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Spin Master bets on nostalgic wooden toys in US$950M deal for Melissa & Doug

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:12:23 GMT

TORONTO — The company best known for the kids’ cartoon “Paw Patrol” is betting its acquisition of a U.S. toymaker specializing in wooden games and toys will broaden its appeal with parents limiting their children’s screen time. Toronto-based Spin Master Corp. announced on Wednesday it has signed a US$950 million deal to buy Wilton, Conn.-based Melissa & Doug, which is known for its nostalgic, pretend-play toys for preschoolers.“The acquisition of Melissa & Doug represents a significant step forward in our growth strategy and will help support our vision to reimagine everyday play,” Spin Master chief executive Max Rangel said during a news conference. He said the acquisition will be an important new brand within Spin Master’s infant and preschool toddler group.Doug Stephens, the founder of Retail Prophet, said Spin Master may be sensing resistance from parents toward digital toys and games, and felt the need to diversify.“There&...

Judge gives $725M Facebook settlement final approval

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:12:23 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – A judge in San Francisco gave final approval to the massive Facebook privacy settlement on Tuesday. The social media company has agreed to pay $725 million to settle claims it violated users’ privacy by sharing their data with third parties. While Meta agreed to the payout, it denies wrongdoing. After months of court proceedings, Judge Vince Chhabria overruled several objections to the settlement Tuesday and granted the settlement his final approval. There's one more key step before payments can go out: a window for appeals to be filed. How big will Facebook settlement checks be? Lawyers reveal estimated payment per person A representative for Angeion, the settlement administrator tasked with processing and paying out claims in this case, told Nexstar it's still uncertain whether any appeals will be filed in the next 30 days. If there are no appeals filed, the company is prepared to send out payments "soon" after the window closes, the representative said. An exact da...

What you need to know about pneumonia

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:12:23 GMT

Olympic gold medalist Mary Lou Retton is in the intensive care unit battling what her daughter calls a rare form of pneumonia.How can someone so seemingly healthy as a 55-year-old world class gymnast spiral into intensive care from pneumonia? Related: Olympic legend Mary Lou Retton ‘fighting for her life’ in ICU: daughter Dr Catherine Myers is a pulmonologist at Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute.She joined the WGN Evening News to talk about the risk, when to seek medical attention and how to protect ourselves against pneumonia.Sign up for our Medical Watch newsletter. This daily update includes important information from WGN's Dina Bair and the Med Watch team including latest updates from health organizations, in-depth reporting on advancements in medical technology and treatments as well as personal features related to people in the medical field. Sign up here.

Olympic champion gymnast Mary Lou Retton remains in intensive care as donations pour in

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:12:23 GMT

Olympic gymnastics champion Mary Lou Retton remained in intensive care on Wednesday while dealing with a rare form of pneumonia.Retton's daughters posted a message on Instagram saying their mother “continues to fight” and thanked the thousands who have donated money to help take care of Retton's medical bills.Shayla Kelley Schrepfer, the oldest of Retton's four daughters, said in a video update on Instagram that the family was “overwhelmed” by the outpouring of support for Retton, 55.“We didn’t even realize that there are so many people out there that love her just as much as we do,” Schrepfer said. "And it’s been a really hard time for our family. And so just seeing that people love her like that and showing her that support has just meant the world to us and to her, so thank you.” D.J. Moore gets an NFL award after a unique performance Nearly 5,000 people had donated over $275,000 in the 24 hours since her family launched an online fundraiser on Tuesday. The family said Retton d...

Kansas teacher says he was fired over TikTok videos

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:12:23 GMT

OLATHE, Kan. (WDAF) — Stephen Taylor has been a teacher for six years, most recently at Mill Creek Campus, an alternative school in Olathe, Kansas. He has also been a stand-up comedian for the last eight years, but it seems the school district employing him wasn't amused by his jokes about students.So unamused, Taylor says he was fired for posting videos on TikTok."The reason I'm doing comedy on TikTok is to make money because [the school] only [pays] me $45,000 a year, and I work all the time," Taylor explained to Nexstar's WDAF. Jets’ Aaron Rodgers challenges Chiefs’ Travis Kelce to vaccine debate But a series of videos at the beginning of the school year had him facing an unusual question from administrators: How often does he really pass gas near students? That's something he claimed to do on his TikTok account."I tell my students the wrong thing all the time when they annoy me. I tell them Abraham Lincoln invented the car, that's why it's named after him," Taylor said in a vi...

