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Column: Rick Armstrong’s Aurora-Elgin area top 10 sports stories of the year for 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:56 GMT

So many choices and so little space.Limiting a year’s worth of work to my personal top 10 is never an easy task.The list could easily number 20 or 25, but the assignment calls for 10.Candidates for the top spot were many as well.From a West Aurora graduate pitching her team to the College World Series to players of the year in football, boys basketball and softball, we have those bases covered.There’s also an NFL player from the Aurora-Elgin area aiming for the Hall of Fame, the revival of a high school football powerhouse and a basketball play you don’t see every day.And that leads us to something we haven’t seen in 40 years.So, without further ado, here goes. Let’s count them down:10. A career for the agesI didn’t get to witness Hannah Beatus pitch during a six-year college career extended by injuries and the pandemic at Grand Valley State, but the former West Aurora standout was worthy of the follow-up I wrote and them some. Called “Grand...

Would your documents survive a disaster? What to protect and how

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:56 GMT

By Kate Ashford | NerdWalletFloods, fires, historic storms — severe weather events are on the rise. If your home was hit by high water or a wildfire, would your important papers be safe?“Unfortunately, I’ve had clients who’ve been victims of fires, flooding, hurricanes,” says Sev Tamayo, an agent with Goosehead Insurance in Palm Coast, Florida. “Some of them were prepared and some of them weren’t.”Don’t be unprepared. Here’s what you need to do to protect your important documents.What you should keep safeThe most important items to keep in a safe place are things that are difficult to replicate, which includes documents that prove identity, legal process or ownership. If you’d have to call a government agency to process a replacement, you probably want to store it somewhere where it can stay damage-free. You should also consider what you’d need to access if a disaster strikes.Here are some items to consider, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency:Birth, adoption, death...

2024 first-quarter housing trends: Rates begin to thaw

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:56 GMT

Erik J. Martin |  Bankrate (TNS)We may be in the thick of winter, but many homebuyers and sellers are starting to have warm thoughts about the housing market. That’s because, looking ahead, market indicators suggest we’ll see increased activity thanks to lower mortgage rates. Yet home prices remain high and inventory levels are tight in many markets.How will the first quarter of 2024 shake out when it comes to rates, prices, sales activity and more? We asked top real estate experts to identify upcoming trends and offer their predictions.What to expect in Q1 2024The first quarter of the year is often a slower one for real estate due to colder weather and the inclination among buyers and sellers to wait things out until closer to spring.“We typically see housing inventory remaining low until February and then ramping up from March onward,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. “Homebuying and open house visits also ramp up starting in March.”Rick...

Myth or reality? Bigfoot sightings tracked over past century

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:56 GMT

You may be surprised to learn that, since 1926, Bigfoot has been spotted stomping through Colorado 130 times.That’s according to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, based in Dana Point, Calif. It may also be surprising to learn that a Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization actually exists.Then again, polling has shown that more than 1 in 5 Americans believe the big guy is out there, just out of sight. That’s roughly the same number who believe the universe began with the big bang.The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization is headed by Matt Moneymaker — a researcher featured in Animal Planet Channel’s reality documentary TV series “Finding Bigfoot” — who’s pursued the hairy, large creature, also referred to as Sasquatch, since the 1980s.In Colorado, sighting reports typically come from the mountains. Bigfoot apparently isn’t a fan of the Eastern Plains, and tends to avoid the big city traffic, too.“If you live in the city, you might not know what people who live in the mounta...

South Africa launches case at top UN court accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:56 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — South Africa launched a case Friday at the United Nations’ top court accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and asking the court to order Israel to halt its attacks. Israel swiftly rejected the filing “with disgust.”South Africa’s submission to the International Court of Justice alleges that “acts and omissions by Israel … are genocidal in character” as they are committed with the intent “to destroy Palestinians in Gaza” as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group.It also asks the Hague-based court to issue an interim order for Israel to immediately suspend its military operations in Gaza. A hearing into that request is likely in the coming days or weeks. The case, if it goes ahead, will take years.The Israeli government “rejected with disgust” the South African genocide accusations, calling it a “blood libel.” A Foreign Minis...

