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NYC will add Diwali as a public school holiday. But there’s a catch this year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City will add the festival of Diwali to the list of public school holidays in recognition of the growth of the city’s South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.Diwali, known as the festival of lights, happens October or November, depending on the lunar calendar.However, this year it falls on Sunday Nov. 12 — meaning the 2023-2024 school calendar will not be affected by the change.City officials say more that 200,000 New York City residents celebrate Diwali, which is observed by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhists.“This is a city that’s continuously changing, continuously welcoming communities from all over the world,” Adams said in announcing that Diwali will join celebrations including Rosh Hashana and Lunar New Year as a day off for students. “Our school calendar must reflect the new reality on the ground.”The new holiday will become official if Gov. Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, signs a bill passed by the New...

As Toronto readies for Collision conference, some wonder how much it brings to city

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:37 GMT

TORONTO — When the global tech community descends on Toronto next week for the Collision conference, there will be chatter about the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, which many predict is poised to disrupt all sectors of the economy, and the wave of layoffs that has shaken the industry.But between appearances from AI leader Geoffrey Hinton and executives from Airbnb, Amazon Web Services and Google’s AI researcher Deep Mind will be another hot topic: the value and future of the event itself.The travelling conference run by Irish parent company WebSummit is designed to unite startups, investors and business heavyweights over four days of mingling and discussions about technology. This year will mark Toronto’s fifth time playing host after the event extended its stay when the COVID-19 pandemic forced it online for two years. The event, previously held in New Orleans, announced another Toronto extension until 2024 on Tuesday.It has yet to name its host city for 2025, but rem...

Work begins to clean up train derailment in Montana’s Yellowstone River

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:37 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Work is underway to clean up rail cars carrying hazardous materials that fell into the Yellowstone River in southern Montana after a bridge collapsed over the weekend, officials said Monday.Montana Rail Link is developing a cleanup plan and is working with its unions and BNSF Railway to reroute freight trains in the area to limit disruption of the supply chain, Beth Archer of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality said in a joint statement issued by Montana Rail Link and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.Contractors and a large crane were on site to stabilize and remove cars from the river once a plan is set, officials said.Some rail cars that did not go off the tracks were removed from the area, and two cars carrying sodium hydrosulfide had their contents transferred to other cars and moved to safety, Archer said. Sixteen cars derailed, and 10 of them ended up in the river downstream from Yellowstone National Park Saturday morning. Six mangle...

Luis Robert Jr. gets an MLB honor as he makes case for All-Star Game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:37 GMT

CHICAGO — While the White Sox haven't been able to turn their bad start around early this summer, one of their young players has done so quite well in doing so.Luis Robert Jr.'s performance over the past week earned him a first from Major League Baseball on Monday - and could help him get another first in a few weeks.The center fielder was named the American League's Player of the Week over the course of six games from June 19-25. It's the first time he's been given a weekly award by the MLB as he continues his strong performance over the next two months. Robert sported a slash line of .444/.524/1.111 with four homers and 5 RBI during the six-game stretch, including two homers in a win over the Red Sox on Sunday. He also tied the game against Boston on Saturday with a home run, which the White Sox would go on to win 5-4. It continues a strong month of June for Robert, who is hitting .295 with five doubles, eight homers and 12 RBI. During the month of May, he hit .310 with nine doubl...

Dangerous early summer temperatures to continue, heat warnings extended

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:37 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Heat Advisory (orange) continues for all of Central Texas, with some areas getting bumped up to an Excessive Heat Warning (pink) for "feels-like" temperatures up to 112+º during the afternoon. These heat alerts have been extended for Tuesday as a dangerous combination of high temperatures and humidity will continue.Heat alerts in effect for every area county through TuesdayOur Summer Fan Drive is underway and needs your help now! Please click here to find out how you can make an on-line donation and learn more about Family Eldercare's Summer Fan Drive event with KXAN on Friday, July 14. BLOG: June likely to end as top 5 warmest in Austin The center of the upper-level ridge is northeast of El Paso now, but heading towards Central Texas. We expect this high to be to be centered over Central Texas Tuesday. This will likely make both days just as hot, if not hotter than Monday.Hottest days will be tomorrow and WednesdayThe high, by Friday, will be over Louisiana...

