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Kaiser workers in San Diego join thousands in three-day strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Health care workers at several Kaiser Permanente locations in San Diego County are now on strike.Some 75,000 Kaiser workers are participating in the three-day strike, which began at 6 a.m. Wednesday across California and in four other states. As of 8 a.m., at least 300 workers were picketing in front of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center on Zion Avenue, one of the larger Kaiser facilities in San Diego. Unionized workers lined both sides of the street.The strike is comprised of technical workers -- positions like vocational nurses, nursing assistance, housekeeping, food services, reception and respiratory care. Thousands of US health care workers go on strike in multiple states over wages and staff shortages "I'm out here for better staffing, wages across the board that compensate me for the past three years," an X-ray technician named Robert said to FOX 5. "We all worked through COVID, we worked with N-95s for one week at a time, right before the vaccine came out. "...

Padres third baseman Manny Machado has right elbow surgery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Third baseman Manny Machado had right elbow extensor tendon repair surgery Tuesday in Los Angeles and has an estimated recovery time of four to six months, the San Diego Padres announced.That timetable should have Machado back on the field sometime during spring training.The surgery was performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the team physician for the NL West rival Los Angeles Dodgers as well as the NFL's Rams.Machado was limited to designated hitter in September due to tennis elbow. He finished hitting .258 with 30 home runs and 91 RBIs.The Padres missed the playoffs despite having baseball's third-highest payroll and a lineup anchored by Machado and fellow stars Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto and Xander Bogaerts.Machado helped San Diego reach the NL Championships Series last fall and was second in NL MVP voting.

Suspect charged in rapper Tupac Shakur’s fatal shooting appeared in a court in Las Vegas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A self-described gangster who police and prosecutors say masterminded the shooting death of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996 made his first appearance Wednesday before a Nevada judge.Duane “Keffe D” Davis, 60, was arrested last week during an early-morning walk near his home in suburban Henderson. A few hours later a grand jury indictment was unsealed in Clark County District Court charging him with murder. Grand jurors also voted to add sentencing enhancements for the use of a deadly weapon and alleged gang activity. If Davis is convicted, that could add decades to his sentence.Davis denied a request from The Associated Press for an interview from jail where he’s being held without bond. Los Angeles-based attorney Edi Faal told The Associated Press in a brief phone call that he is Davis’ longtime personal attorney and is helping him retain counsel in Las Vegas.“I have worked with him for more than two decades,” Faal said. “But at this point I do not have a c...

Opening statements set to begin at trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Opening statements were set to begin Wednesday after a jury was chosen to hear the fraud trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in New York City.Bankman-Fried, 31, maintains he was not to blame for fraud that prosecutors allege in seven charges brought against him since his arrest last December in the Bahamas.They say the California man defrauded thousands of investors and customers in his businesses of billions of dollars by siphoning off their money for his own uses, including financing his businesses, buying real estate and making big political contributions to try to influence government regulation of cryptocurrency.Defense lawyers insist that their client had no criminal intent as he became famous in the crypto world while growing FTX and a related business, Alameda Research, into multibillion dollar heavyweights in the cryptocurrency industry.Attorneys and Judge Lewis A. Kaplan reduced a pool of 45 prospective jurors to a jury of 12 with six alternates just bef...

UK prime minister wants to raise the legal age to buy cigarettes in England so eventually no one can

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday proposed raising the legal age that people in England can buy cigarettes by one year, every year until it is eventually illegal for the whole population and smoking will hopefully be phased out among young people. Setting out his plan at the annual Conservative Party conference, Sunak said he wanted to “stop teenagers taking up cigarettes in the first place.”It is currently illegal for anyone to sell cigarettes or tobacco products to people under 18 years old throughout the U.K. Sunak’s office said the incremental changes would stop children who turn 14 this year and those younger than that now from ever legally being sold cigarettes in England.If Parliament approves the proposal, the legal change would only apply in England — not in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.“People take up cigarettes when they’re young. Four in five smokers have started by the time they’re 20,” he said. “Later, the vast majority try ...

