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COVID's total cost to the economy will reach $14 trillion by end of this year, research finds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:50 GMT

(The Conversation) - The economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. will reach US$14 trillion by the end of 2023, our team of economists, public policy researchers and other experts have estimated.Putting a price tag on all the pain, suffering and upheaval Americans and people around the world have experienced because of COVID-19 is, of course, hard to do. More than 1.1 million people have died as a result of COVID-19 in the U.S., and many more have been hospitalized or lost loved ones. Based on data from the first 30 months of the pandemic, we forecast the scale of total economic losses over a four-year period, from January 2020 to December 2023.To come up with our estimates, our team used economic modeling to approximate the revenue lost due to mandatory business closures at the beginning of the pandemic. We also used modeling to assess the economic blows from the many changes in personal behavior that contin...

Nearly 2,000 organ pipes stolen from Memphis church

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:50 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) - Restoration work on a nearly 100-year-old pipe organ at a historic downtown Memphis church has stopped after someone stole 1,800 pipes that had been boxed up and were headed to a repair shop in the Boston area.Calvary Episcopal Church is asking the public to be on the lookout for a yellow Penske moving truck with a Massachusetts plate. Organist-Choirmaster Dr. Kristin Lensch said when they arrived at church Sunday, they discovered the truck containing the organ pipes was missing.Stolen Penske moving truck (Courtesy: Calvary Episcopal Church)"It wasn't there. It simply wasn't there," said Dr. Lensch. "It's tough to take just because they took something that means so much to us." Lensch said Spenser Organ Company was four days into the restoration project when the pipes were stolen.Two years ago, the same company restored half of the organ. Joseph Rotella, the owner of Spencer Organ Company, said he was looking forward to tackling...

Dean's A-List Interview: Omari Hardwick on 'The Mother'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:50 GMT

CHICAGO — The No. 1 streaming movie on Netflix has now been featured a second time on "Dean's A-List Interview."After a conversation with Jennifer Lopez on "The Mother" last week on WGN Morning News, Dean Richards was talking with Omari Hardwick on Tuesday. He portrays FBI Special Agent William Cruise, who is helping Lopez's character try to protect her daughter. The actor, who is known for his performances in "Power," "Saved," and "Dark Blue," discussed the many stories that are interlaced within the plot of "The Mother" along with the physicality of the role.You can see more of Dean's interview with Omari from "Dean's A-List Interview" from May 16's morning news in the video above or below.

Two 'exceptionally rare,' previously unknown Rembrandt paintings discovered

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:50 GMT

(The Hill) - Two "exceptionally rare" paintings by the renowned Dutch artist Rembrandt Van Rijn have been discovered in a private collection, and are now heading to auction where they're expected to fetch between $6 and $10 million.Henry Pettifer, of the British auction house Christie’s London, discovered the oil paintings while conducting a routine evaluation of a family's collection. The portraits, depicting a husband and wife from the Netherlands, date back to 1635, notes the Financial Times.Pettifer said the works are previously unknown to art scholars and historians."It was extraordinary to me that the pictures had never been studied before," Pettifer told the Times. "They were completely absent from the Rembrandt literature."The family had inherited the artwork that was last purchased in 1824, and didn't realize the works were originals, notes the Washington Post."The family liked the pictures but were never certain that they were by Rembrandt and never really looked into...

How the pandemic turned Florida red

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:50 GMT

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second in a five-part series called “How Florida got so conservative.”Florida’s coronavirus pandemic policies have accelerated the state’s shift to conservatism by emboldening Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and turning the state into a popular destination for Americans opposed to lockdowns and public health restrictions.Long a hot spot for retirees and those searching for a warmer climate and generally lower taxes, Florida — seen as an “open” state during the height of the pandemic — drew swaths of Americans seeking a return to the normalcy of a pre-coronavirus world. “What happened was you had anyone who could relocate to a place that was open like Florida did,” said Sal Nuzzo, senior vice president at the Florida-based, free-market think tank The James Madison Institute. “What they found was a lifestyle and a political atmosphere and a culture that just agreed with them a lot more than where they came from.” According to Florida’s Office ...

