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Why Laura Ricketts jumped at the ‘opportunity to have a culture change, to really write a new chapter’ as owner of the Chicago Red Stars

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:11:33 GMT

The last 13 years as Chicago Cubs co-owner prepared Laura Ricketts for this moment.Ricketts spearheaded an investment group that officially became the new owner of the Chicago Red Stars on Friday after approval from the National Women’s Soccer League Board of Governors.The Red Stars were purchased for $35.5 million, a record for an existing NWSL club, with another $25 million earmarked to be put into the team.“I love women’s sports and played them, so it was interesting, the idea of leveraging everything — all the knowledge and expertise that have been gained by owning the Cubs — and putting that to work for this team,” Ricketts told the Tribune. “This team has had some really challenging times. The opportunity to have a culture change, to really write a new chapter with this team, was really exciting.”It became clear 11 months ago the Red Stars likely would need to be sold.Red Stars players released a statement Oct. 11 calling on the ...

Watch your pets! Coyote attacks on the rise

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:11:33 GMT

Several Bay State communities are warning residents and dog-walkers to be mindful of coyotes after a string of violent encounters.Police in Hopkinton said a woman was walking her dogs on Thursday when a coyote snatched one of the animals. In Milford, not far from Hopkinton, a coyote took a dog named “Guido” from Pine Island Road on Wednesday morning, animal control officials in that town said.The incidents involving coyotes follow another encounter in which a coyote attacked a woman in Fall River earlier in the week. And residents of Jamaica Plain complained earlier this month of seeing a coyote carrying the body of a small dog.Milford animal control officials said in a Facebook post that residents need to be more vigilant at dusk and dawn, which are optimal hunting times for coyotes. Police in Hopkinton said in a statement that residents should consider carrying a walking stick. They also said police “feel horrible this happened to someone’s fur buddy, they are members of the famil...

Recipes: Make these dips to liven up your next get-together

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:11:33 GMT

September welcomes opportunities for casual outdoor gatherings at home. With autumn officially about three weeks away, summer’s heat generally hangs on. Schedules resume and vacations subside. For me, a sense of calmness kicks in.Informal late summer get-togethers around the patio table welcome luscious dips. Traditional concoctions or those that make a delectable detour from the expected, encourage chatting and conviviality.Sturdy potato chips, pita chips, and sturdy tortilla chips are fine dippers but think about including other scooper-uppers. Fresh vegetables, raw or quickly blanched until tender crisp and chilled; fingerling or small Dutch Baby potatoes, halved and baked in a little white wine and olive oil; or mini-toothpick skewers of cubed roasted chicken breast and grape tomato adorned with a small fresh basil leaf.Here are some dip options for easy-peasy entertaining.Whipped Feta Dip can be made in a food processor in a matter of seconds. (Courtesy of America’s Test Kitche...

One dead, four injured in stabbings at notorious jail in Atlanta that’s under federal investigation

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:11:33 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Five people were stabbed, one fatally, during a dispute among men being held at an overcrowded jail in Atlanta that is already the subject of a federal civil rights investigation, authorities said Friday.Dayvion Blake, 23, was pronounced dead around 3:30 p.m. Thursday after the stabbings at the Fulton County Jail, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Blake and three others were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, while a fifth man was treated at the jail by medical staff. The sheriff’s office didn’t provide any information on what led to the stabbings.Five people, including Blake, have died in Fulton County custody in just over a month. The county medical examiner’s office plans to do an autopsy on Blake.“The recent outbreak of violence at the Fulton County Jail is of grave concern but unfortunately is not surprising considering the long-standing, dangerous overcrowding and the crumbling walls of the facility that are literall...

More people are traveling solo — and they’re in good company

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:11:33 GMT

If you’re contemplating a trip on your own, you might be in good company. Both men and women are traveling alone more, according to recent travel industry surveys and many resorts within easy driving distance of Denver are creating opportunities for these solo travelers.“We’ve really seen the all-inclusive wilderness properties be a big hit for solo travelers, particularly those that are newer to the outdoors,” said Krista Heinicke, director of public relations at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. “You have the comfort of Broadmoor lodging and its pampering staff, but can step outside of your comfort zone with new activities like horseback riding, fly fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and more with this built-in communal nature to the experience so you can engage with others if you desire — or stay solo with a book on the porch.”The growth in solo travel has been attributed to a post-pandemic desire to get out and see the world without waiting for the perfect mate to hit the road. ...

