Monday, December 1, 2025

Lenny Wilkens leaves Basketball 'better than than the way he found it' in Hall of Fame life

https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/seattle-supersonics-legend-wilkens-dies 

Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Wilkens was a high school basketball star and a two-time All-American at Providence College, earning induction into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

With deep love and sadness, we announce that Lenny Wilkens passed away peacefully at home on November 9, 2025. Lenny was surrounded by his family. He was 88 years old," the Wilkens family said in a statement."

After being drafted sixth overall by the St. Louis Hawks in 1960, he spent eight seasons with the team before being traded to the Seattle SuperSonics in 1968. Wilkens was a three-time All-Star with the Sonics and spent three seasons as a player-coach in Seattle.  

"Lenny was a dedicated philanthropist, community advocate, and 3-time inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He is survived by his devoted wife Marilyn, his three children and seven grandchildren."

Later in his career, he played for Cleveland and Portland, retiring as a player in 1975. However, his coaching career was just beginning.

Doctors Slapped with Lawsuits Over Child Gender Surgeries

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is now suing at least two doctors who have violated a Texas law (SB 14) that prevents gender transition, and medical interventions such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and genital mutilation surgeries for children, Texas Family Project reported late last month.

One of the doctors being sued is Hector Granados, an El Paso doctor. He is being sued for giving children between the ages of 12 and 17 cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers, as well as falsifying records in an attempt to cover up his crimes. The lawsuit names fifteen patients who allegedly received such interventions from Dr. Granados. If found guilty, Granados would lose his medical license as well as face financial punishment....

Sunday, November 30, 2025

Chauvin Defense Attorneys Claim Prosecutorial Misconduct

A filing made by the defense attorneys of Derek Chauvin [pictured right] has made allegations that there was prosecutorial misconduct and has gone viral, with many calling for an appeal in the case of Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd.

Over 50 current and former police officers have now countered the testimony of Minnesota Police Department (MPD) Inspector Katie Blackwell made during the trial, who said the restraint used by Chauvin was not standard practice at the MPD. 

The petition, which argues to vacate the conviction or appeal the case, gives the prosecution in Chauvin's case 45 days to respond, alleged that the state attorneys going after Chauvin relied on "video and still frames" to tell "a single story," painting Chauvin as a killer. ...

1980s Retro-Retailer RadioShack Is Coming Back — But Never Really Left Wyoming

https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/11/29/radioshack-is-back-and-wyoming-might-give-the-retro-retailer-a-future/

RadioShack is back. Or rather, the electronics store that hit its peak in the 1980s never disappeared altogether.

The niche electronics retailer known for catering to experts and hobbyists disappeared from the American zeitgeist after filing for bankruptcy in 2015. That's why some Wyomingites might be surprised to see RadioShack signs in their communities.

David Nielsen, owner of Nielsen's Furniture and Appliance in Kemmerer, has been an authorized RadioShack reseller for more than 25 years. He still has a RadioShack retail outlet operating out of his business, and it brings people in. 

"We have a lot of customers that come in just to see an actual RadioShack," he said. "I wouldn't say it's a significant part of our business, but it brings people in."

Wyoming might seem like the last place where RadioShack would want to stage a comeback, yet that's precisely what it's attempting. For longtime customers, they're still the best in the business. 

Saturday, November 29, 2025

Mississippi 'Miracle' Catapults 4th-grade Reading Scores from Bottom into top 10 by getting back to Phonics

Joseph MacKinnon November 29, 2025

In 2013, Mississippi ranked 49th out of the 50 US States in grade four reading on the National Assessment of Education Progress -- the largest continuing national assessment of American students' knowledge and capability in math, reading, science, and writing.

In what has repeatedly been dubbed a "miracle," the sate made its way up the list-- to 29th in 2019 and then 10 spots higher to ninth place nationally for reading scores last year.

According to the NAEP, black students in Mississippi ranked third nationally last year among their cohort for reading and math scores.  Hispanic students in the state ranked first in the nation for reading and second for math scores.  An poor students in the Magnolia State ranked first for reading and second for math scores nationally. ....

Wyoming Shoshone Dancers Showcase Culture In Macy's Thanksgiving Parade

Six-year-old Shoshone tribal member Ethanial Austin Brown  of the Wind River Indian Reservation performed at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year as a fancy feather dancer with his grandfather George Abeyta.  [both pictured here]

His performance made the highlight reel for the parade, and his grandfather could not be more proud of “Baby E,” as Brown is known as on the powwow circuit.

He danced hard on the on the asphalt for 2-and-a-half miles,” Abeyta said. “He just stopped and danced his little heart out up to 30 times along the route.” 

