Teamsters oust suburban board after more than $1M in questionable expenses

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:34:11 GMT

Teamsters oust suburban board after more than $1M in questionable expenses BURR RIDGE, Ill. — The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has removed leaders of Local 731 based in suburban Burr Ridge after an audit turned up questionable and excessive spending on everything from steak to booze and bonuses. It totaled well over $1 million.A letter sent by Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien to local members said an audit found Local 731’s board gave itself nearly $304,000 in bonuses over five years without the required approval of membership.  More Coverage: WGN Investigates Auditors also questioned nearly $66,000 in spending they said was excessive or unrelated to union business. It includes two visits to Gibsons Bar and Steakhouse that racked up a total tab of $37,000, including nearly $16,000 in alcohol. The audit also questioned $924,000 in donations and contributions the union made in recent years without membership approval.“The violations and wrongdoing identified above are not a complete list,” O’Brien wrote in the letter to members. “It is cl...

US approves 1st vaccine for RSV after decades of attempts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:34:11 GMT

US approves 1st vaccine for RSV after decades of attempts WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. approved the first vaccine for RSV on Wednesday, shots to protect older adults against a respiratory virus that’s most notorious for attacking babies but endangers their grandparents, too.The Food and Drug Administration decision makes GSK’s shot, called Arexvy, the first of several potential vaccines in the pipeline for RSV to be licensed anywhere.The move sets the stage for adults 60 and older to get vaccinated this fall — but first, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must decide if every senior really needs RSV protection or only those considered at high risk from the respiratory syncytial virus. CDC’s advisers will debate that question in June.After decades of failure in the quest for an RSV vaccine, doctors are anxious to finally have something to offer — especially after a virus surge that strained hospitals last fall.“This is a great first step ... to protect older persons from serious RSV disease,” said Dr. William Schaffner, medical di...

Convicted sex offender accused of loitering near Elmhurst school

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:34:11 GMT

Convicted sex offender accused of loitering near Elmhurst school WHEATON, Ill. — A Villa Park man currently on probation for possession of child porn is accused of loitering near an Elmhurst high school on at least three occasions, prosecutors in DuPage County said. The arrest comes after Elmhurst police said the department received several reports of young girls being watched and followed by a man while leaving school. Police identified the suspect as 36-year-old Yuusef Husain.SEE ALSO | Sheriff: Wisconsin man pretended to be in Marines while in prison, takes thousands from girlfriend and her familyAccording to police, from April 12 through April 28, between 3:45 p.m. and 3:55 p.m., Husain was within five hundred feet of the school on multiple occasions for several minutes.Husain was taken into custody Tuesday morning while allegedly driving around York Community High School neighborhoods while students were waiting at their bus stops, prosecutors added. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesHusain is charged with one felony count of unlawful ...

10-year-olds found working at McDonald's in Kentucky: Labor Department

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:34:11 GMT

10-year-olds found working at McDonald's in Kentucky: Labor Department (The Hill) – The Labor Department found two 10-year-olds among more than 300 minors working at numerous McDonald’s locations in four states. The department said in a Tuesday release that its Wage and Hour Division found the two 10-year-olds working at a location in Louisville, Ky. The division found that three franchisees — Bauer Food LLC, Archways Richwood LLC and Bell Restaurant Group I LLC — employed 305 children to work more hours than legally permitted and perform tasks that federal law prohibits. The children were found to be working in 62 locations operated by the three franchisees in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio. The franchisees were fined more than $212,000 in total. “Too often, employers fail to follow the child labor laws that protect young workers,” said Karen Garnett-Civils, the Labor division's district director in Louisville. “Under no circumstances should there ever be a 10-year-old child working in a fast-food kitchen around hot grills, ovens ...

Watch: Thieves use 'a little lasso' to pull ATM out of bar

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:34:11 GMT

Watch: Thieves use 'a little lasso' to pull ATM out of bar DENVER (KDVR) - Early Tuesday morning, three thieves used a truck and rope to pull a bolted-down ATM out of Spot Bar and Grill in Denver. “It's just violating,” Meagan Maly, the bar's general manager, said. Security video shows one of the suspects breaking the glass door to get into the bar. The thief never hit the lock on the door, which Maly said is why the alarm wasn't originally triggered.The suspect inside went straight to the ATM and attempted to pick it up before appearing to realize the ATM was bolted to the ground. While that was happening, a red truck backed up onto the curb just outside the front door and another suspect brought a rope inside. "He put a little lasso on our ATM and hooked up to the truck and pulled it right out through our door, breaking the door," Maly said.From there the video shows the suspects dragging out the ATM and lifting it into the back of the red truck.“It was a different-looking truck with a lot of flood lights on it. It'll have a lot of ...

