Ready for a break from our early flirt with winter? I know I am! I've got some good news this week as some warmth is finally returning to the forecast. It will come with a cost though, that being a more active pattern with a few chances for both rain and snow.

Monday will feature dry conditions as we will be between storm systems. With plenty of cloud cover left, temperatures won't rise much compared to this weekend as we stay close to the low 40s.

A weak system moves in by Monday evening and especially Tuesday morning bringing a brief rain/snow mix to the region. Most of this activity will only impact areas north of the Quad Cities between midnight and 6am on Tuesday morning. I wouldn't expect much of an impact in terms of road conditions with this system since there isn't a whole lot of moisture to work with.

The strongest system this week will develop by Wednesday as an area of low-pressure forms in the plains. In response to this strengthening storm system, a strong southerly flow will take over the region boosting our high temperatures well into the 50s for Wednesday afternoon. If we can manage to sneak in a few periods of sunshine, a stray 60° reading or two will be likely in some of our hometowns. The day will remain dry with rain chances increasing once we get into the evening hours.

This particular system will have a bit more moisture to work with and will lead to a widespread rain that will likely approach one inch in some areas. While we've been fairly dry lately, minus the snow, there will still be a little runoff from this rainfall that may lead to a brief, minor, rise on area creeks and streams. Any cold air that this system will try and work with to produce snow will remain locked up well to our north as the track takes this system to our northwest. Since we will also be on the warm side of this system, a rumble or two of thunder will also be possible, especially late Wednesday night as the rain begins.

The colder air will eventually catch up to us by Friday as temperatures fall into the 30s for daytime highs. This cooler air mass will remain with us through next weekend before another warming trend arrives for Thanksgiving Week.

Meteorologist Andrew Stutzke

WASHINGTON, MO (KMOV) — A huge show of support is expected for a 14-year-old Washington, Missouri boy who died after a four-year battle with cancer.

Alec Ingram had been fighting osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, since April 2015. He passed away last week.

Recently News 4’s Steve Harris sat down with Alec who said his wish was to have sport cars lead the procession to his final resting place. News 4 has been following his journey since 2016.

And his wish will come true Sunday.

“Alec was just a kid we met. All of us cancer families just kind of know each other and stick together,” Dana Manley said. “Alec was into super cars and sports cars. So, we put out a flier on Facebook to get as many as we could.”

Manley’s organization, Sydney’s Soldiers Always, is named after her daughter who died from cancer. The organization recruited almost 4,500 sports and exotic cars. All cars will be led by a Camaro limo.

Several hundred cars met at Six Flags St. Louis Sunday morning and then drove to Washington, Missouri for the funeral at 1 p.m. The estimated 4,500 cars then led the procession at 2 p.m.

(CNN) — A $2,500 reward is being offered for help identifying whoever shot and killed a protected bald eagle in Oregon earlier this month.

After receiving a tip, Oregon State Police found the bird in Lower Cow Creek in Douglas County in southwest Oregon. Now state police are asking for anyone with any information about the shooter to contact them, according to a state police Facebook post.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service is offering the reward for information that could lead to the criminal conviction of anyone involved in the shooting.

The dead bird was found by troopers from the Oregon State Police’s fish and wildlife division on November 7. The police posted a photo of the bird lying face down in the creek.

An examination by the troopers and staffers from wildlife rehabilitation group Umpqua Wildlife Rescue determined the eagle was shot. Investigators believe it had been killed one to two days before its death was reported.

The killing or possession of a bald eagle or its parts is illegal under federal law and is punishable by imprisonment of up to a year in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000, according to Oregon State Police.

Once endangered by hunting, pesticides and lead poisoning, the bald eagle was removed from endangered animal lists in 2007 but is still protected under federal law.

The federal wildlife service is working with the Oregon Hunters Association TIP program to find whoever shot the eagle. The TIP program offers cash rewards for information leading to an arrest or citation linked to the unlawful taking or possession of wildlife.

The bald eagle is indigenous to North American and is the national bird of the United States. It was placed on Great Seal of the United States in 1782. But after a six-year dispute in Congress over what should be on the national emblem, the bald eagle was officially chosen in 1789 as the symbol of the new country.

