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Boss who dumped 500 pounds of oily pennies on ex-employee’s driveway is ordered to pay additional back wages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:21 GMT

By Rebekah Riess and Ramishah Maruf | CNNNew York — The Georgia autoshop owner who in 2022 paid one of this employees his final wage by dumping 91,500 oil-covered pennies in his driveway has been ordered by a federal judge to pay nearly $40,000 in additional back wages and damages to his employees, court records show.Miles Walker, owner of A OK Walker Autoworks in Peachtree City, Georgia was ordered to pay back wages in the total amount of $19,967.09, plus liquidated damages in the amount of $19,967.09, the consent judgement shows.Last year, the US Department of Labor filed a lawsuit against Walker for violating federal labor law, after he retaliated against a former employee who contacted the agency when he didn’t receive his final paycheck. He eventually paid the ex-employee, named Andreas Flaten, with roughly 90,000 pennies and a note expressing a short expletive.Flaten quit his job at A OK after an argument with his boss and contacted the Labor Department in January 2021 to say ...

What to watch: ‘Virgo’ is another beautifully strange film from Oakland’s Boots Riley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:21 GMT

Leave it to Boots Riley to dream up one of the craziest (and we mean that in a good way) streaming series yet in 2023.The Oakland filmmaker and influential music man delivers another jaw dropper — this time for Prime Video — with “I’m a Virgo.” The biggest release in theaters this week finds Wes Anderson meandering through another visual wonderland, this time set in the ‘50s Southwest (Spain doing a fine job understudying for much of it).The big news for MCU fans is that Disney+’s “Secret Invasion” proves to be a big step forward for the MCU. If you prefer Westerns, well pardner, we’ve got one starring a “Black Panther” series standout.Here’s our roundup.“I’m a Virgo”: It’s always an E-ticket ride whenever Boots Riley cooks up something new, no matter if it’s music, a film or, now, a TV series. The Oakland fount of creativity follows up his wild bit of absurdism — 2018’s “Sorry to Bother You” — with another bold brushstroke of originality that is ...

Bay Area company approved to sell lab-cultivated meat in U.S.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:21 GMT

(KRON) -- A Bay Area company has been approved by the United States Department of Agriculture to sell lab-cultivated chicken in the U.S. UPSIDE, which is headquartered in Berkeley, has been approved to sell its cultivated chicken after completing a pre-market regulatory review process and obtaining a Grant of Inspection from the USDA.The company called the approval "a truly historic moment" in a press release announcing the news. The approval means that UPSIDE can now start commercial production and sales of its cultivated chicken. SF Pride street closures, schedule, parade route "I'm thrilled to share that cultivated meat will now be available for consumers in the U.S.," said Dr. Uma Valeti, CEO and Founder of UPSIDE Foods. "This approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to our table. It's a giant step forward towards a more sustainable future - one that preserves choice and life. We are excited to launch with our signature, whole-textured UPSIDE chicken and can't wait...

SF Pride street closures, schedule, parade route

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:21 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The 2023 San Francisco Pride Parade and Celebration returns to the city this weekend. The annual event will take place June 24 and 25 with this year's theme being "Looking Back and Moving Forward." This year's celebration features musical headliners Hayley Kiyoko and Princess Nokia. Other performers set to appear at the two-day festival which takes place at San Francisco Civic Center include Shaun Ross, Vincint, Drag Story Hour and Kelechi. Recently crowned SF Drag Laureate D'Arcy Drollinger will host. ‘They are doing it wrong’: Ron DeSantis visits SF, slams city in campaign ad SF Pride Parade schedule, routeThe annual Pride Parade will be on Sunday, June 24. The parade begins at 10:30 a.m. and will head down Market Street from the Embarcadero to the Celebration at Civic Center, around 8th. There are over 200 contingents set to participate in the parade and it could go on for over three hours, according to SF Pride.There will also be street closures in effe...

Stock market today: Tech stocks drop and sap more momentum from Wall Street’s rally

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:21 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Tech stocks are falling Wednesday, keeping Wall Street mixed and sapping more momentum from its five-week rally. The S&P 500 was 0.4% lower in afternoon trading. It’s on pace for a third straight pullback after rallying last week to its highest level in more than a year. The Nasdaq composite was particularly weak, falling 1.1% as of 1:38 p.m. Eastern time. Stocks on Wall Street were roughly split between gainers and losers. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 37 points, or 0.1%, at 34,015.Wall Street has been on a tear this year, and the S&P 500 has rallied roughly 14% amid hopes that inflation is coming down quickly enough for the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates soon, which could allow the economy to avoid a recession. Some analysts say stock prices have run too far, too fast while inflation has remained stubbornly high, and that the Fed may keep rates higher for longer.Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that “the process of get...