Powered by wind, this $10B transmission line will carry more energy than the Hoover Dam

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:11:33 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An energy infrastructure project bigger than the Hoover Dam is how Hunter Armistead describes the $10 billion venture his company will be overseeing during the next three years. As the chief executive of one of the world’s largest wind and solar development companies, Armistead said breaking ground on Pattern Energy’s SunZia transmission line marks a major milestone as the United States looks to make good on promises to address climate change and bolster the nation’s already overwhelmed power grids as demand increases and weather events become more extreme.It is also a cautionary tale, he told The Associated Press in an interview ahead of Friday’s ceremony on the open plains of north-central New Mexico.The U.S. can’t afford to take 12 years to “create this type of solution” given the growing need for more energy infrastructure, Armistead said. He pointed to Europe and China, where billions of dollars are being invested in new hi...

Mississippi governor’s brother suggested that auditor praise Brett Favre during welfare scandal

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:11:33 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — As Brett Favre became ensnared in media attention for his connection to Mississippi’s sprawling welfare scandal, Gov. Tate Reeves’ brother suggested the state official investigating the case praise the retired NFL quarterback. Screen shots of text messages released Thursday by Reeves’ re-election campaign show the governor’s brother, Todd Reeves, passing along a request from Favre to Mississippi State Auditor Shad White for a favorable statement about the retired star athlete. Todd Reeves texted White on May 6, 2020, months after the auditor announced in February that criminal charges were brought against six people accused of diverting welfare money intended for some of the poorest people in the nation to the rich and powerful. Favre has not been charged with a crime. But he has said the media “ unjustly smeared ” him in coverage of the scandal, including about payments he received to help fund his pet project — a volleyball arena at the univ...

Police search for suspect who shot and wounded person at Indiana shopping mall

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:11:33 GMT

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — A person was shot and wounded Friday inside a shopping mall in northeastern Indiana following an altercation, and officers were searching for the suspect, police said. Officers were called about noon to Glenbrook Square Mall, where they found a male who had been struck in the leg by gunfire near a mall fountain, said Fort Wayne police spokesman Officer Daniel Nerzig.He said the wounded person was taken to a hospital in stable condition and officers were searching for the suspect in the shooting, which he said led to mall to close for the remainder of the day.“At this time we have a person of interest that we are seeking. However, we do not have all the details as to the why and how. All we know at this point is that there was some sort of altercation,” he told reporters outside the mall.Nerzig said the person who was shot has not been “as forthcoming with information as we would like him to be” and officers were reviewing surveillance video from inside ...

Medicines360’s long and winding, $82 million road to create and distribute $50 birth control

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:11:33 GMT

Drugs and medical devices rarely come from the nonprofit world. There are more than 2,600 for-profit pharmaceutical companies in the United States, but only three nonprofits have products on the American market.One of them is Medicines360, which in 2015 became the first nonprofit to introduce a medical device — an IUD. The genesis of the device came from an anonymous foundation that saw one of the most effective and reversible birth-control methods, the hormonal IUD, was too expensive for most women. Even insured women could be billed copays of up to $1,000.In 2008, the foundation (which Bloomberg reported was the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation) partnered with pharmaceutical scientist and MacArthur fellow Victoria Hale and decided to make a six-year, $82.2 million investment to develop a low-cost hormonal IUD through a nonprofit company.“The real goal of the donor and of Medicines360 was to provide this product to safety net clinics at a very, very affordable price,” said Medicin...

An explosion in Ecuador is seen as gangs asserting power after inmates take hostages and free some

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:11:33 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Criminal groups in Ecuador used explosives to damage a bridge in Ecuador on Friday, authorities said, demonstrating their grip on a South American country where prison inmates took dozens of law enforcement officers hostage less than two days earlier. Government officials described the violent acts as the response of criminal groups with a significant prison presence to inmate relocations, weapon seizures and other steps authorities took to try to regain control of several large correctional facilities.Four car bombs and three explosive devices went off across the country in less than 48 hours. The latest explosion with dynamite happened early Friday on a bridge linking two cities in the coastal province of El Oro, National Police commander Luis García told The Associated Press.Hours earlier, a domestic gas tank with wads of dynamite attached exploded under a different bridge in Napo province of Napo, located within Ecuador’s portion of the Amazon rainfor...