(CNN) — Over $20 million worth of property went up in flames early Saturday in Florida, where two multimillion-dollar yachts were destroyed in a fire.

More than 60 firefighters and three fire boats battled the blaze at Universal Marine Center docks in Fort Lauderdale, working to prevent the fire from spreading to other yachts nearby.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue reported that nobody was injured.

Officials believe the blaze began on a 160-foot yacht named Lohengrin and spread to a neighboring 100-foot yacht named Reflections.

The estimated loss from the fire is more than $20 million, said Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.

Crews were still on the scene of the fire Sunday, working to remove scaffolding surrounding the boats and extinguish hot spots, according to a Twitter post by Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.

The yachts appear to have been under construction prior to the fire, indicated by scaffolding and tarps surrounding the boats.

After the hot spots have been snuffed out, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue said they will begin salvage efforts and an investigation into what caused the blaze.

PORTLAND, Ore. (WJW) — Shoe giant Nike has created a new shoe for our everyday heroes.

According to Nike, the Air Zoom Pulse was designed with nurses, doctors, home health providers and others medical professionals in mind.

Nike conducted on-the-ground product testing and used medical workers’ insights when creating this new shoe.

Designers of the Air Zoom Pulse learned from staff at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, located in Portland, Oregon, about the rigorous activities health care workers endure in their day-to-day efforts.

Nike reports that nurses walk approximately four to five miles daily, sitting for less than an hour during the course of their 12 hour shifts.

The design of the Air Zoom Pulse aims to tackle healthcare worker’s physically and mentally demanding challenges with simplicity in mind.  Nike officials say the shoe is easy to get on and off, as well as being simple to clean.

The fit, cushioning and traction systems reportedly work together to secure the foot in all hospital conditions.

The shoe also features a full-rubber outsole, a flexible drop-in midsole with Zoom Air heel unit and a heel that is meant to fit so secure it feels like your foot is receiving a soft, snug hug.

Nike describes the shoe as “almost a traditional clog made athletic.”  It has the arch and posture support one looks for in a Nike shoe, as well as a smooth capacity for natural motion.

The Air Zoom Pulse is also fabricated to protect wearers from the “unforeseen peculiarities of life in the hospital.”  It offers a coated toe box to protect against any spills, as well as good traction.

Click here for more on Nikle’s Air Zoom Pulse shoe.

Losing the rights to her early music catalog continues to cause trouble, trouble, trouble for singer Taylor Swift.

Swift on Thursday claimed an ongoing dispute with her former music label has presented a new roadblock as she is being told she cannot perform many songs from her past at the upcoming American Music Awards or use it in a forthcoming Netflix documentary about her life, which has been in production for several years.

Swift’s disclosure of this latest rights issue comes months after she spoke publicly about her displeasure with a deal that saw music manager Scooter Braun take control of her old catalog after he acquired her former music label, Big Machine Label Group.

“I’ve been planning to perform a medley of my hits throughout the decade on the show. Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I’m not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I’m allowed to next year,” Swift wrote.

In July, Swift called it her “worst case scenario,” upon learning that her music catalog had been sold to a company owned by Braun.

Don’t know what else to do pic.twitter.com/1uBrXwviTS

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) November 14, 2019

Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Label Group from founder Borchetta in late June. The deal was worth roughtly $300 million, according Billboard.

“Scott Bocchetta told my team that they’ll allow me to use my music only if I do these things: If I agree to not re-record copycat versions of my songs next year (which is something I’m both legally allowed to do and looking forward to) and also told my team that I need to stop talking about him and Scooter Braun,” Swift wrote. “The message being sent to me is very clear. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished.”

CNN has reached out to Braun for comment.

Swift said she thinks sharing her experience “could change the awareness level for other artists and potentially help them avoid a similar fate.”

“This is WRONG. Neither of these men had a hand in the writing of those songs. They did nothing to create the relationship I have with my fans. So this is where I’m asking for your help,” she wrote. “Please let Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun know how you feel about this.”

Swift had been signed to Big Machine from her 2006 self-titled debut album through 2017’s “Reputation,” before moving to Universal Music Group.

Swift alleged she only learned of the sale when it became public, a claim disputed by Jake Basden, Senior Vice President Communications at Big Machine Label Group.

