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On May Day, workers rally for better labor conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:55:58 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A large number of workers and activists globally marked May Day on Monday with rallies calling for higher salaries, reduced working hours and other better working conditions.May Day, which falls on May 1, is observed in many countries as a day to celebrate workers’ rights with rallies, marches and other events. This year’s events had bigger turnouts than in previous years as COVID-19 restrictions were drastically loosened and opposition centered on how governments’ economic plans will affect workers.In France, unions plan massive demonstrations to protest President Emmanuel Macron’s recent move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Organizers see the pension reform as a threat to hard-fought worker rights and France’s social safety net.The pension bill unleashed France’s biggest protests in years, and the May 1 rallies are expected to be among the largest yet.In South Korea, tens of thousand of people attended various rallies in its biggest...

Name etched in gold, King Charles’ school remembers him

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:55:58 GMT

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III hasn’t even been crowned yet, but his name is already etched on the walls of Hill House School in London. A wooden slab just inside the front door records Nov. 7, 1956, as the day the future king enrolled at Hill House, alongside other notable dates in the school’s 72-year history. There is a photograph of staff welcoming the then Prince Charles on his first day of school, and another of the 7-year-old boy getting into a Ford Zephyr with his bodyguard for the short trip back to Buckingham Palace. To say Hill House is proud of its royal connection as Charles prepares for the coronation ceremony on May 6 would be an understatement.“It’s just so fun to think the king went to our school,” said 11-year-old Lola Stewart. “Like, he’s worn our uniform. He’s probably been in this room. It’s just very exciting knowing that.”Charles, the first U.K. monarch to be educated outside the palace walls, began his school career at Hill House, although he spent less than ...

Paris exhibit celebrates ‘first celebrity’ Sarah Bernhardt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:55:58 GMT

PARIS (AP) — The pioneering French stage star Sarah Bernhardt was one of the world’s most famous women by the time of her death in 1923 — a status she owed not just to acting talent but her modern instinct for self-publicizing and using the press to brand her image.A century later, a French museum opened an exhibit on the eccentric, scandalous and multihyphenate performer known as “La Divine,” whom many consider the world’s first celebrity.At the Petit Palais museum in Paris, the public is now discovering the madcap jigsaw puzzle of Gothic stories, costumes, recordings, films, photos, jewels, sculptures, and personal objects for the first time together–– that made Bernhardt an object of fascination from Berlin to London and New York.“Sarah Bernhardt was more than a famous actress. She was one of the first celebrities. She was a businesswoman, a fashion icon, a sculptor, theater director, a visionary, a courtesan. She pushed gender boundaries. By self-publicizing, she paved the...

Daughter of Buccaneers LB Shaq Barrett drowns in family pool

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:55:58 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The 2-year-old daughter of Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett drowned in a swimming pool at the family’s home on Sunday, police said.Officers, responding to a call that a child had fallen into a pool, were sent to Barrett’s home in the Beach Park neighborhood in south Tampa shortly before 9:30 a.m. The football player’s youngest child, Arrayah, was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead.“The investigation is ongoing,” the police report said. “It is not believed to be suspicious in nature at this time, but a purely accidental and tragic incident.”Barrett, 30, and his wife, Jordanna, have three other children.“Today’s tragic news is heartbreaking for all members of the Buccaneers family. Our thoughts and prayers are with Shaq, Jordanna and the entire Barrett family during this unimaginably difficult time,” the Buccaneers said a statement.“While no words can provide true comfort at a time such as this,” the team added, “we offer our support and lo...

Single family residence in San Jose sells for $1.5 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:55:58 GMT

2721 Ori Avenue – Google Street ViewA 1,704-square-foot house built in 1955 has changed hands. The property located in the 2700 block of Ori Avenue in San Jose was sold on April 12, 2023, for $1,500,000, or $880 per square foot. The property features three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage, and two parking spaces. It sits on a 9,594-square-foot lot, which also has a pool.Additional houses have recently been sold nearby:On South Daniel Way, San Jose, in August 2022, a 1,914-square-foot home was sold for $1,600,000, a price per square foot of $836. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In September 2022, a 1,509-square-foot home on South Baywood Avenue in San Jose sold for $1,560,000, a price per square foot of $1,034. The home has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 1,383-square-foot home on the 400 block of South Monroe Street in San Jose sold in March 2023, for $1,500,000, a price per square foot of $1,085. The home has 3 bedrooms and 1 bathrooms. 

