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Suspicious letters sent to election offices being investigated by federal law enforcement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:34:52 GMT

(CNN) — Federal law enforcement officials are investigating reports of suspicious letters sent to election offices, a Justice Department spokesperson said Thursday.“We are aware of the reports and the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating this matter,” the department spokesperson said in response to an inquiry from CNN. The official said the DOJ would not comment further.Election officials in Georgia, Nevada, California, Oregon and Washington state reported receiving suspicious mail.In a statement Thursday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Fulton County, Georgia – which includes large swaths of Atlanta – had been among the election offices in multiple states targeted with suspicious letters.Officials in Georgia said the letter received by Fulton County was suspected to contain fentanyl.“We’re working with our state and federal partners to determine if any additional Georgia officials are being targeted,” Raffensperger said. “Domestic terrori...

Fraternity and bar sued over 2021 death of University of New Hampshire student

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:34:52 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The mother of a University of New Hampshire student who died in an icy swamp two years ago filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against the Durham bar and fraternity her son visited that night.Vincenzo Lirosi, 22, was found dead Dec. 5, 2021, partially submerged in a small body of water in the woods. An autopsy concluded the sophomore’s cause of death was drowning and acute intoxication.Robin Lirosi, of Whitman, Massachusetts, filed the lawsuit against Scorpion’s Bar & Grill, the UNH chapter of Sigma Chi and its national organization, and several individual members of the fraternity.“Scorpion’s, the frat, and the frat brothers have gone on with life as if nothing has changed, but Vinny’s family have been robbed of that luxury,” attorney Leah Cole Durst said in a statement.The lawsuit alleges the bar served Vincenzo Lirosi “in a matter that was so continuous and excessive” that it created a risk of death, and that the fraternity violated numerous...

Rafael Devers wins second career Silver Slugger award

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:34:52 GMT

Rafael Devers may not have been personally satisfied with his 2023 performance, but he’s a Silver Slugger again nonetheless.Devers easily out-slugged the competition in his age-26 season. He led American League third basemen with 33 home runs, 100 RBI, a .500 slugging percentage, .851 OPS, and 67 extra-base hits. He also led all AL hitters with 252 hard-hit balls.“I would say it was just average,” he told the Boston Globe last month. “I know that I have so much more to give and more potential. If you take a look at the numbers, it was just an average season.”“Average,” by Devers’ standards, means leading the Red Sox in homers, RBI, and hits (157). He also showed more patience at the plate than in years past, drawing 62 walks, second only to Triston Casas (70), who was a Silver Slugger finalist, but lost to Yandy Díaz.Devers joins Wade Boggs as the only two players in franchise history to win multiple Silver Slugger awards at third base...

Mass General Brigham is offering buyouts for digital employees: ‘Decisions like these are never easy’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:34:52 GMT

Mass General Brigham has told Digital employees that it’s offering buyouts, as the health care behemoth called it a “difficult decision” to cut down its workforce.MGB Digital employees were informed about the voluntary separation program during a staff meeting last week. The “voluntary employee separation” application period opened on Nov. 1 and will close on Wednesday, Nov. 15, according to an internal confidential document obtained by the Herald.The Digital team represents the technology division of Mass General Brigham.“As we move toward a more modern technology infrastructure, we have made the difficult decision to offer volunteer separation to employees on our Digital team to better optimize our workforce while providing an opportunity for employees who may wish to leave the organization,” Mass General Brigham said in a statement on Thursday.“Decisions like these are never easy and we strive to treat our employees with the dignity...

Feeling crowded yet? The US Census Bureau estimates the world’s population has passed 8 billion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:34:52 GMT

By MEAD GRUVER (Associated Press)The human species has topped 8 billion, with longer lifespans offsetting fewer births, but world population growth continues a long-term trend of slowing down, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday.The bureau estimates the global population exceeded the threshold Sept. 26, a precise date the agency said to take with a grain of salt.The United Nations estimated the number was passed 10 months earlier, having declared November 22, 2022, the “Day of 8 Billion,” the Census Bureau pointed out in a statement.The discrepancy is due to countries counting people differently — or not at all. Many lack systems to record births and deaths. Some of the most populous countries, such as India and Nigeria, haven’t conducted censuses in over a decade, according to the bureau.While world population growth remains brisk, growing from 6 billion to 8 billion since the turn of the millennium, the rate has slowed since doubling between 1960 and 2000....

