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Betting interest expected to be down with NBA, NHL finals lacking marquee matchups

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:19 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The NBA Finals could’ve featured glamour teams like the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, and conventional thinking before the NHL playoffs stated the dominant Boston Bruins and star-studded Edmonton Oilers were on a near-collision course to meet in the Stanley Cup Final.All four teams are out, and what could’ve been enormous betting interest has largely waned.On the NBA side, No. 8 seed Miami Heat will face an NBA Finals newcomer in the Denver Nuggets, an enormous minus-460 favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.Christian Cipollini, BetMGM trading manager, said a Celtics-Lakers matchup would have created much more betting action, but the sportsbook was on the hook for many futures bets on those teams.“A Celtics-Lakers series is nine times out of 10 going to be a losing series for the book,” Cipollini said. “Everyone bets the Lakers-Celtics. Our Lakers money was bad. We didn’t want the Lakers to go any farther than they did.”A Celtics...

Fan whose car was damaged by flying tire at Indianapolis 500 will receive new ride

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:19 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis 500 fan whose vehicle was damaged when a tire flew off a racecar and out of the track during the race will receive a new car, an Indianapolis Motor Speedway spokesperson said. The spokesperson told The Indianapolis Star that Penske Entertainment will provide fan Robin Matthews, who is from Indianapolis, with a new car following the incident.“I didn’t see it come down,” she said. “I came down and they said, ‘Robin, it’s your car!’ I thought, ‘No.’ I thought somebody was pranking me. It’s a car. It’s fine.”The wheel came off with less than 20 laps to go in Sunday’s race when Felix Rosenqvist and Kyle Kirkwood collided. Kirkwood’s left rear tire bounced off the track and over the fence and the corner of the grandstand in the second turn before landing in a parking lot. It traveled about 350 yards (320 meters) before crashing into the front of Matthews’ parked Chevrolet. A red flag halted the race after the crash, and two more red flags followed...

Man who escaped from Ohio prison died of drowning, autopsy results show

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:19 GMT

HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) — A man who escaped from a northwest Ohio prison earlier this month died from drowning, according to autopsy results released Wednesday. Bradley Gillespie, 50, was reported missing May 23 from the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima along with another man who authorities said escaped alongside him. Authorities determined the two escaped by concealing themselves in a trash container.The other man, James Lee, 47, was caught the next day in Henderson, Kentucky, after a police pursuit of a stolen car the men were in ended in a crash and a foot chase, but Gillespie avoided capture. His body was spotted Sunday in the Ohio River, not far from the area where he was last seen. Henderson is a city across the river from Indiana and about 350 miles (560 kilometers) southwest of Lima.The Henderson County coroner’s office released the preliminary autopsy results Wednesday and said toxicology results won’t be available for several weeks. Gillespie was imprisoned sinc...

Air Force picks Colorado for more Space Force missions as politics loom over headquarters decision

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force announced the permanent location for many more U.S. Space Force units Wednesday — and none of them are in Huntsville, Alabama, suggesting the service may be moving ahead with at least part of the design it originally sought for the new force before it became entangled in politics.Four more Space Force missions will now be based in Colorado Springs, a notable choice during a larger and now politicized battle over where to locate the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command. Colorado Springs, which is housing Space Command’s temporary headquarters, was the Air Force’s preferred location, but Donald Trump, in the final days of his presidency, selected Alabama instead.While the Pentagon and White House have said the decisions are not directly linked, Alabama has strict anti-abortion laws, and its Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville earlier this year announced he would hold up all military nominations until the Department of Defense rescinds a new p...

Vancouver bakery bandit calls to apologize, offers to pay for door, cupcakes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:19 GMT

It turns out Vancouver’s bakery bandit is actually pretty sweet.Days after Sweet Something was broken into by someone who proceeded to steal six cupcakes, the business owner says the man responsible has called to personally say sorry.“The big news is that our burglar gave us a call to the bakery,” owner Emma Irvine said in an update on TikTok.She tells CityNews the call came in on Monday.“He called the bakery at first and spoke to some of my staff and my amazing team was able to arrange a time for us to have a chat. He called me and immediately started profusely apologizing,” Irvine said. “I couldn’t believe that he had called the bakery. I don’t know why, I just never thought somebody would call in after that. To have a conversation with him, it kind of closes the book on it for me. Sometimes getting broken into can be scary and this was, in a weird twist of emotions, kind of seems like a feel-good moment when I got to talk to him....

