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How rich was the family in 'Home Alone:' NYT talks to experts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

CHICAGO -- One question begs to be asked when watching the movie 'Home Alone' as a Chicagoan, how rich were the Mccalisters to be able to afford the glorious mansion in Winnetka.The New York Times talked to experts with the Federal Reserve who compared the home to similar ones in Chicago in the early 1990s estimating the Mccaslisters income to afford that home was at least $305,000 a year that would put the in the top %1 od households in the U.S.Adjusted for inflation, the family would need to make at least $700,000 to afford the same house today.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Weekend Gardening with Tim Joyce: Environmentally conscious Christmas trees

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

WGN's Plant Daddy Tim Joyce is back with a holiday edition of Weekend Gardening. Check it out for more on gardening health benefits, how to make environmentally conscious choices with Christmas trees and more.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Oversized Santas take over Northwest Hills neighborhood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Residents living on Gnarl Drive in Northwest Hills have dubbed their street "Santa Clause Lane" and it's for good reason.Anyone driving down the road will be greeted with multiple oversize inflatable Santas as well as other fun Christmas decorations. Kayla Christie said a neighbor living down the street from her came up with the idea, and from there, the rest was history. Christie said she bought multiple inflatable Santas and handed them out to some of the neighbors as well. "We really dub it "Santa Claus Lane" now," Christie said. "Next year we will probably have a sign up that says "Santa Claus Lane." More and more of the neighbors, as they started coming up, really enjoyed seeing it and wanted to participate. It is just really fun and delightful."Ainsley Christie said she hopes to see this tradition continue for years to come. "I think it is really fun," Ainsley said. "I think it is funny that we are all kind of matching. Most of the time no one really drives do...

Austin Police arrest suspect in shooting at Barton Square Mall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police arrested a man Thursday who they believe is connected to the Saturday, Dec. 16 shooting at the Barton Creek Square Mall that left one person injured. APD officers arrested Vincent Gutierrez, 19, on two counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. He has been booked into the Travis County jail.Around 5 p.m. on Dec. 16, police responded to shots fired at the Barton Creek Mall, where they found one man with a non-life-threatening gun wound. Police believe that four men, two in each group, met at the mall to sell merchandise that was being purchased from social media. After the two groups met, a physical fight began and led to the shooting. The victim did not know Gutierrez, APD said. Police said that the suspects left the scene after the shooting. Even though Austin Police believe this was an isolated incident, officers are patrolling the area more frequently than before the shooting, they said. APP asks anyone with informati...

Texas receives $1.8 million to reduce vehicle collisions with endangered ocelots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is giving $1.8 million to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Texas to build underpasses in the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge around 70 miles east of McAllen, to reduce vehicle collisions with the endangered ocelot, a medium-sized spotted wildcat. The cat’s habitat is intersected by a roadway and has been closed since 2013 due to a high number of collisions. There are fewer than 100 ocelots left in Texas. This project will allow the road to open again, according to an FHWA press release.  MORE: Texas Parks and Wildlife exploring protection options for ocelots The funding comes from a new program in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) that helps fund projects building wildlife crossing, fencing and acquiring tracking and mapping tools around the U.S. There is a total of $350 million available over the next five years. Laguna Atascosa is one of the first 19 ...

Joe Soucheray: This weather is just heavenly and I know it can’t last

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

Christmas Eve day happens to be the third day of spring for members of the Royal Order of the 21sters, those of us who are comfortably delusional with the insistence that once the days began getting longer at 9:27 p.m. Dec. 21, the misery of winter was behind us. We see light at the end of the tunnel. Some of us are jogging in shorts.And aren’t the running paths and streets and sidewalks glorious? Of course they are. We could just as easily be fighting icy ruts and slippery going and the wet glop that moves young mothers to sigh as they constantly change snowsuits and place the mittens and boots to dry near the radiator, promoting the malodorous smell of wet dogs.It was about this time of year in 1991, following the Halloween Blizzard, that I was driving on Grand Avenue one night when my wheels jumped out of the rutted paths and I was suddenly sailing horizontally down the street. I don’t miss that.We went to a preschooler’s Christmas program the other night and everybody seemed che...

