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Someone you should knowon July 16, 2021 at 5:17 pm

Girls Go Racing

Someone you should know

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Bill Cunningham Looks Back On ‘The Letter’ As Box Tops Head To City Wineryon July 16, 2021 at 5:17 pm

Chicago At Night

Bill Cunningham Looks Back On ‘The Letter’ As Box Tops Head To City Winery

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Bill Cunningham Looks Back On ‘The Letter’ As Box Tops Head To City Wineryon July 16, 2021 at 5:17 pm Read More »

Is Betting On Chicago Sports Legal?CCS Staffon July 16, 2021 at 1:00 pm

Chicago sports betting is legal as Illinois was the second state to legalize sports gambling in 1987, right after Nevada did so. The regulations were implemented in 1989 and legalized bookmaking for any sport in certain establishments partnered with racing commissioners. If you’re not familiar with the world of gambling, laws regarding where and how you can place bets vary by state. Betting on Chicago sports is just one part of an overwhelming subject that takes more detail than can be given here. 

The state of Illinois legalized bookmaking for sporting events in 1989. This was a result of the Illinois Horse Racing Act, which led to standards and regulations on wagering for horse racing by licensed commissioners. After this act passed, it was only natural that lawmakers would expand their efforts into other types of wagering. With an interest in bringing revenue back into the state, more land-based casinos were awarded licenses, allowing them to establish gaming houses throughout the city of Chicago. The first such license was issued in 1977 to Harrah’s Casino, now known as Caesars Casino Joliet.

If you’re going to bet on Chicago sports online or off-line, you’ll first want to take a look at the upcoming schedule of games. Chicago sport betting is both exciting and competitive, with many teams having loyal followings throughout the city. If you’re trying to find good places for online bets on Chicago sports, try out BonusCodePoker and see what they have to offer as far as odds are concerned!

In years past, there were very few choices in terms of who offered sports betting products. In other words, if you wanted to place wagers on various sporting events, you had limited options when it came to selecting which company would provide these betting products. Today, this has changed drastically due to the federal ban that was placed on all forms of gambling in 1992. Because of this ban, an estimated $100 billion in gambling transactions were never processed. 

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Is Betting On Chicago Sports Legal?CCS Staffon July 16, 2021 at 1:00 pm Read More »

Rescuers rush to help as Europe’s flood toll surpasses 120Associated Presson July 16, 2021 at 4:03 pm

BERLIN — Emergency workers in western German and Belgium rushed Friday to rescue hundreds of people in danger or still unaccounted for as the death toll from devastating floods rose to more than 120 people.

Authorities in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate said 63 people had died there, including 12 residents of an assisted living facility for disabled people in the town of Sinzig who were surprised by a sudden rush of water from the nearby Ahr River. In neighboring North Rhine-Westphalia state officials put the death toll at 43, but warned that the figure could increase.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he was “stunned” by the devastation caused by the flooding and pledged support to the families of those killed and to cities and towns facing significant damage.

“In the hour of need, our country stands together,” Steinmeier said in a statement. “It’s important that we show solidarity for those from whom the flood has taken everything.”

Rescuers sought to save people trapped in their homes in the German town of Erftstadt, southwest of Cologne. Regional authorities said several people had died after their houses collapsed when the ground beneath them sank suddenly. Aerial photos showed what appeared to be a massive sinkhole.

“We managed to get 50 people out of their houses last night,” county administrator Frank Rock said. “We know of 15 people who still need to be rescued.”

Speaking to German broadcaster n-tv, Rock said authorities had no precise number yet for how many had died in the flash floods that turned roads into wild raging torrents, ripping up cobblestones, collapsing homes and flipping parked cars into piles of rubble.

“One has to assume that under the circumstances some people didn’t manage to escape,” he said.

Authorities were still trying to account for hundreds of people listed as missing, but cautioned that the high number could be due to duplicated reports and difficulties reaching people because of disrupted roads and phone service.

After Germany, where more than 100 people have died, Belgium was the hardest hit by the floods that caused homes to be ripped away. Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden told the VRT network Friday that the country’s official confirmed death toll had grown to 20, with 20 other people still missing.