Texas sprinter Julien Alfred named finalist for women's Bowerman award

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:37 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas sprinter Julien Alfred is in the hunt for college track and field's most prestigious prize.Alfred was named a finalist for The Bowerman, an award given to the top college men's and women's track and field athlete each year, the award's selection committee announced Monday.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersFlorida's Jasmine Moore and Arkansas' Britton Wilson are the other finalists. The winner will be announced in December. Between the three athletes, they have 12 collegiate records with Alfred accounting for five of them. Alfred also has five NCAA gold medals between indoor and outdoor seasons this year, winning the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes during the indoor season and the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay in the outdoor season.The selection committee released its list of semifinalists June 21 and it included two other Longhorns, Rhasidat Adeleke and Ac...

Union representing 15,000 MN state workers wins 10 percent pay hike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:37 GMT

Members of the union representing some 15,000 state workers will get their largest pay increase in three decades under a tentative contract agreement announced Monday.Minnesota Management and Budget agreed to give members of the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, or MAPE, a 5.5 percent pay increase in the first year and another 4.5 percent in year two of a tentative deal that runs to 2025. The state initially offered to increase wages by just 3.5 percent over two years.“We asked for what we deserved — 11% and 10% raises — and did not get that, but we fought for every cent and won a lot,” Adam Novotny, who co-chairs the union’s negotiating team, said in a statement announcing the tentative agreement.MAPE said the deal also includes a 2.5 percent increase in health care costs but better benefits, including for mental health and fertility treatments. The state also will increase its contribution to health plans for corrections officers working at M...

Theater review: CDT’s ‘Jersey Boys’ is a winner thanks to savvy casting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:37 GMT

The key to a winning production of the jukebox musical “Jersey Boys” is casting the right actors in the four main roles of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and in its new production that opened Friday, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres did just that.All four actors playing the parts of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers deliver, including David Darrow (Tommy DeVito), Sam Stoll (Bob Gaudio) and Shad Hanley (Nick Massi). But the real revelation in the show is Will Dusek, a recent Illinois Wesleyan University graduate making his CDT debut.The Four Seasons scored two dozen hits in the ’60s thanks in large part to Valli’s distinct falsetto vocals. Dusek handily captures the spirit of Valli’s unusual delivery without directly mimicking it. Beyond that, though, he effortlessly portrays Valli’s journey from just another New Jersey kid to a worldwide pop star. It’s a star-making role for sure and one can’t help but think Dusek’s future is a bright one.“Jers...

Couple celebrating 50th wedding anniversary among 3 stabbed to death outside Boston

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:37 GMT

The couple and mother who were tragically murdered in their home over the weekend were beloved by family members and their faith community, the victims’ relatives said in a letter to parishioners at Our Lady Help of Christians in Newton sent Monday afternoon.“It is with a heavy heart that we share that the terrible tragedy that happened yesterday in Newton hit very close to home… impacting our faith community and our own family,” the letter read. “Jill and Bruno D’Amore and Jill’s mother Lucia Arpino lost their lives in a senseless act of violence.”The three were found dead in their Newton home Sunday morning by a friend who noticed them missing in church Sunday morning. The D’Amores were set to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary at the Sunday mass.Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said there was signs of forced entry at the home, and warned community members to keep their doors and windows locked as the search for the killer continues.Jill and Bruno D’Amore were in thei...

Tony Finau on his recent run of success: ‘It all started at the 3M Open’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:37 GMT

Never mind that nearly a year has passed since Tony Finau won the PGA Tour’s 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine. He still vividly remembers the adrenaline coursing through his veins last July as he stood on the tee box at No. 17 late in the final round.In a span of a few holes, Finau somehow went from trailing Scott Piercy by three strokes to leading the tournament by four strokes.His mindset throughout the weekend had been, “Let’s try and catch this guy.” Suddenly it had shifted to, “You better not blow it.”“I ended up hitting a 6-iron about 225 yards in the air into the wind,” Finau said. “That gives an idea of how much adrenaline I had going through my body.”Maybe the story would have ended differently had Finau not caught a lucky break on the penultimate hole. He overcooked his tee shot at the worst possible time and the ball mercifully stayed out of the water despite caroming off the grandstand behind the green with ...