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'It's very touching': Cicero community donates essential items to families impacted by devastating fire

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:03 GMT

CICERO, Ill. — Angel Hernandez was hopeful that firefighters would be able to put out a fire that broke out in his apartment building in Cicero before it destroyed his unit. But the extra-alarm blaze eventually caused the building's roof to collapse."I was hoping for the firefighters to control it. Until the last minute I was keeping hope, but no, they didn't,' Hernandez said, who was among the 20 to 30 people displaced by the fire, which is believed to have broken out around 1:30 a.m. in the basement of the building in the 5000 block of 16th Street, according to police. Charges filed against man accused of burglarizing 8 Chicago businesses The families that occupied 17 units in the building share a similar story. The devastating fire reduced their homes to rubble and left them with nearly nothing. In an effort to help those families, local leaders spent the week collecting donations, and on Friday, tenants representing the 17 families were invited to pick up donations a...

Texas DT T'Vondre Sweat wins 2023 Outland Trophy for nation's top interior lineman

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:03 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas Longhorns defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat has been named the 2023 Outland Trophy winner as the nation's outstanding interior lineman.Sweat, a defensive tackle, was named the Big 12 Conference defensive player of the year with a career-high 42 tackles (17 solo), eight tackles for loss two sacks and four pass breakups to go with a blocked extra point that was returned for a defensive two-point conversion. And of course, who could forget about his 2-yard touchdown reception in the Big 12 title game against Oklahoma State?Texas defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat (93) celebrates a play during the first half of an NCAA college football game against BYU in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Texas football knows value of win over Alabama Sweat joins three other Longhorns who have won the award, which can go to either an offensive or defensive interior lineman. Scott Appleton was the first Texas player to earn the honor in 1963, followed two ye...

Nine years into pro career, Wild’s Dakota Mermis seeing his best results

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:03 GMT

EDMONTON, Alberta — Nothing Dakota Mermis has earned in a nine-year professional hockey career has come easy, so the Minnesota Wild defenseman isn’t about to give up on the NHL now.Especially now.An undrafted player with more than 400 American Hockey League games under his belt, Mermis was back on the Wild blue line on Friday at Rogers Arena for the first time in nearly a month, replacing veteran Alex Goligoski against the Edmonton Oilers.It was his 14th game with Minnesota this season, already the most he has played with one NHL team.“All I ever wanted to do, since I was a little kid, I wanted to play in the NHL,” Mermis said this week. “So, when you get to do it, it makes it that much more special — especially given the long amounts of time I’ve spent in the American Hockey League.”That’s 430 games, to be exact — seven seasons in which Mermis has played at least 53 games, earning a combined 138 AHL points.“Make no mistake, that league’s a grind,” he said. “It can be a complete gri...

What are Missouri's and Illinois' Top 5 favorite Christmas movies?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:03 GMT

ST. LOUIS - There's a good chance you'll sit down to watch a Christmas movie with family members or friends sometime soon. Almost everyone has a favorite, but choosing what to watch within a close group isn't always an easy choice. If you live on either side of the St. Louis metro, in Missouri or Illinois, you're likely a fan of a holiday classic. Research teams from BetMissouri.com and IllinoisBet.com recently published lists naming the Top 5 favorite Christmas movies in both states. The most popular Christmas movies in Missouri and Illinois were based on Google Trends research, specifically search results for dozens of movies over the last three Christmas holidays. Interestingly enough, the research finds that Missouri and Illinois share their top choice in common. That would be Home Alone. The 1990 film stars Macaulay Culkin, and much of the filming took place in Chicago. According to BetMissouri.com, these were the Top 5 favorite Christmas films among Missouri residents:1. Home ...

Police search for missing Florissant child

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:03 GMT

FLORISSANT, Mo. - Authorities have issued an "Endangered Person Advisory" in the search for a Florissant child reported missing on Friday. The St. Louis County Police Department is searching for 12-year-old Julez D. Wade. He was last seen in the 12000 block of Willow Trail Drive. Investigators say Wade came home from school and left after leaving a note. He was reported missing after that. Missouri’s top educator warns of ‘domino effect’ with four-day school weeks Wade is described as 5 feet, 6 inches tall and 150 pounds with black hair, brown eyes and medium complexion. He was last seen wearing a purple shirt and black pants. The St. Louis County Police Department shared one photo of Wade from a Blink camera. If you have any information on his whereabouts, contact the St. Louis County Police Department at 636-529-8210.

