GEAR MAG

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Argentina's Senate approved President Javier Milei's flagship labor reform bill early on Thursday, marking a key advance for the libertarian leader's ‌sweeping economic agenda.

After debating the measure for more than 13 hours, lawmakers voted 42 ‌to 30 to pass the reform and send it to the lower house for debate, a victory for Milei's ​administration, which argues the overhaul will spur investment and formal job creation.

The Senate's approval of the reform is expected to encourage investors who are watching to see whether Milei has the power to continue implementing his free-market agenda.

"This law represents a turning point in Argentine labor history," Milei ‌said in a statement after the ⁠vote, calling it a "profound transformation" that would reduce bureaucracy and update regulations he described as outdated in the face of economic and technological change.

Opposition ⁠Peronist senators had fought against the reform, arguing that the package threatens long-standing worker protections.

The reform eases hiring rules, changes the vacation time system, allows for extending the standard workday from eight to ​12 hours ​and for salaries to be paid in foreign ​currency.

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It also introduces new limits on ‌the right to strike by setting minimum requirements for services to continue during work stoppages. The reform streamlines the calculation of severance pay, lowering costs for employers by excluding bonuses that were not part of a worker's regular salary from the compensation formula.

Lawmakers made adjustments to the bill before its passage, including the removal of a provision that would have cut income tax ‌rates to 31% from 35%, a change sought by ​provincial governors.

The reform kept a requirement in place for ​employers to be responsible for the ​automatic collection of union dues, a concession to labor groups to avoid ‌weakening their finances.

The government also removed a ​clause that would have ​allowed workers to be paid through virtual wallets following pushback from traditional banks.

Protesters hurled Molotov cocktails and clashed with police outside Congress during the debate on Wednesday, though city ​services were largely interrupted in ‌Buenos Aires.

The bill will be next be debated and voted on by the ​lower house.

(Reporting by Lucila Sigal; additional reporting by Leila Miller; writing by Cassandra ​Garrison; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Nia Williams)

Valentine's weekend will be a soaker across the South, with locally heavy rain and a few severe thunderstorms possible from Texas to Florida to the Carolinas and Virginia.

While this wet weekend forecast sounds like a bummer, there are several "saving graces:"

1. It won't rain the entire weekend in any one area of the South.

2. There's no bitter cold air in place, so this isn't another southern winter storm the likes of the recent ice storm ("Fern") nor the Carolinas clobbering ("Gianna").

3. This doesnotappear to be a significant severe weather outbreak, nor a major flash flood threat.

4. In fact, for much of the region, this rain is sorely needed. (More on that later.)

When Will It Rain?

The maps below show the timing of the rain through Sunday.

In general, rain moves into the Southern Plains Friday and Friday night, spreads into the Mississippi Valley Saturday, then into the Southeast Sunday, then should be off the East Coast by Monday.

(MORE MAPS:Daily US Rain, Snow Forecast)

Severe Threat

In general, we expect the severe weather threat with this system to be rather low and isolated.

- Friday night: A few severe storms in western Texas and southwest Oklahoma could produce large hail and strong wind gusts.

- Saturday - Saturday night: The area shown below has at least a chance of a few severe storms Saturday and Saturday night. Strong thunderstorm wind gusts and perhaps an isolated tornado are the main threats.

- Sunday - Sunday night: This isolated severe threat will sweep across the Deep South and northern Gulf Coast from southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and southern Georgia during the day, then across parts of the Florida Peninsula Sunday evening. Again, strong wind gusts and isolated tornadoes are possible.

(MORE:15 Severe Weather Safety Tips That Could Save Your Life)

Heavy Rain Threat

Parts of the South may be soaked by locally heavy rain this weekend.

The Ozarks into the Mid-South region, and from the Florida Panhandle to the Carolinas, could pick up 2 inches or more of rain, which could triggerlocalized flash flooding.

While this doesn't appear to be a widespread flash flood danger, keep this in mind if you're driving in these areas this weekend. Never try to drive through a flooded stretch of road. Turn around, instead.

(MORE:Flooding Is One Of Most Deadly Weather Phenomena)

'Goldilocks' Rain?

