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Violence against US postal carriers climbs, data shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:58 GMT

CHICAGO — Bad weather and biting dogs used to rank among the biggest challenges for letter carriers. Now, those concerns have given way to something more serious: The threat of violence.Attacks against letter carriers have soared in recent years, both in Chicago and nationally, according to data obtained by WGN Investigates.So, what’s being done to protect them? Not enough, according to the Postal Police Officers Association.“We received a directive that we were only allowed to patrol real postal property,” said Marlon Barber, a postal police officer and association member.That U. S. Postal Service issued that directive in August 2020. Up until then, postal police patrolled the streets and helped protect carriers on their routes. Related: USPS touts crackdown on postal crime, carrier robberies, with hundreds of arrests Now, that is no longer permitted.As a result, the association believes carriers have been left unprotected.Data shows that in 2019, when patrols were still all...

Prosecutors drop all charges against Chicago man wrongfully convicted of 2011 murder; Darien Harris walks free

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:58 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago man whose murder conviction was recently vacated walked free on Tuesday after spending more than 12 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.In 2011, Darien Harris was an 18-year-old high school senior with no criminal record when Rondell Moore was murdered and another man wounded at a South Side gas station, in the Woodlawn neighborhood.Harris was arrested, charged and then convicted in 2014 for the murder of Moore. He was sentenced to 76 years in prison, but Harris' family always maintained his innocence, saying he was at home watching the NBA playoffs when Moore was murdered.On Tuesday morning, more than 12 years after he was arrested, Cook County prosecutors dropped all charges against Harris, now 30 years old and married.Harris' wife, mom, other family members, supporters and his Exoneration Project attorney, Lauren Myerscough-Mueller, were elated Tuesday as they awaited Harris' pending release from Cook County Jail."I feel like I’m dreaming, it doesn’...

Temps rebound after a 2-day arctic chill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:58 GMT

Temps to build toward unseasonably mild 50s Sunday and Monday; Christmas rain likelyWGN WEATHER HEADLINESIT WAS DECEMBER'S COLDEST MORNING TO DATE ACROSS THE CHICAGO AREAWith low temps of 18 at O’Hare and 19 at Midway and even colder in areas surrounding, the Winter Solstice, the astronomical start to the winter season, occurs in the northern hemisphere this Thursday, December 21 at 9:27 PM CST Chicago time — our shortest day of the yearNo morning's been colder this month than the readings which greeted us Tuesday morning. In fact, this morning's upper teen low temps were the coldest to occur in the city since a 14-degree minimum temp the morning of November 28th.But temps are to bounce back in coming days, resuming the ABOVE NORMAL TEMP TREND which has dominated the month. Until Monday, EVERY DECEMBER 2023 DAY HAS POSTED A TEMP SURPLUS.CHICAGO AND THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE'S SHORTEST DAY OF THE YEAR TAKES PLACE THURSDAYChicagoans will see only 9.1 hours of daylight (548 mins) versus ...

Campaign Context: What the data says about Sen. Cruz's illegal immigration claims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:58 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz is looking for reelection next year. On his podcast recently, Cruz once again criticized President Joe Biden on the topic of the border and said, "When Biden came into power, he inherited the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years."Cruz has said this many times over the last few years. The wording he uses is "lowest rate of illegal immigration," which is vague. There is no one metric that could measure his specific claim.The data most related to Cruz's claim is the number of apprehensions at the border, which seem to line up with what he is saying, for the most part.According to a customs and border protection table chart, in Fiscal Year 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded more than 405,000 apprehensions by U.S. Border Patrol agents. Fiscal Year 2020 is the year Cruz has cited, and it was the last period before the start of the Biden administration. The last time there were fewer apprehensions that that was in ...

Fleury magnificent as Wild battle back in Boston for overtime victory

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:58 GMT

BOSTON — The Wild have earned some impressive victories since ending a seven-game losing streak and beginning play under new coach John Hynes last month.Right out of the gate, they drilled four straight opponents for their first four-game winning streak of the season. They shut out Seattle on the road, and earned back-to-back shootout victories over Calgary and Vancouver without two injured blue line leaders.But Tuesday’s 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden might have been their most impressive performance since Hynes began coaching the team on Nov. 28.Kirill Kaprizov scored twice, tying the game early in the third, then winning it in overtime, and Marc-Andre Fleury was magnificent as Minnesota rallied from a third-period deficit to beat the Atlantic Division leaders.“Nobody panicked,” said Fleury, who stopped 40 shots in what might have been his last appearance in Boston. “Maybe if it was earlier in the season, we might have tensed up a little bit. But it was good. Ther...

