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New approach to treating esophagus cancer eases recovery

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:00 GMT

A major surgery has gotten a reboot. There is a new approach to treating cancer of the esophagus.It’s a procedure similar to open heart surgery but can be even more grueling. Patients with esophageal cancer often face a long hospitalization and require a feeding tube for weeks. In fact, one man turned down the traditional treatment and was willing to accept his fate — until a robot intervened. Dr Samuel Kim describes a traditional esophagectomy as “one of the biggest surgeries there is.”“People stay in hospital about 13 days after this operation,” he said.But that’s not the case with a robotic approach.“The way we’re doing the operation, we’re able to reduce that to a stay no more than two or three days,” Kim said.The option changed Rudy Bland’s fate.“The Lord or somebody brought us here,” he said. “Probably 8-10 years ago I was diagnosed with Barrett’s of the esophagus.” MedWatch Daily Digest: The impact of chemotherapy on the gut — and more That meant routine upper GI and c...

APD identifies motorcyclist in deadly west Austin crash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Tuesday, the Austin Police Department identified the motorcyclist who died in a motorcycle-vehicle crash in west Austin over the weekend, according to an APD news release.At approximately 12:15 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to the crash between the motorcycle and an SUV driver in the 4900 block of FM 2222 Road, according to police. 1 dead following motorcycle collision in west Austin The motorcyclist, Denis Joe Watkins, died on the scene, police said. The SUV driver remained on the scene, was not impaired and cooperated with the investigation, the release said.This incident is being investigated as Austin's 53rd fatal crash of 2023, which resulted in 53 fatalities for the year, according to police. MAP: Where have Austin’s fatal crashes occurred in 2023? Anyone with any information should contact APD's Vehicular Homicide unit at (512) 974-8111. You may submit your tip anonymously through the Capital Area Crime Stoppers Program by visiting austincrimestopp...

Latest storm brings more flood damage across the Capital Region

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:00 GMT

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) — It’s just what they didn’t want to see in Saratoga County, more rain. Leslie Morlock from the Saratoga National Historical Park said previous downpours had already damaged hiking trails and roads around Saratoga National Historical Park. Now today’s storm.“And as a result of that and the heavy rains, and the water moving through the area, and converging on this area, water flowed down our entrance road here and crossed over,” Morlock said. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The flooding caused damage to the park’s eastern entrance at Route 4 and numerous locations around the park. Park officials are still evaluating the damages but expect the cost of repairs to be hundreds of thousands of dollars and take months to complete.“So we will need to bring in engineers and have a safe design,” Murlock said. “This all before we can allow traffic to come through this area.”In Guilderland, one family’s ba...

Roadside murder video reveals citizen’s heroism

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:00 GMT

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - An East St. Louis man was sentenced Tuesday for striking his girlfriend with his truck and killing her earlier this year. A Madison County jury convicted Richard Mayor in June of first-degree murder in the death of Lisa Dunnavant-Polach. The two had been in a relationship, but got into a dispute prior to the murder.“This was a cowardly yet cruel act by a criminal who has no regard for others,” Madison County State's Attorney Thomas Haine said. “To this day, (Mayor) refuses to take responsibility for his actions.”A Madison County Circuit Court judge imposed a 60-year sentence against the defendant. Mayor will be required to serve the entire term, effectively making it a life sentence.Dunnavant-Polach was killed on Feb. 21, along Illinois 111, in the area north of Interstate 270 near Bel Air Drive. She had been running on foot and attempting to evade Mayor, who was driving a Ford F-150.  Clerk shot and killed at St. Louis City gas station Two good Samaritan...

Vandals damage O'Fallon, Illinois family's window, pool

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:00 GMT

O'FALLON, Ill. - Vandals in O’Fallon, Illinois turned a crystal-clear swimming pool into a dark, oily mess.Police said the damage is in the tens of thousands of dollars.The victims are terrorized, saying there’s something even scarier than the oily pool.It happened at about 4:30 a.m. Sunday. The Gibson family was sleeping and then startled by the sound of breaking glass. After quietly dousing the pool with used motor oil, vandals picked up landscaping bricks from Gibson’s yard and chucked at the windows of their house.“It sounded honestly like a gunshot coming through the windows,” said Suzanne Gibson. Clerk shot and killed at St. Louis City gas station She has a 13-year-old son and a 9-year-old daughter with her husband.One of the large bricks crashed through a bedroom window. Thankfully, no one was sleeping there at the time. Gibson said they could have killed.Her husband immediately looked around the house to see what happened and eventually noticed something dark on the concre...

