oswego and eastern Boulder Hill Wednesday evening.NWS survey teams confirmed three additional tornados across McHenry and Lake County in Illinois. In Huntley, an EF-1 with max wind speeds of 90 mph. Two EF-0 tornados were also confirmed with one in Barrington ...

Man gets 30-year prison sentence in connection with 2022 fatal 6th Street stabbing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:42:32 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man convicted of first-degree murder June 21 was sentenced to serve 30 years in state prison, according to Travis County court documents.Records showed 26-year-old Donald Carrillo pleaded guilty to the murder charge the same day he was convicted and sentenced. RELATED: Man wanted for deadly 6th Street stabbing arrested by US Marshals Past KXAN reporting showed Carrillo was arrested in connection with the stabbing death of 33-year-old Michael O'Brien in January 2022 in downtown Austin.According to court documents, Carrillo has a jail credit of 513 days toward his prison sentence.

Paul Krugman: Pointing toward a soft landing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:42:32 GMT

The latest numbers on consumer prices arrived Wednesday, and they were better than even optimists had expected. Even media reports, as far I can tell, generally omitted the “but concerns remain” qualifiers that have seemed mandatory when covering good news about the Biden economy.Which is not to say that everyone was happy. Republicans are more or less in denial, no doubt worried that they may be losing pretty much their only substantive campaign issue — leaving them with nothing to run on besides wokeness and Hunter Biden. And there have been some fairly peevish reactions from economists who had committed themselves to the grim view that we would face a nasty “sacrifice ratio” — that controlling inflation would require years of high unemployment.For this report was anything but grim. It strongly suggested that we may be heading for a soft landing — a return to acceptable inflation without a large rise in unemployment.We’re not there yet, and I’ll talk shortly about what may still g...

Nicole Woitowich: Clinical trials are better at including women. But data analysis is still a real problem.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:42:32 GMT

The summer of 1993 was an eventful time: Prince changed his name to a symbol, “Jurassic Park” was released and Congress passed the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act requiring the inclusion of women in clinical research.Most people aren’t aware of this law, which requires that women be included in research to develop drugs, therapies and treatments that are designed to improve the health of all people. For decades, women were underrepresented in or excluded from biomedical research studies because they could become pregnant or their hormones were deemed “too complicated.” This caused large gaps in our understanding of how sex and gender inform health and disease.Because men made up the majority of research participants, women’s health suffered. Drugs, therapies and medical devices were developed with the male patient in mind. A 2001 Government Accountability Report found that eight out of 10 drugs pulled from the market had greater h...

7/13/2023: Finally winding down

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:42:32 GMT

The latest Storm Tracker Forecast from meteorologists Steve Caporizzo:It was a VERY Difficult day....at one point-every county was hit by severe T'storms-that rarely happens. Strongest storms in three areas-Western Montgomery/Fulton Counties-Near and west of Lake George....and Columbia and Berkshire Counties. There were 5 Tornado Warnings issued today....four for parts of Columbia County.Damage Reports....Dozens to say the least.North and south...in between around Albany we were fortunate as the storm weakened.There were 5 tornado Warnings today-4 in Columbia County. No Confirmation of a tornado as of now.Most concentrated damage around Chatham/Ghent/Ancram/Valatie....Flooding issues....1040pm.VERY Heavy Rains fell across a good portion of SE Greene/Columbia counties into the Berkshires.Some areas in Columbia County 3-4" of rain.Flood Advisories and some Flood Warnings (In Red) remain in effect.Power OutagesHardest Hit Columbia County.Thank you today----For All the Great pics and ...

Thousands without power after severe storms

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:42:32 GMT

(NEWS10) -- Thousands around the Capital Region were without power Thursday night after severe storms swept through the area. Columbia County was the hardest hit region with over 3,000 without power at its peak. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The National Grid outage map can be viewed below. Restoration times will vary.

Defendant who was serving life for murder gets unusual deal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:42:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS – A man who admitted in court that he’s a killer received an unusual plea deal Thursday. Moments after Darin Schmidt, now 37, admitted his crime, he learned he’ll soon be eligible for parole.Three witnesses took the stand in Schmidt’s 2019 St. Louis murder trial, all testifying that defendant Schmidt admitted to them that he shot and killed music promoter David Bewig Jr. A jury returned a guilty verdict that an appeals court later overturned on a technicality. The three witnesses then failed to continue cooperating.In a cruel twist for the Bewig family, this was the first day in five years that the defendant took accountability, in court, for shooting and killing their loved one.“He admitted to it, and he gets a deal,” David Bewig Sr. said.Bewig Jr. was shot and killed while sitting in his car in north St. Louis in 2016. Lawmaker to review law ‘in-depth’ after cars with expired tags towed from driveways “He wouldn’t take the stand in the first trial,” Bewig Sr. said.A un...

Webster Groves C.J. Muggs closes; employees and locals say last goodbyes as new restaurant will take its place

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:42:32 GMT

WEBSTER GROVES, Mo. - C.J. Mugg's Bar and Grill in Webster Groves prepared its staff and long-time customers for a harsh reality: they would be shutting down on Thursday.The city has now announced that a new Italian-style restaurant will take its place. It was nearly a full house inside the pub-style grill by later in the evening.However, the employees are still in shock."It will be devastating for our regulars and for us because this is such a family unit of a place," said one of the girls who has worked at C.J. Muggs for nearly 10 years.It's the family bond that the employees have developed over time, but as the building sits steadily on the corner, it has now become anything but inside."It's unfortunate just watching the staff because nobody knew it was going to happen," said BJ Bupillo, an attorney who owns the firm just across the street. Federal charges in robbery, murder of St. Louis Kitchen owner C.J.'s is one of his go-to places. Bupillo recalled the moments when employee...

Mayor's driveway: Expired plates and dealer tags

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:42:32 GMT

JENNINGS, Mo. - The mayor of Jennings has been driving a car with dealer plates while a car with expired tags is parked in his home's driveway.The Fox Files started to investigate towing practices after a resident called FOX 2 to report the city was trying to tow his vehicle with expired tags from his private driveway.St. Louis County police officers were called, and the truck was never towed.While trying to get answers about the tow, Jennings Mayor Gary Johnson canceled our interview and began ignoring our calls. We waited for him to show up at a city council meeting and, when he did, the mayor was driving a car with dealer tags.According to the Missouri Department of Revenue, the plates are connected to Drive Right Auto on West Florissant. Lawmaker to review law ‘in-depth’ after cars with expired tags towed from driveways Missouri Secretary of State records reveal the business is owned by two men; neither are Gary Johnson. One of the owners appears to be the mayor's business par...