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26+ min ago (603+ words) Griff isn't a student, a member of the faculty or even a huskie. But the golden retriever fits right in at Oak Park and River Forest High School just the same. Griff is the school's new " and first " facility dog, and after only a week at the job he's already turning heads and making friends. "He has been inundated with students and staff alike wanting to meet him and pet him," said Ginger Bencola, the high school's prevention and wellness coordinator. She's also Griff's handler, so she's seen the impact he's had on the school. "I feel like any hallway I walk through with him, heads turn and there are smiles," she said. "It's like nothing I've ever experienced." It's all good for Griff, who, at a year-and-a-half, has enough energy and patience for everyone and everything " which is good....

35+ min ago (1278+ words) Rosca, a new bagel cafe making Mexican everything and hibiscus cured lox, just opened in Chicago. "We don't want to just be known as a bagel shop," said chef and owner Felix Zepeda. The business's other half, he said, is his general manager and girlfriend, Ariana Cabral. "We want to be known for a full immersive cafe vibe." Rosca celebrated its grand opening in Pilsen on Nov. 5. His Mexican everything bagel has become the savory bestseller. "Instead of things like Mediterranean oregano, we use Mexican oregano," Zepeda said. "Instead of red chile flakes, we use ancho chile flakes, and we also throw in little things like dehydrated lime zest and some cumin seed, so it's a lot of bold flavors that really scream Mexico." But that wasn't his first creative bagel recipe. "The blueberry coconut bagel," said Zepeda. "That was…...

35+ min ago (161+ words) Watergate changed history. In Orland Park, one self-proclaimed watchdog appears intent on turning post-election sour grapes into a cottage industry. It seems their grudge match may never end." Former Orland Park Village President Keith Pekau lost his bid for reelection, defeated by labor-backed former village Trustee and Clerk Jim Dodge." The village is seeking to make that restraining order permanent." "They want a fight? They've got one," he added. Pekau has drawn parallels between himself and President Donald Trump, seemingly painting his current self-appointed crusade against the village as his own Russiagate. "Just as Trump refuses to quit nationally, we will not be silenced locally," he wrote on Facebook in September. In politics, it's not unusual to dislike your opponent. But, unless Pekau has credible information of wrongdoing, he comes across as a sore loser by continuing to wage a…...

35+ min ago (619+ words) More than 4 out of 5 Illinois public schools were rated "commendable" or "exemplary" in the recently released annual Illinois School Report Card. Wish it were so. This recalls the observation by retired radio host Garrison Keillor that all the kids in the fictional town of Lake Wobegon were above average. Many rural schools in my central Illinois region confines fall far below the state averages in math, yet they are somehow commendable. The official, bottom-scraping low bar for achieving "commendable" status is that a school graduate just 67% of its students and perform better than the lowest-performing 5% of schools. Do readers think the school superintendent trumpets the fact that Johnny and his classmates are doing lousy in math, or back-pats herself at school board meetings about winning the official state imprimatur as a commendable school? Unfortunately, with the hollowing out of community…...

35+ min ago (631+ words) When I hear Mayor Brandon Johnson rail against the idea of raising Chicago's paltry $9.50 garbage collection fee to help fill our gaping $1.2 billion budget gap, I remember a beautiful 12,000-square-foot mansion in Kenwood I walked through a few years back. The four-story masterpiece features a ballroom on top, and turrets flanking the massive front porch. This place has every single room you'd need to play Clue. My daughter and I enjoy attending opulent open houses, so when this one got rehabbed and put on the market, we showed up early. The dining room should have featured a goalpost, since the double living room was the size of a football field. In contrast, I live in a condo association of about a dozen six-flats. My unit is slightly under 2,000 square feet. Miss Scarlett could only kill Colonel Mustard in a sun…...

