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Massachusetts governor declares state of emergency amid influx of migrants seeking shelter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:02 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency Tuesday, citing an influx of migrants seeking shelter at a time when the cost of housing — already in short supply — continues to rise.There are nearly 5,600 families or more than 20,000 people – many of whom are migrants — currently living in state shelters, including infants, young children and pregnant women. That is up from around 3,100 families a year ago, about an 80% increase, Healey said.Many of the migrants are arriving by plane from other states. In the past 48 hours alone, she said, 50 migrant families have landed in the state in need of shelter.“It’s exponentially more than our state has ever served in our emergency assistance program,” she said. “These numbers are being driven by a surge in new arrivals in our country who have been through some of the hardest journeys imaginable.”The migrants arriving in Massachusetts are the face of the international migrant crisis and are coming at...

Yukon community of Mayo under state of emergency due to nearby fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:02 GMT

MAYO, YUKON — The Government of Yukon has declared a state of emergency for the Village of Mayo and the surrounding area due to a wildfire burning nearby. The community of about 450 people has been under an evacuation order since Sunday due to the Talbot Creek fire burning about four kilometres away.Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn says the state of emergency provides “absolute clarity” that responders have full authority to protect people and property, control the use of roads and help law enforcement.The declaration covers a 15-kilometre radius around the community, which is about 400 km north of Whitehorse.Yukon Protective Services says the Talbot Creek fire is estimated at nearly five square kilometres.A team of 11 firefighters from Saskatchewan arrived Tuesday to join 35 wildland firefighters, alongside structural firefighters to fight the blaze and set up protections for homes and infrastructure in the community. This report by The Canadian Press was firs...

Teen in critical condition after Wicker Park hit-and-run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:02 GMT

CHICAGO -- The family of a teenager is pleading for witnesses to come forward after a hit-and-run left their loved one in critical condition.17-year-old Nakari Campbell had left her home on Milwaukee Avenue just before 10:30 p.m. on Friday, and was walking to meet a friend to go to a party.Campbell reportedly crossed Division Street heading south on Ashland Avenue when she was hit by someone driving a 2008 red Mercedes Benz C-35 with an Illinois license plate DC60012.The teen landed on the roof of the car, then rolled off with her hair getting caught in the tire and was then dragged.Her family told WGN she is in critical condition at Stroger in the ICU in a medically induced coma and has already undergone several surgeries and skin grafts.Campbell is an incoming senior at legal prep high school in West Garfield Park. Family members said Nakari is a bubbly girl who loves fashion, and hanging out with friends and cousins.Doctors telling them it will be a long road to recovery for her....

Did you find a zucchini on your porch today? This might be why

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:02 GMT

(KXAN) -- Got some zucchini lying around? You could make zucchini bread, or pasta with it. Or you could sneak it onto your neighbor's porch. Seriously. After all, Aug. 8 is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day. National Today describes the holiday as a day for farmers and gardeners to off-load the "way too much" of the vegetable they may have on their hands Aug. 8, which falls in the midst of peak zucchini season. COVID hospitalizations jump again: Maps show where it’s worst According to the Farmer's Almanac, the vegetable's fertility spawned the holiday. "Every gardener who has grown zucchini knows that this time of year vines go crazy producing hundreds of tiny squash," the Almanac's website says. "They quickly grow to gargantuan size if not picked."Thus, Thomas Roy designated Aug. 8 as National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day, according to Better Homes & Gardens.Roy has created dozens of holidays over the past three deca...

Taco Bell offering month of free weekly tacos for 'Taco Tuesday'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:02 GMT

(WBOY) — Taco Bell announced on Tuesday that it is offering millions of dollars in free tacos to celebrate the freeing of the trademark on "Tuesday Tuesday." After Taco John's "courageously decided to abandon its Taco Tuesday trademark registration," Taco Bell said it is offering two upcoming deals that have something for all taco lovers, even if they don't eat Taco Bell. The first deal is a free seasoned Beef Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos on Tuesday, Aug. 15, Aug. 22, Aug. 29, and Sept. 5, no purchase needed. The deal is good for one taco per person, per day, and is only available during open hours, while supplies last, and at participating locations. Mega Millions jackpot increases to $1.58 billion ahead of Tuesday’s drawing If you're thinking, "What could possibly be better than free tacos from Taco Bell?" how about free tacos from anywhere? For the second part of the Taco Tuesday celebrations, Taco Bell is offering $5 million worth of tacos through DoorDash on Tuesday, Sep...

