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Apple Fest returns to Lincoln Square

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:03 GMT

CHICAGO — Apple Fest is a long-standing tradition in Lincoln Square and brings the community together to celebrate the beginning of autumn.Next weekend, the festival will welcome more than 80 vendors selling apples, apple pie, hard apple cider, candy apples 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. You can learn more about the festival by watching the video in the player above.

Usher to headline 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:03 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — The Super Bowl may seem far away, but preparations are already underway. We also now know who will headline the halftime show: Usher. The eight-time Grammy Award-winning artist will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 11, 2024.“It's an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list. I can't wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they've seen from me before," USHER said in a press release. “Thank you to the fans and everyone who made this opportunity happen. I'll see you real soon."In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday, Kim Kardashian appears to be speaking with Usher — though it is actually a clip from the music video for his song, "Confessions Part II" — telling him about the announcement. A similar video featuring Deion Sanders was also shared.Usher previously appeared during Super Bowl XLV in 2011 when The Black Eyed Peas were the hea...

Ex-NHL player dies in Tennessee motorcycle crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:03 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) - A former professional hockey player was killed in a motorcycle crash in Tennessee on Saturday, police have confirmed. According to Metro Police, the crash happened just after 3:30 a.m. in North Nashville at the intersection of Wheless Street and 14th Avenue North.A motorcyclist — identified as 29-year-old Nicolas Kerdiles — was driving his Indian Motorcycle west on Wheless Street when he traveled through a stop sign and struck a BMW, police said.A preliminary investigation shows that Kerdiles hit the driver's side of the BMW SUV. The SUV remained on scene after the crash. Think twice before buying something from Temu Kerdiles was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he later died, officials said.The Anaheim Ducks, an NHL team based in California, posted about Kerdiles' death on X, formerly known as Twitter: "We’re heartbroken to hear the news about Nic Kerdiles, who died in a motorcycle accident this morning. An Irvine native, Nic became t...

How psychedelic drugs turned a Texas veteran's life around and the role Austin plays in research

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:03 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — When C.T. Thompson looks at a picture of himself from a few years ago standing on a snow-covered mountain in Colorado, he sees something others might not. He said he sees a man who was angry and closed off.“I was just struggling to get through a lot of days,” Thompson said. “Everything from anger, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance.”Veteran C.T. Thompson said he sees anger in his face when he looks at this picture taken before psychedelic therapy (Courtesy C.T. Thompson)Thompson is a veteran, an elite Green Beret with more than a dozen years in the military and as a military contractor. Green Berets are Special Forces soldiers described on the U.S. Army recruitment website as "the toughest of tough."“All together, I did seven combat deployments,” he said. He now lives in College Station.He served in Afghanistan, Iraq and a few other places and believes it was prolonged exposure to the terrors of war that wore him down. He said he first started noticing changes in...

Suicide among post-9/11 veterans surged in recent decades: Study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:03 GMT

Suicide remains the second leading cause of death for veterans under the age of 45 and U.S. veterans are at an increased risk of suicide compared to other people. Amid this backdrop, many groups are working the help veterans heal and find help when in crisis. On Veteran Suicide Awareness Day, NewsNation's special coverage is aimed at elevating the voices of veterans, their loved ones and caregivers fighting on the frontlines at home. (NewsNation) — The suicide rate for veterans who served after 9/11 has significantly outpaced the increase among the general population, jumping tenfold from 2006 to 2020, according to new research. The findings — from an analysis of more than 2.5 million service member records — suggest those who served after the September 11 attacks have faced unique challenges adjusting to life after the military.If you or someone you know needs help, resources or someone to talk to, you can find it at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website or by calli...

