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Company bosses, workers grapple with the fallout of speaking about the Israel-Hamas war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

Starbucks accused a union representing thousands of its baristas of damaging the brand and endangering co-workers with a pro-Palestinian tweet. The CEO of a prominent tech conference resigned amid backlash for his public statements suggesting that Israel was committing war crimes. Company bosses vowed never to hire members of a university’s student groups that condemned Israel.Meanwhile, Islamic rights advocates say much of the corporate response has minimized the suffering in Gaza, where thousands have died in Israeli airstrikes, and created an atmosphere of fear for workers who want to express support for Palestinians. Jewish groups have criticized tepid responses or slow reactions to the Oct. 7 Hamas rampage that killed 1,400 people in Israel and triggered the latest war.The fallout from the Israel-Hamas war has spilled into workplaces everywhere, as top leaders of prominent companies weigh in with their views while workers complain their voices are not being heard. People ...

Middle East crisis could disrupt oil supplies, raise prices, but 1973-like gas pump lines unlikely

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

Fifty years after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the current crisis in the Middle East has the potential to disrupt global oil supplies and push prices higher. But don’t expect a repeat of the catastrophic price hikes and long lines at the gasoline pump, experts say.The Israel-Hamas war is “definitely not good news” for oil markets already stretched by cutbacks in oil production from Saudi Arabia and Russia and expected stronger demand from China, the head of the International Energy Agency said.Markets will remain volatile, and the conflict could push oil prices higher, “which is definitely bad news for inflation,” Fatih Birol, executive director of the Paris-based IEA said. Developing countries that import oil and other fuels would be the most affected by higher prices, he said.International benchmark Brent crude closed at $93 a barrel on Friday, up from $85 on Oct. 6, the day before Hamas attacked Israel, killing hundreds of civilians. Israel immediately launched airstrik...

Jake DeBrusk late for team meeting, scratched vs. the Kings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

The Bruins’ offense, not exactly prolific in the team’s first three wins of the season, was set to face the Los Angeles Kings shorthanded on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.And it was a self-inflicted loss.B’s coach Jim Montgomery informed reporters in LA after the morning skate that winger Jake DeBrusk was late for a team meeting and that he would be a healthy scratch against the Kings, the B’s toughest opponent thus far in this young season.“That’s why he’s out of the lineup,” said Montgomery.This surely is not the way DeBrusk had wanted to start what could be the most important season of his career from a personal standpoint. He is in the final year of a two-year contact that pays him $4 million a season and, in his first crack at unrestricted free agency, he appears to be in a position to take a sizable step up in play.Last season, he matched a career-high of 27 goals despite missing a month of the season with a broken leg. He’s also ...

Boston students sound off on exam school admissions changes, O’Bryant move

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

A long list of students flocked to the latest Boston School Committee meeting to join the growing number of critics of exam school admissions changes and plans to move to the O’Bryant School to West Roxbury.Both topics have been controversial touchpoints for parents, teachers and students over the last several months.Exam school admissions headlined the last school committee meeting, with Committee Member Brandon Cardet-Hernandez and many parents pushing frustrations with the policy and lack of action.The complicated system aims to more equitably distribute seats by dividing students into geographic socioeconomic tiers and awarding extra points to students in certain circumstancesMany have argued the changes do not actually equitably distribute seats, unfairly advantage certain students and make it nigh impossible for certain sets of students to get into the schools.“I have so many friends and teammates from my street in my neighborhood who got into exam schools with sco...

Ticker: EPA orders Norfolk Southern to continue cleanup in East Palestine, Ohio

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week ordered Norfolk Southern to continue cleaning up creeks in East Palestine, Ohio, where there are still visible effects of the February derailment of a train carrying hazardous materials.EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited East Palestine earlier this week, and the agency said 98% of the excavation of the derailment site has been completed.EPA says as of this month, there has been an estimated 148,662 tons of solid waste and 34.3 million gallons of wastewater hauled out and shipped. Solid waste is being incinerated or placed in specially-designed landfills designed to minimize the chance of releasing hazardous waste into the environment.Now, EPA says it is ordering “a similarly comprehensive investigation of oil-contaminated sediments in the creeks.”Norfolk Southern said the order “formalizes the continuation of work that has been ongoing since the derailment,” and that the company “remains cooperative.”Wall Street’s worst w...

