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Denny Hamlin wins pole for NASCAR Cup Series' first street race in downtown Chicago

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:40:06 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Denny Hamlin won the pole Saturday for the NASCAR Cup Series' first street race, edging Tyler Reddick on the tricky course in downtown Chicago.Hamlin led the way for the race Sunday with a lap of 88.435 seconds at an average speed of 89.557 mph on the 12-turn, 2.2-mile course. It's his third pole of the season and No. 39 for his career. Bears QB Justin Fields named Grand Marshal for Sunday’s NASCAR Street Race Reddick was second at 88.479 seconds, followed by Shane van Gisbergen in his first NASCAR event and Christopher Bell. Daniel Suárez rounded out the top five in 89.322 seconds.Busch Light pole winner Denny Hamlin takes the podium after qualifying today pic.twitter.com/Tn3k6bufZ7— Courtney Spinelli (@CourtSpinelliTV) July 1, 2023With Hamlin, Reddick and Bell, Toyota had three of the top four cars. Hamlin and Bell are teammates on Joe Gibbs Racing, and van Gisbergen and Suárez drive for Trackhouse Racing.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesThe 34-year-o...

Woman charged after pushing another woman onto CTA Blue Line tracks

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:40:06 GMT

CHICAGO — A 24-year-old woman is recovering after being shoved onto CTA Blue Line tracks by another woman.According to police, 20-year-old Neveah King is charged with aggravated battery after the June 4 incident after allegedly pushing the woman onto the track from the Blue Line platform in the 1200 block of N. Milwaukee Ave.The victim returned to the Blue Line platform safely, however.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesKing was taken into police custody on Saturday. She is due to appear in court on Sunday. Police did not disclose what led to the physical altercation.

Woman wanted by FBI following bank robbery in Round Lake

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:40:06 GMT

ROUND LAKE, Ill. — The FBI is looking for a woman who allegedly robbed a suburban bank on Saturday. Just after noon, agents responded to the First American Bank in the 1800 block of S. Cedar Lake Rd. in Round Lake following reports of a robbery. Search underway for Oak Lawn bank robbery suspect According to FBI Chicago, the female suspect may be in her 20s or 30s, no taller than 5'2", with a medium build. She was also wearing a black hat with white letters, long black hair, a blue surgical mask, a white short sleeve t-shirt, light gray sweatpants, red high-top shoes, and carrying a canvas bag with unknown words and shapes on it.Authorities believe the woman may have also robbed a Great Lakes Credit Union in Round Lake Beach on Sunday, June 24. No injuries were reported. Man charged for officer impersonation, battery of teen girls: Park Ridge police Anyone with information is asked to call (312) 421-6700 and tips.fbi.gov.

Ascension Seton Medical Center nurses return to work Saturday morning after strike

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:40:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After some nurses at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin went on strike Tuesday “to protest management’s resistance to bargain in good faith," nurses were allowed back at work Saturday morning.Though the strike was one day, the hospital said it did not allow participating nurses to return until Saturday, July 1 because of the required length of contracts for staff brought in to fill the gaps. Nurses called it a "union-busting tactic." "It's really frustrating," said Taylor Critendon, an intensive care nurse. "We spend so much time in this hospital, we have spent so much time providing care for the patients," she continued. Dozens of nurses gathered Saturday morning in a group in front of Ascension Seton, sang the famous union anthem "Solidarity Forever" and marched towards the hospital doors. Some nurses were concerned that security staff would block them from entering again, but they were greeted with smiles and welcomed back into the hospital, nurses said. Nu...

Cedar Park LGBTQ+ Pride event postponed due to threats over drag queens

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:40:06 GMT

CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) –  A LGBTQ+ Pride event, originally scheduled to be held on June 24 in a Cedar Park Starbucks, was postponed and will be reimagined due to several “threatening” calls made to the business about the event's drag performances. In a statement to KXAN, Starbucks said that because of the threatening voicemails and recent violence in Cedar Park, the event was moved to August to coincide with Austin's LGBTQ+ Pride events. A Starbucks spokesperson said they plan on making the future event bigger and more accessible to the Cedar Park community. The violence referenced by Starbucks was the murder of 24-year-old Akira Ross, who was fatally shot June 2 at a Cedar Park gas station while with her girlfriend and friend. Ross' family and friends have called for her murder to be investigated as a hate crime. Ring camera catches someone breaking, removing Pride signs from Round Rock home The manager of the Starbucks named the event “Coffee and Drag Queens" — prior to the po...

