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Teen, paralyzed in water accident, warns others of the dangers of diving

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:00 GMT

Every year as the weather warms up and people go to pools and beaches, injuries rise.The first nice day of this year’s Spring was the last time a young man stood on his own. A diving accident left him paralyzed.But he is determined to walk and warn others. 18-year-old Pato Gilchrist lives with his family just one block from the beach in WIlmette. On the day of his accident, the weather was warm and the water was low.“The first dive in I dove in headfirst, and I hit the sand the bottom of the lake,” he said.WGN’s Medical Watch team first visited Gilchrist two weeks after his accident at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab.Lauren Rizio is an occupational therapist.“Over the summer there is a percentage of our caseload here that is diving injuries,” she said. “(Gilchrist) has a cervical spinal cord injury at about the C7 level.” MedWatch Daily Digest: Study spanning 25 years shows effects of traumatic brain injuries He undergoes intense therapy three hours a day, re-learning the b...

Hardly drought busters, but showery spells to increase Tuesday with slow moving low pressure; Canadian fires still burning and smoke may stage a Chicago area comeback in coming days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:00 GMT

It’s here! El Niño, a warming of the equatorial Pacific waters west of South America and accompanying weakening of the easterly trade winds which blow across that region, has arrived with a range of potential global weather/climate implications, which a study published in the scientific journal Nature suggests may end up producing economic impacts amounting to $3-trillion in 2023.The last full blown El Niño occurred in 2016—a year which produced the highest global average temp on the books. It’s widely believed this year, when El Niño warming is added—the planetary warming already underway with ongoing climate change—that our planet will set a new global warm temp record for 2023. And odds of this becoming a strong El Niño by this coming winter—with ocean temps warming 2.7 degrees F above normal—are placed at 56% by forecasters at the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC).WHY IS THERE SUCH INTEREST IN El Niño?Much is made of El Niños because of the important and...

Denver Nuggets win first NBA title, beat Miami Heat in five games

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Denver Nuggets have won their first NBA championship in team history, beating the Miami Heat in Game 5 on Monday. The Nuggets edged out the Heat, 94-89, in Denver, overcoming dreadful shooting and a late flurry from Miami's Jimmy Butler. Center Nikola Jokic, had 28 points and 16 rebounds for the Nuggets, who missed 20 of their first 22 3-point attempts and seven of their first 13 free throws but figured out how to close out the series on their home floor. Where you can get Nuggets NBA championship gear Jokic, who finished as the runner-up to Joel Embiid in the MVP race, was named to the All-NBA Second Team. He nearly averaged a triple-double over the season with 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game over the 69 games he played.Butler scored eight straight points to help the Heat take an 87-86 lead with 2:45 left after trailing by seven. He made two more free throws with 1:58 remaining to help Miami regain a one-point lead. Then, Bruce Brown got a...

Heat and humidity reach dangerous levels this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Following isolated severe thunderstorms in the Hill Country Monday night, heat and humidity become the main story through Father's Day weekend with one of the hottest mid-June periods Austin has ever recorded.A Tornado Watch expires at midnight in Lampasas County as strong thunderstorms gradually weaken and dissipate overnight.A stationary front parked northwest of Austin fired severe thunderstorms Monday evening that produced baseball size hail and a rotating wall cloud near Brady, just northwest of our viewing area. The storms moved into parts of the Hill Country Monday night but never produced any confirmed severe hail reports. If you saw severe weather, send photos or videos to [email protected] heat expected for the next week or moreWhile a few strong thunderstorms are possible in the northern Hill Country again Tuesday evening, the risk of severe weather is lower. The main forecast concern is an excessive June heat wave building over the next week or...

Session adjourns, Assembly plans to reconvene

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:00 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) -- Lawmakers are still catching up on some much needed rest after a long week. While the Senate did adjourn, the Assembly plans to reconvene. "We don’t have the exact dates, but I hope it’s sooner rather than later," said Assembly Minority Leader, Will Barclay. He said two key issues New Yorkers are dealing with are crime and affordability which he feels went unaddressed this session, "Instead of addressing changes to bail or Raise the Age, they went and passed Clean Slate, which I think is a step in the wrong direction. And as far as affordability, I didn’t really see anything in the final, waning days to provide some relief to New Yorkers, who are overtaxed and over burdened with the cost of living in New York." Attorney General’s office opens investigation into civilian death in Saratoga County Barclay also frustrated that there was no legislation to address the migrant crisis. A bill was passed to create a commission to study the effects of slavery on Afri...

