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Biden believes U.S. Steel sale to Japanese company warrants ‘serious scrutiny,’ White House says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:25 GMT

By ZEKE MILLER and FATIMA HUSSEIN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden believes “serious scrutiny” is warranted for the planned acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel, the White House said Thursday after days of silence on a transaction that has drawn alarm from the steelworkers union.Lael Brainard, the director of the National Economic Council, indicated the deal would be reviewed by the secretive Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which includes economic and national security agency representatives to investigate national security risks from foreign investments in American firms.She said in a statement that Biden “believes the purchase of this iconic American-owned company by a foreign entity—even one from a close ally—appears to deserve serious scrutiny in terms of its potential impact on national security and supply chain reliability.” “This looks like the type of transaction t...

Craig Osika steps down as Hobart football coach

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:25 GMT

Hobart High football coach Craig Osika, who led the Brickies to a runner-up finish at the 2020 4A state championship, has resigned to focus on his duties as school co-principal and as a dad.“This is the first year I’ve really felt the strain of doing both,” Osika said Wednesday.His resignation is on Thursday’s school board agenda.“My girls are getting older, they’re 12 and 8 and I’m missing experiences. My parents never missed anything that I wanted to do and I want to do the same for my kids,” he said.His oldest daughter is running cross country and his youngest child is focusing on ballet and tumbling, he said. Both kids enjoy swimming, too.In six years as head coach, Osika posted a 52-20 record. His 2020 team lost to Roncalli in the state championship game, 49-7.A 1998 Hobart graduate and former NFL lineman, Osika played for the Brickies before leaving for Division 1 college ball at Indiana University.“I’ve either been a...

Ticker: Apple loses latest bid to avert patent dispute; Wall Street bounces back

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:25 GMT

Apple on Thursday stopped online sales of two popular models of its internet-connected watch in the U.S. after losing its latest attempt to untangle a patent dispute.Both the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 became unavailable to order online beginning at 3 p.m. ET, as the company followed through on its plan to suspend sales of them because of a legal battle over an intellectual property claim filed by medical technology company Masimo.The International Trade Commission rejected Apple’s bid to get around a late October order blocking the company from using some of technology underlying the Blood Oxygen measurement feature on the Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches.Wall Street bounces backWall Street rebounded Thursday to claw back most of its sharp drop from the prior day, which was its first big step backward since a rally began in late October.The S&P 500 climbed 1% and is back within 1% of its all-time high, a day after its worst tumble in nearly three months. The Dow Jones I...

Fire erupts at San Ysidro trailer park, destroying home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A fire erupted at a trailer park in San Ysidro Thursday morning, San Diego police confirmed to FOX 5.The fire was reported around 6:20 a.m. in Mobile Village Park at 181 Willow Road. According to San Diego Fire-Rescue, the first units arrived at 6:28 a.m. A total of 29 personnel responded to the fire, including two trucks and four engines.Upon arrival, crews discovered one trailer in the park that was fully engulfed in flames. SkyFOX, who was over the fire around 6:45 a.m., caught a large plume of smoke coming from the fire that can be seen from the Interstate 5.A woman who lived in the trailer was inside when the fire broke out, but she was able to make it out safely. No injuries to residents or crews have been reported as of 7:30 a.m. Evacuations for the surrounding area were briefly called as SDFD worked to contain the flames.The home where the flames originated was fully destroyed and a neighboring trailer sustained moderate damage. About five to six people living in...

Judge suggests change to nitrogen execution to let inmate pray and say final words without gas mask

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:25 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge who is weighing whether to allow the nation’s first execution by nitrogen hypoxia to go forward next month, urged Alabama on Thursday to change procedures so the inmate can pray and say his final words before the gas mask is placed on his face.U.S. District Judge R. Austin Huffaker made the suggestion in a court order setting a Dec. 29 deadline to submit information before he rules on the inmate’s request to block the execution. The judge made similar comments the day prior at the conclusion of a court hearing.Alabama is scheduled to execute Kenneth Eugene Smith on Jan. 25 in what would be the nation’s first execution using nitrogen gas. Nitrogen hypoxia is authorized as an execution method in Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma but has never been used to put an inmate to death.The proposed execution method would use a gas mask, placed over Smith’s nose and mouth, to replace breathable air with nitrogen, causing Smith to die from lack of oxygen....