Water levels on the Meuse Rriver that runs from Belgium into the Netherlands remains critical, and several dikes were at risk of collapsing, Verlinden said. Authorities in the southern Dutch town of Venlo evacuated 200 hospital patients due to the looming threat of flooding from the river.

Flash floods this week followed days of heavy rainfall in Western Europe. Thousands of people remained homeless in Germany after their houses were destroyed or deemed at-risk by authorities.

The governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, who is hoping to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel as the nation’s leader after Germany’s election on Sept. 26, said the disaster had caused immense economic damage to the country’s most densely populated state.

“The floods have literally pulled the ground from beneath many people’s feet,” Gov. Armin Laschet said at a news conference. “They lost their houses, farms or businesses.”

Federal and state officials have pledged financial aid to the affect areas, which also includes the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where at least 60 people died and entire villages were destroyed.

Malu Dreyer, the governor of Rhineland-Palatinate state, said the disaster showed the need to speed up efforts to curb global warming. She accused Laschet and Merkel’s center-right Union bloc of hindering efforts to achieve greater greenhouse gas reductions in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and a major emitter of planet-warming gases.

“Climate change isn’t abstract anymore. We are experiencing it up close and painfully,” she told the Funke media group.

Steinmeier, the German president, echoed her calls for greater efforts to combat global warming.

“Only if we decisively take up the fight against climate change will we be able to limit the extreme weather conditions we are now experiencing,” he said.

Experts say such disasters could become more common in the future.

“Some parts of Western Europe … received up to two months of rainfall in the space of two days. What made it worse is that the soils were already saturated by previous rainfall,” World Meteorological Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis said.

While she said it was too soon to blame the floods and preceding heat wave on rising global temperatures, Nullis added: “Climate change is already increasing the frequency of extreme events. And many single events have been shown to be made worse by global warming.”

Defense Ministry spokesman Arne Collatz said the German military had deployed over 850 troops to help with flood effeorts but the number is “rising significantly because the need is growing.” He said the ministry had triggered a “military disaster alarm.”

Italy sent a civil protection officials, firefighters and rescue dinghies to Belgium to help in the search for missing people from the devastating floods.

In the southern Dutch province of Limburg, which also has been hit hard by flooding, troops piled sandbags to strengthen a 0.7 mile stretch of dike along the Maas River and police helped evacuate low-lying neighborhoods.

Caretaker Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the government was officially declaring flood-hit regions a disaster area, meaning businesses and residents are eligible for compensation. Dutch King Willem-Alexander visited the region Thursday night and called the scenes “heart-breaking.”

Meanwhile, sustained rainfall in Switzerland has caused several rivers and lakes to burst their banks. Public broadcaster SRF reported that a flash flood swept away cars, flooded basements and destroyed small bridges in the northern villages of Schleitheim und Beggingen late Thursday.

Erik Schulz, the mayor of the hard-hit German city of Hagen, 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Cologne, said there had been a wave of solidarity from other regions and ordinary citizens to help those affected by the floods.

“We have many, many citizens saying ‘I can offer a place to stay, where can I go to help, where can I registered, where can I bring my shovel and bucket?’,” he told n-tv. “The city is standing together and you can feel that.”

____

Associated Press writers Geir Moulson and Emily Schultheis in Berlin, Raf Casert in Brussels, Nicole Winfield in Rome, Angela Charlton in Paris, Mike Corder in The Hague and contributed to this report.

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Rescuers rush to help as Europe’s flood toll surpasses 120Associated Presson July 16, 2021 at 4:03 pm Read More »

Calf injury forces Kevin Love to withdraw from Olympic basketball teamBrian Mahoney | Associated Presson July 16, 2021 at 4:16 pm

Kevin Love has withdrawn from the Olympics because of a right calf injury, forcing the U.S. basketball team to replace two players on its roster.

Love’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, confirmed the Cleveland Cavalier forward’s withdrawal Friday. It was first reported by ESPN.

Love’s withdrawal comes a day after the Americans announced that Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal would miss the Olympics because he was in health and safety protocols.

Love would have been trying for a second Olympic gold medal, having played for the Americans in London in 2012. He also was on the team that won gold two years earlier in the world championships.

