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Taylor Swift reporter hired at Gannett after viral job listing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:30 GMT

(CNN) — Consider journalist Bryan West the “lucky one,” because he’s The Tennessean and USA Today network’s new Taylor Swift reporter.The Tennessean announced the news on Monday, saying West, a veteran journalist and two-time Emmy winning TV producer, “emerged as the standout choice from a pool of hundreds of applicants.”“Admittedly, I’m a Swiftie,” West is seen saying in his video application shared by the publication, wherein he listed 13 reasons why he’s the guy for the job.“So, I do follow a lot of Taylor news. I know about every outing, every new song, every lyric, every album release, every party,” he added.Touting his technical skills as a multi-platform journalist and a licensed drone pilot, West went on to highlight his track record for predicting Swift’s album announcements and how he’s one of the 100 accounts the official “Eras Tour” Instagram account follows.West shared that he once met Swift during her 2018 “Reputation” tour, hilariously ad...

Good Samaritan prevents carjacking in Ocala Starbucks drive-thru

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:30 GMT

OCALA, Fla. (WSVN) — A woman’s ordinary morning coffee run in Ocala turned into a heart-pounding encounter when she was nearly carjacked while waiting in a Starbucks drive-thru. Thanks to a quick-thinking Good Samaritan, what could have ended much worse was thwarted. As Shane Spicer waited for his coffee police were in pursuit of a dangerous suspect, identified as Michael Prouty, who was wanted for breaking into someone’s home and stealing their car. Prouty’s reckless high-speed chase came to a dramatic halt when he crashed at a busy intersection and attempted to flee on foot. “A white male bailing. He’s now at Starbucks,” said one police officer. Sprinting toward Starbucks, Spicer witnessed Prouty trying to carjack a woman, taking quick and instinctive action to intervene. Police dashcam footage captured the intense moment as Spicer, an Army veteran, jumped into the passenger seat to prevent Prouty from escaping.“I’m going to ge...

Amazon delivery driver bitten by ‘highly venomous’ rattlesnake in Florida

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:30 GMT

PALM CITY, Florida (WPTV) — A 21-year-old Amazon driver is in critical but stable condition after she was bitten by a “highly venomous” rattlesnake in Palm City on Monday.In a Facebook post, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said the driver was delivering a package in the Highlands Reserve community Monday night when an eastern diamondback rattlesnake coiled near the front door bit her. The agency later said it was 5 feet long.“The driver walked to the door, put the package down and was struck by the snake,” the sheriff’s office wrote.The driver immediately became ill and called out for help.Deputies arrived at the scene within minutes and found the victim on the ground outside the home.“She was sort of lethargic in her interaction with our deputies, limited conversation,” Martin County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy John Budensiek said. “It was obvious when they were walking up to ask her what had taken place, you co...

Retired firefighter helps rescue man in lake

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:30 GMT

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — A retired Seminole County firefighter jumped into action to help rescue a motorcyclist thrown into the water after an accident on a bridge.It all happened Friday on Lake Jesup.“Those split seconds can mean the world. I mean it means a life,” said Terry Myers, who worked for the Seminole County Fire Department for more than three decades.He says he was in the right place at the right time Friday.“It was perfect timing,” he said. “We beat the fire department’s boat there by five minutes just because I was here.”He was home when he said he got a call from a lieutenant asking if he could get his boat in the water on Lake Jesup to help rescue a motorcyclist thrown off a bridge and into the water.“Me and my wife come running down. Jumped in the boat, cranked it up, ran over and got them,” Myers said. “The minute we got there, we just ran up on the shore. The crew from Engine 35 jumped on, a...

WeWork seeks bankruptcy protection in stunning fall for a firm once valued at close to $50 billion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — WeWork has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, marking a stunning fall for the office sharing company once seen as a Wall Street darling that promised to upend the way people went to work around the world.In a late Monday announcement, WeWork said it entered into a restructuring support agreement with the majority of its stakeholders to “drastically reduce” the company’s debt while further evaluating WeWork’s commercial office lease portfolio.WeWork is also requesting the “ability to reject the leases of certain locations,” which the company says are largely non-operational, as part of the filing. Specific estimates of total impacted locations were not disclosed Monday, but all affected members have received advanced notice, the company said.“Now is the time for us to pull the future forward by aggressively addressing our legacy leases and dramatically improving our balance sheet,” CEO David Tolley said in a prepared statement. “We defined a new cat...

