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Norfolk Southern is first railroad to give all workers sick time but all see progress in labor talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:49 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Norfolk Southern became the first major freight railroad with deals to provide paid sick time to all of its workers Monday, but the other railroads are making progress with nearly 60% of all rail workers securing this basic benefit since the start of the year.All of the major freight railroads have said they are committed to resolving this key issue that nearly led to a strike in last year’s bitter contract talks. But most of those railroads — which include CSX, Union Pacific, BNSF, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City — are still negotiating with a number of their unions.Most of the sick time deals, including the one Norfolk Southern announced for yardmasters Monday, provide four days of paid sick time and give workers the option to convert three days of personal leave time into sick days. The conductors and engineers who endure the most unpredictable schedules while operating the trains have been getting five days of paid sick leave with the ...

Vick, Fitzgerald and Suggs among stars on College Football Hall of Fame ballot for 1st time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:49 GMT

Michael Vick, Larry Fitzgerald and Terrell Suggs are among the college football stars who will be considered for induction to the Hall of Fame for the first time this year.The National Football Foundation released Monday a list of 78 players and nine coaches from major college football who are on the Hall of Fame ballot. There also are 101 players and 32 coaches from lower divisions of college football up for consideration.Vick, who led Virginia Tech to the BCS championship game against Florida State as a redshirt freshman in 1999, is among the most notable players appearing on the ballot in his first year of eligibility.Vick finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1999. He played one season of college football before being drafted No. 1 overall by the Atlanta Falcons in 2001. Vick’s professional career was interrupted when he served 21 months in prison for his involvement in dog fighting.Fitzgerald was the Heisman runner-up in 2003 to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White. ...

Exonerated Aspen priest back in ministry after investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:49 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — An Aspen priest who was accused of sexually assaulting a minor has been exonerated of any wrongdoing and has been placed back into ministry.The Archdiocese of Denver has completed its internal investigation against Father Michael O'Brien and said it found no evidence behind the accusations. O'Brien was accused of sexually abusing a minor from 2004 to 2008 while working at St. Mary's in Aspen. O'Brien was placed on administrative leave while the Aspen Police Department investigated the accusations. In April, Aspen Police said it would not file criminal charges, and the district attorney has closed the case. Douglas County park closes after 4 dogs die According to the Archdiocese, the investigation into O'Brien lasted 18 months and included interviews with more than 80 witnesses and 26 law enforcement agencies. APD determined the allegations against O'Brien were baseless.However, O'Brien is still facing a lawsuit in civil court based on the same allegations, accordin...

Hollywood Police arrest another suspect in Memorial Day beach shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:49 GMT

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) — Hollywood Police arrested two men over the weekend and are continuing to search for a third person suspected of going on a Memorial Day shooting spree along a busy beachside promenade that injured nine people.Detectives from the Hollywood Police Department took Ariel Cardahn Paul into custody on Sunday night, the agency said in a news release. On Saturday, Hollywood detectives and the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force arrested Jordan Burton.Paul and Burton have been identified by police as the shooters, along with Lionel JeanCharles Jr., who has yet to be arrested, the agency said.They will each face charges of attempted first-degree murder, eight counts of attempted murder in the second degree and one count of carrying a concealed firearm.Two men who were involved in the altercation that led to the shooting — Morgan Deslouches and Keshawn Stewart, both 18 — were arrested last week on firearms charges, police said. Five handguns have been rec...

Eva Kaili is back with a new story: There’s a conspiracy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:49 GMT

ATHENS — Eva Kaili is spinning up a new, eyebrow-raising narrative: Authorities might have targeted her because she knew too much about government spying.After months of silence during her detention and house arrest, the most high-profile suspect in the cash-for-influence Qatargate scandal was suddenly everywhere over the weekend. Across a trio of interviews in the European media, the Greek European Parliament member was keen to proclaim her innocence, saying she never took any of the alleged bribes that authorities say countries such as Qatar and Morocco used to sway the Brussels machinery. But she also had a story to tell even darker than Qatargate, one involving insinuations of nefarious government spying and suggestions that maybe, just maybe, her jailing was politically motivated. Her work investigating the illegal use of Pegasus spyware in Europe, she argued, put her in the crosshairs of Europe’s own governments. “From the court file, my lawyers have discov...