Basden told CNN at the time that Swift’s dad, Scott Swift, is a shareholder in Big Machine Records and that Basden first alerted all of the shareholders of the pending deal with Ithaca Holdings on June 25.

“Out of courtesy, I personally texted Taylor at 9:06 p.m, June 29 to inform her prior to the story breaking on the morning of June 30 so she could hear it directly from me,” Basden told CNN. “I truly doubt that she ‘woke up to the news when everyone else did.”

The sale prevents Swift from owning the first six albums in her catalog. She told CBS Sunday Morning of her plans to re-record her earlier music.

The public dispute that has followed since the sale has both sides finding their defenders.

In an Instagram post, Justin Bieber, who is managed by Braun, appealed to Swift, saying, “I’m sure Scooter and i would love to talk to you and resolve any conflict, pain or or any feelings that need to be addressed.” But he also took issue with Swift making the issue public, saying doing so to “get people to hate on scooter isn’t fair.”

“What were you trying to accomplish by posting that blog? seems to me like it was to get sympathy u also knew that in posting that your fans would go and bully Scooter,” he wrote.

Braun’s wife, Yael Cohen, also came to his defense.

Meanwhile, singer Halsey, director Joseph Kahn and Iggy Azalea have shown themselves to be Team Taylor.

In her post on Thursday, Swift appealed to other artists managed by Braun “who I really believe care about other artists and their work.”

“Please ask them for help with this – I’m hoping that maybe they can talk some sense into the men who are exercising tyrannical control over someone who just wants to play the music she wrote,” she said. “I’m especially asking for help from The Carlyle Group, who put up money for the sale of my music to these two men.”

Braun also manages Ariana Grande and the Zac Brown band.

“I just want to be able to perform MY OWN music. That’s it. I’ve tried to work this out privately through my team but have not been able to resolve anything,” Swift added. “Right now my performance at the AMAs, the Netflix documentary and any other recorded events I am planning to play until November of 2020 are a question mark.”

(CNN) -- There is a new Democratic front-runner in Iowa, and his name is Pete Buttigieg.

The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, holds a clear lead in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, climbing to 25% in a new CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll of likely Iowa caucusgoers. That marks a 16-point increase in support for Buttigieg since the September CNN/DMR poll. This survey comes on the heels of other recent polls that have shown Buttigieg joining the top tier of the Democratic primary race in Iowa.

Behind Buttigieg, there is a close three-way battle for second with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 16%, and former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders each at 15%. Since September, Warren dropped six percentage points and Biden slipped five points, while Sanders gained four points.

RELATED: Full poll results

Surveying the rest of the field, no other candidate gets double-digit support. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar lands at 6%, while five candidates register 3% -- Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, investor Tom Steyer and businessman Andrew Yang. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has yet to officially announce a 2020 bid, gets 2%. The rest of the field receives 1% or less.

Buttigieg's significant rise comes in the wake of a heavy investment of time and money in Iowa. Over the last few months he has built one of the largest on-the-ground operations in the state, supplemented by a robust advertising campaign and strong public appearances, including a speech at the Democratic Party's biggest event of the year earlier this month in Des Moines.

His elevated standing in Iowa is grounded in steady support across different demographic groups. He does roughly as well with self-identified Democrats as he does with independents. He also performs about the same with previous caucusgoers as first-timers. And his support is nearly even in cities, suburbs, towns and rural areas.

The 37-year-old mayor does slightly better among those with incomes more than $100,000 (32%) and with self-described moderates (32%). His standing with union households (17%) and those who call themselves very liberal (12%) is weaker than his overall average.

Among the candidates vying for second in this poll, Sanders has the most variation when it comes to demographic groups. His support among those who describe themselves as very liberal (34%) is nearly 20 points higher than his overall standing. Like Sanders, Warren does better with that group (32%) than her overall standing.

Sanders also does better with younger likely caucusgoers, getting 27% of those under the age of 35, compared to Buttigieg at 20%, Warren at 18% and Biden at 9%. Meanwhile, Buttigieg (28%) and Biden (27%) run about even among the oldest caucusgoers -- those 65 and older -- a group the former vice president had led with by more than 20 points in September. For Buttigieg, his support among the oldest likely caucusgoers marks a significant jump from his 7% standing in September.

