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Man charged with killing 5-year-old who was found dead in a suitcase 9 years ago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:52:43 GMT

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Nine years after the body of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver was found in a suitcase beside a Massachusetts highway, the former boyfriend of the child’s mother will be arraigned Thursday on a murder charge in connection with the death, prosecutors said.Alberto Sierra Jr., 32, is charged with murder and disinterring a body and will be arraigned in Worcester Superior Court, the office of Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said Wednesday. An email seeking comment was left with Sierra’s attorney.Jeremiah’s body was found in April 2014 along Interstate 190 in Sterling, about an hour west of Boston. But the boy was last seen alive in September 2013, and was not reported missing until December of that year.The family, which lived in Fitchburg at the time, was being supervised by the state Department of Children and Families. Even before the boy’s body was discovered, an investigation found that a social worker with the child welfare agency wen...

Stock market today: Wall Street stalls as hopes regress for respite on rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:52:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are stalling Thursday after a Federal Reserve official told Wall Street the end to its interest-rate hikes may not come as soon as hoped.The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in early trading, a day after charging higher on hopes the U.S. government is heading toward a deal to prevent a disastrous default on its debt. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 104 points, or 0.3%, at 33,316, as of 9:48 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher.Stocks have remained remarkably resilient since early April despite a long list of worries. A major reason for that is hope the Fed would take it easier on its hikes to rates, which have slowed inflation at the expense of raising the risk of a recession and knocking down prices across financial markets. The widespread bet was that the Fed would take a pause at its next meeting in June.“The data in coming weeks could yet show that it is appropriate to skip a meeting,” Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan ...

Lawmakers approve south suburban cargo airport study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:52:43 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — State legislators have passed a bill which takes steps toward development of the much-discussed South Suburban Airport.HB2531 is headed to Gov. JB Pritzker's desk and, if signed, it will direct the Illinois Department of Transportation to create a list of qualifications for proposals to build the cargo airport in Peotone which is about 40 miles south of Chicago. It's a development which has been debated for roughly 40 years. Wendy’s piloting underground robot system for orders The bill passed the House on March 21 by a vote of 72-40, and the Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 33-20. A group of senators plan to discuss the potential airport Thursday including "how the accomplishment will generate job creation and local revenue for residents across Southern Cook and Will counties," according to a press release.

Wendy's piloting underground robot system for orders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:52:43 GMT

DUBLIN, Ohio — Much like a bank drive-up, Wendy's patrons may soon have their orders sent to them through an underground tube.The Ohio-based company announced Wednesday they are partnering with Pipedream, a hyperlogistics company, for the pilot."We know that serving orders quickly and accurately leads to increased customer satisfaction," said Wendy's U.S. Chief Operations Officer Deepak Ajmani. "Pipedream's Instant Pickup system has the potential to unlock greater mobile order speed of service and accuracy, enabling us to consistently deliver hot and fresh Wendy's products to our fans.""Instant pickup portals" will be positioned next to parking spots. Patrons will place their order and the technology uses autonomous robots to transport meals underground to their vehicle.Wendy's plans to integrate the Pipedream delivery system into an existing restaurant later this year.Earlier this month, the company announced they're teaming up with Google to add artificial intelligence to its menu...

Kraft Heinz develops dispenser to create over 200 condiment combinations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:52:43 GMT

CHICAGO — Those who like to mix condiments for new concoctions will soon get some help from Kraft Heinz.The company unveiled Wednesday their new condiment dispenser "HEINZ REMIX."The dispenser will offer over 200 potential sauce combinations.Consumers will first select from a range of base sauces — currently ketchup, 57 sauce and BBQ sauce. Then, further personalization can be made with jalapeno, smoky chipotle, buffalo and mango "enhancers."The company said the intensity levels of low, medium and high will be offered. Wendy’s piloting underground robot system for orders Kraft Heinz is debuting the dispenser at the 2023 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago this weekend.

