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Michigan paper mill temporarily closes due to fungal illness

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:21 GMT

ESCANABA, Mich. (AP) — A paper mill in northern Michigan will close for up to three weeks for a scrubbing after authorities confirmed at least 21 cases of a fungal infection among workers since March and dozens more probable cases.The illness, blastomycosis, is related to a fungus that grows in moist soil and decomposing wood and leaves, according to the public health department in Delta County. Blastomycosis does not pass from person to person, the department said. Common symptoms are cough, fever, shortness of breath, joint pain and weight loss. The Billerud Paper Mill in Escanaba, which employs more than 800 people, will close temporarily, the company said Thursday.The mill will undergo “deep cleaning in high traffic areas through the mill” as well as other steps, including vent inspections, filter replacements and tests on raw materials, said Kevin Kuznicki, president of Billerud North America.Billerud said in a statement that an industrial outbreak of the fungus has not been “d...

Supreme Court lets challenges to federal agencies go forward

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing challenges to the structure of two federal agencies to go forward in federal court.The high court ruled unanimously Friday to allow challenges to the structures of the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission to go forward in federal court. Lower courts had split on whether those challenges could proceed.In one case, the FTC had brought an enforcement action against Axon Enterprise, the Arizona-based company best known for developing the Taser, arguing that its purchase of its competitor Vievu for approximately $13 million was improper. The other case involved an SEC enforcement action against Michelle Cochran, a certified public accountant. Axon and Cochran responded by suing in federal court and arguing that the structure of the FTC and SEC respectively are unconstitutional. Each said that the administrative law judges that oversee enforcement actions are insufficiently accountable to the president, in viol...

France’s Constitutional Council approves higher pension age

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:21 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s Constitutional Council on Friday approved an unpopular plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, in a victory for President Emmanuel Macron after three months of mass protests over the legislation that have damaged his leadership.The move threatened to enrage unions and other critics of the pension plan, including protesters gathered in spots around France on Friday evening as the decision came down. Macron’s political opponents vowed to maintain pressure on the government to withdraw the bill.The council rejected some other measures in the pension bill, but the higher age was central to Macron’s plan and the target of protesters’ anger. Macron can enact the bill within 15 days.In a separate but related decision, the council rejected a request by left-wing lawmakers to allow for a possible referendum on enshrining 62 as the maximum official retirement age. The council will rule on a similar request next month.Security forces stood behind a metal fen...

Some UK nurses end strikes but others vow more walkouts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:21 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British nursing union on Friday rejected a pay offer from the government, dashing hopes of a quick end to a months-long wave of public-sector strikes that has disrupted schools, hospitals and services.However, another major health union voted to accept the deal.The Royal College of Nursing said its members would walk out again later this month. after 54% voted to reject the offer of a lump sum payment for 2022-23 and a 5% raise this year.General Secretary Pat Cullen said members would strike for 48 hours starting April 30. For the first time, the walkout will include nurses working in intensive care, emergency rooms and cancer wards.“What has been offered to date is simply not enough,” she said, adding: “Until there is a significantly improved offer, we are forced back to the picket line.”In contrast, Unison, which represents health workers including ambulance crews, hospital porters and some nurses, said 74% of its members voted to accept the offer“Clear...

NJ charges itself with damaging land it was bound to protect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:21 GMT

New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection has charged itself with damaging habitat for threatened and endangered birds that it was supposed to protect.The work was designed to create habitat for one species of bird, but actually wound up destroying habitat for two others.The department acknowledged it sent a violation notice and threatened penalties against its own Division of Fish and Wildlife regarding unauthorized work in February and March at the Glassboro Wildlife Management Area in Clayton, Gloucester County.The work involved the clearing of vegetation and disturbance of soils on nearly 3 acres of what the state calls “exceptional resource value freshwater wetlands.” Before the work was done, this land was considered suitable habitat for the barred owl, which is listed as a threatened species, and the red-shouldered hawk, an endangered species.The project also cleared and disturbed an additional 12 acres of land near wetlands known as transition areas, which al...