Biden's core strength remains the electability factor. Of the four candidates tested, the former vice president earns the most confidence in his ability to beat Trump. A majority of likely caucusgoers (52%) say they're almost certain or fairly confident Biden could win next November, compared with 43% who say they're not very confident or are almost certain he'll lose.

Another factor that points to Buttigieg's front-runner status is the 68% share of likely Democratic caucusgoers who say he is their first or second choice or being actively considered, up from 55% in September. Warren is close behind at 66%, though that's off slightly from 71% in September, when she topped the field on that metric.

The Massachusetts senator is the second choice of 20% of likely caucusgoers, followed by Buttigieg at 14%, and Sanders and Biden each at 13%. Harris is now the second choice for 7%, down from her 14% mark in June -- though 36% say they are still actively considering her.

The only candidates besides Buttigieg and Warren to hit 50% when combining first and second choice and actively considering are Biden at 58% (compared to 60% in September) and Sanders at 55% (up from 50% in September). Harris is now at 46%, down nine points from her September score.

Buttigieg's improved standing can also be attributed to his high favorable rating among likely caucusgoers -- 72% -- the best in the field and up three points from September. Warren's favorable sits at 71%, followed by Biden at 64% and Sanders at 61%.

The candidates who saw the biggest gains in their favorable ratings from September were Steyer (up 10 points to 37%) and Yang (up seven points to 43%). Booker and Harris both dipped eight points in terms of their favorability numbers, falling to 52% and 55% respectively. Bloomberg, meanwhile, saw his favorable rating drop eight points from March, down to 19% now. That coincides with a sharp increase in his unfavorable rating, up 20 points to 58%, with 30% having a very unfavorable view of Bloomberg.

The Goldilocks principle

What applies to porridge may also apply to politics.

In the case of Buttigieg, 63% of likely caucusgoers think his views are about right, the highest of the four candidates tested. Only 7% say his views are too liberal, while 13% feel they're too conservative.

Biden places second in the "about right" category with 55%, though that is down from 70% who said so in March. Like Buttigieg, 7% say his views are too liberal. But 28% say Biden's views are too conservative.

Nearly half of likely caucusgoers (48%) say Warren's views are about right, compared with 38% who think her views are too liberal. A majority of likely caucusgoers (53%) deem Sanders' political views to be too liberal, up from 44% in March. Just 37% say his views are about right.

This divide within the Democratic Party is also reflected in how likely caucusgoers feel about the way candidates approach policy positions. A majority of likely caucusgoers (52%) would prefer the Democratic nominee to advocate for policies that have a good chance of becoming law, even if the changes aren't as big. That compares to 36% who want the nominee to push for big changes even if there's a lower chance those reforms would become law.

As one might expect, majorities of Buttigieg (62%) and Biden (60%) supporters prefer changes that are more likely to be enacted. Majorities of Warren (58%) and Sanders (54%) backers want big change even if it has a tougher chance of becoming law.

The electability argument

For these Democrats, defeating President Trump remains a priority.

Nearly two-thirds of likely caucusgoers (63%) say it's more important to them personally that the winner of the caucus be a candidate with a strong chance of beating Trump. Roughly a third (32%) say they want a candidate who shares their positions on major issues.

While there is more confidence in Biden's ability to win next November, feelings about Warren and Buttigieg are more evenly split on this question. For Warren, 46% are almost certain or fairly confident she will prevail, the same as the share who say they're not very confident or she's almost certain she will lose. For Buttigieg, it's 46% to 43%.

This represents a weakness for Sanders, as 40% say they are almost certain or fairly confident about his chances against Trump compared with 53% who aren't very confident or are almost certain he will lose.

Among Biden supporters, 57% say they are almost certain he will defeat Trump. Supporters of other contenders aren't as rosy. It's 48% for Sanders, 35% for Warren and 27% of Buttigieg supporters. Despite all of Buttigieg's strengths in this survey, the lack of confidence among his own supporters in his prospects for defeating Trump could be a warning sign given the importance of the electability factor for Democrats.

Commitment & enthusiasm

With the caucuses now less than three months away, there is evidence more voters have made up their minds. Among likely Democratic caucusgoers, 30% say they have a first-choice candidate they've decided to back. That's a 10-point increase from September, but still leaves ample space for preferences to shift before February.