That past USA Basketball experience helped him get selected for this roster despite his difficult NBA season. Love missed 46 games because of the injury and averaged just 12.2 points in 25 games.

He played in two of the Americans’ three exhibition games in Las Vegas, scoring one point.

The U.S. was already short-handed before the losses of Beal and Love. Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, along with Phoenix star Devin Booker, won’t join the team until after the NBA Finals.

The Americans canceled their exhibition against Australia scheduled for Friday night because of health and safety concerns.

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Calf injury forces Kevin Love to withdraw from Olympic basketball teamBrian Mahoney | Associated Presson July 16, 2021 at 4:16 pm Read More »

Pope reverses Benedict, reimposes restrictions on Latin MassAssociated Presson July 16, 2021 at 4:19 pm

ROME — Pope Francis cracked down Friday on the spread of the old Latin Mass, reversing one of Pope Benedict XVI’s signature decisions in a major challenge to traditionalist Catholics who immediately decried it as an attack on them and the ancient liturgy.

Francis reimposed restrictions on celebrating the Latin Mass that Benedict relaxed in 2007, and went further to limit its use. The pontiff said he was taking action because Benedict’s reform had become a source of division in the church and been exploited by Catholics opposed to the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s meetings that modernized the church and its liturgy.

Critics said they had never before witnessed a pope so thoroughly reversing his predecessor. That the reversal concerned something so fundamental as the liturgy, while Benedict is still alive and living in the Vatican as a retired pope, only amplified the extraordinary nature of Francis’ move, which will surely result in more right-wing hostility directed at him.

Francis, 84, issued a new law requiring individual bishops to approve celebrations of the old Mass, also called the Tridentine Mass, and requiring newly ordained priests to receive explicit permission to celebrate it from their bishops, in consultation with the Vatican.

Under the new law, bishops must also determine if the current groups of faithful attached to the old Mass accept Vatican II, which allowed for Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular rather than Latin. These groups cannot use regular churches; instead, bishops must find alternate locations for them without creating new parishes.

In addition, Francis said bishops are no longer allowed to authorize the formation of any new pro-Latin Mass groups in their dioceses.

Francis said he was taking action to promote unity and heal divisions within the church that had grown since Benedict’s 2007 document, Summorum Pontificum. He said he based his decision on a 2020 Vatican survey of all the world’s bishops, whose “responses reveal a situation that preoccupies and saddens me, and persuades me of the need to intervene.”

The pope’s rollback immediately created an uproar among traditionalists already opposed to Francis’ more progressive bent and nostalgic for Benedict’s doctrinaire papacy.

“This is an extremely disappointing document which entirely undoes the legal provisions,” of Benedict’s 2007 document, said Joseph Shaw, chairman of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales.

While Latin celebrations can continue, “the presumption is consistently against them: bishops are being invited to close them down,” Shaw said, adding that the requirement for Latin Masses to be held outside a parish was “unworkable.”

“This is an extraordinary rejection of the hard work for the church and the loyalty to the hierarchy which has characterized the movement for the Traditional Mass for many years, which I fear will foster a sense of alienation among those attached to the church’s ancient liturgy,” he said.

Benedict had issued his document in 2007 to reach out to a breakaway, schismatic group that celebrates the Latin Mass, the Society of St. Pius X, and which had split from Rome over the modernizing reforms of Vatican II.

But Francis said Benedict’s effort to foster unity had essentially backfired.

The opportunity offered by Benedict, the pope said in a letter to bishops accompanying the new law, was instead “exploited to widen the gaps, reinforce the divergences, and encourage disagreements that injure the Church, block her path, and expose her to the peril of division.”

Francis said he was “saddened” that the use of the old Mass was accompanied by a rejection of Vatican II itself “with unfounded and unsustainable assertions that it betrayed the Tradition and the ‘true Church.'”

Christopher Bellitto, professor of church history at Kean University, said Francis was right to intervene, noting that Benedict’s original decision had had a slew of unintended consequences that not only created internal divisions but temporarily roiled relations with Jews.

“Francis hits it right on the head with his observation that Benedict’s 2007 loosening of regulations against the Latin rite allowed others to use it for division,” he said. “The blowback proves his point.”

