Win Route 66 Drive-in passes with MOVIE MANIA!

Route 66 100 Year Anniversary Guide

Central Illinois Community Calendar

Upcoming Events

Friday July 10th- Taylorville: An Unofficial Live Tribute
Friday, July 17th-18th- Chatham Jaycees Sweetcorn Festival

Lifestyle

6 days ago in Lifestyle

Nutrition apps can help build healthy habits. For some users, their gaming features carry risks

Green means go, red means stop. Trophies or confetti come with good performance, and people who fall behind get nudged to do better. Those brightly colored engagement tactics long ago jumped from smartphone games to everything from online shopping to sports betting and classrooms. So it should come as no surprise that many nutrition-tracking apps like MyFitnessPal and Noom also use gaming features to keep users coming back.

6 days ago in Lifestyle

How to talk about money with your kids

At the grocery store, Jamie Corum sets a two-minute timer for her 10-year-old daughter to look around. Then she resets it to 10 minutes so her daughter can choose one thing to buy, making sure she considers her budget and how much tax she'll have to pay.

1 week ago in Lifestyle

Scratching that bug bite might feel good at first but science explains why it’s a bad idea

You've likely heard it since childhood: Don't scratch that bug bite or rash, you'll make it worse. But why would something that feels so good be bad?

2 weeks ago in Lifestyle, Trending

When a rip current sucks you out to sea, try not to panic

To someone who is getting sucked out to sea by a rip current, "Don't panic!" may be difficult to heed, even if that's exactly what you should do. But lifeguards say to not only relax but flip over and float out of the danger.

2 weeks ago in Lifestyle

$75 caviar-topped tots. A day’s pay worth of beer. Here’s the World Cup menu — and prices

World Cup tickets are expensive. Flights to North America are expensive. Hotel rooms in many places are expensive. Then there's the price of beer.

3 weeks ago in Lifestyle

Why eat junk on a camping trip? Tips and recipes for nutritious food on the trail

Few things feel better than a long hike in the woods, exhausting yourself as you soak in the fresh air and tranquility. Then, back to camp, where you chip away at those health benefits with packaged hot dogs slapped into a white-bread bun with a slice of plasticky processed cheese food.

Sports

3 hours ago in Sports, Trending

UEFA says decision by FIFA to let U.S. forward play at World Cup is ‘incomprehensible’

An all-time controversy in the World Cup's 96-year history was raging Monday ahead of the co-host United States facing Belgium with a quarterfinals place at stake.

4 hours ago in Sports

England hands Mexico its first World Cup loss at Estadio Azteca, winning 3-2 to reach quarterfinals

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane carried England to the World Cup quarterfinals, overcoming a raucous crowd, the elevation of Estadio Azteca and a man disadvantage in the second half to beat Mexico in a 3-2 thriller on Sunday night.

4 days ago in Sports

Alex Ovechkin declares ‘I’m back!’ and re-signs with Capitals to return for a 22nd NHL season

Alex Ovechkin is not ready to skate away from the NHL, not yet, and now he gets a chance to make his career goal-scoring record even more difficult to break.

4 days ago in Sports

Taylor Fritz wins match and style points at Wimbledon. De Minaur also advances

A well-dressed Taylor Fritz impressed again at Wimbledon on Thursday, beating compatriot Patrick Kypson 6-2, 6-2, 7-5 to reach the third round as Princess Kate visited the All England Club.

4 days ago in Sports, Trending

U.S. beats Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 to advance to round of 16 and keep its World Cup dreams alive

Malik Tillman stepped up for a free kick with a bloody sock and a new right boot after being stepped on by an opponent as the United States scrambled to protect a one-goal lead, down a man in a World Cup knockout round.

6 days ago in Sports

Haaland scores deciding goal as Norway wins its 1st World Cup knockout game, beating Ivory Coast 2-1

Erling Haaland scored the deciding goal in the 86th minute and Norway won a knockout game at the World Cup for the first time, advancing to the round of 16 with a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast on Tuesday.

