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School district takes teachers union to court for wave of absences that forced school closures

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:09:38 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — School district officials in Las Vegas are asking a judge to put an end to what it claims is a coordinated union campaign of teacher absences during a bitter contract battle, forcing school closures and classroom disruptions in a state where it is illegal for public employees to strike.Since Sept. 1, unexpected staff shortages have forced seven schools to cancel classes for the day and two others to combine classes, according to the Clark County School District, which includes Las Vegas. The district’s motion seeking an emergency court order said one of those schools had 87% of its teachers call out sick on the same day.“The absentee level at the affected schools is unprecedented,” the motion said, “and these mass sickouts have left students, parents, staff, and administrators scrambling to ensure students’ wellbeing.”The tense contract negotiations in the nation’s fifth-largest school district are unfolding at a time when labor unions across the country...

North Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern seas

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:09:38 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern seas Wednesday, its neighbors said.The launch came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was traveling in Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin while there are international concerns about a potential arms deal that could fuel Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine.South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the missiles being fired 10 minutes apart from an area in Sunan, the site of Pyongyang’s international airport, and that the weapons flew cross-country toward the country’s eastern seas. It didn’t immediately say how far the weapons flew.Japan’s Coast Guard, citing Tokyo’s Defense Ministry, said the missile likely has landed but still urged vessels around the Japanese coasts to watch out for falling objects. Kim has been using the international distraction caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine to ramp up the North’s weapons development, a process that has i...

Last trial in Governor Whitmer kidnapping plot heads to closing arguments

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:09:38 GMT

A jury is set to hear closing arguments Wednesday in the fourth trial connected to a scheme by anti-government extremists to kidnap Michigan’s governor and inspire a civil war just ahead of the 2020 presidential election.William Null, twin brother Michael Null and Eric Molitor are the last of 14 men to face charges in state or federal court.They were not among the main group of six people charged with a kidnapping conspiracy in federal court. Instead, they’re accused of having a supporting role by participating in militia-style drills and taking rides to see Whitmer’s vacation home in Antrim County.Molitor, 39, and William Null, 41, acknowledged the road trips but told jurors they didn’t really understand the purpose. William Null said he was regularly exposed to “crazy talk” by pot-puffing plot leaders Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. and didn’t think it was too serious until conversations turned to explosives.Michael Null, 41, declined to testify in...

China’s ‘full-time children’ move back in with parents, take on chores as good jobs grow scarce

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:09:38 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — When she first moved to the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen after graduating from college, Marguerite Wang imagined she would spend her career working hard in a big city. Instead, she’s living with her parents in her hometown in northeastern China. A record of more than one in five young Chinese are out of work, their career ambitions at least temporarily derailed by a depressed job market as the economy struggles to regain momentum after its long bout with COVID-19.Wang, who was laid off from a gaming company in December, is among an estimated 16 million young Chinese who, daunted by the difficulties of finding decent jobs, have moved back home. She asked that her English nickname be used out of concern that speaking to foreign media might hurt her job prospects. After spending six months unsuccessfully applying for jobs in Shenzhen, the 29-year-old did something she had never imagined doing: she asked to move back home. Now she spends her days watching soa...

Stock market today: Asian shares slide after tech, rising oil prices drag Wall St lower

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:09:38 GMT

NEW YORK — Stocks fell Wednesday in Asia after a slide for technology stocks dragged Wall Street lower ahead of a key report on U.S. inflation. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.3% to 17,970.01 and the Shanghai Composite index sank 0.9% to 3,109.88. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index shed 0.4% to 32,656.85, while the Kospi in Seoul edged 0.2% lower, to 2,532.69. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.8% to 7,146.40. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 lost 0.6% to 4,461.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%, to 34,645.99 The Nasdaq composite dropped 1% to 13,773.61.Software giant Oracle helped lead the losses for tech stocks after reporting its revenue for the latest quarter fell just short of what analysts expected. Its stock tumbled 13.5%, even though its profit topped expectations. Oracle’s forecast for how much revenue it will make in the current quarter also wasn’t as strong as some analysts expected.Apple dropped 1.8% after it unveiled the latest models of its phones and...