The blowback was indeed fierce, though it’s also likely that many will simply ignore Francis’ decree and continue on as before with sympathetic bishops. Some of these traditionalists and Catholics already were among Francis’ fiercest critics, with some accusing him of heresy for having opened the door to letting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receive Communion.

Rorate Caeli, a popular traditionalist blog run out of the U.S., said Francis’ “attack” was the strongest rebuke of a pope against his predecessors in living memory.

“Francis HATES US. Francis HATES Tradition. Francis HATES all that is good and beautiful,” the group tweeted. But it concluded: “FRANCIS WILL DIE, THE LATIN MASS WILL LIVE FOREVER.”

Messa in Latino, an Italian traditionalist blog, was also blistering in its criticism.

“Mercy always and only for sinners (who are not asked to repent) but no mercy for those few traditional Catholics,” the blog said Friday.

For years, though, Francis has made known his distaste of the old liturgy, privately labeling its adherents self-referential naval-gazers who are out of touch with the needs of the church. He has cracked down on religious orders that celebrated the old Mass exclusively and frequently decried the “rigidity” of tradition-minded priests who prioritize rules over pastoral accompaniment.

Traditionalists have insisted that the old liturgy was never abrogated and that Benedict’s 2007 reform had allowed it to flourish.

They point to the growth of traditionalist parishes, often frequented by young, large families, as well as new religious orders that celebrate the old liturgy. The Latin Mass Society claims the number of traditional Masses celebrated each Sunday in England and Wales had more than doubled since 2007, from 20 to 46.

But for many, the writing was on the wall as soon as Francis stepped out onto the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica after his 2013 election without the ermine-trimmed red velvet cape that was preferred by Benedict and is a symbol of the pre-Vatican II church.

The restrictions went into immediate effect with its publication in Friday’s official Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

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Pope reverses Benedict, reimposes restrictions on Latin MassAssociated Presson July 16, 2021 at 4:19 pm Read More »

Reuters photographer killed as Afghan forces fight TalibanAssociated Presson July 16, 2021 at 4:24 pm

ISLAMABAD — Afghan government forces battled Friday to retake a border crossing with Pakistan from Taliban insurgents, and the Reuters news agency said one of its photographers was killed in the area.

The Taliban had overrun the Spin Boldak crossing earlier in the week. On Friday, witnesses on the Pakistan side of the border said they saw intense fighting and reported seeing bodies.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian later tweeted that the government had retaken control of Spin Boldak.

Reuters said Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Danish Siddiqui, who was embedded with the Afghan special forces, was killed as the commando unit sought to recapture Spin Boldak.

The agency said Siddiqui and a senior Afghan officer were killed in what they described as Taliban crossfire. “We are urgently seeking more information, working with authorities in the region,” Reuters President Michael Friedenberg and Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni said in a statement.

Siddiqui was an Indian national. Afghanistan’s ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay, tweeted his condolences.

The Taliban have overrun dozens of districts in Afghanistan since the start of the final phase of the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops, after a 20-year military presence. The U.S. says its withdrawal is 95% complete.

The fighting at Spin Boldak was confirmed by Fawad Aman, Afghanistan’s deputy defense ministry spokesman. The Associated Press also obtained footage of fighters, apparently Taliban, receiving treatment in a hospital in the Pakistani border town of Chaman.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are fraught with suspicion. Afghanistan routinely accuses Pakistan of giving safe haven to the Afghan Taliban, whose leadership is headquartered in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan provincial capital of Quetta. The Chaman border crossing opposite Spin Boldak is also in Baluchistan province.

Afghanistan and the United States have criticized Pakistan in the past for allowing Taliban fighters to cross into Pakistan to receive medical treatment. Nearly 2 million Afghan refugees also live in Pakistan, having fled decades of war in their homeland.

Pakistan has used its influence over the Taliban to press the insurgents into talks with the U.S. and the Afghan government.

In the latest round of accusations, Afghanistan’s vice-president, Amrullah Saleh, tweeted that Pakistan’s air force warned the Afghan army and air force against trying to dislodge Taliban from Spin Boldak, an accusation Pakistan dismissed.

In response, Pakistan issued a statement saying 40 Afghan soldiers slipped across the border to Pakistan during the Taliban takeover of the crossing earlier this week.

