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UK government offers millions of public sector workers pay hikes to end strikes

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:12:28 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The British government offered millions of public sector workers pay raises Thursday in a bid to end an array of strikes that have crippled trains, health care and other services for more than a year amid the biggest cost-of-living crisis in generations.On the day that tens of thousands of doctors in Britain’s state-funded health service launched a five-day walkout, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak accepted pay recommendations from independent review bodies. But he insisted that there would be no more discussions with unions.Like other nations in Europe, Britain has faced disruptive strikes as workers, from teachers to train drivers and nurses, have pressed for pay that keeps pace with a sharp increase in consumer prices. Also Thursday, major train strike across Italy stranded tourists and commuters.“Today’s offer is final,” Sunak said. “There will be no more talks on pay. We will not negotiate again on this year’s settlements, and no amount of strikes will...

First Amendment group sues Texas Governor and others over the state’s TikTok ban on official devices

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:12:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A First Amendment group sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott and others on Thursday over the state’s TikTok ban on official devices, arguing the prohibition – which extends to public universities – is unconstitutional and impedes academic freedom. The complaint was filed by The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, a free speech group in New York that’s suing on behalf a coalition of academics and researchers who study technology’s impact on society. The lawsuit said the state’s decision to restrict access to TikTok on official devices, as well as on personal devices used to conduct state business, is comprising teaching and research. And more specifically, it said it was “seriously impeding” faculty pursuing research into the app – including research that could illuminate or counter concerns about TikTok.Critics of TikTok have claimed the popular social media app, owned by Chinese parent company ByteDance, could push pro-Beijing propaganda on its...

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI signs deal with AP to license news stories

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:12:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and The Associated Press said Thursday that they’ve made a deal for the artificial intelligence company to license AP’s archive of news stories.“The arrangement sees OpenAI licensing part of AP’s text archive, while AP will leverage OpenAI’s technology and product expertise,” the two organizations said in a joint statement. The price of the deal was not disclosed. “Both organizations will benefit from each other’s established expertise in their respective industries, and believe in the responsible creation and use of these AI systems,” the statement said.The two companies said they are also examining “potential use cases for generative AI in news products and services,” though didn’t give specifics.The Associated Press

IMF deposits much-awaited $1.2 billion with Pakistan’s central bank under bailout, minister says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:12:28 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s finance minister on Thursday said the International Monetary Fund deposited a much-awaited first installment of $1.2 billion with the country’s central bank under a recently signed bailout deal aimed at helping Islamabad avoid defaulting on its debt repayments. The financial infusion — part of a $3 billion new bailout deal — comes ahead of parliamentary elections due later this year. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the development in a live address to the nation. Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said in televised remarks that the remaining $1.8 billion would be received from the IMF over the next nine months. The funds will bolster the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which shrank to less than $4 billion in recent months, raising fears of a default. Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are likely to rise to $14 billion this week, Dar said.The latest development came a day after the IMF said its executive board had approved a...

S&P/TSX composite up nearly 150 points, U.S. stock markets also rise

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:12:28 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in the technology sector and the base metal stocks helped lead a broad-based rally as Canada’s main stock index gained nearly 150 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 148.89 points at 20,219.66.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 46.77 points at 34,394.20. The S&P 500 index was up 23.24 points at 4,495.40, while the Nasdaq composite was up 136.86 points at 14,055.82.The Canadian dollar traded for 76.21 cents US compared with 75.83 cents US on Wednesday. The August crude contract was up 59 cents at US$76.34 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was down six cents at US$2.57 per mmBTU.The August gold contract was up US$2.00 at US$1,963.70 an ounce and the September copper contract was up eight cents at US$3.94 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

A deadly bomb ambush of police in Mexico has endangered mothers who search for the missing

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:12:28 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A drug cartel bomb attack that allegedly used a fake report of a mass grave to lure police into a deadly trap has had devastating collateral damage: It has led authorities to abandon the volunteers who search for some of Mexico’s 110,000 missing people.Most of the searchers are distraught mothers looking for the bodies of the thousands of victims of kidnapping gangs and drug cartels, who dump their bodies in clandestine graves.A day after Tuesday’s attack that killed four police officers and two civilians in Jalisco state, Gov. Enrique Alfaro announced that he was temporarily suspending police involvement in such searches as a safety measure, drawing consternation from the volunteer groups, who are known as “collectives.”Alfaro said an anonymous caller had given a volunteer searcher a tip about a supposed clandestine burial site near a roadway in Tlajomulco, Jalisco. The cartel buried improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, on the road and then detonated them as a ...

