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Cody Bellinger's enjoying a strong July - but will it finish with the Cubs?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

CHICAGO — One way or the other, the player whose enjoyed success in his first season with the Cubs is going to have an impact on the team in 2023 and beyond.Either Cody Bellinger is going to stay in Chicago and aid a run toward the playoffs or he'll be traded to add assets to the club for the future. The team's standings over the next few weeks could have a lot to do with that, and the former National League MVP is giving the team a number of things to think about.Bellinger is playing this season on a one-year, $17.5 million deal with a mutual option for 2024 that includes a $5.5 million buyout.Over the course of July, the outfielder and first baseman has been on a tear at the plate, especially this weekend against the Red Sox. Bellinger went 4-for-11 with three home runs and six RBI, including a grand slam in the Cubs' only win of the series on Saturday. That's boosted his average for July to .444 with a .480 on-base and .822 slugging percentage in his 12 games this month. Bellinge...

Pregnant woman dies after truck hits alligator in Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

REFUGIO COUNTY, Texas (KVEO) — A woman and her unborn child are dead after a truck hit an alligator on a Texas highway and rolled, according to authorities.Deputies with the Refugio County Sheriff's Office say they responded to a rollover on State Highway 35 north of Corpus Christi Sunday morning.According to authorities, the alligator was in the middle of the road when it was struck. The truck appeared to have rolled over a fence before coming to rest yards from the roadway, pictures from the scene show. Woman gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park suffers ‘significant injuries’ Two adults and three children involved in the rollover were transported to nearby hospitals.One of the adults, identified as Gabrielle Breaux of Louisiana, died at an area hospital. Breaux was pregnant, Texas Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Sgt. Harold Mallory told STexasNews.com.According to Mallory, the four others involved in the crash are expected to survive. Additional det...

North Carolina man finally able to celebrate high school graduation after 47 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, N.C. (WNCT) - Friends and family, classmates and congregation gathered on Saturday to celebrate the graduation of Bishop Samuel Jones Jr.On Saturday, Jones, who will turn 66 on Tuesday, celebrated his graduation. His wife Regina Jones said this day is a special one."It brings closure. It brings healing and it brings a sense of accomplishment and a sense of pride for him to finally be able to tell his story," Regina Jones said.In 1976, Samuel Jones was not allowed to attend his own graduation from Chocowinity High School. Powerball jackpot rolls to $900M: When’s the next drawing? Jones says his grade was one point too low in pre-algebra to graduate. However, nobody informed him or his family about the grade. When Jones showed up to pick up his cap and gown on the day of graduation, he was told he wasn't going to graduate.  He had no idea he wasn't on track to graduate; he was a good student, Jones says. His mother worked in the Beaufort County Schools sy...

Austin 6th Street redevelopment plan may face crucial vote

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) — Austin City Council on Thursday could vote on whether to allow buildings of up to 140 feet high on a portion of Sixth Street between Sabine and Neches streets.The agenda for the Council meeting notes there will be a public hearing and possible vote on amending the land development code to facilitate that change.The rezoning is needed by Stream Realty Partners LLC to transform a portion of the historic strip that is now a nightlife district packed with bars. In plans that were first revealed in 2022, the company has proposed erecting multiple buildings, with one reaching as high as 122 feet, and extending sidewalks.Read the full story in the Austin Business Journal.

Rethinking I-94: MnDOT highlights 10 scenarios, but some want a do-over

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

When Houston’s massive Katy Freeway was further expanded to become the widest freeway in the world, drivers were in for an unfortunate surprise. Traffic increased, and rush hour travel times decreased by as much as 55 percent, evidence of a dynamic dubbed “induced demand” — more lanes just draw more drivers attracted to the possibility that bigger means both better and faster, resulting in quite the opposite.The Minnesota Department of Transportation hit a new milestone this week in an ongoing effort to rethink how to shape Interstate 94 from downtown Minneapolis to the edge of downtown St. Paul. But some transit and neighborhood advocates along the corridor say the recently-narrowed slate of options do more to promote speedy car travel than healthy, safe communities.“Go back to the drawing board,” said Mary Morse Marti, a former executive director of the transportation advocacy organization Move Minnesota, addressing a group of MnDOT engineers an...

