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Olymel reducing hog production in Alberta and Saskatchewan, cutting about 80 jobs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

MONTREAL — Olymel says it is cutting about 80 jobs as it reduces its hog production in Western Canada.The company says it is closing five sow units in Alberta and one sow unit in Saskatchewan in a move that will reduce its western sow herd to 40,000 from 57,000.It says the barns will be wound down over the next several months and remain closed until market conditions improve.The company says the closures will result in a net reduction of about 200,000 market hogs annually to its Red Deer, Alta., slaughter plant from company owned farms. However, it says the impact will not be felt until 2024 at the earliest and will be subject to independent hog supply availability.The company says it will work with the affected staff to fill any vacant positions within its western hog operations or find work outside the company. “Over the past two years it is well documented that Olymel has experienced significant losses in the processing of fresh pork as a result of limited market access glo...

Unions holds rally in Iqaluit as housing authority strike nears 70-day mark

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

IQALUIT, Nunavut — Northern unions are calling on the federal government to stop the use of replacement workers as a strike by unionized staff with the Iqaluit Housing Authority nears the 70-day mark.The Nunavut Employees Union and delegates of the Public Service Alliance of Canada North rallied in support of the 13 striking workers in Iqaluit, where a union convention is being held. They called on federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Reagan, who has promised to introduce legislation barring replacement workers, to intervene as the housing authority has hired them during the labour dispute.The Iqaluit Housing Authority recently issued a new proposal and ended its worker lockout in hopes of ending the dispute.That includes a 7.25 per cent increase over five years and a lump-sum payment of 3.5 per cent on ratification.The union has rejected the offer saying the wages do not keep pace with inflation and the high cost of living in the North, and the proposal includes reductions to mat...

ESSAY: A mega-fan’s appreciation for Tina Turner’s limitless energy and lessons of survival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — When Tina Turner died at age 83, I found myself drifting back to the fourth grade, to the day I truly discovered her voice. I was on Thanksgiving break — bored — when I decided to rummage through my parents’ old cassette tapes in search of entertainment.What I found was astonishing: an album called “Private Dancer.”“I look up to the stars with my perfect memory. I look through it all and my future’s no shock to me.”“Who was this magnificent woman?” I thought as the lyrics of the song “I Might Have Been Queen (Soul Survivor),” flowed through the headphones of my Walkman. “What had she been through?”I quickly consulted an expert on the matter: my mom, who as a teenager in the ’60s, had been listening to Tina since she first made hits with her then-husband Ike. Mom, like Tina, didn’t sugarcoat the superstar’s history: Off-stage, Ike was beating her. It was something she herself — and most others — didn’t know when she and Dad first went to see her ...

9-year-old boy killed in shooting in Matteson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

MATTESON, Ill. — Officials in suburban Matteson are investigating after a 9-year-old boy was killed Thursday. Police said officers responded to a 911 call around 6 p.m. Thursday in the 800 block of Campus Avenue. The caller said her 9-year-old grandson Omuiri Jones-Brown had been shot.First responders arrived on scene and began life-savings measures on the boy. He was taken to the hospital where he died from a gunshot wound to the abdomen, according to police.Police said a 20-year-old was also shot in the incident and suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.Officials say a preliminary investigation suggests the shooting occurred during an altercation between two people at a home.Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Matteson Police at 708-503-3130. No other information has been provided at this time.

Boating safety tips this Memorial Day weekend in Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

CHICAGO — As the holiday weekend approaches and the weather gets warmer, locals are sure to take to the water by boat this summer. But the fun activity is drawing a warning from city officials, however.As National Safe Boating Week leads to the holiday weekend, Illinois Conservation Police are reminding boaters not to operate a boat while under the influence and stressing the importance of life jackets. Chicago’s new leaders’ Memorial Day weekend public safety plan Officials also urge everyone to wear a life jacket, whether on a motorboat, kayak, or paddleboard, adding that the gear saves lives. Last year, more than 50 boating accidents were reported on Illinois waters, resulting in the deaths of six people. Four of them were not wearing life jackets or vests. According to state officials, the accidents involved a reckless motorboat colliding with another boat.Dave Coxhead, a lead captain with Freedom Boat Club, teaches the training course members must take but says even the ...

