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Chicago shelter helps rescue several golden retrievers, terriers from 'living in their own filth'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:02 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago shelter One Tail at a Time helped rescue several golden retrievers and a few wheaten terriers from "living in their own filth" at an Iowa puppy mill.On Friday, the organization received a tip from one of their partners in Wisconsin that an "infamous" puppy mill in Iowa recently was shut down and its dogs needed help.Without hesitation, One Tail at a Time sprang into action by calling their network of fosters to meet the 17 golden retrievers and three wheaten terriers in Racine, Wisconsin."When people see a cute golden retriever puppy, they don't always think about where that puppy came from," said Executive Director Heather Owen. "But the reality for these breeding females is confinement, churning out litters, living in their own filth, and not knowing a life of love. They are treated as commodities instead of living beings."The dogs had their tails amputated at the puppy mill and face ear infections and pressure sores."The worst (ear infections) we have ever e...

Oklahoma woman: Sex offender controlled daughter's family

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:02 GMT

HENRYETTA, Okla. (AP) — A registered sex offender found dead on a rural Oklahoma property with his wife, her teenage children and two visiting teens kept the family “under lock and key” and always had to know where they were, the wife’s mother said Tuesday. Janette Mayo, 59, of Westville, said Jesse McFadden’s controlling behavior was concerning, but the family didn't learn about his criminal history until a few months ago. “He lied to my daughter, and he convinced her it was all just a huge mistake,” Mayo told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday morning. “He was very demure. He was very standoffish, generally very quiet, but he kept my daughter and the kids basically under lock and key. He had to know where they were at all times, which sent red flags up.” Woman IDs her daughter, 3 grandchildren among 7 Oklahoma bodies Okmulgee County Sheriff Eddy Rice said Monday that the bodies found near the town of Henryetta, were believed to include those of two missing tee...

Soldier Field welcomes Fight for Air stair climb

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:02 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago’s Soldier Field is getting ready for one of the largest fundraising efforts of the year. The Fight for Air stair climb is meant to get you thinking about air quality and lung health. Hundreds of people, including WGN’s Lourdes Duarte, are taking the challenge to climb the stairs at Soldier Field. WGN is partnering with the American Lung Association for the Stair Climb.  WGN Radio and TV will have a team there on May 21.More information and registration details at Fight For Air Climb's website

Highest-rated Tex-Mex restaurants in Chicago, according to Yelp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:02 GMT

Have you ever been in your kitchen, trying to decide what to make, and you're baffled? You open the fridge, and there's just a mish-mash of ingredients that on the surface, perhaps don't feel like they belong together—until you open the fridge for the fourth time and realize the contents aren't changing, so you make them work? That moment? That moment is what Tex-Mex cuisine is—but in the best way possible. It's a delicious mish-mash of cultural influences that came together in a melting pot of flavors that make you feel like you're experiencing something that feels familiar but for the first time.Tex-Mex, as the cuisine is affectionately coined in the Southwest, is the by-product of what happened when traditional Mexican cuisine combines with things that weren't normally available in the land borders renamed Mexico; more cuts of red meat, cheeses, and far milder chiles that provide more smoke than heat. It found its way into the hearts of the Southwest, eventually spreading around ...

Larger welfare checks lead to healthier brains, study finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:02 GMT

(The Hill) -- Children in poverty tend to have healthier brains and fewer mental health problems if they live in states with more generous welfare programs, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health. The findings, from researchers at Harvard and Washington University in St. Louis, suggest that well-funded anti-poverty measures can improve both brain development and mental health in children. Past research has shown an association between poverty and brain development. Specifically, children in low-income homes tend to have a smaller hippocampus, a brain structure associated with memory and learning. Impoverished children also suffer more frequent mental health symptoms.  Across the 17 states studied, impoverished children tended to have a smaller hippocampus than affluent children. But in states with robust welfare programs, the disparity was 34 percent narrower.  In mental health, the study found the disparity between affluent ...