Duelling protests at Queen’s Park over gender ideology in school curriculum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

Duelling demonstrations took place outside of Queen’s Park on Saturday, about the contentious debate over how gender ideology is taught in the classroom. One group held a rally included members from the “1MillionMarch4Children”, which is a group that says they are standing together against what they call gender ideology in schools across Canada.“What’s happening in our schools, it’s inappropriate to tell a child that they can make a decision about changing their gender,” said Brian Brasier, a demonstrator at the rally. “That is something that a child has no capability of making an informed and intelligent decision about.”“I have four grandchildren and I’m concerned that they are being told things at too young of an age, that they should be older before they are exposed to those things,” said Mark Carroll, another demonstrator at the protest.  Members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community held their own counter demonstration in res...

Little light, no beds, not enough anesthesia: A view from the ‘nightmare’ of Gaza’s hospitals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The only thing worse than the screams of a patient undergoing surgery without enough anesthesia are the terror-stricken faces of those awaiting their turn, a 51-year-old orthopedic surgeon says.When the Israeli bombing intensifies and the wounded swamp the Gaza City hospitals where Dr. Nidal Abed works, he treats patients wherever he can — on the floor, in the corridors, in rooms crammed with 10 patients instead of two. Without enough medical supplies, Abed makes do with whatever he can find – clothes for bandages, vinegar for antiseptic, sewing needles for surgical ones. Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are nearing collapse under the Israeli blockade that cut power and deliveries of food and other necessities to the territory. They lack clean water. They are running out of basic items for easing pain and preventing infections. Fuel for their generators is dwindling.Israel began its bombing campaign after Hamas militants surged across the border on Oct. 7...

Woman returns from vacation to find Atlanta home demolished

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A homeowner is mulling the next step after a company mistakenly demolished a home she owned in southwest Atlanta. Susan Hodgson said in an interview Saturday with The Associated Press that she found a pile of rubble in place of what used to be her longtime family property when she returned from vacation last month.“I am furious,” Hodgson said. “I keep waking up thinking, ‘Is this all a joke or something?’ I’m just in shock.”She said a neighbor called her while she was away and asked if someone had been hired to tear down the vacant house.“I said ‘no’ and she said, ‘Well, there’s someone over here who just demolished the whole house and tore it all down,’” Hodgson recalled.When the neighbor confronted them, Hodgson said, the workers got nasty.“He told her to shut up and mind her own business,” Hodgson said.She sent a family member over to see what was going on and who asked to see a permit. When a person in charge at the site checked his permit, Hodgson said he admitte...

Man wins $10M prize from scratch-off after telling clerk to 'pick whichever one'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

VISALIA, Calif. (WFLA) — A California man strolled out of a gas station as a millionaire after he purchased a winning scratch-off ticket. Brent Young said he was unsure of which scratcher he wanted to buy inside Prince Food & Gas in Visalia, California, so he asked the clerk to help him. “I was like, 'Just pick whichever one.' I didn’t care,” Young told the California Lottery.So the clerk picked out a $30 California 200X game for Young. Father of American teenage hostage freed by Hamas says she is ‘doing very good’ After paying for his gas and the game, the California Lottery said Young started scratching. About halfway down the ticket, Young uncovered a square showing the game's top prize amount — $10 million.“When I saw all those zeros, I was like ‘no way, this doesn’t happen to people like me,’” Young told the California Lottery. “It’s crazy. Out of all those options, the clerk could have picked a different game. But he didn’t. He grabbed a winner.” ‘Calculated misery’: H...

The Arboretum Teapioca Lounge reopens after deadly August shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:00 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Following a deadly shooting in August, the Teapioca Lounge in the Arboretum outdoor shopping mall reopened Saturday. On August 31, a man entered the Teapioca Lounge and shot two people, killing one and seriously injuring the other, before turning the firearm on himself. Police identified the suspect as Tang-Kang Dave Chiang, 38, and the victim who died as Laura Jauregui, 64. Police said that the victims were unknown to the shooter. MORE: APD identifies man accused of shooting 1 person, seriously injuring another at The Arboretum “It was devastating to hear what happened,” Cameron Daake, who works on franchise development for Teapioca Lounge. “Our main priority was to ensure that the employees [and] the owner had the resources they needed to recover,” he continued. Teapioca Lounge staff weren’t physically injured but traumatized by the incident.  “They're doing better. They're a resilient bunch of employees. I mean, I can't imagine  what it ...