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Politicians urge Taylor Swift to postpone LA concerts in solidarity with striking hotel workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:18 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California’s lieutenant governor and other elected officials on Tuesday urged Taylor Swift to postpone her Los Angeles concerts as a way to stand in solidarity with striking hotel workers. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and dozens of state and local politicians signed an open letter telling Swift that her tour makes the region’s hotels money, with some properties “doubling and tripling what they charge because you are coming.”Meanwhile, the letter said, many housekeepers and other hotel workers can’t afford to live close to their jobs and some sleep in their cars and risk losing their homes.“Hotel workers are fighting for their lives. They are fighting for a living wage. They have gone on strike. Now, they are asking for your support,” they wrote. “Stand with hotel workers and postpone your concerts.”Starting Thursday, Swift is scheduled to perform six sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles. Her representatives didn’t immediately respond to a...

Sao Paulo police kill 14 people in raid as they investigate the slaying of an elite officer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:18 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — The death toll from an ongoing raid in Sao Paulo state has climbed to 14, as law enforcement agents sought to strike at the people they blame for killing an elite squad officer last week. The sprawling operation has raised questions about the use of lethal force by police.Sao Paulo Gov. Tarcisio de Freitas, who on Monday had said 10 people were killed, on Tuesday announced the increased tally. News website G1 said the revised figures make the raid the most deadly in Brazil’s most populous and wealthiest state since 2006.De Freitas, a former minister of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro and deemed by many politicians as his potential heir, said he is proud of his policemen involved in the statewide raid, which is expected to finish on Aug. 28. The operation is also seeking the arrests of the killers of elite policeman Patrick Bastos Reis, who was shot dead on Thursday.“Those who decided to turn themselves in were arrested,” the governor said when asked about ...

CPD: 3 hospitalized following Lawndale shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:18 GMT

CHICAGO -- Three men have been transported to a local hospital after being shot on the South Side Tuesday night.According to the Chicago Police Department, officers responded to the 1300 block of South Springfield Avenue in the Lawndale neighborhood just after 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday.CPD reports that all three men hospitalized were shot in the leg. Two men, 31 and 32-years-old, were transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition, but a 33-year-old man remains in critical condition.No arrests have been made at this time. The investigation is ongoing. No further information has been made available.Stay with WGN-TV as this story develops.

20 tons of chocolate go up in flames when semi-truck catches fire in California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:18 GMT

(KTXL) -- A semi-truck carrying 40,000 pounds of chocolate went up in flames on Monday morning in Northern California's Placer County, according to CAL FIRE Nevada-Yuba-Placer. At around 4:30 a.m., crews responded to the area of Interstate 80 and Highway 174 near Colfax for reports of a commercial vehicle fire.When crews arrived on scene they found a fully involved fire in the trailer of the semi-truck and were able to keep the flames from spreading into the surrounding forestland. ‘Scared to stop’: Google Maps car leads Indiana police on 100-mph chase, crashes into creek Footage from KCRA showed large heaps of chocolate melting in the heat, dripping off the wreckage of the vehicle and rocks along the side of the road.Such fires can be especially tough to extinguish, according to Danish transport company DSV. "Chocolate, or more so cocoa, is highly flammable. If it catches fire, the blaze is difficult to extinguish since cocoa powder contains 10 to 20 percent fat and has a huge s...

Powder Keg Pine Fire in Bastrop estimated at 100 acres, 40% contained

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:18 GMT

BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) — First responders said they're working Tuesday afternoon to evacuate homes as a "precautionary measure" because of a wildfire burning near Bastrop State Park. The fire, which is now called the Powder Keg Pine Fire, is estimated at 100 acres and is 40% contained as of 8 p.m., according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.Additionally, the Austin Fire Department said it and other Travis County ESDs sent multiple units as mutual aid to to the fire.Smoke seen from Bastrop County fire Aug. 1, 2023. (KXAN ReportIt photo)Smoke from Bastrop wildfire Aug. 1, 2023 (KXAN ReportIt Photo)Smoke from a Bastrop fire Aug. 1, 2023 (Courtesy Morgan Hay)Smoke from a Bastrop fire Aug. 1, 2023 (Courtesy Morgan Hay)First responders said the houses affected by the evacuations are located between Harmon Road and Pine Hill Loop in Bastrop. It's unclear how many homes are impacted at this time. Neighbors are advised to contact the county hotline at (512) 303-4300 for more information. I...

