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'A blessed opportunity': Annual Chicago Scholars forum nets millions in scholarship for students

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO — Hundreds of accomplished first-generation and underserved Chicago high school seniors with dreams of college met at Navy Pier to win over admissions officers at an annual forum. The Chicago Scholars' 16th annual Onsite College and Leadership Forum connected nearly 600 high school seniors to colleges nationwide."A blessed opportunity," said Kenwood Academy High School student Kennedy Dunkin.Jeffrey Beckham, CEO of Chicago Scholars, told WGN News that the students began working with assigned college counselors and mentors over the summer to determine their post-secondary education goals. "They've filled out the Common App, they've applied to multiple schools, they gotten letters of recommendation," Beckham said. Academically ambitious students got the chance to have one-on-one interviews with college admission officers. All told, about 120 colleges were on site. Angel Worthy, a senior at Witney Young, said she was excited to meet representatives with the ...

Starbucks just released its new holiday cups

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Details.Starbucks introduces merry and bright holiday drinkwareSure, it’s not even Halloween yet. But the holidays will be here before we know it — and Starbucks is getting ready with new reusable holiday cups for 2023. These merry and bright holiday designs include something for everyone, and they make great gifts for coffee and tea lovers. Look for them hitting shelves in Starbucks stores and online in the coming weeks.Shop this article: Starbucks 2022 Holiday Jewel Venti 24-ounce Tumbler, Starbucks 2022 Holiday Mint Winter Woodland Color Change Tumbler, Starbucks 2022 Holiday Gradient Candy Cane Cold Cup TumblerReusable holiday cups from Starbucks this yearThis year’s holiday cup offerings include the new Iridescent Winter White Cold Cup, which is perfect for iced beverages all year round. This cup comes in 24-ounce and 16-ounce sizes and as ...

From periods of heavy rain to a chilly, wet Halloween

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Periods of on-and-off rain continue much of the week. Our best chance of heavy rain, and even a minor risk of flash flooding and severe storms, comes late Wednesday night into the day Thursday. Live, updated rain totals An upper-level low pressure system is approaching the state from the west coast, pumping moisture over Texas. This is leading to periods of passing showers and even a few heavy thunderstorms. Much of the area has already tallied 1-2 inches of beneficial rain over the last two days -- and the main event is still to come.Late Wednesday into early Thursday, the low pressure system makes its closest pass to our area, leading to a slow-moving complex of rain and thunderstorms moving from the Hill Country to the metro and eastward. Rain is expected to be heaviest in Austin from Thursday morning's commute through midday Thursday at this time.There is a low risk of severe thunderstorms and flash flooding Wednesday night and Thursday morning, mainly in the ...

Nonprofit offers free breast reconstructive surgeries to cancer survivors in Austin

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – A nonprofit is offering free breast reconstructive surgeries to uninsured or underinsured breast cancer survivors in Austin. Mission Plasticos has provided free reconstructive surgical care to medically underserved communities around the world for the last 25 years. The Southern California-based nonprofit began in 2022 its Reshaping Lives: Full Circle initiative, which helps post-mastectomy women from underserved communities around the U.S. access breast reconstructive surgery at no cost. “A lot of our patients live in underserved communities – a lot of our patients are of Hispanic origin,” Adriana Murillo, Mission Pasticos’ Program Director, said. “They typically, because there's a language barrier, do not know how to advocate for themselves within the community.”Mission Plasticos will offer its services to women regardless of immigration status.  Dr. Johnny Franco, head of Austin Plastic Surgeon, conducted the first breast reconstruction surgery...

Six Flags Fiesta Texas announces new ride: 'Kid Flash Cosmic Coaster'

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KXAN) -- Six Flags Fiesta Texas announced Monday a kids cosmic rollercoaster will be ready with "special preview opportunities."Six Flags Fiesta Texas announced its 'Kid Flash Cosmic Coaster' has preview opportunities coming soon | Courtesy Six Flags Fiesta Texas promotional videoSix Flags showed a video of the 'Kid Flash Cosmic Coaster,' which has a vibrant red light on the track and a symbol of The Flash superhero on the front of the roller coaster.Six Flags said "special preview opportunities" are coming soon, according to a social media post.

