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Disney begins laying off 7,000 employees, CEO Bob Iger announces

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

(CNN) — Disney CEO Bob Iger on Monday said his company will begin laying off staff starting this week, the first of three rounds of expected cuts following his announcement in February that the company would axe 7,000 jobs.The cuts to Disney’s global workforce are part of a multibillion-dollar cost-cutting initiative aimed at streamlining the company’s operations in a period of media industry turmoil.In a memo to staff obtained by CNN, Iger said the layoffs would come in three waves. The first round will begin this week, and managers will soon start to notify affected employees. A second, larger round of layoffs will take place in April, Iger said, with several thousand staffers let go. A third round of layoffs will then occur “before the beginning of the summer” to reach the company’s planned goal of eliminating 7,000 jobs.“The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly,&#...

Chipotle agrees to pay ex-employees after closing store that tried to unionize

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

(CNN) — Chipotle Mexican Grill will pay a total $240,000 in salary and back pay to the former employees of an Augusta, Maine, restaurant that the company shuttered after the workers tried to unionize.The settlement payouts — which are based on pay rates, average hours and seniority — will range between $5,800 to more than $21,000 to each of the affected employees.“This isn’t just a victory for Chipotle United. It’s a win for food service workers across the country,” said Brandi McNease, a former Augusta Chipotle employee and lead organizer of the Chipotle United union. “It sends a message to corporations that shutting down a store and blackballing workers didn’t work for Chipotle and it won’t work for them either.”Chipotle, which did not admit to wrongdoing as part of the settlement, has denied the allegation that union-busting was behind its decision to shutter the Augusta location last July. At that time, the company said ...

Damp & Dreary

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

Blah! After back to back nice days, it’s back to damp and dreary weather on this Tuesday morning as temps run in the upper 30s with areas of drizzle and lots of cloudiness for the morning commute. We’ll see sporadic light showers and drizzle linger through early this afternoon, before a few late-day breaks of sun are possible as we dry out for the evening commute. Highs run in the 40s as the chillier air lingers through the day. As we dry out tonight, clouds break for clearer skies as temps drop into the 30s. Tomorrow is a much brighter day with highs in the upper 40s at the coast, mid 50s inland. With some sunshine returning, it’ll be a fairly nice and seasonable late March day. Tomorrow night, a cold front sweeps through with some scattered rain and snow showers afternoon midnight/predawn Thursday.That front will clear the coast by the morning commute Thursday, but a chilly breeze pours in. In fact, high temps Thursday afternoon struggle to get much past 40. With...

Salisbury woman accused of fatally poisoning her boyfriend expected back in court

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

A Salisbury woman accused of fatally poisoning her boyfriend is expected to appear back in court Tuesday. Judy Church, 64, is charged with the murder of 46-year-old Leroy Fowler, according to the Essex District Attorney’s Office.Prosecutors say that, on November 11 around 8 p.m., Church called 911 to request an ambulance for Fowler. EMS responded and found Fowler in obvious medical distress.Fowler was initially taken to Anna Jacques Hospital in Newburyport and then to Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge before being taken to Beth Israel Hospital where he died on November 13.Investigators say Church is believed to have spiked Fowler’s drink with ethylene glycol, an industrial compound commonly found in antifreeze, deicing fluid, and hydraulic brake fluid. In the days leading up to his death, family members said Fowler told them he was worried his girlfriend was poisoning his drinks. Church pleaded not guilty in court on Feb. 9, according to her lawyer.Church’s lawyer, Tim Co...

Battenfeld: New MBTA GM must clean house and make bold changes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

New MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng must be willing to completely clean house at the dysfunctional transit agency to have any chance of success.The question hanging over the appointment by Gov. Maura Healey is: will Eng be bold enough?Healey must also be willing to get rid of the deadwood on the T board of directors, which has essentially turned into a rubber stamp for the old administration.The good news about the appointment is that Healey did not look to Canada – as reported incorrectly by one media outlet – for the new GM.Ottawa GM of transit services Renee Amilcar did not have the experience or proven track record to take over such a large and complex system as the T, but there’s no indication she was a “top tier” finalist, as reported by WBZ-TV. Amilcar says she had no intention to leave her job and denied being contacted by another transit agency.Eng does have experience with a large transit agency and a record of improving the long-troubled Long Island Rail Road, major plus...

