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☆ Carlos Correa: San Francisco Giants and shortstop reportedly agree on 13-year, $350 million deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Wayne Sterling | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The San Francisco Giants and two-time All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa have reportedly agreed to a franchise record, 13-year deal worth $350 million, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, citing unnamed sources. The deal is the largest for a shortstop in MLB history, according to Passan. Correa signed with the Minnesota Twins on a three-year, $105.3 million deal, according to the salary tracking website Spotrac, in March. He won his first ever Gold Glove, which is awarded to the best defender in each position, in 2021. The 28-year-old has batted .279 with 155 homers and 553 RBIs in eight MLB seasons.

The proposals have alarmed voting rights activists and state Democrats, who tried and failed last year to block a GOP-backed overhaul of election laws — a priority of Gov. The 62 voting rights-related bills Texas lawmakers have already prefiled represent nearly all prefiled voting rights legislation across the country, according to a review of prefiled bills by Voting Rights Lab and NBC News. An election police forceRepublican-authored Texas bills, such as HB 549 and SB 220, propose creating a system of state “election marshals,” who would investigate allegations of violations of election and voting laws, and file criminal charges when warranted. Harsher penaltiesLegislation such as HB 39, HB 52, HB 222, HB 397 and SB 166 aims to raise the penalty for election and voting rights crimes to a felony from a misdemeanor. “All my bill does is restore the felony punishment for illegal voting,” Texas Rep. David Spiller, the author of HB 52, said in an interview.

☆ New LA Mayor Karen Bass to declare state of emergency on homelessness
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Maeve Reston | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Karen Bass was sworn in as the first female mayor of Los Angeles on Sunday, marking another historic achievement in her career. Kamala Harris – the first woman and first woman of color to become vice president – administered the oath of office at Los Angeles City Hall. Bass focused her remarks Sunday on her plans to solve the city’s housing crisis, with some 40,000 people living on the streets, and said her first act as mayor will be to declare a state of emergency on homelessness. Bass’ plan calls for housing 15,000 people by the end of one year and ending tent encampments using existing funding. Elected to the California state Assembly in 2004, Bass made history some four years later as the first Black woman to serve as speaker of any state legislature.

"Grateful for the long-overdue release of Brittney Griner today from Russian custody. "Thank you to every single person that kept Brittney Griner’s name alive #WEAREBG," tweeted one of her Phoenix Mercury teammates, Brianna Turner. The Biden administration wasn't able to secure Whelan's release because the Russian government is treating his case differently than Griner's, Biden said. “While we celebrate Brittney’s release, Paul Whelan and his family continue to suffer needlessly,” Blinken said. Share this -Link copiedWho is Viktor Bout, Russian arms dealer that the U.S. exchanged for Brittney Griner?

The nation’s oldest Latino civil rights organization accused the city of Houston in a federal lawsuit of denying Latinos fair representation by allowing voters citywide to elect five council members. Elections in the city are deeply, racially polarized and Latinos' voting strength is diluted through the at-large election process, the lawsuit states. "Houston's the only major city in Texas where five council members are elected at large and in essence, disenfranchising the Latino community," Domingo Garcia, LULAC president, said in a phone interview. Houston only has one Latino on City Council." Since then, only 11 Latinos have been elected or appointed to a single member district and only two have been elected to an at-large district, according to the LULAC lawsuit.

☆ Houston lifts boil-water order affecting more than 2 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

HOUSTON — Houston officials lifted an order Tuesday that had called for more than 2 million people in the nation’s fourth-largest city to boil their tap water before drinking or using it. The boil order had been in effect since Sunday, when a power outage at a purification plant caused pressure to drop. The order led to the closure of businesses and schools, including the Houston Independent School District, which canceled classes Monday and Tuesday. The city said water quality samples sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality confirmed the tap water meets regulatory standards and is safe to drink. The power system at the water plant undergoes regular maintenance, Turner said, but he did not give a timeline for how often.

Although both were caused by power outages — the boil order when an outage Sunday at a water purification plant caused water pressure to drop, triggering concerns of possible contamination — that's where the similarities end, he said. According to Turner, two transformers failed, causing power outages at the East Water Purification Plant, which he said provides water for much of Houston's 2.2 million residents. The East Water Purification Plant is outside the city, in Galena Park. The entrance to the East Water Purification Plant in Galena Park, outside Houston, on Monday. The city issued the boil water notice in an "abundance of caution" after the main transformer and its backup failed, Turner said.

☆ City of Houston Is Under a Water Boil Advisory, Affecting Millions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Joseph De Avila | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/city-of-houston-is-under-a-water-boil-advisory-affecting-millions-11669649012

☆ New York continues streak as nation's No. 1 port as LA cargo volume hits level not seen since 2009
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Earlier this week, the Port of Los Angeles posted its lowest level of October since 2009. "Firstly, shippers are still avoiding the West Coast to mitigate the risk of labor strikes at LA and Long Beach. According to Project44 data, total vessel TEU capacity deployed from Europe to the East Coast is up 15.5% compared to Oct 2021. CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map providers warned in the summer and fall of a decrease in manufacturing orders which has impacted the volume of shipping. The lesser container volumes are now being seen off the ports across the East Coast, including New York and New Jersey.

