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Wrongfully convicted, Chicago woman says innocence certificate is bittersweet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:55 GMT

CHICAGO – After serving more than 17 years in prison, Madeline Mendoza, whose wrongful conviction was vacated earlier this year, was granted a certificate of innocence on Tuesday.The overturned double murder conviction of Mendoza was one of several cases linked to disgraced former Chicago police detectives Reynaldo Guevara and Ernest Halvorsen.At least one of the officers who helped send Mendoza to prison remains on the city payroll and has now collected more than a million dollars.PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Judge vacates woman’s double murder conviction in case tied to disgraced CPD detectives"Justice has now prevailed," said Mendoza, 31 years after she was falsely implicated in a 1992 double murder. The then-17-year-old was sentenced to 35 years behind bars for allegedly setting up the shooting deaths of two men in Humboldt Park. Months after a Cook County judge vacated the conviction, Tuesday saw the final step in clearing Mendoza's name. "I was 16 years old when this case happened. I di...

Pro surfer Mikala Jones dies after surfing accident, friends say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:55 GMT

HONOLULU (KHON) -- Hawaii surfer Mikala Jones passed away while surfing at a remote, secret wave off the Mentawai Islands over the weekend. He was 44 years old. Jones had been surfing off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia Sunday morning when his surfboard fin cut his femoral artery, said his father, dentist Dr. John Jones. According to a friend who was on the boat with Jones, he had a four-inch deep cut and he was losing a lot of blood. Though they put a tourniquet on Jones and raced him to land, the nearest hospital was still more than 45 minutes away. Jones later died.He had been surfing since he was about 7 or 8 years old, and began competing in the 12-and-under “menehune” age group a few years later. He won two national championships as an amateur.Later, he took on sponsors and traveled to surf spots in Tahiti, Fiji, South Africa and the Galapagos Islands. In the 1990s, Jones began to experiment with taking first-person images of himself on the water. Jones attached a camera to ...

PGA officials face questioning from Senator on potential merger with LIV Golf

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- The PGA Tour was in the hot seat as Senators questioned the group's planned merger with the Saudi-owned LIV Golf tour."There is something that stinks about this path that you're on right now," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said.Blumenthal and other lawmakers are concerned the heavy Saudi investment isn't in the best interest of the U.S. tour and its players."What would you say to the players who feel blindsided and betrayed?" Blumenthal asked."Describe how difficult it's going to be to conclude this deal," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said.Johnson says the major investment can't erase Saudi Arabia's past."No amount of money can wash away the stain of the brutal Kasshogi assassination and other human rights abuses," Johnson said.But PGA officials defended the decision, saying the PGA will benefit from the deal and that it prevented LIV Golf from taking over entirely."LIV Golf would've continued to recruit our players and put our tour in jeopardy and they coul...

Why don't MLB All-Stars wear their own team's jersey?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:55 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — The MLB All-Star Game has been around for almost a century, starting in 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. There have been plenty of changes to the "Midsummer Classic" over the years, but have you ever wondered why players don't wear their own team's jersey anymore? In the very first All-Star Game, the National League team wore specially made gray uniforms with navy blue caps with the words "National League" across the front, while the American League players wore their own team jerseys. Where will the next MLB All-Star Games be held? Every year after that, players wore their own team jerseys. That remained the case up until 2021 when the MLB partnered with Nike to create All-Star jerseys specifically for the game. It wasn't necessarily a new idea. In 1997, specific jerseys were made for players to wear during the Home Run Derby, usually representing the host team's colors. For example, when the 2012 All-Star Game was held in Kansas City, the uniforms wer...

COVID spread from deer to humans multiple times, study says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:55 GMT

(The Hill) - The coronavirus spread from deer to humans at least a few times based on an analysis of samples taken from the animal, according to a new study. The analysis published in the scientific journal Nature on Monday revealed that researchers found three possible cases of mutated variants of the virus from deer spreading to humans. Those cases appear to have originally stemmed from the virus spreading from humans to the deer and then mutating and spreading back to humans. The researchers, several of whom work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Agriculture, collected 8,830 respiratory samples from free-ranging white-tailed deer from 26 states and Washington, D.C., between November 2021 and April 2022. They identified 282 deer infected with COVID-19 and 34 different lineages of the virus in the samples collected, including those belonging to the alpha, gamma and delta variants that were more common earlier in the pandemic and the o...