South Dakota governor prods Washington to address national drug shortages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

As the U.S. struggles with prescription drug shortages, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has advanced a modest plan that she hopes will prod Washington to take decisive action to address weaknesses in the international pharmaceutical supply chain.Noem told reporters at a pharmacy in Sioux Falls last week that her state will expand its stockpiles of certain medications that have been in short supply. The Republican former congresswoman also used the occasion to turn up the heat on the federal Food and Drug Administration, urging the agency to make the U.S. less dependent on foreign suppliers like China and India.Noem said she hopes other governors — and members of Congress — take notice of what South Dakota is doing and lend their voices to push for long-term change in Washington to fix what she called a real risk to national security.“My hope is that those leaders in D.C. that have the ability to weigh in on this issue will,” Noem said. “We’ll continue to educate them on why it&#...

Ag. Department asking Missourians to save water amid drought 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - The state's agriculture department is asking Missourians to conserve water as drought conditions continue to worsen.Nearly all of Missouri is currently in a drought. Over the weekend, some parts of the state saw severe thunderstorms and while the Director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture Chris Chinn says the rain is much needed, the hail and the high winds are making it even worse for farmers."This is a very critical time in the growing season for our corn and soybean producers," Chinn said Monday. "If they don't receive rain this week, they are probably not going to have a crop to harvest this fall."After a drought affected much of the state last year, Missouri saw the driest April and May since 1988. The U.S. Drought Monitor this week showing a quarter of the state is in an extreme drought while parts of central Missouri are in an exceptional drought. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. ...

St. Louis police ID man who died after an officer shocked him with a Taser

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Police have identified a man who died after being shocked at least twice with a Taser by a St. Louis police as 31-year-old Andrew Harrington.The officer who used a Taser on Harrington is a 27-year-old, four-year veteran of the department, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Police did not identify the officer.Harrington died after police were called Thursday night to a report that he was was being violent toward emergency medical workers. Police said arriving officers found Harrington naked and disoriented behind a home. Reported house explosion in St. Charles; 5 people rushed to hospital When officers ordered Harrington to come toward them, he tripped and fell into a fence, police said. Two of the five officers who were there picked him up and tried to handcuff him, but he slipped away and fell again, according to police.Police said an officer then used a Taser to subdue Harrington. Other officers tried to handcuff him, but he continued to strugg...

San Bernardino police seize more than 120 illegal guns, $600K amid firearm trafficking investigations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

A total of 129 illegal firearms and $600,000 in cash were seized during recent trafficking investigations in San Bernardino, police said Monday.Several units within the department served eight search warrants in connection with “ongoing illegal manufacturing, possession and sales of firearms in the City of San Bernardino and surrounding communities,” police said in a news release.Guns recently seized by San Bernardino police is seen in a photo released by the agency on July 17, 2023. The firearms seized included illegal ghost guns, modified fully automatic rifles, assorted ammunition, high-capacity magazines, the cash and several pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine.The firearms were manufactured by people with illegal storefronts, including a vehicle repair shop and a gun parts store, police said.“These façades served as fronts to an underground business in which illegal firearms were being trafficked, 3D printers were utilized to build gun frames and narcotic trafficking occurred...

Legoland California Resort offering limited-time deals for L.A. residents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

The Legoland California Resort is offering exclusive ticket and hotel deals for Los Angeles County residents this summer.For a limited time, L.A. County residents can get two-day park tickets for the price of one-day admission. The deal can also be used towards hotel stays at the resort. The newest California theme park attractions to check out this summer The new ticket deal will be available until Aug. 30. The deal isn’t available to residents in Orange Count, Inland Empire, or Ventura County. Guests who visit Legoland during this time will be able to visit the resort’s waterpark, watch the new extreme stunt sports show and experience the indoor aquarium that is home to more than 4,000 creatures.Theme park guests not eligible for the ticket deal can purchase tickets on the theme park website. One-day tickets at the theme park start at $89. More information about the ticket deal can be found online.Other theme parks, like the Disneyland Resort, are also offering a ticket deal for...