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Renata Scotto, soprano of uncommon intensity, dies at 89

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:04 GMT

Renata Scotto, a soprano of uncommon intensity who became a successful director after her singing career, died Wednesday in her hometown of Savona, Italy. She was 89.Scotto’s New York-based manager, Robert Lombardo, said he was called by her family and informed of her death. “I had spoken to her several weeks ago and I didn’t get any any indication that anything was going on,” he said.Scotto maintained homes in Italy and Armonk, New York.“Renata Scotto is a true artist and profound connoisseur of voice and repertoire, gifted with technique, musicality, a personality of a rare power, always at the service of the composer, and able to emotionally stir the public in all the world in every phase of her long career,’’ soprano Cecilia Gasdia, superintendent of the Fondazione Arena in Verono, said in a statement.Scotto made 314 appearances at the Metropolitan Opera from her debut in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly″ on Oct. 13, 1965, to her finale, also as Cio-Cio-San, on Jan....

Biden marks the 1-year anniversary of his signing of a major climate, health and tax law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:04 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden proclaimed Wednesday his administration is “turning things around” for Americans when it comes to the economy, with his signature climate, health care and tax package giving people “more breathing room” on prices and investing anew in clean energy jobs.“We’re leaving nobody behind,” Biden told a packed East Room filled with lawmakers, advocates and people who have benefited from his economic policies. “We’re investing in all of America — in the heartland, and coast to coast.” His remarks, delivered on the anniversary of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, came as the White House ramped up efforts to illustrate the real-world impact of Biden’s economic plans. At a White House event Wednesday afternoon to celebrate a year since he signed the bill, the president stood alongside people — from union workers to small business owners to consumers — who the White House says have been aided by the law. That sweeping package, along wi...

Energy sector helps keep S&P/TSX flat Wednesday, U.S. stock markets down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:04 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in the energy sector helped buoy Canada’s main stock index to close flat on Wednesday while U.S. markets moved lower. The S&P/TSX composite index closed down less than one point at 19,899.07.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 180.65 points at 34,765.74. The S&P 500 index was down 33.53 points at 4,404.33, while the Nasdaq composite was down 156.42 points at 13,474.63.Stocks wavered Wednesday amid lingering worries about China’s economy, said Angelo Kourkafas, an investment strategist at Edward Jones.Those worries have been “a pretty major driver” of the pullback markets have seen so far in August, he said. “At the same time, it seems like policymakers are trying to step up their efforts to provide stimulus, which could help stabilize the economy down the road,” he said. “But I think in the near term, that’s going to be an ongoing headwind for global risk sentiment.”Ten-year bond yields have been climb...

Devastated Tuohys ready to end conservatorship for Michael Oher, lawyers say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:04 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A prominent Memphis couple with a longstanding relationship to former NFL player Michael Oher want to end a conservatorship that he’s challenging in court, their lawyers said.Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy intend to enter into a consent order to end the conservatorship, lawyer Randall Fishman told reporters on Wednesday. Oher filed a petition Monday in a Tennessee probate court accusing the Tuohys of lying to him by having him sign papers making them his conservators rather than his adoptive parents nearly two decades ago.Oher, now 37, wants a full accounting of assets considering his life story produced millions of dollars, though he says he received nothing from the Oscar-nominated movie “The Blind Side.” He accuses the Tuohys of falsely representing themselves as his adoptive parents, saying that he discovered in February 2023 that the conservatorship was not the arrangement he thought it was — and that it provided him no familial relationship to the Tuohys.But t...

Lawyers say Tuohy family 'devastated' by Oher's 'Blind Side' allegations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:04 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Attorneys representing Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy say Michael Oher's allegations that he was led to sign away his rights over his story in "The Blind Side" are patently false."Forty-eight hours ago, a bomb dropped on our clients," attorney Randy Fishman said. "To say they were devastated by these allegations is truly an understatement."The response Wednesday comes two days after a petition was filed in Tennessee's Shelby County court by Oher, seeking to dissolve a conservatorship with the family. Michael Oher claims Tuohy family ‘exploited’ him, asks court to end conservatorship Oher alleges the Tuohy family never adopted him as promised, and instead tricked him into signing a conservatorship and exploited him for their financial gain. He claims he found out in February of this year.But Fishman said Oher wrote a book in 2011 acknowledging that there was a conservatorship set up with the Tuohys.The Tuohy family took in Oher, now 37, when he was in high school...

