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2 hospitalized after homes catch fire in Miami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:12:25 GMT

Two people were badly hurt after a row of homes caught fire in Miami.City of Miami firefighters battled the smoke near Northwest 63rd Street and 12th Parkway, Friday morning.According to officials, they believe a group of squatters were living in the homes.Two people were found severely burned and suffering from smoke inhalation. They were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital for treatment.The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Patriots place Marcus Jones on IR, sign Will Grier for use as emergency 3rd QB against Jets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:12:25 GMT

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Patriots have placed All-Pro punt returner Marcus Jones on injured reserve with a shoulder injury and signed Will Grier to their 53-man roster for use as their third emergency quarterback against the New York Jets, coach Bill Belichick said Friday.Grier was signed off the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad. Belichick didn’t say whether it would be a short-term or season-ending stay on IR for Jones.“It’s unfortunate. Obviously had a really good rookie year. Explosive player,” Belichick said. “He’s on IR for right now, so he’ll be out for a while.”Jones was injured in the Patriots’ loss to Miami last week. In addition to playing cornerback, he also served as New England’s punt and kick returner on special teams and appeared in some limited offensive sets.He was named a first-team AP All-Pro punt returner as a rookie in 2022, finishing second in the NFL with a 12.5 yards per return average. It included a game-winning...

States sweeten their offers to chipmakers to outdo one other

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:12:25 GMT

By Erika Bolstad, Stateline.orgHILLSBORO, Ore. — “Oregon’s been at this for decades,” the governor’s office assures potential investors in its so-called Silicon Forest. The Lone Star State’s governor calls it a “race that Texas must win for our state, our workforce, our national security, and our future.” And New York’s governor boasts on the state’s YouTube channel that it is the one to “lead America’s microchip resurgence.”Since Congress passed the $52.7 billion CHIPS Act in 2022 to encourage domestic semiconductor manufacturing design and research, states have been competing to lure chipmakers. Semiconductors, known as chips, power nearly every aspect of life, and states want the investment and high-paying engineering and fabrication jobs that come with the industry. They’re sweetening the pot with their own tax credits and other enticements to encourage chip manufacturers to expand existing factories or build new manufacturing capacity. States also are helping chipmakers find an...

Wrigley Field concessions workers authorize strike ahead of the final home weekend of the Chicago Cubs’ regular season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:12:25 GMT

About 700 concessions workers at Wrigley Field could walk off the job at any time after an “overwhelming majority” voted to authorize a strike, said their union, Unite Here Local 1.The concessions workers include bartenders, cashiers, cooks, dishwashers and other food service workers at the North Side ballpark who are employed by Chicago-based food service provider Levy. The workers are employed in stationary concessions stands and suites in the ballpark; vendors who work in the stands are not unionized with Unite Here.The strike vote comes ahead of the final home weekend of the Cubs’ regular season. The team is scheduled to play a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies this weekend, with games scheduled Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The concessions employees’ contract expired in October 2020, said Unite Here, which announced the results of the strike vote late Thursday.Some concessions workers make the city minimum wage of $15.80 an hour, the local sa...

Book bans surged across the US in 2023. Florida was the blueprint

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:12:25 GMT

The number of books banned in school districts across the U.S. reached a peak this year, a new report says, with Florida leading the way in more ways than one.The state topped the country in the number of books banned alone, representing 40% of the country’s total cases, with over 1,400 books removed from libraries in the 2022-23 school year, according to a report issued on Thursday by PEN America, a free speech advocacy group. Across the country, over 3,000 books were removed.But Florida’s influence also extends far beyond the number of books it has banned — the state’s conservative advocacy groups and legislation have helped pave the way for the rest of the country to follow suit.“Florida is not an anomaly,” said Kasey Meehan, the lead author of the report, titled “The Mounting Pressure to Censor: The Drivers Behind Book Bans,” and the Freedom to Read Program Director at PEN America. “It’s almost like an incubator.”Florida’s influenceOne common theme emerged as researchers studied...

