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After loss of baby, couple honors her memory with NICU little libraries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:51 GMT

It has been almost a year and a half since Nina Trader and her husband Derek Braasch made their way up into Central DuPage Hospital. But now instead of pushing a stroller, they push a cart packed with boxes full of books. It’s all in the name of Sophia, the premature baby girl they lost."This was our first child. We went through fertility issues for seven years before conceiving her," Nina Trader said. "She was 25 weeks and a day. Only 15 ounces. It was tough.”The family spent weeks in the NICU. Sophia’s passing had the couple drowning in grief. They knew they needed to find a way to turn their pain into purpose. Dr. Jeffrey Lawhead is the medical director of the NICU at Central DuPage Hospital."In the rare occasions when things don't end up well, the families are really trying to figure out what it's all about, what's the meaning of it and how can we honor our daughter or son's existence," he said. More from Erin: Doctor, retired music teacher team up to bring healing music ...

Step up your heart health with stairs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:51 GMT

It’s a leading cause of death worldwide – poor heart health. But a new study shows you can cut your risk by climbing just 50 stairs a day.They’re everywhere and free of charge.Dr. Danny Luger is a preventive cardiologist at Rush Hospital.“You’re engaging the large muscles in your legs and you’re increasing the workload, so the heart rate spikes up and you’re getting a muscular engagement,” he said.Think of the staircase as a gym. And with every step – there are about 10 per flight – your heart health climbs.“Coronary events or cardiovascular events, strokes and heart attacks were reduced by 20 percent just going from minimally active to slightly active,” Luger said.That’s what Tulane University researchers learned after evaluating data from more than 450,000 adults in the United Kingdom – a 20 percent reduction if you skip the elevator and take the stairs.  More from Med Watch: How nature can nurture your mental health “Going from sedentary to minimally active really confers the g...

Senate committee debates code of ethics for Supreme Court justices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) -- Senators on the Judiciary Committee discussed a possible code of ethics for Supreme Court justices and announced attempts to investigate whether extravagant gifts from wealthy donors to the justices created conflicts of interest."The fundamental question here is how bad, how corrupting is the billionaire influence at the Supreme Court," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)Democrats say it's long past time to implement a code of ethics for Supreme Court justices."The highest court in the land cannot have the lowest standard of ethics in the government," voiced Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)Senators Durbin and Whitehouse vow to investigate potentially unethical behavior in the Supreme Court by issuing subpoenas to conservative political activist Leonard Leo and Republican donors Harlan Crow and Robin Arkley."Billionaires who are invested heavily in influencing the Supreme Court have been caught giving enormous secret gifts to individual justices," Sen. Whitehouse c...

Workday restored after reports of hourslong outage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:51 GMT

(KRON) – A widespread outage that hit Workday Thursday morning appears to be resolved, according to Downdetector, a site that monitors reports of website issues. Reports of the outage began coming in shortly before 5 a.m. and rose steadily throughout the morning. SF man convicted in 2021 Walgreens smash-and-grab Commenters on Downdetector reported difficulties logging into the platform, problems sending verification emails, and trouble making purchase order receipts, among other issues. Visitors to the Workday website were met with a message that read, "Workday is currently unavailable."Shortly after 2 p.m., reports of outage problems began to taper off on Downdetector.“Workday is backup!” wrote one commenter on the site."We are experiencing a service interruption. Your service will be restored as quickly as possible," the message continued. "We apologize for the inconvenience. If you are a Workday customer and require additional assistance please contact the Workday Administrator...

Suspect arrested in deadly Austin 'road rage' shooting after 'minor' I-35 crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department arrested a man they believe shot and killed a 46-year-old woman in a "road rage homicide" on Sept. 30.Justin Justice, 28, was charged in connection with the incident, according to police. PREVIOUS: Celebration of life for north Austin road rage victim Homicide Detective Israel Pina with the Austin Police Department said the victim, Teressa Gandy Ferguson was taking her usual route home on Interstate 35, when she was involved in a “minor crash” between the Rundberg and Anderson Lane exits. Justin Justice, 28 | Mugshot provided by APDAccording to APD, she was on the phone with a friend and told them she pulled over to exchange information with the other driver, which is when police believe she was shot.Ferguson was found in the driver's seat with injuries that were not believed to be sustained in the crash, according to a news release from the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.Police were able to determine Justice shot and killed Fergus...

