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Ex-Ohio Lottery director conduct toward staff found improper

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:34 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The sudden resignation last month of Ohio’s lottery director came after he inappropriately touched two employees and sent texts “expressing inappropriate fondness and innuendo” to members of his staff, according to an independent investigation released Friday.The review by Zashin & Rich law firm determined that Pat McDonald’s behavior violated Ohio Lottery Commission policy against inappropriate conduct in the workplace. The firm, enlisted by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, also found that McDonald’s assistant lottery director had knowledge of his inappropriate behavior but failed to take action. The assistant director will be demoted out of management and reassigned to a different state agency in a lower classification and pay grade, the state’s human resources department said.DeWine’s chief of staff and chief counsel had traveled to Cleveland on April 11 to confront McDonald about the unwanted behavior alleged by a subordinate — which...

Mayorkas: Border is ‘very challenging’ as asylum limits end

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:34 GMT

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Friday that authorities faced “extremely challenging” circumstances along the border with Mexico days before pandemic-related asylum restrictions end.A surge of Venezuelan migrants through South Texas, particularly in and around Brownsville, has occurred over the last two weeks for reasons that Mayorkas said were unclear.Mayorkas noted that Mexico agreed this week to continue taking back Venezuelans who enter the U.S. illegally after asylum restrictions end Thursday, along with Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans. Migrants have been expelled from the U.S. more than 2.8 million times since March 2020 under what is known as Title 42 authority.The secretary reaffirmed plans to finalize a new policy by Thursday that will make it extremely difficult for migrants to seek asylum if they pass through another country, like Mexico, on their way to the U.S. border. “The situation at the border is a very serious one...

Search underway for missing Chicago woman

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:34 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department are asking for the public's help in locating a missing 52-year-old woman who was last seen on Monday.Arelia Elliston, 52, of Chicago, was last seen leaving her residence on the 4400 block of North Francisco Avenue near Horner Park on Chicago's North side. Search underway for missing Cook County woman Elliston has been described as 5-foot-5, weighing 100 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a gray parka.Anyone with information regarding her whereabouts are asked to contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-746-6554.

Highest-rated restaurants for burgers in Chicago, according to Yelp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:34 GMT

There's something about a hamburger. The way juices from the freshly grilled meat gently dribble down your chin as you take that first bite into the succulent patty, seasoned to perfection. Something about the way the cheese curves along the sides, melting slowly over the ground-beef goodness placed gently between two buns. While that certain something may always defy definition—what can be said for certain is that America, and what seems like the world, loves hamburgers.Named after Hamburg, a region in Germany known for its cattle, the Hamburg steak was the first step toward what would become the sandwich we know and love today. Served on a plate (sans buns if you can believe it), the steak was said to have become popular during the Industrial Revolution after an influx of German immigrants into New York. In order to make the food easier to consume for the workers on their breaks, a now unknown cook sandwiched the steak between two pieces of bread, and the rest as they sa...

Liam Hendriks gets a step closer to a return to the White Sox

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:34 GMT

CHICAGO — As one of the biggest battles of his life concludes, Liam Hendriks is taking a big step on his next journey in 2023. That's a return to the White Sox bullpen, and Friday featured another major moment to achieving that goal.The White Sox have officially sent Liam Hendriks, who has finished treatments for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and is cancer-free, to his first rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte..Yoan Moncada is also headed to Charlotte to begin his rehab assignment. .@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/mfANu2S9Mc— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) May 5, 2023After finishing his treatments for Stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hendriks will begin his first rehab assignment with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. He'll join that club on the road Friday as they face Gwinnett in the fourth of a six-game series.It's expected that Hendriks will take the mound on Friday for the Knights and will make 4-to-5 appearances in Triple-A before joining the White Sox. An official date for a return t...