Given the relatively low threats of both severe weather and flash flooding, this might be a near-ideal case of drought relief.

As you can see in the map below, much of the South is currently in drought. Parts of Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas are in extreme drought as of mid-February.

Over the past few days, fires have burned in parts ofFlorida,western North Carolina,near Shawnee, Oklahoma, and theTexas Panhandle.

It's also been among thefive driest winters-to-datein over a dozen cities including Charlotte, Dallas, Little Rock, Raleigh and West Palm Beach, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him onBluesky,X (formerly Twitter)andFacebook.

The United States and Mexico seized several tons of cocaine from a ship in a "coordinated operation" in the Pacific Ocean, the Mexican navy said Wednesday.

The unusual joint action comes despite tensions between the two countries, with President Trump vowing to strike Mexican drug cartels that he said posed a grave threat to national security.

"About 188 packages containing several tons of cocaine" were seized from the vessel off Clarion Island, about 680 miles from the Mexican port city of Manzanillo in Colima state, the Mexican navysaid in a statement.

The navy releasedimagesandvideoof the alleged drugs, showing packages laid out on the deck of a naval ship before being transported to shore.

Multiple people were arrested, the statement added, without specifying how many.

Mr. Trump has threatened to slap additional tariffs on Mexico to pressure the country into beefing up drug raids and cartel arrests. Mexico has sent nearly 100 members of Mexican drug cartels to the United States in recent months, including37 individualsin January.

A free trade agreement between the two neighbors and Canada is up for renegotiation this year.

The Trump administration said Wednesday thatMexican cartel dronesaround the U.S.-Mexico border had forced a Texas airport to shut down temporary. The closure in the Texas border city of El Pasostemmed from disagreementsbetween the FAA and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests, multiple sources close to the matter told CBS News.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded that her government had received no reports of drones belonging to cartels along the border.

Last summer, the Mexican navyseized 3.5 tons of cocainehidden in a "narco sub" off the Pacific coast, while releasing video of the vessel being intercepted. In November 2024, the Mexican Navy said it seized3.6 tons of cocaineaboard a semisubmersible off the Pacific coast which was spotted about 153 miles off the resort of Acapulco.

Details on new images of subject in Nancy Guthrie disappearance

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Masked, gloved subject seen on video approaching Nancy Guthrie's door

Seahawks general manager John Schneider's red cup negotiating at Seattle's Super Bowl 2026 parade on Wednesday quickly turned awkward.

Schneider started to negotiate with himself in public about the contract of Kenneth Walker III, the Seattle running back who wasnamed Super Bowl MVPafter rushing for 135 yards on 27 carries.

"Ken Walker being the MVP, let's go!" Schneider, who appeared a bit tipsy, yelled to nearly a million fans at the parade celebration. "He tried negotiating with me five minutes ago. It was really weird. Anyway. hey, M-V-P! M-V-P!"

But Walker, who was ruefully smiling and shaking his head no while Schneider was negotiating against himself, later hopped on Instagram stories to directly refute what the general manager said, blaming it on booze.

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"Must've been da liquor he drinking cuz I never said dat shi!" followed by two laughing emojis.

Walker is projected to command north of $13.5 million per year,according to Outkick.

Schneider's public joke about "negotiating" may have caused Walker's price tag to tick up a bit for the Seahawks, who have roughly $73 million in cap space,according to Spotrac.

Schneider was apparently flushed with joy after winning his second Super Bowl as the team's GM, but now may have to do a little fence-mending with Walker after the ill-timed remark.

For Josh Schertz and No. 18 Saint Louis, offensive performance starts with the effort provided on the defensive end.

The Billikens, riding a 17-game winning streak, will look to remain sharp on defense when they travel to face Loyola Chicago on Friday.

Saint Louis (23-1, 11-0 Atlantic 10) turned up the intensity in the second half of a resounding 82-58 home win over La Salle on Saturday. The Ramblers (6-19, 2-10) are coming off an 84-64 defeat at Davidson on Feb. 6.

After a sluggish first half in which they hit just 3 of 10 3-point attempts and led 31-27, Saint Louis heated up coming out of the locker room. The result: The Billikens converted 10 of 20 shot attempts from 3-point range in the second half and pulled away.