Austin approves $5.5B budget, largest in city history

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:04 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN Live's top headlines for Aug. 16, 2023AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council voted in favor of adopting its $5.5 billion budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year, marking the largest-ever budget in city history.Alongside its budget, council approved the FY24 ad valorem property tax rate of 44.58 cents per $100 valuation, marking a 3.4% increase. Both the budget and tax rate were adopted on a 10-1 vote, with Council Member Mackenzie Kelly voting against both items."My vote against the budget stems from my concerns regarding certain budget items that deviate from our core priorities and don't align with a back-to-basics approach," Kelly said, in part, in a statement shared with KXAN Wednesday. "While I recognize the importance of various services, there are areas where government funding should not be directed."Included in the property tax discussion are several property tax exemptions for qualifying parties. Disabled veterans: Exemptions range from $...

Austin's 40-day streak of consecutive 100° days is the longest in recorded history

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:04 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows the latest from the KXAN First Warning Weather team.AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin is currently experiencing the longest stretch of triple-digit heat in recorded history.Camp Mabry, Austin's official weather reporting site, has reached 100° or hotter every day since July 8.That means temperatures have reached the century mark for 40 days in a row. With records dating back to the 1890s, that's the longest stretch of triple-digit temperatures ever recorded in Austin. MORE HEAT RECORDS: What is Austin's hottest month ever? The previous record of 27 days was set between July 17 and Aug. 12, 2011. That summer went on to have a record-breaking 90 days of triple-digit heat. How often does Austin hit 100°? Here’s a breakdown by date, month, year and decade Meanwhile, an 19-day streak is underway at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, with temperatures hitting 100° or above every day since July 29. That ranks as the fourth-longest of all time.An...

Police ID man killed on Raspberry Island as St. Paul 20-year-old

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:04 GMT

Police identified on Wednesday a man who died after he was shot on St. Paul’s Raspberry Island as a 20-year-old from St. Paul.Marcus Anthony Baker Jr. was pronounced dead at Regions Hospital Tuesday night.Officers were called to the Mississippi River park across from downtown just after 9 p.m. Tuesday. There had been a large group gathered, an altercation and shots fired, police said of preliminary information.No one had been arrested as of Wednesday afternoon and investigators asked anyone with information to call them at 651-266-5650. Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | 14 more members of Minneapolis gangs are charged in federal violent crime initiative Crime & Public Safety | Boy, 6, injured in shooting in Inver Grove Heights Crime & Public Safety | Duluth banning marijuana smoking/vaping in city’s parks Crime & Public Safety | Hinckley father charged after 3-year-old fatally shot himself w...

Twins cough up four-run lead, three-game winning streak in 8-7 loss to Tigers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:04 GMT

Twins hitters spotted starting pitcher Kenta Maeda a 4-0 lead in the second inning, but Maeda and reliever Griffin Jax each gave up a pair of home runs as the Detroit Tigers rallied to beat Minnesota, 8-7, in front of an announced crowd of 26,716 at Target Field on Wednesday.Riley Greene went 3 for 4 with a two-run homer, an RBI triple and four RBIs, and Spencer Torkelson homered twice for the Tigers, who split the two-game series and finished the season series against the Twins with an 8-5 record.Trailing 8-4, the Twins started the ninth inning against Detroit right-hander Jason Foley with a single to left by Edouard Julien, who was 4 for 5 from the leadoff spot. Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler followed with home runs to cut the Twins’ deficit to 8-7, and Royce Lewis singled.Matt Wallner, whose grand slam led to a 5-3 victory over the Tigers on Tuesday, lined out to the warning track in left for the first out of the inning, and Donovan Solano grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end t...

Live updates: 2 Maui wildfire victims were Mexican citizens, government says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:04 GMT

Follow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, killing more than 100 people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. The wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Videos showing downed power lines apparently sparking some of the early blazes have become key evidence in the search for a cause.The Mexican foreign ministry said it has confirmed that two people of Mexican nationality died as a result of the wildfires. Personnel from the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco are on Maui and are in contact with the families of the deceased to provide assistance to them, the foreign ministry said in a statement. No details were immediately available, including whether the victims were tourists or among the many foreign workers in Lahaina. The consulate in San Francisco did not immediately respond to a request for details.The Federal Emergency Management Agency has opened its first disaster recovery center on Maui to help victims of ...