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Business confidence remains flat in June as employers still can’t fill jobs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

After turning pessimistic for the first time in years in May, confidence among the state’s employers stayed mostly flat in June, reflecting continued concern over inflation and ongoing struggles finding people to fill empty jobs.According to the monthly Business Confidence Index published by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, business owners’ confidence rose just one-tenth of a point, from 49.6% to 49.7%.“Business confidence remained flat during June amid a resilient economy, stubborn inflation, a pause by the Federal Reserve and a shortage of workers across almost every industry,” the association said with the release of their index.In May, employers reported their faith in the economy had slipped to its lowest level since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. This month’s essentially flat survey indicates that while the economy continues to stave off a recession, employers are worried a recent pause in interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve will soon end and yet higher...

Padres to play in first-ever MLB games in Korea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Padres will kick off their 2024 regular season in South Korea, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday.The Padres will face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Seoul, South Korea on March 20 and 21 as part of the MLB World Tour. The games will mark the first-ever MLB games to be played in Korea.Earlier this season, the Padres played international baseball in a two-game series against the San Francisco Giants in Mexico City in April. The Padres won both games. Padres nab 18 players in 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft MLB plans to expand their international dates for the 2024 season. In addition to the South Korea series, there will be regular season games played in London and a return to Mexico City, the MLB Players Association said in a news release. A Spring Training series between the Boston Red Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays will also take place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on March 9 and 10.Both the Padres and Dodgers have a long tradition of...

Sheriff asks court to send suspect in deputy’s strangulation death to Indiana prison system

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Marion County sheriff filed court papers Wednesday requesting that a man accused of killing a deputy in a transport van be transferred to the custody of the Indiana Department of Correction.Sheriff Kerry Forestal said in court documents that Orlando Mitchell poses a “risk of serious bodily injury or death to others,” news outlets reported.A telephone message seeking comment on Forestal’s request was left Wednesday for an attorney representing Mitchell.Authorities say Mitchell, 34, used his handcuff chain to strangle Deputy John Durm, 61, in the van Monday after returning from a hospital visit to the Criminal Justice Center on Indianapolis’ east side. Mitchell then found Durm’s handcuff key, unlocked himself and drove the van a short distance from the detention center before crashing into a wooden pole, authorities said. Other deputies then returned him to custody.He has not been charged in Durm’s death, and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office ha...

Vice President Kamala Harris makes history with tiebreaking votes in Senate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris, who made history as the first woman or person of color to serve as vice president, made history again Wednesday as she matched the record for most tiebreaking votes in the U.S. Senate. The vote, her 31st, advanced the nomination of Kalpana Kotagal to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The only other vice president to cast so many was John C. Calhoun, who served as vice president from 1825 to 1832.“It is a moment and I think that there’s still so much left that we have yet to do,” Harris told reporters afterwards.“My mother gave me great advice, which is that I may be the first to do many things,” she added. “I’m going to make sure I’m not the last.”Unlike Calhoun, who spent eight years accumulating his total, Harris tied the record in two and a half years. It’s a reflection of her unique circumstances, with a narrowly divided Senate and a sharply partisan atmosphere.“It really says more about our time, and our political cl...

Lawsuit by Buffalo supermarket shooting victims pins blame on Facebook, Amazon and other tech giants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Tech and social media giants like Facebook, Amazon and Google bear responsibility for radicalizing the Buffalo supermarket shooter, who was fueled by racist conspiracy theories he encountered online, the victim’s relatives said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday.“They were the conspirators, even if they don’t want to admit it,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump said at a news conference announcing a 171-page lawsuit, which seeks unspecified financial damages as well as changes in how the companies operate. The suit names several online platforms including Facebook’s parent company Meta, Instagram, Google, Discord and Amazon — which owns Twitch, the livestreaming platform the shooter used to broadcast last year’s shooting. The suit also names RMA Armament, the maker of the gunman’s body armor, as well as the firearms retailers that sold him weapons.Ten Black people were killed and three others were wounded in May 2022 when Payton Gendron opened fire at ...