Hudson River swimmer deals with fatigue, choppy water, rocks and pollution across 315 miles

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:09:38 GMT

CASTLETON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (AP) — The Hudson River snakes through forests and rushes over boulders in the Adirondack Mountains before settling into a wide, slow flow closer to New York City. It stretches 315 miles (507 kilometers) from source to end.Lewis Pugh is about to finish swimming all of it.The 53-year-old endurance swimmer plans to finish the last miles of his month-long river journey Wednesday at the lower tip of Manhattan. After countless crawl strokes, Pugh has powered through fatigue and sore shoulders. He has dodged tugboats and bobbing plastic garbage. He insists that any discomfort is worth it to highlight the Hudson and the importance of clean rivers.“There is no other river in the whole world where at the source, you’ve got beavers, you’ve got bears, you’ve got vultures,” Pugh told The Associated Press before a leg of his swim recently. “And then at the end, you come underneath the George Washington Bridge and you breathe to your left-hand side and you see thes...

Mosquitoes, long the enemy, are now bred to help prevent the spread of dengue fever

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:09:38 GMT

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — For decades, preventing dengue fever in Honduras has meant teaching people to fear mosquitoes and avoid their bites. Now, Hondurans are being educated about a potentially more effective way to control the disease — and it goes against everything they’ve learned.Which explains why a dozen people cheered last month as Tegucigalpa resident Hector Enriquez held a glass jar filled with mosquitoes above his head, and then freed the buzzing insects into the air. Enriquez, a 52-year-old mason, had volunteered to help publicize a plan to suppress dengue by releasing millions of special mosquitoes in the Honduran capital.The mosquitoes Enriquez unleashed in his El Manchen neighborhood — an area rife with dengue — were bred by scientists to carry bacteria called Wolbachia that interrupt transmission of the disease. When these mosquitoes reproduce, they pass the bacteria to their offspring, reducing future outbreaks.This emerging strategy for battling dengue was pio...

Rockies’ Kris Bryant hits winning home run against Cubs in second game back from injury

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:09:38 GMT

On his first try, Kris Bryant made loud, clean contact and got punished with a waste of 405 feet. On his second try, he accidentally halved his swing and was rewarded.As backward as those results were when Bryant came to bat twice with the bases loaded Tuesday night, he stuck to the first approach later on. In his second game back from the injured list, Bryant delivered a go-ahead solo home run in the sixth inning against his former team, and the Rockies held on for a 6-4 win over the Cubs at Coors Field.Colorado (52-92) snapped a five-game losing streak thanks to Bryant’s three RBIs, multiple don’t-you-dare outfield arms and Justin Lawrence’s save. Chicago stranded the tying runs on base in a tense ninth that ended with a Lawrence strikeout.“They’re obviously in the playoff hunt,” Bryant said. “Just to do it against some old friends and kind of make it a little bit harder for them, it feels great. They look great over there. They’ve got a great team. B...

Family tied up, held at gunpoint by masked robbers in Orange County

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:09:38 GMT

An Orange County family was held at gunpoint earlier this week when four armed robbers broke into their home, used a stun gun on one of the victims, then tied them up and demanded to know where they kept their valuables, authorities announced Tuesday.  Officers with the Westminster Police Department responded to the 8900 block of Pebble Beach Circle on Sept. 11 around 10:40 p.m. after a woman called 911 and whispered that she needed help.  When police arrived at the residence, they spotted four male suspects armed with handguns running from the home.  One of the suspects, now identified as 29-year-old Banning resident Danny Sommay, was taken into custody outside the residence after throwing his firearm over a brick wall. The gun was recovered and found to be a loaded 9mm handgun that had been reported stolen, a Westminster PD news release stated. Inside the home, police found five victims, identified only as an adult male and female, an elderly woman, a 14-year-old bo...

Pitcher Julio Urías scrubbed from Dodger Stadium

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:09:38 GMT

The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be moving on from embattled pitcher Julio Urías.When the team returned from a six-game road trip on Monday, Urías, who is currently on administrative leave, had been largely scrubbed from Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Times reports.The veteran pitcher's clubhouse locker was removed and two large murals featuring Urías at the entrances to left and right field were covered or painted over.A large sheet covers a mural showing Julio Urias and other Dodgers players at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 12, 2023. (KTLA)Also, no Urías apparel could be found at team stores and kiosks, L.A. Times reports.“It’s sad on every level,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters before Monday night’s game against the San Diego Padres, adding that the decision to remove Urias’ locker was “an organizational thing.”Urías, 27, was arrested on domestic violence charges by officers with the Exposition Park Department of Public Safety on Sept. 3. Exposition Park is the site of BMO Stadi...