After a series of concussions and at the advice of his doctors, Andrew Shaw has retired from the NHL.

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The violence in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region had come at the worst possible time for a family whose village was caught in the first known massacre of a grinding war.

Gunfire crackled near the straw-woven home of Abraha Kinfe Gebremariam.

He hoped it drowned out the cries of his wife, curled up in pain, and the newborn twin daughters wailing beside her.

The violence in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region had come at the worst possible time for Abraha and his family. Their village of Mai Kadra was caught in the first known massacre of a grinding war that has killed thousands of ethnic Tigrayans like them.

Abraha pleaded with his wife, still writhing from post-childbirth complications, to be silent, fearing any noise could bring gunmen to the door. His two young sons watched in fear.

“I prayed and prayed,” Abraha said. “God didn’t help me.”

He was terrified his family would not survive.

Five months after it began, the armed conflict in Ethiopia has turned into what witnesses describe as a campaign to destroy the Tigrayan minority. Thousands of families have been shattered, fleeing their homes, starved, killed or still searching for each other across a region of six million people.

Amid the heartbreak, the sight of a tall, silent man carrying a grimy, pink bassinet slung around his neck with tiny twin girls would still bring out the kindness of strangers, even from the ethnicity targeting them.

The bloodshed in Mai Kadra began in November, as Abraha’s wife, Letay, was enjoying the final stretch of a seemingly normal pregnancy. She was four days late but untroubled. The number of the ambulance for the health clinic was in hand, ready to call.

But then the sounds of fighting grew closer. The shooting and screams sent Letay, her husband and their sons, 5-year-old Micheale and 11-year-old Daniel, into hiding in the tall, parched grass near their home.

They lay for hours under the hot sun. There was nothing to eat or drink. Letay rested on her side.

“Don’t worry, I’m OK,” she told her worried husband.

That night, they crept indoors to sleep.

The next day, Letay went into labor.

The gunfire continued in Mai Kadra, and most of the neighbors had fled. Frightened and feeling alone, Abraha and his wife decided not to risk going to the clinic. They would deliver their baby at home.

An elderly neighbor from the ethnic group fighting the Tigrayans, the Amhara, had not left. She agreed to help.

Abraha had never seen childbirth. Like most men across Tigray would do, he hovered outside the door, praying. The delivery was quiet and fast, just three hours long. Finally, he peeked inside.

He had longed for a daughter. Now, nestled beside his wife, he saw two. His joy was tempered by anxiety.

“Here something awful was happening in our village,” he said. “I wondered, ‘How can I do this?’ ”

But, in the hours ahead, he forgot about the babies. Something was badly wrong with his wife. Her afterbirth wasn’t coming out.

Letay’s pain grew. She tried to breastfeed the twins but couldn’t. As she lost herself in agony, the babies began to cry.

The family tried, in vain, to comfort them. They kept the exhausted Letay awake because of their belief that otherwise the afterbirth would fall back into her.

“I don’t know what wrong I did to my God for these troubles,” Abraha said, starting to cry.

Four days after Letay delivered, her afterbirth was expelled. But she wept day and night in pain.

Abraha despaired. By now, from neighbors’ accounts, the family understood they were trapped in a massacre. Ethnicity had become deadly, with reports of both Amhara and Tigrayans being shot or slaughtered.

“If I took my wife to the clinic, they might kill me,” Abraha said. “It was very difficult to decide.”

He waited until he could bear it no longer. A week after Letay gave birth, he asked the Amhara neighbor to take her for help.

But the clinic could not, or did not, help her. Abraha doesn’t know whether ethnic tensions played a role.

On the ninth day after giving birth, Letay beckoned Abraha closer.

“Look after my babies,” she said. “I’m going to die. I don’t have hope. I’m very sorry.”

She died the next day.

In Tigray culture, the community gathers when someone dies. Even strangers take part, throwing a little dirt on the grave.

But as Abraha emerged from his home for the first time since the war began, only a handful of people stepped forward to help carry his wife’s body to the church. Fewer than a dozen neighbors were there.

It was daylight. The burial was short. There were no speeches. The churchyard likely was full of fresh graves from the hundreds killed in Mai Kadra, but Abraha didn’t notice his surroundings.

He returned home, where the babies he had almost forgotten about were waiting. Having been caught up in his wife’s final days, he had little idea how the girls were fed or even survived.

Abraha found himself struggling. Washing the tiny, wriggling girls terrified him. Without diapers, he rinsed and reused pieces of cloth. And with two babies instead of one, everything seemed to run short.