Sixth man Ishan Sharma continued his hot shooting streak. He led the Billikens with 15 points and drained 5 of 9 3-point attempts. Sharma is one of four Billikens shooting better than 40.0% from long range. Quentin Jones and Amari McCottry added 13 points apiece, and Dion Brown chipped in 12 points.

However, Schertz believes it's the defense that allows the Billikens to get on the run. Saint Louis ranks fourth nationally with 18.67 fastbreak points per game. The Billikens are first in the country in field-goal-percentage defense at 36.3%. On the other end of the floor, Saint Louis rates third in effective field-goal percentage at 61.3%.

It all adds up to a team chasing down the school record 19-game winning streak set in the 2013-14 season.

"When you play good defense that allows you usually to play into transition on offense," Schertz said, "because you are getting a stop and a rebound. When you play good offense and score or take a good shot, it allows you to set your defense. Then your defense is better. So it's always the complementary phases. It's very hard to be good at offense if you are bad at defense because you are always taking the ball out of the net and going against a set defense.

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"Basketball is the most fluid game in terms of how intertwined the two sides of the floor are. When we make our runs, it usually starts with stops. Then we get stops and clean rebounds and get out into transition and run."

Five Billikens average double-figure scoring, led by Robbie Avila at 12.8 points per game. The senior center also leads Saint Louis with 4.3 assists per contest.

"Robbie is so good in the two-man game with (Sharma) and Brady (Dunlap)," Schertz said. "Robbie is so good at unlocking those guys because he is a hard cover. And those guys (are threats) with their movement and shooting."

Meanwhile, Loyola Chicago has battled injuries throughout a forgettable season. Miles Rubin was the only Ramblers player to score in double digits against Davidson, finishing with a game-high 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

The junior center also pulled down seven rebounds. Miles, a Chicago product, is the Ramblers' second-leading scorer (11 points per game) and leading rebounder (7.6 rpg). Loyola's leading scorer, Justin Moore (11.4 ppg), was held to just four points in 24 minutes at Davidson.

Loyola went 0-9 in January. After it notched its first win of the new year against La Salle, 71-61 on Feb. 3, the Ramblers again struggled to find their way.

"I think our guys did a good job from a mentality standpoint of still doing whatever they could to compete," Loyola coach Drew Valentine said following the latest loss. "Those guys walking into the arena today, they didn't think they were going to do that. I commend our guys for doing that. I commend our guys for fighting."

--Field Level Media

PHILADELPHIA — The little man stood up for the big man. And it had a big impact.

It's not a sight that has been common around these Knicks this year — someone actually getting in an opponent's face to stick up for a teammate.

Mitchell Robinson, while going up for a dunk, was brought down hard by Trendon Watford at the end of the first quarter of theKnicks' 138-89 win over the 76erson Wednesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Immediately, with Robinson still on the ground, Alvarado tried to push Watford away.

When Watford didn't budge, Alvarado exchanged a few words with him, and the two had to be separated.

Alvarado and 76ers coach Nick Nurse were both given technical fouls.

"He did a hard foul, but I think he did a little extra with the staring," Alvarado said. "I'm just not gonna go for none of that. It was just in the moment. That's when I'm at my best, I guess, getting a little active. It worked out in my favor."

And it sparked the Knicks run that blew the game open and put them firmly in control.

After the incident, the Knicks outscored the 76ers by 15 points before Alvarado checked out in the second quarter to increase their lead from nine to 24 points.

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS

Alvarado scored nine of those 15 points with a trio of 3-pointers.

"He ignited us," coach Mike Brown said, "in a lot of different ways.

It wasn't a major fracas, but it was a bit of snarl that the Knicks were missing this year, one of the reasons they acquired Alvarado just ahead of the deadline.

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It was a major contrast to their lack of response when Draymond Green grabbed Karl-Anthony Towns' leg and dragged him down during the loss to the Warriors on Jan 15.

Now, though, the Knicks have an enforcer. Even if he's generously listed at 6 feet.

Brown gives out a defensive player of the game afterward, and the recipient poses with a pair of Timberland boots, among other accessories, to represent a hard-nosed mentality.

