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Chicago White Sox expected to add 3 new front office members: Josh Barfield, Brian Bannister and Gene Watson

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 11:28:48 GMT

Chicago White Sox manager Pedro Grifol lauded Josh Barfield’s presence, Brian Bannister’s creativity and Gene Watson’s wealth of knowledge.Grifol was asked about the three expected additions to the White Sox front office after Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.“I think (general manager) Chris (Getz) has assembled a really good team around him,” Grifol said.MLB.com was first to report Tuesday night that Barfield would be joining the Sox as an assistant general manager. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale was first to report Bannister’s role in pitching development and Watson in player personnel.Barfield, 40, is director of player development for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played four major-league seasons (2006-09) as a second baseman for San Diego and Cleveland.“I met Josh not too long ago; he was extremely impressive,” Grifol said. “Great presence. Just a really good demeanor. A smart guy.R...

Boston man held without bail, charged with crushing Charlestown woman’s skull

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 11:28:48 GMT

A heavyset man shorter than 6 feet tall who likes to go by the name “Tank” also allegedly likes to beat women, according to Boston prosecutors.Terry “Tank” Robinson Jr., 33, of Boston, is being held without bail following a dangerousness hearing in Charlestown Wednesday.Robinson is charged with assault and battery causing serious bodily injury and armed assault to murder after he allegedly bludgeoned a woman with an unknown object causing her to bleed for days, according to the Suffolk District Attorney’s office. A portion of the woman’s skull had to be removed and she now wears a helmet to protect further injury to her brain.“This is a bizarre and concerning incident. It is miraculous that the victim is alive after suffering such a violent and traumatic injury without receiving immediate medical care,” Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden said in a Wednesday statement. I commend the first responders for recognizing the victim’s situation so quickly, and the Boston police for tracking down the p...

Google Maps directs man off collapsed bridge, lawsuit

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 11:28:48 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. — The family of a North Carolina man who died after driving his car off a collapsed bridge while following Google Maps directions is suing the technology giant for negligence, claiming it had been informed of the collapse but failed to update its navigation system.Philip Paxson, a medical device salesman and father of two, drowned Sept. 30, 2022, after his Jeep Gladiator plunged into Snow Creek in Hickory, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Wake County Superior Court. Paxson was driving home from his daughter’s ninth birthday party through an unfamiliar neighborhood when Google Maps allegedly directed him to cross a bridge that had collapsed nine years prior and was never repaired.“Our girls ask how and why their daddy died, and I’m at a loss for words they can understand because, as an adult, I still can’t understand how those responsible for the GPS directions and the bridge could have acted with so little regard for human life,” his wife, Alicia Paxson, s...

Tobin Bridge’s future up in the air; MassDOT to study potential replacement

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 11:28:48 GMT

After years of repairs to the Tobin Bridge, MassDOT has started discussing whether the structure will be viable for future generations.The agency will be releasing a request for proposals on Friday “to procure a transportation planning and engineering consultant team to develop and evaluate options for the eventual replacement” of the bridge, according to acting Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt.Since opening in 1950, the 2-mile bridge has carried traffic over the Mystic River between Boston and Chelsea, and repair projects have become increasingly commonplace, some leading to lane closures.“Repairs are not a permanent solution,” Tibbits-Nutt told the MassDOT Board of Directors on Wednesday. “That’s (why) we are releasing the RFP for a planning and engineering team to do a study which is intended to help us think and gather perspective on the bridge’s future, while it’s still in good working order.”Wednesday’s board meeting marked Tibbits-Nutt’s first as acting secretary,...

First Bob Ross TV painting, completed in a half an hour, goes on sale for nearly $10 million

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 11:28:48 GMT

By MARK VANCLEAVE and SCOTT McFETRIDGE (Associated Press)MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — What would Bob Ross think?The artist who brought painting to the people, with works completed for PBS viewers in less than a half-hour with little more than a large bristle brush, putty knife and plenty of encouragement, certainly wouldn’t have envisioned one of his works going up for sale for nearly $10 million.But that’s the price a Minneapolis gallery is asking for “A Walk in the Woods,” the first of more than 400 paintings that Ross produced on-air for his TV series “The Joy of Painting.”“It is season one, episode one of what you would call the rookie card for Bob Ross,” Ryan Nelson, who owns the gallery, Modern Artifact, said of the work created in the show’s debut, which aired Jan. 11, 1983.Growing up in a small town, Nelson said he was introduced to art through Ross’ show and loves his paintings. He doesn’t expect a quick sale giv...

