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Moody’s lowers US credit outlook, though keeps triple-A rating

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service lowered its outlook on the U.S. government’s debt on Friday to “negative” from “stable,” citing the cost of rising interest rates and political polarization in Congress. Moody’s retained its top triple-A credit rating on U.S. government debt, though it is the last of the three major credit rating agencies to do so. Fitch Ratings lowered its rating to AA+ from AAA in August, and Standard & Poor’s downgraded the U.S. in 2011. A reduced outlook, however, raises the risk that Moody’s could eventually strip its triple-A rating from the U.S. as well. A lower rating on U.S. debt could cost taxpayers if it leads borrowers to demand higher interest rates on Treasury bills and notes. The yield on the 10-year Treasury has risen significantly since July, from about 3.9% to 4.6% Friday, an unusually sharp rise. Some market analysts have said the August Fitch downgrade may have contributed to that inc...

Skilling: Cool, but sunny weekend ahead for Chicagoland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:38 GMT

It was markedly chillier today than Thursday with a high of just 45-deg -- a reading 6 degrees below normal and cool enough to rank among Fall 2023's  season's four coolest days.Clouds will break up as expeditiously tonight as they arrived Friday.  While the day opened sunny Friday morning, an overcast spread in during the late morning and afternoon.The clearing is to permit temps to drop in the chilly Canadian air mass which has swept in across the area.  That diminishing winds and 20-deg dew points will be present tonight—an indication of an environment in which all the stops to slow nighttime cooling are being removed--it's likely we'll see some bone-chilling mid 20-deg lows in the normally colder locations which surround the city and are away from the warming influence of Lake Michigan with its low 50-deg water temps. Speaking of Lake Michigan, its water temps off Chicago have dropped more than 20-degrees off their late August high of 72.4-deg—having settled to an average of 52....

Teen in critical condition after being shot in head on West Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:38 GMT

CHICAGO -- Chicago police are investigating after a teenager was shot in the head on the West Side Friday morning.According to the Chicago Police Department, officers responded to the 5000 block of West Madison Street in Chicago's Austin neighborhood on reports of a shooting around 11 a.m. on Friday. FBI search for man who robbed 3 downtown banks The 16-year-old was reportedly standing in a hallway when two offenders fired shots, hitting him in the back of the head and abdomen.The teen was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.No on has been taken into custody.The investigation is ongoing.

Stolen car suspects leads Indiana police to scrapyard; more stolen cars found inside

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:38 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Metropolitan police say a suspect in a stolen vehicle led officers to an east side scrapyard Thursday where they found even more stolen cars.According to IMPD, around 3 p.m. Thursday IMPD North District officers began following a suspect reportedly driving a stolen Hyundai on the city's east side. Officers caught up with the suspect, who then reportedly drove into a scrapyard in the 2800 block of Euclid Avenue. IMPD said three people ran out of the car but were quickly apprehended. All three were juveniles--a 15-year-old and two 17-year-olds. Woman robbed at gunpoint in Woodfield Mall parking lot, suspect leads police chase Soon after, IMPD said that the officers began running VIN numbers on other vehicles stored and there and located two more cars confirmed to have been stolen. A detective was granted a search warrant for the property; investigators said at least 15 stolen vehicles were recovered, not counting the original car that spurred the investig...

'A devoted grandmother and friend': Illinois woman dies in Michigan crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:38 GMT

EATON COUNTY, Mich. (WMBD) -- An Illinois woman died after a crash on northbound Interstate 69 south in Walton Township on Wednesday morning.According to an Eaton County Sheriff's Office Facebook post, 70-year-old Normandie Lyon of Pontiac was pronounced dead at the scene. Man charged with animal abuse for actions at rodeo in Lockport Township Normandie's daughter, Megan Lyon, said her family was devastated by the loss."She was everyone to us as I’m an only child and my children have no other relatives as far as grandpas or grandmothers cousins uncles aunts, It was me, my mom and my two children who were extremely close," she said.She said one of her children is deployed on a Navy submarine, and needed to be informed by his chain of command."It’s already hard enough mentally on him being down there but now I couldn’t even be the one to tell him, I don’t know if he’s been told or if they will even get him home for the funeral," Megan said.Megan described her mother as a devoted gra...

