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Richard Ravitch, public servant who shepherded New York through fiscal crisis, dies at 89

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:19 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Ravitch, a former lieutenant governor and longtime civic leader known for his role in steering New York City through the fiscal crisis of the 1970s and stabilizing its mass transit system in the 1980s, has died at the age of 89.His death Sunday at a Manhattan hospital was confirmed by his wife, Kathleen Doyle.Ravitch, a lifelong New Yorker, was called upon frequently over six decades to untangle some of the region’s knottiest problems, earning a reputation as a public sector fixer who brought colorful language and strong opinions to budget wrangling and deal-making.While working as a real estate developer for his family’s company, he was first enlisted by Gov. Hugh Carey in 1975 to help rescue New York’s failing Urban Development Corporation, crafting a bailout package that helped the state entity stave off bankruptcy.Later that year, Ravitch organized a last-minute rescue package with the city teachers’ union that allowed New York City itself to avoid ...

Montreal’s Yannick Nézet-Séguin is remaking the Metropolitan Opera from the bottom up

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:19 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Yannick Nézet-Séguin is remaking the Metropolitan Opera from the bottom up.When the 48-year-old conductor leans forward to extend his arms and emphasize vibrato or stretches high for a fortissimo during an orchestra concert, the red soles of his patent leather Christian Louboutins become visible. He nearly leaves the ground, a visual contrast to the final years of predecessor James Levine, who conducted while seated from 2001 on and from a motorized wheelchair during his final five seasons because of Parkinson’s disease. “I still feel that we are at the beginning of our journey together,” Nézet-Séguin said during a rehearsal break last week. “I can appreciate maybe the growth in our understanding of music, common understanding and the trust, so it feels much more like — I hate to say Yannick’s orchestra, because it’s not what it’s about — I’m there to just curate.”Finishing his fifth season as music director, he takes the Met on its first tour since 2011 and th...

‘We will navigate this together:’ Funerals begin for seniors killed in bus crash

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:19 GMT

After months of recovery from an accident, Donna Showdra was excited to venture on her first small trip doing something she loved — spending a day at the casino. Showdra, 79, was among the seniors on a minibus from western Manitoba travelling to the Sand Hills Casino on June 15 when it went into the path of a semi-trailer truck on the Trans-Canada Highway near the town of Carberry. Sixteen of the seniors, who were from Dauphin and the surrounding area, died in the crash, while nine others on the bus remain in hospital, including four in critical care. Showdra’s family gathered for a private service in Dauphin on Monday morning, which was also livestreamed for the public, as funerals start for those who were killed in the fiery crash. Cortney Prytula stood next to an enlarged photo of Showdra as she shared stories about her “compassionate but tough” baba, or grandmother, during the reading of a eulogy. A light brown closed casket sat in the centre of the room. It wa...

Civil rights icon James Meredith turns 90, urges people to fight crime by obeying Ten Commandments

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:19 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — James Meredith knew he was putting his life in danger in the 1960s by pursuing what he believes was his divine mission: conquering white supremacy in the deeply, and often violently, segregated state of Mississippi.A half-century later, the civil rights leader is still talking about his mission from God. In recent weeks, he made several appearances around his home state, urging people to obey the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule in order to reduce crime. On his 90th birthday on Sunday, Meredith said older generations should lead the way.“Old folks not only can control it — it’s their job to control it,” Meredith told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday after an event honoring him at the Mississippi Capitol. Meredith is a civil rights icon who has long resisted that label because he believes it sets issues such as voting rights and equal access to education apart from other human rights.During the event, Meredith fell while trying to stand and ...

Pilot killed when small plane hits North Carolina home, 3 inside unharmed, officials say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:19 GMT

SOUTHPORT, N.C. (AP) — A pilot was killed when a single-engine plane crashed into a home a few blocks from an airport in coastal North Carolina on Sunday, and three people in the home escaped without injury, officials said.Firefighters found the plane fully engulfed in flames, with the exterior of the home burning too, Southport Fire Chief Charles Drew said in a social media post. The people in the home at the time got out on their own and the fire was contained within 15 minutes, he said.The plane had taken off from nearby Cape Fear Regional Jetport, Drew said. Only the pilot was aboard the Mooney M20R when it left the airport at 4:15 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. A preliminary FAA report shows that the pilot was killed.The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.Airport Director Howie Franklin said staffers told him that the pilot radioed about five minutes into the flight saying he wanted to come back, the Wilmington Star...

