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Illinois product Bren Spillane, a former Cincinnati Reds draft pick, heats up in Frontier League. ‘I’m going to own it.’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:49:25 GMT

Whether it was a foul ball that came down in the wrong spot, a collision with an opponent or an attempt at a diving catch that went awry, outfielder Bren Spillane has dealt with many of what he calls “fluky” injuries throughout his five-year career in the minor leagues.Spillane, a Wheeling native and University of Illinois product, has had more than his share of misfortune. But the 26-year-old has learned not to wallow in it with the Windy City ThunderBolts.“At first, I started to think about having bad luck,” Spillane said. “But I stopped thinking about it. These are the cards I’ve been dealt with. God’s put me here for a reason, put me on this path for a reason. I’m going to own it and roll with the punches.”Spillane has not taken many hits this season. He has played nearly every day for the T-Bolts (12-21) while being one of the most consistent hitters in the Frontier League.He’s hitting .304 with five home runs and 14 R...

Bears announce 9 training camp practices will be open to public in Lake Forest

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:49:25 GMT

Chicago Bears fans hoping to get a glimpse of quarterback Justin Fields and the rest of the team ahead of the 2023 regular season are set to have nine opportunities to do so this summer in Lake Forest.The Bears have announced nine summer training camp practices will be open to fans between July 27 and Aug. 10 at their Halas Hall headquarters in Lake Forest, with all of the sessions starting at 10 a.m.Starting July 6, at 10 a.m. fans can go to ChicagoBears.com/camp to get the tickets that are free of charge. Fans can select up to four tickets per date, subject to availability. They will be distributed as mobile tickets.“This family-first experience is built for all Bears fans alike, with team practices being the center point and many other attractions, games and activities across our campus in Lake Forest throughout each open date,” Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren said in a news release.As has been the case in previous years, parking will be provided at Hawthorn Mall...

Business applications still surging: What new owners should know

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:49:25 GMT

A sustained high number of new business applications from mid-2020 to now indicates an optimism not necessarily shared across the economy. That ambition may be tested in the coming months.From January to July 2020 — the six-month period with a very short and deep recession smack dab in its middle — the number of applications for employer identification numbers (EINs) from the IRS nearly doubled. That ambitious optimism amid great economic uncertainty persists: As of April 2023, filings of these new business applications were 55% higher than in that January three years earlier.But banks are being more cautious about lending, and consumers may begin pulling back on spending after a long campaign by the Federal Reserve to cool the economy. New businesses, by their nature often on already-vulnerable financial footing, should prepare for rocky times with the knowledge that all healthy businesses, young or old, can benefit from contingency planning.New businesses still elevated, three yea...

Adult woman fraudulently enrolled in multiple BPS high schools, under police investigation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:49:25 GMT

An adult woman enrolled in three BPS high school in the last school year in a scheme using multiple pseudonyms and transfers and is now being investigated by police, BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper said in a letter to families at the schools Tuesday morning.“I am deeply troubled that an adult would breach the trust of our school communities by posing as a student,” Skipper said in a statement. “This appears to be a case of extremely sophisticated fraud.”The individual attended Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School and English High School during the 2022-23 year.A BPS staff member at one of the schools identified “irregularities” in the individual’s paperwork and immediately notified district leadership who then informed police, the letter said. The adult was immediately discharged and ordered to stay away from BPS facilities.“While the investigation is in its early stages and remains ongoing, school officials have not ide...

Hunter Biden will plead guilty in a deal that likely averts time behind bars in a tax and gun case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:49:25 GMT

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s son Hunter will plead guilty to federal tax offenses but avoid prosecution on a separate gun charge in a deal with the Justice Department that likely spares him time behind bars.Hunter Biden, 52, will plead guilty to the misdemeanor tax offenses as part of an agreement made public Tuesday. The agreement will also avoid prosecution on a felony charge of illegally possessing a firearm as a drug user, as long as he adheres to conditions set by prosecutors. It’s somewhat unusual to resolve a federal criminal case at the same time charges are filed in court but not unheard of.The deal ends a long-running Justice Department investigation into Biden’s second son, who has acknowledged struggling with addiction following the 2015 death of his brother Beau Biden. It also averts a trial that would have generated days or weeks of distracting headlines for a White House that has strenuously so...

