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Workers lack protections when wildfire smoke makes the air dangerous

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:17:23 GMT

By Caitlin Dewey, Stateline.orgMillions of American workers have breathed in dangerous levels of air pollution this year as smoke from Canada’s record wildfire season blankets cities across the Northeast.Now experts are calling on federal regulators to adopt standards protecting outdoor workers from worsening air quality, potentially modeled after the few states that have such standards, including California and Oregon.Rules could require employers to monitor air pollution and provide protective equipment such as N95 masks on days when air quality levels fall below certain thresholds. But regulations are not common in much of the country, where wildfire smoke and the health damage it wreaks are both relatively new concerns. And even supporters of regulations say states with rules have had some difficulty with implementation.Cities across the Northeast and Midwest broke longtime records for air pollution last month, prompting a wide range of employer reactions. In Wilkes-Barre, Penns...

‘Barbie’ filmmaker Greta Gerwig wants to embrace the mess

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:17:23 GMT

Barbie, the doll, may be 64 years old, but “Barbie,” the movie, is a pandemic baby. Greta Gerwig, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind “Little Women” and “Lady Bird,” started dreaming it up at a time when she wasn’t sure movies would ever come back.“I wanted to channel something that had that ache in it, but also something so wild and unruly and something that was so just spilling out over the edges of it that you want to be in a group and see it big,” Gerwig told The Associated Press this week. “Because I thought we’ll never make any movies again, but if they’re going to, I’d like this.”Her “Barbie,” which releases in theaters on Friday, is a joyful, maximalist, deeply weird, insightful and defiantly pink confection starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. She co-wrote it with her partner, Noah Baumbach, with whom she shares two sons — a toddler and a five-month-old whom they welcomed into the world while getting “Barbie” out to the world.Gerwig spoke to the AP th...

Trudeau ‘dismayed’ at B.C. port union’s ‘unacceptable’ decision to reject deal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:17:23 GMT

VANCOUVER — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is “dismayed” that an agreement to end the job action at British Columbia’s ports was rejected by the longshore union leadership.Trudeau says the union caucus’ decision to reject a federal mediator’s tentative deal that was agreed to at the bargaining table is “unacceptable.”The stability of work at B.C. ports, key West Coast gateways for imports and exports, has been up in the air since the leadership caucus of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada voted down the mediator’s terms on Tuesday, briefly sending workers back to picket lines.That move was ruled illegal by the Canada Industrial Relations Board which led the union to issue a new a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday only to rescind that order hours later.Trudeau convened a meeting of the government’s incident response group, a move reserved for crisis situations, and says the governmen...

A Miami mother tried to hire a hitman to kill her 3-year-old son, police say. She’s been arrested

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:17:23 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — An 18-year-old Miami woman is accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill her 3-year-old son.The woman appeared before a Miami-Dade County judge Wednesday following her arrest on charges of solicitation of murder and unlawful use of a communications device.The woman visited a parody hit-for-hire website — intended to assist law enforcement — in an attempt to have the boy “taken away, far, far, far away and possibly be killed but ASAP,” Miami-Dade police said in a report. It said she was willing to pay $3,000.The woman listed wanting “to get something done once and for all” as the reason for hiring a hitman, the report said. Police said she provided an address where the boy lives with his grandmother, a recent photo of him and her phone number when she made contact with the website.A man who runs the website contacted Miami-Dade police and detectives tracked down the woman on Tuesday, using the IP address and phone number provided. The Associated Press is not naming...

As a child, she sold street tamales; a senator now, she’s shaking up Mexico’s presidential race.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:17:23 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A street-food salesgirl who became a tech entrepreneur and senator is shaking up the contest to succeed Mexico’s popular president and offering many voters the first real alternative to her country’s dominant party.Xóchitl Gálvez, 60, helped her family as a girl by selling tamales on the street. Today the straight-talking opposition senator is a long shot against Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party, which holds Congress and 22 of Mexico’s 32 states.Despite her slim chances, Gálvez seems to have shaken the president so badly that he’s been insulting her almost daily during his morning briefings. The opposition senator comfortably sits in the national spotlight nearly a year ahead of the June 2, 2024 national election.“She fills a space that was completely empty,” said Roy Campos, president of polling firm Mitofsky Group. “All of the opposition population starts to see her and it generates hope.” Next year’s election is López Obr...