‘We’ve got some holes to fill.’ What — and who — is on the Chicago White Sox’s to-do list at the GM meetings?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:30 GMT

The Chicago White Sox have been busy since the World Series wrapped up.Thursday, they introduced Paul Janish as the organization’s director of player development.The next day, the Sox declined the club option on closer Liam Hendriks for 2024 while starter Mike Clevinger declined a mutual option. The changes continued Saturday when the Sox declined shortstop Tim Anderson’s club option for 2024.All that activity came ahead of the MLB general managers meetings, which formally begin Tuesday at a resort in Paradise Valley, Ariz.It will be Chris Getz’s first since being promoted to Sox GM on Aug. 31.“I’ve had a lot of conversations with other general managers around the league, just understanding their needs and conveying what we’re set out to do as well and see if we match up,” Getz said during a video conference Thursday. “Clearly, we’ve got some work to do based on the production we’ve had on the field the last two years.̶...

A top aide to Ukraine’s military commander is killed by a grenade given as a birthday gift

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:30 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A top aide to Ukraine’s commander in chief was killed by a grenade given to him as a birthday gift and not in a targeted attack, the interior minister said.Maj. Hennadii Chastiakov died in the tragic accident Monday that badly injured his 13-year-old son, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.A colleague presented six new grenades as a gift to Chastiakov, who was a top aide and close friend to commander-in-chief Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, for his 39th birthday, Klymenko said.Chastiakov was showing off the grenades to his family at home when his son took one and began twisting the ring.“The serviceman then took the grenade from the child and pulled the ring, leading to a tragic explosion,” Klymenko said.Police are investigating the incident in the village of Chaiky in the Kyiv region.The officer’s death was the second fatal tragedy in less than a week for Ukraine’s military.A Ukrainian brigade holding a ceremony in Zaporizhzhia to honor ...

Cyprus has a plan for a humanitarian sea corridor to Gaza and will present it to EU leaders

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:30 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus will present its plan for a humanitarian sea corridor to Gaza when the Cypriot president meets other EU heads of state in Paris at an international donor conference for the besieged Palestinian enclave on Nov. 9, an official said Tuesday. Government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis told reporters the initiative to ship aid from the eastern Mediterranean island will be discussed at length during the conference, which will also seek to address Gaza’s pressing needs including water, electricity and fuel supply.Last week, senior U.N. officials said the average Palestinian in Gaza was living on two pieces of bread a day, while only one of three water supply lines from Israel was operational. More than 1.5 million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza by the Israeli offensive launched in the wake of Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,400 people. President Nikos Christodoulides said Tuesday the initiative aims for a “sustained, secure high-volu...

Teen arrested in stabbing at Madison Avenue Pub in the Annex

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:30 GMT

Toronto police have arrested a teen suspect wanted in a stabbing at the Madison Avenue Pub last week.Officers were called to the pub at Bloor Street West and Madison Avenue area in the Annex at around 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, for reports of a stabbing.Police said a man was being escorted off the premises when he allegedly took out a knife and stabbed a victim. He then fled the area on foot, last seen running northbound on Madison Avenue.The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries.Police released an image of the wanted man on Saturday, and investigators say he was arrested on Monday.Alexander Mileski, 18, of Toronto, faces five charges: assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace, carrying a concealed weapon, and failing to comply with an undertaking.

Portuguese police arrest the prime minister’s chief of staff in a corruption probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:30 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portuguese police have arrested the chief of staff of Prime Minister António Costa while making multiple raids of public buildings and other properties as part of a widespread corruption probe, the prosecutor’s office said Tuesday.An investigative judge issued arrest warrants for Vítor Escária, Costa’s chief of staff, the mayor of Sines, and three other people because they represented a flight risk and to protect evidence, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.It said that the Minister of Infrastructure João Galamba and head of the country’s environmental agency were among those named as suspects.The judge is investigating alleged malfeasance, corruption of elected officials, and influence peddling related to lithium mines concessions near Portugal’s northern border with Spain, and plans for a green hydrogen plant and data center in the southern coastal town of Sines.The raids included the premises of the Ministry of the Environment, the Min...