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Bernie Sanders praises shop workers, Ben and Jerry’s on union effort

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:44:03 GMT

Workers seeking to unionize at a Ben & Jerry’s retail shop in Burlington, Vermont, the city where the ice cream brand was founded, announced Friday that the company has signed the fair election principles.U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent who has been a vocal supporter of Starbucks labor organizers, congratulated the Ben & Jerry’s workers at a press conference in his home city.“I’m very proud of the work that these workers have done in coming together to form a union and I’m very proud that we have here in Vermont a company like Ben & Jerry’s that has long stood for progressive principles, today saying they’re willing to sit down and negotiate a good contract with their workers,” Sanders said.Ben & Jerry’s said last week that it supported a plan to unionize by about 40 workers at the retail shop in downtown Burlington.It said in a statement that it shares “the goal of advancing justice, both inside and outside our company.” The ice cream manufacturer wa...

Boy, 16, arrested in Toronto for shooting death in Sudbury

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:44:03 GMT

Toronto police have arrested a 16-year-old wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in Sudbury. The Greater Sudbury Police Service issued a bulletin Friday and released images of a suspect wanted in the April 21 shooting at Overtime Sports Bar that took the life of a 22-year-old man.Investigators believed the teen was likely in southern Ontario and were granted permission to use his image even though he was under the age of 18 through a provision in the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Toronto police took the teen into custody around 7:30 a.m. Saturday. He appeared in court and was charged with a number of offences including murder.

California man gets 4 1/2 years for role in US Capitol riot

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:44:03 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Southern California man who assaulted police with pepper spray during the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison, federal authorities announced.Jeffrey Scott Brown, 56, of Santa Ana received a sentence of 54 months in federal prison for felony and misdemeanor charges related to the mob attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a Friday press statement.More than 1,000 individuals have been arrested, including more than 320 people who have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, the DOJ said. Trump supporters that day tried to stop Congress from certifying presidential election results for Joe Biden, a Democrat, over Trump, a Republican. Brown and two co-defendants were found guilty at trial in December. Peter J. Schwartz of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, is scheduled to be sentenced in May. It was not clear why Markus Maly of Fincastle, Virginia, was not s...

Alberta Premier Smith questions election role of Opposition leader Notley’s husband

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:44:03 GMT

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is raising questions about Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley’s husband and his role in the upcoming provincial election campaign.Notley’s husband, Lou Arab, is a communications official for the Canadian Union of Public Employees and sits on the governing board of Notley’s NDP.In a statement from her United Conservative party, Smith says she wants to know if it’s legal for CUPE to spend money on attack ads against the UCP given Notley’s relationship to Arab.The statement didn’t specify what law Smith believes is being violated.The NDP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Smith made the statement in response to a story in The Globe and Mail that reported Smith attended the wedding last month of David Parker, the head of a third-party advertiser called Take Back Alberta.Take Back Alberta is a growing force within Smith’s UCP, delivering blocs of members to party events to elect constituency board members, candidates and, to da...

Flood concerns rise as Mississippi River crests in Iowa city

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:44:03 GMT

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — The surging Mississippi River was cresting in Iowa on Saturday as melting snow from Minnesota and Wisconsin continues to push up river levels, the National Weather Service said.The weather service said the river was cresting between 23 and 24.3 feet (7 and 7.4 meters) in Dubuque, a city on the Mississippi about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east of Des Moines. The river was expected to crest at 21.9 feet (6.7 meters) in Bellevue, Iowa, on Saturday night.The river is not expected to see many record crests in the next week, but the weather service said Saturday’s levels would come close to 1993 and 2001 records between 23.9 and 25.4 feet (7.3 and 7.7 meters) as the river moves down its 2,300-mile (3,700-kilometer) length before reaching the Gulf of Mexico. Dubuque has closed its floodgates for only the third time ever in response to flooding. Further south in the Quad Cities — five adjoining cities along the river in Iowa and Illinois — the river is expected to...

