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College-bound, South Side entrepreneur to host back-to-school giveaway for Chicago youth

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:30:53 GMT

CHICAGO — An incoming college freshman and entrepreneur from the city's Chatham neighborhood has dedicated his teen years to giving back to Chicago youth, turning trauma into inspiration and innovation. Before 18-year-old Jaqueza Thomas starts his freshman year at the University of Illinois at Chicago in a few weeks, he plans to host a back-to-school giveaway to gather backpacks and school supplies for the neighborhood kids returning to school.“It's in my heart to just do it, I don't ask for anything,” Thomas said.He hopes to buy and give out 50 backpacks filled with school supplies – all using his own funds. “I want to do 50 backpacks, and I have been reaching out to different non-profits to see if they will donate,” Thomas said. Thomas said the Architecture Center would match his goal of 50 backpacks, bringing him to 100 backpacks for youth. Thomas will also receive school supply donations from the Chicago Police Department. This isn't the start of Thomas’s phi...

Courts: Baker Mayfield seeks proof of how his $12M was invested with family's companies

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:30:53 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN Live's top headlines for Aug. 18, 2023AUSTIN (KXAN) — Attorneys for Baker and Emily Mayfield filed a petition in Travis County District Court to request information regarding the potential misappropriation of $12 million by an Austin investment firm where Mayfield's family members work.The petition was filed Tuesday in the 250th District Court and attorneys are asking the defendants — Camwood Capital Management Group, Camwood Ventures, Texas Contract Manufacturing Group, Unitech, Apex Machining and Lor-Van — to turn over financial records from 2018-2023 and for witnesses to provide oral depositions to help the Mayfields figure out where their money has gone over the course of five years. "Petitioners simply do not know if their money has been properly and competently invested, has been stolen or otherwise misappropriated, or something in between," the document stated.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign...

Texas adds jobs, Workforce Commission says recession signs fading

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:30:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) released its July jobs report Friday morning, showing that the state added 26,300 jobs in the last month.This continues a 28-month growth trend that began around the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. Since last year, Texas added 441,700 jobs, leading TWC Chairman Bryan Daniel to claim Texas' supremacy in U.S. job growth.“Texas leads the nation in sustainable job growth with more than 2.7 million positions added in the past decade,” Daniel said. “The Texas economy remains strong, and TWC will continue to provide support through tools and resources for job seekers and employers alike.”In a press call Friday, TWC Executive Director Ed Serna and TWC's Labor Market Information Department manager Gabriel Guzman presented the agency's findings."There are good signs for the economy," Guzman said. "There was a lot of concern that the nation or the state would hit a recession. We're not seeing any of that at all in Texas. We st...

Record heat head of possible tropical showers

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:30:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect again today with near-record high temperatures well over 100° areawide. Excessive Heat Warning in effect 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. FridayThis comes after an extreme high temperature of 110° Thursday at Camp Mabry -- a tie for Austin's third-hottest day ever observed -- and 109° at Austin-Bergstrom Intl. Airport, a tie for their fourth-hottest day on record.While temperatures may be a couple of degrees cooler today, it'll still be excessively hot.Friday afternoon forecast highsThis weekend shows little improvement with mostly sunny skies and a high of 107º on both Saturday and Sunday that would tie and break records respectively.Weekend forecastTropical system may impact Texas next weekA disturbance moving into the Gulf early next week is expected to spin westward across record-hot ocean water in relatively favorable conditions for development. The National Hurricane Center has maintained odds of tropical depression formation at 40%.Wat...

Minnesota native Amani Hooker got passed over by Gophers. Now he’s starring in the NFL.

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:30:53 GMT

Even though it was a homecoming for Amani Hooker this week, he was a member of the enemy as soon as he touched down in Minnesota.With the Vikings hosting the Tennessee Titans for joint practices at TCO Performance Center, Hooker was there competing against the team he cheered for as as kid.“It feels good to be home,” said Hooker, a safety for the Titans, who signed a 3-year, $33 million contract extension last year. “I used to go down to training camp down in Mankato every once in a while, so to be able to have my family come watch me here is really cool.”The thought of Hooker reaching the NFL felt so far away when he was a underrecruited kid playing high school football for Park Center. How was he ever going to get to the highest level if he couldn’t even get attention from the Gophers just 15 minutes up the road?Asked why the Gophers never aggressively recruited him, Hooker responded, “I have no clue. That’d be a good question for whoever ...

