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According to Mastercard, curbside pickup and delivery fueled online sales, while in-store shopping rose 2.9%. The 2024 holiday season proved fruitful for U. S. retailers, with total retail sales (excluding automotive) increasing 3.8% year-over-year, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse.

The Clarendon Hills 55th Street Tax Increment Financing district has been approved by the Village Board after being scaled back in response to objections from affected school districts. As originally proposed, the new Clarendon Hills TIF District was generally located along the north and south sides of 55th Street, between Western Avenue to the west and Holmes Avenue to the east, and also includes certain parcels on the east and west sides of Western Avenue and Bentley Avenues, and the west side of Virginia and Clarendon Hills Avenues, all south of 55th Street.

Thursday is an official day of mourning in Azerbaijan as an investigation is underway to determine what caused an airplane carrying 67 passengers to crash on Christmas Day in Kazakhstan, killing 38 and leaving at least 29 survivors. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Video posted by CNN shows the plane crash-landing, exploding into a fireball and plumes of black smoke. Here’s what to know about the devastating accident and the latest on the possible causes.

Americans still dreaming of a really big Christmas present can keep that dream alive during Friday’s Mega Millions drawing for a jackpot worth an estimated $1.15 billion. Friday’s jackpot will potentially be the fifth largest in the game’s history. Mega Millions tickets are $2 a piece. But the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302,575,350, and the odds of winning any Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24, according to lottery officials.

From phishing schemes to fake tokens, crypto scams are evolving -- here's how to protect yourself.