35+ min ago (483+ words) As New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's inauguration looms, the wealthiest Americans are being targeted as a rallying cry. In recent weeks, Mamdani's criticism of millionaires and billionaires has been echoed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, megamillionaire singer Billie Eilish, and even an entity called "Patriotic Millionaires" which demands higher taxes on those wealthier than them." Of course, philanthropy is patriotic. While the United States has the most billionaires and millionaires in the world, with 902 billionaires and almost 60 million millionaires, we are also the most philanthropic country across many financial and nonfinancial measures. And you certainly don't have to be a high-net-worth individual to donate your money and time. Critics forget the quintessential American Dream stories that have made the U.S. the land of opportunity. Politicians like Mamdani ignore the myriad of risk-takers and innovators who created job opportunities for millions and improved…...

1+ hour, 28+ min ago (671+ words) Since the middle of her freshman year, Kendall Grant has been on the varsity for Oswego. During that time, however, things haven't always gone well for the Panthers on the basketball court. Under new coach Venita Parsons, Grant has been trying to help the program turn a corner. "As a player, everything she could do, everyone just has to trust her and believe we're a different team than we were the past three years," Grant said of Parsons. "I did a lot of preseason work. "I think we just have to believe that we're a good team. We have to get confidence." Some of those old feelings crept back Monday for Grant and Co. in a 41-23 nonconference loss to Dixon. The host Panthers were actually only down 10-7 at halftime before Dixon erupted. Scoring the first 16 points of the third quarter,…...

1+ hour, 33+ min ago (657+ words) Por PAOLO SANTALUCIA y ILLIA NOVIKOV Respondiendo a las preguntas de los periodistas en un chat de WhatsApp, Zelenskyy reafirm" su firme negativa a ceder cualquier territorio, diciendo que "claramente no queremos renunciar a nada, incluso cuando "los estadounidenses buscan un compromiso hoy, ser" sincero. "Sin duda, Rusia insiste en que cedamos territorios, dijo en el mensaje el lunes por la noche. "Seg'n la ley, no tenemos tal derecho. Seg'n la ley de Ucrania, nuestra Constituci"n, el derecho internacional, y para ser franco, tampoco tenemos un derecho moral. El presidente ucraniano se reuni" temprano el martes con el papa Le"n XIV en Castel Gandolfo, una residencia papal fuera de Roma, y tiene previsto entrevistarse m's tarde con la primera ministra, Giorgia Meloni. El Vaticano dijo que Le"n "reiter" la necesidad de continuar el di'logo y expres" su…...

1+ hour, 56+ min ago (166+ words) Associated Press LA HAYA (AP) " Los jueces de la Corte Penal Internacional sentenciaron el martes a un l'der de la temida milicia Janjaweed de Sud'n a 20 a'os de prisi'n el martes por cr'menes de guerra y cr'menes de lesa humanidad cometidos en el catastr'fico conflicto en Darfur hace m's de dos d'cadas. En [] En una audiencia el mes pasado, los fiscales pidieron una sentencia de cadena perpetua para Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, quien fue condenado en octubre por 27 cargos de cr'menes de guerra y cr'menes de lesa humanidad que incluyeron ordenar ejecuciones masivas y matar a dos prisioneros a golpes con un hacha en 2003-2004. "Cometi" estos cr'menes a sabiendas, voluntariamente y, como muestran las pruebas, con entusiasmo y vigor" afirm" el fiscal Julian Nicholls afirm" en la audiencia de sentencia en noviembre. Abd-Al-Rahman, de 76 a'os, se puso de pie y…...

2+ hour, 4+ min ago (738+ words) When I think of the holidays, I immediately think of peppermint-flavored candy canes. While I love to look at those cheerful stripes of white and red, I rarely want to eat the sweet candies. Instead I use up the candy canes I receive in creative ways, from sprinkling them on top of chewy brownies to turning them into peppermint bark. By far, my favorite way to enjoy candy canes is to use them in cocktails " especially in a creamy peppermint martini. My peppermint martini is extra festive, as it uses the candy canes as both a garnish and flavoring. Here, it takes the cocktail to the next level, transforming the drink into a pretty pink color, which makes it feel like a holiday in a cup " well, a martini glass in this case. What is a peppermint martini? A peppermint…...