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Booze, beads and art among unclaimed gifts lavished upon billionaire Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has so many fans and friends that he receives a $30 gift at the rate of one every three days, but because of his job he accepts none of them, and rarely even sees them.The second-term Democratic governor and multi-billionaire has been lavished with hundreds of gifts from around the world, ranging from a $950 bottle of Japanese whiskey to 35 cents: a quarter and dime, to be exact.The state’s 25-year-old Gift Ban Act prohibits public employees such as Pritzker from accepting presents, with broad exceptions. Therefore, the high-priced hooch delivered compliments of the Japanese embassy and three bottles of tequila valued at $450 have remained untapped.“I don’t get to do that,” Pritzker said at a stop in Springfield. “I will say I like tequila, so that’s why people will have given that to me, but there are a few other spirits that I like as well.”Pricey bottles of alcohol are not the only gifts that Pritzker eschews. Most are stored i...

Eichel, Hill lead Golden Knights to 4-1 win over Ducks to improve to 3-0-0

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist, Adin Hill made 22 saves and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Saturday night.Chandler Stephenson and Shea Theodore also had a goal and an assist, and Jonas Rondbjerg got his first goal of the season. The defending champion Golden Knights, playing their third game in five nights, improved to 3-0-0 with all the wins by identical scores.Hill improved to 6-0-1 in his career against Anaheim.Mason McTavish scored and John Gibson made 34 saves for Anaheim in its season opener. Gibson dropped to 4-17-5 in his career against Vegas.Eichel scored his second of the season when he skated through and around Anaheim’s defense, dangled around Gibson, and fired the puck into a wide-open net for a power-play goal with 2 seconds left in the first period.Trevor Zegras gave the Ducks their first good look at a goal early in the second when he beat Vegas’ defense with a slick pass to himself through his legs but couldn’t finish w...

DJ Uiagalelei, Ryan Cooper Jr. power No. 15 Oregon State to a 36-24 win over No. 18 UCLA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei said the Beavers were able to overcome UCLA’s tough defense with a balanced offensive attack. A touchdown on defense helped, too. Ryan Cooper Jr. returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown late in the first half and No. 15 Oregon State overcame No. 18 UCLA’s stalwart defense and held on for a 36-24 victory on Saturday night. DJ Uiagalelei went 14 for 24 and threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns, and Atticus Sappington kicked three field goals for the Beavers (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12). Jack Velling caught three passes for 83 yards and two scores. “It was a great challenge for us and I feel like we did a really good job staying balanced,” Uiagalelei said. “We took our shots and we made them.”His only minor complaint was that the Beavers had to finish three drives with field goals. UCLA freshman quarterback Dante Moore was 15 of 34 for 168 yards and a touchdown pass, but was intercepted three times — including th...

A breeze showery kickoff for the Bears game. Dangerous lakeshore waves draws warning from the National Weather Service

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

Scattered showers are possible at kickoff for the Bears game. The chance of showers is 40%.  It will be breezy with north winds 15-20 mph, gusting to 30 mph.We could have waves from 6 to 9 feet, occasionally up to 12 feet through Sunday. Check out this shot of Edgewater Beach Saturday evening showing one round of waves after another:Vist ExploreFall.ComThe fall colors forecast hasn't changed since last week for the Chicago area.  We look around and see just partial color out there.Temperature and Precipitation TrendCoCoRaHS has several goals:To provide accurate high-quality precipitation data and increase the density of data available throughout the country by encouraging volunteer weather observing and encourage volunteers to participate in meteorological science and increasing their awareness about the weather.  To become a CoCoRaHS contributor you can visit their website to sign up.

Colorado State scores with no time left, beats Boise State 31-30 in wild finish

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi heaved a 33-yard pass to Dallin Holker in the end zone on the final play from scrimmage and Colorado State scored the last 21 points of the game to beat Boise State 31-30 in a wild finish on Saturday night. Trailing by 20 with about six minutes remaining, Fowler-Nicolosi threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Louis Brown IV with 4:01 to go and tossed a 2-yarder to Dylan Goffney with 1:53 left. The Rams then forced a three-and-out, but a 40-yard punt pinned them at their own 12-yard line with 33 seconds to go. Fowler-Nicolosi threw a 11-yard pass to Goffney and a 44-yarder to Tory Horton. Following a Bronco timeout and an incomplete pass, Fowler-Nicolosi heaved his pass from near the logo and to the corner of the end zone before a heavily-guarded Holker grabbed the batted ball with no time left. Jordan Noyes kicked the extra point with no time left to seal it for Colorado State (3-3, 1-1 Mountain West Conference). Fowler-Nicolosi finished...

