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GTA Metro workers vote in favour of strike ahead of contract negotiations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:12 GMT

TORONTO — Unifor says Metro grocery workers in the Greater Toronto Area voted 100 per cent in favour of striking ahead of their first contract negotiations since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.Unifor Local 414 represents 3,700 workers across 27 Metro stores and is expected to begin negotiations with the grocer on June 26. The union says the vote shows workers are united and determined to arrive at a collective agreement that addresses key issues faced by them and by Metro customers. The union’s national president Lana Payne says in a press release that Metro needs to address low wages, which have been further reduced by inflation. Unifor Local 414 president Gord Currie says in the press release that workers have three key priorities: fair pay for all workers, greater access to better benefits, and more secure work hours and full-time jobs. The union says Metro workers are committed to bargaining a fair collective agreement that reflects their contributions to the grocer̵...

Former Oklahoma and Major League pitcher George Frazier dies at age 68

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:12 GMT

Oklahoma has announced that former pitcher George Frazier, a World Series champion who had a nearly three-decade run as a television broadcaster, has died at age 68.The Denver Post reported he died Monday in Tulsa after a recent illness.In two seasons at Oklahoma, he played on College World Series teams in 1975 and 1976 and posted a 12-4 career record with eight saves and a 2.62 earned run average.Frazier played parts of 10 Major League Baseball seasons with five clubs. He appeared in the 1981 World Series with the New York Yankees and helped the Chicago Cubs win their first division title in 1984 before becoming a world champion with the Minnesota Twins in 1987. He pitched two scoreless innings for the Twins during Game 4 of that World Series against St. Louis. He posted a career 4.20 ERA with 35 wins and 29 saves in 415 Major League appearances.After that, he spent 18 years as a television broadcaster with the Colorado Rockies.He returned to Oklahoma in 2015 as a color analyst on ...

Boy dies in hospital days after being struck by vehicle in Brampton

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:12 GMT

A boy that was struck by a vehicle while he rode a scooter in Brampton last week has died in the hospital, police confirmed on Tuesday.Peel Regional Police were called to the Sugarhill Drive and Orangegrove Drive area around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14, for reports of a pedestrian hit by a vehicle.Paramedics told CityNews the boy, between the ages of 12 and 15, was riding a scooter when he was struck and seriously injured. The youth was rushed to a trauma centre.The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene.Peel Regional Police confirmed the boy died from his injuries. A family friend who shared an update on social media said the young teen passed away Monday morning.A police spokesperson said the family would like their privacy respected and do not wish to speak with the media at this time.

Canadian Swifties who hoped for local shows left wanting as Taylor Swift skips Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:12 GMT

TORONTO — Taylor Swift is giving Canadian fans the cold shoulder.While many Swifties expected the “Anti-Hero” singer-songwriter might add local tour stops to her growing schedule, they were disappointed on Tuesday when a wave of nearly 40 new dates left out Canada.Swift announced her Eras Tour — which began in March with dates across the United States — is heading overseas in 2024 with four nights at Japan’s Tokyo Dome, and two in London’s Wembley Stadium.Some of the other countries added to the calendar include France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Poland, Portugal, and Singapore.Swift’s tour will wind through Mexico, Argentina and Brazil later this year.A representative for Universal Music Canada, which distributes her music domestically, did not respond to requests for comment.Swift last played Canada when her Reputation Stadium Tour rolled through Toronto in 2018. One of the nights included a surprise appearance by Bryan Adams who sang hi...

Sweltering heat tests Texas’ power grid and patience as thousands in South still without electricity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:12 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ power grid operator asked residents Tuesday to voluntarily cut back on electricity due to anticipated record demand on the system as a heat wave kept large swaths of the state and southern U.S. in triple-digit temperatures. On the last day of spring, the sweltering heat felt more like the middle of summer across the South, where patience was growing thin over outages that have persisted since weekend storms and tornadoes caused widespread damage.In the Mississippi capital, some residents said Tuesday that they had been without power and air conditioning for almost 100 hours, which is longer than the outages caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Entergy Mississippi, the state’s largest electric utility, said its crews had worked 16-hour shifts since Friday, but some officials expressed doubts about its preparedness.High temperatures in the state were expected to reach 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday. “The delay in restoring power has caused...