He wondered whether he was failing his family. The twins cried most of the time. Trapped in a home that spanned only a few paces in size, Abraha got little sleep.

When he broke down and cried, his sons comforted him.

“We need you, be strong,” they said.

Abraha didn’t leave the house. His son Daniel tried to visit the market one day and saw 10 bodies piled onto a vehicle, with another four in the dirt. He never went to the market again.

The Amhara neighbor went out for the family’s food and helped with the children. For another measure of safety, an acquaintance from a different ethnic group, the Wolkait, managed to get the ethnicity changed on Abraha’s identity card. On paper, he, too, became Wolkait.

That happened just in time. When Amhara militia members came to his home, Abraha showed the altered ID. He addressed them in Amharic, Ethiopia’s main language, not daring to speak a word of his native Tigrinya.

He also showed them his baby girls.

Any suspicions disappeared. The militia came to the house several times after that. They offered Abraha a little money and tried to comfort him over his loss.

“They thought I was one of them,” Abraha said.

His family was safe, for now. But he knew they couldn’t stay. The fake Wolkait identity had worked almost too well. Abraha’s brother-in-law, 19-year-old Goytom Tsegay, said Amhara special forces tried to recruit him.

Life in Mai Kadra was more dangerous by the day. Every night, Abraha heard someone else had been killed. A month after the fighting began, he decided to leave.

He didn’t even know where to go.

The family packed light, so the Amhara who now controlled Mai Kadra would not notice they were leaving for good. Abraha, his children and his brother-in-law carried just five pieces of the local injera bread, a tin of milk and two liters of water, plus a change of clothes for the twins.

A woman in the community brought the pink bassinet for the babies. Abraha hid a small book of photos of his wife and children under its mattress, along with his wife’s jewelry. He was scared the militia would find them, but he couldn’t bear to leave them behind.

The family walked to the checkpoint at the edge of town accompanied by the Amhara neighbor. She chatted with fighters there. This family is Amhara, she said.

Sympathetic, the militia unknowingly helped the fleeing Tigrayan family. They stopped a car on the road and arranged a ride, saving Abraha and his children a six-hour walk to the city of Humera near the Sudanese border.

Blinded by grief and nervousness, Abraha hardly looked out the window during the drive, one he had made many times. Other desperate families were fleeing on foot through the lowland farms, trying to stay out of sight of the militia, clutching whatever possessions they had left.

In Humera, also under growing Amhara control, Abraha’s family went to the hospital to ask for milk. Again, one glance at the babies in his arms won him friends.

“All the staff was sorry for me, even the cleaners,” he said.

TIGRAY REGION, ETHIOPIA

Associated Press

A fellow Tigrayan, one of the few remaining on staff, quietly took them to her home and suggested they go to Sudan for safety. It was a four-hour walk away.

Abraha had heard that the Amhara youth militia and soldiers from nearby Eritrea roamed the route. Both have been accused of beating or shooting people trying to flee.

“We were very afraid we would be killed,” he said.

The family members started their final walk before dawn. They stayed off the roads, crossing fields instead, asking fellow Tigrayans they met for the safest way. They stopped sometimes to hide in the grass and give milk to the crying babies.

The heat rose quickly with the rising sun. The flat expanse of Sudan came into sight, then the narrow Tekeze River.

Frantic Tigrayans jostled for places aboard the boats that would ferry them across the border. Many were waiting. It was loud and chaotic. The twins began to wail.

The sight of Abraha, the bassinet and what it carried stilled some in the crowd. To Abraha’s astonishment, the family was waved to the front and given a reduced price for the crossing.

He and the babies were ushered to a boat of their own that was lashed together from a dozen 20-liter jerrycans. It was flat, with no guardrail.

Abraha couldn’t swim. Still, as he settled into place in the center of the boat and its bottom scraped free of his country, he felt the burden of the past month ease.

“I was 100% sure the babies would grow up, that things would change from that moment,” he says. “My stress melted away. There were no more fears for our lives.”

Even the twins had become quiet. He looked down. They had fallen asleep.

The family arrived in Sudan exhausted, the twins badly underweight. Megan Donaghy, a nurse midwife with Doctors Without Borders, wondered what had happened to their mother.

Abraha pulled out a picture and told her, “This is my wife.” The entire family smiled as they looked at it.

“And that’s when I cried, when I saw her face,” Donaghy says. “She was just this beautiful, vibrant woman, a young woman, who loved her family, and here they were in tattered clothes, rundown, tired, hungry, with these sweet little babies.”

