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Correcting the Record on My Book

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:10 GMT

This article was originally published as a newsletter from Ryan Grim. Sign up to get the next one in your inbox.Pushing a book into the world is a disorienting experience. It’s at once exhilarating — years of reporting, writing, and revising finally turned into something real — and terrifying. Will it get shredded by haughty reviewers? Or worse, ignored? The place of a book in our ecosystem of knowledge production and distribution remains unique. No other medium can have so much intellectual and cultural influence with so few people actually consuming it. Nobody buys books, and ever fewer people read them, yet they still can shape the way we understand the world. Most people who have their views of the world shaped by a book do so by a form of media osmosis, listening to podcasts, reading reviews, excerpts, or news reports about the book. As an author, you hope that your themes and your message are clear enough that they land with some semblance of their original meaning by the...

Uber set to join the S&P 500 index in latest sign of a turnaround for the ride-hailing service

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:10 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Uber’s stock is set to join the S&P 500 index later this month, the latest sign that the ride-hailing and delivery company is turning its business around after struggling through much of the pandemic.The San Francisco company will be added to the benchmark index prior to the opening of regular trading on Dec. 18, S&P Dow Jones Indices said late Friday.Inclusion in the S&P 500 can be a big boost for a stock because the index is widely tracked by many funds designed to mirror the holdings of the S&P 500, which is at the heart of many 401(k) accounts. That translates into more demand for stocks in the index, driving up their price.Shares in Uber Technologies Inc. were up almost 4% in afternoon trading Monday at $59.43. That’s not far from their all-time high of $63.18 per share set in February 2021. The stock is up more than twofold so far this year.The strong rally marks a major turnaround from as recently as the summer of 2022, when the stock ...

Shooting at home in Washington state kills 5 including the suspected shooter, authorities say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:10 GMT

ORCHARDS, Wash. (AP) — Five people were killed in a shooting at a Washington state home and the deceased included the suspected shooter, authorities said.Officers found the bodies inside a home in Orchards, Washington, following a call around 1 p.m. Sunday, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said late Sunday.A family member received a text message from a person at the home saying they had harmed people there, the statement said.Police used a drone to look inside the home and saw people who appeared to be dead.The Southwest Washington Regional SWAT team responded due to the threat of a firearm and entered the home with emergency medical personnel, but all five adults inside were dead.The sheriff’s office said the deaths in the community about 18 miles (29 kilometers) north of Portland, Oregon, appeared to be a murder-suicide.The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking additional information.Source

Chourio gets $82 million, 8-year deal with Brewers, largest before a player’s big league debut

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:10 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Before taking a single swing in the major leagues, Jackson Chourio landed the type of contract players spend years dreaming about.“I’m definitely going to meet the expectations,” the 19-year-old outfielder said Monday after the Milwaukee Brewers finalized an $82 million, eight-year deal, the most money guaranteed to a player with no big league experienced.“There’s definitely a little bit of pressure on this, but I’m just going to work really hard,” Chourio said through a translator. “This money is not going to change me. If something changes, it definitely will be for the better.”Chourio has played only six games above Double-A. His agreement topped the previous high for a player with no big league experience — excluding Japanese professionals — set when outfielder Luis Robert signed a $50 million, six-year contract with the Chicago White Sox on Jan. 2, 2020, ahead of his debut on July 24 of that year.Chourio could start the 2024 season in the major leagues. ...

Fallece María Martin: pionera de la radio y fundadora de Latino USA

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:10 GMT

La pionera de los medios María Martín, creadora del innovador y premiado programa de radio pública “Latino USA”, falleció el sábado tras complicaciones de un procedimiento médico a sus 72 años.Martin dedicó gran parte de su vida profesional a llevar las voces y las historias de los latinos estadounidenses y latinoamericanos a la radio pública en inglés. Al hacerlo, ayudó a inspirar y lanzar las carreras de un grupo de periodistas latinos en Estados Unidos y Centroamérica.Amigos y familiares dijeron en un mensaje que murió “en una habitación llena de paz y amor rodeada de su familia” y sus amigos “en cada rincón del mundo sosteniéndola”.La larga ambición de Martin había sido llevar diversidad a los medios, en particular a la radio pública, un objetivo que le produjo alegría y dolor, pero que nunca abandonó.“Los valores de inclusión, diversidad y el reflejo de todas las voces de la sociedad han guiado mis cuatro décadas en el periodismo”...

