Unions Suffer Steep Decline In Membership

With so much new music being put out and new stars created each year, it's ironic that one of the most played songs on Spotify in 2024 was Journey' "Don't Stop Believing" Billboard: More than a billion Spotify streams, a Library of Congress National Recording Registry placement and plays at virtually every sporting event around the world don’t lie — this one is Journey’s pinnacle of success.

ORLANDO – Observations and other notes of interest from Saturday night’s 121-114 loss to the Orlando Magic: – This was no time for easing off the gas. – Not when a two-game losing streak could have turned into three. – Not with Jimmy Butler back in Miami with a stomach illness. – But, most importantly, not after what happened Monday night in Detroit. – That’s when the Pistons opened without Tobias Harris and Jaden Ivey and then lost Isaiah Stewart early. – And still found a way to beat the Heat in overtime. – Even with Butler going for a triple-double. – This time, the opposition was a Magic team lacking Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs, Orlando’s three best players, also without Garry Harris and then losing Moe Wagner early, followed by a second-period ejection of starting power forward Wendell Carter Jr. – What you do, what you need to do in that situation, is stomp early, try to settle it early. – As so many opponents did last season, when the Heat struggled through their injury-plagued season. – Which the Heat tried. – So mission accomplished? – Not exactly, with closing still mattering. – So, no, this did not erase the bitter taste of Monday night. – Just added. –  Good teams seize such moments. – Then there are the Heat. – Which tells you plenty. – With Butler sidelined by the illness that had him leaving the game for good in Friday night’s first quarter against the Thunder, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra turned to a dramatically different opening lineup. – This time the Heat opened with Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson .

ORLANDO — Just when you thought any worse wasn’t possible after blowing an eight-point overtime lead in Detroit at the start of the week, it got worse for the Miami Heat at the end of the week. Against a severely depleted Orlando Magic roster, the absence of Jimmy Butler hardly appeared to register through the first three quarters for Erik Spoelstra’s team, with the Heat racing to a 25-point lead. And then, a collapse of epic proportions, and now, a three-game losing streak following Saturday night’s 121-114 loss at Kia Center. “These are tough lessons that we all have to learn,” Spoelstra said.

After six years at the helm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, dedicated to "building the infrastructure" necessary to effectively fight for key policies on Capitol Hill, term-limited Rep. Pramila Jayapal is determined to ensure that the CPC's incoming leaders "are as successful as possible." Jayapal (D-Wash.) spoke with Common Dreams on Wednesday about her time leading the caucus of nearly 100 lawmakers whose legislative priorities include "comprehensive immigration reform, good-paying jobs, fair trade, universal healthcare, debt-free college, climate action, and a just foreign policy." She was elected first vice chair of the CPC in June 2017, just months into her freshman term in Congress.

Keyshawn Hall and Jordan Ivy-Curry combined to score 40 points as UCF closed out its nonconference portion of its season with an 86-66 win over visiting Jacksonville on Saturday. The Knights also saw the return of guards Jaylin Sellers and Mikey Williams, who were making their season debuts. Sellers, a senior, went down with an undisclosed injury in an exhibition game against Florida Gulf Coast on Oct.