White rhino gives birth to calf at Toronto Zoo after 11 years in the facility

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:56 GMT

A white rhino calf was born at the Toronto Zoo this week.Zoo officials say a rhino named Sabi gave birth to a healthy calf just before 8 a.m. on Thursday.This is the 15-year-old rhino’s second calf — her first calf Theo was born in 2017 and left Toronto in late 2021.The zoo says Sabi arrived there in 2012 and her long reproductive cycles made conception a challenge.The zoo staff made adjustments to Sabi’s daily care and diet, and her behaviour suggested that her hormonal cycles had switched to the typical length of 30 days in the spring of last year.Officials say the breeding introduction of Sabi with white rhino male Tom in the summer of 2022 was successful.White rhinos in the wild are listed as “near threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.There are fewer than 16,000 left in the wild, with numbers declining due to habitat loss and the continued increase in poaching for their horns in the...

Ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen says he unwittingly sent AI-generated fake legal cases to his attorney

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s onetime personal lawyer and fixer, says he unwittingly passed along to his attorney bogus artificial intelligence-generated legal case citations he got online before they were submitted to a judge.Cohen made the admission in a court filing unsealed Friday in Manhattan federal court after a judge earlier this month asked a lawyer to explain how court rulings that do not exist were cited in a motion submitted on Cohen’s behalf. Judge Jesse Furman had also asked what role, if any, Cohen played in drafting the motion.The AI-generated cases were cited as part of written arguments a lawyer made to try to bring an early end to Cohen’s court supervision after he served more than a year behind bars. Cohen had pleaded guilty in 2018 to tax evasion, campaign finance charges and lying to Congress, saying Trump directed him to arrange the payment of hush money to a porn actor and to a former Playboy model to fend off damage to his 2016 presiden...

Argentina formally announces it won’t join the BRICS alliance in Milei’s latest policy shift

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:56 GMT

BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Argentina formally announced Friday that it won’t join the BRICS bloc of developing economies, the latest in a dramatic shift in foreign and economic policy by Argentina’s new far-right populist President Javier Milei.In a letter addressed to the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — all members of the alliance — Milei said the moment was not “opportune” for Argentina to join as a full member. The letter was dated a week ago, Dec. 22, but released by the Argentine government on Friday, the last working day of 2023.Argentina was among six countries invited in August to join the bloc made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to make an 11-nation bloc. Argentina was set to join Jan. 1, 2024.The move comes as Argentina has been left reeling by deepening economic crisis.Milei’s predecessor, former center-left president Alberto Fernandez, endorsed joining the alliance as an opportunity to reach new markets. Th...

Casino smoking and boosting in-person gambling are among challenges for Atlantic City in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:56 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — After the confetti is swept away and the empty champagne bottles recycled in Atlantic City, 2024 will bring numerous challenges and potential opportunities for the East Coast gambling resort.The most burning issue for Atlantic City in the new year is likely to be whether state lawmakers approve a measure to ban smoking in the nine casinos.High-profile anti-crime and pedestrian safety measures should show whether they, in fact, work. A new $100 million indoor water park at the Showboat hotel will have its first summer season.And the physical casinos will be watching closely to see whether gamblers continue to more widely embrace internet gambling and sports betting at the expense of doing it in person inside the casinos.Jane Bokunewicz, director of the Lloyd Levenson Institute at Stockton University, which studies the Atlantic City gambling and tourism market, believes 2024 could see a return to more normal patterns after pandemic-related disruptions.“There...

Brazil expresses concern over Venezuela-Guyana border dispute as naval exercises begin in area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:56 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday it was “concerned” about a border dispute between Venezuela and Guyana that intensified this week following Britain’s decision to send a warship to Guyana’s shores.Brazil’s foreign ministry urged both countries to return to dialogue and said third countries should avoid “military activities” that support either side.Brazil’s statement calls on both countries to stay true to the Argyle Declaration, an agreement signed by Guyana and Venezuela two weeks ago in which their leaders said they would solve the border dispute through nonviolent means.The border dispute is over the Essequibo, a sparsely populated region the size of Florida that is rich in oil and minerals.Venezuela on Thursday launched military exercises involving 5,000 troops in the eastern Caribbean in response to Britain’s decision to send the patrol ship.In a nationally televised speech, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused Guyana ...