May entertainment guide 2023: Lizzo, Janet Jackson blossom in the DMV

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:55:58 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews May entertainment (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Forget those April showers, it’s time for May flowers with fun events blossoming.There are plenty of exciting happenings around the D.C. area this month.Time for your May entertainment guide:May Entertainment GuideMay 1: Coheed and Cambria at The Fillmore Silver SpringMay 1: The Wallflowers at The BirchmereMay 2-...

Regulators seize First Republic Bank, sell to JPMorgan Chase

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:55:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank and sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase Bank in a bid to head off further banking turmoil in the U.S.San Francisco-based First Republic is the third midsize bank to fail in two months. It has struggled since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank and investors and depositors had grown increasingly worried it might not survive because of its high amount of uninsured deposits and exposure to low interest rate loans. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said early Monday that First Republic Bank’s 84 branches in eight states will reopen Monday as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank.Regulators worked through the weekend to find a way forward before U.S. stock markets opened. Markets in many parts of the world were closed for May 1 holidays Monday. The two markets in Asia that were open, in Tokyo and Sydney, rose.As of April 13, First Republic had approximately $229 billion in to...

Uzbeks approve changes that could extend president till 2040

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:55:58 GMT

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) — Uzbeks gave overwhelming approval in a referendum to constitutional changes that promise human rights reforms but that also would allow the country’s president to stay in office until 2040, the country’s central elections commission said Monday.More than 90% of those who cast ballots Sunday voted for the measure, which was heavily promoted by the government, according to the commission. Nearly 85% of eligible voters took part, it said.The changes include lengthening the presidential term from five to seven years, while retaining the existing two-term limit. Although President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is in his second term, the change in term length would allow him to run twice more after his current tenure ends in 2026.Other changes include abolishing capital punishment and boosting legal protections for citizens, including those accused of crimes.Under Mirziyoyev’s predecessor, Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan was one of the region’s most repressive countries. ...

Virginia Beach struck by tornado, dozens of homes damaged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:55:58 GMT

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va (AP) — The City of Virginia Beach declared a state of emergency after a tornado moved through the area Sunday and damaged dozens of homes, downed trees and caused gas leaks.City officials said it’s unclear how many homes had been damaged but they estimated between 50 and 100, after the tornado touched down just after 6 p.m., WTKR-TV reported. City Manager Patrick Duhaney declared a state of emergency Sunday night.Much of the damage had been reported in the area of River Road and N. Great Neck Road. It also includes Upper Chelsea Reach and Haversham Close.There were no immediate reports of injuries.Virginia Natural Gas responded to several homes with gas leaks and Dominion Energy was reporting just under 1,000 outages early Monday.Great Neck Road will remain closed between Cox High School and the bridge at Adam Keeling Road until further notice to allow for emergency and debris management work to occur, the city said.Crews will be out at 8 a.m. Monday to begin clea...

Russia missile attack on Ukraine injures 25, damages homes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:55:58 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched its second large salvo of missiles at Ukraine in recent days early Monday, damaging buildings and wounding at least 34 people in the eastern city of Pavlohrad but failing to hit Kyiv, officials said. Air raid sirens began blaring across the capital at about 3:45 a.m., followed by the sounds of explosions as missiles were intercepted by Ukrainian defense systems. Eighteen cruise missiles were fired in total from the Murmansk region and the Caspian region, and 15 of them were intercepted, said Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi. The head of Kyiv’s city administration, Serhii Popko, said all missiles fired at the city were shot down, as well as some drones. He didn’t provide further details, but said more information would be available later. The attack follows Friday’s launch of more than 20 cruise missiles and two explosive drones at Ukraine, which was the first to target Kyiv in nearly two months. In tha...