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LIVE BLOG: Flash Flood Warning issued as torrential rains hit Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:05 GMT

Torrential rain is causing major issues across the Chicago area Sunday morning. A Flash Flood Warning has been extending to 3:15 p.m. for Cook, DuPage and Will counties. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here The National Weather Service says between 1 and 2 inches of ran have already fallen and total amount of 1 to 3 inches are possible.Latest warnings and watches from the National Weather Service.Below are real time updates on the weather and it's impact in the Chicago area10:45 a.m. — After a delayed restart time, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is set to begin at 10:45 a.m. in downtown Chicago. That race was postponed Saturday due to weather.10:15 a.m. — Gates at the NASCAR in Chicago race have now opened after being delayed due to the threat of severe weather More on NASCAR in Chicago: Sunday Updates 9:30 a.m. Tom Skilling reports more than 3 inches of rain has fallen in parts of the Chicago area, but less in other areas. As of 9:30am Sunday 0.46 inches of rain has falle...

Walgreens expects to close 150 US stores, CFO says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:05 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - Dozens of Walgreens locations in the U.S. will likely close as the pharmacy retail chain continues to undergo cost-saving initiatives. The company expects to close 150 stores in the U.S. and another 300 in the U.K., executive vice president and global chief financial officer James Kehoe said during last week’s third-quarter earnings call with investors. Walgreens hasn’t announced what stores will be closing or when closures could begin, and the company has yet to respond to Nexstar’s request for comment. There are nearly 9,000 Walgreens stores in the U.S., roughly 1,100 of which are now open for reduced operating hours, chief executive officer Roz Brewer said during the earnings call.  Transgender man says Walgreens employee denied him hormone replacement meds Recently, Walgreens underwent “an organization restructuring,” which led to the company eliminating more than 500 roles, or about 10% of its corporate and U.S. support office workforce. B...

Service charge vs. tip: What's the difference?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:05 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – As restaurants feel pressure to add surcharges to diners' tabs to make ends meet, you may see a few unfamiliar fees on your next bill. It might be labeled a "living wage fee," which helps the restaurant better pay staff that don't traditionally receive tips. Some businesses have added a health care surcharge to help cover the cost of offering employees benefits. Some restaurants added service charges to cover COVID-related costs, such as PPE. More rarely you might encounter something like a carbon offset fee."Any non-discretionary charge added to a restaurant or bar customer's bill, regardless of what it's called, is a service charge," explained Denise Mickelsen, communication director with the Colorado Restaurant Association and Foundation. Food delivery fees add up. Who keeps the money from all those surcharges? While these charges add some percentage extra on top of your bill, these are usually not the same as tips or gratuities. "Because service charges are c...

Stephen L. Carter: For now, we still need this imperfect solution — affirmative action — to a compelling problem.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:05 GMT

So it’s over. Seriously. It’s hard to find a simple workaround to rescue affirmative action in college admission after last week’s 6-3 Supreme Court ruling that the programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the 14th Amendment. Oh, given time, we’ll come up with something. But Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion paints so broadly that those of us who hope to find a path around it will have to be exceedingly clever.Let’s start with what the majority got right.First, as Roberts writes, colleges and universities should not be allowed to “establish quotas for members of certain racial groups or put members of those groups on separate admissions tracks” — a quotation drawn from the Court’s 2003 opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger. I agree. Not only are quotas intrinsically bad, but as the court points out, they lead to confusion, such as casually lumping East Asians and South Asians together, and figh...

Details emerge about theft, death of St. Paul school’s goat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:05 GMT

Just days after Great River School’s beloved pet goat was found dead, more than $4,800 has been raised to help protect the St. Paul charter school’s remaining animals from “human predation.”A fundraising page is providing new and disturbing details about the animal’s theft and death.Hazelnut, a 2-year-old, 120-pound Oberhasli goat, was last seen by school officials Tuesday night when video showed people around her pen. After pleas to the community to help find the goat, her remains were found Friday in a plastic tub in an alley on the 300 block of Lafond Avenue in St. Paul.Money raised from a GoFundMe campaign will help safeguard goat and chicken pens, and eventually allow the school to buy another goat, wrote Lisa Holt, the fundraiser’s organizer, who leads the goat and chicken program at Great River School.“When our hearts and space are ready, we need to find another goat as much like Hazelnut as possible, and she was one in a million,R...