Lisa Jarvis: Telehealth should stick around. Teens need it

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

The COVID pandemic seemed to worsen teems’ and adolescents’ mental health, according to several recent studies. But now, new research shows a reason for hope: Telehealth seems to be giving many more kids access to support. That’s a win worth celebrating. And it should push us to ensure virtual care is more permanently and equitably integrated into mental health services for minors.The worrisome gap between kids who need help and those who get it predates the pandemic. For example, the rate of major depression among kids doubled between 2009 and 2019, and an estimated 1 in 5 kids have experienced a mental, emotional or behavioral disorder. Yet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that just 20% of them get help from a specialized provider.The new study, conducted by the public policy research group RAND Corp., found that telehealth use, which had been negligible among kids before spring 2020, did far more than simply fill the void of in-person men...

Jaden McDaniels will miss Timberwolves’ regular-season opener

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

The Timberwolves will be down a starter when they opens the NBA season Wednesday night in Toronto against the Raptors.Jaden McDaniels, who signed a five-year extension worth $131 million on Monday, will miss the regular-season opener with the calf strain suffered in Abu Dhabi that has kept him out of much of training camp.The 23-year-old defensive stopper resumed 5-on-0 work this week. The team said McDaniels’ status “will be evaluated day-to-day” moving forward. Minnesota’s home opener is Saturday against Miami.Either Kyle Anderson or Nickeil Alexander-Walker is likely to start in McDaniels’ place against the Raptors.Related ArticlesMinnesota Timberwolves | Timberwolves, Jaden McDaniels agree to long-term extension Minnesota Timberwolves | Timberwolves firmly believe in Nickeil Alexander-Walker. He does, too Minnesota Timberwolves | ‘It’s light, it’s fun, it’s stress-less’: Timber...

Justin Fox: How we got COVID’s risk right but the response wrong

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

Early in March 2020, I decided to write about the risks posed by COVID-19. I have no background in epidemiology or even health journalism, but I can multiply, divide and make charts and was frustrated with the lack of quantification in most reporting and public-health messaging on what was soon to be declared a pandemic.In the resulting column I took what seemed to be the most authoritative estimate of COVID’s per-infection fatality rate, 1%, and noted that this was about 10 times the 0.1% fatality rate of seasonal influenza, then conservatively multiplied a CDC estimate of 61,099 influenza-associated deaths in the U.S. in the pretty bad flu season of 2017-2018 by five and 10 to get a range of “300,000 to 600,000 deaths.”Over the 12 months that followed, about 550,000 Americans died of COVID according to according to the CDC’s provisional estimates and 490,000 according to its tallies of the “underlying cause of death” listed on death certificates...

Conley’s Corner with Timberwolves guard Mike Conley: chasing an NBA championship

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

EDITOR’S NOTE: Mike Conley is one of the best sources of information in the NBA. Entering his 17th NBA season, the 36-year-old Timberwolves point guard has seen it all, and has the knowledge and willingness to explain what’s taken place and what’s to come with the media and, thus, the fans. That breadth of insight and analysis extends from the on-court Xs and Os to team dynamics and development. Conley is just as good at explaining why two teammates came to blows in the middle of a timeout as he is on what the team needs to do to decode a switch-heavy defense.So who better to sit down with twice a month to tackle different topics ranging from the Timberwolves to the league at large to, well, Mike Conley, than Conley himself.This is the second installment of Conley’s Corner.CHASING A CHAMPIONSHIPIt determines his diet. It’s the reason he uses spare moments around his house to stretch. It’s why he’s constantly thinking of ways to improve his game and better prepare himself for the nex...

Dane Mizutani: Forget USC quarterback Caleb Williams, Vikings shouldn’t be sellers at trade deadline

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:00 GMT

You can kiss USC quarterback Caleb Williams goodbye.That much the Vikings essentially guaranteed with an upset win over the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night. All of a sudden, the Vikings are 3-4 and right back in talk of the playoffs. They are seemingly in decent position to chase down the Detroit Lions in the NFC North.That should make the decision pretty easy for Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in the short term. After nearly a month of various reports indicating that the Vikings might be willing to go into tank mode, it’s now safe to assume they won’t be sellers at the trade deadline.As a result, it’s no longer worth fantasizing about who the next franchise quarterback is going to be, and what it’s going to take to get him to Minnesota.You can stop living and dying with how each win or loss is going to impact the chances of the Vikings garnering a high draft pick. Truthfully, they were never going to be bad enough to be in contention for Will...