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Former North Carolina US Sen. Lauch Faircloth dies at 95

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:53 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth of North Carolina, a onetime conservative Democrat who switched late in his career to the Republicans and then got elected to Congress, died Thursday. He was 95. Faircloth, who served one Senate term before losing to then-unknown Democrat John Edwards in 1998, died at his home in Clinton, said Brad Crone, a former campaign aide and close friend. Years after an unsuccessful Democratic bid for governor in 1984, Faircloth switched to the GOP and ran in 1992 against U.S. Sen. Terry Sanford, a longtime friend and former political ally. Faircloth pulled off the upset, attacking Sanford as a big-spending liberal and benefiting politically from Sanford’s health problems in the campaign’s final weeks.While in the Senate, the millionaire businessman and Sampson County farmer was known as one of the most partisan senators, blasting Bill and Hillary Clinton and calling for the dismantling of Cabinet departments and other federal agencies. He...

Trudeau calls on major grocers to stabilize food prices, drawing industry pushback

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:53 GMT

TORONTO — The federal government is demanding major Canadian grocers come up with a plan to stabilize prices, drawing pushback from the food industry.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday said the call comes as Canadians continue to struggle with inflation.“Large grocery chains are making record profits. Those profits should not be made on the backs of people who are struggling to feed their families,” he said, speaking in London, Ont., following a caucus retreat. He said the government will be asking the five largest grocery companies, — Loblaw, Metro, Empire, Walmart and Costco — to come up with a plan by Thanksgiving.“If their plan doesn’t provide real relief for the middle class and people working hard to join it, then we will take further action and we are not ruling anything out including tax measures.”The call comes as grocery prices rose 8.5 per cent year-over-year in July, showing a slight easing of price growth but still running much hotte...

17-year-old arrested in Mexico after deadly shooting in Joliet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:53 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. — A 17-year-old was arrested in Mexico and is facing murder charges after Joliet police said he fatally shot a man earlier this summer.In the morning hours of June 6, a 20-year-old man died after he was shot in the head in the 600 block of East Benton Street. Lawsuit: Woman sexually assaulted by sexual predator inside Northwest Indiana nursing home During the investigation, a warrant was issued for Nathan Melchor, 17, of Joliet on June 9 in connection with the homicide.According to the Joliet Police Department, he was arrested on Aug. 30 in Tijuana, Mexico, and is now in the River Vallery Justice Center. He is facing two counts of first-degree murder.

Liam and Kristi Hendriks host White Sox fan tailgate for Lymphoma Awareness Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:53 GMT

CHICAGO — Leading up to Friday’s White Sox game against the Twins, Liam Hendriks and his wife Kristi will hold a fan tailgate in Lot B outside Guaranteed Rate Field for Lymphoma Awareness Day.A $20 donation benefiting Be The Match will get you food, drinks and entertainment from DJ Pauly D beginning at 4 p.m. Most importantly, fans can sign up for a cheek swap to join the Be The Match bone marrow registry. MORE COVERAGE: Chicago White Sox “I’m not at that stage yet, but it could be potentially something in my future, so I want to make sure we take care of things now and hopefully get people in the system,” Hendriks said. “Look it’s only a preliminary swap to get on the shortlist and advance on, whether it be bone marrow or stem cells or any sort of donorship to someone battling cancer that just needs that little boost.”The White Sox All-Star was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in January and announced he was cancer-free in April. Since then, the Hendriks’ have led the way in r...

Fright Fest 2023: What's new at Six Flags Great America this Halloween

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:53 GMT

The Halloween season has begun.Six Flags Great America is getting ready to launch the 32nd year of their Fright Fest Halloween event. We were at the park earlier this week to check out the work that was underway. Crews were all over - setting up tombstones, propping up the creepy clowns, putting the finishing touches on haunted houses and more. If you've never been to the event, the entire park is transformed into a spooky spectacular. During the day, you can expect the regular thrills, but come nightfall the monsters come out. There are nine "scare zones" set up throughout the park. As you are walking around these, costumed characters will jump out or just be mingling around. Here are a few more things you can expect at this year's fest: Haunted HousesThere are six different haunted houses this season. Two of them are new, including:Saw X - This is a somewhat new concept for Six Flags and Great America. The park has partnered with the movie studio Lionsgate to operate a haunted hou...