Lunds & Byerlys workers make deal with company after strike threat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:05 GMT

Grocery workers who had been poised to strike last week instead “overwhelmingly” agreed to a two-year contract with Lunds & Byerlys that provides “historic wage increases and pay equity” to the 2,500 employees at 22 stores in the west metro, union officials announced Saturday night.Members of UFCW Local 663 will see average raises of $3.00 to $4.00 an hour by the spring of 2024, the union said in a press release.The workers on Tuesday had called off a planned holiday weekend strike after reaching a tentative agreement with corporate leaders to raise wages and preserve worker oversight of health care.The deal cemented Saturday affects full- and part-time employees.One full-time employee quoted in the press release said she was excited for her part-time colleagues.“They work hard and they deserve it,” said Anita Pitcher, a 45-year union member who works full time in the deli at the Maple Grove store. “They are a major part of this team — f...

Southern California hotel workers go on strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:05 GMT

Thousands of unionized hotel workers in Southern California walked off the job Sunday after negotiations over higher pay and benefits failed, representatives said.“Our members were devastated first by the pandemic, and now by the greed of their bosses,” says Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local 11. “The industry got bailouts while we got cuts. Now, the hotel negotiators decided to take a four-day holiday instead of negotiating. Shameful.”Up to 15,000 employees in the Unite Here Local 11 union were taking participating in the strike, which affects 65 major hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties, including Ritz-Carlton, Hilton, Marriott, and Four Seasons. According to hotel officials, facilities will remain open and will be staffed by management and other non-unionized employees.

Driver killed, passenger injured in Concord highway crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:05 GMT

CONCORD — A solo-vehicle crash Sunday morning on Highway 242 left the driver dead and a passenger badly injured, the California Highway Patrol said.The CHP has not yet provided the sexes and ages of the two.The CHP said about 1:54 a.m. Sunday a blue Nissan Sentra with two occupants was traveling southbound on Highway 242 when it struck the guardrail of the Concord Avenue off-ramp.In a news release, the CHP said that “during the crash sequence,” the right front passenger was ejected from the vehicle and suffered major injuries.The driver was pronounced deceased at the scene, the CHP said. The passenger was taken to a hospital where their condition was not available.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Motorcyclist dies in Oakland traffic collision Crashes and Disasters | East Bay man found dead outside crashed car after pursuit called off is identified Crashes and Disasters | Camp Pendleton identifies 3 Marines who died ...

Tips for staying safe on your Fourth of July weekend California outdoor adventure

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:05 GMT

As Bay Area residents head to mountains, beaches, lakes and rivers this summer, emergency officials and rescuers have issued warnings about raging rivers, dangerous ocean conditions, high temperatures and even the risk of a wet-snow avalanche.Here are tips for staying safe and making it home after your outdoor California adventure:Avoid excessive alcohol during outdoor recreation, and don’t drink and drive vehicles, including boats.If caught in a riptide in Northern California, float and don’t panic, then swim parallel to shore until out of the rip.Swim with others.Stay hydrated.Cover up from the sun, and use ample sunscreen.Tell friends and loved ones your destination and route.Wear flotation devices in boats and when near rivers and in the water as necessary.If you get lost, stay put and wait for rescue.Beware of wet-snow avalanches in the Sierra.Source — California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services; Sheriff’s offices; California State Parks; Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit

Man dies in Bayview District shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:09:05 GMT

(BCN) -- A male victim died in a shooting in San Francisco's Bayview District late Saturday night, a police spokesperson said. Officers responded around 11:20 p.m. to the area of Third Street and Kirkwood Avenue on a report of a shooting and found the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene, Sgt. Kathryn Winters said. No arrest has been made in the case and San Francisco police have not released a description of the suspect or suspects in the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD tip line at (415) 575-4444 or to send a tip by text message to TIP411 with "SFPD" at the start of the message.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.