White Sox make nearly a dozen roster moves after terrible April

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:02 GMT

CHICAGO - When a team is struggling, a few moves are necessary, and the White Sox are most certainly in a slump.So to begin May, perhaps because of that, they've announced nearly a dozen moves either due to necessity or underperformance at the major league level.A flurry of White Sox moves today..Tim Anderson & Hanser Alberto are back from IL..Alex Colome, Billy Hamilton among those called up from Triple-A..Romy Gonzalez to IL .Oscar Colas, Lenyn Sosa to Triple-A.Jake Diekman, Frank German DFA’d.@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/Bc82gQ7h8E— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) May 2, 2023In a news release ahead of their series opener with the Twins at Guaranteed Rate Field, the White Sox announced 11 moves from the promotion of players to the demotion of others to the outright release of two pitchers. On a positive note, the White Sox have activated two-time All-Star Tim Anderson along with Hanser Alberto. The shortstop missed three weeks after suffering a sprained left knee against Minnes...

Court rules Wisconsin hospital can't be forced to give ivermectin to COVID patient

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:02 GMT

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a Wisconsin hospital cannot be forced to give ivermectin to a COVID-19 patient.The 6-1 ruling overturned a lower court order that required Aurora Health Care to administer ivermectin to John Zingsheim, a patient who was placed on a ventilator due to COVID-19 complications.Zingsheim’s nephew, Allen Gahl, was authorized to make his medical decisions and requested that the hospital treat his uncle with ivermectin. However, Aurora determined that "the use of ivermectin in the treatment of John Zingsheim's COVID-19 symptoms does not meet the standard of care for treatment." A Waukesha County Circuit Court initially ordered Aurora to administer the ivermectin, before altering its order to require Gahl to find an outside physician for Aurora to credential and provide the ivermectin. The Wisconsin Supreme court found that the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion because it cited “no law in either its written orde...

Missouri woman misses transplant appointment after bus never arrives

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:02 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) – Tearia Meek’s suitcase is still packed and sitting in her living room. The Greyhound bus tag is still attached.“We were supposed to go from Kansas City to St. Louis,” said Meeks, who had been traveling with her mother.From St. Louis, multiple other buses would eventually take them to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where Meek hoped to be approved for a double transplant of her kidneys and her lungs.She’s only 30, but she has been on dialysis for 13 years. She relies on a steady stream of medication and oxygen to stay alive. She was hopeful that the transplant would be her shot at a normal life.But she never made it to the Mayo Clinic. That’s because the Greyhound that was supposed to take her there never came. Instead, on Feb. 4, Meek and her mom found themselves stuck at the Greyhound station in St. Louis for more than 12 hours.   First Republic Bank collapse spurs fears for banking system, broader economy “The bus was supposed to leave at ...

Exemptions, values, protests: Property tax lingo, things to know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:02 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Property tax appraisals are on their way to Central Texans. Texans' deadline to file a protest is coming soon on May 15, or no later than 30 days from the mail date of your appraisal, whichever is later. Austin property tax attorney Lorri Michel spoke with KXAN to share property tax insight as Central Texans navigate their appraisals. RELATED: How to protest your 2023 property appraisal in Central Texas Note: Answers were edited for length and clarity. What are the different property tax exemptions available? Lorri Michel: For most homeowners, there is one exemption for sure that they want to make sure that they get on their property: it's the homestead exemption. That will do two things. It will lower the taxable value—the value that they actually pay taxes on—and it will limit the increase that the property value can go to 10% per year. PREVIOUS: Texas House passes $12 billion property tax relief package, setting up fight over appraisal cap with Senate Then, ...

UT researchers create AI system to turn brain activity into text

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:02 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Can artificial intelligence read your mind? A new study from the University of Texas at Austin shows how this is possible. The new brain decoding study shows how AI can translate someone's brain activity into a stream of text while they listen to a story or imagine telling a story. The system used a functional MRI, or fMRI, to collect brain scans from outside the skull.(Nolan Zunk/University of Texas at Austin)Jerry Tang, a UT doctoral student who worked on the decoding system, said the study looked at language decoding, specifically how brain scans were used to predict the words a user was hearing or imagining. "We found that the decoder predictions could capture the gist of what the users were hearing," Tang said.The brain activity decoder aims to help people who are mentally conscious but cannot speak. "The ultimate goal of this field is to help restore communication to people who have lost the ability to speak due to injuries like strokes or diseases like ALS," T...