Lucky Sutton runs for 2 TDs, McCuin adds pick-6 to help San Diego St. beat Hawaii 41-34

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — Freshman Lucky Sutton scored two rushing touchdowns — the first of his career — and Deshawn McCuin returned an interception 70 yards for a touchdown to help San Diego State beat Hawaii 41-34 Saturday night after blowing a 17-point lead. McCuin’s pick-6 made it 17-0 early in the second quarter but Brayden Schager threw touchdown passes of 18 yards to Pofele Ashlock and 8 yards to Alex Perry to trim Hawaii’s deficit to three points at halftime. Schager connected with Nick Cenacle on a 52-yard touchdown pass-and-catch on the final play of the third quarter that gave Hawaii (2-4, 0-1 Mountain West Conference) its first lead of the game at 24-20. Jalen Mayden threw a long pass to a wide-open Mekhi Shaw, who raced the final 35 yards down the right sideline for a 69-yard touchdown that put San Diego State (2-4, 0-2) back in front and, after a Rainbow Warriors fumble, Sutton scored on a 2-yard run to make it 34-24 with 12:27 remaining.Schager was 27-of-49 passing...

Olympic president Thomas Bach urged by IOC members to extend term limit and seek 4 more years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

MUMBAI, India (AP) — IOC president Thomas Bach was urged by its members on Sunday to change Olympic rules on term limits and seek four more years as president.Bach’s presidency is due to end in 2025 – a 12-year maximum agreed in anti-corruption reforms passed after the Salt Lake City bid scandal broke in the 1990s.However, citing the recent years of global crises, several of the 99 International Olympic Committee members opened their annual meeting Sunday suggesting they needed more of Bach’s leadership that started in 2013.The Olympic movement needed “to go through this period of torment with a president who has proved his mettle,” African sports leader Mustapha Berraf said.“We really need to be able to rely on the leadership you have shown,” said IOC member Luis Mejia Oviedo of the Dominican Republic.Though Bach has never publicly sought a term limit-busting third mandate, the option has been spoken of in international sports circles since he was re-elected in 2021 at a meet...

Martinook scores 9th-round shootout winner as Canes blow a 3-goal lead, still beat Kings 6-5

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jordan Martinook scored in the ninth round of the shootout, and the Carolina Hurricanes blew a three-goal lead before hanging on for a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.Sebastian Aho set a franchise record with his 17th short-handed goal before scoring again in the shootout for the Hurricanes, who opened a six-game road trip by wasting a three-goal lead midway through the second period and taking eight minor penalties.“I don’t know that we’ve played maybe a worse game ever, but I give (the Kings) credit,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “They outplayed us from start to finish. We just scored on every chance we had, basically. The game is just so hard when you’re in the box the whole game. It just has no flow, and (it’s) a disgusting game, really. We’re going to just trash it and move on.”Teuvo Teravainen also scored a short-handed goal, and Brendan Lemieux scored against his former team while Carolina racked up five goals on its f...

McDowell, FCS No. 10 Montana beat No. 3 Idaho 23-21

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Clifton McDowell threw a touchdown pass and ran for a TD, Grant Glasgow kicked three field goals and Montana held on to beat Idaho 23-21 Saturday night in a battle of two of the top teams in the Football Championship Subdivision. McDowell completed 11 of 18 passes for 116 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown to Junior Bergen in the first quarter, and scored on an 8-yard run in the second quarter that gave Montana (6-1, 3-1 Big Sky Conference), ranked No. 10 in the FCS coaches poll, a 17-0 lead. Glasgow, who made a 44-yard field goal to open the scoring, hit a 46-yarder with 2:12 left in the half but the Vandals answered with an 11-yard TD run by Anthony Woods that made it 20-7 at intermission. Glasgow made another 44-yard field goal early in the fourth to make it a 16-point lead but Gevani McCoy threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Hatten and the duo connected again for the 2-point conversion that made it 23-15 with 5:48 to play. The Grizzlies went three-and...

How to stop using alcohol as a confidence crutch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

(CNN) — Sobriety from alcohol can be good for your health and your wallet — and that phase of life when you realize those memes about hangovers at 21 versus hangovers in your late 20s or 30s actually are true.For some people, including me, going alcohol-free is also the solution when drinking starts to harm your mental health. But doing so can create a predicament if you still want to hang out in bars, clubs or parties where drinking alcohol is both the norm — and the main thing helping you feel at ease in those environments.As social animals with the need to belong in a tribe or community, “we get anxious in social situations because, with social anxiety, there is a sense that people will judge or reject us,” said Dr. Ellen Hendriksen, a clinical psychologist and author of “How to Be Yourself: Quiet Your Inner Critic and Rise Above Social Anxiety.”“So we work very hard to try to conceal the things we think might make us vulnerable, the things that people might think are wrong...