Eby to target predators after talking to dad of sextortion victim Carson Cleland, 12

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:25 GMT

VICTORIA — Premier David Eby says an emotional conversation with the father of a 12-year-old British Columbia boy who killed himself after falling prey to online sextortion has prompted him to push for more protections for youth.Eby says the New Democrat government plans changes in the new year honouring the memory of Carson Cleland of Prince George, who police said died in October after being victimized online.The premier says he spoke with Carson’s father who told him that since their son’s death, the family has been contacted by the families of three of his classmates, who said their children were also talking online with strangers.Eby says people from across B.C. have been contacting his office saying their children were in situations similar to Carson’s and they only found out due to publicity surrounding the boy’s death.He says Carson’s family are facing devastating loss this holiday season but demonstrated remarkable courage by going public with ...

Dispute over criminal jurisdiction flares in Oklahoma between tribal police, jailers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:25 GMT

OKMULGEE, Okla. (AP) — A dispute erupted this week between police officers from the Muscogee Nation and jailers in a small eastern Oklahoma county that led to one jailer facing a battery charge in tribal court.The confrontation underscores the tension between tribal authorities and some state and county officials over the limits of tribal sovereignty. Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt has been a frequent critic of expanded tribal sovereignty and of the landmark 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision that determined state prosecutors lack criminal jurisdiction over certain crimes committed in Indian Country.The latest altercation began Monday when tribal police attempted to deliver a man arrested for suspected fentanyl possession to the Okmulgee County jail. Jailers refused to accept the prisoner, and a scuffle broke out between a jailer and a tribal officer. The jailer was charged Wednesday in tribal court with battery, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Okmulgee County jail officials did...

Cardinal Capital Management joins calls for Chamandy to return as Gildan CEO

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:25 GMT

WINNIPEG — Another shareholder of Gildan Activewear Inc. has joined calls for the company to reinstate Glenn Chamandy as CEO. In a letter to the apparel company’s board, Cardinal Capital Management says it was shocked when the board decided to terminate Chamandy earlier this month. Chamandy was terminated without cause after four decades with the company he co-founded. Cardinal, which joins several other firms in its call for Chamandy’s return, says it’s concerned about the credibility of the board’s narrative. Gildan didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but earlier this week said its plan to replace Chamandy was a careful and deliberate process. Cardinal’s letter states that 35 per cent of company shareholders have publicly stated they want Chamandy back, while only six per cent support the board’s decision.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GIL)The Canadian Press

Man who led police on crash-filled escape run in stolen U-Haul now facing dozens of charges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:25 GMT

A Toronto man is facing three dozen charges after leading police on a crash-filled escape run in a stolen U-Haul truck through the east end of the GTA on Wednesday.Toronto police say they were in the area of Danforth and Wolfe Avenues searching for 47-year-old Jim Dimce Kaluzovski, one of four suspects wanted in a Dec. 8 brazen daytime robbery at a Scarborough electronics store in which an off-duty police officer was stabbed.Investigators say they saw Kaluzovski driving the stolen cube van and attempted to stop the vehicle. Kaluzovski refused and “purposely accelerated into two police vehicles,” with one police officer suffering minor injuries in the process. Police say Kaluzovski then struck other vehicles as he fled the scene with another man inside the truck. It was later learned that the second man had been abducted at gunpoint earlier in the day and forced into the vehicle.Police say they continued to follow the stolen truck “at a safe distance” while al...

New York bill could interfere with Chick-fil-A’s long-standing policy to close Sundays

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:25 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require restaurants in state highway system rest areas to operate seven days a week, a measure apparently aimed at interfering with a policy at the fast food chain Chick-fil-A of staying closed on Sundays.The bill, introduced last week, is yet another salvo in a yearslong political battle involving the company, whose late founder Truett Cathy infused its business practices with his conservative Christian values.Loved by many for its chicken sandwiches, but disliked by others over its founder’s opposition to same-sex marriage, Chick-fil-A has always kept its locations closed on Sundays so employees can enjoy time with their families and “worship if they choose,” according to the company’s website.While the bill, if passed, would apply to all restaurants, Chick-fil-A is mentioned by name in some written legislative materials explaining the justification for the proposed law.State Assemblymember Tony Simone,...