The pair had been invited this year by Native Pride Productions to perform in New York City over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Thursday, November 27, 2025

‘Rental Family’ Spotlights Real-Life Japanese Businesses that offer Fill-in Relatives and Friends










Fourteen men have been arrested in connection with a large-scale “porch pirate” operation in Long Island, New York, in which authorities say the group targeted 31 communities over the course of nearly two years. The ring allegedly focused on areas including Brentwood, Central Islip, Shirley, and Deer Park. Investigators tracked the thefts from October 2023 through February 2025 until the operation was dismantled.

Most of the suspects are reportedly from the Bronx. Authorities say they hacked into computer systems to track when phones and electronics were scheduled for delivery to AT&T and Verizon customers. The group then dispatched runners to steal the packages from doorsteps. More than 200 cellphones and tablets were allegedly stolen during the operation.

"They were gaining access to the tracking numbers as well as the deliveries, and through that they could tell which would be an electronic device from AT&T and Verizon," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said, according to CBS News.

The stolen items were taken to a fencing location and a stash house, where the suspects reportedly recorded videos of hundreds of boxes and bagged phones before selling them to locations worldwide.

One victim, Glenn Bernhard, described the theft as potentially dangerous. “He grabbed the package out of my hand, and took off. He ran into a car. The plate on the car was stolen," Bernhard recalled. "It's a well organized bunch of people to hack into everybody's computer." 

Erica Bernhard added, "The hacker was able to get into my account.”

‘Rental Family’ spotlights real-life Japanese businesses that offer fill-in relatives and friends

‘Rental Family’ spotlights real-life Japanese businesses that offer fill-in relatives and friends

‘Rental Family’ spotlights real-life Japanese businesses that offer fill-in relatives and friends

Grab & Dash

Fourteen men have been arrested in connection with a large-scale “porch pirate” operation in Long Island, New York, in which authorities say the group targeted 31 communities over the course of nearly two years. The ring allegedly focused on areas including Brentwood, Central Islip, Shirley, and Deer Park. Investigators tracked the thefts from October 2023 through February 2025 until the operation was dismantled.

Most of the suspects are reportedly from the Bronx. Authorities say they hacked into computer systems to track when phones and electronics were scheduled for delivery to AT&T and Verizon customers. The group then dispatched runners to steal the packages from doorsteps. More than 200 cellphones and tablets were allegedly stolen during the operation.

"They were gaining access to the tracking numbers as well as the deliveries, and through that they could tell which would be an electronic device from AT&T and Verizon," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said, according to CBS News.

Sunday, November 23, 2025

Referendum Rejects Contested Assisted Dying Law

Bojan KAVCIC AFP,  

Slovenians on Sunday voted to suspend a new law to legalize assisted dying in a referendum held after critics mounted a campaign against the legislation.

Around 53 percent of voters had rejected the law, while 47 percent voted in favour, meaning its implementation will be suspended for at least one year.

Slovenia's parliament had approved a law in July allowing assisted dying after a 2024 referendum supported it.

Where Have All the Tomboys Gone?

Haley Shane

Remember seeing tomboys? Girls that played in the mud, played sports with the boys teams, and would rather wear cleats than be caught in heels?

I remember. I was one.

My mom and dad tell a very colorful story of me throwing a dress on the floor after my grandmother practically forced it on me. I was 4. I had no idea what a gender was. Or sex. Or a sexual orientation. I just knew I didn't like dresses. I liked football. And playing in the mud. And working on cars with my dad. (I use the term "working" loosely)

Now? I'd be labeled a boy trapped in a girl body. I'd be recommended puberty blockers, hormones (DRUGS — call them what they are), and maybe even Gender Reassignment Surgery. That's horrifying to think of as an adult.

Peoria County Coroner Raises Concern Over Medical Aid in Dying Bill

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — A potential law, giving terminally ill patients the option to end their lives through the use of medication, needs more safeguards according to the Peoria County Coroner.

Jamie Harwood said he believes that such a decision needs more oversight than is currently in the law. He said when it comes to hospice care, he investigates every single death. However, that isn’t the case if someone was to choose a medically assisted death.

“The unfortunate thing is the way this bill is written, we wouldn’t even be notified or called into that at all, which is the unfortunate thing,” he said.

The proposal, which passed out of the General Assembly earlier this month, is now on the desk of Gov. JB Pritzker, waiting his signature to make it a law. He has not indicated publicly whether he will sign the measure or not.

Tessa Mahoney, the executive director of the Central Illinois Agency of Aging, said she understands both sides, but it can be difficult to determine if someone truly has only six months or less to live.

“So if somebody goes past six months what happens then… what does the process look like now?” she said.