Sanders is the top choice among those who've made up their minds at 28%, followed by Buttigieg at 22%, Biden at 14% and Warren at 12%. In fact, 57% of Sanders supporters say they are committed to supporting the senator, while less than 30% of Biden, Buttigieg and Warren supporters say their minds are made up.

Buttigieg, meanwhile, leads among those who could still be persuaded with 29%, followed by Warren at 20%, Biden at 16% and Sanders at 10%.

Not only are Sanders supporters more committed, they're also the most enthusiastic. A majority of the Vermont senator's backers (51%) describe themselves as extremely enthusiastic about their choice. That compares with 35% for Warren, 33% for Buttigieg and 25% for Biden.

In a sign of potential weakness for Biden, 27% of his supporters say they are mildly or not enthusiastic about their choice. That compares with 18% for Sanders, 17% for Buttigieg and 16% for Warren.

There appears to be early widespread enthusiasm for the 2020 Democratic caucuses as 63% now say they will definitely rather than probably caucus in February. By comparison, the final Iowa poll released before the 2008 caucuses found 53% said they would definitely attend.

Here Warren leads the pack with 72% of her supporters saying they will definitely caucus compared with 63% for Sanders, 60% for Buttigieg and 59% for Biden.

The CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll was conducted by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, November 8 through 13 among a random sample of 500 likely Democratic caucusgoers reached on landlines or cell phones by a live interviewer. Results for the full sample of likely caucusgoers have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (WTKR) — Kristen Seymour rushes through the halls of Acredale Animal Hospital in Virginia Beach.

She’s a veterinarian who has just finished a morning of surgeries and back-to-back appointments with pets.

“I actually tried really hard not to be a veterinarian because I knew what I was getting into, but it ended up being the only thing that really made sense for me,” she says.

Seymour’s mom is a veterinarian, so she was familiar with the long hours and emotional burden that the job can bring.

Yet, after going through four years of undergraduate school and four years of veterinary school, she knew she needed to be the voice for the family members who can’t say what’s wrong with them.

Aside from your visit, when you take your pet to the doctors, a lot more is going on behind the scenes.

Seymour remembers a few weeks ago when she had nonstop appointments.

“I went from one room where I was like, ‘Oh, your dog is pregnant,’ and then I go into the next room and it’s like, ‘I have to euthanize my cat, it’s doing terrible.’ It’s like emotional highs and lows,” she says with a sigh.

Those highs and lows are a reason the CDC says veterinarians are suffering from anxiety and depression.

Glinda O’Neill, manager of Sentara Outpatient Behavioral Health Services in Virginia Beach, says it’s typical of a high-stress job.

“They deal with a high level of stress and crisis on a daily basis, and so all of that has to go somewhere.”

Like many others, Seymour is no stranger to this type of analysis. She says she has suffered with depression issues for years and takes medication regularly.

She says she’s not ashamed of her journey and says it needs to be talked about more.

However, aside from the emotional strain of dealing with sick pets, other stressors from the job are financial. Seymour tells News 3 that often a major struggle is that some owners don’t have the means to pay for a treatments and surgeries.

“The hard ones are the ones that people don’t allow you to treat and you really want to and you wish you could have them sign over all the pets and give them to you, but you can’t,” she says.

From that, the tension between the owner and the vet can be harsh. Arguments and accusations now become an emotional burden on the shoulders of each veterinarian.

A 2014 study by the CDC found that 30% of vets had experienced depressive episodes and 17% had experienced suicidal thoughts since leaving school.

Compared to the general public, female veterinarians are said to be 3.5 times more likely to kill themselves while men are 2.1 times more likely.

Seymour says it is sad, but the suicide rates don’t shock her because she can see how the job changes a person.

Where is there help?

A new online Facebook group is helping people deal with those problems. It’s called “Not One More Vet,” and it was created for vets to vent with people that understand.

O’Neill encourages outlets like this saying, “One of the ways we treat it is by talking about it.”

It currently has more than 20,000 members worldwide — Seymour being one of them.

Benita Thornhill is a behavioral health therapist with Sentara Outpatient Behavioral Health Services in Virginia Beach. She says, “I think it’s important for individuals to create a routine – a routine that includes self-care.”

