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Ticker: Mass jobs back to pre-pandemic levels; Lab charged with Medicaid fraud

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:54 GMT

Total employment in Massachusetts rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in January, 34 months after the COVID-19 state of emergency began, as employers added a robust 19,600 jobs.The January gains brought the statewide employment to 3,743,500, labor officials announced Friday. That’s just 200 positions short of the total recorded in February 2020, the last month before a cascade of enormous job losses followed by a jobs recovery.The industry with the biggest growth was education and health services, which employed 5,000 more people month-over-month. Other sectors with gains include trade, transportation and utilities (+3,200 jobs), leisure and hospitality (+3,000 jobs), and professional, scientific and business services (+2,300 jobs).Lab charged with Medicaid fraudA clinical laboratory and its owner have been accused of submitting over $400,000 in Medicaid claims for unauthorized urine drug tests, the attorney general’s office in Massachusetts said Friday.The residential sobr...

Lady Gaga will perform ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ song at Oscars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:54 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lady Gaga will be performing at the Oscars after all.A person close to the production with knowledge of the performance confirmed Sunday afternoon that the pop superstar will sing “Hold My Hand,” the Oscar-nominated original song from “Top Gun: Maverick.”Producers said just days before that Gaga’s schedule on the “Joker” sequel would keep her from performing, but apparently a change after their remarks allowed the performance’s addition to the show.With Gaga’s performance added, all the nominated original songs this year will have a showcase during the Oscars telecast. Variety first reported the change of plans.Rihanna will perform “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava will sing Chandrabose and M.M. Keeravaani’s “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR.” Songs from “Tell It Like a Woman” and “Everything Everywhere All At Once” will also be performed.Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press

Oscars look to snap back a year after The Slap; Gaga added

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:54 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s almost time to give the Academy Awards a big hand.OK, maybe we should rephrase that. A year after Will Smith strode on stage at the Dolby Theatre and slapped Chris Rock in the face, the Oscars will reconvene Sunday for a ceremony that will try to move past one of the most infamous moments in Academy Awards history. The telecast from the Dolby in Los Angeles begins at 8 p.m. EDT on ABC. The broadcast can be streamed with a subscription to Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and Fubo TV. You can also stream the show on ABC.com and on the ABC app by authenticating your provider.Jimmy Kimmel, the show’s first solo emcee in five years, is hosting for the third time. The late-night comedian has promised to make some jokes about The Slap; it would be “ridiculous” not to, he said. Bill Kramer, chief executive of the film academy, has said that it was important, given what happened last year, to have “a host in place who can really pivot and manage those moments.”“No...

Head of union organization fired after EU donation probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:54 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — An organization representing trade unions around the world has fired its general secretary after he admitted accepting donations from a suspect in a major European cash-for-influence scandal, saying that the affair has severely damaged its reputation.The International Trade Union Confederation, which claims to represent around 200 million workers worldwide, said in a statement issued after a weekend meeting that “Luca Visentini no longer had the confidence of the General Council as ITUC General Secretary.”Visentini was named to the post in November but was suspended the following month after he was taken into custody by Belgian prosecutors investigating whether a criminal organization had accepted bribes from representatives from Qatar and Morocco to influence decisions at the European Parliament.Visentini was not charged in the affair and denies involvement in any corruption, but was suspended by ITUC after he was taken into custody. He has admitted accepting a dona...

3 children, mother die in fire at Chicago firefighter's home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:54 GMT

CHICAGO (WGN-TV) — Two more children who were critically injured in a house fire at a firefighter's home in Chicago Tuesday died Friday night, bringing the death toll from the tragedy to four. A family member said the two children who died Friday were 2-year-old Emery Stewart and 9-year-old Autumn Stewart. Emery and Autumn's mother, Summer Day-Stewart, died from her injuries earlier in the day, while 7-year-old Ezra Stewart died in the fire Tuesday. According to a statement on a fundraising page for the family, the father, a Chicago firefighter, was on duty when he overheard his home address on the fire radio. When he arrived, he found his wife and children in serious condition as the fire continued to burn his house. Police: Stalker kills woman, husband in Seattle-area home "It’s very sad," said Perla Martinez, a resident of Montclare, the Chicago neighborhood where the fire broke out. "We’ve never had something like this happen before and it just caught us off guard. ... It’s re...