Police tie 12-year-old girl to overnight crime spree

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Even the police were surprised to find a 12-year-old girl among the suspects involved in an overnight crime spree. Investigators said the suspects were looking for guns in cars.On Monday morning, FOX 2 captured the end of a police pursuit on North Broadway in St. Louis. Police said three suspects rammed a St. Ann police car to get away.They did not get far from where that pursuit ended, near the Bellefontaine cemetery. Police said the suspects ran to another car they had stashed nearby and only made it about three miles away, where police found them again in the Baden neighborhood on Harlan Avenue. St. Ann police arrested two adults who were with the 12-year-old girl.“Personally, this is probably one of the youngest females that I’ve come in contact with in regard to any crimes like car clotting,” said Lt. Monica Ruelas for the St. Ann Police Department. Former St. Louis alderman under federal indictment for insurance fraud Ruelas said more than 30 cars were hit on res...

St. Louis area family encounters bear on Florida beach   

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis area family did a double take when they saw a black bear in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico this past weekend.“We had been out on the beach, swimming, boogie boarding for a few hours,” said Karen Pierson.She and her family were vacationing in Destin, Florida when they saw the bear on Sunday.“I’m looking at the bear, and I know my girls are behind me, and I’m like, yes, that is a real bear,” Pierson said.She said the bear swam within approximately 100 feet of the family as they swam away to create some distance. No one was harmed. ‘Worst roads in America’ : St. Louis man makes viral videos in push for change Dan Zarlenga is the St. Louis regional media specialist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. He said giving an American black bear some space was exactly the right thing to do.“Give it enough space,” Zarlenga said. “Don’t try to get too close to it.”He said bears are native to Florida. It’s unknown how the bear made its way to the beach in Desti...

Calls for short-term rental regulations after man shot leaving party in Shaw

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Concerns over violence at short-term rentals in St. Louis are growing after a man was shot outside an Airbnb in the Shaw neighborhood Sunday afternoon.A resident said they heard gunshots around 1:20 p.m. Sunday and started to record the Airbnb across the street.“I heard several loud popping noises. Initially, I thought my wife dropped something loudly upstairs, so I paused for a second, and then I heard it very loudly again," said Robert Davis.A 23-year-old man was shot. He told police he was leaving a party at the Airbnb on Castleman Avenue when suddenly a man in a black ski mask started shooting.The suspect drove away and hasn’t been seen since.The victim was shot in the abdomen and was taken to the hospital. Former St. Louis alderman under federal indictment for insurance fraud “I saw one man crouched behind a car and another man laid out in the street, and he was holding his stomach," Davis said. "One of my neighbors comforted him, sort of held him as he tried to s...

Search continues for missing man as a week approaches

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - There are growing concerns about a learning-disabled worker at an iconic south St. Louis County restaurant. Tuesday, June 13, marks a week since he disappeared.There's still hope that anyone can help bring him home.His loved ones said surveillance cameras confirmed that Steve Wehrman, 61, stopped at the U.S. Bank branch near the South County mall on his way to work last Tuesday morning on June 6. He never made it to work at Bartolino’s South restaurant on Lindbergh, about a mile and a half from the bank.“Steve has been a huge part of our family here,” said Michael Saracino, owner of Bartolino’s South. “Everybody here has been concerned about him. They’re all beside themselves the same way I am: what happened?” Former St. Louis alderman under federal indictment for insurance fraud “As each day goes by, it’s getting worse to me,” said Marty Wehrman, Steve’s brother. “The first 2-3 days (it was) ‘Ok, he’s going to be pop up.’ Now, it’s gone on a week, and he h...

Multiple water main breaks across south St. Louis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:52:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Many south St. Louis residents dealt with water pressure issues over the weekend.On Monday, city officials said this is due to the 16 water breaks reported over the weekend. Five of them have been repaired, but crews are still working to fix 11 others."It's crazy that I feel like I need to justify why I need water," said Amanda Randall, a resident. "Like I wrote down reasons. Well, it's a whole gallon and a half to just flush your toilet one time. I don't need reasons for why I need water."She said she has been without running water since Friday and like many other residents, tried calling the city's emergency number to hopefully get answers. Former St. Louis alderman under federal indictment for insurance fraud "I was on the emergency line for over an hour and got hung up on," Randall said.She said when that didn't work, she tried online."I submitted an online request, and they said they couldn't get back to me based on what I said," Randall said. "You know, water out...