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Northwestern fires coach Pat Fitzgerald after hazing allegations surface with football team

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:27 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Northwestern fired coach Pat Fitzgerald on Monday amid a hazing scandal that called into question his leadership of the program and damaged the university’s reputation after it mishandled its response to the allegations.Fitzgerald’s dismissal completed a rapid fall from grace for the former Northwestern linebacker. The 48-year-old Fitzgerald had been firmly entrenched at his alma mater, an annual fixture on any list of college coaches with the most job security.“The head coach is ultimately responsible for the culture of his team,” Northwestern President Michael Schill wrote in an open letter to the university community. “The hazing we investigated was widespread and clearly not a secret within the program, providing Coach Fitzgerald with the opportunity to learn what was happening. Either way, the culture in Northwestern Football, while incredible in some ways, was broken in others.”Fitzgerald went 110-101 in 17 seasons as Northwestern’s head...

Los Angeles Times owners sell San Diego Union-Tribune to publishing powerhouse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:27 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The owner of the Los Angeles Times has sold sister paper The San Diego Union-Tribune to MediaNews Group, which owns hundreds of papers around the country, the paper announced Monday.The decision comes after the LA Times announced last month that it was cutting 74 jobs — 13% of its newsroom positions — to deal with financial difficulties. The Union-Tribune, which covers the second-largest city in California, will now be owned by the same chain that owns a slew of Southern California newspapers. The parent company is Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund that has been buying up newspapers across the country and faced criticism for slashing budgets and cutting jobs.The new owner is offering employee buyouts through next Monday and may lay people off, the Union-Tribune reported. Sharon Ryan, executive vice president of California for MediaNews Group, said in an email to employees that cutbacks will be needed to “offset the slowdown in revenues as economic headwi...

Masked men burn a market in a Mexican city plagued by gang violence, killing 9 people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:27 GMT

TOLUCA, Mexico (AP) — Masked gunmen set fire to a public market in the central Mexican city of Toluca on Monday, killing nine people, authorities said.Prosecutors said the attackers arrived, opened fire, and then doused part of the market with a flammable substance before setting it on fire and fleeing. They said three of the dead appeared to be under 18, but identifications were still pending.A statement said prosecutors were investigating private security guards for abandoning their posts at the time of the attack.No one claimed responsibility for the attack in Toluca, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) west of Mexico City. Toluca, capital of the State of Mexico, is a city of almost a million inhabitants and is considered part of the capital’s metropolitan area, with some residents commuting to the capital to work.Fires at public markets in Mexico are often set by gangs demanding protection payments from vendors, but some have also been set by vendors disputing the possession of...

Employers say B.C. port strike spills over, U.S. workers refuse to touch Canada cargo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:27 GMT

VANCOUVER — Maritime employers says the impact of the B.C. port strike is spilling over internationally, as U.S. port workers refuse to handle containers rerouted from Vancouver to Seattle.The BC Maritime Employers Association says the move further damages the “reliability and competitiveness of West Coast ports up and down” as the work stoppage drags on for a 10th day.International Longshore and Warehouse Union International president Willie Adams told CNBC last week that members of the U.S. West Coast chapter of the union won’t be unloading Canadian-bound cargo in solidarity with the striking workers in B.C.Adams told a rally in Vancouver on Sunday that anyone who thought they could offload Canada-bound cargo at Tacoma, Seattle, Oakland or Los Angeles should know that it “ain’t happening.”The workers and their employer held a round of bargaining over the weekend, the first talks since negotiations collapsed one week ago, but neither side is sayi...

Gordon Reid, founder of discount store chain Giant Tiger, dies at 89

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:27 GMT

OTTAWA — Gordon Reid, the Canadian businessman who founded discount store chain Giant Tiger, has died at 89.The company says in a statement that Reid died at his home after a brief illness.Reid opened the first Giant Tiger store in 1961 in Ottawa’s ByWard Market.The chain now has more than 265 locations across Canada and employs more than 10,000 people.Reid stepped down as chief executive in 2020.The company says no change in ownership or management is expected to result from Reid’s death.“Gordon was a giant within Canada’s retail sector, an innovator who reshaped the industry,” said Gino DiGioacchino, interim president and CEO, in the statement. “To us, he was also a friend and mentor. He will be greatly missed.”This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2023.The Canadian Press

