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Unionized Starbucks in Encinitas joins Pride Month strikes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

ENCINTIAS, Calif. -- Workers at the recently-unionized Starbucks in Encinitas went on strike Friday, joining protests at stores across the country calling for the coffee company to better support LGBTQ+ employees.The walkout is first action at the store -- located right off the Interstate 5 near Leucadia Boulevard -- after employees voted to form a union last month. The store was the first in San Diego County to join nationwide collective bargaining efforts at the coffee chain. Another location in Hillcrest has since followed suit, filing initial unionization paperwork with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Protesters check out all LGBTQ+ books at Rancho Penasquitos library Striking workers at the Encinitas store citied reported incidents at other stores where Starbucks employees claim gender-affirming care benefits were threatened or that they were not permitted to decorate for Pride Month as part of the rationale for Friday's protest. In a statement earlier in June, Sta...

Ex-Louisiana officer convicted in recorded beating, kicking of non-violent loitering suspect in 2019

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A former police officer in Louisiana has been convicted on federal charges for using what prosecutors said was potentially deadly force against a non-violent suspect in August 2019.Former Shreveport officer Dylan Hudson was convicted Thursday on a charge of depriving a man of his rights by using force during an arrest. KTBS-TV reports it was the second trial for Hudson, following a December trial in which the jury couldn’t agree on a verdict.Federal prosecutors said Hudson was among officers responding to a loitering complaint. “The conduct described during the trial and played for the jury on video from police dashboard cameras included several applications of potentially deadly force,” the U.S. Justice Department said in a Friday news release. “The defendant struck the suspect in the head with a loaded pistol, tased him at the base of the skull, and kicked him in the face.”Hudson is to be sentenced in October. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison,...

Ex-Ohio GOP chair, lobbyist Matt Borges shows remorse, gets 5 years for role in $60M bribery scheme

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Ohio lobbyist Matt Borges was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for his part in the largest corruption scandal in Ohio history. He avoided the much harsher sentence received a day earlier by former House Speaker Larry Householder, the scheme’s mastermind, by accepting responsibility and apologizing before the judge.“Nothing makes it feel more stark than knowing I could have walked away from this at the very beginning,” the 51-year-old Borges, a former chair of the Ohio Republican Party, told U.S. District Judge Timothy Black.Black nonetheless rebuked Borges for his role in preventing Ohioans the chance to repeal a tainted nuclear plant bailout bill.“Larry Householder was a crook and you knew it. ‘ An unholy alliance ‘ is what you called it,” Black said.“You didn’t care that you were aiding an Ohio House speaker to undermine the very foundation of our democracy,” he told Borges. “You just saw everyone else getting fat and r...

North Carolina megachurch exits Southern Baptist Convention after expulsions over women pastors

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

Less than a month after finalizing the ouster of one of its largest churches for having women pastors, the Southern Baptist Convention has lost another of its biggest congregations.Elevation Church — a North Carolina-based megachurch that draws thousands of worshippers to its multiple campuses and has wielded a strong influence on contemporary Christian worship music — sent notice to the SBC on June 26 that it was withdrawing its affiliation.Elevation’s letter didn’t state a reason. Elevation Pastor Steven Furtick’s wife, Holly Furtick, preaches at Elevation to men and women, and has links to her sermons on her website.The Baptist Faith and Message — the denomination’s statement of faith — says the office of pastor is limited to qualified men. Influential Southern Baptist leaders have said that preaching is inextricably linked to the role of pastor.Earlier in June, the SBC representatives overwhelmingly voted at their annual meeting to affirm the expulsion of Saddl...

Fire damages Syrian tent home of detained Canadian mother and children: advocate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

OTTAWA — An advocacy group says a Canadian mother struggling to leave a Syrian detention camp with her six children was dealt another setback this week when a fire damaged their tent home.Alexandra Bain of the group Families Against Violent Extremism says the woman from Quebec and a number of her children were treated at a clinic after the fire, which started in the tent’s kitchen area.Bain, who has been in regular touch with the woman and her neighbours in the camp, says she informed Global Affairs Canada of the fire.Global Affairs says it cannot comment on specific cases due to privacy considerations.A lawyer who has been trying to assist the family said recently that Ottawa will not help the Quebec woman return to Canada because officials believe she poses a security risk.It means she must stay in the camp with her children or send them without her on a flight to Canada, where they have no other family.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 30, 2023.The ...