It was fitting that Alvarado, who got the recognition Wednesday, was already wearing his own pair.

"That's what we need," Josh Hart said. "That's what we want from him. Obviously that toughness, ability to help us get organized, ability to knock down shots. And defensively bring energy, bring physicality, get in the passing lanes, those kinds of things. That's why he's here."

Alvarado's dogged on-ball defending and toughness are what he's known for. His offensive game is usually much more of a question mark.

But he was their unlikely leading scorer Wednesday, finishing with 26 points, almost all via 3-pointers.

Garbage time became Alvarado time, as he began toying with the 76ers during the fourth quarter, using his patented sneak attack to come up with steals while jacking up 3s on the other end. He hit four more 3s in that fourth quarter.

His 26 points and five steals were both season highs. He was a team-high plus-35 in just 19 minutes. His eight 3s tied a career high.

"I had it rolling," Alvarado said. "I didn't know I had eight [3s] — I should've made one more so I could break my tie."

By the fourth quarter, the plethora of Knicks fans in attendance were chanting "Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose" and getting on their feet for every shot. A potentially key Knicks energizer has firmly arrived.

Helen Garay Facebook

NEED TO KNOW

• The cause of death for a woman who was found dead inside a freezer at a Dollar Tree in Miami has been revealed

• Helen Massiell Garay Sanchez, a 32-year-old mother of two, was found dead inside a freezer at the discount store on Dec. 14, 2025

• Authorities previously said Sanchez climbed inside the freezer the night prior and was there overnight, before being found by employee at around 8:00 a.m.
  

The cause of death for a mother of two found dead inside a freezer at a Dollar Tree in Miami has released.

Helen Massiell Garay Sanchez, 32, was found dead inside a freezer at the discount store on SW 8th Street on Dec. 14, 2025,PEOPLE previouslyreported.

On Wednesday, Feb. 11, Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Sanchez's cause of death as environmental hypothermia, with ethanol use being a contributory cause, according to local media outletsNBC6,WPLGand theMiami Herald.

Sanchez's ethanol levels were found to be at 0.112% in her toxicology report, per NBC6. A reading of ocular fluid ethanol was also at 0.156%, according to WPLG.

Ethanol is used in alcoholic beverages. A blood ethanol level of 0.112% is also above the legal limit to drive, per the outlet.

Hypothermia occurs when the body's core temperature drops below 95 degrees. "Left untreated, hypothermia can cause the heart and respiratory system to fail and eventually can lead to death," according to theMayo Clinic.

PEOPLE has contacted the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office for comment

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Authorities previously said Sanchez entered the Dollar Tree without buying anything on Dec. 13, according toNBC 6andWPLG.

She then reportedly went to an employee-only area and stayed inside the freezer overnight.

Sanchez was found deceased in the freezer by an employee at around 8:00 a.m. the following morning, PEOPLE previously reported.

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In January, Sanchez's familyfiled a wrongful death lawsuitin Miami-Dade County against Dollar Tree and the location's manager, perNBC 6.

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Sanchez's family, who are suing the chain and store's manager for over $50 million, claimed Dollar Tree was negligent in not preventing Sanchez from accessing the store's freezer.

They also claimed that the manager was "placed on actual notice" that Sanchez was missing and hadn't exited the store and that the manager "failed to take reasonable action to locate or assist Sanchez," per NBC 6.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Sanchez's husband and two children.

A  police spokesperson previously told PEOPLE that they obtained footage from a family member and from the store.

"This is why we know there was no foul play," the spokesperson said. "She went into the freezer on her own."

A police officer who spoke toWPLGalso previously ruled out mental illness as a factor in her death.

In a statement, a Dollar Tree spokesperson previously told PEOPLE that the company was "cooperating fully with the authorities at this time." "We are aware of this tragic incident, and our thoughts are with the individual's family and loved ones," they added.

A company spokesperson also added in a statement shared with PEOPLE on Feb. 2, "Our thoughts continue to be with the individual's family and loved ones. While we do not comment on active legal matters, we continue to cooperate fully with authorities."

Sanchez, who was from Nicaragua, worked as a doctor and was "dedicated her life to medicine," according to aGoFundMepage.

Read the original article onPeople