Parkway West community honors 18-year-old killed in motorcycle crash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:00 GMT

BALLWIN, Mo. - The Parkway West community paid tribute to a recent graduate, 18-year-old Jaydon Woodall, who tragically died on Interstate 270 Monday night."A lot of people like to say, it could be any one of us, but today it was one of us,” said Donteaus Moore, a former football teammate.At 7:30 p.m., Woodall was riding his motorcycle in the southbound lanes of I-270 near Ladue Road. He tried to change lanes at a high speed and struck the back of another car. The impact catapulted him off his motorcycle. He died Tuesday morning at the hospital.Friends, teammates, and community members attend a vigil held at the football field, where he became a rising star."The nicest kid I've ever known. He always had a smile on him. He had the whitest teeth I've ever seen," said Brody Barnhart, a close friend of Woodall. "His laugh was contagious when he laughed, you wanted to laugh with him." Clerk shot and killed at St. Louis City gas station "He's a big part of the team and the school, he ma...

Task Force formed following deadly Amazon warehouse collapse meets for first time

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:00 GMT

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois Warehouse Safety Standards Task Force was formed earlier this year. It was created in response to the deadly tornado that killed six people in December 2021 at an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville.On Dec. 11, 2021, Carla Cope’s family was changed forever. Her son, Clayton, was one of six people killed when an EF-3 tornado struck the 650,000 square-foot building. On Tuesday, Carla addressed the Illinois Warehouse Safety Standards Task Force during its first meeting on the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville campus.“I hope our participation is helpful to the task force. We’d like to stay involved as much as we can to help things move forward,” she said. “It’s very important for us after losing our son that no one else loses theirs.”The task force includes members from labor unions, organizations representing warehouse workers, manufacturers, retail merchants and local and state politicians. Among them, Illinois State Representative Katie Stuart.“...

Community Advisory Group discuss cleanup efforts and next step for Westlake landfill

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:00 GMT

BRIDGETON, Mo. - The Westlake Community Advisory Group held a meeting in Bridgeton to discuss the cleanup process and answer questions."There are documents that show that there were spills; there are documents that show that this waste wasn’t cleaned up properly," said Karen Nickel, chair of the Westlake Community Advisory Group. "There are ongoing documents; there are documents that go back to 1949."People expressed their anger at Tuesday's meeting with the group and asked questions of the elected officials attended. Neighbor recalls moment house exploded in St. Charles "We want guarantees that the Department of Energy will pay for all of this, and we want some kind of health monitoring screenings, treatment, compensation for all of those who were exposed and hurt," Nickel said.Officials with the group said there is one other piece of legislation that is similar to Westlake, which is in Fernald, Ohio, where residents who were living near a nuclear weapons site received compensati...

Rockies relievers humble Astros in 4-3 victory at Coors Field

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:00 GMT

It’s been said that necessity is the mother of invention. You can ask the Rockies about that.With their starting rotation racked by injuries, the Rockies were forced to use a bullpen game Tuesday night at Coors Field. A sextet of relievers blanked the Astros for eight innings in Colorado’s 4-3 victory.The six: Tommy Doyle, lefty Fernando Abad, Gavin Hollowell, Pierce Johnson, Daniel Bard and closer Justin Lawrence. Lawrence set the Astros down in order in the ninth for his sixth save.Colorado snapped a four-game losing streak to the Astros, who had won eight of the last 10 games entering Tuesday night.Rookie shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who’s proven worthy of all of the preseason hype, drove in the winning run with a two-out triple off the center-field wall. Tovar drove in C.J. Cron, who reached first when Houston starter Hunter Brown plunked him to open the inning.Colorado is on a nice roll. It has won three of four games since the All-Star breaking, having taken two...

City investigating after trees cut near Universal property on strike day

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:35:00 GMT

The Los Angeles City Controller's Office is investigating after several trees were cut near Universal Studios property on a day when writers, actors and other film industry union workers were set to picket during ongoing labor disputes.The trees were apparently cut some time over the weekend ahead of Monday's renewed picket lines near Universal property, igniting concerns and theories about whether or not the trees were cut intentionally in an attempt to discourage protests during 90-degree heat.The City of Los Angeles is investigating after trees were cut near Universal Studios property on the weekend of July 15, 2023. (Los Angeles City Controller's Office)On Tuesday, Kenneth Mejia, the Los Angeles City Controller, announced that his office would be investigating the cutting of the trees.The trees are managed by the city, Mejia said, and are "essential to providing Angelenos with significant environmental and public health benefits, especially during a heatwave."The city's public w...