34th Ward Alderman, Sen. Dick Durbin host event to help migrants obtain legal work permits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:38 GMT

CHICAGO — As the City of Chicago struggles to house the recent influx of migrants being bused to the city, many of the new arrivals face another major stumbling block, the inability to obtain legal work permits.On Friday, Alderman Bill Conway (34th Ward), with help from US Senator Dick Durbin, organized an effort to help streamline the application process. Brighton Park residents protest proposed migrant tent camp It is a burdensome process for those seeking work authorization, most of them Spanish speakers from Venezuela who must fill out 30 pages of government forms, all in English.“When you meet the new arrivals, and you talk to them for just a few minutes, one of the first things they say is, ‘Can you help me find a job?’” Sen. Durbin said.It is the second time Ald. Conway has hosted the free legal aid clinic.“This humanitarian crisis is really going to require us to work across all levels of government,” Conway said.Wilfredo Gil, a Venezuelan asylum seeker, who took part in F...

Can Illinois have 2 Big Ten bowl teams?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:38 GMT

Paul M. Banks of TheSportsBank.net joins "9 Good Minutes" to discuss college football along with the state of Chicago sports on WGN News Now.CHICAGO - November has arrived in college football as teams continue to position themselves for a run at the postseason. That includes both Big Ten schools in the State of Illinois, but each has work to do to get there in the final three games of the season. Bret Bielema's Illinois team has endured a very up-and-down season, but a comeback win at Minnesota has opened up the shot for the 4-5 Illini to make a bowl for the second straight year. They'll host Indiana and Northwestern with a trip to Iowa in the middle to finish out the 2023 campaign. As for the Wildcats, they've surprised under interim head coach David Braun, staying right in the thick of the bowl chase despite a tumultuous summer. They'll be on the road at Wisconsin Saturday, host Purdue on November 18 before finishing up against Illinois in Champaign on November 25.Meanwhile, the r...

COVID-19 fraudster used stolen relief aid to purchase a private island in Florida

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:38 GMT

YANKEETOWN, Fla. (AP) — A freshwater spring bubbles amid the mangroves, cabbage palms and red cedars on Sweetheart Island, a two-acre uninhabited patch of paradise about a mile off the coast of this little Gulf Coast town.Pelicans divebomb nearby into the cool waters of Florida's Withlacoochee Bay and the open view westward holds the promise of dazzling sunsets.Sweetheart Island, off the coast of Yankeetown, Fla., is seen on Aug. 5, 2023. While Patrick Parker Walsh's private island ranks among the most unusual purchases by pandemic fraudsters, his crime was not unique. He is one of thousands of thieves who perpetrated the greatest grift in U.S. history. They potentially plundered more than $280 billion in federal COVID-19 aid; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. (AP Photo/Julio Aguilar)Sweetheart Island, off the coast of Yankeetown, Fla., is seen on Aug. 5, 2023. While Patrick Parker Walsh's private island ranks among the most unusual purchases by pandemic fraudsters, his c...

Sherman ISD walks back 'Oklahoma!' decision, says sex will not be a factor in casting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:38 GMT

SHERMAN, Texas (KXAN) — A North Texas school district has taken back its decision to remove students from roles in an upcoming high school musical after community backlash, according to a press release.Sherman ISD previously said that students involved in Sherman High School's production of "Oklahoma!" could not act in roles that did not match a student's assigned sex at birth. This was justified, the district claimed, because of obscene content in the musical. PREVIOUS: Sherman ISD board blocks students from already-cast roles in 'Oklahoma!' production over students' assigned sex at birth "The version of the musical production originally scheduled...is intended for an older audience, and Sherman ISD strives to produce a musical suitable for all ages. After further review of the options available, the District plans to utilize a different version of the production," the district said.With a newer all-ages version to be used, the district said that it will allow students to act in ...

Report: Attempts to censor books surge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:38 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Should some books be banned? It's a question that has some people saying "Yes," while others say "No.""There are things I can never experience, but I can go to the library and check out a book, and I can walk in somebody else shoes," said Former Llano County Librarian Suzette Baker.Baker lost her job after she refused to remove books that some people claimed were "inappropriate"."You can't deny someone access because you don't believe in what it says," Baker said.In a special meeting in April, the Llano County Commissioners Court discussed whether to "continue or cease operations of the current physical Llano County Library System," some claimed there were inappropriate books in the library that needed to be removed."These materials cannot be in the library. It has destroyed my family," said one speaker at the meeting.Several people speaking said they wanted some books removed."When you have sexually explicit material in an area where a 5-year-old can get a hold of i...