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‘Hialeah Hillbilly’ Ricky Valido on his passion for country music

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:00 GMT

South Florida isn’t exactly known as a hot bed of country music. One local musician is sure he can change that. After all, with a nickname like the “Hialeah Hillbilly,” how can he lose?Ricky Valido, singing: “We are living the swamp life/out in the glades/deep in the sawgrass/with the gators and the rattlesnakes/yeah we’re doin’ the swamp stomp.”Country music fans, meet your hometown hero, Ricky Valido.Ricky Valido: “Well, I am a country music singer/songwriter/performer. I’m mainly from Hialeah, Florida. This is where I was born and raised.”Ricky says his SoFlo roots are a plus when it comes to his career.Ricky Valido: “I think that that’s made kind of a point into what differentiates me from maybe the stereotypical country singer country artist.”The love of music runs deep in Ricky’s family.Ricky Valido “My great grandparents, they moved here to Hialeah in the ’60s from Cuba, and they b...

Mayor Wu looks to bail out Boston Council with new redistricting map

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:00 GMT

A proposed redistricting map put forward by Mayor Michelle Wu alters many of the contentious changes made by the Boston City Council, in a prior map that a federal judge threw out for potential violations to the Constitution.Wu urged the City Council to take action on either her proposed map, or one that the body may create on its own, by its Wednesday meeting to allow for sufficient review and passage by May 30, the deadline for keeping the city’s preliminary election date, Sept. 12, in place.The mayor told the Council in a Friday letter that she put forward her own redistricting map “to help ensure a swift and smooth resolution to redistricting.” She said her administration redrew districts with this past Monday’s court ruling, and the city’s legal obligations under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, in mind.“As mayor, I believe that putting whole neighborhoods in single council districts encourages neighborhood organizing and civic engagement,” Wu wrote. “With that goal in mind, our ...

Chicago White Sox reinstate third baseman Yoán Moncada from the injured list: ‘I’m expecting the same guy back’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:00 GMT

Yoán Moncada made a splash in the season-opening series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.He had two three-hit games, homered twice and drove in four while helping the Chicago White Sox split the four games.After being sidelined for more than a month with lower back soreness, the third baseman returned from the injured list Friday as the Sox opened a three-game series against the Astros at Guaranteed Rate Field.“I feel much better,” Moncada said through an interpreter Friday afternoon. “For now on I just have to keep getting treatment and doing my exercises to feel as good as I can.”. The Sox also optioned infielder Lenyn Sosa to Triple-A Charlotte and outrighted reliever Alexander Colomé to Charlotte.Moncada entered Friday with a .308/.325/.564 slash line with four doubles, two home runs, five RBIs and four runs in nine games. He last played April 9 at Pittsburgh.“(He’s an) extremely talented player on both sides of the bal...

Tiny bats in Vermont provide ‘glimmer of hope’ against fungus devastating species

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:00 GMT

Deep in a cool, damp cave in Vermont, tens of thousands of furry, chocolate brown creatures stir.The little brown bats, survivors of a deadly fungus that decimated their population, went into hibernation last fall. Now in early May, they’re waking, detaching from their rock wall roosts and making their first tentative flights in search of the moths, beetles and flying aquatic insects they devour.It’s here, in deep passages that creep into a Vermont mountain, where scientists found one of the first North American outbreaks of the fungus that causes white nose syndrome. Bat bones litter the cave floor like dry lawn-mower cuttings. Look closer and you’ll find tiny skulls.And the bats are still dying.White nose syndrome is caused by an invasive fungus first found in an upstate New York cave in 2006, a short bat flight from the Dorset, Vermont, colony. The fungus wakes bats from hibernation, sending them into the frigid, winter air in search of food. They die of exposur...

MSTCA Twilight Invitational

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:00 GMT

FOXBORO – With the preferable warm weather to compete in after a handful of chilly dual meets, Durfee’s Shakira Cadet had a performance at yesterday’s MSTCA Twilight Invitational that should make the state’s triple jumpers stand up and take notice.The defending All-State champion and the school record-holder, Cadet leaped to a season-best of 37-feet, 9-1/2 inches, setting the stage for the final month of the season.Cadet is getting amped up for the state meet and is excited to defend her title. “It’s exciting and nerve wracking,” said the UMass–bound senior. “I hadn’t been consistent with my speed, but if felt really good today.”The warm conditions resulted in a slew of personal bests for many of the sprinters and field event athletes. Franklin’s terrific hurdler, Sarah Dumas raced to an impressive win in the 100 hurdles in 14.78 and Aiden Robert of Wareham won the 110 hurdles in 14.70.It was a perfect storm for...

