CNH Industrial workers on strike since May approve new deal
More than 1,000 CNH Industrial workers who have been on strike since last May have approved a new contract with the maker of tractors, bulldozers, backhoes and other heavy equipment. The United Auto Workers union said workers in Racine, Wisconsin, and Burlington, Iowa, approved the deal Saturday — two weeks after they rejected an earlier agreement. The union didn't disclose any details of what is included in the new contract, and the company didn't immediately respond Sunday to questions about the agreement. This strike was one of the longest in the spate of strikes over the past couple years since the pandemic began. Workers have been increasingly demanding and getting significant raises and better benefits amid the ongoing worker shortages.
Native Hawaiians flock to Las Vegas for affordable living
People are also reading…
KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) — Native Hawaiians who have been priced out of Hawaii are finding more affordable places to live in cities like Las Vegas. According to 2021 U.S. census estimates, the biggest growth of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander populations was in Clark County, Nevada, and Sacramento County, California. The biggest decline was in Honolulu, where the median price for a single-family home is more than $1 million. Hawaii is now the state with the highest cost of living, and many worry about what it means for Hawaii that many Indigenous people can no longer afford to live here.
Gyms that survived pandemic steadily get back in shape
NEW YORK (AP) — After surviving the worst of the pandemic, the nation's gyms and fitness centers have made a comeback, often using tricks learned during the downturn to lure back customers. Owners such as Julie Bokat and Jeanne Carter in Massachusetts say some longtime clients got bored working out in their basements and welcome the sense of community a gym offers. Some gyms still offer outdoor sessions while others are tailoring classes to a new clientele that hadn't been into exercising before the pandemic. While attendance at many locations is still below pre-pandemic levels, most owners are confident they've at least made it through the darkest days.
The AP Interview: Yellen says debt standoff risks ‘calamity’
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says in an Associated Press interview that she expects Congress will ultimately vote to raise America's debt limit. But she says demands by House Republicans for spending cuts in return for backing an increase “a very irresponsible thing to do” and risk creating a “self-imposed calamity” for the global economy. Yellen says she hasn't yet spoken about the issue with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy himself hasn't spelled out the spending cuts that he says are needed to put the U.S. government on a more sustainable financial path. The AP interview was conducted while Yellen was on a trip to Africa.
Big waves to deliver storied Hawaii surf contest The Eddie
HONOLULU (AP) — One of the world’s most prestigious and storied surfing contests is expected to be held Sunday in Hawaii for the first time in seven years. And this year female surfers will be competing alongside the men for the first time in the 39-year history of The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational. The event is a one-day contest held in Waimea Bay on Oahu’s North Shore only when the surf is consistently large enough during the winter big wave surfing season from mid-December through mid-March. Before this year, it’s only been held nine times since the initial competition in 1984. The competition honors legendary Native Hawaiian waterman Eddie Aikau for his selflessness, courage and sacrifice.
Asian shares higher, many markets closed for Lunar New Year
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are higher in Asia, but most markets are closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. The gains for Tokyo and Sydney followed a rally Friday for tech stocks that countered worries about the weakening U.S. economy. The S&P 500 rose 1.9%, but still ended with a weekly loss. The Nasdaq added 2.7% and the Dow rose 1%. Technology and communication services stocks powered a big share of the gains as investors cheered another big quarterly surge in Netflix’s subscribers. Several reports on the U.S. economy came in weaker than expected, as the full weight of the Federal Reserve’s hikes to interest rates last year begins to yield results.
Justice Department investigating Abbott baby formula plant
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the Abbott Laboratories infant formula plant in Michigan that was shut down for months last year due to contamination, the company confirmed. The factory’s closure in February 2022 contributed to a nationwide baby formula shortage that forced parents to seek formula from food banks, friends and doctor’s offices. Production was restarted in June. Abbott spokesperson Scott Stoffel said the Justice Department has informed the company of its investigation. Stoffel said and the company is “cooperating fully.” The investigation was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said the Justice Department’s consumer-protection branch is looking into conduct at the Sturgis, Michigan, plant that led to its shutdown.
White House to McCarthy: No negotiations on debt limit
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Joe Biden “looks forward” to sitting down with new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to discuss a range of topics. That perhaps includes the big challenge of raising the nation’s debt limit. But that statement late Friday came with no actual invitation to the White House. Rather, the White House is emphasizing that Biden isn't willing to entertain policy concessions in exchange for increasing the government's borrowing authority. The U.S. bumped up against that limit Thursday, and the Treasury Department is using what it calls “extraordinary measures” to stave off a potential default for at least a few more months.
Door of No Return: Yellen visits onetime slave-trading post
GOREE ISLAND, Senegal (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has paid a solemn visit to an island off Senegal that is one of the most recognized symbols of the horrors of the Atlantic slave trade that trapped tens of millions of Africans in bondage. Yellen is in Senegal as part of a 10-day trip aimed at rebuilding economic relationships between the U.S. and Africa. On Saturday, she visited the Goree Island building known as the House of Slaves and peered out of the “Door of No Return,” from which enslaved people were shipped across the Atlantic. Yellen says the island and the trans-Atlantic slave trade “are not just a part of African history. They are a part of American history as well.”
Greece expanding border wall, calls for EU help on migration
FERES, Greece (AP) — An official in Greece says the country has prevented around 260,000 migrants from entering illegally in 2022 and arrested 1,500 traffickers. A Greek minister was speaking Saturday to ambassadors from other European Union countries plus Switzerland and the United Kingdom Saturday as he guided them to a still expanding border wall in the country’s northeast. Citizens’ Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos told the envoys that “countries of first reception” such as Greece can't bear by themselves the numbers of migrants. Greece is expanding the existing 27-kilometer (17-mile) steel border wall to eventually cover most of the 192-kilometer (120-mile) land border with Turkey.