A fellow refugee, Mulu Gebrencheal, a mother of five, came across the family and wept. She has since become an informal adviser on the babies’ care. Abraha and his sons are quick learners, she says. But she mourns for the twins.

“Even the hug of a mother is very sweet,” she says. “They’ve never had this. They never will.”

Months after arriving in Sudan, the twins lay on their backs under tiny mosquito nets on metal-frame beds, gnawing a fist or smiling up at the besotted men who have become experts in infant care. On their tiny wrists, the girls take turns wearing a single protective amulet given to them by a local woman.

For Abraha, a painful task remained. He had finally managed to reach his relatives inside Tigray for the first time since the war began. His sister picked up the phone, and he asked her to invite other family members to an important call the following day.

He made his way alone back to the border with Ethiopia, where refugees come with their phones for a clearer signal. He forced himself to begin with the good news.

His family, excited, clamored for details of his wife.

“Did she give birth?” they asked.

“Yes, twins,” Abraha told them.

Joyful, his family pressed for more. “Boys or girls?” “Who looks like whom?” “How was the labor?”

Finally, Abraha calmed them and continued.

“But,” he said, “I couldn’t save her life.”

His family began to cry. He joined them. He worried about what awful things might have happened to his sister and others that they were hiding from him even now.

As the tears calmed, his family tried to comfort him.

“God has his own plan.”

“Try to be strong.”

“Look after the babies and the boys.”

“You’re all they have.”

That evening, Abraha returned to what he and his children now call home, thanks to those who helped them get out alive. He picked up the baby girls and again searched their faces for traces of their mother. His family agrees: One of the babies does look like Letay.

In the fear and despair following their birth, the twins were left unnamed. There was no time. Finally, Abraha’s young son Micheale christened them himself.

One of the girls was named Aden — “paradise.”

The other, who reminds people of her mother, was named Turfu — “left behind.”

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Morgan Urso was told she could no longer be part of Team Illinois Hockey after she disclosed her experience with depression and suicidal thoughts.

Morgan Urso tried many sports as a young child and didn’t like any of them. Everything changed at age 10 when she went to hockey practice with her brother.

“I ended up loving the game,” Morgan said. “The feeling of the fresh air hitting my face every shift is a feeling that I’d take any day.”

Now a high school sophomore, Morgan’s zeal for the game took a hit when her club hockey team unexpectedly banned her from practice, games and team activities.

The Urso family, who lives in La Grange, recently sued Team Illinois Hockey and the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois for disability discrimination, claiming Morgan was suspended after she told a coach about her mental illness.

During her freshman year in 2019, Morgan experienced a severe depressive episode, resulting in her going to an outpatient program and being given new medication.

Morgan said her coach, Team Illinois Hockey Director Larry Pedrie, was initially supportive. “He said if I needed to be an assistant coach on the bench with him or if I wanted to go out and skate or miss, I could do whatever I needed to,” Morgan said.

Morgan’s mother, Kelly Urso, said she received a call the next day and was informed that Pedrie had spoken with Mike Mullally, USA hockey director at the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois, and they had decided to bar Morgan from all Team Illinois practices, games and other activities.

“I remember saying, ‘What?’ a lot, like, how did he decide this,” Urso said. “He just kept saying, ‘I have [Team Illinois’] full board support, this is what AHAI has advised us to do.’ I ended up hanging up on him because I got so emotional.”

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Urso said a few hours later she heard from other parents on the team that Pedrie told them and their children not to communicate with Morgan until she was able to provide a doctor’s note clearing her to participate in 100% of team activities.

Pedrie’s email to parents of players expressed a desire to keep kids from “carrying the burden of a teammate’s personal struggle.”

“We were mad, disappointed and hurt,” Urso said. “We had come from programs where hockey was your family, and to have this be the reaction, we were just confused.”

Morgan, who missed a month of ice time, was allowed to finish the season after the Ursos hired lawyer Charlie Wysong, a partner at Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym Ltd. However, Morgan said she was “super uncomfortable” being around her coach and constantly felt nervous back on the team.

In spring 2020, the Urso family filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. The department investigated but declined to pursue a case against the team or the hockey association.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

On April 20, Morgan and her parents filed a lawsuit in DuPage County Circuit Court against Team Illinois Hockey and AHAI for discriminating against her on the basis of disability.

“We’re not allowed to banish people who are depressed or anxious or have suicidal thoughts,” Wysong said. “That’s not OK.”

The Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois and its lawyer declined to comment on the lawsuit. Pedrie did not respond to several requests for comment.

Urso said the family sued to prevent other families from undergoing a similar situation. She said there should be policies and procedures in place to support children experiencing mental health issues in youth sports and proper training for coaches.

“We hope that it will help youth sports recognize that this is a major issue, especially after COVID-19, that kids are dealing with a lot of mental health issues,” Wysong said.

Courtesy/Kelly Urso

Morgan, a center, returned to the ice for the 2020-21 season with a former hockey team. This year, Morgan plans to try out for a St. Louis AAA Blues hockey team.

She has also started working with the #SameHere Global Mental Health Movement, which aims to raise awareness about and provide resources for those dealing with mental illness.

In forming “Team Morgan,” the Urso family raised and donated more than $50,000 to #SameHere for mental health treatment.

“Anyone out there struggling is never alone,” Morgan said. “There’s always someone to talk to, whether it’s me, or a friend or a parent. And don’t be afraid to go to your coach.”

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The release of the comments by Mohammad Javad Zarif set off a firestorm within Iran, where officials carefully mind their words amid a cut-throat political environment that includes the powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, ultimately overseen by the country’s supreme leader.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A recording of Iran’s foreign minister offering a blunt appraisal of diplomacy and the limits of power within the Islamic Republic has been leaked, providing a rare look inside the country’s theocracy.

The release of the comments by Mohammad Javad Zarif set off a firestorm within Iran, where officials carefully mind their words amid a cut-throat political environment that includes the powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, ultimately overseen by the country’s supreme leader. Zarif has been suggested as a possible candidate for Iran’s June 18 presidential election as well.

Outside of Iran, Zarif’s comments could also affect talks in Vienna aimed at finding a way for Tehran and the U.S. to both come into compliance with Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Already, sabotage targeted Iran’s nuclear facility at Natanz during the talks as Tehran has begun enriching a small amount of uranium up to 60% purity, which edges the country closer to weapons-grade levels.

After the leak became public, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh did not dispute the tape’s authenticity. He told journalists on Monday that the recording represented just a portion of a seven-hour interview Zarif gave to a well-known economist that was to be held for posterity by a think tank associated with the Iranian presidency.

Khatibzadeh called the release of the recording “illegal” and described it as “selectively” edited, though he and others did not offer opinions on how it became public. Zarif, visiting Iraq on Monday after a trip to Qatar, took no questions from journalists after giving a brief statement in Baghdad.

Portions of the leaked interview first aired overnight on Iran International, a London-based, Farsi-language satellite news channel once majority owned by a Saudi national. Tehran has criticized Iran International in the past for its airing of a militant spokesman who praised a 2018 militant attack on a military parade in Ahvaz that killed at least 25 people, including a child. British regulators later rejected an Iranian complaint over the segment.

Iran International shared a file with a little over three hours of the interview with an Associated Press correspondent based in the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

In the interview, Zarif describes Russia as wanting to stop the nuclear deal, something apparently so sensitive that he warns the interviewer: “You definitely can never release this part.” Russia had a frosty relationship with then-President Barack Obama, whose administration secured the deal with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Russia and Iran also at times have strained relations, despite being battlefield allies in Syria.

“If Iran hadn’t become Mr. (Donald) Trump’s priority, China and Russia would have become his priority,” Zarif said. “If, because of hostility with the West, we always need Russia and China, they don’t have to compete with anyone, and also they can always enjoy maximum benefits through us.”

Both China and Russia have been vocal proponents of returning to the nuclear deal. The Russian mission in Vienna declined to comment, while China’s did not respond to a request Monday. Zarif himself hasn’t attended this round of talks, instead sending a senior deputy.

Zarif sounded relaxed and chatty during the interview, at one point joking that he should have sold the expensive liquor he and others found when they took control of the Iranian Consulate in San Francisco in 1979. The economist conducting the interview repeatedly suggested Zarif should run for president as Rouhani is now term-limited from running again.

Zarif dismissed the suggestion. However, the state-owned polling center ISPA has put the diplomat as fourth in a theoretical matchup with the hard-line judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi leading. Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf came in second and third respectively.

However, ISPA warned of the possibility of a turnout as low as 39%, based off its April telephone survey of over 1,500 people. It offered no margin of error. Iran’s theocracy partially bases it legitimacy in turnout numbers, so such turnout could be a threat.

In the interview, Zarif repeated an earlier claim by officials around Rouhani that they had not been told by the Revolutionary Guard that it accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner in January 2020, killing all 176 people on board.

The recordings also include Zarif offering criticism of Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s separate relations with Russia as well. A U.S. drone strike in 2020 killed Solemani in Baghdad, an attack that at the time brought the U.S. and Iran to the brink of war. Soleimani’s funeral processions in Iran drew millions of people to the streets.

“I have sacrificed diplomacy for the battlefield more than the price that (those on) the battlefield (led by Soleimani) … paid and sacrificed for diplomacy,” Zarif said. He added that Iran gave up much of what it “could have achieved from the nuclear deal” for the sake of advancement on the battlefield.

He added that Soleimani refused to stop using the national carrier Iran Air for Syrian operations despite Zarif’s objections. Iran Air has been sanctioned by the U.S., exacerbating a long-running crisis that forced it fly decades-old aircraft, often lacking parts for repairs.

Despite his criticism, Zarif acknowledged Soleimani’s importance in Iran.

“I believe that the U.S. by hitting Martyr Soleimani dealt a blow to Iran that would not have been as bad even if they had hit one of our towns,” he said.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who pushed the Trump administration’s pressure campaign on Iran, later linked to a story about the leaked tapes on Twitter. He described it as an “exquisite strike” that “had a massive impact on Iran and the Middle East.”

“You don’t have to take my word for it,” Pompeo wrote.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

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Italy has the second-deadliest pandemic toll in Europe after Britain, with over 119,000 confirmed deaths.

MILAN — Italy’s gradual reopening on Monday after six months of rotating virus lockdowns is satisfying no one: Too cautious for some, too hasty for others.

Allowing outdoor dining comes too little, too late for Italy’s restaurant owners, whose survival is threatened by more than a year of on-again, off-again closures. The country’s continued 10 p.m. curfew puts a damper on theater reopenings, and is seen as bad public relations for Italy’s key tourism industry, which hopes the second summer of the pandemic can finally see the return of overseas visitors. The government has also been facing strong pressure to reopen from Italy’s right-wing parties.

Yet the nation’s weary virologists and medical workers worry that even the tentative reopening planned by Premier Mario Draghi’s government will invite a free-for-all that risks a new virus surge before the current one is truly tamped down.

“Unfortunately, as I have had to repeat often: The virus does not negotiate. The virus, moreover, has succeeded in adapting itself, becoming more aggressive and more widespread,’’ said Professor Massimo Galli of Milan’s Sacco Hospital.

In a preview of what many fear, Italians on Sunday — a day before the virus restrictions loosened — crowded the streets, squares and parks of cities from Rome to Turin, Milan to Naples, as warmer weather pushed aside an unusually cold spring.

Recognizing the risks, Italy’s interior ministry instructed law enforcement officers on Sunday to make sure that social distancing and mask-wearing were enforced so that the loosening of restrictions doesn’t translate into a new virus spike.

Italy has the second-deadliest pandemic toll in Europe after Britain, with over 119,000 confirmed deaths. And experts say that number is low because more Italians suspected of having COVID-19 died in spring 2020 before they could be tested.

By Monday, 15 of Italy’s 21 regions and autonomous provinces will be under the lowest levels of coronavirus restrictions, with inter-regional travel allowed for the first time since the fall. The number of people who can visit friends and family at any one time will double from two to four. Restaurants and bars will be able to seat people for open-air dining. Contact sports can resume outdoors.

However, plans to fully reopen Italian high schools for the last six weeks of the school year ran up against inadequate public transport and had to be scaled back to a minimum of 70% in-person schooling for the upper grades.

Four southern regions — Basilicata, Calabria, Puglia and Sicily — along with tiny Aosta on the French border in the north remain under stronger, second-tier virus restrictions.

The Italian island of Sardinia — the only region entirely free of restrictions this winter — was plunged into the red zone in mid-April after the all-clear signal resulted in a surge of new infections. Sardinia has become a cautionary tale cited by Italian virologists.

The reopenings come even as Italy’s intensive care wards remain above the 30% threshold for alarm. Italy’s vaccine campaign is also still well shy of its 500,000-shots-a-day goal, and is only now moving to protect people in the 70-79 age bracket. The World Health Organization says people over 65 have accounted for the vast majority of COVID-19 deaths in Europe.

“There are two words that should guide us in the next days,’’ Health Minister Roberto Speranza said Sunday. ”Trust, because the measures have worked, and prudence. We need to take one step at a time, be gradual and evaluate the evolution day by day.”

