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Ticker: Auto workers vote overwhelmingly to let union leaders call strikes against Detroit companies; Hawaiian Electric shares plunge after utility is sued over devastating Maui fires

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Auto workers have voted overwhelmingly to give union leaders the authority to call strikes against Detroit car companies if a contract agreement isn’t reached.The United Auto Workers union said Friday that 97% have voted in favor of authorizing one or more strikes against Stellantis, General Motors and Ford. Such votes are almost always approved by large margins.Contracts between the union representing about 146,000 workers at Stellantis, General Motors and Ford expire at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 14. Fain said earlier this week that negotiations with the companies are not progressing fast enough. But he also said a strike is not inevitable.Hawaiian Electric shares plunge after utility is sued over devastating Maui firesShares of Hawaiian Electric Co.’s parent fell more than 18% by market close Friday, one day after the utility was sued by Maui County over the fires that devastated Lahaina earlier this month.Maui County accused Hawaiian Electric of negligentl...

Spain soccer head won’t resign for kissing player at World Cup. Team won’t play until he goes

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

By JOSEPH WILSON (Associated Press)BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Less than a week after winning the Women’s World Cup, Spain’s national team players announced Friday that they will not play any more games unless the president of the country’s soccer federation steps down for kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips after their victory.Luis Rubiales, who was also chastised for grabbing his crotch after Spain’s 1-0 victory over England on Sunday, remained defiant despite immense pressure to resign. The kiss marred the title celebrations in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday, and criticism has steadily mounted. Hermoso issued a statement Friday strongly rebuking Rubiales’ characterization of the kiss as consensual, while the 46-year-old federation president cast himself as the victim at an emergency meeting of the federation in Madrid.“I won’t resign,” he declared four times in quick succession, to applause from the overwhelmingly male audience...

Home Showcase: Wellesley estate soars

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

Whether the Celtics’ off-season moves pan out this year, only time will tell — stay tuned to Herald Sports for that. But you can get your head in the game early with 192 Pond Road in Wellesley and its pristine half court.On top of a host of upscale amenities and meticulous craftsmanship, the estate-sized property boasts its very own court on the lower level, perfect for settling family disputes with a game of HORSE and letting off steam on blustery days.The extraordinary residence, built in 2022, is located in Wellesley’s coveted Hunnewell Estates. Spread across nearly an acre, this opulent home boasts over 9,200 square feet across four levels.Step into a grand three-story foyer with white oak herringbone floors and high ceilings. A gourmet kitchen with an oversized island seamlessly flows into a sprawling great room with a fireplace and expansive windows, offering an ideal space for gathering. It’s not just pristine good looks from elaborate moulding and herringbone hardwood ...

Release of 388 names helps winnow list of those unaccounted for after devastating Maui fires

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

By REBECCA BOONE, GENE JOHNSON and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHERHONOLULU (AP) — Within hours of Maui County releasing 388 names of people unaccounted for following the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, some cases were already being resolved Friday as relatives or the people themselves reported they were safe.One person on the list told The Associated Press he hopes to be taken off it. At least two others were among the victims of the fire — people who are known to have perished but have not yet been positively identified as deceased in the official tally, which currently stands at 115.Terrí Thomas was killed when fire overtook her car as she fled from her apartment with her two dogs and two friends, said her cousin, Tammy Cruz, of Columbus, Georgia. The car became stuck in traffic and only one of the friends escaped. He later told Cruz that Thomas was crying hysterically when he last saw her, the car growing hotter by the second.Thomas’ niece provided ...

Norfolk DA blasts ‘outrageous’ internet theories in Karen Read murder case

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey, in “the first statement of its kind” in his tenure, is blasting internet trolls for spreading “baseless” theories in the Karen Read murder case.He issued a lengthy statement Friday that challenges the defense theory in the case of Read, who is charged with the murder of her boyfriend, Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe.“False narratives are not evidence,” Morrissey said in the statement released late Friday afternoon. “However, what evidence does show is that John O’Keefe never entered the home at 34 Fairview Road in Canton on the night he died. Location data from his phone – recovered from the lawn beneath his body when he was transported to the hospital — shows that his phone did not enter that home.”Read, 43, of Mansfield, faces charges in Norfolk Superior Court of second-degree murder, motor vehicle manslaughter while under the influence of alcohol, and leaving the scene of a collision causing the death, on Jan. 29, ...

