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'Multiple fatalities' after Illinois dust storm causes multi-vehicle pileup

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:32 GMT

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) - Multiple people are dead and dozens have been hospitalized after a multi-vehicle pileup south of Springfield, Illinois. According to Illinois State Police, shortly before 11 a.m. CT Monday, officers were called to multiple crashes on both the northbound and southbound sides of Interstate 55. Around the same time, authorities reported blackout conditions due to the wind blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway. The crashes involved roughly 40 to 60 cars and multiple tractor-trailers, according to police. According to Farmersville Waggoner Ambulance Service, a large number of vehicles were on fire and produced heavy smoke. ISP confirmed two commercial vehicles were on fire but were extinguished. More than 30 people were transported to hospitals in nearby Litchfield and Springfield. State police officials also said there were multiple fatalities but did not provide an exact number in a Monday afternoon update. Officials added that I-55 is curren...

Tuesday Morning going out of business, set to close all its stores including those in Illinois, Indiana

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:32 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - Yet another national retailer has announced it is going out of business. Discount store Tuesday Morning announced Monday that it will be closing all of its remaining stores. This comes after the Texas-based retailer voluntarily delisted from the Nasdaq in December, and, earlier this year, filed voluntary petitions for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. According to a message on Tuesday Morning's website, going out of business sales are now underway. Where to use expired Bed Bath & Beyond coupons If you have any gift cards, they will continue to be honored through May 13, the company said Monday. Items purchased before April 28, 2023, can still be returned within 14 days with the original receipt. Tuesday Morning has stores in 25 states that will be closing. It's not clear when those locations will shutter. The company did not immediately respond to Nexstar's request for additional information. Below is a list of stores set to close:Address&nb...

Warm, dry weather as we await a Thursday storm chance

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:32 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- May, typically our stormiest month of the year, is starting off on a quiet and warm note this week with morning clouds and afternoon sun. High temperatures remain in the 80s through Wednesday with dry weather expected.We are tracking a shortwave disturbance forecast to bring a chance of severe thunderstorms locally Thursday evening and night -- what could be the beginning of an extended wetter weather pattern.The NOAA Storm Prediction Center already has parts of Central Texas highlighted in a severe weather risk area. This map will be adjusted in the coming days as we gather new data on the storm system.Severe weather risk late Thursday NEW BLOG: May outlooks forecast wetter than normal weather FIRST WARNING WEATHER: Stay up to date with your Central Texas forecast, sign up for our weather newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters Stay up-to-date with the First Warning Weather teamFollow the KXAN First Warning Weather team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.You can also ...

Manitou Fund submits plans for school at Zephyr Theatre property in downtown Stillwater

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:32 GMT

The foundation that purchased the Zephyr Theatre building in downtown Stillwater for River Grove Elementary School is asking the city to fast track its permit application so the school can open this fall.Manitou Fund officials are planning a complete remodel of the building’s interior, including the addition of windows along the east wall and the addition of a second stairwell in the southeast corner of the building. Anticipated completion date is Sept. 1.Once operating, River Grove plans on having around 180 students and 40 to 50 staff on site each day, according to a 25-page conditional use permit application filed for the property at 601 N. Main St.Manitou Fund officials also may lease the building to the Zephyr Theatre for use outside of school hours, according to the application.City staff noted two main concerns – parking and traffic – in a memo to the Stillwater City Council, which will meet Tuesday to provide direction on the process for review.A traffic study is underway an...

James Stavridis: Ukraine is running short of ammo. So is the U.S.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:32 GMT

As the war in Ukraine rages and with Kyiv’s forces likely to begin a major offensive any day now, both sides in the conflict are facing shortages of ammunition, electronic components, precision-guided weapons and even cement. While the West has a vastly larger overall capability to deliver the necessities of combat, snarls in the global commercial supply chain are beginning to manifest.The real “spring offensive” may not be tanks and armor, but upscaled weapons production in the factories of Ukraine’s democratic supporters. What should they be doing collectively to make sure the Ukrainians get what they need to turn back Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion? And what will be the impact on broader global supply chains?As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s military commander over a decade ago, I would often look deep into logistics and supply chains as I contemplated our combat operations in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Libya and counter-piracy....

