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New Illinois driving laws going into effect in 2024

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:54 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WTVO) — Illinois roads could be safer next year after several new laws go into effect starting January 1st, 2024.One new law bans the use of teleconferencing, video chats, or video streaming while driving, giving police officers more authority to cut down on distractions that lead to crashes.More than 24,000 tickets were given out for distracted driving in the past year.Videoconferencing while driving will be banned.Car manufacturers must create a 24-hour hotline to allow police to track stolen cars.Absolves car owners of fees, fines, or penalties during the period in which the car was stolen or hijacked.Police officers cannot stop a car for having an object hanging from the rearview mirror.Law enforcement is prohibited from sharing license plate reader data with other states to protect women coming to Illinois for an abortion.New and used car dealers can sell cars over the Internet, with delivery to a customer’s residence or chosen l...

When will I get the Social Security cost-of-living increase in 2024?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:54 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – The Social Security Administration (SSA) annual adjustment of benefits to offset inflation is set to kick in, meaning millions of recipients will see a higher number on their checks in 2024.While the cost of groceries, housing and other staples isn't getting any cheaper, inflation eased during 2023, leading officials to announce an increase of 3.2% – well under last year's eye-popping 8.7% jump.Estimated average monthly checks for retired workers will rise from $1,848 to $1,907, but not all recipients will receive their first larger payment at the same time.When will I get my first higher payment?According to the SSA, increased payments to roughly 7.5 million Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients will start going out on Dec. 29 since Jan. 1 is a holiday. The COLA-adjusted Social Security benefits will start going out to more than 66 million recipients in January 2024. When you receive that first payment will depend on your birthday, however.If you were born betwe...

Google must pay $700 million over anticompetitive practices

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – All U.S. attorneys general have secured a $700 million agreement with Google over anticompetitive conduct with its Google Play Store. Google has to pay $630 million in restitution to users who were “harmed” by Google’s anticompetitive practices and made a purchase in the Google Play Store between Aug. 2016 and Sept. 2023. Further, Google must pay the states $70 million in penalties and adopt better business practices to reduce the tech behemoth’s “unfair marketplace power over other companies and consumers,” according to a press release from the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.“Texas has led the nation in the fight to hold giant tech companies accountable for monopolistic activity,” Paxton said. “I am proud that this settlement brought together so many states who recognized the importance of protecting free markets.”The lawsuit started in 2021 when the coalition of attorneys general sued Google for “unlawfully monopolizing the market of Android app d...

Early Hall of Fame votes reveal strong support for former Twins star Joe Mauer

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:54 GMT

It will still be another month until Joe Mauer finds out if he’s ticketed for Cooperstown in July, but the former Twins catcher has garnered strong support on Hall of Fame ballots revealed publicly thus far, a good sign for his chances at entry, be it this year or in the future.X (formerly Twitter) user Ryan Thibodaux (@NotMrTibbs) and his team, who track the publicly revealed ballots, has Mauer currently receiving 76.3 percent of the votes as of Saturday morning with 38 ballots revealed. That, of course, is a very small percentage of voters — just 9.9 percent — but is a good early indicator for Mauer, who would need to receive at least 75 percent of the vote to receive the call from the Hall of Fame.Mauer, whose candidacy is being voted on for the first time this year, has received support on 29 of 38 ballots tracked thus far. Per Thibodaux’s tracker, an estimated 384 ballots will be cast with a player needing around 288 votes for entry.Long-tenured members of the Baseball Writers ...

Taylor Heise’s hockey career rooted in Minnesota, from Red Wing H.S. to the Gophers to Minnesota’s WPHL franchise

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:54 GMT

Taylor Heise recently settled into an apartment in the shadow of the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis. Or, to pinpoint the location another way, right in the heart of Taylor Territory.She’s just across the Mississippi River from Dinkytown, where, as a member of the Gophers women’s hockey team, she completed a college career last year that featured more than 200 points and a Patty Kazmaier Award in 2022 as the best player in women’s college hockey.A scenic drive south along the Mississippi leads to her childhood home in Lake City. Just up the road is Red Wing High School, where Heise’s impact on the game began to take shape. Heise can get to Blaine in 20 minutes, where she trains as a member of the U.S. women’s national team.And now, the East Metro is represented, with Heise about to play her first game as a member of the Minnesota franchise in the new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), which will play its home games at Xcel Energy Center.It’s all so convenient. It’s all so p...

