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35 world pianists will compete in Poland at the 2nd Chopin piano competition on period instruments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:23:00 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Thirty-five participants from around the world will compete in Poland’s 2nd Frederic Chopin piano competition on period instruments in October, the organizers said Thursday. The competition, launched in 2018, is intended to promote historically informed performance of the 19th century Polish composer’s works and to get as close as possible to the original sound of his music. Like the century-old renowned International Chopin Piano Competition, this one also meant to promote music talents and help launch international careers. The participants this year come from 14 countries, including 10 pianists from Japan, six from Poland and four from Italy. China, South Korea, the United States and Russia will be represented by two participants each. There will also be one participant from each of the following countries: Australia, Austria, France, Spain, Canada, Germany and Hungary. The contestants in the three-stage event will perform on historic Erard, Pleyel or ...

Toronto man charged for attempting to lure underage children online

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:23:00 GMT

A 36-year-old Toronto man is facing charges for attempting to lure underage children online. Peel police say the Internet Child Exploitation Unit opened an investigation in April 2023 after it became aware of a person using social media to attempt to lure children under the age of 16 for sexual purposes. Last month, Shawn Collinge was identified and arrested. He’s been charged with luring a child under the age of 16. Investigators say he utilized the following username across multiple social media platforms: ‘Shawn Collinge’ and ‘Shawn.collinge.39’ and that there may be further victims he attempted to contact online. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

Liam Hendriks delivers emotional speech at ESPYs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:23:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES — It's been an emotional year for the White Sox closer, with Wednesday night being another moment in that journey for the White Sox closer. That's when Liam Hendriks was presented with the Jimmy V Award at the 2023 ESPY Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Named after late North Carolina State head coach Jim Valvano, it's given to an athlete that overcomes "obstacles through perseverance and determination."This comes after Hendriks beat Stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and returned to the White Sox on Memorial Day at Guaranteed Rate Field. Naturally, he had plenty to say about his journey in an emotional, inspiring speech to the audience on Wednesday that was filled with some of the biggest stars in sports. ‘Extremely surreal’: Liam & Kristi Hendriks discuss White Sox return – and effort to help others beat cancer "Cancer changes you. There's no doubt about it. Going through this, it changed me for the better. There's a lot of times where I'm sitting out here...

Illinois is #2 worst state in U.S. for drought - a county-by-county conditions breakdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:23:00 GMT

Over a quarter of the continental U.S. is currently experiencing moderate to exceptional drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.While the West is currently experiencing a brief reprieve from its driest period of the last 1,200 years—other parts of the country, like the Central U.S., are experiencing spells of unusual dryness.In periods of drought, levels of major reservoirs and rivers can fall dramatically. Groundwater systems too feel the effects, and shrinking water supplies impact agriculture, hydropower generation, and wildfire risk.Periods of drought have intensified and become more frequent in recent years due to climate change. Scientists predict that even in low emissions scenarios, much of the U.S. will be drier by the end of the century.Stacker cited data from U.S. Drought Monitor to identify the counties in Illinois with the worst droughts in the week leading up to July 05, 2023. Counties are listed in order of percent of the area in drought conditions. Abnormally...

Docs: Glen Ellyn woman faces felony after 47 animals found dead, malnourished

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:23:00 GMT

WHEATON, Ill. -- A Glen Ellyn woman is facing felony charges for animal cruelty after 47 animals were found dead or malnourished on her property on June 27. April Elliot, 60, was charged with a felony of aggravated animal cruelty Tuesday. She was already facing 132 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and violation of owner's duties.According to court documents, on June 27, the DuPage County Animal Services searched her home and found multiple large dogs lying on the ground outside and in dog cages stacked on top of one another with four to five dogs in each cage.After obtaining a search warrant, officers found 33 live dogs, nine deceased dogs, four deceased chinchillas and one deceased rabbit. Man, 22, charged with killing, torturing cats: CPD It is alleged that the animals were living in inhumane conditions that caused them to suffer. The felony complaint states that from June 15 to July 11, Elliot failed to provide veterinary treatment to a companion animal. Court document...

