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Dying and disabled Illinois prisoners kept behind bars, despite new medical release law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:24 GMT

Phillip Merritt’s dementia is so advanced he’s lost the ability to speak. But with the help of his cellmates at Western Illinois Correctional Center, the 71-year-old still manages to get on the phone with his brother every few weeks.“He has to have someone call me, and then I don’t know what to say to him because he can’t understand anything, so I’ll just talk,” said Merritt’s brother, Michael Merritt, in an interview. “All he can say are two words. … I mean, he’s just gone.”Merritt’s deteriorating condition makes him a prime candidate to get out of prison under the Joe Coleman Medical Release Act, a pivotal criminal justice reform bill touted by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Democrats as an effective way to alleviate the state’s decrepit prison health care system, reduce the “staggering” costs of caring for ailing people in prison, and reunite families with frail loved ones.Under the act — named after a decorated Army veteran who died of prostate cancer while ...

Best craft beer brand in Illinois, according to Yahoo! Finance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:24 GMT

ILLINOIS (NEXSTAR) — In the words of the late Jimmy Buffett, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere.For those who enjoy them, craft beers open up a world of unique and interesting flavor combinations. With the right mixture of ingredients, craft beers satisfy those looking for a wider variety of tastes than the typical domestic brand offers — in addition to posing potential health benefits.In the spirit of drinking craft beer, Yahoo! Finance’s Sultan Khalid put together a list of the best craft beer brands in each U.S. state.For this, Khalid looked through Reader’s Digest, Rolling Stone, BeerAdvocate, RateBeer, etc., and Google Trends to the best American craft beers by state.Ultimately, Khalid ranked the best craft beers alphabetically in order of descending quality in every state. Depending on the batch, craft beer’s ABV (alcohol by volume) can vary.In Illinois, Yahoo! Finance ranked Chicago’s Goose Island’s 312 Urban Wheat Ale, 4.2% ABV as the best craft beer option in the state. According to ...

The 2023 Mercedes Benz EQB 250 all electric SUV

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:24 GMT

What is an EQB 250? The EQB 250 is a compact all electric SUV built in Kecskemet, Hungary and is sold worldwide by the forward thinking Mercedes Benz company. The EQB 250 is their entry level all electric SUV, with a starting price of less than $53K. This model comes with 188 HP horsepower and 284 lb-ft of torque. Compact on the outside and roomy on the inside, the EQB 250 SUV is big on space and style with smart ideas.This week Mercedes Benz sent me an EQB 250 all electric SUV to test drive and review. The base window sticker price for this EV model is $52,750. The options on the test SUV are: the metallic paint for $750, the natural grain black Linden wood interior trim for $325, the all season black rubber floor mats for $170, a first aid kit for $35, the charging pad for $250, the garage door opener for $280, the panorama roof for $1,500, the heated steering wheel for $250, the speed limit assist package for $300, SiriusXM radio for $150, heated front seats for $500, the heated ...

Read the text of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s resolution calling for a constitutional amendment on gun control

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:24 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for a U.S. Constitutional amendment to lock in gun restrictions nationwide that are based on California rules.Article V of the U.S. Constitution lays out two pathways for amending it. One of the methods was used in the adoption of the 27 current amendments, in which Congress by a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate calls for an amendment, which then must be ratified by three-fourths of the states.California’s Democratic governor is seeking the alternative path, in which the legislatures of two-thirds of the states — 34 of them — ask Congress to call a convention for proposing constitutional amendments, which also then must be approved by three-fourths of the state legislatures or conventions.The proposed resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 7, is carried by Sen. Aisha Wahab, a Fremont Democrat, and Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, a Democrat from Los Angeles. Scroll down for the text approved by the California Senate Public Safety Committ...

Driver rescued after 4 days trapped in wrecked truck near Bakersfield

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:24 GMT

A driver who was trapped for more than four days in a wrecked truck at the bottom of a Kern County ravine was discovered and rescued on Saturday, the county’s fire agency said.The pickup truck was reported around 11 a.m. on Saturday at the bottom of a 100-foot cliff off a remote road between the communities of Arvin and Stallion Springs. A firefighter who was lowered on a rope found an injured person inside the truck. Three more firefighters were then lowered and the driver was secured in a rescue litter and lifted to the road. A helicopter took the patient to a hospital.The driver’s condition and the nature of the injuries were not reported, but the account by the Kern County Fire Department said the person had been trapped in the truck since Tuesday.The crash site is about 20 miles southeast of Bakersfield. Related ArticlesCalifornia News | Pedestrian hospitalized after being hit by car exiting Walnut Creek parking garage California News | 3 ...

