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Sail GP makes Lake Michigan a raceway this weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:45 GMT

CHICAGO — The world’s greatest sailors are preparing to battle out on Lake Michigan.  The Rolex United States Sail Grand Prix will take place Friday and Saturday.This is the second consecutive year the race is making a stop here in Chicago.  It’s described as NASCAR on the water.  The tight course will take place inside of the outer harbor break wall between Navy Pier and the Planetarium.  The 10 F50 catamarans of Sail GP are capable of reaching speeds up to 60 miles per hour.  This weekend’s event kicks off the season which will stretch through next summer with 12 events at stops all over the world.  While in Chicago, there will be three 12 to 15 minutes races that will take place on each day.  The city’s two-day race has brought in fans from near and far, all the experience the adrenaline in person.  While tickets are available for people who would like a front row seat to the action, you can take in the view from just about anywhere along the la...

Pleasant, dry for Father's Day weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:45 GMT

It took a while—but the sun broke from the clouds temps more like those of late April than mid June. The high near 69 Friday is a reading 11-deg below normal.It was cool enough to rank among the coolest 20% of June 16's on the book in Chicago since 1942.We head into the Father's Day weekend with slow warming bringing daytime temps closer to seasonal norms. Lake breezes are likely to limit warming on area beaches.  Highs Saturday reach 77 inland and 83 on Sunday—but air temps on Chicago's beaches will remain in the mid 60s to low 70s.SMOKE OFF CANADIAN WILDFIRES (446 of them—half burning out of control) will ease a bit—but NOT disappear. So weekend skies will continue to boast a HAZY APPEARANCE due to lingering smoke aloft.A disturbance slips southeastward from Iowa and Missouri into downstate Illinois and Indiana largely bypassing the Chicago area with its rains—and allowing the region's abysmal rain tally since April to stand.  Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Cent...

WGN, WGN Radio and NewsNation volunteer on Nexstar Founder's Day of Caring

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:45 GMT

WGN Radio, WGN-TV and NewsNation partnered together for the 27th annual Nexstar's Founder's Day of Caring, a day when employees volunteer as a group at an organization in their community.This year, staff volunteered at Cradles to Crayons Chicago and donated blood at a Vitalant Blood Drive. At Cradles to Crayons, the morning and afternoon volunteers sorted clothing into various age groups, stuffed back-to-school backpacks, and cleaned shoes in keeping with the organization's cornerstone value: With Quality = Dignity. By the numbers, here is how WGN Radio, WGN-TV and NewsNation helped the organizations: The morning shift at Cradles to Crayons packed 774 backpacks, cleaned 70 shoes, and sorted clothes for 62 kids. The afternoon shift at Cradles to Crayons packed 784 backpacks, cleaned 41 shoes and sorted clothes for 54 kids. Online donations resulted in over $1,352 raised for Cradles to Crayons which provides 188 new backpacks filled with all the supplies kids need to start the next sc...

Marcus Leshock on meeting Skilling as a kid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:45 GMT

CHICAGO — WGN Morning News’ Marcus Leshock talks about him and his mom meeting Tom Skilling as a kid, and what makes WGN-TV truly special.For more great WGN at 75 stories check out WGNtv.com/stories

When Toomey’s ‘Batman’ met the real Batman 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:45 GMT

CHICAGO — One of Mike Toomey’s earliest appearances on WGN Morning News was impersonating the Adam West-era Batman. What did the real Adam West think when he met his alter ego? For more great WGN at 75 stories check out WGNtv.com/stories

DOJ investigation finds dangerous policing tactics from Minneapolis police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – An investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department, which began the day after the murder conviction of the officer who killed George Floyd, found that the police department used dangerous tactics and weapons, particularly when dealing with minorities.The damning report from the Justice Department says that for years the Minneapolis Police Department regularly used excessive force, particularly in Black and Native American communities.“George Floyd should be alive today,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “The patterns and practices we observed made what happened to George Floyd possible.”On Friday, DOJ officials laid out the troubling pattern they say was entrenched in the department's practices.“Neck restraints are lethal force and we found MPD officers often use neck restraints without warning on people suspected of only minor offenses and on people who posed no threat,” Assistant Attorney General Kristin Clarke said. “An off-duty officer fired his...

