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Tom Skilling: Monday weather headlines, Labor Day Edition!

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

Happy Labor Day All!  And what a BEACH DAY and DAY TO BE OUTDOORS it's been. We may flirt with the record of 95-deg for the date set 40 years ago back in 1983—but this may end up tied with two other Labor Days in the 129 years since the day  was declared a National Holiday in 1894—namely Labor Day 1913 and 1983.  In other words, this could be the warmest Labor Day in 40 years here in Chicago. Interestingly, only 7% of the past 129 Labor Days have produced high temps of 90-deg or higher—and THIS was one of them. Historically, 31% of Labor Days have seen rain—THIS WASN'T ONE OF THEM, though the arrival of humid tropical air for the first time in the current hot spell did lead to the formation of cottony summer-like cumulus clouds.With 97% of the day's possible sunshine likely to go onto the books by the time the sun sets this evening, Frank Wachowski notes this has been the sunniest opening 4 days of a September in Chicago since 1955—68 years ago!!It hasn't rained here in the city in ...

Monday: Labor Day Forecast

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

A hot and humid Labor Day for the Chicago area with increasing clouds. Air quality is in the Good category for today. Monday Night:  Partly cloudy, breezy, warm and humid.  Low 76—but closer to 70 coolest inland areas.Tuesday: Partly cloudy, fairly windy, hot and humid. Widely scattered mainly afternoon and evening t-storms possible impact 20 to 30% of the area.  Wind gusts to 30 mph likely by and during the afternoon.  High 93 with a peak heat index around 98.Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, warm and humid. Scattered t-storms possible early and again toward morning. Low 74. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Wednesday: Partly cloudy, windy, quite warm and continued moderately humid. A t-storm possible early—a few scat t-storms may develop again in the afternoon and evening. Gusts to 30 mph possible—a stronger storm gusts possible.  Wednesday sees the best bet for isolated showers and storms. High 90—peak heat index 94.Thursday: Mostly clou...

A day after Stillwater prisoner protest, family say loved ones remain on lockdown with no communication

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

A day after dozens of Stillwater prison inmates staged a peaceful protest by refusing to go back into their cells, they remain on lockdown and cannot communicate with anyone outside the prison, according to friends, family and prisoner advocates.On Sunday, the prison was placed on emergency lockdown for about eight hours when about 100 prisoners in a living unit refused orders to reenter their cells, the Minnesota Department of Corrections said at the time.Supporters at a Monday press conference said the situation is far from resolved now that the inmates are back in their cells — and won’t be until their concerns are adequately addressed.Prisoners protested because they have no air conditioning and fresh water in their cells, are not allowed to take showers, and are only allowed out of their cells for an hour a day, according to David Boehnke, a spokesman for the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee. The IWOC is a union for the incarcerated that fights for prison a...

Twins call up Louie Varland, insert him into new role in bullpen

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

CLEVELAND — Louie Varland returned to the Twins on Monday after spending months in Triple-A, and this time, they have a different role in mind for the St. Paulite.Varland made his first relief appearance of the season on Thursday, throwing four innings of one-run ball for the Saints. Included in those four innings, he threw the four fastest pitches of his career, including one that reached triple digits, clocking in at 100.1 mph.That’s part of what the Twins were expecting and hoping to see as they move him to the bullpen for the time being and let him settle into a new role.“There are guys that have to do different things at different times of the year because the circumstances on our team and on our roster change. That happens constantly,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Right now, he’s a guy that can come out of the ‘pen throwing a high-90s fastball and go right at you, so we’ll see what he can do in that role.”Varland said he was kind of expecting to hear something about a role ch...

Zeynep Tufekci: One thing not to fear at Burning Man

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

The news that thousands of Burning Man festivalgoers were told to conserve food and water after torrential rains left them trapped by impassable mud in the Nevada desert led some to chortle about a “Lord of the Flies” scenario for the annual gathering popular with tech lords and moguls.Alas, I have to spoil the hate-the-tech-rich revelries. No matter how this mess is resolved — and many there seem to be coping — the common belief that civilization is but a thin veneer that will fall apart when authority disappears is not only false, the false belief itself is harmful.Rutger Bregman, who wrote a book called “Humankind: A Hopeful History,” had read “Lord of the Flies” as a teenager like many, and didn’t doubt its terrible implication about human nature. However, Bregman got curious about whether there were any real-life cases of boys of that age getting stranded on an island.Bregman learned of one that played out differently,In 1965, six boys ages 13-16, bored in their school in Tonga...

