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JB Pritzker signs Firearms Industry Responsibility Act into law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

CHICAGO — Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Firearms Industry Responsibility Act into law during a gun safety conference at McCormick Place Saturday afternoon."[This] would not have been possible without every town's stead fast partnership and unyielding advocacy," Pritzker said.Organizations like Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action, and Volunteers and Survivors of Gun Violence were all present for the event. Under the new law, gun manufacturers and distributors will face penalties for promoting unsafe marketing practices that cause harm. 94th annual Bud Billiken Parade returns, inspiring Black youth "[Those] who market guns to children and under the age of 18, or who promote gun referencing," Pritzker said. "Like showing an ad for paramilitary purposes."Pritzker said he believes the law will bring regulation and accountability to the firearm industry in Illinois."Gun manufacturers shouldn't get to hide from the law, and now they wont be able to," Pritzker said.

Belmont-Cragin hosts back-to-school drive for migrants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

CHICAGO — A church in Belmont-Cragin helped migrants with back-to-school and household items drive to those seeking refuge.St. Genevieve and Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Parish helped migrant families Saturday in Chicago. ‘A week of blessing:’ Kids battling cancer set health challenges aside at Illinois camp More than 12,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the city in the past year.Many of them have shown up at the church seeking help. Over the span of about four hours, people showed up to drop off donations.Saturday's giveaway was the first of two giveaways. The second will be held next month.

South Side marketplace showcases Black-owned businesses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

CHICAGO, Ill. — A marketplace on the city’s far South Side is showcasing several new Black-owned businesses.Taharia Randolph says she reached a breaking point in 2021. She connected with a social media community that helped her focus on healing, which became the inspiration for her family’s business, Body & Soul Experience. Sailors with disabilities from around the world meet in Chicago for annual regatta “During the pandemic, I was experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear,” Randolph said. “My daughters and I sat down, came up with a family business name, started learning about scents and how to make candles and it turned into something so much bigger.”Now Randolph hosts international candle-making workshops and has a physical location to sell her products, inside the Far South CDC Marketplace, near 115th Street and South Halsted Street.From candles to coffee, to clothes, there are currently nine Black-owned businesses housed inside the marketplace. More from Ganyor Hall “We h...

Mike Young, co-founder of Chuy's, has died

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Mike Young, co-founder of the iconic Austin Tex-Mex restaurant Chuy's, has died, a company representative confirmed.  Young opened the restaurant in 1982 with John Zapp on Barton Springs Road in what was an abandoned barbecue joint. Since then, the beloved restaurant known for its idiosyncratic decor has opened many locations in over a dozen states, per its website. Young helped open other popular Austin restaurants including Shady Grove, which closed in 2020, and Hula Hut. Young retired as co-chairman and director of the company's board of directors in 2017, according to Chuy's.“It is with great pride that I’ve been able to watch Chuy’s grow from a single unit in Austin, Texas to the successful multi-unit concept that it is today,” Young said in a 2017 company release. For nearly two decades, Chuy’s was a Texas chain. But in the new millennium, restaurant stakeholders decided to “spread the love” and expand to other states. The first non-Texas Chuy’s ...

Isolated storms possible next week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Another hot and dry day continued the fire concerns. Tonight will be mostly clear before some low clouds develop into early Sunday morning. Overnight lows drop into the upper 70s.The Perseids meteor shower will be tonight/overnight. The Earth's orbit will be passing through the debris field from the Swift-Tuttle Comet. The best time to view this stellar sky show will be after midnight until before dawn Sunday. Experts say as many as 90 to 100 meteors will be seen with the meteors moving at 37 miles per second. METEOR SHOWER TO PEAK OVER AUSTIN THIS WEEKEND Get away from the city lights and other light polluted areas because the more darkness the easier it will be to see the meteors. According to the McDonald Observatory the moon will rise at 4:37 a.m. Sunday with just 10% visible. The moon phase is Waning CrescentSunday will be another mostly sunny and hot day with very high fire danger and a southerly breeze. Weekend heat alertsThe Excessive Heat Warning for 13 c...