Tax break for offshore wind developer Orsted gets blowback in New Jersey Legislature

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The future of a bill that would let Danish offshore wind developer Orsted keep tax credits that it otherwise would have to return to New Jersey ratepayers was uncertain Friday afternoon after it failed to gather enough support in the state Senate.The measure to allow Orsted to keep federal tax credits to help counter what lawmakers termed lingering economic effects from the COVID-19 pandemic and elevated inflation was passed by the state Assembly earlier Friday, but did not received enough votes in the Senate.It received 20 “yes” votes — one short of the amount needed to pass it, so the Democrats who control both chambers of the state Legislature took it down and did not record a final vote on it. They said they would try again later in the day to pass the measure.The bill applies to Orsted’s first project in New Jersey, Ocean Wind I, which aims to generate enough electricity to power 500,000 homes.“When Orsted received approval to build Ocean Wind 1, they agree...

At least 45 people were killed in a road accident in western Kenya, police say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — At least 45 people were killed Friday when a truck rammed into several other vehicles and market traders in western Kenya, police said.The Friday evening accident occurred at a location known for crashes near the Rift Valley town of Londiani, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) northwest of the capital, Nairobi. Officers at the scene counted 45 bodies, but more people were believed to be trapped in the wreckage, Rift Valley police commander Tom Odera told The Associated Press. The number of people injured remained unclear.“It is now dark and the place is raining so we will take some time to confirm the final number of casualties,” Odera said.Witnesses quoted by local media said the truck veered off the major highway and hit several vehicles before hitting pedestrians and traders. Witnesses shared photos of the vehicle wreckages mangled beyond recognition.Police said rescue operations would continue into the night.The Kenya Red Cross Society said heavy rai...

Detention of Russian director and playwright extended for 2 months

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Russian court on Friday extended the pretrial detention of a theater director and a playwright facing charges of justifying terrorism, the latest move in a relentless crackdown on dissent in Russia that spiked after the start of the war in Ukraine. The court ordered Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk held until Sept. 10; they have been behind bars since early May. Authorities claim a play they staged, “Finist, the Brave Falcon,” justifies terrorism, which is a criminal offense in Russia punishable by up to seven years in prison.The play depicts Russian women who faced prosecution after being lured into marriage and life in Syria by representatives of radical Islam.Immediately after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin unleashed a sweeping campaign of repression, one unparalleled since the Soviet era. It has effectively criminalized any criticism of the war.Authorities not...

Worker dies while setting up Chicago NASCAR race

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

CHICAGO — A worker has died while setting up for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race in Grant Park, WGN Investigates has learned.  The 53-year-old man was an employee of a staging and lighting company. Initial police reports from the scene said the man may have been electrocuted; however an autopsy will determine cause of death.  A NASCAR spokesperson confirms a contractor suffered “a fatal medical emergency” but declined to confirm the nature of the incident. The man was near the race starting line west of Buckingham Fountain, according to police reports.   “On Friday afternoon a contractor suffered a fatal medical emergency,” a NASCAR spokesperson told WGN Investigates. “We are coordinating with local authorities on this traffic incident. We share our condolences to the family and their loved ones.” NASCAR race not filling Chicago hotels A Chicago Fire Department spokesperson confirms a man was transported from Grant Park and pronounced dead at a local h...

Clydesdales circle Wrigley Field for 'Folds of Honor'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:51 GMT

CHICAGO — The Budweiser Clydesdales were surprising Cubs fans outside of Wrigley Field Friday in support of a good cause.The iconic horses were there for the non-profit Folds of Honor — which provides families of fallen or disabled U.S. service members and families of first responders with scholarships.The horses, which are staying in Barrington Hills while in Chicago, circled Wrigley Field prior to the Cubs-Guardians game at 1:20 p.m. — delighting fans who took several pictures. The Ultimate Chicago playlist: 400 songs from local artists On the back next to a cute Dalmatian were recently-awarded scholarship recipients Dana Posley and Perry Casey Jr.Folds of Honor member Rocky Stickmann was there and knows first-hand the sacrifices military members make. Stickmann, a Marine sergeant at the time, was one of the 66 Iranian hostages held captive in Iran from late 1979 through early 1981."I had no idea that the United States would attempt a rescue mission," Stickmann said. "These guys...