Verdict reached in driveway shooting of Austin man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:51 GMT

CALDWELL COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Jurors delivered a guilty verdict on a manslaughter charge in the trial of Martindale resident Terry Turner, who had originally been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Adil Dghoughi.In early October 2021, Turner shot and killed Dghoughi through his driver’s side window as he backed out of Turner’s driveway in Martindale, according to investigators. More than a week later, Turner turned himself in but bonded out of jail that same day. According to testimony delivered during the trial this week, Turner woke in the middle of the night to use the bathroom when he noticed a car in his driveway, according to his attorneys.They said he went outside to confront the driver, who would turn out to be Dghoughi. Turner’s attorneys said Dghoughi was parked toward the front of Turner’s driveway, the car partially hidden by a camping trailer. PAST COVERAGE: Victim’s girlfriend testifies in Day 1 of Martindale man’s murder trial “As he opens the d...

Warming trend ramps up by the weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Warmer south winds are blowing into the area as the recent cold airmass exits Texas. A warming trend carries us into next week when temperatures approach record highs.Thursday morning, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport recorded their first freeze of the season nearly two weeks ahead of what is typical. This was a tie for the airport's fifth-earliest freeze on record. Some rural valleys were as cold as 29°.Southerly winds have replaced the cold northerly direction, warming days and nights through the weekend and into next week. There are no more freezes expected in the near future as overnight lows step up noticeably, and daytime highs return to the 80s in many areas this weekend.Daylight Saving Time comes to an end early Sunday morning, so don't forget to let your clocks "fall back" one hour. BLOG: El Niño into 2024: What that means for winter and spring BLOG: NOAA releases winter forecast Austin Interactive Weather Stats (2023) FIRST WARNING WEATHER: S...

Infant mortality rate increases for first time in 20 years, up 8% in Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The infant mortality rate increased by 3% from 2021 to 2022, the first increase in 20 years, according to provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The rate showed a statistically significant increase in four states, including Texas, where there were 8% more deaths in 2022 than there were in 2021, per the CDC report. Infant mortality refers to the death of a child before they reach their first birthday, and the infant mortality rate is calculated from the number of infant deaths annually for every 1,000 live births. The CDC’s provisional data showed 5.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022, which was 3% higher than in 2021. Healthy People, an organization that sets national objectives to improve health, has a goal of reducing the number of infant deaths per 1,000 to five by 2030. The five leading causes of infant death in 2021 were birth defects, preterm birth or low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome, i...

City Council postpones implementation of rules directed by new state law that will likely lead to fewer parks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin City Council postponed its vote Thursday on the resolution to implement changes to parkland dedication ordinances which are need in order to comply with a new state law that passed last session and will go into effect in January.Citing "complex calculations" in the new map, District 4 Council Member Jose "Chito" Vela asked to postpone the vote to the next City Council Meeting on Nov. 9 so that council members had more time to look over the changes before voting. No city council members objected to Vela's motion. Previously, Austin's ordinance required developers to provide nearly 10 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents or face a fee. The new state law requires local officials to reduce that amount down to 3,000 square feet in Austin’s downtown and to three acres in suburban neighborhoods. “The bill requires Austin to make substantial changes to the current parkland ordinance to comply with state law, and there is very little room for the city’s discr...

Move over, wired broadband. Cellular carriers now offer wireless home Internet.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:51 GMT

Traditionally, high-speed residential Internet service has entered homes through wires.The Comcast broadband service my family has relied on for decades arrives at our St. Paul house via coaxial cable. Similarly, CenturyLink users receive service via copper-wire networks and, increasingly, speedier fiber-optic hook-ups.Consumers have another way to get online — using their smartphones — but such cellular connections are intended for on-the-go use and not as residential-broadband modems.Recently, however, wireless broadband has started to give wired broadband a run for its money.Such “fixed wireless” services are furnished by the same big-three carriers that provide mobile-phone service. T-Mobile and Verizon have offered home broadband for a while. AT&T joined the party not long ago.All three options — AT&T Internet Air, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet and Verizon 5G Home Internet — work the same way. Each carrier provides an apparatus that creates a local Wi-Fi network within the ...