Michigan soldier killed in Korean War to be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:10 GMT

PALMER, Mich. (AP) — The remains of a Michigan soldier who was killed in the Korean War in 1950 will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery, nearly a year after they were identified by military experts, officials said.Army Cpl. Gordon D. McCarthy’s remains will be interred on Dec. 14 at the cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, following graveside services, the U.S. Army Human Resources Command said in a news release.The Palmer, Michigan, native was 20 when he was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, after enemy forces attacked his unit in North Korea near the Chosin Reservoir. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered.But remains turned over by North Korea in 2018 were identified in February as McCarthy’s by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. That agency, an arm of the U.S. Defense Department, announced in July that scientists used circumstantial evidence as well as anthropological and DNA analysis to identify his remains.McCarthy’s name...

McDonald’s hará cambios en sus hamburguesas en todos los restaurantes del país

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:10 GMT

Los pequeños cambios en las hamburguesas que comenzaron a tener efecto en ciertos restaurantes de McDonald’s a principios de este año pronto se aplicarán en todo Estados Unidos en un esfuerzo realizado por la cadena para hacerlas “más sabrosas que nunca”.Según la cadena, que tiene sede en Chicago, los cambios se iniciaron por primera vez en los restaurantes de la costa oeste a principios de este año antes de entrar en vigor en otros lugares del país de forma continua.En declaraciones a NBC Chicago, un portavoz de McDonald’s reconoció que los cambios entrarán en vigor en todo el país a principios de 2024.Los ajustes a las hamburguesas de la cadena giran en torno a la forma en que se cocinan los panes, las hamburguesas y el queso, lo que, según McDonald’s, dará como resultado panes más suaves y queso más pegajoso. Restaurante inspirado por McDonald’s se está construyendo en secreto en una ciudad de EEUU. Mira dónde ...

Nicaragua retira a su embajador de Argentina por las críticas de Javier Milei al régimen de Daniel Ortega

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:10 GMT

(CNN Español) — El ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Nicaragua anunció este lunes que retirarán a su embajador de Argentina, Carlos Midence, ante la instalación de un nuevo gobierno y citando “reiteradas declaraciones y expresiones de los nuevos gobernantes”.De acuerdo con el comunicado, el retiro del embajador sería efectivo de forma inmediata en vista de la toma de posesión del presidente electo Javier Milei, prevista para el próximo del 10 de diciembre.¿Cuáles son las declaraciones?En un video difundido por Nicaragua Actual, cuando el presidente electo de Argentina -que todavía era candidato al momento de la entrevista- fue preguntado acerca de si mantendría relaciones diplomáticas con “las dictaduras comunistas de la nación”, Milei dijo que se condena a Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, y a Corea del Norte, así como a Irán y “al terrorismo de Hamas y Hezbollah”.¿Díaz-Canel y Maduro irán a la asunción de Milei? 0:29Milei afirmó que además ...

Chiefs rue more penalties, miscues and questionable officiating in loss to Packers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:10 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs could put the blame for their loss in Green Bay on Sunday night on a whole lot of people.Packers quarterback Jordan Love, who outplayed league MVP Patrick Mahomes. The Green Bay wide receivers, who made all the plays that Kansas City’s group has failed to make so much of the season. And yes, the officials, whose questionable decisions in the final few minutes — including two pass interference penalties that were not called — might very well have altered the outcome.Yet the Chiefs, whose 27-19 loss was their third in the past five weeks, have enough championship pedigree to carry most of the blame on their own shoulders. Mahomes threw an interception late in the game, they still were flagged five times for 50 yards as penalties continued to be a problem, and they went just 2 for 4 when they reached the red zone.Fix those problems and those questionable decisions by referee Brad Allen’s crew might not have made a difference.“Y...

Another proposed airline merger tests Biden administration’s resolve to preserve competition

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:10 GMT

Another proposed airline buyout has renewed debate over whether there has been too much consolidation in the industry, and whether it is hurting consumers.The Biden administration has taken a tough stance against mergers, and it is certain to take a close look at Alaska Air Group’s proposed $1.9 billion acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines.The deal is smaller than the mergers that reshaped the airline industry more than a decade ago. But the Justice Department is already fighting another smallish deal — JetBlue’s proposal to buy Spirit Airlines.Alaska Airlines parent Alaska Air Group announced Sunday that it will pay $18 per share for Hawaiian — a huge premium over Hawaiian’s closing stock price on Friday. Hawaiian has struggled to recover from the pandemic and new competition from Southwest on intra-islands flights. It has lost $159 million so far this year. Alaska says Hawaiian will continue to operate as a stand-alone brand, an unusual step. Here’s some inform...