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A Minnesota meat processing plant that is accused of hiring minors agrees to pay $300K in penalties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

MADELIA, Minn. (AP) — A meat processing company in Minnesota on Friday agreed to pay $300,000 in penalties after an investigation found it employed children as young as 13 to work in hazardous conditions, such as operating meat grinders, while they worked overnight shifts and longer hours than allowed by law. Tony Downs Food Company, based in Mankato, also agreed to obey child labor laws and hire a compliance specialist as part of a consent order with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry.“In this case, Tony Downs has agreed to take important steps to prevent child labor violations,” department Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach said in a statement. “All employers should provide training to their employees to help recognize potential child labor violations and take steps to ensure they are not employing children in violation of state and federal laws.”The agency says the meat processing company employed at least eight children ranging from ages 14 to 17 at its plant in Madelia...

Emma Stone-led ‘Poor Things’ wins top prize at 80th Venice Film Festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

ROME (AP) — “Poor Things,” a film about Victorian-era female empowerment, won the Golden Lion on Saturday at a Venice Film Festival largely deprived of Hollywood glamour because of the writers and actors strikes.The film, starring Emma Stone, won the top prize at the 80th edition of the festival, which is often a predictor of Oscar glory. Receiving the award, director Yorgos Lanthimos said the film wouldn’t exist without Stone, who was also a producer but was not on the Lido for the festival.“This film is her, in front and behind the camera,” Lanthimos said.The film, based on Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel of the same name, tells the tale of Bella Baxter, who is brought back to life by a scientist and, after a whirlwind learning curve, runs off with a sleazy lawyer and embarks on a series of adventures devoid of the societal judgements of the era.Other top winners on the Lido were two films shaming Europe for its migration policies.“Io Capitano,” (Me Captain) by Matteo Garrone, won the ...

Kamala Harris says hip-hop is ‘the ultimate American art form’ as she hosts a 50th anniversary party

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday hosted a celebration of hip-hop’s 50th anniversary with appearances by some of the music genre’s pioneers and stars.Common, Jeezy, MC Lyte and Roxanne Shante were among the hip-hop artists invited to join Harris for the party at the vice presidential residence.Hip-hop’s 50th birthday has inspired a host of anniversary events this year. Many trace the genre’s creation to an Aug. 11, 1973, back-to-school party where 18-year-old Clive Campbell, also known as DJ Kool Herc, deejayed at a Bronx apartment building in New York City.Harris said hip-hop is “the ultimate American art form” that “shapes every aspect of America’s popular culture.”“Hip-hop culture is American culture,” she told the crowd.Hip-hop has grown into a global artform, becoming one of the world’s most influential cultural forces, an integral part of social and racial justice movements and a multibillion-dollar industry built on generations...

G20 leaders reach consensus statement a day early, softening stance on Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

NEW DELHI — Global economic leaders have agreed on a final declaration at the G20 summit, but the language surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — which is leading to geopolitical tensions — has softened since the leaders last met. The consensus statement from this year’s G20 summit in India was posted by India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saturday, a day before the summit ends.It calls for the cessation of military destruction or other attacks on relevant infrastructure, as the violence is impacting food and energy security, and affecting supply chains. Gone is language used during last year’s G20 summit in Bali, where leaders directly called out Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and demanded its troops withdraw from the territory. Senior government officials in Canada said it took months to get the wording where it is, but they wouldn’t say what other countries had also pushed for stronger language.China and Russia, whose leaders both skipped t...

Conservatives close convention voting on policy changes, stance on gender issues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

QUEBEC — Conservatives gathered in Quebec City are spending the final day of their convention voting on a series of changes to the party’s policy handbook, including whether to adopt stances on issues around gender identity. More than 200 submissions were made ahead of the three-day convention, which is a chance for members across different riding associations to advance the changes they want to make to the party’s internal policies.  Like leaders before him, Pierre Poilievre has said he is not bound to include the policy ideas of its grassroots into an eventual election platform. However, Poilievre told reporters heading into the convention that he will consider them.An internal voting process staged before the convention whittled the initial 200 submissions for policy changes down to about 60.Delegates gathered behind closed doors on Friday to cut those down to a final 30.Voting on those final submission got underway Saturday, through a process moderated by House Leade...

