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Officials: Paper mill worker dead from fungal infection

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:53 GMT

ESCANABA, Mich. (AP) — A contract worker at a northern Michigan paper mill has died from a fungal infection that has forced the business to temporarily close for deep cleaning.The death was announced Friday in a release by public health officials in Delta and Menominee counties which said the worker died as a result of blastomycosis infection.The person’s name and a date of the death were not released.Company officials on Thursday said the Billerud Paper Mill in Escanaba, which employs more than 800 people, will close for up to three weeks for scrubbing after authorities confirmed at least 21 cases of blastomycosis among workers since March and dozens more probable cases.The fungal infection is related to a fungus that grows in moist soil and decomposing wood and leaves, according to the public health department in Delta County. Blastomycosis does not pass from person to person, the department said. Common symptoms are cough, fever, shortness of breath, joint pain and weight l...

Food or medicine? Inflation squeezing retirees in Argentina

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:53 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — With trembling hands, the bingo players at a Buenos Aires retirement center put the buttons they use as markers on their cards. Small containers hold their betting money, coins and crumpled low-denomination bills that every day seem able to buy less. The twice-weekly game brings some enthusiasm to the eyes of the retirees playing it in the recreational center serving Caballito and Villa Crespo, middle-class neighborhoods of Argentina’s capital. The men and women participating are all over 80 years old and find themselves in a situation they would have considered unthinkable before they retired. “This center has middle-class people in it. We are deprived of many of the things we used to do,” said Betty Santucci, 85, who runs the place. She added quietly: “I did something I’d never done in my life: I asked for free medicine … nothing else can be done.”Monthly inflation was 7.7% in March, up from 6.5% in the same month in 2022, Argentina’s National Instit...

Trump reports little income from Truth Social, $1M from NFTs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump says he’s not making much money from his social media network but estimates it is worth between $5 million and $25 million, according to his personal financial disclosure form filed Friday.He owns about 90% of his social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group, but said he made less than $201 from it.He also reported he made between $100,000 and $1 million for a series of digital trading cards he released in December that portrayed a photoshopped Trump in a series of cartoon-like images, including an astronaut, a cowboy and a superhero. The report filed with the Federal Election Commission is the first glimpse into Trump’s finances since he left the White House and launched several new business ventures. The real estate mogul and reality TV star launched the platform Truth Social in 2022, a year after he was banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.Althou...

Cubs & White Sox get a key player back this weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:53 GMT

CHICAGO — Both Major League Baseball teams in Chicago are going to get a key player in their outfield back to start their respective series this weekend.For the Cubs, it will be the first time one of their bigger stars will take the field in the 2023 season.The Cubs have officially activated outfielder Seiya Suzuki off the 10-day IL ahead of their series with the Dodgers in Los Angeles. @WGNNews pic.twitter.com/aCdtDaJ9Ui— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) April 14, 2023After missing the majority of spring training and the first two weeks of the season, Seiya Suzuki is joining the Cubs on Friday as they start a three-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. He's been sidelined with an oblique strain since February, which forced him not only to miss a lot of the team's work in Arizona but also the World Baseball Classic for Japan.Suzuki is in his second year with the Cubs the after making his debut with the team in 2022, posting a slash line of .262/.336/.433 with 22 doubles,...

'What we're asking for isn't hard': Chicago advocates to march in DC for federal ban on assault weapons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:53 GMT

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. -- Advocates fighting for a federal ban on assault weapons are taking their message all the way to the nation's capitol, once again hoping to convince congress to pass the legislation.Congressman Brad Schneider (D-10) is one of the lawmaker pushing for a federal ban on assault weapons. He, alongside members of the community, headed back to Washington D.C. Monday hoping to see the legislation passed sooner than later."What we're believe is what we're asking for isn't hard and it's not complicated," Kitty Brandtner, founder and co-president of March Fourth. States attorneys from 31 counties ask Illinois Supreme Court to overturn state’s gun ban After the recent shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville where six people, including three 9-year-old children were killed, March Fourth founder Kitty Brandtner decided to take her message back to Washington D.C.Brandtner hopes the march, scheduled for this upcoming Monday, pushes congress to act on passing a federal b...

Blue Island man arrested in Dan Ryan Expressway road rage shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:53 GMT

CHICAGO — An 18-year-old man is facing felony charges after a road rage shooting last week on the Dan Ryan Expressway. According to Illinois State Police, no one was injured when Gabriel Lopez, of Blue Island, fired shots at another car around 12:50 a.m. on April 7 near 95th Street. Driver dies after falling out of Jeep, being struck by 2 vehicles on Dan Ryan Expressway Illinois State Police said Lopez was identified as the suspect and turned himself in to investigators on Wednesday.The Cook County State's Attorney's Office charged him with one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm and one count of unlawful use of a weapon.

Lawsuit: Austin area spa sued for more than $1M after woman reports sexual assault

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A woman who reported a massage therapist sexually assaulted her in October 2022 has filed a lawsuit against the spa where the man worked.The spa mentioned in the lawsuit was Milk + Honey Spa, which is based out of Austin.According to the lawsuit, the woman, who went by a pseudonym due to the sensitive nature of the case, said she was seeking more than $1 million. RELATED: Therapist charged with sexual assault after massage at Austin area spa The lawsuit said the woman visited the spa’s Bee Cave location Oct. 24, 2022, and during the massage, the spa’s then-employee, 34-year-old Kevin Wilson, sexually assaulted her by touching her inappropriately with his fingers and hand. The lawsuit also said the assault caused her physical injury, pain and mental anguish.“[The woman’s] massage should have been a relaxing and rewarding treat. Instead, it turned into a nightmare that will affect [her] for the rest of her life,” the lawsuit said.According to the lawsuit documents, a...

APD searching for suspects in I-35 hit-and-run that killed bicyclist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Police provided an update Friday for a Wednesday evening fatal crash.APD said officers responded to a crash between an SUV and a bicyclist in the 9000 block of the southbound Frontage Road of Interstate 35.Police said the bicyclist, later identified as 62-year-old Ramon Clemente Nolasco, was riding north on his bicycle along the sidewalk when a Yukon pulled out of a private driveway and hit him. The driver then left the scene without stopping or calling 911, according to police. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man killed in hit-and-run on I-35 Frontage Road APD said Nolasco was taken to a hospital, but he later died from his injuries.The suspect vehicle was described as a four-door black GMC Yukon.The suspect driver was described as a heavy-set Hispanic man with thick, curly, black hair, and he was last seen wearing a construction reflective vest. The suspect passenger was described as a heavy-set Hispanic man last seen wearing a construction reflective vest.APD said thi...

Round Rock ISD says budget concerns could lead to staff reassignments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:53 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — Round Rock Independent School District's superintendent said inflation and budget concerns could lead to as many as 40 or more employees being reassigned to other roles by the end of the spring semester.Dr. Hafedh Azaiez, RRISD superintendent, said letters began distributing last week to employees that could be affected by these staffing changes. He also said a district-wide email addressing those staffing changes went out Friday afternoon.Concerned citizens sent copies of the aforementioned letter to KXAN using the ReportIt! tip line.The letter, dated April 6, 2023, read: "Due to a change in student enrollment and/or proposed budget cuts some campuses will need to reduce its staff. Unfortunately, the reduction will occur in your area; therefore, you have been placed on the surplus list."The letter went on to specify that employees can submit transfer and internal job applications to the district through May 26, 2023.Dr. Azaiez in a one-on-one interview Fr...

State Patrol warns drivers to watch out for motorcycles during Spring Flood Run on Saturday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:53 GMT

Thousands of motorcyclists are taking to the roads along the Mississippi and St. Croix rivers Saturday for the Spring Flood Run, prompting the Minnesota State Patrol to warn drivers to be extra cautious.The rally attracts thousands of motorcyclists between the Twin Cities and Winona, Minn.The Flood Run began in 1965 when a dozen motorcyclists drove to Winona to assist with sandbagging during spring flooding there. Now held in the spring and fall, it raises money for Gillette Children’s Hospital in St. Paul.Authorities are asking drivers and riders to be careful and aware to prevent any serious or fatal crashes during the run. Law enforcement will be out in force to help keep riders and motorists safe.According to the State Patrol, motorcycle fatalities in the state are the highest they’ve been in several years, with 70 motorcyclists killed so far this year. There were 56 deaths at this time last year, 48 in 2020 and 39 in 2019, according to the State Patrol.“Riding season has ...