Baseball is back and Chicago’s Ira Berkow gives us dozens of tales about ‘Baseball’s Best Ever’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd … the game of baseball, long part of the American landscape and firmly placed in the hearts of millions, is back. Our new baseball season begins Thursday when the Cubs host the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field and the White Sox visit the Houston Astros.Writers have always been drawn to the sport, to its practitioners, its meaning and its inherent poetry. Walt Whitman, referring to what was then a relatively new addition to the country’s sports scene, may have once said something along the lines of: “I see great things in baseball. It’s our game — the American game.”I am not the wildly passionate fan that I was when young, but still, before every season arrives, I reread what I consider the best novel written about baseball, Bernard Malamud’s “The Natural” (1952) — not to be confused with Robert Redford’s “The Natural” film in 1984 — and John Updike’...

Robert Kraft weighs in on Jerod Mayo’s future with the Patriots

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

PHOENIX — Robert Kraft didn’t flat out say Jerod Mayo would be the successor to Bill Belichick.But listening to the Patriots owner Monday during his session with the media at the NFL’s annual meeting, Kraft wouldn’t be disappointed if that turned out to be the case.“There’s no ceiling on his ability to be a head coach. And he’ll be a head coach,” Kraft said Monday. “I’m sure of that. I hope he’s with us. So we’ll see what happens.”Kraft said he was happy to be able to keep Mayo, who turned down several head coaching interviews during this year’s hiring circuit to remain in New England.While it’s unclear if Mayo will get a new title, he was given a pay hike, a source indicated recently, and likely got some assurances that his role would expand.“Jerod is an individual I think has no ceiling for his ability to grow and how competent he is. We had the privilege of having him as a player and I saw how intense he was and his leadership skills that he had,” said Kraft. “A...

39 dead in fire at Mexico migrant facility near US: official

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — More than three dozen migrants have died in a fire at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico near the U.S. border, an official said Tuesday.Images from the scene showed rows of bodies lying under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue could also be seen.Thirty-nine people died and 29 were injured in the fire, which broke out late Monday, according to an official with the National Immigration Institute, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for migrants entering the United States. Its shelters are full of migrants waiting for opportunities to cross or who have requested asylum in the United States and are waiting out the process.Mexico’s attorney general’s office has launched an inquiry and has investigators at the scene, according to media reports.Mar...

Dozens dead in fire at Mexican migrant facility near U.S. border

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

At least three dozen migrants have died in a fire at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico near the U.S. border, according to a newspaper report.Images from the scene showed rows of bodies lying under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue could also be seen.The Diario de Juarez newspaper, which citied unnamed sources in the Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office, said 39 people died in the fire, which broke out late Monday. Injured people have been taken to four hospitals, according to the newspaper.Neither Mexico’s National Immigration Institute nor the Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office responded immediately Tuesday to requests for confirmation.Ciudad Juarez is a major crossing point for migrants entering the United States. Its shelters are full of migrants waiting for opportunities to cross or who have requested asylum in the United States and are waiting out the proce...

US opens investigation into Tesla seat belts coming loose

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. highway safety regulators have opened yet another investigation into problems with Teslas, this time tied to complaints that the seat belts may not hold people in a crash.The investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers an estimated 50,000 Model X SUVs from the 2022 and 2023 model years.The agency says it has two complaints from Tesla owners that the front belts weren’t sufficiently connected at the factory.Documents posted by the agency Tuesday say the belt linkage and pretensioners, which tighten the belts before a crash, are anchored to the seat frames.Both complaints allege that the linkage and pretensioner separated from the frames when the vehicles were driving and force was exerted. Neither incident involved a crash.The agency says it’s opening the probe to look into Tesla’s manufacturing processes, how often the problem happens and how widespread it is. Investigations can lead to recalls.A message was left early Tuesday seeki...