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2 Illinois metros among the most affordable places to live in the US: report

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:00 GMT

ILLINOIS (WMBD) – When choosing a place to live, affordability is a top concern for most people, and a new ranking from U.S. News and World Report may help narrow the search for a cheaper home.The study looked at what metro areas across the nation were the most affordable to live in. In that 2023 study, two Illinois areas ranked among the cheapest places to live in the country.As part of the study, the group assessed how much of a household's annual income went toward the average cost of owning or renting a home, including utilities and taxes, as well as price parity, which compares the cost of goods and services nationwide.Additionally, because affordability was a top concern for residents, the company used it as a key metric to calculate its Best Places to Live ranking.What are the top 10 most affordable places to live?These are the 10 metro areas that made the list:Hickory, North CarolinaYoungstown, OhioHuntington, West Virginia, and Ashland, KentuckyHuntsville, AlabamaFort Wayne...

100+ affordable housing units open on South Lamar in Austin

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Over 100 more affordable housing units are ready for residents in Austin. Zilker Studios will open Monday for 110 Austinites to call home. Many tenants are transitioning out of homelessness, according to nonprofit Foundation Communities. The seven-story apartment building on South Lamar features on-site case management, a healthy food pantry, a staff nurse and health and wellness activities. INVESTIGATION: Austinites voted for more affordable housing. Where did your money go? The $25 million project was funded partially through $15 million in tax credits, $2 million in state loan funds and $4.6 million from Austin's 2018 voter-approved affordable housing bond program.City officials and Foundation Communities celebrated the opening of Zilker Studios on Friday. (KXAN Photo/Ed Zavala)"We really try to make a space people are proud to call home," said Walter Moreau, the executive director of Foundation Communities. "If Austin wants to be a diverse and inclusive commun...

Minnesota Senate sends legal marijuana to governor’s desk

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:00 GMT

A bill legalizing recreational adult-use cannabis is on its way to becoming Minnesota law.The Minnesota Senate early Saturday morning, May 20, approved a final version of a bill that will allow marijuana possession for people 21 and older, expunge marijuana conviction records and create a new regulatory plan for the substance.After years of advocacy at the Capitol, more than 30 committee hearings since January and two votes in both the House and Senate, the bill is now ready for a signature from Gov. Tim Walz, who supports legalization. Following the governor’s signature, it would go into effect Aug. 1.The bill’s second-to-last stop was the Senate, which passed the bill on a 34-32 party-line vote. The House passed the same bill Thursday with three Republicans joining Democrats in a 73-57 vote.Backers of legalization have not touted marijuana as a big money maker for the state, but instead point to the unequal outcomes for different groups in society, particularly racial ...

Man arrested after shots fired call in Schenectady

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:00 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Schenectady Police Department responded to two shots fired calls on Thursday, May 18. Steven Hinson, 28, was arrested in connection to the second incident. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Around 7:45 p.m., officers were called to Mumford Street for a report of shots fired where they reportedly found shell castings but no victims. About 45 minutes later, a second call for shots fired was reported three blocks away near Westover and Germania Streets.Once there, officers saw a man, later identified as Hinson, allegedly running in the street with a handgun. After a foot chase, Hinson was taken into custody. After a search of the area, police recovered a loaded handgun. Police looking for suspect in Troy stabbing Hinson was sent to the Schenectady County Jail on a pre-arraignment hold. He's facing second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree reckless endangerment charges, bot...

Zip codes donating the most money to Donald Trump in Missouri

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:00 GMT

In November of last year, former President Donald Trump announced his plans to run for president again in 2024. Despite potential complications presented by his indictment over falsifying business records in March and a jury finding him liable for defamation and sexual abuse in civil court in May, Trump has not announced any changes to his re-election bid; in fact, the Trump campaign announced an influx of donations after his grand jury indictment, signaling continued support from his base.However, Trump's broader appeal in the context of the 2024 presidential race remains unclear. The 2022 midterm elections put his political influence, both within the Republican party and among the voting public, to the test. Trump endorsed more than two dozen Republican candidates. While the GOP expected a 'red wave' to deliver overwhelming control of both houses of Congress, the results were significantly more muted. Democrats retained control of the Senate, and while Republicans have the House, ...