Claimant in Nygard trial says shame, fear for career prevented her coming forward

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

TORONTO — One of the women who has accused former fashion mogul Peter Nygard of sexual assault has told jurors at his Toronto trial that she was afraid to come forward for years following the alleged attack. Nygard, the founder of a now-defunct international women’s clothing company, is accused of using his position in the fashion industry to lure women and girls.The 82-year-old has pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement in alleged incidents ranging from the ’80s to mid-2000s.The jury has heard that the first claimant, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, met Nygard for a Rolling Stones concert in Toronto in the late ’80s before being led back to the top-floor bedroom at his company’s Toronto headquarters, where she alleges she was trapped and attacked.She has testified today that she decided not to come forward immediately because of shame, fear that she wouldn’t be believed and that it wo...

Quebec police arrest 10 over alleged grandparent scams linked to organized crime

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec provincial police say they have arrested 10 people in connection with an alleged grandparent fraud scheme linked to organized crime.Sgt. Catherine Bernard says officers are still looking for another three suspects as part of an operation today targeting the alleged fraud network operating in the greater Montreal area.Grandparent scams generally target seniors and see fraudsters pretend to be grandchildren who need money to deal with an emergency.Bernard says the victims were primarily located in the United States.She says Quebec police worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other American agencies as part of the investigation. Those arrested are expected to appear in Quebec court later today and could face charges of fraud, identity theft and gangsterism.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2023. The Canadian Press<!– Photo: 20231004111020-651d837588e19c9df7729212jpeg.jpg, Caption: Quebec provincial police say they hav...

Stealing the show: Acuña leads speedsters seeking October impact in pitch clock era

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The image of Ronald Acuña Jr. stealing second base and then holding the bag above his head in triumphant glory is a signature moment from the Atlanta Braves’ season.The steal did more than make Acuña the game’s charter member of the 40-70 club. It also set him up to score the go-ahead run in a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 27.The game of baseball has changed, and players with game-changing speed are taking advantage.Fans only now turning their attention to baseball for the postseason will find a different game. Players are running much more than a year ago thanks to new rules that also promise to have an impact on the playoffs. There were 3,503 stolen bases in the regular season, a dramatic jump of more than 1,000 from a year ago. It’s the highest total since 1987’s record of 3,585.Expect the rampant running to continue in the playoffs.“Guys are going to be turning it loose like they have all year,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker. “...

Biden announces more student debt relief as payments resume after the coronavirus pandemic pause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden announced another round of federal student loan forgiveness on Wednesday as borrowers brace for payments to restart after a three-year pause that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Democratic president’s latest step will help 125,000 borrowers by erasing $9 billion in debt through existing relief programs. In total, 3.6 million borrowers will have had $127 billion in debt wiped out since Biden took office. “President Biden has long believed that college should be a ticket to the middle class, not a burden that weighs on families,” the White House said in a statement.Biden was scheduled to make a formal announcement at the White House in the afternoon.He promised to help alleviate the burden of student debt while running for president, and he’s been under pressure to follow through even though his original plan was overturned by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court.He has been relying on a patchwork of different program...

S&P/TSX composite down as price of oil and energy stocks fall, U.S. stock markets up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:14 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down in late-morning trading as the price of oil fell and losses in energy stocks weighed on the market.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 56.87 points at 18,964.05.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 5.08 points at 33,007.46. The S&P 500 index was up 8.61 points at 4,238.06, while the Nasdaq composite was up 93.36 points at 13,152.83.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.70 cents US compared with 72.93 cents US on Tuesday.The November crude contract was down US$3.00 at US$86.23 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up six cents at US$3.01 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down US$3.10 at US$1,838.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was down five cents at US$3.57 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) The Canadian Press