LGBTQ community rallies around south city bar following crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:58 GMT

ST. LOUIS - St. Louis’s LGBTQ community showed its support for a south city bar after a city police car slammed into it early Monday morning and one of the bar’s owners was arrested. Current and former city leaders, along with LGBTQ community advocates, were on hand for the event.People on hand Tuesday said the bar's reopening so quickly shows the community’s resilience. But they said the entire ordeal also shows their fight for police transparency and fairness toward the LGBTQ community is far from over.Around 7:30 p.m., Bar:PM owners James Pence and Chad Morris thanked a packed crowd for their support as Morris fought to get released from jail and the business acted quickly to seal the building and clean up the mess left behind from the crash.“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster, mentally and physically,” Morris said. Charges reduced for Bar:PM owner arrested after police crash “Something does have to change,” Pence said. “They do have to be more accountable.”People at the reop...

Kucherov has 2 goals, Vasilevskiy makes 28 saves as Lightning beat Blues 6-1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:58 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — NHL points leader Nikita Kucherov had two goals, Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the St. Louis Blues 6-1 on Tuesday night.Michael Eyssimont, Tyler Motte, Haydn Fleury and Nicholas Paul also scored for the Lightning, who have won five of 12. Steven Stamkos had three assists to move past Theo Fleury (1,088) into 67th place on the career points list with 1,090.“When we get in trouble, sometimes is we try to make the extra play, and it results in a turnover,” said Paul, who had two assists. “I think a big message for us before the game was just simplify the game. Work hard, win battles, and pucks to the net.”Blues goalie Jordan Binnington was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals on 23 shots. He had a 5-0 shutout against Tampa Bay in the previous meeting between the teams on Nov. 14.St. Louis interim coach Drew Bannister lost in his first road game following a pair of home victories after taking over when Craig Berube ...

Clayco selected to build electric vehicle manufacturing plant for Rivian

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:58 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - The Rivian SUV isn’t just parked outside Clayco for easy product placement. The two companies are now business partners.“We’re really excited to forge this new partnership with Rivian,” Clayco’s Tony Mezines said.Rivian selected Clayco to build a cutting-edge electric vehicle manufacturing plant about an hour east of Atlanta, Georgia.“We really have the best, brightest and most creative employees working here at Clayco, and it allows us to take on these highly complex projects,” Mezines said.Mezines says the Rivian project furthers the advanced manufacturing work that Clayco’s been involved in for the last two decades.“Over the past year, we’ve really seen a large uptick in sustainable energy projects. Whether it’s lithium-ion batteries, solar manufacturing, or now, with the announcement of Rivian, electric vehicle manufacturing,” Mezines said. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe No...

Avalanche stumble in Chicago after discipline issues, spoiling Valeri Nichushkin’s big night

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:58 GMT

A couple of breakdowns early Tuesday night and discipline problems late cost the Colorado Avalanche a winnable game in Chicago.Tyler Johnson scored a power-play goal at 8:19 of the third period after back-to-back penalties on the Avs to propel the last-place Blackhawks to a 3-2 win at United Center.Miles Wood, who was in the penalty box when Johnson scored, was angry with the call and ended up picking up an another minor penalty plus a 10-minute misconduct. The Avs took another questionable penalty in the final minute while trying to find a tying goal.Valeri Nichushkin scored a pair of goals for the Avalanche, but this will be one that got away. Chicago goalie Petr Mrazek made 35 saves, including 12 in the final period.1. Nichushkin is one of the hottest goal scorers in the NHL, and he’s now on pace for 40 this season. He had one goal through 11 games to start this season. Then his wife, Svetlana, gave birth to Anna, the couple’s first child, Nov. 8. He now has 14 goals in the...

Colorado Rapids secure three of first five picks in MLS SuperDraft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:58 GMT

The Colorado Rapids selected their players in Tuesday’s 2024 Major League Soccer SuperDraft with the mindset that it was a once-in-a-burgundy-and-blue-moon opportunity. After much wheeling and dealing, the draft ended with three of the first five picks in Colorado colors.Armed with advantageous rule changes and a clear strategy, Colorado had three picks in the top 15 for the first time since 2000. It first selected Duke sophomore midfielder Wayne Frederick with the No. 2 overall pick, added Generation Adidas striker Kimani Stewart-Baynes out of Maryland at No. 4, and later sent $250,000 in 2024 general allocation money (GAM) to Austin FC to acquire the rights for Washington center back Nate Jones.The new draft rules implemented in October made sophomores and juniors draft eligible for the first time,  expanding the eligible list to nearly 400 athletes. As club president Pádraig Smith viewed the draft, it was an opportunity to find top talent that could only be selected this ye...