☆ Lesbians score big political gains in midterm election's 'rainbow wave'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Matt Lavietes | Matt Lavietes Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The 2022 midterm elections ignited what LGBTQ advocates called yet another “rainbow wave,” with over 430 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer candidates emerging victorious. Across the country in Oregon, fellow Democrat and lesbian Tina Kotek was in a much tighter three-way gubernatorial contest. Lesbians and other queer women were successful in down-ballot races as well, according to advocacy groups and political action committees that have been tracking these races. “These are people who have taken the normal political path and are ready for the big leap,” she said, referring to lesbian election winners. “Queer women, just like all other women, understand that we’re in a really fraught time here in America.”Follow NBC Out on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.

☆ Chompers the python sent would-be thief running in botched robbery attempt, police say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Tim Stelloh | Tim Stelloh Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

A Texas teenager accused of trying to steal a ball python named "Chompers" at gunpoint was charged with aggravated robbery, court documents obtained Thursday show. Chompers, a ball python. The woman, Ariel Giron, told KPRC that she agreed to sell the ball python for $200. A girl arrived at the parking lot with a few dollars and said her brother would send her the rest later, Giron told the station. “I’m guessing he was scared of the snake,” Giron told KPRC.

☆ Canceled sailings from China and 'radical' vessel cuts hit U.S. ability to reach export market
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"As shipping lines reduce their vessel calls in the form of blank sailings, this reduces the capacity for outbound volumes. Sea-Intelligence wrote in its recent blank sailings report that it has detected some unannounced cancellations for the calendar-year period of weeks 42-52 in the past two weeks. "Blank sailings have been ramped up drastically on the Transpacific, but not so much on Asia-Europe," said Alan Murphy, CEO at Sea-Intelligence. On Asia-North Europe routes, Sea-Intelligence is only seeing an additional six blank sailings, and on Asia-Mediterranean routes an increase of four blank sailings. The weekly average of vessels waiting this week is 14, waiting for an average of 6.3 days.

☆ The global shipping industry is facing a new problem — too many containers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Su-Lin Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Trends in global supply chains continue to flip as container prices fall and container depots fill up, logistics data show. Sasin Tipchai | 500Px | Getty ImagesWhile there was a shortage of containers at the height of the pandemic, the global economy is now facing the opposite problem: too many containers. It points to more signs of falling global demand and an impending economic slowdown. Turning away new clientsItalian container depot owner Sogese chief executive Andrea Monti told Container xChange his depots are full. watch nowMonti told Container xChange that the peak season of goods shipments — as Christmas looms — "technically did not happen this year."

☆ Brené Brown says this is the 'core of mental toughness'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Aditi Shrikant | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Brené Brown is a New York Times bestselling author and a professor at The University of Houston. During the interview, Brown and the Locke sisters discuss how to be mentally tough in impossible situations. "The core of mental toughness is actually self-compassion," Brown said. "People who are mentally tough stay mentally tough because they don't slip easily into shame or self-criticism or self-loathing." "From Scratch," Brown says, is a reminder that vulnerability is a tool that can make us stronger even in the toughest circumstances.

Mattress Mack's record-breaking $75 million payout on a wager that the Houston Astros would win the World Series will cost Caesars and Penn Entertainment big in their digital businesses this quarter. With the Astros' second-ever World Series win on Saturday, McIngvale clinched a $75 million payout. "I think if Mattress Mack doesn't hit, we'll be profitable in Q4," Snowden said then. We just wrote the biggest check in sports betting history to Mattress Mack for $30,000,000. "My real interest is making sure the customers win because the customers will be happy and thrilled and smiling," he said.

As a result, political observers say, public school funding is effectively on the ballot Tuesday. “These groups have been demonizing what is being taught in public schools, and that’s the fastest way to erode faith that public schools work,” Rottinghaus said. (Abbott publicly came out in support of private school vouchers two months after winning the primary with 66.5% of the vote.) Greg Abbott in the GOP primary, campaigned in support of private school vouchers. “I will never support vouchers.”Rep. John Bucy III said he will continue to oppose private school vouchers.

☆ Houston’s AOC, Lina Hidalgo, Is on the Rocks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( John Fund | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

One of the biggest stories of this year’s midterm elections has been the shift among Hispanic voters in South Florida and South Texas toward the Republican Party. But a more impressive gauge of the GOP’s new strength may come in an unsuspecting place—Harris County, Texas, which sits in the eastern part of the state and encompasses most of Houston. At 4.7 million people, Harris County is the third most populous county in the U.S. It’s also one of the most diverse. According to recent census numbers, its population is 44% Hispanic, 27% white, 20% African-American and 7% Asian.