She offers that people should try taking a walk if they get a small break at work or even try setting time aside at the end of the day to unwind.

With her clients, she has seen yoga and meditation work wonders, but overall she says it’s important to talk to someone — whoever that may be.

Seymour agrees.

“One of the other things people used to say in vet school is that you can’t care more than the client cares, you’re going to drive yourself nuts, and that’s totally true.”

Taking Thornhill’s advice, Seymour exercises when she has a long day or spends time with her husband and dog.

If you need to talk to someone, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

(CNN) — The Cincinnati Zoo lost one of their special animal friends Sunday.

Twelve-year-old Kimba the giraffe died after complications from a procedure to fix his hooves, the zoo said.

“Zoo staff, and especially the giraffe care team, are devastated,” Michelle Curley, spokeswoman for the Cincinnati Zoo, told CNN.

The Zoo Volunteer Observer (ZVO) team was monitoring the giraffe barn when they saw Kimba fall to the ground after 1 a.m. Sunday.

Kimba was dealing with mobility issues when he was given a hoof trim Tuesday.

“Kimba began intermittent bouts of lameness last summer, which we’ve been managing with laser therapy and medications that mitigate symptoms,” said Cincinnati Zoo’s curator of mammals Christina Gorsuch in a news release.

While the procedure was successful, there were later complications.

Kimba, the zoo’s only male giraffe, stood over 16 feet tall and was the father of six other giraffes, with a seventh on the way.

The giraffe came to the Cincinnati Zoo in 2018 from the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island, where one his calves lives now.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police have arrested a 25-year-old man after a nearly four-hour standoff at an apartment complex in eastern Des Moines.

Des Moines Police say officers responding to reports of gunfire shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday found the suspect on a second-floor balcony. The man fired at police and two officers returned fire before he retreated inside an apartment.

The man was arrested without incident nearly four hours after police arrived. He was alone in the apartment.

No injuries were immediately reported in the incident.

The man is facing two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and two counts of intimidation with a gun.

DAVENPORT, Iowa -- A local business is marking its first anniversary after a year of operation, even though that year was often distressing.

Bootleg Hill Honey Meads threw a party to celebrate its birthday on Saturday, Nov. 16. On the tap for the evening, among many options, was the business's first product: their blueberry mead.

However, underlying the party was a sense of frustration of certain events that made the meadery's first year a challenging one.

The business suffered a huge blow in April 2019 when flood walls broke and downtown Davenport was under water. Bootleg Hills was forced to close for six weeks and according to the owner, sales dropped by 50% after the flood wall failed, and the recovery process is still ongoing.

Owner Rick Harris expresses his disappointment with the city of Davenport, saying, "You know, you'd think the city would step up to the plate and help the businesses. I keep asking 'when's the city gonna help these businesses?' and I keep getting a blank stare like there's no help."

 

 

MOLINE, Illinois — A local attraction is putting on its second blood drive charity event to collects all sorts of donations.

On Saturday, Nov. 30, Henry’s Christmas Yard in Moline is hosting the second annual “Season of Giving Blood Drive” to collect donations from the community for several organizations.

Present at the afternoon event are Toys for Tots, Helmuts of Hope, Child Abuse Council, Churches United, and the Tabernacle Baptist Church food pantry accepting donations of food, toys, and more. Other charitable organizations are slated to appear, but have not yet been announced.

The blood drive will begin at 11 a.m. and and last until 4 p.m., with other activities end at 3 p.m.

As of September 10th, the blood drive had 80 open spots. To donate, call Scott Hildebrand at 309-738-4878 or visit www.bloodcenterimpact.org and use the code 3473 to locate this blood drive. All present donors will receive a voucher for a free shirt.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi invited President Donald Trump to testify in front of investigators in the House impeachment inquiry ahead of a week that will see several key witnesses appear publicly.

Pushing back against accusations from the president that the process has been stacked against him, Pelosi said Trump is welcome to appear or answer questions in writing, if he chooses.

“If he has information that is exculpatory, that means ex, taking away, culpable, blame, then we look forward to seeing it,” she said in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Trump “could come right before the committee and talk, speak all the truth that he wants if he wants,” she said.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer echoed that suggestion.

