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Hurricane preparedness open house held in Fort Lauderdale

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:36 GMT

A South Florida community took steps to become hurricane ready weeks before the start of the season.People in Broward County were invited to learn how to prepare their families, pets and property at a hurricane preparedness open house, Saturday.Several agencies and organizations that provide services to the community took part in the event held at the African American Research Library and Cultural Center in Fort Lauderdale.They provided information so people are aware of the resources available.“It’s very important. As you see, in light of the recent flooding events, being prepared is not just during hurricane season, but it’s year round,” said Nixsa Serrano with the Broward County Emergency Management Division.The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1.

Crews put out grill fire at Palmetto Bay home; no injuries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:36 GMT

PALMETTO BAY, Fla. (WSVN) — Firefighters put out a grill fire that sparked at a Palmetto Bay home.Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the blaze in the area of Southwest 160th Street and 90th Avenue, just before 10:30 a.m., Saturday.The people inside the home were able to make it out safely while firefighters doused the grill.No one was hurt.

Chicago White Sox slugger Eloy Jiménez hospitalized with abdominal pain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:36 GMT

Chicago White Sox outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jiménez experienced abdominal pain Friday night and went to an area hospital Saturday morning to be evaluated, manager Pedro Grifol said before Game 2 of a series against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.Grifol said Jiménez was still in the hospital when he met with reporters Saturday afternoon. Grifol anticipates an update later in the day.“I talked to him this morning, he said it hurts when (he moves),” Grifol said. “I wasn’t the first guy he talked to — probably the last one with all the doctors and trainers. But it intensified a little bit, and again, erring on the side of caution, they took him in and see what it is, get evaluated.”Jiménez is slashing .258/.321/.423 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 25 games. He has heated up, hitting safely in his last eight games. Jiménez is 14-for-33 (.424) with two home runs, eight RBIs, six runs and a 1.109 OPS during th...

Should transgender athletes be allowed to play girls’ sports? The national debate hits home in Massachusetts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:36 GMT

Massachusetts residents are bringing the national debate over transgender athletes’ right to participate in girls’ and women’s sports home.A dozen protesters holding signs bearing the messages “Save women’s sports,” “Support fair sports for women and girls,” among others, clashed with opponents outside of a diversity, equity and inclusion symposium at the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association headquarters in Franklin on Friday.An increasing number of states are banning transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, but athletic opportunities in Massachusetts “must be afforded to students in accordance with their identified gender, not necessarily their birth-assigned gender,” according to the MIAA handbook.Lisa Pareira said she worries about the future for her seventh-grade daughter who plays soccer and softball. The Foxboro resident believes this position infringes on her daughter’s rights and privacy.“I am so afra...

Eric Gray provides more options in Giants backfield with or without Saquon Barkley

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:36 GMT

Brian Daboll couldn’t really answer on Saturday whether he intends to lighten Saquon Barkley’s workload this season with a two-back rotation. He doesn’t know if Barkley will be on the field come training camp as his contract standoff with the team drags on.“Well, depends on what we have out here come August,” Daboll said before the second practice of rookie minicamp. “Getting around, seeing what we’ve got in terms of players’ loads and how much – it’s a completely different team. We’ll see how it goes once we get out here and compete with pads in training camp and preseason games.”Rookie Eric Gray’s selection in the fifth round of April’s NFL Draft out of Oklahoma does add an interesting element to Daboll’s and Joe Schoen’s roster construction for this fall, though.The running back depth chart now includes vets Barkley, Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell, Gray and second-year pro Jashaun Cor...

Ticker: Botticelli’s Venus is an ‘influencer’ and Italy is not happy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:36 GMT

Sandro Botticelli’s iconic goddess of love in his 15th-century masterpiece “Birth of Venus” has now become a “virtual influencer” in a new Italian tourism campaign.The campaign has sparked a widespread backlash — with critics arguing that the project plays into Italian stereotypes and disrespects the country’s cultural heritage. Some also point to the campaign’s poor execution, including a promotional video that features a winery in Slovenia instead of Italy.IRS offering better picture on looming debt ‘X-date’The funding Congress approved last year to shape up the beleaguered IRS has helped the agency catch up on processing new and backlogged tax returns and to allow the agency to provide a more precise picture of when the Treasury could run out of money — the so-called X-date. The nation is stepping uncomfortably close to an unprecedented default that could have catastrophic effects on the global economy because it is bumping up against its legal limit for b...