St. Louis Mom Battles HOA 'Grinches' to create Christmas wonderland for her son

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis mom aimed to bring a little Christmas cheer to her subdivision and her son. This year, she decorated her front yard and surrounding property with over 100 inflatables and decorations ranging from gnomes, Santas, reindeer, and Disney characters.“My son Conner and I moved to our home when he was 6 months old and 4 months out from having a heart transplant. That, along with some other major health issues, had me relocating us a bit closer to Cardinal Glennon, Conner’s hospital,” said Mother Jennifer Walkenhorst.Walkenhorst explained that her subdivision, though small, has encountered some Homeowner Association issues. “Although nothing crazy,” she added. About four years ago, Conner developed an interest in holidays and wanted to have a collection of inflatables. St. Peters man catches state record fish from Missouri River “With all of his health issues during the fall and winter, we tend to stay in more, so we don't increase the risk of a hospital stay. Not t...

Fire breaks out during private event at historic L.A. building 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

A large fire tore through a historic building in L.A.’s Cypress Park neighborhood during what authorities believe was a wedding reception.According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the blaze was first reported around 2:10 a.m. at L.A. River Studios, located near the intersection of North San Fernando Road and Division Street. 3.4 magnitude earthquake rattles Orange County The Smith-Miller Toy Company, known for their vintage toy trucks, had their factory at that location in 1931, according to the studio's website.A large fire tore through a historic building in L.A.’s Cypress Park neighborhood during a wedding reception on Dec. 23, 2023. (KeyNewsTV)A large fire tore through a historic building in L.A.’s Cypress Park neighborhood during a wedding reception on Dec. 23, 2023. (KeyNewsTV)A large fire tore through a historic building in L.A.’s Cypress Park neighborhood during a wedding reception on Dec. 23, 2023. (KeyNewsTV)A large fire tore through a historic building in L.A.’s Cyp...

Confidence With Cannabidiol- Can CBD Get Rid Of Shyness?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

View the original article about CBD for Shyness and Anxiety at Real Tested CBD.Shyness isn’t a sickness, but many people with this personality trait risk developing anxiety. There’s also evidence that as many as 20 percent of people have a genetic predisposition towards shyness. The NIH estimates about 12 percentof US adults have some degree of a social anxiety disorder (SAD).Again, it’s important to note that shyness isn’t a mental illness. However, people with some degree of shyness may need extra help to bolster their self-esteem. In most cases, cognitive behavioral therapy can work wonders for shy patients. There’s also evidence that supplements like CBD oil can tremendously impact a person’s “shyness score.” Adding CBD to a person’s daily schedule may help those on the shy spectrum feel more comfortable speaking up.Why Does CBD Work So Well For Shyness?There are still debates over how CBD seems to help people with anxiety issues like SAD. However, most researchers believe CBD p...

Applied Materials’ ‘face of philanthropy’ stepping down in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:15 GMT

For the past 25 years, Siobhan Kenney has been the face of philanthropy for Applied Materials, heading up food drives and getting up on chilly Thanksgiving mornings to lead the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot. But in early 2024, she’ll be retiring from her positions as Applied’s senior director of global community affairs and executive director of the Applied Materials Foundation.“I’m going to miss colleagues here at Applied and the philanthropic world,” she said. “I’m going to miss the leaders in the nonprofit community working on important issues. They’ve always been so generous with their time in helping us to understand the community and understand what their vision is in meeting community needs.”Kenney has been a familiar and welcomed presence at countless nonprofit events where she represents Applied, but her experience with the sector stretches even further back. She spent 10 years as executive director of the Volunteer Exchange of Silicon...