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Autoworkers strike would test Biden’s ‘most pro-union president in US history’ assertion

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The prospect of an auto workers strike could test Joe Biden ‘s treasured assertion that he’s the most pro-union president in U.S. history. The United Auto Workers is threatening to strike against the nation’s big three automakers, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, if tentative contact agreements aren’t reached by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. That could reshape the political landscape in the battleground state of Michigan and potentially unleash economic shockwaves nationwide. The auto industry accounts for about 3% of the nation’s gross domestic product and as many as 146,000 workers may walk off their jobs. While the effects would be most immediate in Michigan and other states with high concentrations of auto jobs, such as Ohio and Indiana, a prolonged strike could trigger car shortages and layoffs in auto-supply industries and other sectors. “Anything that goes beyond a week, you’re going to start feeling the pain,” said Marick Mas...

2023 Venice Film Festival: Five EU-supported works won six awards

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

The winners of the 80th Venice International Film Festival were announced during the Award Ceremony held on 9 September 2023 - among them are five EU-funded projects: in the official competition, Matteo Garrone took home the Silver Lion award for Best Director for the film Io Capitano, while Seydou Sarr won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actorfor the same title. The Orizzonti competition awarded Mika Gustafson as Best Director for Paradiset Brinner (Paradise is Burning) and Tergel Bold-Erdene as Best Actorin the film Ser Ser Salhi (City of Wind) by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir.EU-funded nominations in the Venice Immersive and Giornate degli Autori categories also won awards – the Venice Immersive Achievement Prize and the Europa Cinema Labels Award – for Empereur by Marion Burger and Ilan Cohen, and Photophobia by Ivan Ostrochovský and Pavol Pekarčík respectively.Overall, out of 11 EU-supported works at this year's Venice Film Festival, five titles won a total of six awar...

Two-bedroom home sells in Alameda for $1.5 million

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

609 Sand Hook isle. – Google Street ViewA 1,485-square-foot house built in 1965 has changed hands. The property located in the 600 block of Sand Hook isle. in Alameda was sold on Aug. 1, 2023, for $1,505,000, or $1,013 per square foot. The layout of this single-story home includes two bedrooms and two baths. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. Additionally, the house includes a garage.These nearby houses have also recently been sold:On Tarryton isle., Alameda, in April 2023, a 2,441-square-foot home was sold for $1,650,000, a price per square foot of $676. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 1,901-square-foot home on the 1200 block of Saint Charles Street in Alameda sold in April 2023, for $1,950,000, a price per square foot of $1,026. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In May 2023, a 2,580-square-foot home on Clinton Avenue in Alameda sold for $2,200,000, a price per square foot of $853. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

Kim Jong Un offers Vladimir Putin and Russia North Korea’s full support, refers to Moscow’s ‘sacred fight.’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Kim Jong Un offers Vladimir Putin and Russia North Korea’s full support, refers to Moscow’s ‘sacred fight.’Source

Freddie Freeman homers and gets 4 hits on his birthday, leading Dodgers past Padres 11-2

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Freddie Freeman’s locker was flanked by 8-foot-high pillars of blue balloons. A hefty box of cookies and a birthday cake sat nearby, gifts from the Dodgers’ kitchen staff for the slugger with a sweet tooth.“I’m a big snickerdoodle guy,” the seven-time All-Star said with a grin.From the clubhouse gifts to the crowd’s songs and dances, Freeman got plenty of love at Dodger Stadium on his 34th birthday. He reciprocated with a prolific performance in another win.Freeman homered, doubled and had four hits, Will Smith hit a three-run homer and Los Angeles trimmed its magic number for clinching the NL West to five with an 11-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night.Freeman was outstanding on his jersey giveaway night at Dodger Stadium, scoring a season-high four runs in front of thousands wearing his white No. 5 shirt — including 30 friends and family members. The crowd sang “Happy Birthday to You” in the second inning, and fans got up ...

Putin and Kim Jong Un begin talks as Russia seeks weapons

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was welcomed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning, with the two leaders set to discuss the supply of ammunition for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and the provision of satellite technology to Pyongyang. “Our friendship has deep roots, and now our country’s first priority is relations with the Russian Federation,” Kim told reporters at the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia’s east, where he arrived after a lengthy trip on his armored train for his first trip to Russia since 2019, according to Russian state-owned newswire Ria Novosti.“Russia has now risen to defend its state sovereignty and defend its security to counter the hegemonic forces that oppose Russia,” the North Korean dictator added, echoing the Kremlin’s propaganda used to justify its aggression in Ukraine. Kim’s visit comes as Russia is seeking to buy artillery ammunition from North Korea for its invasion of Ukraine, where Russia is estimated to ...

Von der Leyen hits China with electric vehicle subsidy probe

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Wednesday she would launch an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, yielding to calls by France to hit back at surging imports.The announcement follows months of pressure from Paris and its proxies in industry and the European Commission to launch a probe into insurgent Chinese e-carmakers that have stolen a march on European manufacturers.“Global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars. And their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies. This is distorting our market,” von der Leyen said in her annual State of the European Union address.“So I can announce today that the Commission is launching an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles coming from China. Europe is open for competition. Not for a race to the bottom.”Such a probe could open the way for Europe to impose additional levies against Chinese vehicles it reckons are ...

North Korea’s Kim vows full support for Russia’s ‘sacred fight’ after viewing launchpads with Putin

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday his country’s “full and unconditional support” for Russia’s “sacred fight” to defend its security interests, in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine, and said Pyongyang will always stand with Moscow on the “anti-imperialist” front.Kim also called North Korea’s relations with Russia “the first priority.” The leaders met at a remote Siberian rocket launch facility for a summit that underscores how their interests are aligning in the face of their countries’ separate, intensifying confrontations with the United States.Putin in his opening remarks welcomed Kim to Russia and said he was glad to see him. Putin listed economic cooperation, humanitarian issues and the “situation in the region” among the agenda items for their talks.The two men began their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, Russia’s most important domestic satellite launch center, with a tour o...

How Kim’s meeting with Putin at Russian spaceport may hint at his space and weapons ambitions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ending a global guessing game on when and where they would meet, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin convened at a rocket launch facility in Siberia on Wednesday in their first summit in four years.The talks between the two isolated, nuclear-armed leaders were expected to focus on expanding military cooperation amid their intensifying confrontations with the West.The decision to meet at Vostochny Cosmodrome, a major satellite launch facility, may communicate what Kim sees as the crucial next steps in his efforts to build a viable nuclear arsenal that could threaten the United States and its allies in Asia.Dangling North Korea’s vast stockpiles of munitions Putin likely covets for his war in Ukraine, Kim in exchange could ask for badly needed economic aid and sophisticated weapons technologies to advance his military nuclear program, experts say.Kim could push for Russian technology transfers on military reconnaissance satell...

A Crimea shipyard is on fire after a Ukrainian attack that damaged 2 ships and injured 24 people

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:37 GMT

A Ukrainian attack on a strategic shipyard in Russia-annexed Crimea wounded 24 people, damaged two ships undergoing repairs and caused a fire at the facility Wednesday, Russian authorities reported. The attack in the port city of Sevastopol, which serves as the main base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, took place as Moscow launched drones against southern Ukraine’s Odesa region. The pre-dawn onslaught there damaged port and civilian infrastructure in the region’s Izmail district – not far from the Crimean city — and wounded seven people, three seriously, Gov. Oleh Kiper said.Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 32 of 44 Shahed-type drones launched over the country overnight, most of them directed toward the southern parts of the Odesa region.The Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in an act that most of the world considered illegal, has been a frequent target since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukr...