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Thousands of US workers are on strike today: Here are the major work stoppages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — It's been a big year for labor organizing in the U.S. And from auto production lines to Hollywood, all eyes are on strikes taking the world of work by storm.The boiling point we’re seeing today comes amid soaring costs of living and rising inequality, including growing pay gaps between workers and top executives. Now, thousands of workers who were asked to make sacrifices during the pandemic even as corporate profits soared are asking for better pay and protections — and walking off the job if progress isn't made in heated contract negotiations. Striking Kaiser Permanente workers get support from elected officials At least 453,000 workers have participated in 312 strikes in the U.S. this year, according to Johnnie Kallas, a Ph.D. candidate and the project director of Cornell University’s Labor Action Tracker. This year’s work stoppages have spread across multiple industries — including transportation, entertainment and hospitality.Here's a rundown of some of the la...

Son of Buc-ee's cofounder made hidden recordings in Texas, Telluride: investigators

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:38 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The son of a co-founder of the nationally renowned Buc-ee's convenience store has been arrested in Texas on 28 felony charges of invasive visual recordings. Investigators say the files include recordings at a home in Telluride.Mitchell Wasek, 28, was released one hour after being arrested on a $10,000 bond on the condition he not contact the complainants, according to Travis County jail records. Ameristar Casino sued by card counter after police detainment Nexstar's KXAN reached out to an attorney connected with Mitchell but didn't immediately receive a response. KXAN also attempted numerous times to contact both Mitchell and his father, Don Wasek, however, phone numbers associated with both individuals were either disconnected or had voicemails disabled. KXAN was able to reach a family member of the Waseks, but that person hung up the phone as soon as KXAN identified itself.According to court records, the Travis County Sheriff's Office received a telephone complai...

Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley ‘strong possibility’ to return against Steelers; RT Morgan Moses back at practice

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:38 GMT

Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury in the season opener against the Houston Texans but said Thursday there’s “a strong possibility” he’ll play Sunday against the Steelers in Pittsburgh.Stanley was a full participant for the second straight day at practice in Owings Mills. He was one of several Ravens who have returned ahead of the key AFC North showdown.“I’m getting better every day,” Stanley said. “We were trying for it last week, but it just wasn’t there yet.“We know what this game means to us as a franchise, as a team. No one takes it lightly.”Baltimore got more good news on the offensive line with right tackle Morgan Moses returning to practice as a limited participant. Moses suffered a shoulder injury in last week’s win over the Cleveland Browns and did not practice Wednesday.Meanwhile, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle), who hasn’t p...

Dick Butkus, legendary Chicago Bears linebacker and Hall of Famer, dies at 80

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:38 GMT

Fred Mitchell | Chicago TribuneDick Butkus, the player who perhaps best epitomized the tough and determined identity of the Chicago Bears, has died, the Tribune confirmed Thursday. He was 80.The Butkus family said Thursday he died “peacefully in his sleep overnight at home” in Malibu, California.A product of Chicago’s working-class South Side and the University of Illinois, Butkus became a fierce Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker before embarking on a modest but enduring television and acting career in Hollywood.“After football, it was difficult for me to find what I liked second best,” Butkus once told the Tribune. “Football was always my first love. That certainly didn’t mean I couldn’t find something else. And the proof of the pudding is where I have ended up today.“I guess I could have been one of those guys who didn’t prepare to quit. But things happened and through hard work I found out that, hey, there are other things besides football.”In 2019, the Tribune ranked Butkus N...

Biden administration is resuming deportation flights for Venezuelan migrants as arrivals grow

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:38 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Biden administration will resume deporting Venezuelan migrants, the largest single group encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border last month, back to their economically troubled country as their arrivals continue to grow. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, speaking in Mexico City Thursday, cited the new measure as one of the “strict consequences” the Biden administration is pairing with the expansion of legal pathways for asylum seekers.“Our two countries are being challenged by an unprecedented level of migration throughout our hemisphere,” Mayorkas said, referring to Mexico. The repatriation flights are expected to begin shortly, said two U.S. officials, though they did not provide specific details on when the flights would begin taking off. The officials were not authorized to disclose details of the government’s plan and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.The resumption of deportation flights comes not long after the administration in...