CSIS warned B.C. Sikh temple leader of assassination threat before killing: lawyer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:12 GMT

A close associate of Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar says his friend was warned by Canadian intelligence officials about being targeted for assassination by “mercenaries” before Nijjar was gunned down in Surrey, B.C., on Sunday. New York-based lawyer Gurpatwant Singh Pannun says in a statement he spoke with Nijjar by phone the day before he was killed outside the Guru Nanak Sikh gurdwara where he served as president. Pannun says Nijjar spoke about an unofficial Khalistan referendum vote seeking a separate Sikh state they had been organizing, and threats to their safety related to a reward being offered by the Indian government for Nijjar’s apprehension. He says Nijjar told him that “gangsters” said they were both on a hit list, and that Nijjar received a call days later from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warning that his life was in danger. Pannun, who is general counsel to the advocacy group Sikhs For Justice, says he has no dou...

What we know so far on the Willowbrook Juneteenth mass shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:12 GMT

WILLOWBROOK, Ill. — One man is dead and at least 22 others were injured after a shooting erupted at a Juneteenth celebration being held at an unincorporated Willowbrook Strip Mall early Sunday morning.Here is what we know so far:Man fatally shot identifiedAccording to the DuPage County Coroner's Office, 31-year-old Reginald Meadows was identified Monday morning as the man who was fatally shot during the Willowbrook Juneteenth Mass Shooting.Reginald 'Reggie' Meadows, man fatally shot in Willowbrook Juneteenth Mass Shooting.Meadows leaves behind two children. A family friend set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his funeral costs and provide a financial safety net for his children. Community comes together to support children of man killed in Willowbrook Juneteenth mass shooting Victim speaks from hospital bedFor 23-year-old Mariah Dixon, a fun time with friends Saturday night, turned into terror Sunday morning."All of a sudden, we heard shots and that's when everyone began scatter...

Progress in Stephen Smith homicide investigation: Attorney

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:12 GMT

(NewsNation) — "Substantial" progress is being made in the homicide investigation of Stephen Smith, according to attorney Eric Bland.Smith’s death was ruled a hit-and-run after his body was found in the middle of a road in 2015, but the case is now being reinvestigated. The investigation into Smith’s death was reopened in 2021, and it was ruled a homicide in March 2023. Investigators did not reveal the news about reopening Smith's case until after the conclusion of disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial. There is no known evidence linking any Murdaugh family members to Smith’s death.Eric Bland, the attorney for the family of Smith, also said that officials hint that grand jury is empaneled. ‘We got results’ from Stephen Smith’s autopsy, cousin says "I think the fact that they've convened the grand jury is very promising," said criminal defense attorney Ken Belkin, who discussed the case Tuesday on NewsNation's "Banfield." "It means that someone in the prosecutor's of...

Walmart clamps down on tuna supply chain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:12 GMT

(WKBN) -- Walmart has announced that it is tightening standards on its tuna supply chain. Walmart and Sam's Club last week announced stronger standards aimed at addressing issues that threaten the ocean ecosystem, such as illegal fishing and abandoned fishing equipment. Citing the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Walmart stated that "because of systemic issues like illegal and destructive fishing, over one-third of the world’s fisheries are now operating at unsustainable levels."Saying they are seeking to improve transparency and data gathering, the retailers want tuna suppliers to only use as sources vessels that have 100% monitoring as well as fisheries using "zero high seas transshipment." Transshipment is the transfer of fish or fish products from one vessel to another at sea or in port. High seas transshipment is one of the main ways that illegally caught fish gets to market. Why do so many Walmart products contain traces of fish? Viral TikTok alarms ...

Tom Cruise discusses the latest 'Mission: Impossible' film at its Rome premiere

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:12 GMT

ROME — It was a big moment for one of the world's most popular actors on Tuesday in Italy as his latest in a series of action films was seen by an audience for the first time. Golden Globe and Academy Award-nominated actor Tom Cruise was at the Rome premiere of "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning" on June 19, close to where some of the scenes from the movie were filmed. It's the seventh in the "Mission: Impossible" film series, all of which have featured cruise, and is the first in the two-part "Dead Reckoning" series. It's set to be released in theatres worldwide on July 12 with Part 2 set to premiere on June 28, 2024. On the red carpet, Cruise talked about the making of the film that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and what specifically stands out to him about this latest project.Dean Richards has more on what the actor talked about in Rome this week at the premiere of "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part 1" on the WGN Morning News on June 20 in the video above or b...