David French: The 2 big questions Trump’s Georgia indictment answers

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:30:53 GMT

The best way to think about Georgia’s sprawling indictment against Donald Trump and his allies is that it is a case about lies. It’s about lying, conspiring to lie and attempting to coax, coerce and cajole others into lying.Whereas the attorney general of Michigan just brought a case narrowly focused on the alleged fake electors in her state (Trump is not a defendant in that one), and special counsel Jack Smith brought an indictment narrowly focused on Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has brought a case about the entire conspiracy, from start to finish, and targeted each person subject to her jurisdiction for each crime committed in her jurisdiction.In other words, this indictment is ambitious. But it also answers two related questions: Why bring yet another case against Trump in yet another jurisdiction? Isn’t he going to face a federal trial in Washington, D.C., for the same acts outlined in the Georgia indictment?The answe...

Emergency services chief on Maui resigns. He faced criticism for not activating sirens during fire.

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:30:53 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii — An emergency official who defended a decision to not sound outdoor alert sirens on Maui as a ferocious fire raged has resigned.Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya had said this week that he had no regrets about not deploying the system because he feared it could have caused people to go “mauka,” a Hawaiian term that can mean toward the mountains or inland.“If that was the case, then they would have gone into the fire,” Andaya explained. He stepped down Thursday, a day later.The decision to not use the sirens, coupled with water shortages that hampered firefighters and an escape route clogged with vehicles that were overrun by flames, has brought intense criticism from many residents following the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in more than a century.With the death toll at 111, the search for the missing moved beyond the devastated town of Lahaina to other communities that were destroyed. Teams had covered about 58% of the Lahaina area and t...

Capital Region Restaurant Rundown: August 14-18

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:30:53 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The restaurant industry is ever-changing with restaurants opening, closing, relocating, or just doing their thing. Here’s a recap of the latest Capital Region restaurant news, August 14 through August 18. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Mean Max Brew Works celebrating grand opening in TroyMean Max Brew Works had its soft opening at 251 River Street in Troy on July 21. The brewery is now having four days of grand opening celebrations from August 17 to August 20.Movie filming at former Ted’s Fish Fry in LansingburghTed’s Fish Fry at 350 2nd Avenue in Lansingburgh closed in October 2022, but it’s now being brought back to life as a fictional fast food chain called Hamudders. The independent film “Flapjax” is shooting there for a few days.Wilton restaurant plans to reopen, also up for saleIn March 2023, Jeff Baker was in a bad skiing accident. He went through multiple surgeries and is still working to walk a...

NOAA releases fall weather predictions for New York

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:30:53 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Sick of the summer heat? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has some bad news. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The agency released its 90-day forecast Thursday, predicting the broad weather conditions we expect to see around the country between September and November. For the vast majority of the country, it's looking like a hot summer will transition into a warm fall. The Northeast and Southwest have the highest chances of seeing above-average temperatures this fall, according to NOAA. No states are expecting a colder-than-average fall season, but a swath of the Midwest and Plains states have equal chances of warm or cool weather. Almanacs predict cold, wet winter—but can you trust them? For some states, those hot temperatures are expected to be paired with clear skies—or at least few rain clouds. Only the Southeast and Alaska are expecting above-average precipitation. Meanwhile, the Pacific Nort...

'The Gym' opens new center at Aviation Mall

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:30:53 GMT

QUEENSBURY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - A new place to get fit has made its way to the Aviation Mall. Local fitness center The Gym has opened a new location inside the mall this weekend. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Occupying the space formerly used by a TJ Maxx location, The Gym is a full gym and fitness center, featuring the expertise of personal trainers and strength coaches. The new center offers personal training, small group classes, and training sessions for student-athletes and sports. “It is extremely exciting to welcome another locally owned business," said Aviation Mall General Manager James Griffith. "We are confident that they will continue to grow their success at Aviation Mall.” Parts of Quaker Road to close for work in Queensbury The Gym also operates a location just down Quaker Road, at the plaza at 756 Upper Glen St. The mall location has 26,000 square feet of space at its disposal.