He’s always been shining, but on this project he got to shine a little bit more.”Rea Davis. Since the news broke, reactions of shock and devastation have poured in from fans and musicians alike, with many paying homage to Takeoff for his contributions to hip-hop as they mourn his loss. The group released a trilogy of albums, “Culture,” “Culture II” and “Culture III,” with the first two reaching No. Atlanta’s V-103 has received nonstop calls from grieving radio listeners who have been sharing what Takeoff meant to them, according to WXIA. But, Lakeyta Bonnette-Bailey, an associate professor of political science at Georgia State University who specializes in hip-hop culture, said gun violence is not a “hip-hop problem.”“It’s not hip-hop that’s overly violent.

CNN —Houston officials vowed to deliver justice in the killing of rapper Takeoff, with the chief of police calling the 28-year-old Atlantan a “peaceful” man and urging any witnesses to the shooting to come forward. There were roughly 40 people at the event, many of whom left “possibly out of fear,” Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said. “This great city, with our great citizens, with our police department – we will find who’s responsible for it. Finner was clear, however, that investigators do not believe Takeoff was “involved in anything criminal at the time,” he said. Rap star was on an upward trajectoryThe news of Takeoff’s death was a blow to the hip-hop community, still reeling from the fatal shooting of rapper PnB Rock in September.

☆ Members of hip-hop group Migos were at Houston bowling alley where 1 was killed, 2 others were wounded in shooting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

An overnight shooting at a Houston bowling alley has left one person dead and two people injured, police said. Authorities confirmed during an early morning news conference that two members of the hip-hop trio Migos — Takeoff, 28, and Quavo, 31 — were at 810 Billiards & Bowling in downtown Houston when the shooting took place, according to NBC affiliate KPRC of Houston. Offset, Takeoff and Quavo of the group Migos in Atlanta, on June 15, 2019. Around 40 to 50 people were at the location, where a private party was being held, according to KPRC. Migos consists of Takeoff, whose real name is Kirshnik Khari Ball; Quavo, or Quavious Keyate Marshall; and Offset, or Kiari Kendrell Cephus, 30.

☆ Man gets death for killing Texas agency’s first Sikh deputy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

HOUSTON — A man was sentenced to death Wednesday for the fatal 2019 shooting of a law enforcement officer who was the first Sikh deputy in his Texas agency. A Harris County jury deliberated for about 35 minutes before returning the death sentence for Robert Solis, 50, after convicting him of capital murder on Oct. 17 in Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal’s killing. That makes him the worst of the worst, which is why we asked jurors to sentence him to death,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement. Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Sandeep Dhaliwal, center, grieves at a memorial for Deputy Darren Goforth in Houston in 2015. “Deputy Dhaliwal was a pillar of this community, and when it came to law enforcement, he set the bar,” Warren said.

☆ In a historic first, LGBTQ Americans will be on the ballot in all 50 states
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Matt Lavietes | Matt Lavietes Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

For the first time in the nation's history, Americans from all 50 states and the District of Columbia will have a chance to elect an LGBTQ person to public office. More than 340 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group. The word “grooming” has long been associated with mischaracterizing LGBTQ people, particularly gay men and transgender women, as child sex abusers. "So, if you're voting against some LGBTQ rights, you're not voting against LGBTQ rights in abstract anymore, but you're voting to deny rights to someone who sits next to you every day at work." Within the record-breaking election year for LGBTQ candidates, dozens of them will also have the chance to make history on their own.

☆ Malnourished Texas twins escaped handcuffs when boy found key and hid it in his mouth overnight, court records say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Antonio Planas | Antonio Planas Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The siblings stated that they were starving,” the court records said. The teens were also beaten with extension cords, curtain rods and metal poles, according to court records. Terrell, the court records said, could be charged with continuous violence against the family. The twin boy’s left forearm was fractured from an older injury, court records said. Duncan was convicted in 2019 of cruelty to a juvenile by child desertion in the 19th Judicial District Court of East Baton Rouge Parish in Louisiana, court records said.

☆ Bruised and malnourished twins, 16, flee Texas home where they were allegedly handcuffed
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Antonio Planas | Antonio Planas Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The twins were hospitalized and are in the custody of Child Protective Services, according to NBC affiliate KPRC of Houston. PRCMcShan said it took authorities several hours Monday to determine which house the twins had fled. When they arrived, the children’s mother, Zaikiya Duncan, 40, and her boyfriend, 27-year-old Jova Terrell, had apparently left with Duncan’s five other children, McShan said. "The children were found at a relative’s house and have been deemed safe by the Louisiana State Police. Duncan and Terrell were arrested after a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon, Louisiana State Police said Wednesday.

☆ Why companies like UPS and Disney are allowing workers to show their tattoos
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Companies including Disney, UPS and Virgin Atlantic have relaxed their dress and style codes to allow employees to show their tattoos in the workplace. Shifting views on tattoos at workBartlett said after that policy was well received, UPS began looking at changes to its tattoo policy. Previously, the company barred employees from showing any visible tattoos — workers with tattoos had to cover them with long sleeves or pants, or skin-colored coverings. According to the Disney cast member handbook, visible tattoos that are no larger than an extended hand are permitted except for any on the face, head, or neck. That carried over into corporate culture, where hiring managers would stereotype applicants with visible tattoos, or where employers would worry that employing someone with tattoos would turn off customers.

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