San Diego leaders urge Newsom to declare an emergency over Tijuana River pollution

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 11:28:48 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Another group of San Diego leaders are urging California Governor Gavin Newsom to declare an emergency over the Tijuana River sewage crisis. The water from the Tijuana River Valley is contaminated with sewage that comes from Mexico and other areas of the border. The situation has caused South Bay beaches to be closed for 650 consecutive days now.  4,500 more Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers in San Diego vote to strike The crisis, however, has been an issue that’s been ongoing for decades. San Diego leadership is now saying it has stop stop as it is affecting and threatening the public’s health.Commissioners with the Port of San Diego are now joining the fight.“Today our families and friends are forced to choose between public access and public health, between toxic pollution in the ocean or toxic pollution on land. No more," said Sandy Naranjo, Vice Chair of the Port of San Diego. "An emergency declaration today means a fast track to funding to effi...

Newsom's self-critique of state COVID response about 'humility'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 11:28:48 GMT

(NewsNation) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in the middle of assessing his state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a process he says is about "grace and humility."The "self-reflective critique" will look at policies the state implemented on mask mandates and lockdowns, as well as how vaccines were distributed. "It's about humility and grace, it's about acknowledging the criticism. It's about taking that to heart, about learning from the past so you don't repeat it. It's about being more prepared going forward," Newsom said Tuesday on "CUOMO." Newsom recently told NBC's "Meet the Press" that "we would've done everything differently," given what he knows now about the pandemic."None of us knew what we didn't know. We're all geniuses in hindsight; not just experts, geniuses," he said. House GOP pulls key vote on stopgap spending bill amid conservative opposition During the pandemic, Newsom faced criticism over the strict lockdowns and mask mandates he implemented in the state;...

Two Montreal Island towns file court challenge to Quebec language law reform

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 11:28:48 GMT

MONTREAL — Two Montreal suburbs filed a court challenge today to Quebec’s 2022 language reform, seeking to be exempted from several articles of the law commonly known as Bill 96.Hampstead and Town of Mount Royal say the articles, which limit government communications in languages other than French, contradict elements of the law that allow certain municipalities and government agencies to use other languages.The lawsuit also seeks to have the court declare unconstitutional a provision of the law that declares the French text of Quebec laws takes precedence over the English version if there is a discrepancy between the two.It also argues that the Quebec government cannot unilaterally change the Canadian Constitution — which states that French and English can be used in Quebec’s legislature and courts — to make French the province’s only official language.Both towns have bilingual status, allowing them to communicate with citizens in French and English, but they say ...

Four young firefighters heading home die in head-on crash on B.C. highway: RCMP

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 11:28:48 GMT

CACHE CREEK, B.C. — Four young men travelling home after helping in the battle against wildfires in central British Columbia are dead after a fiery head-on crash, police and provincial officials said Wednesday.RCMP Cpl. James Grandy said the crash happened on Highway 1 east of Cache Creek in the province’s southern Interior early Tuesday morning.A provincial statement said the men were heading home after aiding wildfire response efforts in the Vanderhoof area, west of Prince George.Grandy said the initial investigation suggests a Ford F-350 pick-up truck the young men were travelling in had failed to navigate a bend in the highway and slammed head-on into a semi-truck travelling in the opposite direction.The semi-truck caught fire, but the driver was able to escape before the vehicle was “engulfed,” the Mounties said in a statement.All four men inside the pick-up truck died at the scene. They have been identified as subcontractors for the BC Wildfire Service, polic...

Railroads work to make sure firefighters can quickly look up what is on a train after a derailment

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 11:28:48 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — In the chaos after a Norfolk Southern train careened off the tracks and caught fire in eastern Ohio in February, it took roughly 45 minutes for firefighters to learn exactly which chemicals were involved.Now the railroad industry is trying to ensure that never happens again.Ever since that Feb. 3 derailment prompted concerns about rail safety nationwide, the major railroads have redoubled their efforts to make sure that more and more first responders can immediately look up the contents of any freight train. This week, the two counties that handled the initial response to the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border were set up with the AskRail program that will allow dispatchers to look up everything a train is carrying as soon as they get one car number. That is part of an effort the Association of American Railroads trade group launched this spring to sign up emergency dispatch centers in the program. “It’s going to allow us to make bett...