Paris 2024 Olympics HQ searched in third consecutive Summer Games scandal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:49:25 GMT

By ANGELA CHARLTON and GRAHAM DUNBAR (Associated Press)PARIS (AP) — French investigators searched the Paris Olympic organizers’ headquarters on Tuesday as part of corruption investigations into contracts linked to the Games, according to officials, the third straight time graft allegations have dogged a Summer Olympics.The Paris organizing committee said in a statement that a search was underway at their headquarters in the suburb of Saint-Denis, and said it was cooperating. It would not comment further.Tuesday’s search and other related raids were linked to two preliminary investigations of the Paris Olympics that had not previously been made public, according to an official with the financial prosecutor’s office, who was not authorized to be publicly named according to office policy. One probe was opened in 2017 — the year Paris was picked by the International Olympic Committee as the 2024 host — and the other began last year.Corruption allegati...

Raising Cane's opening in Chula Vista

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:49:25 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Lovers of chicken fingers will soon have a new option to feast at when Raising Cane's opens their newest location in San Diego County.On Tuesday, June 20, Raising Cane's will host a grand opening for their Chula Vista location, located at 512 H Street, the sixth location to open in the county.The new spot can be found at the entrance of the Chula Vista Center and will feature a double drive-thru and a large indoor dining space.“We are excited to continue our expansion in the San Diego market with the opening of our sixth Restaurant in the area and first in Chula Vista!” Restaurant Leader Ale Gonzalez said in a news release. “We look forward to serving our community and celebrating on Tuesday.”The grand opening event will begin at 7 a.m. with a "Lucky 20" drawing, where 20 chicken finger fanatics will have a chance to win free Cane's for a year. Customers must be at least 13 years of age and entries will be accepted from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m., with the winners announ...

How a Mexican spiritual leader preserves the sacred knowledge of the volcano known as El Popo

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:49:25 GMT

AMECAMECA, Mexico (AP) — Moisés Vega has a distinctive job: The 64-year-old Mexican says he can speak the sacred language of volcanoes to ask for good weather and a good crop.Mexico lowered the alert level on the Popocatépetl volcano by early June after its eruptions of gas and ash had drawn the attention of the international community. For Vega, though, the 17,797-foot (5,425-meter) mountain, known as El Popo, is a living being that never fades from his sight.“The Popocatépetl is our father and the Iztaccíhuatl is our mother,” he said, referring to a neighboring volcano. “They are providers of water and we are not afraid of them. On the contrary, their exhalations are blessings because they give us life.”There is no English translation for his profession, but among the inhabitants of the towns of central Mexico, men like him are called “graniceros.”“Their work is based on the pre-Hispanic notion of conciliation with nature,” said archaeologist Arturo Montero, from...

Singapore ride-hailing firm Grab slashes 1000 jobs in biggest layoff since pandemic

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:49:25 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Singapore ride-hailing firm Grab Holdings said it is cutting over 1,000 jobs or 11% of its workforce to cut costs and keep the company competitive, in its biggest round of job cuts since the pandemic.Grab CEO Anthony Tan said in a letter sent to employees late Tuesday that the job cuts were not a “shortcut to profitability” but part of a fundamental restructuring of its operating model and costs.“The primary goal of this exercise is to strategically reorganize ourselves, so that we can move faster, work smarter, and rebalance our resources across our portfolio in line with our longer term strategies,” Tan said, describing the restructure as a “painful but necessary step” for the longer term.Grab’s shares on NASDAQ were up more than 5% in premarket trading, but declined nearly 1.5% midday.The Singapore-based company started out as a taxi-hailing service in Malaysia in 2012, before later expanding to ride-hailing, food delivery and financial services across eight coun...

7-year-old fatally shoots 5-year-old child in eastern Kentucky

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:49:25 GMT

MCKEE, Ky. (AP) — A 7-year-old child fatally shot a 5-year-old child inside a home in eastern Kentucky, police said.An initial investigation found that the shooting reported Monday evening at the home in McKee was accidental, Kentucky State Police said in a statement. Life-saving measures were attempted, but the child was pronounced dead at the scene by the Jackson County coroner, police said. An investigation continues, said police, who did not identify those involved. There have been more than 150 unintentional shootings by children in the U.S. so far this year, including three others in Kentucky, resulting in at least 58 deaths and 101 injuries, according to the Everytown for Gun Safety advocacy group.Kentucky does not have any laws that impose a penalty on those that fail to secure an unattended firearm, according to Giffords Law Center. However, the state prohibits anyone from “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly” providing a handgun to a minor unless the minor has legal per...