Wildfire near Lockhart burns 228 acres, 95% contained

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A grass fire sprang up Friday in Caldwell County, according to the Austin Fire Department, which said crews from Travis County were headed there to help fight it.The fire is near State Highway 130 south of Lockhart. It's called the Boggy Creek Fire, the Texas A&M Forest Service reported. MAP: More than 2,500 acres have burned in Central Texas wildfires this year The fire was about 228 acres and is 95% contained as of 5 p.m. Saturday, according to the Hays County Office of Emergency Management."Interior pockets of vegetation continue to burn and put up smoke, but there is currently no threat to containment," Texas A&M Forest Service said.Shortly before 3:30 p.m. Friday, AFD said the fire broke containment lines, and additional resources from Austin and Travis County are en route to assist.Boggy Creek Fire in Caldwell County near State Highway 130 south of Lockhart. (KXAN Photo/Andy Way)Boggy Creek Fire in Caldwell County near ...

Tony's Donuts celebrates opening of third location, second in Maryland Heights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. - Tony's Donuts has officially opened its third location in St. Louis County, which is also its second donut shop in Maryland Heights. Crowds gathered early and often Saturday to enjoy sweet treats, sandwiches, and more at the new location, which sits at the intersection of Dorsett and Fee Fee Road. Owner George Badra says it was busy since doors first opened at 6 a.m. Some employees arrived as early as 4 a.m. to start preparing fresh donuts. Moms group names the ’10 best family-friendly activities’ in St. Louis "Today's our first day, this is our third location, and we're just trying to make the best of it," said Badra. "It's been a blessing." Badra says he waited a little longer than expected to open this location to make sure staffing was optimal at all three. "It took awhile, but it's better to open when you're ready than to open when you're not ready and being behind," said Badra. "We're happy now." Close Thanks for signing up! ...

Kickin’ It with Kiz: Why Jarrett Stidham might be Broncos’ starting QB sooner rather than later

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

What concerns me after the Broncos’ 18-17 loss to Arizona in the preseason opener? The offensive line is the biggest concern, but special teams somehow still look dreadful. Defense looks pretty good, I guess. Overall it, seemed more than a little too familiar and not in a good way.Matt, Big Sky CountryKiz: Well, the Broncos averaged 16.9 points per game last season. So maybe we should look at scoring 17 against the Cardinals as a sign of improvement. OK … maybe not. With the opening game of the regular season still a month away, I’m willing to be patient as the offense learns the tricks of new coach Sean Payton. But Wilson getting hit five times while dropping back to pass in four offensive series against the Arizona defense? Now that could foretell some serious trouble ahead. If the offensive line doesn’t get its act together, we’re going to see Jarrett Stidham start at quarterback way earlier than even the dreariest pessimist could anticipate, because...

Keeler: Deion Sanders banned the color red inside CU Buffs’ football facilities? Nebraska Week can’t get here soon enough.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

BOULDER — Deion Sanders re-wrote the CU Buffs rulebook with a blowtorch and a jackhammer. But there was one commandment, sacred and true, that he left untouched.“Coach Prime doesn’t like us wearing red in the facility,” freshman wideout Omarion Miller told me during the Buffs’ fall sports media day. “I didn’t know it was that bad. No red in the facility.”He’s ain’t just coming. Like those nasty AI bots, he’s learning.Coach Prime, football’s greatest showman, often leaves his best stuff on the cutting room floor. Until he needs it.The genius flies below radar. It sleeps in the margins. For all the slogans, YouTube feeds, cowboy hats and hype, a little Bill Belichick burns deep within Sanders — this streak of clever, cold and stubborn, grinding away in the darkness.No red? Oh, he gets it.He gets Sept. 9, too.Prime already knows how to grab your attention. He already knows how to grab your closet. But to grab your heart, and to keep it, he knows that it’ll come ...

Death toll rises to 80 in Maui wildfires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:10 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Deadly wildfires that swept with alarming speed and strength through the Hawaiian island of Maui reduced hundreds of homes to ash, sending emergency workers scrambling Saturday to find temporary housing for those lucky enough to survive a conflagration that has taken at least 80 lives. The astonishing scope of the devastation became clearer Saturday, but communications were still difficult, with 30 cell towers still offline. Power outages were expected to last several weeks on the western side of the island. Authorities, meanwhile, warned that the death toll could rise as search efforts continue. Those who escaped were counting their blessings, thankful to be alive as they mourned those who didn't make it. Retired fire captain Geoff Bogar and his friend of 35 years, Franklin Trejos, initially stayed behind to help others in Lahaina and save Bogar's house. But as the flames moved closer and closer Tuesday afternoon, they knew they had to get out. Each escaped t...