Funeral for slain Wisconsin sheriff’s deputy draws 3,000 mourners

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:00 GMT

HUDSON, Wis. (AP) — Some 1,500 law enforcement officers from several states were among 3,000 mourners paying final respects Friday to a Wisconsin sheriff’s deputy who was fatally shot by a suspected drunken driver during a traffic stop.The funeral for St. Croix County Sheriff’s Deputy Kaitlin “Kaitie” R. Leising was held in the gymnasium of Hudson High School while a montage of photos from her life were shown on a large screen overhead. Leising’s family, including her wife, Courtney, and their 3-month-old son, Syler, stood to the side of the casket, hugging visitors.In less than a year with the sheriff’s office, Leising earned commendations and the admiration of her colleagues, Sheriff Scott Knudson said.“There was so much to like about Kaitie,” he said, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.Services lasted more than six hours as officers first arrived for three hours of visitation, then sat for the funeral before silently marching to the high school parking lot for an h...

Little progress has been made in curbing too high inflation, Fed’s Jefferson says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve governor Philip Jefferson said Friday that inflation remains too high and there has been “little progress” made toward bringing it down to the central bank’s 2% target, a pessimistic assessment given signs in a report earlier this week that price increases might be slowing. Jefferson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden earlier Friday to the position of Fed vice chair, also said in a speech at the Hoover Institution in California that the turmoil in the U.S. financial system following the failure of three large banks will likely have only a limited impact on the economy. Jefferson’s potential elevation to the No. 2 spot on the Fed’s seven-member board would give him greater influence over interest rate policy and make him a close colleague of Chair Jerome Powell. While inflation has declined from its June peak by about 2.75 percentage points to 4.2% in March, compared with a year ago, Jefferson said that “nearly all” of the de...

Anti-corruption advocate hopes new financial crime body can start ‘scaring bad guys’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:00 GMT

Anti-corruption advocate James Cohen says Canada’s reputation has for years been “hammered” over its weak record of prosecuting financial crimes.But now the executive director of Transparency International Canada is hopeful there’s political will to tackle the problem, and that the establishment of the Canada Financial Crime Agency will finally start “scaring the bad guys.”Cohen’s group released a white paper this week about the Trudeau government’s plan to create the agency, outlined in the latest federal budget, to tackle financial crime across the country. He’s cautiously optimistic, but his organization also warns that the feds may be missing an opportunity to tackle corruption and securities fraud by focusing solely on money laundering. The 2023 budget outlined how the Trudeau government intends to make the Canada Financial Crime Agency the “lead enforcement agency against financial crime.”“It will bring to...

‘He wanted to live the American Dream’: Honduran teen dies in US immigration custody

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:00 GMT

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The mother of a 17-year-old boy who died this week in U.S. immigration custody demanded answers from American officials Friday, saying her son had no known illnesses and had not shown any signs of being sick before his death. The teenager was identified as Ángel Eduardo Maradiaga Espinoza, according to a tweet from Honduran foreign relations minister Enrique Reina. Maradiaga was detained at a facility in Safety Harbor, Florida, Reina said, and died Wednesday. His death underscored concerns about a strained immigration system as the Biden administration manages the end of asylum restrictions known as Title 42. His mother, Norma Saraí Espinoza Maradiaga, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that her son “wanted to live the American Dream.”Ángel Eduardo left his hometown of Olanchito, Honduras, on April 25, his mother said. He crossed the U.S.-Mexico border some days later and on May 5 was referred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Servic...

Peloton issues voluntary recall of faulty bike seat post in Canada

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:30:00 GMT

Peloton has issued a voluntary recall of its original Bike’s seat post for Canadian customers. The U.S. exercise equipment maker says the seat post assembly can break during use, posing fall and injury hazards. The recall affects the original PL-01 model of the bike which features the red “P” logo followed by the white-coloured “Peloton” brand name on the frame and by its non-swivel display. The bike’s in question were sold from January 2018 to May 2023 in Canada.Peloton says the issue has occurred primarily in users who are taller than five-foot-11 and 250 pounds. The company says it has received one report of seat posts breaking, and no reports of injuries, out of 108,000 units sold in Canada.Customers are asked to stop using the recalled exercise bike and to contact their support team toll-free at 833-821-0099 from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. ET, 7 days a week or online at www.support.onepeloton.ca to obtain a free seat post repair that can be self-installed.On Thur...