‘Algae park’: Water in Toronto’s new Love Park turns bright green

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:27 GMT

Residents stopping by Toronto’s new Love Park were surprised by the water’s colour in the pond as it has turned a swampy, bright green only two weeks after the space was officially unveiled to the public.A photo shared on Reddit on Monday captured the current state of the water in Love Park’s heart-shaped pond — one of its main features.Redditors joked that the park looked more like “Algae Park” and “Mosquito Love Park” due to the colour of the water.A city spokesperson said a mechanical malfunction is the root cause of the pond’s current state.“City staff are working alongside both Waterfront Toronto and the contractor to address the issue and ensure the pond returns to working order as soon as possible,” they said.“Some greening is expected to occur during this ‘balancing period,’ and the green shade is expected to subside as final adjustments are made.”On June 23, the City of Toronto officia...

Pilot in illegal Grand Teton National Park landing: 'We were not having a picnic'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:27 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A Colorado man is facing federal charges for landing a helicopter in Grand Teton National Park.Helicopter pilot Peter Smith, of Gunnison, faces two misdemeanors in the incident, according to the National Park Service. If convicted, he could owe $10,000 in fines and spend a year in jail. "The unauthorized landing of helicopters is prohibited on the lands and waters within the boundaries of Grand Teton National Park in order to protect wildlife and other natural resources and to preserve the visitor experience," the NPS said in a release. It was a popular national monument, until it was robbed to extinction Smith is accused of illegally landing his helicopter at Moran Bay, on the west shore of Jackson Lake, on the afternoon of Saturday, June 24. The National Park Service said a Colorado man illegally landed his helicopter in Grand Teton National Park. (Credit: National Park Service)The helicopter landed in an area inaccessible except by boat or by hiking at least 10 ...

Minnesota Amish families win case that pits septic tank rules against religious beliefs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:27 GMT

Members of a deeply conservative Amish community in Minnesota don’t need to install septic systems to dispose of their “gray water,” the state Court of Appeals ruled Monday in a long-running religious freedom case that went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.A three-judge panel ruled that the government “failed to demonstrate a compelling state interest” to justify overriding the religious freedom of the Amish families that challenged state regulations governing the disposal of gray water, which is water that’s been used for dishwashing, laundry, and bathing, but not toilet waste.The Swartzentruber Amish in southeastern Minnesota are among the most traditional Amish groups in the country, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch noted in a 2021 ruling. It sent the case back to Minnesota courts for reconsideration in light of a high court decision a month earlier in a different religious freedom case. That ruling went in favor of a Philadelphia-based Catholic foster ...

Appeals court: Governor Walz had authority to impose mask mandate during COVID pandemic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:27 GMT

ST. PAUL — Gov. Tim Walz had the legal authority to mandate face masks when he declared a public health emergency in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Monday.Walz declared a peacetime emergency in March 2020 and mandated masking in most indoor public spaces in July 2020. The conservative Upper Midwest Law Center sued, challenging the mask requirement as unconstitutional. Walz lifted the mandate in May 2021, at which point the Court of Appeals declared the case moot.But the Minnesota Supreme Court in February sent the case back to the appeals court to settle the key legal question behind the case: whether the the Minnesota Emergency Management Act of 1996 authorizes a governor to declare a peacetime emergency during a public health emergency such as the pandemic. The high court called it an “important issue of statewide significance.”The appeals court rejected as “unreasonable” the plaintiffs’ assertions that the coronavirus “most lik...

Preparations underway for farmers market outside MVP Arena

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:18:27 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Final preparations are underway for a new farmers market in downtown Albany. County leaders partnered with MVP Healthcare and the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District to host four farmers markets outside MVP Arena this year.The first one takes place on Sunday, July 16. Local vendors will serve organic produce, baked goods, and more. Local leaders said it will expand access to fresh, healthy food. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "Even if they make it to the Price Chopper on Delaware Avenue or ShopRite in Delmar, they got to take a bus, and then they got to transport groceries with them, and they have to keep moving," Albany County Executive Dan McCoy said. "This gives an opportunity for people to come here to give exposure to our great MVP Arena to really look at what we're doing here."There will also be educational activities at each farmers market. Sunday's market will focus on healthy liv...