MedWatch Daily Digest: DEA revokes license of drug distributor — and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

For Friday, May 26, WGN’s Medical Reporter Dina Bair has the latest on new information, including the following: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch DEA revokes license of drug distributorOne of the country's largest pharmaceutical distributors has been stripped of its license to sell addictive painkillers. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration determined that Morris & Dickson Company failed to flag thousands of suspicious orders at the height of the opioid crisis. The DEA claims the company failed to accept responsibility for shipping 12,000 unusually large orders of opioids to pharmacies and hospitals between 2014 and 2018. During that time, it's alleged the company filed just three suspicious order reports. The DEA's order threatens to put the Louisiana-based distributor out of business. But it takes effect in 90 days, which will allow more time to negotiate a settlement. Young adult colorectal cancer rate rises An increase in colorectal cancer in younger adults is c...

Billionaire surprises UMass Boston grads with $1,000 each 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

(The Hill) -- Billionaire Rob Hale surprised University of Massachusetts Boston graduates with gifts of $1,000 each at the school’s undergraduate commencement ceremony Thursday.  Hale, who was the school’s co-keynote speaker, and his wife announced that they will be giving each of the 2,000 undergraduates in attendance $1,000. Each graduate received two envelopes, one with $500 for themselves and another with $500 to give to an organization, family member or supporter. “These are turbulent times. You guys have survived. You have prospered. You are to be celebrated. You’ve overcome,” Hale said. “It’s not easy. We’re here. And we are proud of you. We want to share in that celebration with you. We want to give you two gifts. The first is a gift to you. The second is the gift of giving.”  Amanda Gorman says her inaugural poem has been banned by Miami-Dade school Hale’s announcement came just before the new graduates were set to walk the stage and was met with loud app...

Texas House committee recommends impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton, sets date to consider

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas House members will consider whether to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday — two days after a Texas House committee voted to adopt articles of impeachment against him.The five-member panel of the House Committee on General Investigating agreed unanimously to move forward with impeaching Paxton on Thursday. Their decision came one day after they heard from a team of lawyers specializing in public corruption lay out extensive details about alleged misconduct by the three-term Republican official. House Resolution 2377 calling for impeachment has been filed and will be called up for consideration Saturday at 1 p.m. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Potential impeachment looms over AG Ken Paxton after investigative hearing The investigators said they began looking into Paxton in March after a proposal emerged to use state funds to pay $3.3 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit filed by four former employees who accused Paxton of wrongdoing. They ultimately said ...

An inside look at APD's downtown patrols

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- It's a Friday night downtown, around 11 p.m., and Officer Gavin Smart's Sixth Street night patrol shift is just getting started."Just trying to organize the chaos," he said, keeping his eyes focused on the crowds walking down the street.Within 10 minutes of us filming, officers arrested a man who allegedly picked a fight at a bar. He appeared inebriated and had a cut near his eye. MAP: Where have Austin’s homicides occurred in 2023? APD officers said, in some cases, they repeatedly arrest the same person on Sixth Street.Last week, when APD presented during the Downtown Austin Alliance's monthly safety update, the department said there hadn't been a shooting on Sixth Street in "months."Austin's Downtown Area Command sees it all."A lot of general assaults, robberies, aggravated assaults, stabbings, firearms - things like that," Smart said.According to a Sixth Street crime report obtained by KXAN, officers responded to 25 violent incidents between Jan. 1 and May 15....

Why Republican-led states keep leaving a group that verifies voter rolls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

Matt Vasilogambros | Stateline.org (TNS)Eight Republican-led states this year left an interstate cooperative that seeks to maintain accurate voter registration rolls, and three more may join them — a move that election security experts say is fueled by conspiracy theories.Earlier this month, Virginia’s top election official said the state would become the latest to stop participating in the Electronic Registration Information Center, commonly called ERIC, because of concerns over privacy and confidentiality of voter information, among a list of other reasons.Other states with Republican-led legislatures may soon leave ERIC, including Alaska, Texas and Wisconsin, where lawmakers may propose or already have introduced legislation to leave the cooperative. Republican lawmakers in North Carolina and Oklahoma have also proposed legislation that would prevent their states from joining ERIC.Election security experts worry the move is part of a larger trend away from nonpartisan elect...