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MedWatch Daily Digest: A new gene discovery for breast cancer – and more

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:41 GMT

For Thursday, April 20, WGN’s Dina Bair has the latest on new medical information, including: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch Indiana University School of Medicine students made a discovery that could ultimately help not only diagnose breast cancer early but better treat it.How an at-home ear pod may be able to alert people to the early signs of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.A study found that a sleeping pill may help ward off Alzheimer's and prevent cognitive decline.

Ohio DoorDash driver killed while on delivery: police

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:41 GMT

AKRON, Ohio (WJW) — Police are investigating after a DoorDash delivery driver was fatally shot on the job in Akron, Ohio.When investigators arrived around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, they found a 22-year-old man in a parking lot with a gunshot wound. He was taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Medical Center in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead Thursday morning. WATCH: Umpire assaulted at Ohio adult softball game According to police, the victim was making a DoorDash delivery when he was shot. Investigators say the victim got into an altercation with two men around 11 p.m. in the city's Highland Square area. The pair then allegedly followed the victim to the delivery spot and shot him. Two suspects, 21 year-old Matthew Couch and 19 year-old Derek Ransome-Fromby were arrested at an area home and taken to the Summit County Jail.They were initially charged with felonious assault, but now murder charges are pending.

Democrats push for Green New Deal in health care sector

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:41 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – Lawmakers who support the Green New Deal say despite skepticism from many, the platform is moving forward and they plan to continue pushing for new green initiatives.Progressives like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez say 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act made big parts of their Green New Deal a reality.“We have started to win,” Rep. Ocasio Cortez said. “We have highlighted important issues ranging from education to renewable agriculture to show that a better way is possible.”Democratic Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey additionally says a Green New Deal for the health care industry is their next focus “for a health care system that puts people and our planet before pollution and profits.”Markey says the health care sector accounts for 8.5% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.“Our health providers are trying to heal patients, but the health care system is part of what makes them sick,” Markey said.The goal of the health care Green New Deal is to make the ind...

Around Town previews Studio 54 pop-up at Joy District

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:41 GMT

For two weeks only, from Thursday, April 20 to Thursday, May 4Joy District112 W. HubbardChicago, IL 60654joychicago.com

Austin could re-vote on Project Connect this fall -- here's why

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:41 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Mayor Kirk Watson forewarned in a his newsletter Thursday of a possible re-vote on Project Connect, a mass transit system approved by city voters back in November 2020.At issue: Two bills going through the Texas Legislature would require voters to sign off on all of the following components related to a project:What the debt would be used forHow much debt product leaders need to issueThe tax rate needed to pay back the debtRep. Ellen Troxclair, who helped file the House version of the bill, cited Project Connect as motivations behind the "No Blank Checks Act." In a March statement to KXAN, she said inflated costs related to Project Connect served as motivation behind the filing, adding the voter-approved tax rate increase election doesn't authorize Project Connect to issue "new debt without limit, and without voters' approval." RELATED: Project Connect funding challenged by Texas lawmakers In his newsletter, Watson slammed the state-level effort as "a terri...

Wild coach Dean Evason calls outs Stars for embellishment: ‘We don’t dive’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:41 GMT

As he wrapped up his press conference on Wednesday night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Stars coach Pete DeBoer took it as an opportunity to throw some shade. Asked about the officials having to dish out a handful of misconduct penalties to keep things from unraveling, DeBoer referenced how the Wild struggled to stay out of the penalty box during the regular season.“Not surprised,” DeBoer said. “We know Minnesota takes penalties. They’re the sixth-most penalized team in the league. We’re ready for that.”The statement was factually correct. The Wild did indeed finish sixth in the NHL during the regular season with 935 penalty minutes. Asked on Thursday afternoon if he heard DeBoer’s comments, Wild coach Dean Evason smiled and replied, “We watch all the press conferences.”In that same breath, Evason used it as an opportunity to make a point of his own, noting how the Wild felt there has been some embellishment on the pa...

Tim Culpan: Maybe A.I. needs to write its own dictionary

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:41 GMT

An explosion of interest in artificial intelligence is irking a lot of people concerned about the encroachment by computers into human domains such as visual arts, music, and literature. More recently, even the terms we use to describe these systems don’t sit well with some who take issue with digging up old words for new uses or anthropomorphizing machines.Both phenomena were already common well before electric circuits started writing poems, so much of the recent drama is based on fear rather than logic. Which is suitable: Machines don’t feel fear, and human logic often fails.Even the term artificial intelligence is taken as an affront by sentient beings when it’s ascribed to non-living objects. It’s a valid point, one that’s been argued for centuries even as philosophers struggle to define “intelligence.” To that end, computer scientists such as Alan Turing, famed for helping crack German cryptography during World War II, have speculated ...

‘Losing Josh will never go away, ever,’ says widow of slain deputy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:41 GMT

GLENWOOD, Minn. — The wife of the Pope County deputy who was slain last Saturday thanked the community for its ongoing support.A statement by Shannon Owen was read by her husband’s cousin, Josh Palmateer, at a news conference Thursday at the Pope County Courthouse in Glenwood.Also present were Shannon Owen and Pope County Deputy Eric Thesing, along with other family members.Deputy Josh Owen was shot during a domestic violence call in Cyrus and later died at the Glenwood hospital on his 44th birthday. He leaves behind his wife, Shannon, and son, Rylan.“I want to start by thanking everyone who has come out and supported Rylan and me over the last few days,” Palmateer read from the statement. “The outpouring of love from our law enforcement family and our broader community has been amazing, and I’m so grateful. I’ve never received this much support for anything.”In the statement, Shannon Owen said the community has been there for her when she d...

Duluth breaks all-time snow record as rain sends St. Paul flood crest higher

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:41 GMT

DULUTH, Minn. — In the end, it seems almost anticlimactic. When 2 inches of snow falls in mid-April, it’s not usually something to celebrate.But the 2 inches of new snow that fell overnight at the National Weather Service in Duluth was enough to propel the winter of 2022-23 to the snowiest since records have been kept starting in 1870.Duluth’s seasonal snowfall total as of 6 a.m. Thursday sat at 137.1 inches, topping the previous record of 135.4 inches that fell in the winter of 1995-96.And it hasn’t just been snowy in Duluth. Brainerd set a record this winter at 85.3 inches while Bayfeld, Wis., has its new record at 171.6 inches.The Twin Cities stand at 90.3 inches for the season, making for the third snowiest winter on record. The two winter seasons with more snow were 1981-82 with 95 inches, and 1983-84 with 98.6.But for beleaguered Duluthians, don’t put that shovel away just yet. The Weather Service is forecasting another 2-4 inches of snow and sleet through Friday in Duluth wit...

With cyclists in mind, MnDOT to show 3 designs for John Ireland Boulevard redo near State Capitol

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:41 GMT

In the spring and summer of 2026, the Minnesota Department of Transportation will rebuild John Ireland Boulevard from the Minnesota State Capitol over Interstate 94 almost to Kellogg Boulevard, a $16.2 million project that will take its spans offline for most of the construction season.The boulevard, which technically spans two bridges built in the mid-1960s, already has markings for in-street bike lanes. An open house on Tuesday will showcase three potential designs for the new bridge decks, which could stay roughly the same, add a six-inch tall raised median between drivers and cyclists or install a 20-inch tall concrete barrier between the two. Public input on the designs will  include an online survey that will run through June 30.Currently, “there’s markings, but there’s not a physical barrier,” said MnDOT spokesperson Ricardo Lopez.None of the three designs would add or remove any of the four car lanes, but two options adding a physical separation betwe...