Steps from TIFF, striking actors, writers rally at Canadian offices for Apple, Amazon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

TORONTO — Film and TV star Patricia Arquette joined dozens of actors and writers who rallied outside the Canadian headquarters of Amazon and Apple to support ongoing labour protests.Members of Canadian and U.S. performers unions gathered just blocks from marquee venues hosting the Toronto International Film Festival to call for job protections and better compensation.Aside from directors and producers, TIFF premieres have been largely devoid of Hollywood A-listers as strike rules prevent unionized actors from promoting projects, although some independent productions have been allowed to court publicity.The Alliance of Canadian Cinema Television Radio Artists (ACTRA), the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America are each embroiled in contract woes.Protesters held picket signs declaring, “Respect the performers,” while SAG’s chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said global support is esse...

Stonehenge II: What's up with this wacky Texas attraction?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

INGRAM, Texas (NEXSTAR) — It's the sequel you didn't know Texas created. The Lone Star State's Hill Country may be a long way away from the mysterious Stonehenge monument in England, central Texas' Stonehenge II site isn't without mysteries of its own.The main mystery: What the heck is Stonehenge II and where did it come from? And what does Easter Island have to do with any of it? Why are Nature Valley granola bars so messy? The attraction, located in Ingram, is owned and maintained by the Hill Country Arts Foundation, which explains that the site was created by retired Dallas hotel owner Al Shepperd and his neighbor Doug Hill over 20 years ago. The idea came to Shepperd after he found a mass of limestone leftover from a patio project near the Guadalup River, Dallas Morning News reported in 2010. It took Shepperd and Hill nine months to build, the foundation says.Stonehenge II was moved from Shepperd's property in Hunt — about 7 miles from Ingram — in 2010, many years after Sheppe...

Powerful earthquake in Morocco kills more than 1,300 people, damages historic buildings in Marrakech

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco, sending people racing from their beds into the streets and toppling buildings in mountainous villages and ancient cities not built to withstand such force. More than 1,300 people were killed, and the toll was expected to rise as rescuers struggled Saturday to reach hard-hit remote areas.The magnitude-6.8 quake, the biggest to hit the North African country in 120 years, sent people fleeing their homes in terror and disbelief late Friday. One man said dishes and wall hangings began raining down, and people were knocked off their feet. The quake brought down walls made from stone and masonry, covering whole communities with rubble.The devastation gripped each town along the High Atlas’ steep and winding switchbacks in similar ways: homes folding in on themselves and mothers and fathers crying as boys and helmet-clad police carried the dead through the streets.Remote villages like those in the drought-stricken Ouargan...

Police locate 72-year-old man missing from Austin neighborhood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

CHICAGO — A man missing from the city's Austin neighborhood has been safely located, according to Chicago police.

$2M in funding coming to Austin-based National Domestic Violence Hotline

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:27 GMT

If you or someone you know needs support, the 24/7 SAFEline is available by phone at 512.267.SAFE (7233), by text at 737-888-7233, or by online chat at safeaustin.org/chat.AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Thursday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced the Austin-based National Domestic Violence Hotline would receive $2 million to expand its crisis intervention services.The funds would help to expand direct services staff, enhance training and data collection, collaborate with field experts and organizations who work with underserved communities, and implement a comprehensive public awareness campaign, according to Cornyn’s office.According to a release, the funding comes from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs and Office for Victims of Crime through Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) assistance funds.“The National Domestic Violence Hotline is a critical service that has helped millions of survivors navigate dangerous situations and take steps toward a sa...