Pac-12 WBB preview: L.A. rivalry heats up among crowded top of conference

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:54 GMT

Nothing is hotter than Los Angeles in the sizzling world of Pac-12 women’s basketball.UCLA is ranked a school-record No. 2 in the AP poll, behind only South Carolina, while USC is No. 6 — the highest placement for the Trojans since 1994.Both teams are undefeated and feature two of the Pac-12’s brightest young stars in 6-foot-7 sophomore Lauren Betts (UCLA) and 6-2 freshman JuJu Watkins (USC).Their first crosstown showdown, Dec. 30 at UCLA, is expected to draw more than 10,000 fans to Pauley Pavilion; a repeat of that crowd on Jan. 14 would completely fill USC’s Galen Center.In a conference that’s on pace to send eight teams to the NCAA Tournament before it dissolves, the L.A. schools are a tick above even 2023 regular season co-champions Stanford and Utah. (Colorado also is highly ranked.)The buzz about women’s basketball is “so palpable, it’s everywhere we go,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb told the Hotline.“It’s hard not to think about it (playing UCLA), because som...

South Bay high school district gets new maintenance and operations building

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:54 GMT

Three campuses in the Fremont Union High School District saw construction of new buildings and/or classroom modernizations this fall, and the district got a new maintenance and operations building.Designed by McKim Design Group and Quattrocchi Kwok Architects and built by Blach Construction, the projects include a new wellness center and classroom modernization at Cupertino High School, a new science building at Lynbrook High School and classroom modernization and a new library quad at Homestead High School.Cupertino High SchoolThe new wellness center at Cupertino High School addresses the emotional well-being of students. After receiving a grant to hire personnel, the school realized an opportunity to renovate two classrooms. Designed by McKim, the updated spaces include dedicated therapy and counseling rooms and areas for students to decompress and implement calming techniques throughout the day. A variety of furnishings such as group table seating, bean bags and privacy tents all...

Two Antioch minors killed in fatal hit-and-run  

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:54 GMT

(KRON) – Two minors were killed in a traffic collision involving two vehicles in Antioch on Friday. Antioch police responded to the intersection of W. 6th St. & G St. at 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 22. According to police, a black SUV was traveling northbound on G St. on W. 6th St. sided with the blue vehicle that was traveling eastbound on W. 6th St.  Robbers are following shoppers home, Alameda police say The black SUV then collided with a fire hydrant. The suspect(s) subsequently fled the scene on foot, leaving the vehicle behind, police said.  The minors in the blue vehicle were transferred to the hospital and later succumbed to their injuries. The minors were 12 and 13 years old.According to police, the father of one of the minors appeared at the scene. It is undetermined if the two minors were driving the blue vehicle or if there was another driver in the vehicle, police said. The victims' names are being withheld until proper family notifications.An...

Grant to fund cannabis education program to curb drugged driving

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:54 GMT

(BCN) -- Monterey County has been awarded a state grant of more than $210,000 to fund a public safety campaign through the county public health bureau's Cannabis Education Program.The grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety will go toward expanding drugged driving prevention messages to the public by using social media and other educational materials. Two Antioch minors killed in fatal hit-and-run "With this funding, we will be able to enhance our efforts to address impaired driving in our community and promote safer roads for all," said Michelle House, a county health department program coordinator. Cannabis is the second most prevalent drug associated with impaired driving, after alcohol, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The grant will fund the Public Health Cannabis Education Program through next September.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

‘The Boys in the Boat’ gives the Hollywood treatment to rowing during an Olympic year

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:22:54 GMT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The journey from nowhere to an Olympic gold medal is a tale as old as time.Just as well-worn, but far less explored, are the stories about great athletes who realize they can’t make it anywhere unless they have a way to bankroll the trip.“The Boys in the Boat” is Hollywood and director George Clooney’s way of stringing those plot lines together. That it opens Christmas Day, a mere seven months before the start of the Paris Olympics, is good fortune for the people who oversee rowing in the U.S. and know the general public mostly either a) doesn’t think about that sport or b) sees it as the exclusive playground for East Coast and Ivy League elites.USRowing worked with producers of the movie to sponsor dozens of screenings across the country with two purposes: raising funds for an organization that received about $3.5 million of its $15 million budget in 2023 from charitable donations, and building awareness across racial and socioeconom...