Is America's child care crisis about to get worse?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:12:23 GMT

(NewsNation) — America has a child care problem, and some advocates fear it's about to get worse.Over the past two years, more than 220,000 child care programs have received federal assistance through the American Rescue Plan's Child Care Stabilization Program. Now, many of those same providers are at risk of closing after the $24 billion in COVID relief funds expired last month. A June report from The Century Foundation — a progressive think tank — projects more than 70,000 child care programs serving over 3 million children could shut down without additional funding. Parents left without child care as federal funding expires "(The child care) sector has been struggling for a really long time, and the shock has left things more precarious," said Laura Valle-Gutierrez, a fellow at the organization and co-author of the report.At issue, is what Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called a "textbook example of a broken market," where those who provide child care aren't paid well and...

Could Austinites weigh in on an I-35 'cap and stitch' bond election?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:12:23 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- As the Texas Department of Transportation moves ahead on its Interstate 35 Capital Express Central project, Austin city leaders are working to identify hundreds of millions of dollars to support highway "caps," or deck plazas placed on top of sunken portions of the highway.But with an estimated $730 million in funding sources needing to be identified by December 2024, one Austin City Council member is eyeing a possible bond election proposal to help supplement any federal grant dollars the city receives to help move that cap program forward. Austin vying for federal grant for I-35 Cap and Stitch program In late September, Austin City Council approved submitting a federal grant application for constructing funding assistance for its Our Future 35 Cap and Stitch program. The application requested $105.2 million in funds to help finance and construct caps from East Cesar Chavez Street to Fourth Street, joined by a City of Austin match of $45 million.The funding is ma...

How water may be helping to dampen earthquakes

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:12:23 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- It turns out rocks full of water might be helping to reduce the power of earthquakes near New Zealand. At UT's Institute for Geophysics, they've been studying water stuck in the rocks under the ocean and how that water may be keeping stronger quakes at bay. KXAN Meteorologist Nick Bannin spoke with Andrew Gase, a postdoctoral fellow at the institute about their findings.Nick Bannin, KXAN Meteorologist: Andrew, your research while at UT looked at the relationship between underground water and earthquakes in New Zealand, what did you end up finding?Andrew Gase, former Postdoctoral Fellow UT Institute for Geophysics: Yeah, so in New Zealand, there's a very large fault that's well known for causing these earthquakes that we call 'slow earthquakes.' They happen over weeks to months instead of big earthquakes that caused a lot of shaking right away. And we wanted to know what's inside the fault. And so we used a tool called 'seismic imaging,' and it's kind of like medical...

Unseasonably warm weather blows in briefly Thursday and Friday

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:12:23 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Tropical moisture is slowly exiting the area following a cloudy, cool day on Wednesday. Clearing skies and much warmer temperatures will end our work week.Following mainly gray skies and isolated patches of mist overnight, clouds slowly break and warmer southwest winds blow into the area Thursday. High temperatures soar to the upper 80s Thursday then lower 90s in the Austin area Friday.The unseasonable warmth does not last long, however, as a dry cold front Friday afternoon brings back wonderful autumn air for ACL Music Festival weekend two at Zilker Park.Dry cold front brings breezy winds and cooler temperatures for the weekendWeekend forecast for Austin City Limits Music FestivalLong term forecast models are pointing at the potential for wetter weather for the third week of October. Stay with KXAN for the latest updates.Rainfall outlook pointing towards wetter weather next weekAnnular solar eclipse SaturdayThe weather looks great for local viewing of the annular s...

National Coming Out Day: How to support your LGBTQ+ loved ones, co-workers, self

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:12:23 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Oct. 11, National Coming Out Day, was created in 1988 by Jean O’Leary and Dr. Robert Eichberg as a way for people to express positivity around their sexual and gender identities.Since then, the world has changed, with a February poll by Gallup suggesting that 20% of Gen Z identify as LGBTQ+. But coming out can still be a nerve-wracking experience.GLAAD rapid response coordinator Jacob Reyes said while online resources exist, one of the best ways to prepare can be through talking to someone who is already out publicly."That is something I really treasure, because we get to live this queer life openly despite the setbacks of today, because of the people from yesterday," Reyes said. "We should continue to look to the people who came before us, whether it is through media consumption or just talking to an LGBTQ+ elder. That is something that I think would be would be the most important just to understand the struggle and understand the opportunities that lay before you a...