‘A puddle of emotions’: Sheryl Lee Ralph, Sarah Snook, Jessica Chastain react to Emmy nominations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

Reactions from select nominees for the 2023 Emmy Awards.SHERYL LEE RALPH“I am a puddle of emotions! It is just absolutely crazy. It, I mean, I am living one spectacular year. … In all honesty, it could never ever be about me trying to beat that moment (of last year’s ceremony, when Ralph won her Emmy and stole the show, singing much of her speech). Maybe they’ll ask me to host it! That moment was something. as all of my friends say that’s something you worked for Sheryl. That’s something you waited for and you received the gift, now, just sit back and be lovely and I’m gonna just sit back and be lovely! And so thankful to everybody who thought that it should be me … for me to be in a space where that is happening for me after all of these years, I’m just so happy. I am SO happy.” — Ralph, who’s nominated for best supporting actress in a comedy for ABC’s “Abbott Elementary.” JESSICA CHASTAIN“It’s incredible … the thing that was th...

Tornado Warning issued for DuPage County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

UPDATE: The National Weather Services in Chicago has issued a Tornado Warning for DuPage County until 6 p.m. on Wednesday.Latest warnings and watches from the National Weather Service.CHICAGO — A Tornado Watch is in effect for the Chicago area as heavy rain and storms move through the region Wednesday.A Tornado Watch has been issued for Cook, De Kalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, La Salle, McHenry and Will counties in Illinois until 10 p.m. In Northwest Indiana, Jasper, Lake, Newton and Porter counties are under a Tornado Watch until 10 p.m.A Flood Watch is in place until 7 p.m. for Cook County, DuPage County, Will County and some parts of Northwest Indiana. There is a slight risk of severe weather. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly cloudy conditions with heavy rain showers expected throughout the day. High temperature of 76 degrees and 73 degrees lakeside. Low of 66 degrees tonight.Thunderstorms will push eastward and waves of storms racing throu...

'A culture of small, racist jokes': former NU player details experience in football program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — Another former Northwestern University football player spoke to WGN Wednesday co-signing some of the allegations shared by other former players of the program."Certain family members reached out to me, called me and actually apologized to me," the player said, who asked to remain anonymous. "They said, 'hey, we're really sorry that we didn't listen to you and how you voiced your complaints on your experience at Northwestern."That former Northwestern football player played at the university from 2005-10 and is one of several former players WGN has spoken to since the hazing scandal involving the football team went public last week. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: NU football players release statement, student newspaper details hazing allegations made against team Former players have disclosed racism and sexually-inappropriate acts that were a part of the team's culture when they played. An initial whistleblower brought the allegations to light, which led to an investigation int...

Illinois Republicans call for overhaul of state-run developmental facility

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

Republicans in Springfield are calling for an overhaul at a state-run developmental facility amidst continued issues that include staff misconduct and patient abuse.On Wednesday, GOP state lawmakers accused the Pritzker administration of not meeting the needs of the state's most vulnerable. Secretary of State’s office launches updated website "Time and time again we've seen this administration fail to fully prioritize our developmentally disabled community," State Sen. Terri Bryant said.There are allegations of abuse and neglect at the Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Southern Illinois.A ProPublica, Lee Enterprises and Capitol News Illinois investigation found people living with developmental disabilities at state institutions, like Choate, have been punched, slapped, hosed down, thrown about and dragged across rooms.They also reported the facilities are short-staffed and at times, chaotic and dangerous. Chicagoland residents asked to limit water usage Illinois D...

Mother fights for food allergy law after son dies eating at Texas restaurant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:25 GMT

HARLINGEN, Texas (KVEO/KGBT) — After nearly a decade of pushing for food allergy awareness, a grieving mother's hard work paid off as a new law goes into effect in Texas this year.In 2014, Sergio Alexander Lopez died after ingesting peanut butter at a restaurant in McAllen, Texas. Before eating, Lopez checked with employees whether it was safe. Lopez, who was 24, was on his lunch break with a friend when he ordered a veggie taco. He asked if the order had peanuts and was told no. Lopez received the ordered and asked again, and was told no a second time, his mother recalled.(Courtesy: Belinda Vaca)He took the order to-go and began eating the food in front of the music academy he worked at when he felt a tingling sensation."So, he called [the restaurant,] it's on his telephone. He spoke to them for a minute and a half, and they again told him 'It's just spices,'" Vaca said.Lopez continued eating the taco and made his way to work. That's when he was seen grabbing his throat, saying "th...