3 in critical condition after crash in Garfield Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:19 GMT

CHICAGO — Three people are in critical condition after a crash Wednesday evening in Garfield Park.The crash happened near North Homan Avenue and West Fulton Boulevard. Teen riding bike critically injured after driver hits him in Batavia According to the Chicago Fire Department, two people were taken to Stroger Hospital and one person was taken to Mt. Sinani Hospital. They are all believed to be men, the fire department said.Video from Skycam 9 shows a large tree that appears to have been knocked over during the crash. Additional details haven't been released yet.

'Gradutate:' Over 600 high school students receive misspelled stoles for graduation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:19 GMT

RICH TOWNSHIP, Ill. — Parents and students of a south suburban high school are upset after the school distributed more than 600 graduation stoles to seniors with the word 'graduate' misspelled on them.What makes matters worse is that the mistake wasn't noticed until after some students walked went through with their graduation ceremonies.The misspelling of 'graduate' on the misprinted Rich Township High School stoles.Yasir Bilal, a newly graduated student from Rich Township High School (RTHS), described the moment when his family noticed the gaff as he walked across the stage, pointing out that the word 'graduate' was spelled 'gradutate.'"They could have checked before [the ceremony], because they made 600-plus," Bilal said. "And all of them were spelled wrong." What to know about Taylor Swift’s Soldier Field concerts In a letter to community members, RTHS admitted they never checked the stoles beforehand, and said they are trying to make amends by photoshopping the misspelled wor...

Cook County Sheriff's Office prioritizing mental health for recruits and beyond

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:19 GMT

COOK COUNTY, Ill. — Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has been on the job a long time. Some years back, he says he decided to up the ante, in terms of training, for those wanting to become a Cook County Sheriff's deputy. prioritizing “We are the ones answering all the calls, so we better learn it,” Dart said. "Long ago, we changed the way we train people here to give them skill sets to deal with the realities of the real world." It’s a rigorous process, as Recruit Griffin and Recruit Diaz know all too well. Both will start serving within the county jail system this year, having passed not just a physical component but also undertaking an in-depth look at mental health and how to deal with it on the job.  Suburban cop once charged with murder didn’t let wrongful arrest end his career "What are the things we need to do to make sure we have all those tools," Dart said.The Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board currently requires 200 hours of training for recruits ...

Some Democrats concerned about debt ceiling deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:19 GMT

WASHINGTON, Mich. (WOOD) — Progressive Democrats fear the president and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy’s debt ceiling deal will strip food stamps from the country's most vulnerable Americans.After some deliberation this afternoon, Rep. Cori Bush, D-MO, said she cannot, in good conscience, vote to take food out of people’s mouths. Her “no” vote adds to a growing list of Democrats and Republicans opposing the bill."This is not about people who are lazy,” said Bush.She is refusing to support expanded work requirements for food stamps in the debt ceiling deal, saying the federal program was lifeline when she was pregnant."For me, that would have meant I would not have been able to receive any — not a dollar, of food stamps … because I could not work," said Bush.Wednesday, Bush tried to remove the new standards from the bill but Republicans blocked that effort."We're talking about $6 per day,” Bush said.If it passes, adults 54 and under without dependents must work at least 80 hours...

Who will win from proposed Texas property tax relief plans?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:45:19 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — After five months of discord and a short-lived special session, top Republican leaders remain at a tense impasse over how best to lower property taxes.Here's a look at the two competing proposals and who could stand to win and lose.Tax rate compressionThe Texas House passed legislation Tuesday to spend $12.3 billion on "compression." That simply means the state would buy down school district property tax rates and foot the bill for the taxpayer. Combined with the approved state budget, the House plan would dedicate $17.6 billion to lower local tax rates by another sixteen cents. Currently, school tax rates for maintenance and operations are $0.91 per every $100 of a home's valuation. House Bill 1 of the first special session would drop that to $0.64 next year. The House swiftly passed this plan with the endorsement of Gov. Greg Abbott and more than 30 business groups."This is a plan that we feel like is equitable. It doesn't pick winners or losers. Our small busin...