DES MOINES, Iowa - Damage estimates from a rare wind storm that slammed Iowa and some other parts of the Midwest in August are growing, with the total now at $7.5 billion, according to a new report. The Aug. 10 storm hit Iowa hard but also caused damage in Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota and Indiana. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it's currently the second-costliest U.S. disaster so far in 2020, although cost estimates for widespread wildfires along the West Coast aren't yet available.

article Photo provided by family ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico are investigating the murder of 21-year-old Cayla Campos, who was shot and killed after witnessing an armed robbery in a park while she was playing Pokemon Go. The Albuquerque Police Department told KRQE that Campos and her boyfriend, Sidney, witnessed a victim sitting in their car being robbed by two people. When Campos and her boyfriend tried to drive away, multiple shots were fired by the suspects into her vehicle, striking Campos in the back of the neck and causing her to crash into an unoccupied home.

MORTON GROVE, Ill. - A 16-hour armed standoff ended peacefully Tuesday morning after police tried arresting a man for domestic battery in Morton Grove. The man, 51, was arrested about 9:15 a.m. and taken to a hospital for a "checkup," Morton Grove Police Commander Paul Yaras said in an email. "No shots were fired and the situation did end relatively peacefully," Yaras said. The standoff began around 5 p.m. Monday in the 8900 block of Oriole Avenue when the man took out a shotgun as officers approached the home, Yaras said in a separate statement.

Whether it's the words of Gandhi, Lincoln, or Janis Joplin, these short quotes prove that brevity is the soul of wisdom. "Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone." — Pablo Picasso Wikimedia Commons "Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got." — Janis JoplinWikimedia Commons "Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves." — Abraham LincolnWikimedia Commons "Wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.

"Good people of Arkansas and supporters of religious liberty, I present to you Baphomet — the symbol of pluralism, legal equality, tolerance, free inquiry, freedom of conscious, and reconciliation."Arkansas Times/FacebookThe eight-foot Satanist monument being erected in front of the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock. Members of the Satanic Temple in Arkansas made a bold statement to state lawmakers when they built a monument of Baphomet — an idol worshipped by the religion — onto the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol on August 17.

Airbnb's new policy comes months after a viral TikTok revealed the listing of an "1830s slave cabin" on the platform. TwitterThe Panther Burn House at Belmont Plantation was advertised as a former slave house. In July 2022, a TikTok exposing “an 1830s slave cabin” on Airbnb went viral, prompting a wave of outrage online. Now, just over half a year later, Airbnb said they will no longer allow users to list properties that were once used to house enslaved people.

The start of summer brings longer daylight hours and warmer weather, but for hay fever sufferers, it also means the start of the dreaded pollen season. Caused by an allergic response to pollen from trees, grasses or weeds, hay fever season can start as early as February in the US and around late March in the UK - all the way through to September. It is particularly potent during warm, humid and windy weather, which is typically when the pollen count is at its highest.

Source: Huffington Post So, New Pope has been irritating a lot of people lately. Conservative Catholics seem to be rather—ahem—cross with him over his support of progressive economic policies, while more liberal Catholics feel betrayed because he hasn’t come right out and started ordaining married lesbians as priests, or at least he hasn’t yet. Give him time. He’s only 78. Source: Jihad Watch Honestly, for all the carping on both sides, it’s hard not to feel that the quality of papal controversy has fallen off somewhat from the golden age of the 11th century.

Boy thrown from carnival ride in Antioch recovering at home, using a walker Huntley Daniels, the 10-year-old boy who was thrown from a carnival ride in Antioch earlier this month, is now recovering at home. ANTIOCH, Ill. - Huntley Daniels, the 10-year-old boy who was thrown from a carnival ride in Antioch earlier this month, is now recovering at home. The heartwarming update comes from first responders, who on Wednesday, were honored for their life-saving efforts at the scene.

article CHICAGO - Chicago’s Old St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church will no longer host its World’s Largest Block Party, the church announced on its website Tuesday. The 35-year-old, two-day festival of music and food drew thousands of people to the street west of Chicago’s business district on which Old St. Patrick’s Church sits. Old St. Patrick’s pastor, the Rev. Tom Hurley, says in the letter the summer event environment in Chicago is more competitive than it was 35 years ago and more difficult for the 175-year-old church to navigate.