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New approach to stopping spread of hepatitis C helping to protect babies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:45 GMT

There is a new approach to stop the spread of hepatitis C and help protecting babies from a common virus striking their mothers.Hepatitis C cases are on the rise – fueled by the opioid epidemic and the use of needles. Born from the crisis – there is an uptick in women of child-bearing age who learn they have the virus during pregnancy.Dr Lynn Yee is a maternal fetal medicine physician with Northwestern Medicine.“We’re seeing a dramatic increase of Hep C in the United States because it’s a hidden epidemic that really parallels the opioid epidemic,” she said.It’s a virus – often spread by needle drug use -- that impacts the liver.“Hepatitis C can cause chronic liver scarring and fibrosis,” Yee said. “It can eventually contribute to liver cancer and liver failure and lots of long-term complications we hope to prevent.”Learn more at Northwestern Medicine's Women’s Infectious Disease Program sitePregnant women who test positive have a 5 to 15 percent chance of passing hepatitis c to thei...

Missing 15-year-old girl last seen 2 weeks ago on Chicago's Near West Side, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:45 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police seek the public's help locating a 15-year-old girl who has been missing for two weeks.Kennedi Showers was last seen in the 2100 block of W. Jackson Blvd., on the city's Near West Side, on Oct. 18. The missing girl is also known to frequent the area of 69th and Dan Ryan.Police described Kennedi as 5-foot-5-inches, weighing 118 pounds with brown eyes, brown eyes and a dark skin complexion. She was last seen wearing black clothing with white shoes. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines Anyone with information on Kennedi's whereabouts is asked to contact police at (312) 744-8266

Confusion, frustration and hope at Gaza's border with Egypt as first foreign passport-holders depart

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:45 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds of foreign passport-holders and dozens of other seriously wounded Palestinians desperate to escape Israel's bombardment of Gaza crowded around the black iron gate on the Egyptian border Wednesday, hoping to pass through the enclave’s only portal to the outside world for the first time since the war began.Restless children pressed their faces against the wire mesh as families with backpacks and carry-on suitcases pushed and jostled. The air was thick with apprehension.Everyone was waiting for the Hamas authorities to call their names over the scratchy loudspeaker. Each name represented another individual with a chance to escape the punishing war that has killed over 8,800 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and forever altered the enclave they had called home. “We are relying on God and hoping that we get out,” said Rania Hussein, a Jordanian resident of Gaza, as she breathlessly described the horrors she had fled — en...

Suburban farm offers unique camping experience

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:45 GMT

BARRINGTON, Ill. — A unique northwest suburban campground is combining camping and furry animals — just in time for fall.Forty alpacas that call SafeHouse Farm on West Chatham Road home along with 11 chickens, one donkey,  two geese, six rabbits, one miniature horse, 12 ducks, three mini heifers and two turkeys.For former schoolteacher, Linda McGill, SafeHouse Farm is a classroom — just a little louder and muddier. More from Erin: CPS student’s STEM project making an impact in the world of wildfires Kids never want to leave after the hour-long tour is over. And that got Linda's son Ryan McGill thinking."Having this open space we figured it would be a good way (to) utilize the space and incorporate camping,” he said. “And it would allow people to also have access to the farm."Two sites, a couple firepits, picnic tables and a porta potty later, SafeHouse Farm became one of the coolest campgrounds around.WGN’s Erin McElroy has more.

Donald Trump Jr. testifies in his father's civil fraud trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump Jr. testified Wednesday that he never worked on his father's financial statements, the documents at the heart of the civil fraud trial that threatens former President Donald Trump’s real estate empire.The ex-president's eldest son is an executive vice president of the family's Trump Organization and has been a trustee of a trust set up to hold its assets when his father was in the White House. But when the son was asked whether he had ever worked on his father's “statement of financial condition” in any year, the scion said: “Not that I recall.”The lawsuit centers on whether the former president and his business misled banks and insurers by inflating his net worth on the financial statements. He and other defendants, including sons Donald Jr. and Eric, deny wrongdoing.Donald Trump Jr. said he signed off on statements as a trustee, but had left the work to outside accountants and the company's then-finance chief, Allen Weisselberg. What is a dry promoti...