Democrats urge Supreme Court ethics code amid Justice Thomas allegations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – Following brand-new allegations about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, lawmakers on Capitol Hill question whether Thomas has been acting ethically during his years on the court.Democratic lawmakers say they are keeping a close eye on all of the latest allegations against Thomas but say they’re still figuring out what action, if any, Congress can take.Illinois Senator Dick Durbin urges the chief justice of the Supreme Court to take action after new reports indicate that real estate billionaire Harlan Crow paid for the private school tuition of Justice Thomas' nephew that Thomas himself said he raised as a son.“The reputation of the Supreme Court is at stake here,” Sen. Dick Durbin said. “The credibility of the court, when it comes to its future decisions is at stake.”As the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Durbin has been an outspoken critic following the allegations against Thomas that also include reports that Crow paid for the justice and his ...

Silver Alert issued for missing elderly man out of Bexar County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:34 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Bexar County Sheriff's Office is seeking the public's help in finding an elderly man reported missing Friday in Bexar County, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.The elderly man was identified as 72-year-old David Bowser, who is diagnosed with a cognitive impairment, officials said. Bowser is described as a white male, feet 6 inches, 144 pounds, brown hair, blue eyes and was last seen wearing a tan cowboy hat with a blue button up shirt with a white undershirt, blue jeans and is using a walking stick.An elderly man out of Bexar County was reported missing Friday, May 5, 2023. | Image provided by the Texas Department of Public SafetyBowser was last seen around noon Wednesday in the 11000 block of Blue Mesa Drive in San Antonio on foot, officials said.Officials believe Bowser's disappearance poses a credible threat to his own health and safety.If anyone has any information regarding Bowser's disappearance can contact BCSO at (210) 335-6078.

Did you know 1 in 6 Americans has a substance abuse problem? Here’s what to look out for

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:34 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Department of Health and Human Services reported earlier this year that 16.5% of the U.S. population aged 12 and older  – over 46 million people – met the criteria for having a substance abuse disorder in 2021, the latest data they have. Further, they found that nearly one and four adults 18 and older and one in three adults aged 18 to 25 had a mental illness during that year.Aubrey Werzner, a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner with Ascension Seton, said that the COVID-19 pandemic, which was challenging for many people, led some to use substances as a coping mechanism. “With everything being shut down, we've had less access to resources – fewer options for other healthier ways to cope. Therefore, substance use kind of filled in that gap. And for some people, it's taking a toll on them,” Werzner said. The best way to determine if your substance use is becoming a problem is by examining whether your use is interfering with the important responsibilities in yo...

Invasive grass has reached Austin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:34 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin is in the middle of an invasion. Grasses that aren't native to Central Texas are taking over."We don't know how far it'll go, but we know where it establishes and spreads it becomes a real negative to biodiversity in that area," said Aaron Rhodes, Research Associate at UT Austin's Brackenridge Field Lab.Scientists said there are increasingly concerned that an invasive species of grass, known as Guinea grass, is taking over Texas."Guinea grass outcompetes, not only native grasses but native plants in general because it doesn't have its natural enemies that feed on it," added Rhodes.Foreign grasses were brought over from Africa intentionally centuries ago to feed cattle, but beginning in the mid-20th century Guinea grass started showing up in south Texas.And within the last five years, it's made it here to Austin.Guinea grass primarily spreads by seed. Washing your car if you travel, your boots if you're hiking, and your lawn care equipment, if you have a lands...

‘A Hail Mary’: St. Louis Park’s Emmanuel Iwe makes Loons after successful tryout

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:34 GMT

Minnesota United’s developmental team has brought together players from both the other side of the world and from neighboring suburbs.MNUFC2 consists of more than a dozen local academy players trying to climb into the professional ranks but has also signed 10 prospects from U.S. colleges, USL leagues and faraway places such as Australia and Trinidad and Tobago.The Loons have brought in three young players on short-term loans from Colombia, Honduras and Ivory Coast. Three more players from the MLS roster (a Californian, Honduran and a Swede) have come down to this lower-level league, MLS NEXT Pro, for some needed playing time.In this diverse locker room, the story of Emmanuel Iwe stands out. The Nigerian-born midfielder moved to St. Louis Park at age six, played in Joy of the People academy and its low-level team in St. Paul and for St. Cloud State University.Iwe was a rare find in one of MNUFC’s local tryouts, and he was signed to a second-team contract before the 2022 season.“That ...