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Which 3 Illinois cities rank among best places to live in the US?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:19 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- U.S. News and World Report has chosen the best places to live in the U.S., and a city in Wisconsin beat out all others, according to rankings released Tuesday.Green Bay has been near the top of the rankings in past years, but this year Cheeseheads can celebrate after the home of the Packers finally took the top spot. "While people who haven’t visited the northeastern Wisconsin metro area may exclusively recognize the city’s name for its NFL team the Packers, the metro area offers varied attractions, from historical and art museums to craft breweries and outdoor activities in both warm and cold weather," the report stated. How much apartment space will $1,500 buys in the top US cities? Green Bay is followed by Huntsville, Alabama, in second place and Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina, third. Three cities in Illinois ranked in the top 150: No. 133 - Rockford, Illinois No. 123 - Chicago, IllinoisNo. 70 - Peoria, IllinoisThe rankings took into consideration factors p...

The most common undergraduate degrees awarded in Illinois

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:19 GMT

For those who choose to attend college, deciding on where to study—and which field of study to pursue—can be impactful. Each year, about 3 million undergraduate degrees are granted and 2 million of them are bachelor's degrees. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the top three degree programs for the period 2009-2010 through 2019-2020 were business, health programs, and social sciences/history, with psychology, biological/biomedical sciences, and engineering not far behind.Wage variation among fields can vary to an astounding degree. As reported by Stacker in March 2023, "On a national level, those who study nuclear engineering technologies or become technicians in that field have the highest median earnings three years after graduation at $107,804, followed by the fields of biomathematics, bioinformatics, and computational biology ($98,074)." This same report showed that, in some states, graduates in various liberal arts fields—such as English literature, musi...

Wells Fargo agrees to pay $1 billion to settle shareholders' class-action lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wells Fargo has agreed to pay $1 billion to settle a lawsuit filed by its shareholders who alleged the bank made misleading statements about its compliance with federal regulators after a fake account-opening scandal came to light in 2016.The class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of hundreds of thousands of public employees of Rhode Island and Mississippi whose retirement funds had been invested in Wells Fargo. A federal judge in New York on Tuesday granted preliminary approval of the settlement that was filed late Monday.Wells Fargo has been sanctioned repeatedly by U.S. regulators for violations of consumer protection laws going back to 2016, when employees were found to have opened millions of accounts illegally in order to meet unrealistic sales goals. Say goodbye to AM radio: Why carmakers are removing it from new models In addition to inflating sales figures that boosted the company's stock, the actions by Wells’ employees caused damage to customers’ cre...

Unknown man slipped undetected inside the home of White House official; Secret Service probing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An unknown man managed to slip undetected inside the home of White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, according to two people familiar with the incident. The U.S. Secret Service is investigating.The door was apparently unlocked, and the intruder was able to get inside Sullivan's home around 3 a.m. last month, the people said. Secret Service is investigating whether the person intentionally went into the home or whether it was some kind of accident; the person appeared to be intoxicated, the people said. The people were not authorized to talk about an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.Sullivan has round-the-clock security. But the agents stationed outside his home did not know that the unknown male accessed inside the Washington home until the man had already gone. Sullivan came outside and told them, the people said.There was no evidence that the person meant to harm Sullivan or even knew him. The Was...

New Mexico police to release new information in mass shooting investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:19 GMT

FARMINGTON, N.M. (KRQE) – Investigators are expected to release more information Tuesday about a mass shooting in Farmington, New Mexico where four people were killed, including the shooter, and at least six others were wounded. Farmington Police says the department will hold a news conference on the shooting investigation Tuesday afternoon. Farmington community in mourning after deadly shooting In a video release posted to Facebook Monday night, Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe say an 18-year-old man was behind the shooting Monday on N. Dustin near Ute Street, starting around 10:57 a.m. The suspect's name has not been released as of Tuesday morning.Police say it was roughly 8 minutes between the first 911 call and the suspect being killed by responding officers. In that time, police say the suspect fired shots from at least three weapons including an "AR-style rifle," killing three people. At least six others were wounded, including two police officers.A wounded New Mexico Sta...