Police: 2 taken into custody, large 'police presence' at Leander apartment complex

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:34:11 GMT

Police: 2 taken into custody, large 'police presence' at Leander apartment complex Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for May 3, 2023.LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — Leander police took two people into custody after a search Wednesday near an apartment complex on Ronald Reagan Boulevard, LPD said on Twitter.Around 12 p.m., police said they had a large presence of officers in the 16760 block of Ronald Reagan Blvd., which is between Hero Way and Crystal Falls Parkway. Police said one person was taken into custody around 11:50 a.m., while another remained at large.In an update on Twitter at 12:23 p.m., LPD said the other person was taken into custody and there was "no further threat to the community."Leander police said it will provide additional information "soon."

Scorpion truck blocks 18-wheeler from crashing into work zone on I-35

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:34:11 GMT

Scorpion truck blocks 18-wheeler from crashing into work zone on I-35 AUSTIN (KXAN) — A vehicle specifically designed to protect construction workers and equipment may have saved lives this morning after an 18-wheeler crashed into a work zone on I-35 in south Austin.Around 4 a.m. Wednesday morning, an 18-wheeler traveling northbound on I-35 crashed into the I-35 Capital Express South Project work zone near Onion Creek Parkway. It slammed into the back of a safety vehicle, known as a Scorpion truck, designed to protect construction workers and construction equipment. It acts as a crash cushion and creates a safety barrier between moving traffic and a work zone.KXAN Traffic Anchor Erica Brennes sat down with Bradley Wheelis, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Transportation to learn more about these Scorpion trucks.Construction work zone safety is a top priority for TxDOT. Last year 205 people were killed in work zones in Texas. Only one of those people was a construction worker. The rest were drivers, their passengers, pedestrians and cyclists....

Austin Sobering Center effective in diverting people away from the hospital or jail

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:34:11 GMT

Austin Sobering Center effective in diverting people away from the hospital or jail AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Sobering Center in downtown Austin has been effective in diverting people from jails and hospitals, officials from the program said during Tuesday's Travis County Commissioners Court meeting. The Austin Travis County Sobering Center has operated for five years. Since it opened its doors, center staff have assisted over 8,000 clients. The Sobering Center was opened as an alternative to jails or hospitals for intoxicated people and has been successful in diverting around 2,700 people from hospitals and over 5,224 people from going to jail, per the center’s data.The Sobering Center reported that with the first 4,000 people diverted from jail, it saved taxpayers $50,000 in booking fees. Further, the program relieves pressures from jails while helping clients with behaviors that stem from a substance abuse disorder. “[The Center] has been a lot more successful than we thought it would be,”Laura Elmore, Executive Director of the Sobering Center, said Tuesday at Travis ...

Memorial Day parade set in South Glens Falls

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:34:11 GMT

Memorial Day parade set in South Glens Falls SOUTH GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Every Memorial Day, the community of South Glens Falls has a tradition. The annual South Glens Falls Memorial Day Parade is set to take to the village this month. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The parade will gather on Friday, May 26, the parade will gather at 6 p.m. at the intersection of Main Street and Haviland Avenue in South Glens Falls. The parade will head north, ending at Veteran's Memorial Park, where a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. Words of remembrance will be shared by Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner.This year, Wayne "Beanie" Bruce will serve as Grand Marshal leading the parade. Bruce is a 1967-71 Air Force veteran and has also served in the South Glens Falls Police Department for nearly three decades, including seven years as Saratoga Sheriff Deputy.The parade will include faces from local American Legion chapters, VFWs and fire departments, as well as the Sout...

Hubbard Hall awarded $279K for artist housing and sound equipment

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:34:11 GMT

Hubbard Hall awarded $279K for artist housing and sound equipment CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Hubbard Hall Center for the Arts and Education has been awarded $279,000 in support of artist housing and sound equipment. The funds were made available by the NY State Council on the Arts and are part of a $42 million investment statewide in Small and Mid-Sized Capital Projects for Arts and Cultural Organizations. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "In the last two years, with NYSCA's extraordinary support, we have completed several facilities projects that have greatly improved patrons' experiences, including new HVAC systems in three of our buildings and new restrooms in Hubbard Hall," says Executive & Artistic Director David Snider. "The addition of artist housing and new sound equipment are critical steps in our growth in serving our community and the field at large."Renovations and restoration will begin on the Lovejoy Building on the Hubbard Hall campus. Work is expected to be complet...