'Banned Bookmobile' to tour states and distribute books to communities impacted by ban

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:23:00 GMT

CHICAGO — A nonprofit organization is kicking off its first-ever "Banned Bookmobile" tour Thursday in Chicago.MoveOn Political Action says their going on a multistate tour to sound alarms on Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, and other GOP policy makers, censorship and ban on books across the country. The "MoveOn Banned Bookmobile" plans to distribute books in communities most impacted by the ban.MoveOn Political Action, along with local lawmakers and activists, officially launched the tour Thursday outside Sandmeyer's Bookstore, located at 714 South Dearborn Street, in downtown Chicago.“Ron DeSantis’s anti-American book bans are an attack on all of our freedoms, but he and the MAGA Republican Party cannot erase us,” said MoveOn Political Action Executive Director Rahna Epting. “DeSantis and MAGA Republicans’ vision for our country is to censor all of our diverse backgrounds and to punish those who live, love, and think differently than they do. We won’t surrender to their extremism, and ou...

Driehaus Foundation gives $1M to neighborhoods on West and South Sides

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:23:00 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Driehaus Foundation is giving $1 million to underserved neighborhoods on the West and South Side.The grant will be given to Landmarks Illinois to help fund their program that provides low interest loans to spark reinvestment in particularly under-resourced communities.Landmarks Illinois will be allowed to give out larger loans. Repaid loans will replenish the fund and be redeoloyed for new projects. FDA approves 1st over-the-counter birth control pill in US A Driehaus Foundation spokesperson said in a statement:"Rehabilitation and reuse of historic buildings can be challenging for many reasons but lack of funding is often the most frequent obstacle for preservation project."Landmarks Illinois made its first loan last year to the Greater Chatham Initiative (GCI) to fund storefront repairs to a historic building at 735 East 79th Street to support GCI in inspiring investment on the block. GCI used the building for its “Artists on the 9” program, creating a work and ga...

Road rage shootings grip US as incidents soar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:23:00 GMT

DALLAS (NewsNation) — Paola Nunez Linares was 37 years old when her life was cut short by violence on the road.Her husband, Zane Jones, said while commuting on their way to work, he provoked a driver who he believes put them in danger. In response, investigators said the driver opened fire, striking Linares in the head. The stepmother of four had recently moved to North Texas from Guatemala. "It couldn’t have happened to a better person. The world is less because she’s gone," Jones said. "She was mugged at gunpoint five times, and I told her this place would be safer." Former Pennsylvania inmate believes Burham escape an ‘inside job’ Police are still searching for the suspect. However, their story is the latest in a spate of suspected road rage incidents across the country. In Ohio, authorities are investigating a fatal shooting triggered by an argument between a driver and a pizza delivery worker. A 6-year-old and her father are recovering in Las Vegas after being struck by gunfi...

Cedar Park police find guns, explosive-making materials in home that prompted evacuation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:23:00 GMT

CEDAR PARK, Texas (KXAN) — Officials in Cedar Park responded to a home Wednesday afternoon due to reports of suspicious items inside, according to the Cedar Park Police Department.According to CPPD, some of the items removed from the home included the following:29 firearmsAmmunitionVarious materials/chemical agents typically used to make explosivesCPPD said officers were called around 2 p.m. by a homeowner in the 2100 block of Parksville Way regarding items she discovered in her home. Several agencies were called to assist due to the nature of the items, CPPD said, including the Austin Fire Department, Austin-Travis County EMS, the Austin Police Department's Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit, the Cedar Park Fire Department, Cedar Park EMC, the FBI and the ATF.Nearby neighbors were asked to evacuate or stay inside their homes as a safety precaution, and some streets were also shut down, CPPD said.Cedar Park Police investigate 'suspicious items' found in home (KXXAN photo/Jake Sykes)C...

Some industries continue to recover from the ‘Great Resignation'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:23:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Global events in the first couple of years of the 2020s caused many Americans and Central Texans to leave their jobs by force or voluntarily. For example, some hospitality workers had to resign when COVID-19 restrictions came down, while others left their positions due to low wages or in search of something with more personal meaning.  Austin experts explain 10 reasons behind our current labor shortage Some dubbed this period the “Great Resignation,” and locally, it reached a pinnacle in the summer of 2022 when there were north of 100,000 available jobs in the Austin region – the highest number on record, according to the Austin Chamber of Commerce. But since then, some industries which were unable to fill positions have recovered, and the “Great Resignation” as we knew it, has subsided. “We're not seeing the same level of job turnover that we saw previously during the Great Resignation,” said Bryce Bencivengo, Director of Public Relations for t...