Pease Park wants to add giant troll as statement piece near downtown Austin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Pease Park wants to add a statement piece to the landscape just on the edge of downtown Austin.Leaders with Pease Park Conservancy want to explore the feasibility of a public artwork donation from the Conservancy to the City of Austin.The park, along Lamar Boulevard from 15th Street to 24th Street, strives to be a place opening up the wonders of the natural world to guests. Now, the park wants to add a giant troll.Pease Park Conservancy wants to explore the feasibility of a public artwork donation from the Conservancy to the City of Austin. | Courtesy Pease Park ConservancyThe artwork would be fully funded and maintained by Pease Park Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with city, according to the Pease Park website.Danish artist, Thomas Dambo, is known for using recycled materials to construct troll sculptures across the world, according to the website.Dambo would grant a 15-year exclusive license to the proposed artwork, which is subje...

KBVO Game of the Week: 4A Lampasas leads 5A Pflugerville Connally 14-6 at half

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — An undefeated Class 4A team is putting its perfect record on the line away from home against a Class 5A squad Thursday in the KBVO Game of the Week.Lampasas rang up 72 points against East View last week to notch its third consecutive win, and the Badgers will head down to The Pfield to take on Pflugerville Connally. The Cougars enter the game 2-1 following a 56-42 defense-optional win over McCallum last week.REPORT YOUR SCORE: We'd love to post your team's score on our website, but we need your help to do it. Email the score of your game to [email protected] and we'll get it on our websiteThe Badgers have outscored their opponents 152-60 to start the season 3-0 and racked up 664 total yards in the win over East View. Quarterback Reed Jerome threw for 293 yards, ran for 100 more and accounted for six touchdowns. He needed to have a huge game as his defense allowed nearly 500 yards of total offense to the Patriots.Connally, who finished 0-10 last season, is led by senior...

Twins ride Kenta Maeda, rookies to blowout win over White Sox

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:53 GMT

CHICAGO — The rookies took care of (much of) the offense. A veteran took care of (much of) the rest.CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 14: Edouard Julien #47 of the Minnesota Twins hits a solo home run off Jose Urena #54 of the Chicago White Sox (not pictured) during the fourth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field on September 14, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Home runs from rookies Edouard Julien and Royce Lewis as well as a two-run single from Matt Wallner gave the Twins their lead. That, paired with a strong seven-inning outing from Kenta Maeda, helped the Twins to a 10-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.Maeda turned in one of his longest starts of the year — and one of his best, too — throwing a season-high 105 pitches in his seven innings.He was unscored upon until his last inning, when he walked Yoán Moncada and then gave up a two-run home run to Andrew Vaughn. Other than that, he held the White Sox quiet,...

Proposed changes coming to old Bennington High School

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:53 GMT

BENNINGTON, Vt. (NEWS10) -- The town of Bennington and a local real estate developer agreed to give the old Bennington High School a new life. After several failed attempts to convert the century-old former Bennington High School, a newly agreed upon $30 million project was sparked by the town. There will be a gym and a childcare center with both being operated by the YMCA. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! "The gym will be renovated, and there will be a weight room and some locker rooms. That will be run by the YMCA. The senior center will be relocated there, and there will be an office space and a commercial kitchen."The real estate company partnering with the town will cover 90 percent of the bill. They have secured 60 percent of the money and are awaiting more state and federal money. There are plans to break ground for the 18-month project by March 2024.

Auto union plans strike at GM Wentzville plant, 2 other factories if deal not reached

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:42:53 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union says it will go on strike at three factories as it presses Detroit companies to come up with better wage and benefit offers.The factories include a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri, a Ford factory in Wayne Michigan, and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.Contracts between 146,000 auto workers and the companies are set to expire at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. Despite increased offers from Ford and GM, it appears that no deals will be reached before the deadline.UAW President Shawn Fain said Thursday night that more factories could be added to the strike list if negotiations don’t go the union’s way.The union has a list of demands including 36% pay raises over four years, cost of living raises, and an end to different tiers of wages for workers. Ford and GM are offering 20% during the next contract while Stellantis’ last known offer was 17.5%.THIS IS BREAKING NEWS: Previous version of story below:With a deadline looming j...