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AFSCME report: Staffing shortage by more than 3,400 at Maryland’s correctional facilities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:05 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.A new report released Thursday by Maryland’s largest state employee union shows the state’s correctional facilities have an extreme staffing shortage of more than 3,400.The 120-page staffing audit was completed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Maryland Council 3, which completed an in-depth review of all 19 state correctional facilities.During a three-day visit in December to the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center, approximately 142 officers worked three shifts. In order to make sure the facility is safe for both workers and those incarcerated, 306 officers were needed, the union concluded. At that time, the facility had 147 vacancies.In the same month and same timeframe at Jessup Correctional Institution, 213 officers worked three shifts, but the report notes 357 officers were nee...

Padres ganan 7-5 a Diamondbacks; Tatis regresa a la acción

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:05 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Trent Grisham consiguió dos dobles y cuatro producidas, Xander Bogaerts disparó un jonrón de dos carreras y los Padres de San Diego vencieron el jueves 7-5 a los Diamondbacks de Arizona en el regreso a la acción de Fernando Tatis Jr. después de una larga suspensión por uso de sustancias prohibidas.El dominicano Tatis terminó de 5-0 y lo poncharon un par de ocasiones en su primer partido de campaña regular desde 2021; fue primero en el turno de bateo y cubrió el jardín derecho. Su intervención más notable de la noche fue en la defensiva en el octavo inning: se desplazó velozmente hacia atrás y su izquierda para atrapar una línea que impidió a Josh Rojas concretar un hit extrabase.Tatis, de 24 años, se perdió toda la campaña pasada, primero a causa de la fractura de su muñeca izquierda y después por una suspensión de 80 encuentros por uso de una sustancia prohibida para mejorar el rendimiento.Grisham y Bogaerts se contaron entre los jugadores de los Padres que compensar...

Duran doubles, hits Maeda in Red Sox’s 11-5 win over Twins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:05 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Jarren Duran lined one ball off Kenta Maeda’s ankle, knocking the Twins starter out of the game, and another off the Green Monster during a six-run third inning on Thursday to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 11-5 victory over Minnesota.Maeda (0-3) allowed a home run to Alex Verdugo to lead off the bottom of the first and left trailing 1-0 after taking Duran’s 111 mph line drive off his left ankle in the second inning. The Twins right-hander made the play to get the out at first and end the inning. X-rays were negative. “He got hit squarely,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You’re really hoping not to get a really bad result, like a broken ankle or something like that. We were fearful, to be honest, watching him on the ground out there. But as he got up and the initial pain went away, he was able to stand and move around. So that was positive.”Emilio Pagan relieved Maeda and gave up five straight hits, including Duran’s double, as Boston opened a 7-0 lead. Third ...

México vende avión presidencial a Tayikistán por US$ 92 millones

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:05 GMT

(CNN Español) — La Presidencia de México informó este jueves a través de un comunicado que se concretó la venta del avión presidencial a la República de Tayikistán, ubicada en Asia Central.La Presidencia añadió que la venta del avión se concretó por un precio de US$ 92 millones, monto que, según la presidencia, cumple con la tasación realizada por el Instituto de Administración y Avalúos de Bienes Nacionales de México.AMLO reconoce que ha sido difícil vender el avión presidencialEl comunicado agregó que las autoridades mexicanas efectuaron la operación con el Comité Estatal de Inversiones y Administración de Propiedades de la República de Tayikistán, cuyos integrantes se encuentran en México y disponen de 10 días para llevarse la aeronave.El presidente de México, Andres Manuel López Obrador, dijo que van a usar el dinero de la venta del Boeing 787 para construir dos hospitales, cada uno de 80 camas, en las zonas de Tlapa, Guerrero, Tuxtepec, y Oaxaca.El Boeing 787 fue adquirid...

Russia accidentally bombs its own city

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:05 GMT

A Russian war plane accidentally discharged a weapon that exploded in the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the Ukrainian border, late Thursday night, causing an explosion and injuring several people, according to state media.“At around 22:15 Moscow time on April 20, when a Su-34 plane of the Russian Aerospace Forces was performing a flight above the city of Belgorod, an emergency release of an air ordnance occurred,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement to TASS, which didn’t specify the weapon that caused the damage. The Sukhoi Su-34 is a supersonic fighter-bomber jet.Belgorod’s regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said earlier on Telegram that there had been an explosion in the center of the city, leaving a crater measuring 20 meters, with several cars and buildings damaged.In an update Friday morning, Gladkov added that three people had been hurt, though their injuries weren’t life-threatening.The Belgorod region, which is about an hour̵...