Mike Pence files paperwork to run for US president

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:49 GMT

Mike Pence filed paperwork on Monday to run for president, setting up an unprecedented contest between a former vice president and a former president of his own party for the nomination. His largest task will be attempting to win back Republicans who largely cast him aside following Donald Trump’s presidency.Pence’s entry into the race comes after a sometimes tumultuous two years in the political wilderness following his actions on Jan. 6 to certify the 2020 election, resisting intense pressure from Trump. He has occasionally faced boos from the MAGA base at GOP confabs in places such as a Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Florida in 2021 and even on his home turf at a National Rifle Association meeting in Indianapolis this year.The former six-term congressman and one-term Indiana governor sees an opportunity in Iowa. There, his advisers are betting he can lavish attention and rebuild the coalition of evangelical voters that delivered caucus victories to Sen. Ted Cruz...

Biden praises Denmark for ‘standing up’ for Ukraine in war with Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:49 GMT

By AAMER MADHANI (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden thanked Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Monday for Denmark’s role in a Western alliance “standing up” for Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia’s 15-month-old invasion.The Oval Office visit kicked off the first of a pair of critical meetings Biden is holding with European allies this week that will focus heavily on what lies ahead in the war in Ukraine —including the recently-launched effort to train, and eventually equip, Ukraine with American-made F-16s fighter jets. Biden on Thursday will meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.Both Britain and Denmark are playing a pivotal role in the nascent joint international plan that Biden recently endorsed after months of resisting calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for U.S. aircraft.“There’s a shared commitment to the core values and that gives us our strength — at least that’s what...

Apple unveils sleek ‘Vision Pro’ goggles. Will it be what VR has been looking for?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:49 GMT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE (AP Technology Writer)CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple on Monday unveiled a long-rumored headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter’s ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public’s imagination.After years of speculation, Apple CEO Tim Cook hailed the arrival of the sleek goggles — dubbed “Vision Pro” — at the the company’s annual developers conference held on a park-like campus in Cupertino, California, that Apple’s late co-founder Steve Jobs helped design. “This marks the beginning of a journey that will bring a new dimension to powerful personal technology,” Cook told the crowd. Apple didn’t immediately reveal the goggles’ price, although they are expected to cost in the $3,000 range, likely limiting their appeal to a fairly narrow band of video-game enthusiasts and affluent te...

Mets DFA catcher Tomas Nido to make room for Omar Narvaez

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:49 GMT

The Mets’ roster crunch has finally arrived, and it has resulted in a tough decision to part ways with a homegrown catcher.The Mets reinstated Omar Narvaez from the 60-day injured list Monday and designated Tomas Nido for assignment in a corresponding transaction. This means the Mets are rolling with Narvarez, who signed with the club as a free agent over the winter, and rookie backstop Francisco Alvarez for the foreseeable future.Alvarez has forced his way onto the roster with his bat, hitting .292 with seven home runs, 17 RBI and a 1.029 OPS in the month of May. His eight total home runs are tied for the fourth-most among all qualified rookies. His defense has also improved, with Alvarez making some key plays on the basepaths and gaining the respect of the pitching staff behind the plate.The plan was to go with Nido and Narvaez this season to be able to give Alvarez time to develop in Triple-A. But the Mets called up the 21-year-old Alvarez after Narvaez strained his left ca...

Ukraine trying to end battlefield stalemate; Russia says it repelled some attacks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:13:49 GMT

By SUSIE BLANN (Associated Press)KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces were making a major effort to end months of a battlefield stalemate and punch through Russian defensive lines in southeast Ukraine for a second day, with Russian officials saying on Monday that Moscow’s forces have foiled at least one assault. Kyiv authorities said their forces were indeed increasing offensive operations and making gains, but suggested some of the Russian announcements were misinformation as speculation grows about a widely anticipated counteroffensive after more than 15 months of war. Vladimir Rogov, an official in the Russia-backed administration of Ukraine’s partly occupied Zaporizhzhia province, said fighting resumed on its border with the eastern Donetsk province on Monday after Russian defenses beat back a Ukrainian advance the previous day.“The enemy threw an even bigger force into the attack than yesterday (Sunday),” and the new attempt to break through the f...