IRS announces changes to 2024 retirement contribution limits

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:45 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – The Internal Revenue Service delivered good news for retirement savers Wednesday, announcing that the limit on contributions to 401(k) and other popular accounts will be higher in 2024.The IRS, citing the rising cost of living, boosted the annual individual contribution limits for 401(K), 403(b), most 457 plans and the government's Thrift Savings Plan by $500, to $23,000.People who are 50 or older can contribute another $7,500 to those plans in 2024 as part of the catch-up contribution program, which will have a limit of $30,500.These plans are typically created for employees to stash tax-deferred dollars in retirement accounts, also lowering their overall taxable income in the process.IRA plansIRA contributors will be able to invest up to $7,000 in 2024, up from $6,500, with the catch-up contribution limit for those 50 or older set at $8,000.Raising contribution limits allows savers to put aside more money to meet retirement goals, something that is especially helpful f...

Some Instagram and Facebook users can get rid of ads for $10. Would you pay?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:45 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Meta is giving users in 31 countries the option to scroll their feeds without ads – for a price, of course. Instagram and Facebook users in the European Union, plus Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, can now pay 10 euros (which is about $10.54) a month to use the platforms ad-free on a web browser. For iOS and Android mobile apps, they'll need to pay a bit more – 13 euros ($13.71). It costs more to use the apps ad-free on mobile to compensate for the cut of in-app purchases that Apple and Google take, Meta says. Are you tipping wrong at hotels? Those rates cover a person's Facebook and Instagram accounts for now. But starting in March 2024, users will need to pay an extra 6 euros to cover both on the web or 8 euros to cover both on mobile apps. Users will need to pay even more to cover additional accounts or profiles.Users 18 and older in those European countries will still have the option to use Instagram and Facebook for free with ads. Companie...

Man accused of forgery after stealing $4K, forging 'fake lease contract'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:45 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- One man was accused of forgery after he forged a "fake lease contract" and stole $4,000 in early October, according to an affidavit.The victim contacted the Austin Police Department on Oct. 27, explaining the events that led up to the theft of the money he gave to an man who identified himself as Juan Vasquez, 23, court documents said.When the victim contacted APD, he said he and his friend found an advertisement on Facebook to rent a home located in northwest Austin. On Oct. 10, the victim met with Vasquez at a place he thought to be Vasquez's office, which was located near Bee Cave. Vasquez then presented the victim with a contract and said he "was an agent with Sunroom Rentals," court documents said. After they both signed the contract, Vasquez provided the victim with a copy of the contract.The victim then paid Vasquez $2,000 for a deposit for the home, according to the affidavit. After that, Vasquez told the victim he was going to change the locks so he would h...

Rural freeze expected in many areas overnight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:45 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Following only an isolated freezing temperature in creek bottoms and valleys in the Hill Country Wednesday morning, lighter winds leading to colder temperatures may mean a more widespread rural freeze Thursday morning.While a Freeze Warning is not officially in effect for most areas (except Milam and Lampasas counties), residents in colder suburbs and rural areas may consider protecting:PetsPipesPlantsPeopleA dramatic warming trend starts Thursday afternoon as winds swing around to the southeast, bringing temperatures back to the 80s for weekend plans.High temperatures will approach record-warm levels Tuesday, in the upper 80s in Austin.Daylight Saving Time comes to an end early Sunday morning, so don't forget to let your clocks "fall back" one hour. BLOG: El Niño into 2024: What that means for winter and spring BLOG: NOAA releases winter forecast Austin Interactive Weather Stats (2023) FIRST WARNING WEATHER: Stay up to date with your Central Texas forecast,...

City Council to implement rules of new state law that will likely lead to fewer parks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:45 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin City Council will vote Thursday to implement necessary changes to parkland dedication ordinances in order to comply with a new state law that passed last session and will go into effect in January.Previously, Austin's ordinance required developers to provide nearly 10 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents or face a fee. The new state law requires local officials to reduce that amount down to 3,000 square feet in Austin’s downtown and to three acres in suburban neighborhoods. “The bill requires Austin to make substantial changes to the current parkland ordinance to comply with state law, and there is very little room for the city’s discretion in the new ordinance language,” said Robynne Heymans, a principal planner at the Austin Parks and Recreation Department.The bill, House Bill 1526, also caps the total amount of parkland dedication for projects in Austin's city limits at 10%. The former ordinance capped parkland dedication at 15% in the urban core and h...