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Nike announces it'll stop using kangaroo leather for its soccer cleats

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — After Oregon lawmakers introduced a bill banning the sale of kangaroo parts, Nike has announced that it will no longer be using kangaroo leather for any of its products by the end of 2023.According to ESPN, Nike confirmed its move away from kangaroo products in a statement on Monday.ESPN reported that Nike’s Tiempo soccer cleats, which are typically made with kangaroo leather, will “debut with a new Nike-only, proprietary synthetic upper, [with] a new material that is a better performance solution.” Shop at IKEA? You may be entitled to part of a $24M class action settlement Prior to this announcement, the athletic apparel company had been criticized for its use of kangaroo products by animal activists across the world.In March 2022, organizers joined the Global Day of Action to protest the brand’s soccer cleats outside of a Nike store in downtown Portland, Oregon. Groups in New York and Australian cities led their own protests as well.More recently, Oregon ...

Kennedy Expressway construction project to begin Monday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

CHICAGO — Starting Monday, a three-year construction project will start on the Kennedy Expressway and is expected to cause major delays for drivers.During the first phase of the $150 million project, the Illinois Department of Transportation will be doing deck overlay repairs on every bridge structure between the Edens and Ohio Street. FULL DETAILS: Kennedy Expressway construction project to last 3 years, cost $150M Overnight Monday into Tuesday morning, IDOT will close the two left-hand inbound lanes of the Kennedy. It will take about a week for the full configuration to get in place.The express lanes will stay open to inbound traffic around the clock until this year's repairs are done."If they want to get on and off the Kennedy, it's best that they stay to the right-hand side and use the local lanes," Jon Schumacher, the bureau chief of construction for IDOT District 1, said. "If they're going all the way downtown or going through, it'll be best for them to use the reversible." ...

Sox fan facing 3rd cancer battle has support system of major league proportions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

CHICAGO — They may look like just ordinary MLB cleats but by the time Bianca Frustaci gets done with them, they will be All-Star material just like the feet they belong to — White Sox closer Liam Hendricks. Describing her not-so-accidental encounter with Hendricks, his wife Kristi and representatives from the Andrew Weishar Foundation, Frustaci told WGN News that the meeting, while nerve-wracking, was fulfilling."I was at a loss for words that I was able to meet him and talk to him about his journey and things like that," she said. "It’s a different type of connection to where it’s good to know there are other people who are struggling but also fighting." ‘Incredibly genuine’: How Liam Hendriks & family have helped the Lymphoma Research Foundation Liam Hendricks (Photo: Provided)Frustaci is fighting Hodgkin's lymphoma for a third time. Her original diagnosis was in 2017. Always on the move, either working or volunteering at Valentine Boy's and Girl's Club, she wrote it of...

At least 8 kids sickened after possibly eating pot gummies at California school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

(KTLA) – At least eight children needed medical evaluation Wednesday afternoon after possibly ingesting marijuana gummies at a school in Sun Valley, California officials said.The incident was reported around 1:20 p.m. at 7330 N. Bakman Avenue, the site of Sun Valley Magnet School, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.The patients, all believed to be school age, were being evaluated for "sudden illness" after ingesting what is believed to be chewable marijuana, officials said. They were all conscious and breathing.The boys and girls are between 12 and 16 years old. Five were taken to a hospital for further treatment, while three were released at the scene to their parents.Officials said that while the kids were discovered sick at the campus, it was unclear if they are students.“A confirmation of how each may be affiliated with the campus remains a matter for LAUSD officials,” LAFD said in an updated alert.Several Los Angeles Fire Department units responded to the school, aeri...

EMS: Overdoses down in Austin this spring compared to last year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Overdoses typically spike in the spring, but Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) said that's not the case this year. Last year, the week before SXSW - two peopled died from overdoses and at least a dozen went to the hospital in what police called an "alarming" 48-hour period. DEA, APD address increase in downtown overdoses This prompted the Austin Police Department (APD) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to issue a poignant warning ahead of the festival. Over the past year, multiple city and county efforts have gone toward curbing overdoses and keeping the deadly drug fentanyl off the streets.This year, as ATCEMS crews go full throttle on SXSW safety efforts, the agency is happy to report overdose numbers are down. "They're not as high as last year, so that's a good thing," ATCEMS Commander Eric Gordon said. "I think public messaging and awareness is going really well. I think people are understanding the risk of that and how dangerous using those drugs...

