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A decade before his election, Brandon Johnson foreshadowed his own rise to power

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:48 GMT

CHICAGO — Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson will be sworn in as Chicago’s 57th mayor Monday morning during a ceremony at the University of Illinois-Chicago.When Johnson, 47, takes the oath of office, he will complete a plan set in motion with the teacher’s union strike more than a decade ago.At a panel discussion, held a decade prior to his victory, he foreshadowed his unlikely rise to the summit of city politics. “We will rise out of the dust, as we continue to organize and candidates will emerge,” Johnson told a crowd gathered at the Haymarket Pub in Chicago. “Who knows? Those candidates might just be in this room.”He, of course, was in the room. It was a discussion about progressive politics in the era of centrist mayor Rahm Emanuel, in which author Kari Lydersen discussed her book, “Mayor 1%: Rahm Emanuel and the Rise of Chicago’s 99%." Lydersen appeared on the panel with Ben Joravsky of the Chicago Reader, Amisha Patel of the Grassroots Collaborative, and Johnson, who was then repres...

Group in grey Hyundai Elantra commit 10 robberies in 30 minutes on Northwest Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:48 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department sent out a community alert Sunday evening alerting the Northwest Side of a string of ten robberies connected to a single vehicle that happened in less than an hour.According to police, in each instance, a group of four Black males from the ages of 18-25 years old, wearing dark clothes and ski masks, exited a grey Hyundai Elantra displaying handguns before approaching victims on the sidewalk or who are parking vehicles.After demanding and taking personal property, they then fled in the Elantra.Times and Locations:3900 Block of West North Avenue on May 14, 2023 at 7:20 a.m.3900 Block of West Lemoyne Avenue on May 14, 2023 at 7:30 a.m.1800 Block of North Kedvale Avenue on May 14, 2023 at 7:32 a.m.4100 Block of West Wabansia Avenue on May 14, 2023 at 7:34 a.m.4400 Block of West Palmer Street on May 14, 2023 at 7:35 a.m.4400 Block of West Palmer Street on May 14, 2023 at 7:37 a.m.4300 Block of West Dickens Street on May 14, 2023 at 7:38 a.m.2200 Bl...

'We need every drop': Central Texas farmers hopeful after storms amid drought

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:48 GMT

WIMBERLEY, Texas (KXAN) - Farmers in Central Texas are rejoicing over all the rain the area has been getting recently. They said the wet weather is desperately needed as they've been battling a drought. In Wimberley, owner of EIEIO Organic Farm Kathleen Mooney said the rain helped bring her crops back to life. Mooney said she's had more green beans than usual since recent rain hit her area. (KXAN: Sarah Al-Shaikh)"Green beans, usually I pick them every other day. With these rains we've been having, I went out yesterday morning for two hours and picked a bunch of green beans," Mooney said. "And then I had to get back out there last night and pick for another two hours."She said it brought some hope to both farmers and others living in the area. "A lot of us are dancing in the rain out here. We're so excited," Mooney said. Not too far away, Dirt Candy Farm owner Mitch Cutler said recent storms impacted their farmland as well. Cutler said this is the amount of water that's been collect...

Flash flood risk returns for Monday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Overnight clouds thicken back up with a continued very low rain chance. Lows tonight drop into the upper 60s with some areas of fog by morning. CENTRAL TEXAS RAINFALL TOTALS A few spotty showers or storms are possible Monday morning, but our best chances for rain return during the afternoon and evening with 60% coverage. The flash flooding risk has increased to a 2 out of 4 for all of the area. Flash flood risk MondayRainfall amounts will range from very little to 1-3" in isolated spots on Monday. Flash flooding will be possible in spots during the second half of the day. This is somewhat more concerning than what we had over the weekend given more drivers on the road during the time of heaviest potential rain. Remember, "turn around, don't drown" if you encounter a flooded road. ‘Potentially significant’ El Niño to begin by summer Our last "decent" chance for rain and storms comes on Tuesday before we get a break from the rain.A 1 out of 4 flash flooding risk i...

Longhorns women's track wins 4th straight Big 12 title, men finish 2nd

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns women's track and field team smashed the competition at the Big 12 Conference championships, racking up almost 200 points to run away with their fourth consecutive title Sunday.The Longhorns scored 197 points, 50 more than runner-up Oklahoma, behind Julien Alfred's huge performance. Alfred scored 22.5 points to win the meet's high point award with golds in the 100- and 200-meter dashes as well as running a leg on the 4x100-meter relay team that won gold.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/newslettersAlfred won the 100 meters with a time of 10.84 seconds, the fourth-fastest time in collegiate history, to lead an all-Texas podium in the event. Kevona Davis finished second with a time of 11.03 and Ezinne Abba set a personal best with 11.04 for third. Alfred set a Big 12 record in the preliminaries of the 200 meters with a time of 22.09 seconds and the...