“Ella murió en mis brazos… asesinos”: madre de niña que falleció bajo custodia de la Patrulla Fronteriza

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:00 GMT

La madre de una niña panameña de 8 años que falleció bajo custodia de la Patrulla Fronteriza dijo el viernes que los agentes ignoraron repetidamente sus ruegos para hospitalizarla mientras sufría dolor de huesos, tenía dificultades para respirar y no podía caminar.Los agentes dijeron que el diagnóstico de influenza que se le había dado a la niña no requería hospitalización, dijo Mabel Álvarez Benedicks en una emotiva entrevista. Sabían que la pequeña tenía antecedentes de problemas cardiacos y anemia de células falciformes.“A mi hija me la mataron porque ella quedó casi un día y medio sin respirar”, dijo la madre. “Lloraba, suplicaba por su vida y no le hicieron caso. Nada hicieron por ella”.En entrevista con Telemundo 40, la madre agregó: “Ellos mataron a hija, poquito a poquito me la mataron… Ella murió en mis brazos y me la quitaron… Son unos asesinos”. Niña que murió bajo custodia de la Patrulla Fronteriza tenía problemas cardíacos ...

Queen’s freezing hiring amid projected deficit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:00 GMT

Queen’s University says it’s imposing an immediate freeze on hiring for full-time positions as the school projects a large deficit for 2023-24.The university says in response to cumulative financial pressures it will run a $62.8 million operating budget deficit, with projected expenses significantly outpacing income the school looks to receive from tuition payments.It’s the second straight year they’ve run a deficit, and Queen’s puts the bulk of the blame on the province for freezing tuition fee raises in response to the pandemic. “The impact of the provincial government’s 10 per cent tuition cut for Ontario students in 2019, and subsequent tuition freeze, has cost the university $179.4 million to date,” the university’s statement reads. “Ongoing inflationary costs and a decline in international student enrolment in the aftermath of the pandemic have added to the budgetary strain.”Queen’s, like other universities, has...

Police: 6 arrested on drug charges after search of ‘filthy’ New Bedford apartment

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:00 GMT

Six people are facing criminal charges in connection with a drug operation that was being run out of a “problematic’ residence in New Bedford, police announced Saturday.Officers executing a search warrant at 33 Crapo St. around 6 p.m. Tuesday found “deplorable” conditions inside, including containers, toilets, and bathtubs filled with urine and feces and the floors soaked with urine, according to police.Police say the search uncovered crack cocaine, 19 Suboxone film strips, a digital scale, and packaging materials. Twelve rounds of .410 shotgun shells were also allegedly found inside.Alex Marabuto, 37, Demaurice Andrews, 24, Shannon Smith, 24, Derek Brown, 56, Sophia Janeiro, 35, and Jessica Garcia, 43, were arrested in connection with the search.The conditions within the apartment were reported to the New Bedford Neighborhood Task Force for further scrutiny.“This case highlights the variety of dangerous situations that officers encounter on a daily basis. In...

German surgeon fired after getting hospital cleaner to assist amputation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:00 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Officials at a hospital in western Germany have expressed regret after it emerged that one of their surgeons got a cleaner to assist in a toe amputation.Public broadcaster SWR reported Friday that the incident at the Mainz University Hospital, which happened in 2020, didn’t result in any complications to the patient but the doctor has since been fired.The hospital’s chief executive, Norbert Pfeiffer, said the surgeon wrongly decided to go ahead with the routine procedure even though no qualified assistant was available, SWR reported.When the patient, who had received a local anesthetic, became restless the doctor asked a nearby cleaner to hold the man’s leg and pass surgical instruments, according to local daily Mainzer Allgemeine Zeitung. The paper reported that the cleaner had no medical experience.The incident came to light after a hospital manager spotted the cleaner — bloody gauze pads in hand — in the operating theater, it reported.“This should never have happene...

Boston judge rules against American Airlines, JetBlue northeast partnership

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:00 GMT

A federal judge in Boston ruled Friday that a northeast “alliance” between American Airlines and JetBlue must end, siding with government lawyers who argued the partnership would further consolidate the airline industry and harm air travelers.The ruling hands a major win to the Biden administration’s Department of Justice, which originally sued to block the so-called Northeast Alliance between the two airlines in September 2021. That proposed deal saw American Airlines and JetBlue coordinate closely on flight operations in Boston and New York.Judge Leo Sorokin said the Northeast Alliance “substantially diminishes competition in the domestic market for air travel.”“It does so by combining the Boston and New York operations of two airlines that are among the most significant competitors in that region,” Sorokin wrote in a 94-page ruling. “These two powerful carriers act as one entity in the northeast, allocating markets between them and replacing full-throated competition with broad c...