Texas women's hoops falls in Big 12 tournament title to Iowa State

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:54 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo (KXAN) - The Texas women's basketball team dropped the Big 12 tournament title game to Iowa State Sunday 61-51. The Longhorns were eyeing to defend their conference tournament crown from winning it a season ago.Now Texas (25-9, 14-5) awaits their NCAA Tournament fate. The co-regular season Big 12 champions have been commonly projected as a four seed, which would mean the Longhorns would still host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.After holding a one point lead at halftime, Texas struggled to keep pace with the Cyclones in the second half. Iowa State outscored the Longhorns 21-12 in the third quarter and never looked back.Shaylee Gonzales and Taylor Jones led the way for the Longhorns with 12 points each. Big 12 Player of the Year Ashley Joens had a game high 28 points for Iowa State.The Big 12 Tournament Championship for Iowa State is their first since 2001. The Longhorns will begin in the NCAA Tournament either Friday or Saturday. The bracket will be reve...

Cool down continues for spring break week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- This morning's cold front brought a welcome cool down and lowering of humidity to Central Texas. Still, temperatures still reached above normal with highs in the mid 70s.The cool air will keep pushing into the area with high temperatures only in the 60s to start the work week. NEW BLOG: La Niña has ended — Here’s what’s next and when El Niño could beg Rain should miss us to the south on Monday with clouds giving way to afternoon sunshine.Tuesday still holds a low chance for some isolated, mainly light, rain as a weak disturbance pushes through. It'll be even cooler thanks to a mostly cloudy sky.More sun returns for Wednesday as temperatures bounce back into the 70s.Next three daysFirst Warning: Late season chillA cold front arriving late Thursday or early Friday will bring the good potential for rain, thunderstorms and even a low flash flooding risk for some of us.Strong late week cold front could make it chilly next weekendWhile the rain will be beneficial, the c...

Records: Man accused of posing as rideshare driver, kidnapping woman faces 3 charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — An Austin man faces three separate charges after police said he posed as a rideshare driver March 5 and kidnapped a woman in east Austin, according to Travis County court documents.According to records, Little Abe Hill, 40, faces felony charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping and the unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.An APD report said on March 5, at approximately 3:30 a.m. dispatch received a call to the intersection of East 14th Street and Comal Street saying a man in a black sedan abducted a woman at gunpoint and left the scene in the vehicle.The caller said he was in downtown with the woman, and after a night of drinking, they attempted to hail a rideshare.The report claims that a black sedan driven by Hill pulled up to the victims, and believing the vehicle to be a rideshare, they both sat in the backseat. The woman passed out shortly after getting in, according to the caller.“After driving a short distance, Hill abruptly pulled ...

As one atmospheric river exits, another is poised to hit California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:54 GMT

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Wet, miserable weather continued across huge swaths of California on Sunday as an atmospheric river that caused major flooding flowed eastward, and as a new system threatens the region with another onslaught of rain, snow and gusting winds as soon as Monday night.The National Weather Service said the next torrent could exacerbate the severe flooding that overwhelmed the area in recent days, causing a levee failure that prompted widespread evacuations Saturday in farming communities near the state's Central Coast.The next system is not expected to bring as much rain, but forecasters cautioned that “considerable flooding” could occur in lower elevations from additional rain and snowmelt that could swell creeks and streams.Flooding along the Kern River in Kernville, California on March 10, 2023. (KGET)“Definitely prepare for some more flooding impacts. The ground is very saturated. We’re already seeing some impacts from some light amounts even today," Nationa...

San Jose: Two-alarm fire destroys 1905 house at History Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:54 GMT

A two-alarm fire that destroyed a 118-year-old house at San Jose’s History Park early Sunday morning is being examined by the San Jose Fire Department’s arson unit.San Jose Fire Capt. Jeremy Mann said there were no injuries in the fire, which was reported at 3:42 a.m. and also damaged two other structures. An investigation into the cause is ongoing and could take several weeks to complete.“It’s sad,” Mann said. “Obviously you don’t want to lose any of your buildings. This has some historical significance to the city of San Jose.”A San Jose Fire Department arson investigator takes photos at History Park in San Jose of the Nelson-DeLuz house, which was destroyed in a fire Sunday, March 12, 2023. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)Ken Middlebrook, History San Jose's curator of artifacts, points out damage to the Pasetta House caused by a fire that destroyed the adjacent Nelson-DeLuz house at History Park in San Jose on Sunday, March 12...