CPS: Students ingest edible marijuana at Chicago Academy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:52:43 GMT

CHICAGO — CPS reported that students at Chicago Academy ingested edible marijuana on school grounds Wednesday. A CPS spokesperson said that no one was seriously injures and that everyone is safe. The school stated that they will have stricter 'no sharing rules' and if students are caught sharing food, it will be taken from them and returned at the time of dismissal. Montana becomes first state to ban TikTok; law likely to be challenged They also encourage families to check any candy or snacks students may have that parents do not recognize.The CPS spokesperson said in a staement: "We encourage you to take this opportunity to have a conversation with your child about the health risks associated with consuming edibles, especially if they come from an unknown source, and to remind them not to accept food if they do not know where it came from."CPS said they immediately noticed families, the school and community members. There was no further information provided.

2.5 million vehicles with 'urgent recalls' remain unrepaired in US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:52:43 GMT

ST. LOUIS (KTVI) – According to data from CARFAX, more than 2.5 million vehicles tagged with “do not drive” or “park outside” safety recalls remained unrepaired as of May 1.“I worry there is recall fatigue. People have been hearing about recalls a lot for the last 10 years,” said Patrick Olsen, editor-in-chief at CARFAX.Olsen is aware of some 200 vehicles from various automakers over multiple model years currently under recall. Just this week, nearly 220,000 Jeep Cherokees were recalled due to fire risk. Two weeks prior, BWM issued a “do not drive” warning due to recalled airbags, and in late April, General Motors issued a “park outside” warning on 40,000 recalled pickup trucks.“These are more serious, more urgent recalls than most because they require drivers to do something unusual,” he said. “Either do not drive it, or in the case of a lot of these cars, they get a park outside order, which means don’t park it in your garage, don’t park it next to your garage. If you can, park it...

Surf's up! Florida beach named nation's best in annual ranking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:52:43 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A 9-mile stretch of Florida sugar-white sand in an unspoiled natural setting alongside the Gulf of Mexico is the nation's best beach for 2023, according to the annual ranking released Thursday by the university professor known as “Dr. Beach.”The state park on St. George Island just off the Florida Panhandle drew the top honor from Stephen Leatherman, professor in the Department of Earth & Environment at Florida International University. This year's top 10 list marks the 33rd year Leatherman has rated the best of America's 650 public beaches around Memorial Day, the traditional start of summer.Miles of empty beach and billions of sea shells await a lone beachcomber at St. George Island State Park near Apalachicola in the Florida Panhandle, Feb. 5, 2007. The nine-mile (14-kilometer) stretch of Florida sugar-white sand in an unspoiled natural setting alongside the Gulf of Mexico is the nation's best beach for 2023, according to the annual ranking release...

Could a WNBA team land in Austin? Commissioner says city is among "20 or so" on expansion list

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:52:43 GMT

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) -- Could Austin soon be the home of a Women's National Basketball Association team? It's at least on the short list of expansion candidates, according to the league's commissioner.Commissioner Cathy Engelbert confirmed during a May 5 forum with the Sports Business Journal, ahead of the start of the WNBA's 27th season, that the league would like to add two more teams in the foreseeable future.While she didn't give a specific timeline on when those teams could be announced, she said they've narrowed a list of a hundred potential cities "down to 20 or so" based on research into things like demographics and potential corporate sponsorships.Austin was one of the cities she mentioned, along with markets that have long-been viewed as frontrunners for expansion – the Bay Area, Toronto and Portland – and other fast-growing cities like Denver and Nashville. She said they've already visited Portland, while the league held a sold-out preseason game in Toron...

Air quality alert from wildfires expanded to all of Minnesota until Friday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:52:43 GMT

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has now expanded an air-quality alert to encompass all of Minnesota until 6 a.m. Friday.A map showing an expanded air quality alert for Minnesota due to Canadian wildfire smoke. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency)Most of Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, is under a “red” air quality index category — the most severe of the alert classifications.“In the red area,” MPCA states, “everyone should avoid prolonged time outdoors.”In its updated alert on Thursday, the MPCA gave details of the smoky situation:“A band of very heavy ground-level smoke from wildfires in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan is currently moving along a cold front in northwestern Minnesota. The smoke will continue to move south and east and eventually impact the entire state of Minnesota. The smoke should clear rapidly overnight into Friday morning.”Initally, the agency had issued an alert for parts of nor...