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French strikers renew pressure on Macron to ax pension plan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:31:52 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Tens of thousands of people marched in Paris and other cities across the country Wednesday to denounce the government’s pension plan as unfair to female workers, in demonstrations meant to coincide with International Women’s Day.The show of anger against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 is set to continue in coming days, as train and metro drivers, refinery workers, garbage collectors and others have said they would continue ongoing strikes. Unions aim at maintaining pressure on the government as senators debate the changes.Feminist activists say the pension reform would further deepen gender inequalities at work, where women’s wages are on average 15.8% below men’s.Hard-left lawmaker Clémentine Autain, who took part in the Paris march, said there are two reasons for the protest: “first, because, like every year, on March 8, we march to demand equality and also, to ask for this pension reform bill that is...

Powell says ‘no decision’ on the Fed’s next move on rates

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:31:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stressed Wednesday that the central bank’s policymakers have yet to decide how large an interest rate hike to impose at its next meeting in two weeks in its drive to defeat high inflation. “If — and I stress that no decision has been made on this — if the totality of the data were to indicate that faster tightening is warranted, we would be prepared to increase the pace of rate hikes,” Powell said on his second day of semi-annual testimony to Congress. The Fed chair had made a similar comment Tuesday to a Senate panel but had not included the caveat that “no decision has been made.” Some economists and Wall Street traders had interpreted those remarks as a signal that the Fed would raise its benchmark rate by a substantial half-point at its March 21-22 meeting. As a result, stock prices tumbled Tuesday, and some bond yields rose as markets anticipated a faster pace of rate hikes. When the Fed raises its key short-term ra...

3 children, woman critically injured in fire at home of Chicago firefighter: sources

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:31:52 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman and three children were critically injured in a house fire on the city's Northwest Side.WGN sources have confirmed a Chicago firefighter lives at the home.The fire broke out just around 9:10 p.m. Tuesday in the 2500 block of North Rutherford Avenue in the Montclare neighborhood.According to police, a 34-year-old woman, 2-year-old girl and 7-year-old girl and boy all suffered from smoke inhalation and were transported to area hospitals in critical condition. Man killed after fiery two-vehicle crash on West Side The cause of the fire is under investigation. No further information has been provided.

Wintry mix likely Thursday; Storm Watch issued for Northern Illinois

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:31:52 GMT

Winter weather is not over for the Chicago area.A Winter Storm Watch has been issued for Thursday afternoon into Friday morning for Lake and McHenry counties in Illinois. Heavy, wet snow is possible and hazardous driving conditions likely.Latest warnings and watches from the National Weather Service.Tom Skilling reports a generous flow of moisture into the Thursday night/Friday system suggests the potential for sticking snow is real. While hardly a super storm, the combination of wind and snow in a winter with limited city snowfall could make for a messy situation later this week—one worthy of watching. A second snow system is possible for Sunday and Sunday night. Full forecast details at the WGN Weather CenterThese may not be the last wintry systems we see. The pattern remains an active one through next week with a succession of weather systems indicated by modeling as likely to cross the Midwest.

Over 280 sickened on Princess cruise ship; company points to 'likely' cause

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:31:52 GMT

GALVESTON, Texas (KIAH) – A cruise ship that recently returned to Galveston, Texas, is at the center of an investigation after over 280 people were sickened on a recent voyage, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.The Ruby Princess, part of the Princess Cruises lines, reported that 284 people, including 34 crew members, had become ill on a round-trip voyage to the Caribbean and Mexico that departed from Galveston on Feb. 26, according to the CDC. There were a total of 2,881 people onboard the ship, including 1,159 crew members.The affected passengers and crew had symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, but the cause has yet to be identified, the CDC said.Princess Cruises, in an emailed statement shared with Nexstar, believes the "likely" culprit was norovirus, a type of contagious virus that can cause acute gastroenteritis. Norovirus outbreaks: Where are you most at-risk? "At the first sign of an increase in the numbers of passengers reporting to the medical center with ...

