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Biden Is Investing in Green Energy Across the South — Throwing Swing State Union Workers Under the Bus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:24 GMT

In 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic raged unchecked across America, President Donald Trump offered Democratic state governors an exceedingly cruel ultimatum: If you want help from the federal government, you “have to treat us well.” That exchange — lifesaving medical equipment for blue-state political support — reflects the inverse logic of the Biden administration as it seeks to revamp domestic manufacturing by directing billions of dollars into deep-red states, money that will be used to subsidize lower-paying jobs that will ultimately be able to replace union work in states that voted for Joe Biden.In late June, the Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office granted a $9.2 billion loan — its largest ever — to Ford and its joint venture partner, the Korean firm BlueOval SK, to build battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. The cash injection follows other projects, like a sprawling chip manufacturing plant and close to a dozen solar manufacturing sites across the South.The loan,...

‘American Idol’ champ Taylor Hicks touts new single, congratulates Ryan Seacrest on ‘Wheel of Fortune’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:24 GMT

Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.” toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley asks Taylor Hicks about 'Teach Me to Dance' (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Former “American Idol” champ Taylor Hicks is back with his first new music in 14 years.His newest single is called “Teach Me to Dance” off his upcoming album “Porch Swing.”“Garth Brooks really enjoyed the song ...

Georgia Tech’s Eubanks stuns Tsitsipas at Wimbledon to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:24 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Until about a week ago, even Chris Eubanks did not really believe he was capable of this sort of thing — of beating the world’s best tennis players at Wimbledon, of reaching the quarterfinals at any Grand Slam tournament, of winning match after match after match on grass courts.“I would show up to tour events saying, ‘Oh, can I get through a couple rounds of here?’” he said during an interview the day before play began at the All England Club. “Now I genuinely can say, probably for the first time, I’m showing up to tournaments with higher expectations and really wanting to do well and put my best foot forward. I’m no longer feeling OK just being there. I know that I belong.”Does he ever.Eubanks, a 6-foot-7, big-serving American making his Wimbledon debut at age 27 right after claiming the first ATP title of his career, reached the quarterfinals at a major for the first time by stunning two-time Slam runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6...

James Lewis, suspect in Tylenol poisonings that killed seven people in the Chicago area in 1982, found dead, police say.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:24 GMT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — James Lewis, suspect in Tylenol poisonings that killed seven people in the Chicago area in 1982, found dead, police say.Source

Ex-Juventus president Andrea Agnelli banned for another 16 months

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:24 GMT

ROME (AP) — Former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli was banned from soccer for another 16 months after he was charged with fraud for the way he handled player salary cuts during the coronavirus pandemic.It adds to a two-year ban already inflicted on Agnelli for a false accounting case.Agnelli was also fined 60,000 euros ($65,000) by the Italian soccer federation on Monday after being judged responsible for wrongdoing in relationships with player agents and partnerships with other clubs.Juventus and seven other former Juventus directors agreed to a plea bargain with the federation in May over the salary case, while Agnelli was the only figure in the case who decided to be judged.At the start of the pandemic, Juventus said 23 players agreed to reduce their salary for four months to help the club through the crisis. But prosecutors claim the players gave up only one month’s salary.Juventus, which was docked 10 points last season for false accounting in a separate legal case, risked a ...

DC’s record high office vacancy is far from universal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:24 GMT

The office vacancy rate in the District is now a record high 18.9%, but a small share of office buildings account for a substantial portion of empty office space.Commercial real estate firm JLL repots 41% of the office vacancy rate in D.C. is concentrated in just 60 buildings, and overwhelmingly older buildings. Office buildings constructed before 2000 account for 75% of the city’s vacancy, and that is more than double a decade ago.“The pandemic has created a bifurcation in the office market of ‘haves and have-nots’ now, so if you’re an owner of an older building, you are facing challenges as tenants flock to new or recently-renovated space that offer more in the way of amenities and more of a commute-worthy experience for those employees. As a result, owners of older buildings are left with real critical investment decisions today,” said Michael Hartnett, Mid-Atlantic Research Lead at JLL.The District and developers are actively pursuing office-to-residential conversions of older b...

Jury selection underway in trial over Aretha Franklin’s handwritten wills

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:24 GMT

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge narrowed the issues Monday in a dispute over Aretha Franklin’s estate, saying the only task for jurors is whether a 2014 document handwritten by the Queen of Soul and found in couch cushions can be accepted as a valid will.The stipulation was made by attorneys for Franklin’s sons before jury selection began in Oakland County Probate Court.Franklin died in 2018 at age 76. But five years later, the music superstar’s estate remains unsettled. A son, Ted White II, believes a 2010 handwritten will should mainly control the estate, but two other sons, Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin, are in favor of a 2014 document.Both were found in 2019, months after Franklin died. The 2014 document was under cushions at Franklin’s home in suburban Detroit.The brothers sat shoulder to shoulder behind their lawyers in Judge Jennifer Callaghan’s courtroom. Another brother, Clarence Franklin, is under a guardianship and apparently is ...

Denverites are stressed about work

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Denverites aren't stressed about money, health, safety or family, but they're working themselves hard to avoid that stress.Researchers at WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 39 key metrics to determine stress levels, considering everything from average weekly work hours to the unemployment rate to divorce and suicide rates. The final results were grouped into four broad categories of stress: work stress, financial stress, family stress and health and safety stress. 1 killed in early morning crash in Aurora It turns out Denverites are among the most stressed out by work nationwide. The city ranks fifth for work stress. This puts it among other workaholic strongholds. Washington, D.C. ranks first, followed by Chicago, New York City and Baltimore.Overall, however, Denver has an average ranking for total stress levels, 74th overall. The work stress seems to lead to more money to smooth over the rest of life's issues. Of 180 cities, Denver ranks 139 for fin...

Woman accused of helping ex-fiancé murder his baby’s mother in Texas in 2020 arrested in Miami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:24 GMT

Holly Ann Elkins, the ex-fiancée of Andrew Charles Beard, who shot and stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in 2020, has been apprehended in Miami and charged with orchestrating the brutal slaying, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. The arrest follows an indictment last month, in which Elkins, 32, faces multiple charges related to the crime.Elkins made her initial appearance in Miami on Friday afternoon after being taken into custody on Thursday. The indictment against her includes charges of conspiracy to stalk, stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury and death, and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.According to the indictment, Elkins allegedly played a key role in plotting the killing of Andrew Beard’s ex-girlfriend, 24-year-old Alyssa Ann Burkett, with whom Beard shared a child. Beard had already pleaded guilty to cyberstalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death and dischargi...

EU Parliament hammers out long-awaited anti-harassment reforms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:24 GMT

STRASBOURG — The European Parliament is thrashing out a revamp of its anti-harassment reforms in a closed-door meeting of top MEPs Monday evening, amid fears that many cases in the institution are flying under the radar because victims fear coming forward.At a meeting of the powerful Bureau of 20 top MEPs, including President Roberta Metsola and her 14 vice presidents, MEPs will chew over a slate of reforms that have been cooked up during seven months of talks. Already this year, two MEPs — Mónica Silvana González and Monica Semedo — were sanctioned for psychologically harassing staff.Looming over the deliberations is a recent survey carried out by an in-house campaign group called MeTooEP, which found that of the 1,001 respondents, just under half (484 people) had experienced psychological harassment, 16 percent (159) experienced sexual harassment, and 7 percent (67) faced physical violence. The majority of respondents were civil servants; MEPs’ assistants were the next bigges...