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Illinois governor signs measure requiring paid leave for workers beginning Jan. 1

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

Hank Sanders | (TNS) Chicago TribuneGov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday signed into law a bill that mandates paid leave for Illinois workers.The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, grants employees of businesses of any size one hour of paid leave for every 40 hours worked up to a maximum of 40 total paid hours per year.“Today, we will become the third state in the nation to require paid time off and the first among the largest states,” Pritzker said during a signing ceremony in the Loop. “I’m exceptionally proud that labor and business came together to recognize the value of this requirement to employees and employers alike.”Pritzker’s office said this bill will provide “approximately 1.5 million workers” paid time off once it takes effect in 2024.Pritzker was joined by several lawmakers who worked to pass bill, which was approved by both legislative chambers on the last day of the lame-duck session in January. Some told personal stories about having to miss work to take care of a family membe...

Ticker: Meta slashes another 10,000 jobs; Catholic system drops hospital merger  

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

Facebook parent Meta is slashing 10,000 jobs, about as many as the social media company announced late last year in its first round of cuts, as uncertainly about the global economy hits the technology sector particularly hard.The company announced 11,000 job cuts in November, about 13% of its workforce at the time. In addition to the layoffs, Meta said Tuesday that it would not fill 5,000 open positions.“This will be tough and there’s no way around that,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg.Catholic system drops hospital mergerA Catholic-run health care system has withdrawn its application to affiliate with Day Kimball Healthcare, an independent, financially struggling hospital and health care system in northeastern Connecticut.Covenant Health’s decision to terminate its agreement with Day Kimball in Putnam comes weeks before the state’s Office of Health Strategy was scheduled to hold a public hearing on the planned merger.“As part of our due diligence as we prepared for the ...

Dolphins Deep Dive: Jalen Ramsey trade a good start to free agency for Miami

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

The South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Chris Perkins and Dave Hyde discuss the Dolphins’ start to free agency, signing CB Jalen Ramsey, QB Mike White and ILB David Long. ()

Giants acquire Raiders tight end Darren Waller for third-round pick

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

The Giants made a blockbuster trade for a big-time receiver on Tuesday. And he’s a tight end.Darren Waller is now a Giant.GM Joe Schoen acquired the Las Vegas Raiders tight end in exchange for a third-round pick, No. 100 overall.It’s the same pick the Giants acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs in their trade of Kadarius Toney to the eventual Super Bowl champions last fall.So Schoen flipped a talented and disgruntled former first-round pick of the Giants’ previous regime in exchange for one of the NFL’s best receiving tight ends — when he’s healthy.The caveat is that Waller, 30, has not been healthy lately.He played in only 20 of the Raiders’ 34 regular season games the past two seasons, including a stint on injured reserve with a right hamstring strain.That makes this an uncharacteristic move by Schoen, who prioritizes availability and durability.The upside with the 6-foot-6, 255-pound tight end, though, is tantalizing.“He’s a m...

Biden to sign executive order to increase background checks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday while in Monterey Park, California, that senior administration officials say aims to increase the number of background checks before gun purchases.The Biden administration says with the executive order, the president is directing the attorney general to push the U.S. as close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation by clarifying the statutory definition of who is “engaged in the business” of dealing guns.The executive order also moves to improve public awareness and encourage the effective use of “red flag” laws. According to the Biden administration, 19 states and the District of Columbia have enacted “red flag” laws that allow trusted community members to petition a court to determine whether someone is dangerous and then remove their access to firearms for a certain amount of time. Biden announces nuclear-powered submarines for Australia Biden is slated to announc...

