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Saying strike is “imminent,” UPS gets a Friday deadline from union to come up with a better contract

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:12 GMT

By MATT OTT (AP Business Writer)Frustrated by an “appalling counterproposal” earlier this week, the head of the union representing 340,000 UPS workers said a strike is imminent and gave the shipping giant a Friday deadline to improve its offer. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters walked away from negotiations Wednesday, demanding that UPS give its “last, best, and final offer” no later than June 30.Teamsters officials did not say what time the Friday deadline was or what actions it might take if it is not met.“The largest single-employer strike in American history now appears inevitable,” said Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien, who accused UPS executives of hoarding profits instead of sharing them with workers.“Executives at UPS, some of whom get tens of millions of dollars a year, do not care about the hundreds of thousands of American workers who make this company run,” O’Brien said.In a brief statement, Uni...

Bruins select a pair of centermen with first two picks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:12 GMT

After sitting on their hands for the first two rounds of the draft, the Bruins made their first selection of the NHL draft in Nashville on Thursday, taking center Christopher Pelosi, a New Jersey product who is headed for Quinnipiac, with the 92nd overall selection.In 43 games for Sioux Falls Stampede of the USHL, 6-foot-1, 181-pound Pelosi had 13-6-19 totals.At the moment, it looks like a reach. Pelosi was ranked 127th among North American skaters. We’ll see what kind of player he turns out to be.With the 124th pick, the B’s took another center, Beckett Hendrickson from the US National Team Development Program. The 6-foot-2, 174-pound pivot is the son of long-timer NHLer Darby Hendrickson. He had 13-21-34 in NTDP play.Hendrickson, a Minnetonka, Minn.. native, is committed to the University of Minnesota for the 2024-24 season.The Bruins have the 188th, 214th and 220th selections remaining. 

Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action in college admissions, and Biden 'strongly' disagrees

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down affirmative action in college admissions, declaring race cannot be a factor and forcing institutions of higher education to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies.The court's conservative majority overturned admissions plans at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the nation's oldest private and public colleges, respectively.Chief Justice John Roberts said that for too long universities have “concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”Justice Clarence Thomas — the nation's second Black justice, who had long called for an end to affirmative action — wrote separately that the decision “sees the universities’ admissions policies for what they are: rudderless, race-based preferences designed to ensure a particular racial mix in their ente...

Christine King Farris, the last living sibling of Martin Luther King Jr., dies at 95

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:12 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Christine King Farris, the last living sibling of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has died.Her niece, the Rev. Bernice King, tweeted that her “beloved aunt” died Thursday. She was 95.For decades after her brother’s assassination in 1968, Farris worked along with his widow, Coretta Scott King, to preserve and promote his legacy. But unlike her high-profile sister-in-law, Farris’ activism — and grief — was often behind the scenes.“She may not have always been on the line of the march, but that was true with a lot of the heroes of the Civil Rights Movement,” said Marcellus Barksdale, a history professor at Morehouse College, of Farris in a 2009 interview with The Associated Press. “Because of the luminescence of Dr. King and Coretta Scott King, Christine kind of got dimmed by that, but she was no less important.”Farris was born Willie Christine King on Sept. 11, 1927, in Atlanta. She was the first child of the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Christin...

Republicans expand their Hunter Biden investigation by seeking an interview with the lead prosecutor

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Thursday requested voluntary testimony from nearly a dozen Justice Department officials involved in the investigation of President Joe Biden’s son Hunter as GOP lawmakers widen their scrutiny into what they claim is improper interference by the agency.Leaders of the Republican-controlled House Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means committees asked in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland for nine officials from the Justice Department and two from the FBI to appear for the interviews to address recent allegations made by two IRS employees who worked on the federal investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes and foreign business dealings.“Recent startling testimony from Internal Revenue Services whistleblowers raises serious questions about the Department’s commitment to evenhanded justice and the veracity of assertions made to the Committee on the Judiciary,” Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, James Comer of Kentucky ...