25-year-old woman seriously wounded in South Shore shooting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:19 GMT

CHICAGO — A 25-year-old woman was shot Monday morning while walking in South Shore.Just after 10:30 a.m., police said the woman was walking in the 2800 block of East 75th Street, near Rainbow Beach, when she sustained a gunshot wound to the back.The woman was able to self-transport to Jackson Park Hospital and then was later transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious condition. Uber passenger shot and killed in University Village No one is in custody.

See where the Wienermobile is stopping in Chicago over the next few weeks

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:19 GMT

CHICAGO — It might have a different name, but one of the more unique automobiles in tribute to Chicago staple is still popular around the city. Hence the Oscar Mayer Frankmobile - formerly known as the Wienermobile - is making a few stops in area over the next few weeks. Led by the drivers "BBQ Brady" and "Grill 'Em up Emily, the unique machine that's in the shape of a hot dog will visit a collection of parades, celebrations, and businesses from June 27 through July 4.Already the "Frankmobile" has been around town, including Chicago's Pride Parade on the north side of the city on Sunday. June 27 - AON Center - Waukegan (10:30 am – 12:00 pm) AON Center- Chicago (3:00 pm – 5:00 pm)June 28 - Fairplay - 4640 S. Halsted St. - Chicago (11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) Fairplay - 2200 S. Western Ave. - Chicago (3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.)June 29 - Fairplay - 8631 W. 95th St. - Hickory Hills (11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.) Fairplay - 6620 W. 111th St....

Faster rail service between Chicago and St. Louis begins

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:19 GMT

CHICAGO — Train travel in and out of Chicago is speeding up. Governor JB Pritzker was at Union Station on Monday to announce the start of a new high-speed rail service between Chicago and St. Louis. Trains on the Lincoln Service Route will now travel up to 110 miles an hour — 20 miles an hour faster than before. It's expected to shave 15 minutes off the travel time, making the commute less than five hours between the two cities.  Illinois’ cocktails to-go law extended 5 more years “Illinois is the only state where all seven of the nation’s largest railroads operate. That’s a unique economic advantage recognized by employers across the globe, helping our state attract and maintain quality jobs,” Pritzker said. “By upgrading to higher-speed service on Illinois’ largest passenger rail line, we are solidifying our status as the transportation hub of North America. Investments like these do more than just connect cities – they allow our residents to access opportunities ...

Supreme Court lets lawsuit over team doctor's sexual abuse proceed against Ohio State

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday left in place a decision that allows more than 230 men to sue Ohio State University over decades-old sexual abuse by a university doctor, the late Richard Strauss.Two cases involving the abuse were on a list of many cases the court said it would not hear. And, as is typical, the court did not comment in saying it would not hear the cases.Ohio State University had urged the court to review a ruling by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that revived lawsuits that had been dismissed. The men who sued are among hundreds of former student-athletes and other alumni who say they were abused by Strauss, who worked at the school from 1978 to 1998.They say university officials failed to stop him despite complaints raised as early as the late 1970s. Many of them allege Strauss abused them during required physicals and other medical exams at campus athletic facilities, a student health center, his home and an off-campus clin...

DeSantis vows to end birthright citizenship as part of immigration plan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:19 GMT

(The Hill) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a leading Republican presidential candidate, vowed to end birthright citizenship as a part of his immigration released on Monday. “We will take action to end the idea that the children of illegal aliens are entitled to birthright citizenship if they are born in the United States,” the plan, which is titled “No Excuses,” reads.  “Dangling the prize of citizenship to the future offspring of illegal immigrants is a major driver of illegal migration. It is also inconsistent with the original understanding of 14th Amendment, and we will force the courts and Congress to finally address this failed policy.” Like DeSantis, former President Trump vowed last month to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who entered the country illegally.  The former president also pledged to end the practice with an executive order during his administration in 2018. However, most immigration expe...