Fighting resumes after Sudan cease-fire as number of people displaced passes 2.5 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:21 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Clashes resumed between Sudan’s military and a powerful paramilitary force after a three-day cease-fire expired Wednesday morning, a protest group and residents reported.Sudan descended into conflict in mid-April after months of worsening tensions exploded into open fighting between rival generals seeking to control the African nation. The war pits the military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, against the Rapid Support Forces, a militia-turned-paramilitary force commanded by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.The cease-fire, brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia, expired Wednesday at 6 a.m. local time. The truce had brought relative calm to Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, since it took effect, but fierce fighting was reported starting Tuesday night in parts of the city. Residents said the clashes centered around an intelligence headquarters near Khartoum International Airport. There were sporadic clashes elsewhere in the capital, according to three people who ...

Saudi Arabia’s lavish recruitment drive rolls on despite Messi miss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:21 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Missing out on Lionel Messi hasn’t slowed Saudi Arabia’s ambitious recruitment drive as the oil-rich kingdom tries to establish itself as a viable destination for the world’s top players.Having already lured two of the sport’s biggest stars in Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, the Saudis amid allegations of sportswashing are targeting a host of other high-profile players from Europe’s best leagues.World Cup and Champions League winner N’Golo Kante became the latest stellar player to head to the lucrative Pro League, signing a three-year contract Wednesday to team up with Benzema at Al-Ittihad.“It is part of the club’s efforts to establish itself as a top choice for world-class players in the Saudi Professional League,” Al-Ittihad said in a statement.Messi opted for Inter Miami, rather than the Middle East, but the Saudis are pressing on. Premier League stars like Hakim Ziyech, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ruben Neves are expected to fol...

2022 finalist Zhang Shuai out in 1st round at Birmingham Classic as seeds tumble

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:21 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — A finalist at the Birmingham Classic last year, Zhang Shuai of China was eliminated in the first round of the grass-court tournament on Wednesday as one of four seeded players to go out.The seventh-seeded Zhang was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by 150th-ranked Emina Bektas of the United States in a little more than an hour in a big surprise at the WTA event.Zhang reached the 2022 final, only to retire because of injury in the first set to hand Beatriz Haddad Maia the title.In second-round play, third-seeded Magda Linette of Poland was beaten 6-3, 6-0 by Zhu Lin of China, fifth-seeded Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine lost 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to Britain’s Harriet Dart, and sixth-seeded Bernarda Pera of the United States was ousted by Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic, 6-1, 7-6 (3).Playing a delayed first-round match, top-seeded Barbora Krejcikova beat Cristina Bucsa 6-3, 6-3.___More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Movie review: Jennifer Lawrence in the raunchy teen comedy ‘No Hard Feelings’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:21 GMT

In a saner world, we would have already had a dozen Jennifer Lawrence comedies.When aliens arrive they will surely go directly to IMDB to survey her filmography and wonder why one of Hollywood’s funniest and most naturally charismatic stars spent the first decade of her career in dystopias, action movies and whatever it is you call “Mother!”As if to make up for lost time, Lawrence has in “No Hard Feelings” made the kind of R-rated teen comedy that has usually launched young actors. She plays a 32-year-old Montauk Uber driver who, desperate for money after her car is towed, is hired by the wealthy parents (Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti) of a timid and sheltered 19-year-old (newcomer Andrew Barth Feldman) to take his virginity before he heads off to Princeton.We’ve, of course, had plenty of movies about teenagers trying to get laid for the first time. But “No Hard Feelings,” directed and co-written by Gene Stupnitsky, may be the first in which the teen in question...

IOC warns Afghanistan about Paris Olympics status over denying sports to women and girls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:21 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The Afghanistan team’s status for the 2024 Paris Olympics was put in question Wednesday by the IOC over growing frustration with the Taliban blocking access to sport for women and girls.The International Olympic Committee said it “continues to be extremely concerned” about the sports situation in Afghanistan despite its repeated calls for action.Noting its “right to take any further measures,” the IOC cautioned that “specific details for the participation of the Afghan (national Olympic committee) delegation and team” for the Paris Games have not yet been decided.The IOC could suspend Afghanistan’s Olympic body for government interference in the independent management of sport, while supporting the country’s athletes to compete in Paris as an independent team under the Olympic flag and anthem. That was how Kuwaitis competed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.The issue was discussed Wednesday at an IOC executive board meeting which also took updates on problems with...