Pilot killed in military jet crash at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar base

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

Teri Figueroa | The San Diego Union-TribuneA Marine pilot was killed when a F/A-18D Hornet fighter jet crashed late Thursday near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar base, military officials said.The jet crashed just before 11:55 p.m. Thursday on government property east of the air station. The downed plane was part of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing with the Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA (AW)) 224, officials with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing announced Friday morning.“Search and rescue recovered the U.S. Marine Corps pilot who has been confirmed deceased at the site,”1st Lt. Hudson Sadler said in a news release. Sadler is the spokesperson for 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, based out of Cherry Point, North Carolina.The squadron is a subordinate unit based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in South Carolina.The pilot was the only person on the plane.News that the pilot was found dead comes after local agencies helped search for the missing aviator.About 2:30 a.m...

4 tornadoes confirmed as Michigan storms down trees and power lines; 5 people killed

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

By COREY WILLIAMS and MIKE HOUSEHOLDER (Associated Press)CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — At least four tornadoes touched down in Michigan as part of severe storms powered by strong winds that killed five people, while downing trees, tearing roofs off buildings and leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without power, officials said.The National Weather Service on Friday confirmed that an EF-1 tornado with winds of 90 mph (145 kph) crossed from Ingham County into the western edge of adjacent Livingston County on Thursday night.Two other EF-1 tornadoes were reported in Wayne County’s Belleville and south of Newport in Monroe County.A weaker EF-0 tornado with peak winds of 80 mph (128 kph) was on the ground for less than two miles in Wayne County’s Canton Township, west of Detroit, the weather service said. That tornado caused a tree to fall into a house, said meteorologist Sara Schultz.The weather service office in Grand Rapids, in western Michigan, said officials ...

Actors union rallies outside Amazon, Apple headquarters in Toronto

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, better known as the actor’s union ACTRA, rallied in downtown Toronto outside Amazon and Apple headquarters Friday to demand fair wages and stand in solidarity with their U.S. counterparts.The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike since May and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) followed in July over ongoing labour disputes with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).Simultaneously in Canada, ACTRA has been at loggerheads with the Institute of Canadian Agencies — which represents some of the country’s largest advertising agencies — after talks to renew their collective bargaining agreement fell through. ACTRA says ever since the ICA walked away from the table, actors in the union have been “locked out” from working in commercials for high-profile ICA clients like Google and Walmart.“We have...

Judge asks if poverty qualifies for Biden policy letting migrants from 4 countries into US

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday questioned whether living in poverty would be enough to qualify someone for a key immigration policy from President Joe Biden that allows a limited number of people from four countries in the Americas to enter the U.S. on humanitarian grounds.The program allows up to 30,000 people into the U.S. each month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela combined. The program is being challenged in a lawsuit filed by Texas and 20 other Republican-leaning states. They’re accusing it of being a “shadow immigration system” that’s letting in nearly everyone who applies.U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton said that a “massive chunk of the world” lives in poverty, adding he’s visited Haiti and seen terrible living conditions there firsthand.“Does the fact they are living in poverty qualify as an urgent humanitarian need?” Tipton asked as closing arguments were being presented in the trial in Victoria, Texas.“I think probably not,” said Elissa Fudim...

Texas ban on gender-affirming health care for minors blocked, Missouri ban allowed to take effect

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:36:00 GMT

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A judge on Friday blocked Texas’ ban on gender-affirming health care for minors while a separate judge in Missouri allowed a similar ban to take effect, underscoring the mixed verdict in courtrooms across the U.S. this year over a historic wave of restrictions aimed at transgender youth. More than 20 states have adopted laws to ban some gender-affirming care for minors, although some are not yet in effect or have been put on hold by courts. Many of them prevent transgender minors from accessing hormone therapies, puberty blockers and transition surgeries, even though medical experts say such surgical procedures are rarely performed on children.Texas would be the most populous state to enforce such a ban. But state District Judge Maria Cantu Hexsel sided with a group of families who argued it would violate parents’ rights and have devastating consequences for transgender children and teenagers who would be denied treatment recommended by their physicians.Th...