“If Donald Trump doesn’t agree with what he’s hearing, doesn’t like what he’s hearing, he shouldn’t tweet. He should come to the committee and testify under oath. And he should allow all those around him to come to the committee and testify under oath,” Schumer told reporters. He said the White House’s insistence on blocking witnesses from cooperating begs the question: “What is he hiding?”

The comments come as the House Intelligence Committee prepares for a second week of public hearings as part of its inquiry, including with the man who is arguably the most important witness. Gordon Sondland, Trump’s ambassador to the European Union, is the only person interviewed to date who had conversations directly with the president because the White House has blocked others from cooperating with what they dismiss as a sham investigation. And testimony suggests he was intimately involved in discussions that are at the heart of the investigation into whether Trump held up U.S. military aid to Ukraine to try to pressure the county’s president to announce an investigation into Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading 2020 candidate, and his son, Hunter.

Multiple witnesses overheard a phone call in which Trump and Sondland reportedly discussed efforts to push for the investigations. In private testimony to impeachment investigators made public Saturday, Tim Morrison, a former National Security Council aide and longtime Republican defense hawk, said Sondland told him he was discussing Ukraine matters directly with Trump.

Morrison said Sondland and Trump had spoken approximately five times between July 15 and Sept. 11 — the weeks that $391 million in U.S. assistance was withheld from Ukraine before it was released.

And he recounted that Sondland told a top Ukrainian official in a meeting that the vital U.S. military assistance might be freed up if the country’s top prosecutor “would go to the mike and announce that he was opening the Burisma investigation.” Burisma is the gas company that hired Hunter Biden.

Morrison’s testimony contradicted much of what Sondland told congressional investigators during his own closed-door deposition, which the ambassador later amended.

Trump has said he has no recollection of the overheard call and has suggested he barely knew Sondland, a wealthy donor to his 2016 campaign. But Democrats are hoping he sheds new light on the discussions.

“I’m not going to try to prejudge his testimony,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said on “Fox News Sunday.” But he suggested, “it was not lost on Ambassador Sondland what happened to the president’s close associate Roger Stone for lying to Congress, to Michael Cohen for lying to Congress. My guess is that Ambassador Sondland is going to do his level best to tell the truth, because otherwise he may have a very unpleasant legal future in front of him.”

The committee will also be interviewing a long list of others. On Tuesday, they’ll hear from Morrison along with Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, Alexander Vindman, the director for European affairs at the National Security Council, and Kurt Volker, the former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine.

On Wednesday the committee will hear from Sondland in addition to Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, and David Hale, a State Department official. And on Thursday, Fiona Hill, a former top NSC staffer for Europe and Russia, will appear.

Trump, meanwhile, continued to tweet and retweet a steady stream of commentary from supporters as he bashed “The Do Nothing Dems” for “now doing even less.”

Among them was a doctored video exchange between Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic chairman of the Intelligence Committee, and Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, in which Schiff said he did not know the identity of the whistleblower whose complaint triggered the inquiry. The clip has been altered to show Schiff wearing a referee’s uniform and loudly blowing a whistle.

In her CBS interview, Pelosi vowed to protect the whistleblower, whom Trump has said should be forced to come forward despite longstanding whistleblower protections.

“I will make sure he does not intimidate the whistleblower,” Pelosi said.

Trump has been under fire for his treatment of one of the witnesses, the former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, whom Trump criticized by tweet as she was testifying last week.

That attack prompted accusations of witness intimidation from Democrats and even some criticism from Republicans, who have been largely united in their defense of Trump.

“I think, along with most people, I find the president’s tweet generally unfortunate,” said Ohio Republican Rep. Mike Turner on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Still, he insisted that tweets were “certainly not impeachable and it’s certainly not criminal. And it’s certainly not witness intimidation,” even if Yovanovitch said she felt intimidated by the attacks.

Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, said Trump “communicates in ways that sometimes I wouldn’t,” but dismissed the significance of the attacks.

“If your basis for impeachment is going to include a tweet, that shows how weak the evidence for that impeachment is,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”

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LYNDON, Illinois — Whiteside County deputies performing a welfare check at a house in Lyndon on Saturday afternoon discovered the bodies of two occupants.