Preventing veteran suicides: Healing together outside

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:03 GMT

Suicide remains the second leading cause of death for veterans under the age of 45, and U.S. veterans are at an increased risk of suicide compared to other people. Amid this backdrop, many groups are working to help veterans heal and find help when in crisis. On Veteran Suicide Awareness Day, NewsNation's special coverage is aimed at elevating the voices of veterans, their loved ones and caregivers fighting on the front lines at home. (NewsNation) — "We trained and prepared to go to war, but when it was over, we just went home," says Daniel Schnacky. He spent 3 1/2 years in active service and says his transition back to civilian life was "jarring." A group — Sheep Dog Impact Assistance — focused on helping veterans heal, build comradery and create a sense of belonging through outdoor programming and events became a lifeline for Schnacky as he readjusted to life at home. If you or someone you know needs help, resources or someone to talk to, you can find it at the National Suici...

Preventing veteran suicides: Navigating the system and self after service

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:03 GMT

(NewsNation) — U.S. veterans are at an increased risk of suicide compared to other people — faced with the twin challenges of trauma from their time as service members and hurdles in their ability to access care once they’re home. But community groups and veteran organizations are creating a variety of solutions to intervene. The statistics are stark. Military veterans are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than their non-veteran counterparts, according to the American Psychological Association, and suicide remains the second leading cause of death for veterans under the age of 45. If you or someone you know needs help, resources or someone to talk to, you can find it at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website or by calling 988, and pressing 1 for veterans. People are available to talk to 24/7.For more information on resources available to veterans and the groups that participated in NewsNation's coverage, click here.As a result, some states recognize Se...

AI could be the next tool to prevent veteran suicide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:03 GMT

Suicide remains the second leading cause of death for veterans under the age of 45 and U.S. veterans are at an increased risk of suicide compared to other people. Amid this backdrop, many groups are working the help veterans heal and find help when in crisis. On Veteran Suicide Awareness Day, NewsNation's special coverage is aimed at elevating the voices of veterans, their loved ones and caregivers fighting on the frontlines at home. (NewsNation) — With over 6,000 veteran suicides annually, getting consistent and high-quality help with health and wellness can be challenging for veterans.Researchers at the University of Southern California are working on a mobile app called "Battle Buddy" that could deliver help directly to the veteran's phone.The app — currently under development — is patterned off of the military's practice of assigning partners for support both in combat and outside of it. If you or someone you know needs help, resources or someone to talk to, you can fi...

‘It’s not your fault': Lifting up survivors of military sexual trauma

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:03 GMT

Suicide remains the second leading cause of death for veterans under the age of 45, and U.S. veterans are at an increased risk of suicide compared to other people. Amid this backdrop, many groups are working to help veterans heal and find help when in crisis. On Veteran Suicide Awareness Day, NewsNation's special coverage is aimed at elevating the voices of veterans, their loved ones and caregivers fighting on the front lines at home. (NewsNation) —“He was married. He knew I was married. He knew my husband. It was just too much,” said Dianne Young, recalling the sexual trauma she experienced while a member of the Marines. She now helps others dealing with the same kind of trauma. Young is a coordinator with Healing Warrior Hearts, a retreat that allows veterans to share emotional wounds including sexual trauma. The group brings survivors together to build meaningful relationships and process the trauma participants experienced. If you or someone you know needs help, r...

Letters: Our veterans and health-care staff deserve better

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:03 GMT

Our veterans and staff deserve betterI read your article of Sept. 10 (“Panel to probe veterans homes”), regarding the situations at the MDVA Domiciliaries and the Minneapolis Veterans Home (skilled nursing facility — SNF). It is with my great appreciation that these employees have spoken out regarding the toxic work environments at these facilities. As the former RN Nurse Educator of the Minneapolis Veterans Home, I too can attest to this work environment. It goes far beyond disgruntled employees.As nursing personnel, especially those of considerable expertise and longevity, exit the facilities, everyone should be questioning how this happens. Most of the public is aware of the severe shortage of nursing personnel and the difficulty in recruiting new staff. Additionally, with the exit of such staff, the work-load burden is shifted to those who remain, creating a vicious circle of overwork and burnout that leads to errors in care delivery, some minor, others with ma...