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The teen is charged with three felony counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, Chicago police said.

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with three armed carjackings of ride-share drivers in December on the South Side.

Two of the carjackings happened on Dec. 11, one in the 10000 block of South Aberdeen Street and the other in the 9900 block of South Emerald Avenue, Chicago police said. The third occurred on Dec. 22 in the 1100 block of West 95th Street, police said.

The teen is charged with three felony counts of aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, police said.

The attacks were among the 1,417 carjackings reported across the city in 2020, more than double from the previous year. The spike continued into 2021, prompting Chicago police Supt. David Brown to add 40 officers and four sergeants to a carjacking task force in February.

While still higher than last year, carjackings in March were down 33% from those reported in February, police said.

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Palita Sriratana’s sandwich is a take on the satay skewers you’ll find in Bangkok. “Typically you get pork or chicken skewers, ajat cucumber relish, and toast to dip in the peanut sauce,” she says. If you want to make extra marinade, go ahead: “It’s perfect for baked chicken.” Read the full recipe here, and our … Read moreRead More

It is officially NFL Draft week, and fans are just days away from learning how the Chicago Bears will attack the most important position in sports. Based on a recent report, that plan could very well include Justin Fields. Although they signed Andy Dalton this offseason, there are few who believe Ryan Pace and Matt […]

Chicago Bears: Ryan Pace given chance to save job and re-energize fan base – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & More

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Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw announced his retirement Monday morning after doctors recommended he leave the game after suffering several concussions.

“There comes a time when every athlete needs to realize when their health is a priority and a future with their family is what is most important,” Shaw said in a statement. “That point for me is now. After several concussions, doctors have strongly recommended I stop playing the game that I love. For once in my life, I am going to listen.”

Shaw suffered his latest concussion on Feb. 9 against the Stars, when Stars defenseman Joel Hanley’s elbow caught his face during the second period. Shaw was put on injured reserve at the time.

“Andrew suffered another concussion on Feb. 9 against the Dallas Stars,” Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Terry said in a statement. “Though he has recovered, given the potential long-term consequences of repetitive concussions, we have advised him to discontinue his career as a professional hockey player.”

Shaw finishes with 247 points in 544 career regular-season games with the Hawks and Canadiens, plus 35 points in 72 postseason games including the Hawks’ Stanley Cup runs in 2013 and 2015.

“I am extremely proud of what I accomplished in my career, and I want to make it clear; I would not change anything about it,” Shaw said. “I won two Stanley Cups, made lifelong friends — and some enemies, too — and will cherish those memories for the rest of my life.”

Nicknamed the “Mutt” for his gritty, blue-collar personality and playing style, Shaw was a fan favorite and valuable complementary player during the later portion of the Hawks’ championship era.

“Throughout his 10-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens, Andrew was always willing to lay his body on the line and put his teammates before himself,” Hawks general manager Stan Bowman said. “He epitomized energy, determination, grit, and toughness and was a player his teammates loved to play with, but his opponents hated to play against. …

“Though it is unfortunate Andrew’s playing career is over, I admire him for making this difficult decision and putting his family and his well-being first.”

Shaw was feeling confident in January as he prepared to return to the ice after a 14-month concussion-related layoff.

“I can’t play scared. If I play scared, I’m just going to end up putting myself in vulnerable positions,” he said then. “I worked with [Chicago-based skills coach] Brian Keane on scanning and making sure I know where everybody is and making sure my head’s up and just being more confident with the puck. That’s been going pretty well for me.”

But his 2021 season lasted only 14 games before the February concussion. His 2019-20 season had lasted only 26 games before a different season-ending concussion came on Nov. 30, 2019.

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Tuesday will feel like a hot, humid day in June as strong southerly winds push through the Chicago area.

The high could reach into the mid-80s, just shy of the record for the date, 87 degrees set in 1986. The moist air from the southeast will also increase the humidity, according to the National Weather Service.

Winds could gust as strong as 35 mph, elevating the risk of brushfires, the weather service warned.

National Weather Service

Summer temperatures are not common the last week in April, when it’s normally in the mid-60s, according to meteorologist Brian Leatherwood. “This happens maybe once every three years,” he said.

The warm-up began over the weekend and continued Monday, when the high was expected to be in the 70s. After hitting the 80s on Tuesday, the temperatures will dip back into the 70s on Wednesday with cloudy skies and showers likely.

Temperatures will drop into the 50s toward the end of the week, the weather service said.

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