B.C. sets out law to restrict use of illicit drugs in many public places

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:38 GMT

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government says it will tighten rules around the use of illicit drugs in public places following criticism that consuming fentanyl in community parks could face fewer restrictions than smoking a cigarette.Premier David Eby acknowledged the government’s decriminalization initiatives, particularly around the public use of drugs, were the subject of concern from municipal governments, law enforcement officials and some citizens.People in B.C. should feel safe in their public parks and other areas, he said on Thursday. Possession of small amounts of many illicit drugs was decriminalized in B.C. in January after the federal government issued an exemption to the province in a multipronged effort to try to stem the overdose death toll. But last month, local politicians passed three resolutions on the decriminalization issue at their annual convention, including asking the government to further regulate the possession and use of illicit drugs in places ...

5 arrested as police recover over $49,000 of drugs in Oshawa

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:38 GMT

Durham Regional Police announced that five people were arrested in separate investigations after over $49,000 worth of drugs were seized in one case.Authorities said they were patrolling downtown Oshawa on Wednesday when officers noticed a man and woman acting suspiciously in the area of Bloor Street East and Merritt Street.Following a search, police discovered numerous drugs and drug paraphernalia, and as a result, over $49,000 worth of narcotics were seized.The man and woman were arrested and identified as 35-year-old Luke Martell and 44-year-old Raechel Lawrenson, both of Oshawa. The man and woman face numerous drug-related charges.Both were held on a bail hearing.That same day, officers executed a separate search warrant at a residence in the area of Vancouver Crescent and Gibb Street in Oshawa. Police said drugs were located and seized, along with cash and drug paraphernalia.Two men and a woman were arrested. They were identified as 55-year-old Christopher Cameron, 54-year-old ...

US government agrees to help restore sacred Native American site destroyed for Oregon road project

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:38 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. government has agreed to help restore a sacred Native American site on the slopes of Oregon’s Mount Hood that was destroyed by highway construction, court documents show, capping more than 15 years of legal battles that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.In a settlement filed with the high court Thursday, the U.S. Department of Transportation and other federal agencies agreed to replant trees and aid in efforts to rebuild an altar at a site along U.S. Highway 26 that tribes said had been used for religious purposes since time immemorial.Members of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde said a 2008 project to add a turn lane on the highway destroyed an area known as the Place of Big Big Trees, which was home to a burial ground, a historic campground, medicinal plants, old-growth Douglas Firs and a stone altar.Carol Logan, an elder and member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Rond...

Berkshire Hathaway’s Charlie Munger gives $40 million in stock to California museum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:38 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Charlie Munger, who’s been Warren Buffett’s right-hand man for more than five decades, has made a $40 million gift to a California museum that he’s supported in the past.Munger gave 77 Class A Berkshire Hathaway shares to the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Museum in San Marino, California, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. At Thursday’s closing price of $523,545.06 a share, that made the gift worth more than $40.3 million.A decade ago, he gave the Huntington museum nearly $33 million worth of Berkshire stock to help pay for a new education and visitors center. Huntington spokeswoman Susan Turner-Lowe said this latest donation will be used to build more than 30 residences for visiting scholars to use while they spend time at the museum doing research.Turner-Lowe said scholars often spend a school year studying at the Huntington and the expensive rental market in Los Angeles has made that difficu...

Dick Butkus, fearsome Hall of Fame Chicago Bears linebacker, dies at 80

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:38 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A photo of Dick Butkus sneering behind his facemask filled the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 1970 NFL preview, topped by the headline, “The Most Feared Man in the Game.” Opponents who wound up on the business end of his bone-rattling hits could testify that wasn’t an exaggeration.Butkus, a middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears whose speed and ferocity set the standards for the position in the modern era, has died, the team announced Thursday. He was 80.According to a statement released by the team, Butkus’ family confirmed that he died in his sleep overnight at his home in Malibu, California.Butkus was a first-team All-Pro five times and made the Pro Bowl in eight of his nine seasons before a knee injury forced him to retire at 31. He was the quintessential Monster of the Midway and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. He is still considered one of the greatest defensive players in league history.Trading on his i...