Railway container shipments plummet amid B.C. port workers strike

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:12:28 GMT

MONTREAL — Railways are facing a sharp drop-off in container shipments as the strike by B.C. port workers halted more than half of steel-box cargo so far this month.RBC Dominion Securities analyst Walter Spracklin says Canadian National Railway Co.’s revenue-ton-miles — a key industry metric used to gauge income and freight volume — fell 60 per cent in the first week of the job action.He says the figure dropped by 45 per cent at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd.The American Railroad Association says the number of containers hauled last week plunged by nearly half compared to the same period in 2022.The corrugated metal boxes, which carry everything from consumer products to auto parts, mark a critical source of cash for the two railways, comprising roughly one-quarter of annual revenue.The union and management have until 10:30 a.m. PDT today to decide if they will accept a federal mediator’s recommendations to end the 12-day port strike by some 7,400 waterfront workers.T...

Police: 21-year-old Mariano's employee shot, killed inside Evergreen Park store

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:12:28 GMT

EVERGREEN PARK, Ill. -- A 21-year-old employee was shot dead at a Mariano's in Evergreen Park Thursday morning. Police reported of an active shooter call at a Mariano's grocery store just before 9:00 a.m. in Evergreen Park at the 2500 block of West 95th Street. Evergreen Park police said surveillance video shows the suspect, who is believed to be the victim's boyfriend, following her into the store. The Evergreen Park police chief said an individual was taken into custody near the 1330 block of West Thorndale Avenue in Edgewater. A firearm was also recovered. Suburban Uber driver found guilty after woman sexually assaulted in car Police believe the incident to be domestic and that there is no threat to the public. One other minor injury to the ankle was reported. WGN is actively following the incident and will update as more information is recovered.

Suburban Uber driver found guilty after woman sexually assaulted in car

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:12:28 GMT

WHEATON, Ill. — A suburban Uber driver has been found guilty after a woman was sexually abused in a vehicle upon arriving to her destination in 2020. According to the States Attorney's office, 35-year-old Ghazwan Alani, formerly from Palatine, was found guilty of attempted criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual abuse for an incident that took place three years ago. On May 19, 2020, a 23-year-old woman arranged for an Uber driver to bring her to a location in Elmhurst around 1:19 a.m. when upon arrival, Alani entered the back seat of the vehicle and sexually abused the woman. No bond for man charged in fatal shooting of 9-year-old boy in Franklin Park Reports said that the woman was able to escape from the other side of the back seat after she kicked Alani. She then ran from the car, entered her destination and contacted the Elmhurst Police Department later that morning. Alani was taken into custody September 1 that year after an investigation of forensic and DNA analysis led...

No bond for man charged in fatal shooting of 9-year-old boy in Franklin Park

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:12:28 GMT

FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. — The man charged with murdering a 9-year-old boy in Franklin Park is being held without bond.Javier Murillo, 37, of Melrose Park appeared in court Wednesday afternoon. He is charged with first-degree murder following the July 8 death of Ulysses Campos.According to police, around 10:15 p.m., Ulysses was playing near an alley in the 2800 block of Elder Lane when a disturbance occurred. Shots were fired from a moving vehicle and Ulysses was hit in the chest.Campos has been lighting fireworks with his father and cousins as part of a birthday celebration for their grandmother. Rockford kidnapping, murder suspect with lengthy criminal past, possibly linked to death of woman in Schaumburg Prosecutors said Murillo drove into an alley and got into an argument with Campos' father before firing shots.Once first responders arrived, Ulysses was taken to Loyola Hospital in Maywood where he was pronounced dead, just two weeks shy of his 10th birthday.Murillo will return to c...