Pence makes a surprise trip to Ukraine and meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Thursday, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and touring the war-torn country as it fights Russian aggression.Pence, who this month launched his campaign for the Republican nomination for president, has been deeply critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.He has called on the U.S. to deliver more military aid to the country and criticized GOP rivals who have questioned the ongoing U.S. involvement, saying there is no room in the party for “Putin apologists” and pushing back against those who want the U.S. to take on a more limited role on the world stage.Pence spent roughly 12 hours in the country Thursday, according to an adviser, with stops in Moshchun, Bucha and Irpin, according to NBC News, which traveled with him.“I’m here because it’s important that the American people understand the progress that we’ve made and how support for the Ukrain...

France braces for another night of violence after the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:12 GMT

NANTERRE, France (AP) — France braced for another feared eruption of urban rioting Thursday night after the deadly police shooting of a suburban 17-year-old, with tens of thousands of officers hitting the streets and commuters rushing home before transport services closed down early for safety reasons.Despite government appeals for calm and vows that order would be restored, smoke from cars and garbage set ablaze was already billowing over the streets of the Paris suburb of Nanterre following a peaceful afternoon march in honor of the teen identified only by his first name, Nahel.The police officer accused of pulling the trigger was handed a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide after prosecutor Pascal Prache said his initial investigation led him to conclude “the conditions for the legal use of the weapon were not met.” After a morning crisis meeting following violence that injured scores of police and damaged nearly 100 public buildings, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said t...

Novak Djokovic’s bid for Wimbledon title No. 8 and Grand Slam trophy No. 24 starts next week

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:12 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Listen to Novak Djokovic’s opponents explain why he is as successful as he is — why he will begin his pursuit of a fifth consecutive and eighth overall Wimbledon championship on Monday; why he also will be attempting to claim an Open era-record 24th Grand Slam trophy over the coming fortnight on the All England Club’s grass courts — and they’ll offer plenty of answers.His best-in-the-game return of serve. His dangerous two-handed backhand. His elasticity. His stamina. His defense. His ability to read someone else’s intentions, get to where a ball is headed and send it back with force, a combination Casper Ruud described this way after losing to Djokovic in the French Open final: “He sort of just goes into this mode where he just becomes, like, a wall.”Listen to Novak Djokovic explain why he’s done what he’s done and why, at age 36, he’s still doing it, and he’ll offer a reason far less tangible and far less observable, something he mentioned during his vict...

Petro-Canada payments systems largely restored in wake of cyberattack: Suncor

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:12 GMT

CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. says it is making progress in resolving the customer disruptions that have occurred this week in the wake of a cyberattack against the oil and gas company.The Calgary-based company says debit and credit transactions are once again available at most of its Petro-Canada retail sites.Many Petro-Canada locations across the country have been cash-only for several days due to what Suncor has described as a “cybersecurity incident.”The security breach also affected the company’s Petro-Points app, website and some car washes, which remain unavailable.Suncor says it will continue to update customers as more services come back online.The company has declined to provide details about the type of cyberattack or which other parts of its operations may have been affected.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 29, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:SU)The Canadian Press

Bed Bath & Beyond lives on!(line). Overstock.com buys rights to bankrupt retailer and changes name

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Bed & Bath & Beyond will live on, online at least, after Overstock.com acquired the bankrupt retail chain’s intellectual property assets for $21.5 million.The online retailer Overstock.com is dumping its name online and will become Bed & Bath & Beyond, which declared bankruptcy earlier this year.The switcheroo to a very recognizable brand was cheered on Wall Street. Shares of Overstock.com Inc., based in Midvale, Utah, soared 20%. The deal doesn’t include Bed Bath & Beyond stores, the last of which are expected to be shuttered Friday, nor the Buybuy Baby chain.The name change will roll out in Canada next month and in August, a relaunch of the company’s website and mobile app as Bed Bath & Beyond will appear in the U.S. Those visiting ovestock.com will be redirected to bedbathandbeyond.com.“Combining the strengths of the Overstock operational model and the Bed Bath & Beyond brand will create a powerful synergy,” Overstock....