Kentucky Derby races on amid 7th death, scratched favorite

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:36 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two more horses died, making it seven in all, before the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, and early favorite Forte was scratched with an injury in another series of blows to a sport already reeling from doping suspensions and breakdowns.“This is part of racing and it’s the cruel part,” Mike Repole, co-owner of Forte, said in an interview with FanDuel TV.Chloe’s Dream, a 3-year-old gelding, and Freezing Point, a 3-year-old colt, were injured in their races on the Derby undercard, becoming the sixth and seventh horses to have died at Churchill Downs in recent days. Forte was the fifth scratch from the Derby in the run-up to the $3 million race for 3-year-olds.The string of horse deaths cast a pall for some Derby-goers on a mostly cloudy and warm day.“It’s concerning, and I hope they’re quickly trying the best they can to correct whatever’s going on,” said Michael Freeze, who along with his friend dressed up as jockeys. “They need to do whatever is best for the ...

Texas panel says lawmaker should be expelled for misconduct

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:36 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas legislative committee recommended Saturday that GOP Rep. Bryan Slaton be expelled for inappropriate sexual conduct with a 19-year-old intern. Slaton, from Royse City, could face an expulsion vote by the full House as early as Tuesday. Slaton, 45, has declined to comment on the allegations, and did not immediately respond to a phone message left by The Associated Press Saturday afternoon, but his attorney last month called the claims “outrageous” and “false.” The House General Investigative Committee’s recommendation was first reported by The Texas Tribune. In the written investigation report, the committee said Slaton gave the 19-year-old intern and another young staffer alcohol at his home, that he had sex with the intern after she was intoxicated, and that he later showed the intern a threatening email but said everything would be fine if the incident was kept quiet. Slaton also asked a fellow lawmaker to keep his behavior secret, the commi...

Navy commissions USS Cooperstown; honors war veteran players

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Navy on Saturday commissioned the USS Cooperstown in honor of 70 Major League Baseball Hall of Fame players who served in the military during wartime.The littoral combat ship is named after the village in New York state where the Hall is located. Hall of Famers Joe Torre and Johnny Bench took part in the ceremony, with Torre delivering remarks and Bench presenting a long glass, a nautical telescope.“It is critical that we honor the legacy of these Hall of Famers,” Torre said, “not just for what they did on the field, but for what they sacrificed and what they accomplished off the field. Their legacy lives on with the USS Cooperstown and with the sailors here today and in the years to come.”The 70 players honored served in conflicts from the Civil War through the Korean War. The ship’s motto is “America’s Away Team.”Torre, a former player and longtime New York Yankees manager, was elected to the Hall in 2014. Bench, a catcher for the Cincinnati Re...

Quebec public security officials say 89 communities affected by spring flooding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:36 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec public security officials say 89 municipalities are dealing with spring flooding with more than 660 people across the province forced to leave their homes. The regions hardest hit are Outaouais, in western Quebec, the Mauricie region in central Quebec, as well as the Laurentians, Lanaudière and Montérégie regions that surround Montreal.Officials say more than 1,200 homes have been flooded. In Gatineau, across from Ottawa, authorities say the water levels have begun to stabilize overnight, and a slow and gradual decline could begin to start the week.In the provincial capital area, which includes Charlevoix region, 364 people were listed as unable to return home. That region northeast of Quebec City is where two volunteer firefighters died Monday after they were swept away during a rescue operation.The coroner’s office identified the firefighters as Régis Lavoie and Christopher Lavoie.Their bodies were found two days later about 500 metres apart in the Rivière ...