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Posting about the Israel-Hamas war? What to know about your employment rights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

As the Israel-Hamas war enters its second month, people in Canada and around the world are taking to the streets and social media to express their views on the conflict. For some people speaking up has resulted in job loss as the division deepens, with corporations and organizations making statements of their own that may contradict their employees’ opinions.Here’s what you should know about your legal rights as an employee if you’re disciplined or dismissed from your job after you voiced your opinions about the Israel-Hamas war. Layoffs vs. terminations“The default is that what you do on your own time is your own business. But it has always been the case that some off-duty conduct can result in discipline or dismissal. That’s nothing new,” said employment lawyer Stuart Rudner. “In the world of social media, of course, we’re seeing that applied more and more.”Other than certain relatively small groups of workers — like unionized workers, who make up less than a third of ...

Jill Stein launches a long-shot Green Party presidential campaign, bringing back memories of 2016

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

Environmental activist Jill Stein is launching another long-shot bid for the presidency as a Green Party candidate, bringing back memories of 2016, when her bid may have contributed to Republican Donald Trump’s razor-thin victory.The 73-year-old Stein said in a video announcing her 2024 candidacy on Thursday that the current political system is “broken.”“I’m running for president to offer that choice for the people outside of the failed two-party system,” said Stein, a physician from Lexington, Massachusetts.The rise of third-party and independent candidates has sparked concerns among both Democratic and Republican party officials ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Both of the major parties’ most likely nominees — President Joe Biden and former President Trump — are extraordinarily unpopular. But Stein’s candidacy, considering her hard-left platform, could present a particular challenge for Biden.Stein ran against Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 as a Green Par...

Michigan man cleared of sexual assault after 35 years in prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

ALBION, Mich. (AP) — A man accused of breaking into a home and sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl in southwestern Michigan is out of prison after 35 years after authorities agreed that he was wrongly convicted.Louis Wright’s convictions from 1988 were set aside by a judge Thursday at the request of the Calhoun County prosecutor and the attorney general’s office.“New DNA testing excluded Mr. Wright as the perpetrator,” the attorney general’s office said.The Cooley Law School Innocence Project, which represents Wright, said a false confession and a no-contest plea caused his decades of incarceration.In 1988, police investigating the assault of a girl in Albion, 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Detroit, settled on Wright as the suspect after an off-duty officer said he had been seen in the neighborhood.Police said Wright confessed, though the interview was not recorded and he did not sign a confession, according to the Innocence Project.“The victim was never as...

Mayor Chow calls for ceasefire, return of hostages in Israel-Hamas war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has joined a growing call for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that continues to see growing civilian causalities.In a statement released Friday, Chow also called for the return of all hostages.“I believe that peace can only come through the immediate and unconditional return of all hostages and a ceasefire, as has been called for by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations,” Chow wrote.She also addressed a disturbing rise in hate crimes in the city, calling on residents to uphold Toronto’s reputation as a glowing model of diversity.“In hard times our common bond is often tested,” she wrote. “The fact remains that antisemitism and Islamophobia exist here. People are scared of being targeted for who they are or what they believe in.”“As your Mayor, let me be clear: any assault on the freedom of people practicing their faith or religion, is not welcome here. Threatening the safety of b...

Mitch McConnell, standing apart in a changing GOP, digs in on his decades-long push against Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Mitch McConnell often tells the story of a letter that his father, a foot soldier in World War II, wrote to his mother while he was stationed in Eastern Europe in 1945, as the United States was liberating the region from Nazi rule.“I think the Russians are going to be a big problem,” A.M. McConnell wrote, foreshadowing the communist takeover to come.Almost 80 years later, his son is still warning of Russia. From his perch as the long-time Republican leader in the U.S. Senate, McConnell has emerged as perhaps the strongest advocate in Congress for sending billions of dollars in American assistance to Ukraine as the country fights Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, aligning himself with President Joe Biden and majority Democrats in the process. It’s hardly a change in outlook for the Kentucky senator, who was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was shaped by the era when President Ronald Reagan was fighting the Cold War and U.S. foreign poli...