According to the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office, on Saturday, Nov. 16 at about 1:35 p.m., deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 100 block of East Commercial Street in response to a call to conduct a welfare check. Deputies found the residence to be secure, but were able to spot a male subject lying in a bad from the bedroom window.

With assistance from Prophetstown police, the deputies entered the building and discovered that the figure was 78-year-old Thomas Whitney, and also found his 53-year-old wife, Dawn in the bathroom. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, but the causes were not clear.

The Whiteside County Sheriff’s and Coroner’s Offices are conducting a death investigation, with autopsies scheduled to take place within a few days.

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(CNN) — Google is about to take a big step into the video game market with a service that some have likened to a Netflix for games.

On Tuesday, Google will officially launch Stadia, a service for streaming and playing games without needing to own a hard copy or even a console. At launch, the service will support a lackluster lineup of a dozen games — with more already in the works — and a reasonable price tag.

Google will be competing with a daunting list of rivals in the industry who are betting the future of video games lies in the cloud rather than just physical hardware. Microsoft is currently testing its Project xCloud service and Amazon is rumored to be working on its own cloud gaming service. Sony recently slashed prices on its cloud gaming service, Playstation Now, ahead of Stadia’s launch.

“The technology is possible, but it requires a company like a Google to really make it a reality,” Google Stadia head Phil Harrison told CNN Business.

While Sony’s Playstation Now service, for example, only works on PC and console, Google’s supports a wider mix of platforms. Stadia works on TVs with a Chromecast Ultra dongle as well as on most computers with a Chrome browser and on newer Pixel phones. More devices are slated to be added in 2020.

People will have to buy a special subscription bundle if they want to play on Stadia this year. The $129.99 Premiere Edition will include a Stadia controller, a Chromecast dongle, three months of a Stadia streaming subscription and a free pass so a friend can also play for three months. The company is currently taking pre-orders for the Premiere Edition.

Next year, Google will release another streaming subscription option called Stadia Pro, which will cost $9.99 a month and include a rotating free game, as well as discounts for purchasing select individual titles. The company will also offer a free-to-play version of Stadia with a lower resolution.

The games available at launch include: “Red Dead Redemption 2,” “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey,” “Just Dance 2020,” and three “Tomb Raider” games.

Analysts agree that content will make or break Stadia. “Google is not in the content business, so they’re going to have to learn that part,” said Joost van Dreunen, managing director at SuperData, a Nielsen company that analyzes the video game industry.

The titles available on launch may not be particularly compelling given that “Destiny 2” is already available for free elsewhere and “Tomb Raider” originally came out in 2013. But there’s hope for Stadia on the horizon. Unreleased games such as “Marvel’s Avengers,” “Watchdogs: Legion” and “Cyberpunk 2077” have already announced support for Stadia.

Google is also making its own games through its Stadia Games and Entertainment studio. It’s headed by Jade Raymond, a Google VP who previously worked at Sony, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft. Harrison confirmed that original content could be available starting next year.

Stadia launches in 14 countries on Tuesday, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, France, and Italy. Google plans to expand it to more countries next year.

(CNN) — A massive crash sent 19 people to hospitals as thick fog and ice covered a Virginia highway on Sunday.

The crash happened around 4:30 a.m. on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 64 near the Nelson-Augusta county lines, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corrine Geller said.

“Heavy fog and icy road conditions are to blame,” Geller said.

The driver of a tractor-trailer lost control, and the semi truck filled with mail overturned, state police said.

A nearby charter bus wasn’t able to avoid the overturned semi and struck it.

“The impact of the crash split the tractor-trailer in half,” Geller said. “The bus ran off the right side of the highway and came to rest against the guardrail.”

More than 20 people were on the Silver Lining Charters & Tours bus, police said.

At least 19 people were taken to hospitals, including the bus drier, Andrew L. Burruss, and the driver of the semi truck, James Proffitt.

No fatalities were reported. The injuries of those hospitalized range from serious to minor.

At least seven minor crashes followed in the same lanes as the major crash, state police said. No one was injured in those minor crashes.

The Virginia State Police Motor Carrier Safety Team is assisting with the investigation. The US Postal Inspection Service also responded to the scene because the tractor-trailer was loaded with mail.

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