Texas Rent Relief application portal closing early with more than 70K submissions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

Editor's Note: The above video is a KXAN story from March 14 on the Texas Rent Relief portal.AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Rent Relief (TRR) application portal will close on Thursday after thousands of applications were submitted within the first 24 hours, according to a news release from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.More than 70,000 applications were submitted, according to a TDHCA news release. ‘I don’t want to be homeless’: Texas rent relief gets over 10K applications in just hours The TRR portal will close at 11:59 a.m., Central Standard Time, the release said.For comparison, the highest number of applications seen in a single day when the portal first opened in 2021 was less than 20,000, TDHCA said.Applicants who have started the application process but not yet completed must upload all documents and submit them by Thursday, the release said. However, submitting an application does not guarantee payment.TDHCA said closing the portal helps ensure program s...

Martin Ludden to step down as director of St. Paul Neighborhood Network

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

Martin Ludden, the executive director of the St. Paul Neighborhood Network cable access station and media center, plans to step down this summer after six years.Undated courtesy photo, circa April 2017, of Martin Ludden. (Courtesy of St. Paul Neighborhood Network)During his time at the helm of the nonprofit community media and technology center, Ludden built out new community-driven documentary programs and invested in the organization’s staff and infrastructure, in part by creating a paid family leave program.Ludden, a former public relations executive, also oversaw improvements to the nonprofit’s technology and facilities, including a comprehensive review of the organization’s policies and community impact, with a focus on diversity and inclusion. The center has served as a public forum in advance of St. Paul City Council and mayoral elections, as well as political referendums on organized trash collection and rent control.SPNN’s “Fresh Vantage” grants supp...

With extra DWI patrols for St. Paddy’s Day, don’t rely on luck to not get caught, cops say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

Minnesota State Patrol Lt. Gordon Shank talks about safe driving and avoiding DWIs during a busy weekend expected in downtown St. Paul with people gathering for St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and to watch the NCHC Frozen Faceoff at the Xcel Energy Center. He was joined outside the Xcel Energy Center on March 15, 2023 by, from left to right, St. Paul Police Cmdr. Jeremy Ellison, St. Paul Police Cmdr. Chris Kasal and Mike Hanson, director of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety. (Mara H. Gottfried / Pioneer Press)With a busy weekend expected in St. Paul for those celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and watching college hockey games, extra law enforcement will be out for DWI enforcement.“Our ultimate goal is a safe weekend for everybody — no serious injuries, no fatalities in St. Paul or across the entire state,” said Mike Hanson, director of the state’s Office of Traffic Safety. “… Because (even) if you ha...

Wisconsin Republicans offer exceptions to 1849 abortion ban, but Evers says it’s not enough

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

MADISON, Wis. — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature unveiled a bill Wednesday that would create rape and incest exceptions to the state’s 1849 abortion ban and clarify when abortions that protect the health of the mother would be allowed. But the bill would not return the same rights that were in place under Roe v. Wade.The measure drew immediate bipartisan opposition, however.Democratic lawmakers said its introduction was a cynical ploy to deceive voters just three weeks before a pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court election. And Democratic Gov. Tony Evers promised a veto.“I won’t sign a bill that leaves Wisconsin women with fewer rights and freedoms than they had before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe,” Evers said.Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu promised that the measure would not be taken up in the GOP-controlled Senate, noting Evers’ promise to veto it, saying: “This is not a topic to use as a political football.”The bill comes as a pending lawsui...

Gophers’ Terell Smith rallied to catch the NFL’s attention

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:01 GMT

Terell Smith lost his starting job with the Gophers multiple times during his five-year college career.But the Snellville, Ga., cornerback won it back last season and parlayed that peak into a standout performance in the East-West Shrine Bowl and an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine. He refined his testing numbers at the Gophers’ Pro Day on Wednesday.Now, Smith presents tantalizing size (6-feet, 204 pounds), quality speed (4.41-second 40-yard dash) and improved physicality (38 tackles in 2022).“It was an up-and-down career,” Smith said Wednesday. “I started off hot and then play time dipped for some inconsistencies on my part, so I just had to work through those inconsistencies and just focus on getting better. It was a lot of adversity, but this program allowed me to fight through the adversity and come back.”Smith started 11 games as a true freshman in 2018 and it appeared Minnesota would have a lock-down corner for years to come. But injuries and poor play had Smith playing ...