Mavericks to play tournament game on regular floor. Production issues delayed the new court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Mavericks are playing a home game in the NBA’s In-Season Tournament for the first time on Friday night.But they will do so on their regular court — not the special-edition tournament court.The NBA said “a manufacturing issue” kept the Mavericks from having a ready-for-tournament-play court delivered in time for Friday’s home game against the Los Angeles Clippers, so Dallas’ regular home court was installed for the matchup instead.The Mavericks’ tournament court was supposed to be mostly silver, with a darker gray stripe down the center of the floor with three images of the NBA Cup — one at midcourt, the others in each of the foul lanes — displayed as well. All home courts for tournament games follow that design pattern, though the color schemes are wildly different in each city.Some players have voiced concerns about the courts and their footing on the painted surface. Indiana players Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton both said they ...

Even Picasso had to practice, practice. Artist’s sketchbooks show whimsy, humor, determination

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — He was a giant of 20th-century art, but that doesn’t mean Pablo Picasso needed a big canvas.Matchbook covers, postcards, restaurant napkins — they all served as makeshift sketchpads for the artist at moments of inspiration.And so it should perhaps not be surprising that some of Picasso’s actual sketchpads were well smaller than, say, a compact disc cover — like the tiny one now on display at Manhattan’s Pace Gallery as part of “Picasso: 14 Sketchbooks,” a new exhibit marking 50 years since the legendary artist’s death.A stunningly complete self-portrait in pencil peeks out of that little book, with deep and piercing eyes, all 3 ¾ by 5 1/2 inches of it. It was 1918 and Picasso, then in his mid-30s, had just married ballet dancer Olga Khokhlova. During a summer in balmy Biarritz, he painted on canvas but also kept this tiny notebook around, filling it with scenes of their villa, the beach and the town, and sketches of upcoming paintings. He also drafted a letter to his...

Friday Forecast: Highs in upper 40s with falling temps

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

CHICAGO — Temperatures in the upper 40s and increasing clouds. Winds: WNW 5-15 G25. Winds: 48. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Partly cloudy tonight with calm conditions. Winds: NW 0-5. Low: 31.Saturday Forecast: Mostly sunny, late day clouds, SE 0-5. High: 50.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Lawmakers introduce bill to classify 9-1-1 operators as first responders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) says she still vividly remembers speaking with a child during her days as a 9-1-1 operator."The only thing I could hear was thumping, really loud. Screams, horrific screams. Followed by five shots," Torres said.Torres says she only got the call because her department did not have enough bilingual dispatchers."I was still in training. I should not have been answering those calls," Torres said.This is one of the many reasons why Torres and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn) introduced their bill to classify 9-1-1 operators as first responders, instead of clerical workers."There's legal protections that are not available for them because of that classification. There's grants and funding that cannot flow to them because of that designation," Fitzpatrick said.Fitzpatrick and Torres hope those added protection and resources will help keep more of the 9-1-1 operators currently facing burnout on the job."The numbers are going down and as a ...

These states have the highest car theft rates: Where does yours rank?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:08 GMT

(KTLA) — Between 2021 and 2022, reported carjackings in the U.S. increased by 8.1%, recently released FBI data shows. The vast majority of those involved an assailant with a weapon, and someone was injured in more than a quarter of all carjackings. A new report shows some states have been hit harder by car thieves than others. The National Insurance Crime Bureau, a not-for-profit organization, reviewed data collected by the FBI's National Crime Information Center to find which states had the highest vehicle theft rates in 2022 per 100,000 residents.Overall, they found states primarily on the West Coast and in the Southwest had the worst vehicle theft rates. For the second year in a row, Colorado topped the list, reporting a theft rate of over 731 cars per 100,000 residents in 2022, up more than 10% compared to 2021, according to the NICB. Ranking second on the list wasn't a state at all: the District of Columbia saw roughly 700 cars per 100,000 residents stolen last year. For compar...