What are residuals and how do they work? A Hollywood strike battleground, explained

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:12:25 GMT

By Brian Contreras, Los Angeles TimesIt’s not often that people get fired up over nitty-gritty financial mechanisms — but for the last 4½ months on the streets of Hollywood, that’s exactly what’s been happening.As members of the Writers Guild of America and performers union SAG-AFTRA march down picket lines and shutter studio productions, a major focus of their ire has been the system of payouts that writers and actors earn when a project they’ve worked on gets replayed.These residuals, as they’re known, are less flashy than some of the unions’ other priorities, such as artificial intelligence.Yet the importance of residuals to showbiz employees’ wallets is direct and undeniable. The checks can be comically small — getting one worth less than a dollar will earn you a drink at Studio City’s aptly named Residuals Tavern — and entertainment workers say the industry’s pivot toward streaming has made them particularly unreliable.̶...

An unforgettable debut at Wrigley Field for local Quinn Priester — with a chance to spoil Chicago Cubs’ postseason hopes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:12:25 GMT

Quinn Priester’s jog from the visitors bullpen under the right field bleachers at Wrigley Field between half innings Tuesday night required a moment to appreciate the environment.When Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton called on Priester to begin the second inning against the Cubs, the Cary native and Cary-Grove High School graduate couldn’t help but soak it in. Priester made sure he took a deep breath and looked around at the 34,202 fans in the ballpark.In his first big-league game against his favorite childhood team, Priester allowed four runs in six innings Tuesday versus the Cubs in a 14-1 loss.“You kind of forget everything that kind of goes on and being able to see the scoreboard again, the fans, and it sounds stupid, but the seventh-inning stretch, when it’s ‘Let’s Go Cubbies,’ it brings back a lot of nostalgia, a lot of memories,” Priester said before Thursday’s series finale. “So to actually be out there doin...

Patriots losing ‘explosive player’ in placing Marcus Jones on injured reserve

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:12:25 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots’ once-strong cornerback depth is dwindling.Patriots head coach Bill Belichick officially announced cornerback Marcus Jones is heading to injured reserve. The second-year pro tore his labrum in the Patriots’ Week 3 loss to the Dolphins.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots offensive line sees positive news at practice ahead of Jets game New England Patriots | Patiots new QB Will Grier will have role Week 3 vs. Jets, Bill Belichick announces New England Patriots | Why Patriots signed Will Grier for third QB spot on 53-man roster New England Patriots | Patriots mailbag: Will Demario Douglas escape Bill Belichick’s doghouse? New England Patriots | Patriots already have NFL’s next great special teamer in Brenden Schooler “Well, he’s on IR for now,” Belichick said when asked if it was a season-ending injury. “Be out for a while.&#...

Patriots offensive line sees positive news at practice ahead of Jets game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:12:25 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots’ full roster was present for practice Friday.That included rookie offensive lineman Sidy Sow, who was wearing a red non-contact jersey as he remains in concussion protocol, and new quarterback Will Grier, who was sporting No. 19.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots losing ‘explosive player’ in placing Marcus Jones on injured reserve New England Patriots | Patiots new QB Will Grier will have role Week 3 vs. Jets, Bill Belichick announces New England Patriots | Why Patriots signed Will Grier for third QB spot on 53-man roster New England Patriots | Patriots mailbag: Will Demario Douglas escape Bill Belichick’s doghouse? New England Patriots | Patriots already have NFL’s next great special teamer in Brenden Schooler Sow — the Patriots’ starting right guard in Week 1 — didn’t practice last week or play Week 2 agains...

Pope decries indifference toward migrants, as he visits multicultural port of Marseille

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:12:25 GMT

By NICOLE WINFIELD, SYLVIE CORBET, TRISHA THOMAS and MASHA MACPHERSON (Associated Press)MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Pope Francis blasted the “fanaticism of indifference” that greets migrants seeking a better life, as he arrived Friday in the French port of Marseille amid a new influx of would-be refugees from Africa that has sparked a backlash from some of Europe’s increasingly anti-migrant leaders.Opening a brief, overnight visit to the Mediterranean port, Francis presided over a silent moment of prayer at a memorial dedicated to sailors and migrants lost at sea, surrounded by Marseille’s faith leaders and migrant rescue organizations.The visit, scheduled months ago, came as Europe’s migrant dilemma is again in headlines, after the Italian island of Lampedusa was overwhelmed last week by nearly 7,000 migrants who arrived in a day, more than its resident population.“Cruelty, a lack of humanity. A terrible lack of humanity,” Francis said o...