Helicopter crashes in northwestern Alberta while fighting wildfire, killing pilot

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:17:23 GMT

PEACE RIVER, Alta. — A helicopter involved in firefighting operations has crashed in northwestern Alberta, killing a pilot. Todd Loewen, Alberta’s forestry minister,offered condolences to the pilot’s family, friends and colleagues on Thursday.“Today’s tragic news is a reminder that the heroes who put their lives on the line to protect us are men and women like you and me. They have families, friends, hopes and dreams,” he said in a written statement. “While we mourn a life lost in the line of duty, Alberta’s brave first responders continue to put themselves in danger every day to protect Alberta families.”Transportation Safety Board spokesman Chris Krepski said two investigators are en route to the scene in a remote area northeast of Peace River, Alta.“They will be on site later today to begin gathering information and assessing the occurrence,” he said. Krepski said an emergency locator transmitter signal was received Wednesday at abo...

Families get boosted Canada Child Benefit through sizable cost-of-living adjustment

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:17:23 GMT

OTTAWA — Families eligible for the Canada Child Benefit are getting their July payments Thursday, and they include a hefty cost-of-living adjustment.Most federal benefits and credits increased by 6.3 per cent this month to reflect the pace of inflation in the previous year. That means families can receive an annual total of up to $7,437 per child under the age of six and $6,275 per child ages six through 17.The Liberals are highlighting the Canada Child Benefit to mark its seven-year anniversary after they introduced it in their first budget.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in southeastern Ontario on Thursdayspeaking to families about the impact of the benefit, which he said has reduced poverty across the country.“Seven years ago we brought in the Canada child benefit,” Trudeau told reporters while visiting a Boys and Girls Club location in Kingston, Ont. “It has impacted families from coast to coast to coast with hundreds of dollars, tax free, every single month ...

RFK Jr. denies making antisemitic comments as congressional Republicans give him a platform

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:17:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. worked to defend himself Thursday against accusations that he traffics in racist and hateful online conspiracy theories, testifying at a House hearing on government censorship despite requests from outside groups to disinvite the Democratic presidential candidate after his recent antisemitic remarks.The Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government is amplifying GOP claims that conservatives and others are being unfairly targeted by technology companies that routinely work with the government to try to stem the spread of disinformation online. Democrats argued that free speech comes with responsibilities not to spread misinformation, particularly when it fans violence. In opening remarks, Kennedy invoked his famous family’s legacy in decrying the complaints of racism and antisemitism against him.“This is an attempt to censor a censorship hearing,” said Kennedy, the son of Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of ...

Senate Judiciary approves bill to impose stronger ethics standards on Supreme Court justices

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:17:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court would have to abide by stronger ethics standards under legislation approved on Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, a response to recent revelations about donor-funded trips by justices. The bill faced united opposition from Republicans, who said it could “destroy” the court. The legislation has little chance to make it through the full Senate.The panel voted along party lines to set ethics rules for the court and a process to enforce them, including new standards for transparency around recusals, gifts and potential conflicts of interest. Democrats first pushed the legislation after reports earlier this year that Justice Clarence Thomas participated in luxury vacations and a real estate deal with a top GOP donor — and after Chief Justice John Roberts declined to testify before the committee about the ethics of the court. Since then, news reports also revealed that Justice Samuel Alito had taken a luxury vacation with a GOP donor. And The A...

Fire crews lose control of blaze near Athens as southern Europe heat wave keeps communities on alert

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:17:23 GMT

LOUTRAKI, Greece (AP) — Evening winds fueled a major wildfire west of Greece’s capital Thursday, triggering a series of new evacuations outside Athens as authorities braced for more of the extreme weather that has brought searing heat to southern Europe.Authorities had declared the huge blaze contained overnight and Greece’s Fire Service intensified water drops with the help of extra firefighting aircraft deployed from France and Italy. But firefighters lost control of the fire when the wind picked up, Fire Service officials said.The fire has been raging since Tuesday and already burned 35 square kilometers (13.5 square miles) of forest and scrubland.Some residents ignored latest evacuation orders to try and save their homes. Chrysoula Renieri, 72, said relatives had helped her try to save the family home near Loutraki, a resort town 81 kilometers (50 miles) west of Athens, but the wildfire cut off water in the area. “It’s all gone. We have suffered too much damage...