Turnovers down, assists up so far for CU Buffs guard KJ Simpson

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:03 GMT

It was no secret where KJ Simpson needed to find improvement in order to take the next step in his development. The truth was in the numbers.Despite showcasing an explosive offensive ability, Simpson knew he had to be more consistent from long range. And in order to become a premier point guard, he needed to put up a much more efficient assist-to turnover rate.Plenty of basketball remains for the Colorado Buffaloes. And the challenge of the final run through the Pac-12 Conference remains. But the early returns out of Simpson have been encouraging for the Buffs, who hope their point guard puts together another strong performance when they take on No. 15 Miami on Sunday in Brooklyn, N.Y. (noon MT, ESPN2).During his first two seasons, Simpson showed flashes of being a dependable long-range shooter, even if his final numbers ended below-par both years. His assist-to-turnover rate, however, has always been a struggle until this season.Simpson goes into the Miami game sporting a career-be...

Hello Kitty Cafe truck is returning to SoCal this weekend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:03 GMT

SoCal Hello Kitty fans are in for a purrr-fect treat as the Hello Kitty Cafe trucks are returning to Plaza West Covina on Saturday. The fan favorite pink cafe truck will be located by DXL and Gold’s Gym from 10 a.m.- 7 p.m. The truck will have several merchandise pieces for sale including t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and more. Fans can also purchase light sweet treats from the cafe on wheels during their visit. Hello Kitty Hoodie (Sanrio)The success of its first cafe truck, launched in 2014, led to the opening of additional pop-ups and mini cafe sets in malls and lifestyle centers across California. To get a full cafe experience, fans can visit the Hello Kitty Grand Cafe in Irvine to enjoy a wide selection of cookies, cakes, and handmade hot and iced drinks. 

Embiid shakes off late leg injury to lead 76ers to a 125-114 win over Hawks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:03 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid had 38 points and 14 rebounds and shook off an injury scare in the late minutes as the Philadelphia 76ers held off the Atlanta Hawks 125-114 on Friday night.Tyrese Maxey added 30 points, including a backbreaking 3-pointer with 1:20 to play in a 13-0 run that broke open a nip-and-tuck gam just two minutes earlier as the Sixers (14-7) won their second straight.De’Andre Hunter led the Hawks (9-12) with 24 points while Bogdan Bogdanovic and Dejounte Murray each added 20. Atlanta played without Trae Young, who missed the game with what the team described as an illness.Embiid appeared to injure his left leg on a drive down the lane with just over 4 1/2 minutes left as he tried to make a move in the lane with Atlanta ahead 109-108.Even while hunched over and walking with a limp, Embiid remained in the game and scored six points in the final moments, grabbing two rebounds along the way. Maxey and De’Anthony Melton picked up more of the scoring load duri...

La presidenta de Harvard se disculpa por su testimonio desastroso en la audiencia sobre antisemitismo: “Las palabras importan”

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:03 GMT

(CNN Español) –– La presidenta de Harvard, Claudine Gay, se disculpó en una entrevista con el periódico de la universidad por su testimonio desastroso ante el Congreso de Estados Unidos esta semana, en el que ella y los rectores de otras universidades evitaron reconocer explícitamente que los llamados al genocidio del pueblo judío constituyen intimidación y acoso en el campus. Gay enfrentó una condena generalizada luego de su testimonio.“Lo siento”, dijo este jueves al periódico estudiantil The Harvard Crimson. “Las palabras importan”.La disculpa ocurre pocos días después de que Gay, el presidente de la Universidad de Pensilvania y el presidente de MIT declaran en una audiencia sobre antisemitismo en los campus, convocada por una comisión de la Cámara de Representantes. La audiencia se citó en medio de críticas generalizadas acerca de que los rectores no han hecho lo suficiente para garantizar la seguridad de los estudiantes judíos y otras personas en sus res...

Bobrovsky makes 26 saves, Panthers top Penguins 3-1 for Pittsburgh’s 4th straight loss

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:03 GMT

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots, Eetu Luostarinen got the go-ahead goal in the third period and the Florida Panthers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 on Friday night.Oliver Ekman-Larsson also scored a goal and Anton Lundell had two assists for the Panthers, who have won three of their last four games. Aleksander Barkov got an empty-netter to seal the win for Florida.Former Panthers forward Reilly Smith scored for Pittsburgh, which has dropped a season-high four straight to fall to 11-12-4. Tristan Jarry stopped 31 shots for the Penguins.Up 2-1 with 2:39 left and dominating the third period — shots were 12-2 Florida in that frame to that point — Lundell was called for hooking, giving Pittsburgh a golden opportunity. The Penguins hadn’t scored in any of their last 36 power plays spanning 14 games since Nov. 11, the worst drought in franchise history.It started as a 5-on-4, became a 6-on-4 when Jarry went to the bench — and the Penguins came up empty, again...