Greater Boston Food Bank passes 1,200 turkeys along ‘human chain’ to kick off holidays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:34:52 GMT

“This is turkey time,” the head of Greater Boston Food Bank declared Thursday before 1,200 birds were moved along a “human chain” of volunteers, politicians and sports mascots to kick off the holiday season.The birds moved as part of the organization’s 18th annual “Chain of Giving” represent just a fraction of the roughly 24,000 turkeys, 100,000 chickens and 20,000 chicken pieces that will be distributed to families in need throughout the holidays, according to Catherine D’Amato, GBFB’s president and CEO.“There’s no doubt that families are struggling,” D’Amato said. “We know hunger is no longer an emergency. Think about that. It’s no longer an emergency. It’s a daily experience for too many of our neighbors across the state.”The need has increased significantly since the pandemic, she told the Herald, citing statistics that show 1 in 3 Massachusetts residents are facing food insecurity now, compared to the 1 in 8 people who were chronically hungry before COVID.“So that’s 1.8 million...

Apple to pay $25 million to settle allegations of discriminatory hiring practices in 2018, 2019

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:34:52 GMT

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it engaged in a pattern of discriminatory hiring practices when filling some of its jobs during 2018 and 2019.The deal announced Thursday resolved a lengthy investigation by the Department of Justice into alleged violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act.Federal regulators said an inquiry that began in 2019 determined that Apple’s hiring practices discriminated against U.S. candidates for jobs that were awarded to some immigrant workers seeking to be granted permanent resident status in the country. In some instances, Apple also discriminated against non-U.S. residents, according to the settlement.Apple vehemently denied any wrongdoing in the formal seven-page settlement defended its hiring record in a statement to The Associated Press.“Apple proudly employs more than 90,000 people in the United States and continues to invest nationwide, creating millions of jobs,”...

Jezebel, an incisive feminist voice since the height of the blogosphere era, is shutting down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:34:52 GMT

By ALEXANDRA OLSON (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Jezebel, the sharp-edged feminist website that found an impassioned and devoted following at the height of the blogosphere era but ended up struggling with its business model, is shutting down after 16 years, its parent company announced Thursday.It is the latest gender-focused media site to fold as the media industry struggles with plummeting digital advertising that has also cut into the profitability of major tech companies from Google to Facebook. Bitch Media, which had a print magazine, website and podcast, closed last year after 25 years, citing sustainability. The Washington Post folded The Lily, its freestanding publication on gender an identity issues, into its main website last year.G/O Media said 23 staffers would be laid off, including Jezebel’s team, as part of a restructuring to cope with economic headwinds and a difficult digital advertising environment. The New York-based company also announced the de...

Brush fire breaks out near homes in Oceanside

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:34:52 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Firefighters are battling a brush fire near homes Thursday in Oceanside. The fire occurred around 3:13 p.m. on Marron Rd. and College Blvd., according to California Highway Patrol's log.Around 3:58 p.m., Carlsbad police alerted the public that first responders were working on the blaze in the area of College Blvd., Marron Rd., Tamarack Ave. and Carlsbad Village Dr. Widespread rainfall, mountain snow possible in San Diego County SkyFOX was over the scene, where helitankers appeared to have the fire under control, preventing it from spreading to homes.Drivers should expect traffic delays on eastbound State Route 78 at College Blvd. due to the fire burning south of the freeway, per CHP.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Media workers stage sit-in at New York Times headquarters to call for ceasefire in Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:34:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied the lobby of The New York Times on Thursday, accusing the media of betraying a bias toward Israel in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the publication’s Manhattan headquarters. Many entered the building’s atrium for a sit-in and vigil that lasted more than an hour.Led by a group of media workers calling themselves “Writers Bloc,” demonstrators read off the names of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza, including at least 36 journalists whose deaths have been confirmed since the war began.They scattered editions of a mock newspaper — “The New York War Crimes” — that charged the media with “complicity in laundering genocide” and called on the Times’ editorial board to publicly back a ceasefire.The sit-in followed a series of actions at high-profile locations in New York intended to bring attention to the growing death toll in Gaza.On Tuesda...