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Rising tensions between employers and employees has put the labor back in this year’s Labor Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:01 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Labor Day is right around the corner, along with the big sales and barbecues that come with it. But the activist roots of the holiday are especially visible this year as unions challenge how workers are treated — from Hollywood to the auto production lines of Detroit.The early-September tribute to workers has been an official holiday for almost 130 years — but an emboldened labor movement has created an environment closer to the era from which Labor Day was born. Like the late 1800s, workers are facing rapid economic transformation — and a growing gap in pay between themselves and new billionaire leaders of industry, mirroring the stark inequalities seen more than a century ago. “There’s a lot of historical rhyming between the period of the origins of Labor Day and today,” Todd Vachon, an assistant professor in the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, told The Associated Press. “Then, they had the Carnegies and the Rockefellers. Today, we have the Musks ...

US House Foreign Affairs Committee chair calls Russia-China alliance the biggest threat since WWII

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:01 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The United States House Foreign Affairs chair said Friday that a partnership of the Russian and Chinese leaders worried him, adding, “We have never seen a threat this large-scale to Europe and the Pacific, I would argue, since World War II.”The alliance of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin “provides a very big challenges I think for the free world in this great power competition that we find ourselves in,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, during a visit to Sweden. Earlier in the year, the Biden administration warned Xi’s government of unspecified consequences if it supports the Kremlin’s war effort in Ukraine. A United States intelligence report said Beijing possibly provided equipment used in Ukraine that might have military applications. The report cited Russian customs data that showed Chinese state-owned military contractors supplied navigation equipment, fighter jet parts, drones and other goods, but didn’t say whether...

Hong Kong, other parts of south China grind to near standstill as powerful Typhoon Saola approaches

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:01 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Most of Hong Kong and other parts of southern China ground to a near standstill Friday with classes and flights canceled as powerful Typhoon Saola approached. Many workers stayed at home and students in various cities saw the start of their school year postponed to next week. Trading on Hong Kong’s stock market was suspended and about 460 flights were canceled in the key regional business and travel hub.Rail authorities in mainland China suspened all trains entering or leaving Guangdong province from Friday night to Saturday evening, state television CCTV reported.The Hong Kong Observatory issued a No. 9 storm signal, the second-highest warning under the city’s weather system. It said Saola — with maximum sustained winds of 210 kilometers (130 miles) per hour — would be closest to the financial hub at around midnight, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the city’s Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district. The observatory’s director, Chan Pak-wai, said t...

Russia’s Putin and Turkey’s Erdogan will meet amid efforts to repair Ukraine grain deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:01 GMT

Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday, the Kremlin announced Friday, just over six weeks after Moscow broke off a deal partly brokered by Ankara that allowed Ukrainian grain to reach world markets despite the 18-month war.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced the talks Friday, ending weeks of speculation about when and where the two leaders might meet next as international efforts continue to patch up the Black Sea Grain Initiative which got grain and other food to Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat.Turkey, together with the United Nations, brokered a deal in July 2022 that allowed Ukraine to ship grain and other foodstuffs from three Black Sea ports. A separate memorandum between the U.N. and Russia, agreed at the same time, pledged to overcome obstacles to Moscow’s shipment of food and fertilizer to world markets. However, Russia pulled out of...

Man stabbed while riding on CTA Red Line train: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:01 GMT

CHICAGO — A 25-year-old man was stabbed while riding a CTA Red Line train, according to police.The incident happened around 11:20 p.m. Thursday in the 200 block of South State Street. According to police, officers responded to a call for service and spoke with the man who told them he was stabbed while riding the Red Line.The man told police he was in a verbal altercation with another man, who then pulled out a sharp object and swung it — cutting the victim's arm.The offender fled the scene on foot. The 25-year-old was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition. 4-year-old boy, man shot while in car in Woodlawn No one is in custody. Area Three Detectives are investigating.

Friday Forecast: Temps in mid 80s with mainy sunny conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:01 GMT

CHICAGO — Temperatures in mid 80s with mostly sunny conditions. Cooler lakeside, winds: SSE 5-10. High: 85/80. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly clear tonight with calm conditions. Winds: S 0-5. Low: 63.Saturday Forecast: Mostly sunny with hot conditions. Winds: SW 5-15 G20. High: 90.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Congress faces ticking clock on flood insurance as hurricane season picks up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:01 GMT

(The Hill) - Congress is facing a time crunch to prevent a lapse for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) as hurricane season intensifies.As fears of a shutdown swirl around a heated funding debate in Washington, D.C., there is some concern that NFIP’s authorization could get entangled in the fight.Funding for the federal government and NFIP's authorization will both expire after Sept. 30, and lawmakers are nowhere close to reaching a deal to avoid a shutdown.Previously issued federal flood insurance policies would still be active if the NFIP isn't reauthorized. But the program would be unable to issue new policies and face other funding constraints as thousands of Americans grapple with the damage of hurricanes.“A lapse of the NFIP at the height of hurricane season would be an apocalyptic nightmare,” Sen. Bob Menéndez (D-N.J.) told The Hill in a statement this week. “Families have faithfully paid their premiums, in many cases for years and even decades, and it’s Congres...

How Texans feel about Paxton prior to impeachment trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:01 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — With Ken Paxton's impeachment trial in a few days, nearly 50% of registered Texan voters think it is justified to remove him from office based on the actions he took as attorney general.Data collected through The University of Texas' Texas Politics Project from a survey from August 18-29 illustrates this. However, between Republicans, Independents and Democrats, those opinions differ. READ MORE: What do the 20 Articles of Impeachment against Ken Paxton mean? An overwhelming 71% of Democrats answered yes to that question. In comparison, only 42% of Independents said yes, and a much lower 24% of Republicans said yes. Instead, about 43% of both Independents and Republicans' opinions on whether it is justified to remove him from office answered, "they didn't know" or had "no opinion".The Texas Politics Project asked a similar question earlier this summer. June's polling data showed that overall, 50% felt impeaching Paxton was justified, 17% thought it was not justi...

Mainly dry and hot Labor Day weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:01 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- September starts very similar to how we spent most of August - hotter than normal.Afternoon highs will return to the low 100s in most locales today. Mainly sunny and dry skies will stretch areawide, with another day of ozone problems at ground-level. An Air Quality Alert is in effect for the I-35 corridor + Bastrop and Caldwell County.Air Quality Alert in effect Friday 2023 was Austin's hottest summer on record. What should we expect in September? Hot temperatures, plenty of sunshine and a relatively stagnant weather pattern continue into the weekend. This will lead to continued higher than normal levels of pollution, triggering more Ozone Action Days.Consider taking the steps below to limit your pollution footprint.Ozone Action Day FridayA few isolated spots of light rain may pop up east of I-35 over the weekend. But before you reach for the umbrella, know that these "showers" will be few and far between and are not likely to bring any measurable rain. BLOG: Co...

How Texas compares to the average US home price

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:01 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A recent study showed the average home price in the U.S. was on the decline, but how does Texas compare?The Motley Fool study listed the median home sales price as of the second quarter of 2023 as $416,100—a more than $33,000 decrease from the previous year. Austin named best taco city in America in recent study Here’s a deeper dive into what average house prices are in Texas like across the country.In Texas, the typical home price was listed at $305,497, which was 87% of the typical U.S. price, according to the Motley Fool study.“The typical home value in Texas is 13% below the national typical home price. With a median income that is 96% of the national median, the income to home value in Texas is just above average,” the study said.Data also showed the median household income as a percentage of home value was at 22%.Other key findings from the study:The median home sales price in the U.S. is $416,100 as of the second quarter of 2023, which is down 3% from the fi...