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Gov. JB Pritzker to visit Apollo Theater after deadly tornado hits Belvidere

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:45:32 GMT

BELVIDERE Ill. — Governer JB Pritzker is set to visit the site of the Apollo Theater in Belvidere where the classified tornado hit that killed one man and injured many others.One person is dead and 28 people were injured after the Apollo Theater collapsed during a concert amid the violent storm and winds that tore through the Midwest Friday evening. Belvidere Fire Chief Shawn Schadle said there were 260 people inside during the Apollo Theater around 7:55 p.m. when the roof and Apollo marquee collapsed. First responders responded within minutes as the closest fire facility was two blocks away.Police say five people suffered severe injuries, 18 suffered moderate injuries and five others with minor injuries. The fire chief identified the fatality as a 50-year-old man who was attending the concert. "He had a rock band t-short on," Schadle said. Police stated that 20 were transported by local ambulances and others were transp...

FBI offers $20,000 reward for info on missing mom of 8, believed to have been killed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:45:32 GMT

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — The FBI is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information that leads to the location of a missing mother of eight. Law enforcement believe the woman, Heather Kelley of Michigan, has been killed. Kelley, 35, has been missing since December. Her car was found burning the next day. Once the fire was out, investigators found her blood and human hair in it.When Kelley left home, she told her kids she was going to see her boyfriend, who was serving time at a halfway house. Court records show the boyfriend’s electronic tether went dead the night Kelley was last seen. He later ran away from the halfway house.Nexstar is not naming the boyfriend because he has not been charged in relation to Kelley's death.The 37-year-old man has now been indicted on a federal charge of escaping a halfway house.He was scheduled to be released from federal custody on April 26, but the new escape charge means law enforcement can continue holding him, giving police in...

'This is all for you': Miss NC USA wins crown days after boyfriend diagnosed with brain tumor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:45:32 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) – Jordyn McKey was stunned when she was crowned Miss North Carolina USA after an emotional week supporting her boyfriend through a health crisis. "I showed up very raw, I showed up very emotional," McKey said. "Earlier that week, my boyfriend had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, which was a huge shock to all of us." Her boyfriend's tumor was the size of a baseball. Days before the pageant, he had brain surgery."I obviously, at that point, knew that I wasn't going to be competing and that this wasn't going to be something I'm doing this week because how could I?" Gaston County Special Olympics cheerleaders embrace their ‘superpowers’ After surgery in Charlotte, "he opened his eyes, looked at me, and said, 'Why aren't you in High Point?'" McKey recalled. The pageant was being hosted in High Point, North Carolina. He urged her to chase her dream while he remained in the hospital.Video from her preliminary interview shows McKey speaking openly ...

Only 4 states don't have a town named after this water-side location: data

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:45:32 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – It’s not uncommon to visit another state and learn it has a town bearing the same name as a town in your state. Take, for example, Springfield, Illinois. If you visit Missouri, you’ll also find a Springfield. If you love Cleveland, Ohio, you may also love the Village of Cleveland in Wisconsin — though it is vastly smaller. Maybe you’re a history buff and prefer more presidential cities. Presidents George Washington and James Madison have the most cities named after them at 27, according to the U.S. Postal Service. And though he was never president, Founding Father Benjamin Franklin’s name is the most prevalent as a city at 28.  These are the hardest to find state quarters: Where does your state fall? Yet the most common name for a U.S. town isn't named after anyone at all. It’s more about the geography of the region. In all but four states, you’ll find a city or town, village or neighborhood named "Riverside," data from the U.S. Geological Surv...

Brooke Shields takes charge of her story in ‘Pretty Baby’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:45:32 GMT

NEW YORK — Brooke Shields has been known as beautiful, smart and famous since she was a baby, but a new documentary reveals why it’s taken decades for her to feel confident in her talent.With a dazzling array of archival photos and footage, and in-depth interviews with Shields, “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields” is a firsthand examination of her success as a model, actor, author and now lifestyle entrepreneur, despite being sexualized and objectified at a young age and managing her alcoholic mother — the original “momager,” Teri Shields.Like other recent documentaries on Britney Spears and Pamela Anderson, “Pretty Baby” includes a cringeworthy barrage of media clips where mostly older men reduce her to a pretty face and have little interest in her answers to their questions. The film, which drops in two parts on Hulu on Monday, looks back at how women were treated in the 1980’s and 1990’s — including Shields revealing she was the victim of a sexual assault by a Hollywood executive after ...