Rishi Sunak ‘taking his time’ over Dominic Raab bullying report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:05 GMT

LONDON — Rishi Sunak is “taking his time” as he pores over a report into the conduct of Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, the government’s transport secretary said.In a round of interviews Friday morning, Mark Harper would not guarantee that the long-awaited report into bullying allegations will be published today. In November, the prime minister tasked a top senior lawyer with investigating multiple allegations of bullying from Raab, who also serves as justice secretary. After months of interviews and new complaints the lawyer, Adam Tolley, handed the report to the prime minister on Thursday morning. But Sunak is yet to publish the report or address its contents — leaving Raab’s fate in the balance.The deputy PM, who denies the allegations, has promised to resign if the bullying claims are upheld.The report is still expected to be published imminently, with a decision on whether Raab stays in government expected at the same time. However, asked if the repo...

Strikes bring German railways to standstill, hit 4 airports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:05 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — An eight-hour strike brought Germany’s railways to a standstill on Friday morning, while walkouts also were underway at four major German airports in a parallel pay dispute.The EVG rail workers’ union called for members to walk out between 3 a.m. and 11 a.m. Germany’s main train operator, state-owned Deutsche Bahn, announced shortly after that call on Wednesday that it was canceling long-distance services between 3 a.m. and 1 p.m. and that most regional trains also would be canceled.EVG says it needs to step up pressure on employers as it seeks an inflation-busting pay raise. Deutsche Bahn, which is one of dozens of companies hit by the strike, has called the walkout “pointless and unnecessary” and accused EVG of trying to score points in a bitter long-term rivalry with another rail union.The walkout follows a full-day strike on March 27 that paralyzed the railway network. That strike was coordinated with another union, ver.di, which brought most of G...

China foreign minister steps up threats against Taiwan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:05 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s foreign minister stepped up threats Friday against the self-governing island of Taiwan, saying any who go against Beijing’s demand to exert control over the island are “playing with fire.” Qin Gang’s remarks Friday came at the end of a speech espousing China’s contribution to the global economy and the interests of developing nations, in which he repeatedly praised Communist Party Secretary General Xi Jinping’s Global Security Initiative. The concept is the latest of China’s moves to position its single-party political system, with its claim to social stability and economic growth, as an alternative to the Western liberal approach that largely defines international relations. Toward the end of his speech in the financial hub of Shanghai, Qin turned to what China calls the “Taiwan problem,” using harsher terms than Chinese diplomats have typically employed in past in international settings. “The safeguarding of national sovereignty and territorial integrity is ...

Kiszla: Avs beat crisis of confidence and kicked Kraken tail with big assist from injured captain Gabe Landeskog

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:05 GMT

Slobbered by a big ugly Kraken kiss, the defending Stanley Cup champs had slime on their cheeks and doubt rattling inside their heads.Hard as it was to believe, the Avs were teetering on the brink of collapse, players pressing every shift with confidence running on empty, in danger of being embarrassed in the first round of the playoffs by an expansion team from Seattle named after a silly sea monster.“It was all mental,” said Avs coach Jared Bednar, as shocked as every one of the 18,141 fans in Ball Arena that his team had lost its championship mojo.And then captain Gabriel Landeskog walked in the shaken Colorado dressing room at the first intermission of Game 2 in this best-of-seven series to remind the Avs who they were. Yes, the captain is hurt, unable to skate until next season, reduced to wearing a suit instead of a sweater.But I swear the Avs wouldn’t have rediscovered their swagger, recovered from a two-goal deficit and beat Seattle 3-2 Thursday without the calm, reassuring ...

Europe's strikes could spell more flights havoc into summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:05 GMT

Strikes in Europe have caused a surge of flight cancellations and delays, as well as a drop in bookings for cities such Paris. This is despite the efforts made by airlines to prevent a repeat of disruptions from last year.AirHelp, a flight claim management company, says that the number of flights cancelled and delayed by more than three hours over Easter weekend in Europe was up from 2022 to 2019 and most notably in France and Britain.The situation rapidly deteriorated, as France sank into the pension crisis. Charles de Gaulle Airport is negatively affected as both a destination as well as hub, said Olivier Ponti VP of Insights, at travel data company ForwardKeys.Airhelp data provided shows that in France, where the air traffic control staff went on strike recently, only 62% of flights arrived on time. This compares with 75% for 2022 and 76% for 2019 before the pandemic halted international travel.This year's Easter saw 33,300 cancellations, compared to 7,800 the year before. 9,000 ...