National

4 days ago in National

Couple charged with felonies for Empire State Building climb-turned-proposal

A skyscraper-scaling daredevil told police that he and his girlfriend climbed the Empire State Building's antenna and unfurled a banner about love and peace because he wanted to "do something special" for their engagement, prosecutors said Thursday at the couple's arraignment on felony reckless endangerment, burglary and other charges.

4 days ago in National

The Onion’s new parody of Alex Jones’ Infowars starts with $100,000 to Sandy Hook families

The satirical news site The Onion isn't waiting to take possession of Infowars to launch a parody of Alex Jones ' conspiracy platform. More than a year after first trying to buy Infowars, The Onion on Thursday will debut a send-up under its own website with plans to give some of the revenue to families of the victims in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

4 days ago in National

US employers pull back on hiring in June amid elevated inflation, global turmoil

U.S. employers slowed hiring last month and added only 57,000 jobs, less than half the previous month's total and a sign companies still have a cautious economic outlook.

5 days ago in National, Trending

Americans step out for their nation’s 250th in a proud moment sown with division and doubt

One of the stars of the American firmament once advised citizens of all stripes how to express their love of country. Mark Twain's long-ago words capture how Americans are stepping out this week to wish their nation a happy milestone birthday.

Local News from Capitol City Now

5 minutes ago in IL State News, Lifestyle, Local

Hottest Julys in Illinois since 1895

Fresh

Stacker compiled a ranking of the hottest Julys in Illinois since 1895 using data from the National Centers for Environmental Information

10 minutes ago in Crime, Education, IL State News, Local, National

Illinois schools grapple with AI cyberbullying, deepfakes as new law takes effect

Fresh

Illinois schools will look to new guidelines in the battle against AI cyberbullying and rapidly evolving technology. (Credit: Pix4free.org)

Educators are working to understand how best to respond to rapidly evolving technology.

1 hour ago in Crime, IL State News, Local, National

Former Sangamon County deputy Sean Grayson seeks medical release

Fresh

Grayson has served less than six months of a 20-year sentence for the murder of Sonya Massey.

2 hours ago in Business, Crime, IL State News, Local, National

Delta pilot reports a close encounter with a July Fourth firework before landing in Chicago

Fresh

The FAA said it would investigate the incident.

6 hours ago in Business, Entertainment, Health & Wellness, IL State News, Local

Turner: ‘We are prepared’ if downtown tourism or medical district expansion bills are called during veto or special sessions

State Senator Doris Turner (D-Springfield) speaks during a July 1, 2026 press conference at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Proposals to expand tourism and BOS Center, and to expand "Mid-Illinois Medical District."

Entertainment

3 hours ago in Entertainment

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce marry in front of famous friends at Madison Square Garden

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce married Friday night at Madison Square Garden, where actor Adam Sandler was the surprising officiant at a ceremony and Stevie Nicks performed among a crowd packed with stars of sports and entertainment.

3 hours ago in Entertainment

‘Minions & Monsters’ tops Fourth of July holiday box office, barely beating ‘Toy Story 5’

The Minions have taken down "Toy Story 5" at the July Fourth weekend box office, but not by much. "Minions & Monsters," the seventh film in the "Despicable Me" franchise, earned $36.4 million at the holiday weekend box office, according to studio estimates for North America.

4 hours ago in Entertainment

George Clooney to get the lifetime achievement prize from Venice Film Festival

George Clooney is returning to the Venice Film Festival this year, where he'll be honored with a lifetime achievement award. The festival's organizers said Monday that Clooney has been selected to receive the Golden Lion at the 83rd edition of the festival in September.

4 days ago in Entertainment, Trending

The best movies of 2026 so far, from ‘Project Hail Mary’ to ‘Rose of Nevada’

It's been a curiously seesawing first six months. The movies have been dominated as much by 26-year-old YouTuber-turned-filmmaker Curry Barker as they have 79-year-old Steven Spielberg.

4 days ago in Entertainment

California to institute Bruce Lee Day, a first for a Chinese American in the state’s history

Martial arts icon Bruce Lee, who was born in San Francisco, will become the first Chinese American in California history with an annual namesake day.

Upcoming Events

Lifestyle

Sports

National

Local News from Capitol City Now

Entertainment

Like us on Facebook!

What's Happening

Trending