Report: Airbnb helps drive tourism in areas without hotels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:18 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) --- Tourism is coming to places in Austin where there aren't any hotels, according to a report by Airbnb.The report said Austin neighborhoods without hotels had more than 470,000 guests and made more than $130 million in host earnings in 2022."Airbnb guests visiting these areas without hotels, they bring their tourism dollars. So they're visiting the local bakery, they're visiting the local shop, they're going to bars and restaurants and spending their money in these business," said Airbnb Communications Lead Sam Randall.Trending Austin neighborhoods:Robinson RanchDel Valle EastGeorgian AcresPromoting local businessesJoe Arenella said his East Austin neighborhood is full of Airbnb listings. A host himself, Arenella said he makes it a point to promote local businesses by providing guests with a long list of places to visit in the area. "All the local restaurants, food trailers, and bars, obviously, and breweries," Arenella said. "People spend their four day weekend just...

In a twist, first-place Twins stand pat on trade deadline day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:18 GMT

ST. LOUIS — This is the group. Now, go prove yourselves.That was the message the Twins’ front office delivered on Tuesday by making no moves ahead of the 5 p.m. trade deadline, a surprising development for the first-place team. The trade deadline was plenty busy, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said, but the Twins did not find a match, standing pat on deadline day.They did make one move before the deadline, sending reliever Jorge López to Miami last Wednesday for fellow reliever Dylan Floro, but they didn’t make any other moves to supplement the bullpen, nor to add a right-handed bat to the lineup.“There were a lot of players we talked about that were not moved during this deadline that were part of the conversation that we felt might be fits for us,” Falvey said. “But ultimately we landed where we did because there wasn’t something that crossed the bar in terms of what we were looking for.”Falvey noted a number of teams that they had been speaking with opted not to tr...

Fargo-Moorhead girl, 13, dies in apparent drowning near Bemidji

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:18 GMT

A 13-year-old girl from the Fargo-Moorhead area was pronounced dead after her body was found in Lake Julia near Bemidji following a search on Sunday evening.According to a release from Beltrami County Chief Deputy Jarrett Walton, at 5:02 p.m. Sunday, dispatchers received a report of a missing 13-year-old girl who had been swimming in Lake Julia, approximately 10 miles north of Bemidji.Law enforcement learned that the girl was from the Fargo-Moorhead area but was in the area visiting friends, the release said. Friends attempted to locate the girl, who had been swimming off a pontoon, but were unsuccessful and requested assistance from emergency responders.Upon arrival, first responders learned that the girl had removed her personal flotation device and was on the ladder of the pontoon before she went under the water and did not resurface, the release said.Deputies were assisted by other bystander boaters until additional law enforcement and fire resources arrived equipped with underw...

Former Albany bishop marries in civil ceremony

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:18 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Howard Hubbard, the former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, has gotten married. In a letter, Hubbard said he fell in love with a woman, and they decided to marry in a civil ceremony in July. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Hubbard fully retired from the diocese in 2022. He asked the Vatican to relieve him of his clerical obligations but that request was denied. He was told to wait until all the sexual abuse civil lawsuits were over. Hubbard was accused in some of those lawsuits.The Albany Diocese said it does not acknowledge Hubbard's marriage as valid because he remains a retired bishop of the Roman Catholic Church.

End of an era: Cardinals trade Jack Flaherty to Baltimore in deadline buzzer beater

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:18 GMT

ST. LOUIS - After seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals and nearly a decade in the organization, starting pitcher Jack Flaherty is on the move. The Cardinals agreed to a last-minute deadline-day deal that sends the 27-year-old to the Baltimore Orioles for three prospects. The deal came shortly before the 5 p.m. trade deadline. In return, the Cardinals received infielder César Prieto, right-handed pitcher Zack Showalter, and left-handed pitcher Drew Rom. MLB Pipeline ranks the trio respectively as the ninth, 23rd and 26th best in the organization. The Flaherty deal capped a frenzy of Cardinals trades over the last few days. the Cardinals dove into the seller's market by trading pitchers Jordan Montgomery, Chris Stratton and Jordan Hicks in two separate deals. All three, like Flaherty, were pending free agents. The Cardinals also traded shortstop Paul DeJong to the Blue Jays earlier Tuesday."We knew there was still some potential to trade a few more players," said Cardinals Presi...