The U.S. leads the world in weather catastrophes. Here’s why.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:45:32 GMT

The United States is Earth’s punching bag for nasty weather.Blame geography for the U.S. getting hit by stronger, costlier, more varied and frequent extreme weather than anywhere on the planet, several experts said. Two oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, jutting peninsulas like Florida, clashing storm fronts and the jet stream combine to naturally brew the nastiest of weather.That’s only part of it. Nature dealt the United States a bad hand, but people have made it much worse by what, where and how we build, several experts told The Associated Press.Then add climate change, and “buckle up. More extreme events are expected,” said Rick Spinrad, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Tornadoes. Hurricanes. Flash floods. Droughts. Wildfires. Blizzards. Ice storms. Nor’easters. Lake-effect snow. Heat waves. Severe thunderstorms. Hail. Lightning. Atmospheric rivers. Derechos. Dust storms. Monsoons. Bomb cyclones. And the dreaded polar vortex.It starts wi...

Traffic stop leads to drug arrest in Albany

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:45:32 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- An Albany man was arrested on Saturday after a traffic stop. Albany County Sheriff's Office deputies say Joshua Vanhoesen, 39, had a digital scale and approximately 30 fentanyl pills. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On Saturday, around 6:17 p.m., deputies pulled over a car for speeding on Central Avenue. Vanhoesen was identified as the driver. Deputies say an investigation led to a request for a K-9 search of Vanhoesen's car. Deputies say the K-9 search yielded a digital scale with cocaine residue, along with a plastic bottle with roughly 30 fentanyl pills. Charges:Third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sellFourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substanceSeventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substanceSecond-degree criminally using drug paraphernaliaVTL 1180 D- Speed in zoneVanhoesen was taken into custody and was held at the Albany County C...

Denver weather: Dry, windy conditions prompt red flag warnings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:45:32 GMT

Warm, dry and windy weather will create dangerous fire conditions across much of Colorado Sunday, according to the National Weather Service at Boulder.The weather service issued red flag warnings for Denver, Boulder and much of the southeastern parts of the state from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Low humidity and winds with gusts as high as 50 mph will create conditions in which fire could spread rapidly, according to the agency.Critical fire weather conditions are expected for the Denver Metro, South Park, the Palmer Divide and adjacent plains south and east. Snow will increase in the northern mountains this evening. #COwx pic.twitter.com/2SmgH6SSTp— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) April 2, 2023Temperatures Sunday will also be warm, topping out in the high 60s, which contributes to the danger, according to the weather service. The red flag warnings cover the entire Denver metro, as well as Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Cañon City, Pueblo and the surrounding areas.Residents under a re...

How Jared Bednar won Avalanche’s biggest coach’s challenge of season to break drought in Central Division crunch time vs. Dallas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:45:32 GMT

Jared Bednar and Brett Heimlich were in a slump. But they didn’t shy away from the moment in Central Division crunch time Saturday. Confidence unfazed, they took the shot.At a coach’s challenge.In one of the most consequential moments of the Avalanche’s season, Bednar snapped a 54-game streak in which he had not won a coach’s challenge. After Dallas had scored to seemingly cut a 3-1 Avalanche lead in half with 10:54 remaining, Colorado’s bench asked for a video review. The NHL determined that Ryan Suter of the Stars committed goalie interference by forcing Logan O’Connor into Alexandar Georgiev.“I was involved in the play, so I didn’t really have a great sense of what was going to happen,” O’Connor said. “… Bit of a panic mode there.”As Dallas celebrated the goal, Georgiev immediately confronted referees about the play. What ensued was a swift process to make a risky decision in a tense, vital game. Bednar...

Woman gets 12-year prison term for her role in multistate Aryan Brotherhood meth trafficking scheme

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:45:32 GMT

FRESNO — A woman who was accused of being the “secretary” for an imprisoned Aryan Brotherhood associate has been sentenced to 12½ years in federal prison for her role in an interstate methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy, court records show.Stephanie Madsen, of Torrance, was sentenced March 29 by U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston. Madsen pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy and methamphetamine distribution charges after she was indicted in 2020 as part of an investigation into the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang and a Fresno-area gang known as the Fresnecks.Madsen was named by federal prosecutors as the girlfriend and secretary for Kenneth Bash, an alleged Aryan Brotherhood associate imprisoned at Salinas Valley State Prison. According to court records, Madsen and Bash arranged for a courier named Jacob Renshaw to transport two shipments of methamphetamine to Montana.The drugs were hidden in the doors of courier vehicles, but both times authorities intercepted the...