6 Longhorns selected in 2023 MLB Draft led by Campbell, Gordon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:55 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft concluded Tuesday after 20 rounds with six Longhorns plucked by big league squads.Outfielder Dylan Campbell and left-handed pitcher Lucas Gordon were selected on the draft's second day Monday. Campbell, who set a Big 12 and school record with a 38-game hitting streak this season, was picked by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fourth round. Gordon went two rounds later to the Chicago White Sox at No. 179 overall. ‘It was amazing’: Round Rock’s Travis Sykora selected by Washington Nationals For Campbell, the No. 136 overall selection had a slot value of $473,700, meaning the Dodgers could offer him that as a signing bonus. For Gordon, the No. 179 overall pick was assigned a slot value of $317,400.Right-handed pitcher Travis Sthele was selected in the 12th round by the Nationals, who also picked Texas signee Travis Sykora in the third round. Cleveland picked relief pitcher Zane Morehouse in the 14th round and Houston sna...

Memo: 'Drastic steps' needed to properly staff Austin airport tower

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:55 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Air traffic controller staffing for the tower at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) has "already fallen behind the rapid increase of air traffic within our airspace," according to a memo sent to regional air traffic control representatives. Just last month, the CEO for United Airlines blamed such staffing shortages - which are occurring nationwide - for recent delays that plagued various airlines.A spokesperson for AUS said air traffic control shortages impact airline operations more than airport operations. Airport operations include monitoring airport roadways, the airfield and parking versus things like flight schedules.Air traffic controllers communicate with pilots within 40 miles of the airport. Crews in the tower According to the air traffic control staffing memo obtained by KXAN, the tower has seen "unprecedented growth in air traffic over the last two years," and staffers are "working mostly six-day workweeks" to keep up. The memo asks the FAA...

Virginia car enthusiast finds Ford Model A on Facebook Marketplace

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:55 GMT

Zachary Zeller is a car guy. Plain and simple. When he’s not running National Car Care, the business he owns, on Diamond Springs Road, he’s repairing his cars, racing them on weekends, and adding to his ever-growing personal collection of distinctive vehicles.Recently, Zeller added a 1929 Ford Model A to his collection. He had never considered acquiring a Ford Model A. It wasn’t on his list of preferred automobiles. When he came across an old Model A sedan that had been reconfigured into a makeshift pickup truck by an Edenton farmer, Zeller had to add the rusty, patina-covered vehicle to his wide-ranging stockpile of eccentric automotive treasures.“I’m a car guy so I’ll buy anything that tickles my interest,” said Zeller. “I had zero intention of ever buying a Model A in my life. I saw it online and thought – that’s cool.”Zachary Zeller bought a 1929 Ford Model A just to drive it. People have told Zeller that his old Ford looks like something straight out of the Beverly Hillbillies....

New backstretch clinic opens at Saratoga Race Course

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:55 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A new medical facility opened on Tuesday for the workers who keep the Saratoga Race Course up and running. A ribbon cutting was held for the new Backstretch Clinic, which provides care to the hundreds of employees who work at the track. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! It marks the first time that many of them see a physician in the United States. Construction started last summer. The project was funded by John Hendrickson as a tribute to his late wife, Marylou Whitney, a prominent race horse breeder and socialite who died in 2019.

Open air fitness gym now open in Guilderland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:55 GMT

GUILDERLAND, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- People in Albany County enjoyed fresh air on Tuesday as a new outdoor gym opened to the public. The 2,000 sq. ft. MVP Healthcare Fitness Center at Tawasentha Park in Guilderland features a variety of exercise equipment with hands-on tutorials.Town officials said the purpose of the project is to give everyone equal access to fitness. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "This is a huge park, and it has a lot to offer, but this facility in particular adds another element," Guilderland Town Supervisor Peter Barber said. "We want to make sure that people have opportunities. This may not be for everyone, but it will serve some people. We want to make sure that we give people the options where they can best exercise where they feel comfortable and what not."Multiple events will be taking place at the outdoor gym this summer. You can sign up for fitness classes run by a personal trainer. Walk-ins are also ...