Donations stolen from Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:32 GMT

AURIESVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) - The Montgomery County Sheriff's office investigating a theft that occurred at the Auriesville shrine over the weekend. Long-awaited Bennington playground reopens The donation box was hanging on a pilar at the Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine Coliseum and was broken into around 5 p.m. Sunday. The money inside was stolen.“A gentleman enters the front door of the Coliseum with either a long screwdriver or pry bar of some nature and pried open or donation bin, which normally hangs right here near the door, [it] was swung open,” said Executive Director Julie Baaki.The shrine, a symbol of religion in the new world, and the church says it is the place of the first mass reading in what would become the United States, dating back to the 17th century. It has become the migration point for many Christians around the world.“We keep the doors open to the Coliseum so that people can come in and pray. We have a lot of pilgrims that come up here to pray on these h...

Strong winds cause problems for allergy sufferers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:32 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Gusty winds are causing allergy sufferers to struggle with all the pollen blowing around in the air.Our current allergens are the tree pollens being spread by Monday’s relentless winds.“With these kinds of winds, we’re going to have really high volume of pollen in the air,” said Dr. Barbara Jost, an allergist with Associated Specialists in Medicine. “And then for us to breathe in. Those pollens will stick to the cornea. It’s a set-up for lots of really severe allergy symptoms right now.”Jost says even those who don’t suffer from allergies can have a reaction on windy days. The wind creates a drying affect and carries additional irritants in the air.“Dust particles, dirt, grit. Those things really just pour salt into the wound of allergies,” she said. Dust storm closes I-55 in southern Illinois and causes massive pile-up Keep your windows closed and to limit time outside if you can. If not, there are a few things you should do when you come inside for the day.“Maybe usi...

Rockies’ April was a shower of mostly bad baseball

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:32 GMT

One month doesn’t make a season, and for that, the Rockies should be thankful.After winning the first two games of the season at San Diego to close out March, the Rockies finished April with a 9-20 record. It marked the first time in franchise history that they lost 20 games in April, and it was just the seventh time in 30-plus seasons they’ve lost 20 games in a calendar month.The Rockies’ .310 winning percentage is the worst in the National League and has them on pace to finish 50-112. While it’s highly unlikely Colorado will stumble that badly, a 100-loss season for the first time looms as a real possibility.The Rockies, naturally, say they’re ready to shrug off April’s shower of defeats that leaves them with a minus-54 run differential.“Seems like we haven’t hit our stride in any aspect this year,” first baseman C.J. Cron said Sunday after smacking a three-run homer in the Rockies’ 12-4 victory over Arizona. “Obvio...

Opinion: King Lear, Joe Biden and running the place at an advanced age

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:32 GMT

King Lear had a terrible time in old age, but at least he did not have to run for re-election. President Joe Biden officially, as of last week, has no such luxury.In Shakespeare’s play, whole acts go by without Lear’s subjects commenting obsessively on his age. Not a single duke or earl calls attention to any trouble the king might have had with staying on a bicycle. And only the fool gets away with mocking the king’s gaffes.It helps to be king.For weeks and weeks, innumerable commentators, pundits, and quotable political strategists have made it their mission to remind us that our president is very, very old. But now, on the grounds that I have been brooding about the dilemmas of aging for half a century, I am pleading for a personal exemption from this drumbeat of reminders.When I was a student at the University of California at Santa Cruz, I was a constant commuter between the company of the young and the company of the old. This began as an ill-conceived project for turning the ...

DU women’s lacrosse, nation’s last undefeated team, eyes first national title

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:59:32 GMT

Everybody out east is waiting on the University of Denver women, the nation’s only undefeated lacrosse team left, to falter.Those naysayers may not want to hold their breath.Under the direction of 17th-year head coach Liza Kelly, the No. 3 ranked Pios have the highest ranking in school history and tied the program mark for longest win steak at 17 via a 12-5 victory over Marquette in Saturday’s regular-season finale. Now, with their first undefeated regular season cemented, they’re eyeing the program’s first national title as the first Western women’s team to accomplish that feat.“We work in the dark here,” DU senior All-American defender Sam Thacker said. “Liza has been grinding in the dark, under the radar, building the program from the ground up. No matter where the spotlight is, and regardless of what recognition this program is getting, we’re always putting in the work to be a nationally elite team.“We do us, and if we ...