Impeachment investigators expanding probe into Ken Paxton's real-estate spree, WSJ reports

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:40:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Investigators helping to prosecute impeachment charges against suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are now expanding their probe to examine a property-buying spree that began after he was under federal investigation for alleged abuse of office, the Wall Street Journal reported in an exclusive article Thursday.Paxton, his wife and a family trust spent almost $3.5 million buying six properties across the U.S. in less than 10 months from July 2021 to April 2022, WSJ reported based off real-estate records it reviewed.Ken Paxton ImpeachmentBack in May, the Texas House voted 121-23 to impeach Paxton.The vote approved the 20 articles of impeachment that the House General Investigating Committee laid out earlier that week. These articles were the result of a two-month investigation that began after Paxton asked to use state funds to settle a $3.3 million whistleblower lawsuit filed by four former employees who accused him of wrongdoing.The impeachment results in Paxt...

Charley Walters: Artificial intelligence coming soon to a baseball team near you

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:40:06 GMT

Slide over analytics. Make room for artificial intelligence (AI). It’s for real. It’s coming.How could it work for the Minnesota Twins?“It’s funny you asked that — it’s a great question and it’s something I think the whole world is unpacking at the same time,” Twins baseball chief Derek Falvey said the other day.“The speeding up of the development of AI in the last six months of our lives is something we’re all trying to unpack,” he continued. “I don’t have an answer today for it. We’re thinking about it — how does it help us, where can we look at it.“There’s areas where it naturally fits, when you’re building systems or tools to help you assess player talent or look at stats. We’re already building models that project, ‘What’s this player going to do in the future?’ We’ve been building models forever, where do players play on the field, positioning.”That’s analytics.“You look at where guys have weaknesses in their zones, where the pitches go, where they swing and miss,”...

Wild sign Lou Nanne’s grandson Vinni Lettieri, lose Ryan Reaves to Maple Leafs

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:40:06 GMT

With not a lot cap space to work with, the Wild knew they couldn’t go big in the opening day of NHL free agency. That played out on Saturday as general manager Bill Guerin was forced to sit on his hands while many other teams handed out big money for impact players.“I was bored,” Guerin said with a laugh. “I would’ve loved to have been more active.”In the end, the Wild were able to add some depth to the organization, signing center Vinni Lettieri to a two-year, two-way contract, and center Jake Lucchini to a one-year, two-way contract. Though both players have spent most of their professional careers in the minors, Guerin expects Lettieri and Lucchini to push for roster spots.“I’m not going to assign anybody anywhere today,” Guerin said. “Hopefully they’re going to have great summers getting in shape and come to camp prepared to try and take somebody’s job. That’s what I’d like to see; I want them to...

The top patent earner in Missouri last year

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:40:06 GMT

Tech and engineering firms were the most inventive patent winners across the U.S. last year—a year marked by growing tension with foreign nations racing to bring world-changing tech like artificial intelligence and space satellites to market.Nearly 160,000 patents were assigned across the U.S. in 2022, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. When a patent is awarded through the USPTO, the individual or company that it's given to has the license to a temporary monopoly on business for that specific product or service. Companies have used patent law for decades to defend their intellectual property—including designs and devices against competitors that might attempt to profit off of stolen ideas.ClickUp used data from the Patent and Trademark Office to find the top patent earner in Missouri based on the number of patents assigned in USPTO's fiscal year 2022, which ran from Oct. 1, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022. This analysis was part of a broader national report on the top p...

Damian Lillard asks the Trail Blazers for a trade, team confirms

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:40:06 GMT

By TIM REYNOLDS (AP Basketball Writer)Damian Lillard has said repeatedly that he wants to contend for a championship. After 11 years in Portland, he has decided he needs to move elsewhere to make that happen.Lillard asked the Trail Blazers for a trade, a move that will end the seven-time All-Star’s tenure with that team, two people familiar with the matter said Saturday. The team later confirmed that Lillard had made the request.Lillard is generating interest from the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets, among others, according to the people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no details were announced publicly. One of the people told the AP that Lillard’s preference is Miami — the reigning Eastern Conference champion — though that hardly guarantees the Trail Blazers will work to facilitate that specific move.“We have been clear that we want Dame here, but he notified us today he wants out and he’d prefer to play someplace...