Excessive heat for Father's Day weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:45 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Another day, another day with triple digits and feels-like temperatures over 110º in many areas. Expert: Texas heatwave 'driven by climate change' An Excessive Heat Warning continues for the Austin-metro and eastern counties until Sunday 8 p.m. Heat index values could reach up to 115°+. A Heat Advisory is in effect for all of the Hill Country until Sunday evening as well where feels-like temperatures will only be slightly lower.Extreme Heat Warning issued for all of the Austin-metro & eastern counties until Sunday 8 p.m.Dangerous heat and humidity will continue to be the top concern areawide - be sure to frequently check in on friends, family and neighbors, particularly seniors, children, those working outdoors, etc.A few isolated storms will attempt to develop late this afternoon into the evening hours. Although the storm count will likely be low (less than a handful), storms that do develop could be strong to severe. There is a low risk of severe storms in ...

Canada police say bus carrying seniors did not have right of away in crash that killed 15

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:45 GMT

By ROB GILLIES (Associated Press)TORONTO (AP) — A bus carrying seniors to a casino that collided with a semi-trailer truck in a crash that killed 15 people did not have the right way, police said Friday, after watching video of the accident. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Supt. Rob Lasson said police also obtained witness statements from passing motorists that corroborated what investigators saw on the dash cam video from the semi truck. “This video indicates the bus entered the roadway where the semi truck had the right of way,” Lasson said, adding later: “We don’t know why the bus proceeded.”He said officers had not been able to speak to the driver of the bus, who is hospitalized.Lasson also said investigators had not yet been able to identify the bodies of the 15 killed, though those who were not injured were presumed to be deceased. He said the age range of the deceased and injured range between 58 and 88, the majority female. Six of 10 seniors...

First reviews for ‘Downtown Owl,’ which was partially shot in St. Paul, are a mixed bag

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:45 GMT

From “a hoot, and full of heart” (The Hollywood Reporter) to “lamentably patchy” (Paste), the first wave of reviews are in for “Downtown Owl,” which was partially shot in St. Paul, and they’re decidedly mixed.Actors and real-life couple Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater make their directorial debut in the film, which they shot in April last year. In addition to filming scenes at the Spot Bar and Highland Park High School in St. Paul, the crew also shot elsewhere in the area, including Minneapolis, Elko New Market and Independence.Based on the 2008 novel by essayist and North Dakota native Chuck Klosterman, “Downtown Owl” is set in 1983 in the fictional North Dakota town of Owl. It follows Julia Rabia (Rabe), a Milwaukee teacher who moves to the small town for a one-semester teaching job in order to give her husband the space to finish his doctoral thesis. Ed Harris, Vanessa Hudgens, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wittrock and Henry Golding are also in the cast.“Downtown Owl” had its wor...

Missouri's two MLB teams hold worst records in NL and AL

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS - For more perspective on just how disappointing this St. Louis Cardinals season has been to this point, they could be in jeopardy of finishing last place in the National League for the first time since World War I. But that's not all. In the 21st century, there has never been one time an MLB season that ended with two teams from the same state holding the worst records in the National League and the American League. The St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals could potentially become the first pair to attain some dooming history. The St. Louis Cardinals enter the weekend with a 27-42 record, one game behind the Washington Nationals for the NL cellar. The Kansas City Royals enter the weekend with an 18-50 record, half a game behind the Oakland Athletics for the AL cellar. RELATED - St. Louis metro leaders plan key trip to London around Cardinals series If the Cardinals and Royals somehow can't get out of their last-place spots by their 162nd games, they would be the ...