SF Giants plan to catch Patrick Bailey almost every game this September: ‘It’s the playoff hunt’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:24 GMT

SAN DIEGO — In baseball, it’s a pretty good bet that the backup backstop will be behind the plate for a day game following a late finish the night before. It’s the most taxing position in the sport, and in the era of load management, there are few guys left who catch everyday, or close to it.Adley Rutschman, the Orioles’ runner-up for Rookie of the Year last season, and Phillies All-Star J.T. Realmuto are pretty much in a class of their own.By the end of this month, the Giants hope Patrick Bailey is mentioned in the same conversation.“We plan to play him as much as he’s physically capable of playing,” manager Gabe Kapler said of Bailey, 24. “I just think he’s physically capable of it. I personally believe the younger players are the ones you can really push this time of year. I think Adley Rutschman (in 2022), he basically caught nonstop down the stretch. I kind of see Pat Bailey in the same mold.”That started Sunday afternoon, with Bailey b...

Richmond: I-580 crash leaves 2 dead, 1 seriously injured

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:24 GMT

A two-car crash on I-580 in Richmond early Sunday morning left the two drivers dead and one passenger seriously injured, authorities said.The collision happened around 2 a.m. near Stenmark Drive just east of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Pedestrian struck and killed in San Jose in early morning crash Crashes and Disasters | Wrong-way, head-on collision kills 2, injures 3 others in San Mateo County Crashes and Disasters | Man killed in high-speed, rollover crash on I-80 in Vallejo Saturday morning Crashes and Disasters | Vallejo: One teen killed, another injured in solo collision Friday morning Crashes and Disasters | Scotts Valley head-on crash claims lives of San Jose couple The drivers of the Nissan Centra and Toyota Camry were pronounced dead at the scene, and the Toyota’s passenger was taken to a local hospital, according to the California Highway Patrol...

Sancho says he is a ‘scapegoat’ in angry reaction to comments by Man United manager Erik ten Hag

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said Jadon Sancho was dropped for the Premier League game at Arsenal on Sunday because of below-par displays in training, sparking an angry reaction from the winger in a social media post in which he claimed he was being made a “scapegoat.”The 23-year-old Sancho did not travel to north London for the match at Emirates Stadium, where two stoppage-time goals by Arsenal consigned United to a 3-1 loss.Ten Hag said after the match that Sancho, who came off the bench in United’s first three matches of the season, was left out because of “his performances in training.”“You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United and we can make choices in the front line,” the Dutch coach said. “So for this game he was not selected.”Sancho took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to say he has “conducted myself in training very well this week” and he didn’t want to let “people saying things that (are) complete...

Ukraine President Zelenskyy says defense minister Oleksii Reznikov will be replaced this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:24 GMT

Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov talks to the media after the meeting of the 'Ukraine Defense Contact Group' at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein, Germany, Friday, April 21, 2023. The U.S. will begin training Ukrainian forces how to use and maintain Abrams tanks in the coming weeks, as the U.S. continues to speed up its effort to get them onto the battlefield as quickly as possible, U.S. officials said Friday. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)(AP/Matthias Schrader) Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov talks to the media after the meeting of the 'Ukraine Defense Contact Group' at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein, Germany, Friday, April 21, 2023. The U.S. will begin training Ukrainian forces how to use and maintain Abrams tanks in the coming weeks, as th...

Eighth-inning barrage powers Cubs to 15-7 rout of Reds and a split of the critical 4-game series

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:24 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Ian Happ had four RBIs while Mike Tauchman and Cody Bellinger each drove in three to help the Chicago Cubs cruise to a 15-7 rout of the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday and earn a split of a critical four-game series between the contending divisional rivals.Chicago moved three games ahead of Cincinnati in the National League Central and currently holds the second NL wildcard. The Reds, Diamondbacks, Giants and Marlins are in a tight battle for the third and final wildcard spot.Nick Madrigal and Tauchman each drove in two with bases-loaded singles off Reds All-Star closer Alexis Diaz in the seven-run Cubs eighth. Bellinger drove in another with a sacrifice fly, and a double by Dansby Swanson pushed two more across before the Reds could get out of it.“I feel like how our offense goes — it starts with a soft single here and a soft single there, and then we kind of continue to put together good at-bats and it feels kind of contagious,” Tauchmann said.The Cubs, who banged out ...