Man killed after fiery two-vehicle crash on West Side

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:31:52 GMT

CHICAGO —  Police are investigating what caused a deadly two-vehicle crash on the city's West Side.The crash happened around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 1000 block of North Cicero. Police said a white Chevy Traverse speeding northbound on Cicero struck an Acura MDX in the rear near Cortez, causing it to catch fire.The male driver of the Acura was pronounced dead on the scene. The male driver of the Chevy was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition and will be issued traffic citations, according to police.An investigation is underway.

Survivors of deadly Mexico abduction returned to US

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:31:52 GMT

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — A road trip to Mexico for cosmetic surgery veered violently off course when four Americans were caught in a drug cartel shootout, leaving two dead and two held captive for days in a remote region of the Gulf coast before they were rescued from a wood shack, officials said Tuesday.Their minivan crashed and was fired on shortly after they crossed into the border city of Matamoros on Friday as drug cartel factions tore through the streets, the region’s governor said. A stray bullet also killed a Mexican woman about a block and a half away.The four Americans were hauled off in a pickup truck, and Mexican authorities frantically searched as the cartel moved them around — even taking them to a medical clinic — “to create confusion and avoid efforts to rescue them,” Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal said.They were found Tuesday in a wooden shack, guarded by a man who was arrested, in a rural area east of Matamoros called Ejido Tecolote on...

Girl Scout cookie shortage sparks resale market

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:31:52 GMT

(NewsNation) — Those who look forward to Girl Scout cookie season each year may be facing disappointment, as supply chain disruptions lead to a shortage of cookies and black market prices.Raspberry Rallies, a new flavor introduced this year that is a "sister cookie" to the popular Thin Mint, sold out within days in some parts of the country. The limited edition cookie was only available online and typically sold for $4-$7 per box , but is now being listed on sites like EBay for astronomical prices. Boxes of cookies are being listed online for upward of $20 a box, including a listing for 12 boxes being sold for $499.But it's not just the limited edition flavor that's out of stock. Former ‘Boy Meets World’ star running for Congress Girl Scouts of the USA announced in December that customers ordering online could face shortages due to supply chain issues affecting Little Brownie Bakers, one of two bakeries that produces the iconic cookies.While the Girl Scouts said bulk orders for in...

Memorial services begin Wednesday for fallen Chicago officer

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:31:52 GMT

CHICAGO —  Memorial services begin Wednesday for Chicago police Officer Andrés Vásquez Lasso. Visitation is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn, located at 4727 West 103rd Street.A funeral mass for the fallen officer will be held Thursday at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel, 7740 South Western Avenue, at 10 a.m.32-year-old Andres Vasquez-Lasso, courtesy CPD No bond for man accused of killing Chicago police Officer Andrés Vásquez Lasso Vasquez-Lasso was killed in the line of duty last week while responding to a domestic disturbance on Chicago's South Side.

Founder of Chicago beef shop that inspired 'The Bear' dies

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 22:31:52 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The founder of the Chicago Italian beef shop that inspired FX’s "The Bear," Joseph Zucchero, has died at 69, his son said.Mr. Beef, the no-frills sandwich joint in Chicago's River North, has been a neighborhood staple for decades. But it became a national sensation after it was portrayed by the gritty, fast-paced show released in June 2022.Zucchero died unexpectedly on March 1 at Rush Medical Center while undergoing treatment for cancer, said his son, Christopher Zucchero, who is a co-owner of the restaurant. “He was supposed to come home,” he said.Zucchero said the family is waiting to learn exact cause of his father's death.“He was a magnificent human being. He was charismatic. He loved his restaurant. .. He loved his family, his children,” Zucchero said. 2 Americans dead, 2 rescued after violent Mexico kidnapping Nothing will be the same at Mr. Beef without his father, Zucchero said.“There's going to be a huge ... void here,” he said. “I'm in shock... w...