Where to get Pi Day deals around San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Pie lovers and math lovers, rejoice -- today is your day.Tuesday is National Pi Day and pizza (pie) spots around San Diego are joining in on the festivities by offering deals to celebrate.Pi Day celebrates the mathematical constant π or pi — the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter — on a date appropriately abbreviated 3/14. San Diego pizzeria lands on Yelp list of ‘Top 100 Places for Pizza’ in the US Locally and nationally, pizza restaurants and pie shops join in on the festivities, offering discounts and sometimes even free slices.Below are some restaurants and stores with locations in the San Diego are that have announced they are offering Pi Day deals:San Diego Chicken Pie Shop: Chicken pies for $3.14 for to-go orders.7-Eleven: Any whole pizza for $3.14 for 7Rewards members. Limit two per customer.Blaze Pizza: One Build Your Own 11-inch pizza for $3.14 when you download the Blaze app and join Blaze Rewards.California Pizza Kitchen: One 7-inch pizza for...

Carleton Ravens win dual basketball titles for the first time in almost 40 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

It’s taken almost 40 years, but there are dual basketball titles once again at a Canadian university.Over the weekend, the Carleton Ravens won both the men’s and women’s basketball titles, the first time the same university has won both in the same season since 1985.Jacquline Urban, a guard from Ancaster, Ont., said winning the championship felt surreal.“It was a crazy feeling, the adrenaline. You want to run, jump, hug, and scream; just let everything out. It was awesome,” said Urban.The women’s team beat the Queen’s Gaels 71-59 to capture their second title. Their first championship came in 1985. Urban said she and her teammates were lucky enough to have friends and family in the crowd at the game.“My dad was my first basketball coach ever. And right when it went out, the buzzer went off after we had the team. I just went to him, hugged him, and cried a little bit. He cried, and he was just he was so proud of me. And then, of course,...

Nebraska lawmaker 3 weeks into filibuster over trans bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — It was a mundane, unanimously supported bill on liquor taxation that saw state Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh take to the mic on the Nebraska Legislature floor last week. She offered her support, then spent the next three days discussing everything but the bill, including her favorite Girl Scout cookies, Omaha’s best doughnuts and the plot of the animated movie “Madagascar.”She also spent that time railing against an unrelated bill that would outlaw gender-affirming therapies for those 18 and younger. It was the advancement of that bill out of committee that led Cavanaugh to promise three weeks ago to filibuster every bill that comes before the Legislature this year — even the ones she supports.“If this Legislature collectively decides that legislating hate against children is our priority, then I am going to make it painful — painful for everyone,” the Omaha married mother of three said. “I will burn the session to the ground over this bill.”True to her word, Ca...

Iditarod co-founder’s grandson Ryan Redington wins dog race

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Ryan Redington on Tuesday won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, bringing his six dogs off the Bering Sea ice to the finish line on Nome’s main street.Redington, 40, is the grandson of Joe Redington Sr., known as the “Father of the Iditarod.” He helped co-found the arduous race across Alaska that was first held in 1973.“My grandpa, dad and Uncle Joee are all in the Mushing Hall of Fame. I got big footsteps to follow,” Ryan Redington wrote in his race biography. He previously won the Junior Iditarod in 1999 and 2000. His father, Raymie, is a 10-time Iditarod finisher.Redington, who is Inupiat, becomes the sixth Alaska Native musher to win the world’s most famous sled dog race. The nearly 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) race started March 5 in Willow for 33 mushers, who traveled over two mountain ranges, the frozen Yukon River and on the Bering Sea ice. Since then, three mushers have scratched. A fan-friendly ceremonial start was held in Anchorage the day before.I...

Quebec man charged with dangerous driving causing deaths of two pedestrians

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

AMQUI, Que. — The driver of a pickup truck that killed two people and injured nine others in the Quebec town of Amqui was charged with dangerous driving causing death on Tuesday, after police said he drove into pedestrians chosen at random, including children.A small group of residents showed up to boo and heckle as 38-year-old Steeve Gagnon was led in handcuffs into the courthouse in Amqui, about 350 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.Gagnon — a slim, bearded man wearing glasses and a grey T-shirt — did not speak in court. His lawyer, Hugo Caissy, said his client understood the two charges against him and asked the judge to waive the requirement that a bail hearing be held within three days.Crown prosecutor Simon Blanchette said more charges would undoubtedly follow once all the evidence is gathered.“The police investigation isn’t finished at the moment, and there’s a large number of witnesses who still need to be met, more information that needs to be collected,” he t...