The soldiers were returned to Afghanistan “with respect and dignity,” said the statement, which added that Pakistan also offered Afghanistan’s security force any logistical support it needed.

___

Associated Press writer Rahim Faiez in Kabul, Afghanistan, contributed to this report

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Reuters photographer killed as Afghan forces fight TalibanAssociated Presson July 16, 2021 at 4:24 pm Read More »

Chance the Rapper reveals ‘Magnificent Coloring World’ trailer, film’s release date announcedMiriam Di Nunzioon July 16, 2021 at 4:34 pm

Chance the Rapper on Friday released the official trailer for his upcoming concert film “Magnificent Coloring World.” Also announced is the Aug. 13 release date at select AMC theater locations, including Chicago venues.

Tickets for the film, directed by Jake Shreier and released via Chance’s House of Kick’s “creative pod” umbrella, go on special pre-sale July 16. Information is available at amctheatres.com.

“Seeing movies together on the big screen is an essential part of summertime and something I deeply missed over the last year, so I am extremely excited and honored to partner with AMC to safely bring fans back to the theater,” Chance The Rapper said in May when the film enjoyed an advance screening in Chicago.

The movie was filmed in 2017 following the singer’s history-making Grammy win for best rap album for “Coloring Book,” the first time the honor went to a streamed-only album. Chance picked up three Grammys in all for his work featured on the album, including best new artist and best rap performance for “No Problem” with 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne.

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Chance the Rapper reveals ‘Magnificent Coloring World’ trailer, film’s release date announcedMiriam Di Nunzioon July 16, 2021 at 4:34 pm Read More »

Off-duty officer issued citation after fatally striking 9-year-old boy riding bike in West Rogers ParkMohammad Samraon July 16, 2021 at 4:37 pm

An off-duty Chicago Police officer who struck and killed a 9-year-old boy on a bicycle in West Rogers Park has been issued a citation.

The officer, 48, was cited for failure to exercise due care for a pedestrian in the road, police said, adding that the investigation continued.

The officer was driving a pickup truck Wednesday evening when he struck Hershel Weinberger in a crosswalk in the 7300 block of North Sacramento Avenue, according to police.

The officer said he stopped at Chase and Sacramento and looked right, left and right again before proceeding, according to a traffic report.

Hershel, who lived nearby, was taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston where he died.

After the crash, Ald. Debra Silverstein (50th) wrote a letter to constituents urging them to practice safe driving.

“I have no words to express my deep sympathy for his family, and I cannot even comprehend the sorrow his loved ones are going through as our community struggles with this horrific tragedy,” Silverstein wrote.

“We must all take this as a stark reminder to always drive safely–especially on residential streets,” she said. “Drive slowly and always come to a complete stop at stop signs and traffic lights. Be extra cautious around schools, parks, and places of worship.”

The officer said he didn’t see Hershel, Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara Jr. told the Sun-Times Thursday. The officer took a Breathalyzer test that was negative, according to Catanzara.

The family told police Hershel was heading home after playing at a friend’s house. The boy’s father rushed to the scene and held him until paramedics arrived, a family friend said.

Hershel was a twin and had two other brothers. Baruch Hertz, a rabbi at Congregation B’nei Ruven, said Hershel “was a loved kid. He was a very nice boy, had a smile on his face at all times … It’s a huge shock for the community.”

Ruth Lee, a close friend of the Weinberger family, said the boy had a “sweet energy.”

“He was bright…kind looking, he had very vibrant blue eyes,” Lee, who taught Hershel in various subjects from music to religion, told the Sun-Times.

The off-duty officer was scheduled to appear in traffic court Aug. 5.

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Off-duty officer issued citation after fatally striking 9-year-old boy riding bike in West Rogers ParkMohammad Samraon July 16, 2021 at 4:37 pm Read More »

Washington Post, Sen Durbin get marching orders: Nail Tucker Carlson.on July 16, 2021 at 3:53 pm

The Barbershop: Dennis Byrne, Proprietor

Washington Post, Sen Durbin get marching orders: Nail Tucker Carlson.

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Washington Post, Sen Durbin get marching orders: Nail Tucker Carlson.on July 16, 2021 at 3:53 pm Read More »