Lineup by day revealed for Austin City Limits 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin City Limits Music Festival revealed the daily lineup for its 2023 edition, according to a news release from the event.The announcement also said one-day general admission tickets, one-day GA+ tickets, one-day VIP tickets and one-day platinum tickets will go on sale Wednesday on the ACL website. Prices for three-day tickets will also increase at the same time. The annual festival will take place at Zilker Park Oct. 6-8 and Oct. 13-15, according to the release. Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters, Shania Twain to headline at ACL Music Festival 2023 Kendrick Lamar, The Lumineers, Kali Uchis, Maggie Rogers and more will perform on Friday of both weekends. The Foo Fighters, Shania Twain (weekend one only), Alanis Morissette, The 1975 (weekend two only) and more will take the stages on Saturday, the release said.Mumford & Sons, Odezsa, Hozier, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and many more will perform on Sunday of both weekends, the release said.Austin City Limits Music Festiva...

Medical billing transparency legislation passed, heads to Gov.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Legislation that will increase medical billing transparency – by requiring hospitals to provide an itemized receipt to patients before sending their bill to collections – achieved final passage by the Senate on Tuesday.The Senate’s approval of SB 490 by Sen. Bryan Hughes, (R-Mineola), caps the measure’s passage through both chambers. The bill now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.Hughes’ legislation was amended to trim the types of health care providers that would have to send an itemized invoice. In its final form, the bill applies to health care facilities and hospitals but does not apply to doctors or federally qualified health centers. EXPLORE: Medical debt lawsuits State Rep. Caroline Harris, R-Round, explaining the itemized medical bill legislation on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.(Courtesy: Melva Gomez, Rep. Harris' Chief of Staff)State Rep. Caroline Harris, R-Round Rock, authored a companion bill in the House. On May 10, she explained to lawmakers on th...

How to stay safe from mosquitoes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Mosquitoes are prevalent in Central Texas year-round. But it seems to be this time of the year where we see more of them. The mosquitoes are not only a nuisance but some of them carry disease. An expert in Entomology, Wizzie Brown, shares some insight.Insuranks came out with a report detailing which states have the most mosquitoes and those who have the least. Louisiana was ranked first as the state with the most mosquitoes.Texas came in fifth for its mosquito population. She feels it's because the state has a lot of habitat where mosquitoes can breed. They can lay their eggs in or close to standing water, particularly in areas prone to flood.Her suggestion to the people who are new to Austin and to Texas, and to those who might need a refresher, is to remember that mosquitoes are active throughout the year. She stresses the need to get rid of standing water everywhere. Things like flowerpots and clogged rain gutters often have standing rain water after it rains.Her...

Defending national champs Texas start season on the road; welcome new teams to Big 12

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — With four new teams in the Big 12 Conference next season, the Texas volleyball schedule looks a little different than in years past.Houston, BYU, Central Florida and Cincinnati all join the conference next season, and while Texas will play everyone in the new-look Big 12 at least once next season, they'll tangle with six of the teams back-to-back to create the 18-game slate.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersThey'll play a 2-match series against Oklahoma (Sept. 22-23), BYU (Sept. 28-29), Kansas (Oct. 5-6), Houston (Oct. 13-14), Baylor (Oct. 26-27) and West Virginia (Nov. 2-3) with single matches against TCU, Cincinnati, Iowa State, UCF and Texas Tech. Game times and broadcast information will be released later, Texas Athletics said.With 14 matches at Gregory Gym, one of the toughest places in the country for opponents to play in, the Longhorns have two lon...

Daniel DePetris: The U.S. war on terror continues. We just don’t talk about it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:19 GMT

At a time when the Biden administration has its hands full trying to reverse Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and manage a U.S.-China relationship stuck in the doldrums, America’s vast, lethal counterterrorism machine continues to be in high gear.The U.S. intelligence community, in close partnership with America’s special operators, are tracking and hunting down terrorists in several countries — Syria and Somalia, most especially — with such regularity that it barely makes a dent in the news cycle anymore.You can be forgiven for thinking the decades-long war on terrorism was declared officially over the moment the Biden administration withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021. President Joe Biden seemed to indicate just that a month later when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York. “I stand here today, for the first time in 20 years, with the United States not at war,” Biden said during his first speech to the w...