GOP candidates tread cautiously on gun issues in Kentucky

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:21 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Republicans running for governor have deflected questions about gun legislation since this week’s mass shooting at a Louisville bank, turning instead to prayer and a focus on mental health.While GOP candidates were treading cautiously on a core issue for many Republican voters, professing strong support for gun rights, some prominent Democrats spoke forcefully for action after the shooting Monday in which a bank employee used an assault-style rifle to kill five coworkers. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg implored state lawmakers to give his city — long plagued by gun violence — more authority to shape its gun policies.“This is about life and death,” Greenberg said this week. “This is about preventing tragedies.”Republicans running for governor, meanwhile, steered clear of a stand taken by GOP Gov. Bill Lee in neighboring Tennessee. Responding to the recent shooting deaths of three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nas...

CRA workers in legal strike position 2 weeks from tax deadline

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:21 GMT

Workers at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) are in a legal strike position as of Friday, April 14.Last week, the union representing 35,000 workers voted in favour of job action.The strike threat comes just over two weeks ahead of the tax deadline.A final round of negotiations between the CRA and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is set to begin on Monday.The PSAC says workers have been without a contract for more than a year, even as the cost of living continues to rise. It claims the federal government continues to have “major concessions on the table,” adding the CRA has yet to “respond to the union’s wage proposals.”In addition to wages, the union says working hours and job security are among the top concerns that have yet to be addressed.“When we go back to the bargaining table (on April 17), things are going to have to happen relatively quickly in order to avoid a strike,” Chris Aylward, the national president of the PSAC, told CityNews on April 7.Income tax dea...

Driver throws thousands in $100 bills from car window along Oregon interstate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:21 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN/NEXSTAR) – A man who admitted to throwing a substantial amount of cash from his car window told Oregon State Troopers he wanted to “gift the money” to others, police said.Troopers with the Oregon State Police (OSP) responded to a portion of Interstate 5 in Eugene on Tuesday around 7:30 p.m. after receiving calls that motorists were stopped and gathering cash that had been “floating” on the side of the road, OSP said in a statement provided to Nexstar.They later learned that a driver named Colin Davis McCarthy, 38, was responsible for dispensing the cash — reportedly in $100-bill denominations — along the interstate.“McCarthy told Troopers he wanted to gift the money, which he estimated at $200,000, however there wasn’t really a way to confirm how much money was ‘gifted,’” the OSP said. Sam’s Club offering $10 memberships for limited time Police say McCarthy agreed to stop dispensing cash along the street to prevent further traffic backups or accidents.The OSP ...

US Capitol Police confiscate assault rifle at screening facility 'before it reached Capitol Hill'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:21 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – The driver of a delivery vehicle was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police on Friday morning after an assault rifle was found in the back seat of a truck he was driving.Maryland resident Michael J. Donahue, 57, is now facing possible charges, including possession of an unregistered firearm, possession of unregistered ammunition and unlawful activity, according to a news release from U.S. Capitol Police.Authorities said Donahue was the driver of a Ford pickup truck that had arrived before 5 a.m. to be screened at “an off-site delivery facility,” which is used by Capitol Police to inspect delivery vehicles before they are allowed to proceed to Capitol Grounds.In the back seat, covered partially by a blanket, was an assault rifle manufactured by Tippmann Arms, a representative for the Capitol Police told Nexstar. The screening team also found an extended magazine for the rifle in the trunk. The gun was confiscated "before it reached Capitol Hill," according to the news release. ...

Daniel Perry document: Dozens of messages about guns, killing protesters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:21 GMT

Editor's Note: The above video is KXAN's interview with Jeremy Sylestine, a former Travis County District Attorney's Office prosecutor-turned-defense attorney, for insight after more than 75 pages of newly-unsealed documents filed by the State were released.AUSTIN (KXAN) — A 76-page document unsealed Thursday contains a trove of social media posts, texts and search history for Daniel Perry, who was convicted of killing Black Lives Matter protester Garrett Foster in 2020.The document was not used during his trial, but they point to evidence the State intends to introduce during the punishment phase. A judge, not a jury, will decide Perry's sentence, which was a decision the defense made. A date has not yet been set for that step in the legal process. Q&A: What’s the significance of Daniel Perry social media document release? The documents include a voicemail from a woman identifying herself as his mother, telling Perry to stop posting "bad things" on Facebook "because it's real...