New faces, same style of football as Vandegrift Vipers gear up for another title run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:02 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Fresh off a 6A-D2 state championship game appearance last season, the Vandegrift Vipers are reloading for another deep playoff run this season by staying true to themselves, as head coach Drew Sanders puts it.A tremendous season that ended in a 42-17 loss to DeSoto in the state title game at AT&T Stadium is in the rearview mirror, but Sanders said the style of play that got them there will always be associated with any team he coaches.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters"We're focused on making sure that we don't get away from what got us here, and that's hard-nosed Vandegrift-style football," he said. "We like to run the ball, throw the ball deep in playaction, we like to play physical defense, and that's what we've talked about. We have to be locked in on what our DNA is."With the departure of quarterback Brayden Buchanan to play baseball at Baylor, t...

Voters in Ohio reject GOP-backed proposal that would have made it tougher to protect abortion rights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:02 GMT

By JULIE CARR SMYTH and SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON (Associated Press)COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio voters on Tuesday rejected a Republican-backed measure that would have made it more difficult to change the state’s constitution, setting up a fall campaign that will become the nation’s latest referendum on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned nationwide protections last year.The defeat of Issue 1 keeps in place a simple majority threshold for passing future constitutional amendments. It would have raised that to a 60% supermajority, which supporters said would protect the state’s foundational document from outside interest groups.While abortion was not directly on the special election ballot, the result marks the latest setback for Republicans in a conservative-leaning state who favor imposing tough restrictions on the procedure. Ohio Republicans placed the question on the summer ballot in hopes of undercutting a citizen initiative voters will decide...

Twins not afraid to double up on catchers in lineup, but prefer to rotate DH spot around

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:02 GMT

DETROIT — If Ryan Jeffers played any other position, it’s likely one of the hottest hitters on the Twins would find himself penciled into the lineup a bit more these days.But that’s trickier to do with a catcher.“We need him ready to catch when it’s his day to catch. If both catchers are in the lineup virtually every day, you’re asking for something to go wrong in some of these games,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “But when it makes sense, when it all fits together, when you know it’s the right matchup and he’s ready to go, we’ll do it.”And so Jeffers, who has DHed just once since Byron Buxton injured his hamstring, was not in the Twins’ starting lineup Tuesday.While Buxton was getting every day at-bats at DH when healthy, his injury has opened up the door for the Twins to rotate the spot around. In his absence, the Twins have used Jordan Luplow, Jorge Polanco (twice), Edouard Julien (twice), Matt Wallner and Jeffers in the spot.That flexibility has had some benefits defensively, as...

Fringe review: ‘Omar Khayyam Club’ is an informative, unsatisfying historical dramatization

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:02 GMT

Could be worseFictionalizing real-life Omar Khayyam Clubs — early 20th-century social gatherings devoted to the ancient Persian poet — this play is on the precipice of tackling important questions: About commercialization of Khayyam’s image, about the drunken intellectual façade of these men-only clubs, about translators’ creative license. But to conclude, Khayyam himself shows up, played stiffly by onetime public-access television chef Emmet Johnson, to essentially say: No, it’s all fine and for the best, the end. Director August Berkshire has perhaps seen more Minnesota Fringe shows than anyone and, for his festival debut, has written a fact-dense script that sometimes feels like a college lecture, lectern and projected slides included. Costumes are great, and actor Jack Neveaux’s unexpectedly good physical comedy is a bright spot.Presented by Thee & Me Productions at Rarig Center Thrust; 8:30 p.m. Aug. 8, 10 p.m. Aug. 11, 4 p.m. Aug. 12Still unsure of what to see? Check out a...

Vikings will honor legendary coach Bud Grant throughout 2023 season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:02 GMT

There will be a glaring absence at U.S. Bank Stadium when the massive Legacy Gate swings open on Sept. 10 for the season opener.Though more than 70,000 fans will be shuffling through the concourse on the way to their seats, the father of the franchise will not be in attendance when the Vikings play host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.It will be the first time the Vikings take the field since the legendary Bud Grant died on March 11 at the age of 95.“It’s impossible to describe the impact that he’s had on the Vikings and the community,” Vikings owner Mark Wilf said Tuesday at TCO Performance Center. “As owners. we cherished the nearly 18 years (we had) with Bud. We got to know him on a personal level. It was a tremendous loss for the organization and, of course, the entire state of Minnesota.”As a way to keep Grant’s legacy alive — not that anyone will forget him anytime soon — the Vikings already have some planned tributes for the upcoming season....