Albany youth in the crossfire of gun violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:48 GMT

ALBANT, N.Y. (NEWS10) -What should have been a peaceful Mother's Day weekend instead turned into every mother's worst fear Saturday amid a string of gun violence. Around 2:45 Saturday afternoon at Village Barber and Beauty, Three people were hit by a gunman’s bullets. Of those, a 47-year-old man was shot in the torso and foot. Identified as Stanley Tyrone, he passed away after being brought to the hospital. The two other victims are a 19-year-old man who was shot in the foot, and a nine-year-old boy who was grazed on his torso. The two victims are recovering from non-life threatening injuries. Albany Police Public Information Officer, Steve Smith, says a motive for the crime has yet to be found. "They're usually between individuals who know each other. A male suspect fired several rounds in the direction of the barber shop,” said Smith. NY AG Office to hold statewide gun buyback Then around 10:30 later that night, Albany police received a call for a shooting in the area of 2nd Str...

St. Peters man wants county judge to rule on his right to plant sunflowers in his yard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:48 GMT

ST. PETERS, Mo. – A St. Peters, Missouri, homeowner is set to take on the city again in his ongoing fight to plant sunflowers in his front yard.Chris Bank lost in a local court, but claimed the deck was stacked against him. He’s now taking the matter to a higher authority.“Well, I had a St. Peters HOA member that complained. I had a St. Peters prosecuting attorney, I had a St. Peters courthouse, and a St. Peters judge; I felt like the odds were kinda stacked against me,” he said. Trending Stories: Low or no water pressure reported in Dogtown Bank is taking things to St. Charles County Circuit Court for a jury trial to try to get the right to plant more sunflowers than the city says he can.According to the city ordinance, more than half of a homeowner’s front lawn has to be grass. City leaders said Chris Bank’s lawn didn’t meet that threshold. The city just dropped the case the first time around. The second time around, a St. Peters court ruled in the city’s favor.The city is geari...

Local doctor seeing cases of teens consuming marijuana laced with fentanyl

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:48 GMT

ST. LOUIS – With recreational marijuana for people 21 years of age and older now legal in Missouri, a now problem is surfacing. Doctors are seeing cases of marijuana being mixed with fentanyl.Dr. Michael Wenzinger, a staff psychiatrist at Washington University School of Medicine, has seen a few cases where teenagers have inadvertently consumed the combination. He doesn't want to alarm people about this, but says parents need to have it on their radar.Wenzinger says among his practice and his peers, he's seeing more kids who thought they were just smoking marijuana when drug screens showed fentanyl.The marijuana-fentanyl mixture cases are very recent. Overall, marijuana use among teens is up. Doctors say the general feeling is that since it's sold in dispensaries, it's safe to consume. But those people are not taking into consideration what others are doing with the drug after being it from legal businesses.

2 arrested for robbery, elder abuse in San Bernardino County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:48 GMT

An adult and a juvenile male have been arrested on charges of robbery and elder abuse, officials with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced late last week.  The robbery occurred at around 6:50 p.m. on April 25 in the parking lot of a Stater Bros. shopping center, located in the 28900 block of Greenspot Road in Highland, according to a SBSD news release.  While the victim was loading grocery bags at the rear of the vehicle, the two suspects, one identified as 21-year-old Peter Perez and another only as a 17-year-old male juvenile, both from San Bernardino, parked their vehicle directly behind the victim and exited the car.  Authorities say the two suspects then pushed the victim to the ground and took the victim’s purse. As they attempted to flee the scene, they collided with another vehicle and then took off again.  The victim suffered several injuries during the robbery. Officials did not say if the victim was taken to the hospital or treated at th...

Photos: Scout-O-Rama takes over History Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:48 GMT

The decades-long annual Scout-O-Rama gave participants of all ages the chance to try their hand at rope climbing, launching water rockets, blacksmithing and more. Held at History Park in San Jose, the event was hosted by scout groups from Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. ⁠For only $10 per family, people from the community enjoyed archery, shooting water rockets, tomahawk throwing, exploring firetrucks, racing pinewood derby cars, slacklining, crafts, life size mazes and more. Several food trucks were onsite to provide a variety of cuisines or enjoy your own picnic lunch while live music played from the San Jose local Ukulele Jams.Tina Urata, Scout-O-Rama Chair, of San Jose, dances to Ukulele Jams during Scout-O-Rama at History Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, May 13, 2023. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group) Patrick Chu, 15, of Fremont, right, displays his robotics skills during Scout-O-Rama at History Park in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, May 13...