‘Only in Newfoundland’: Dildo, N.L., man captures phallic iceberg in Conception Bay

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:44:03 GMT

A Dildo, N.L., man’s photo of a phallic iceberg in Newfoundland’s Conception Bay is getting laughs across the globe.Ken Pretty says he could tell from the shore that the stately iceberg drifting off the coast of Harbour Grace, N.L., on Thursday had a distinctive anatomical quality.But he said that it wasn’t until he flew his drone out for a closer look that he realized just how lifelike the berg’s features really were.Pretty’s pictures of the iceberg – which has since been named the “dickie berg” – have now been shared more than 5,300 times and attracted news coverage in Australia.He acknowledged in an interview that the iceberg’s location in Conception Bay, along with his hometown’s name, make the situation even funnier, adding: “Only in Newfoundland.”Pretty says people have been asking him to make “dickie berg” t-shirts and to sell prints of his now-famous photo.

Mexico’s ruling party sweeps mine reform, other bills to law

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:44:03 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Senate has approved a wide-ranging reform of laws governing the mining industry, including a requirement that companies pay 5% of profits to local communities. The mining bill was among 18 pieces of legislation, some controversial, that were passed in a frenzied rush late Friday and early Saturday. The bills were approved with little or no debate, based on votes by only senators from Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party and its allies. The opposition occupied the Senate’s normal headquarters to protest a lack of debate, so the Morena senators and allies met in an alternative chamber. The new mining law reduces the maximum length of concessions from 50 to 30 years, and punishes speculation by allowing authorities to cancel concessions if no work is done on them within two years.The mining industry, much of it foreign and in a considerable amount Canadian, has drawn complaints because of ecological damage, speculation and the fact that communities aro...

Vikings use fifth-round pick on BYU quarterback Jaren Hall

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:44:03 GMT

The Vikings used their fifth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to take Brigham Young quarterback Jaren Hall, who led the Cougars to an 18-8 mark as a starter the past two seasons but is, by NFL standards, not a typical passer.At 6-feet, 207 pounds, he’s built more like an NFL running back than NFL quarterback, and he rushed for 700 yards in 22 games at BYU. But he also has been a tremendous passer.“I think I’m at my best when I’m doing both,” Hall said.Last season, Hall threw for 3,171 yards and 31 touchdowns against just six interceptions. In two seasons running the Cougars’ offense, he completed 65 percent of his passes for 6,174 yards, 52 touchdowns and 11 picks.His size clearly wasn’t an issue in college, but in the NFL, most everyone playing offensive or defensive line is bigger.“You’re never going to see over them; it’s impossible,” Hallsaid Saturday. “So, you’ve really got to be good at seeing through and anticipating space. That’s something I’ll continue to get better at at the nex...

Avalanche’s Josh Manson, Darren Helm out for Game 7; Jared Bednar miffed by Jordan Eberle avoiding suspension after hit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:44:03 GMT

Josh Manson has demonstrated his impressive capability to rejoin the Avalanche lineup seamlessly after an injury this season, so it didn’t bode well when he hinted Wednesday morning that his latest return hasn’t felt the same.“Just trying to still catch up a little bit,” Manson said the morning of Game 5 against the Kraken. “Trying to keep the body going.”The big defenseman left the bench that night in the third period, not feeling well enough physically to skate in high-stakes minutes, and hasn’t been back since. Manson and center Darren Helm are both officially out for Game 7 of the first-round series, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Saturday.Helm also returned from an injury during this series, but he played only in Game 2 before a hit from Will Borgen sidelined him again. Manson’s lower-body injury is a continuation of the one he has dealt with since early December 2022.Without Manson for Game 6 in Seattle, Bednar reunited Devon ...

Warriors need Jordan Poole to flush ‘frustrating night’ and prepare for pivotal Game 7

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:44:03 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Klay Thompson knows what it’s like to struggle on some of basketball’s biggest stages.So in the wake of Jordan Poole’s rough showing Friday night, Thompson offered some perspective and support for the fourth-year guard.“We’ve all been there. I’ve had terrible slumps during playoffs, the Olympics, at the highest level,” Thompson said after the Warriors’ stunning 118-99 loss. “Jordan is only 23 years old. We lose as a team; we win as a team. It wasn’t on just JP tonight. He could come out and get 30 effortlessly on Sunday.”The Warriors can live with Poole being a liability on defense when he’s being effective on offense. But the numerous blow-bys on the defensive end are tougher to swallow when Poole scored only seven points on 11 shots.Poole went 2 of 11 from the field, had one assist, two steals and one turnover before ultimately finishing the night a minus-14 in 26 minutes of action.“...