Battle Creek father faces long recovery after he was struck by car while mowing

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

On Sunday, while friends and neighbors were enjoying their Labor Day weekend, Toby Mengistu readied himself, physically and emotionally, to visit his father at Regions Hospital’s intensive care unit. That’s where Gerawork Mengistu, 60, has lived for the past two weeks, kept alive by tubes and wires while undergoing emergency surgeries for broken bones and a severe head injury, ever since a driver jumped the curb of his Battle Creek home on St. Paul’s East Side and sent the elder man hurtling from his lawn and into the street.The family of Gerawork Mengistu, 60, of St. Paul’s Battle Creek neighborhood, has set up an online fundraiser for him on GoFundMe after an Aug. 19, 2023 hit-and-run left him in the intensive care unit at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. Mengistu, a facilities worker for the University of Minnesota and originally of Ethiopia, is shown in this family photo with his wife Olga and their sons Toby and Matthew, who are now both in their 20s. (Cour...

Rescuers find missing climber dead at base of cliff in Summit County

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

The body of a 29-year-old man reported missing after he went climbing over the weekend has been found by a rescue group and the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.The man, whose name wasn’t released, was found dead Sunday morning at the base of a cliff in Officers Gulch, between Frisco and Copper Mountain.The Summit County Rescue Group said in a statement that a friend of the man contacted authorities Saturday night and said his friend had not returned from his climb. The man told his friend that he was going to be climbing and later called to say he was headed back and expected to return by 6:30 p.m.When the friend didn’t hear from the man, he drove to Officers Gulch and found the man’s car parked there. The friend called 911 to report the man missing.Eight members of the rescue group began looking for the man at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday. The group searched along a bike path and a climbing trail until 2 a.m. Sunday.The rescue group resumed the search at 6 a.m. ...

Rockies strike out 14 times in opening game loss at Arizona

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ postseason hopes got a boost Monday afternoon: A visit from the road-weary Rockies.Colorado arrived in the desert having lost 11 of its last 13 road games, then continued the downward spiral with a 4-2 loss at cavernous Chase Field.Unlike several of the road losses that preceded it, this one didn’t require a bullpen implosion for things to go south.Not with D-backs sinker-ball sorcerer Merrill Kelly in full command (61 of 91 pitches for strikes) before he exited with an apparent injury at the start of the eighth inning.The youthful Rockies struck out 12 times against the right-hander, and 14 times total, in another shaky outing away from Coors Field.“He’s a good pitcher … and he pitched today, he really did. We just couldn’t solve the mix,” Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters in Phoenix. “… (He throws) a lot of pitches at the bottom that have action. Out of the hand they look like strikes and then t...

Broncos CB Riley Moss practices for first time since core muscle surgery: “I’m taking it day by day”

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For Riley Moss, the first few days after core muscle surgery were brutal. The Broncos rookie cornerback struggled to get out of bed and said he moved around the house like his dad after hip replacement surgery.Moss spent his time taking pain medication, sleeping and reviewing the playbook.Five weeks after an aggressive rehab process, Moss returned to practice on Monday. The former Iowa standout is not at 100%, leaving his status for Week 1’s matchup against the Raiders in question, but he is happy to be back practicing.“I’m taking it day by day,” Moss said. “I’m keeping my expectations at ease and coming in every day, doing whatever (the team) tells me to do and make the most of it.”Before surgery, Moss said he felt soreness but thought he was fine and kept playing through the pain. During the fourth practice of camp, Moss felt a tear. He said doctors in Denver didn’t see anything wrong from the MRI but sent it to a specialist in Philadelphia who detected a problem.Moss relaxed for ...

COVID-struck California healthcare workers rally for staff increases, higher pay

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

On Labor Day, more than a thousand people gathered in Oakland’s Mosswood Park to march for higher wages and staffing increases for California healthcare workers who say not enough is being done to remedy the ongoing turmoil and stressful working conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Among the crowd were Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis and the mayors of Oakland, Berkeley and other Bay Area cities. The rally was staged by SEIU United Healthcare Workers West, and two sister rallies occurred simultaneously in Los Angeles and San Diego.Dave Regan, SEIU UHW president, specifically called out healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente, saying it has until Sept. 30, when the union contract expires, to meet the workers’ demands, or face a possible strike. Elena Perez, a union representative, confirmed that the current contract ends on Sept. 30, and said “members of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions are taking strike authorization votes n...