Hometown Register

(MEDFORD, MA) When António Guterres steps down as United Nations secretary-general at the end of 2026, he will leave his successor with plenty to do. Many challenges will remain, including the animosity among members and myriad global challenges, from ongoing wars and economic shocks to the worsening effects of climate change. But the next U.N. chief faces the additional woes of an international body starved of cash and at odds with its most powerful member: the United States.

(The Center Square) – A day after launching a new political action committee to support Democratic Party candidates around the country, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker joined Texas Democrats at an event in Dallas on Wednesday. Pritzker spoke just hours before Republicans opened a two-night convention in Dallas and said the GOP is clinically deranged and out of touch. “And of course, we have Donald Trump himself, a president suffering from dementia,” Pritzker said.

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — NorthWestern Energy announced a rescheduled overnight power outage in central Great Falls that is now set for midnight to 5 a.m. Sept. 16. The outage will affect some customers in the area generally north of 10th Avenue South to 3rd Avenue South and west of 16th Street South to 3rd Street South. NorthWestern Energy said affected customers will get an automated phone call before the outage. Crews will replace substation equipment that was nearing the end of its useful life.

As the NFL season opens, the “grass vs. turf” debate is heated this year, especially after the World Cup required seven stadiums to replace their artificial turf with real grass for a few weeks of soccer matches this summer. For NFL players, the issue is safety. “The cost of doing nothing is paid for by players’ bodies,” Green Bay Packers linebacker Zaire Franklin posted on X. “Make grass mandatory.

(The Center Square) - A lawsuit over the admission of a transgender woman into a University of Wyoming sorority will start with opening arguments Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Denver.

(The Center Square) — Both of Pennsylvania’s senators made an appearance at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday. Even though one is a Democrat. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, elected on a progressive platform in 2022, has spent the last year growing publicly closer to fellow commonwealth Sen. Dave McCormick, one of many Republicans swept into office along with President Donald Trump in 2024.

BLOOMINGTON — Sara L. Simpson, 78, of Bloomington and formerly of Mt. Carmel,  passed away at 9:20 p.m. Thursday, September 3, 2026, at Carle BroMenn Medical Center, Normal. There will be two services for Sara. The first service will be 2 p.m. Sunday, September 13, 2026, at the Vrooman Mansion 701 E Taylor St, Bloomington, IL 61701. Tina Kohn will be officiating. There will be a visitation from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, at the Vrooman Mansion. The second service will be 1 p.m. Monday, Sept.

(The Center Square) – There is no single "data center effect" on local housing markets, a new report from the National Association of Realtors finds, complicating the pitch that welcoming the facilities is a sure economic win. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Aug.

(The Center Square) – According to numbers from the national firm J. David Tax Law, federal income tax burdens have grown dramatically across the country – with California in fifth place nationally. That law firm’s study shows that Massachusetts, Washington state, Minnesota and Nebraska’s federal tax burden has increased the most dramatically per filer between 2021 and 2025.

(The Center Square) – A powerful U.S. House committee is advancing an ongoing investigation into surveillance pricing, where companies will use consumer data to secretly charge some customers higher prices than others for the same product or service. Major corporations – including Amazon, Walmart, Lyft and Target – currently buy or directly harvest consumer behavioral data.