Five races to watch in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Florida on Tuesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:50 GMT

Editor's note: This file has been corrected to reflect party control of the state legislature in Pennsylvania.(The Hill) -- Kentucky Republicans looking to dethrone Gov. Andy Beshear (D) in November are competing in a contentious primary. Nine contenders are facing off to helm Philadelphia. And candidates in the Pennsylvania House race are gaining national attention in a special election that could potentially flip control of the state's lower chamber. These are just a few of the colorful races on tap Tuesday, which could offer clues into the key issues on voters' minds and how both parties may fare in 2024.Here's a look at five races to watch in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Florida this Tuesday:Kentucky GOP gubernatorial primaryKentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, former U.N. ambassador Kelly Craft and state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles are leading a crowded Republican primary field to take on Gov. Andy Beshear (D).Polling and strategists alike see Cameron as the f...

Jarring evening temp drop with a wind shift to the “NE” in Chicago as “pneumonia front” sweeps through Tuesday evening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:50 GMT

Sunshine and cool temps follow Wednesday—spring, 2023 is the driest 33% of past 151 years here and no rain expected until FridayChicagoans come off a cool Mother’s Day weekend. High temps averaged 3.5 degrees below normal Saturday and Sunday—but when low temps are included, the weekend was actually finished close to normal. What made it feel so much cooler was the fact the weekend averaged more than 10 degrees cooler than the weekend which preceded it.Tuesday is to throw some thermal curves at Chicago—warming into the low 80s in the afternoon. But, a WIND-SHIFTING PNEUMONIA FRONT—so labeled because of the jarring temp changes it produces—will sweep through the city from the north passing in the evening hours Tuesday.Within a matter of hours, temps will crash down to 30 degrees—falling from the low 80s into the low to mid 50s. Current indications are that the front will pass the city around 6 to 7pm—earlier North Shore areas and NNE winds will sweep in gusting 25 to 30 mph along the ...

Person of interest questioned for 2022 Lincoln Park shooting attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:50 GMT

CHICAGO -- A second person of interest is being questioned by the Chicago Police Department in the shooting attack of Dakotah Earley in May 2022.Earley, 23, was shot near Webster and Wayne Avenue in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on Sunday, May 6, 2022. ORIGINAL: Video captures man being shot during Lincoln Park armed robbery Surveillance video of the incident captured a white sedan heading down Webster Avenue and turning the corner onto Wayne Avenue. The offender exited the vehicle and hides behind a corner building, occasionally peeking around to check if Earley was approaching. ‘I’m in good spirits,’ says chef who survived brutal Lincoln Park attack in first public comments The offender then came out from hiding, approached Earley and displayed a gun. Earley handed his bag over to the robber, then reached for the offender’s gun. The two began to wrestle and fell to the ground, when a second offender emerged from the vehicle with a gun.The first offender then gets up...

CPS holds virtual community input meeting on future of Urban Prep Academy campuses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:50 GMT

CHICAGO — One in a series of community meetings meant to update the public on the progress of the new campuses at the former Urban Prep Academy took place Monday evening.Two Urban Prep Academy schools are under transition — one in Englewood and one in Bronzeville — after they lost an appeal to have their charter status renewed last month.Since then, meetings like the one held Monday, have been held to hear community input."We’re going to work between now and maybe December to actually come up with the final ideas," said CPS Executive Director of Marketing Courtney Hill during the meeting. "The name, the mascot, the logo, the look, the feel, the color – things that kind of go into it."For the time being, CPS officials said the school will go by the name of 'Bronzeville-Englewood High School.' PREVIOUS COVERAGE: CPS to take over 2 Urban Prep campuses after charter school’s appeal denied Through a process of community input, voting and a final sign off from the principal and the advi...

Skilling: Partly sunny, warmer before cool dip in Chicagoland Tuesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:50 GMT

Chicagoans come off a cool Mother's Day weekend. High temps averaged 3.5-deg below normal Sat & Sun—but when low temps are included, the weekend was actually finished close to normal. What made it feel so much cooler was the fact the weekend average more than 10-deg cooler than the weekend which preceded it.Tuesday is to throw some thermal curves at Chicago—warming into the low 80s in the afternoon. But a windshifting pneumonia front—so labeled because of the jarring temp changes it produces—will sweep through the city from the north passing in the evening hours Tuesday.Within a matter of hours, temps will crash up to 30 degrees—falling from the low 80s into the low to mid 50s. Current indications are the front will pass the city 6 to 7 p.m.—earlier North Shore areas and that NNE winds will sweep in gusting 25 to 30 mph along the lake.This will introduce building waves and the onset of possible rip currents Tuesday night—something swimmers and area mariners should be aware of.La...