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The Empire State rings in the new year with a pay bump for minimum-wage workers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:49 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s minimum-wage workers had more than just the new year to celebrate Monday, with a pay bump kicking in as the clock ticked over to 2024.In the first of a series of annual increases slated for the Empire State, the minimum wage increased to $16 in New York City and some of its suburbs, up from $15. In the rest of the state, the new minimum wage is $15, up from $14.20.The state’s minimum wage is expected to increase every year until it reaches $17 in New York City and its suburbs, and $16 in the rest of the state by 2026. Future hikes will be tied to the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, a measurement of inflation. New York is one of 22 states getting minimum wage rises in the new year, according to a recent report by the Economic Policy Institute. In California, the minimum wage increased to $16, up from $15.50, while in Connecticut it increased to $15.69 from the previous rate of $15. This most recent pay bump ...

China’s manufacturing activity slows in December in latest sign the economy is still struggling

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:49 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A survey of factory managers in China shows that manufacturing contracted in December in the latest sign the world’s No. 2 economy remains sluggish. The official purchasing managers index, or PMI, fell to 49 last month in what officials said was evidence of weak demand, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Sunday. It was the third straight month of contraction. The PMI is on a scale up to 100 where 50 marks the cutoff between expansion and contraction. The index has fallen in eight of the past nine months, with an increase only in September. In November, the index was at 49.4, down from 49.5 the month before. Despite unexpectedly prolonged weakness after the pandemic, China’s economy grew at a 5.2% pace in the first three quarters of the year and showed signs of improvement in November, with factory output and retail sales rising.In recent months, the government has raised spending on construction of ports and other infrastructure, cut interest rates and ease...

AP PHOTOS: Dancing with the bears lives on as a unique custom in Romania

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:49 GMT

COMANESTI, Romania (AP) — A small industrial town in northeast Romania may seem like an unlikely tourist destination, but Comanesti is where huge numbers of visitors from as far away as Japan choose to spend part of the winter holiday season. They converge here to see an annual event that grew out of a millennia-old tradition in the Moldavia region: Bearskin-clad people of all ages, organized in packs, marching and dancing to the deafening sound of drums in several rows of gaping jaws and claws. The Dancing Bears Festival, as the custom has become known, starts in the days before Christmas and ends with a spectacular finale in Comanesti on Dec. 30. Some of the “bears” jokingly growl or mock an attack on spectators.The bearskins the dancers wear, which can weigh as much as 50 kilograms (110 pounds), are passed on from generation to generation. The packs carefully guard the methods they use to keep the furs in good condition and ready to wear the next year. One of the more established...

Goodbye to a cloudy, mild December; January 2024 opens with above-normal temperatures

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:49 GMT

December didn't feel like the first month of meteorological winter, with temperatures that were more than eight degrees warmer than average and meager snowfall.  Sunday's 0.9" of snowfall was the biggest of December and just the second measurable snowfall of the month.  The 1.2" of snow measured at O'Hare in December is still less than what fell at Chicago's official reporting station in November and for the season the city is well below average.   WGN Weekly Climate Report: Today we're saying goodbye to what's been a really cloudy, mild and nearly snow-free December. As of this morning, we were tied for 3rd place for least snowy December on record. It wouldn't take all that much today to knock us out of the top 5 least snowy. It was our second warmest Christmas on records that go back to the 1870s and it was our warmest ever Christmas morning of 50 degrees. December was quite cloudy—only about 30% of possible sun for the month. December is typically our cloudiest month of...

63-year-old woman shot, killed by police in L.A. County

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:49 GMT

WARNING: Graphic language and imagesPolice shot and killed a 63-year-old woman who allegedly broke into her sister’s home armed with a handgun and set the residence on fire earlier this month, authorities announced.  Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to the Dec. 1 incident in the 9600 block of Laramie Avenue in Chatsworth just before 2 p.m., according to a LAPD news release.  When the suspect, later identified as Newbury Park resident Lisa Davis, broke into the home, her sister locked herself in the bathroom and called 911.  When police arrived at the location, body-worn camera footage clearly shows flames and smoke coming from the home.  Officers were able to rescue the victim after she escaped the home and got into a neighbor’s backyard. She informed police that Davis was armed and that she had last seen her in the backyard of her home.  “The sergeant and officers entered the backyard of the residence as the fire was actively burning and announced thei...

Steam KRON4's New Year's Live

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:49 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Ring in 2024 with the Bay Area’s only live and local New Year’s Countdown Show. KRON4’s New Year’s Live starts Sunday at 11:30 p.m. on KRON4 and streaming on KRON4.com. This year’s show features the stunning fireworks over the San Francisco Bay and performances from ‘Dear San Francisco’ at Club Fugazi and magician Andrew Evans from The Magic Patio. There is also a special musical performance from 98 Degrees. We have special guests to count you down to the new year. (Hint: They are two players from your San Francisco 49ers). Watch on KRON4 or kron4.com or stream on the KRON app.

Countdown begins on PSG star Kylian Mbappé’s future. Real Madrid and Liverpool possible destinations

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:49 GMT

PARIS (AP) — As the New Year begins, so does the countdown on Kylian Mbappé’s future.It promises to be a nervous start to 2024 for Paris Saint-Germain and its fans with speculation set to intensify about their prolific striker, one of only two players in soccer history to score a hat trick in a World Cup final.Mbappé began this season in a transfer standoff with his club after not taking up the option of a 12-month extension into 2025. It means that, starting Jan. 1, he can openly talk to other clubs or even sign a pre-contract agreement with long-time suitor Real Madrid or Premier League leader Liverpool.Mbappé can do so because his contract runs out in June, when he can leave the defending French champion for free, having joined from Monaco —- initially on loan in 2017 — for 180 million euros (now $199 million).The France star is PSG’s all-time leading scorer with 233 goals despite only recently turning 25, and has already netted some 46 goals for Les Bleus.But it has ...

DC area officers finish New Year weekend with increased police presence, traffic snares

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:49 GMT

A photo of an overturned Prince George's County, Maryland, police cruiser at the corner of Florida Avenue and Georgia Avenue in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 31, 2023. (Courtesy, Josh Chretien via Twitter) A photo of an overturned Prince George's County, Maryland, police cruiser at the corner of Florida Avenue and Georgia Avenue in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 31, 2023. (Courtesy, Josh Chretien via Twitter) Maryland, Virginia and District police agencies have spent New Year’s Eve — a night of drinks and celebration — responding to several incidents across the region.WTOP’s Traffic Center and producer’s desk reached out to several agencies about their plans to increase patrols over the holiday weekend, and...

Nichushkin’s late goal lifts Avalanche over slumping Sharks, 3-1

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:49 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Valeri Nichushkin scored a tiebreaking goal late in the third period and the Colorado Avalanche beat the slumping San Jose Sharks 3-1 on Sunday night.Nichushkin also had an assist, Mikko Rantanen scored and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists for Colorado.The game appeared headed to overtime when the Avalanche got a delayed penalty. With an extra attacker on, Jack Johnson fed Nichushkin for a one-timer at 16:31 of the third. It was his 17th goal of the season.“We had so many good chances, but sometimes when you can’t score you start getting nervous,” Nichushkin said. “We get a good chance and we score.”Josh Manson added an empty-net goal at 18:53.MacKinnon extended his home point streak to 19 games, the longest to start a season in franchise history. He matched his longest home point streak, set from Jan. 2 to March 24, and is four games shy of tying Joe Sakic for the club record.Alexandar Georgiev faced just 11 shots in his 19th win while Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen...

Today in History: Jan. 1, Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 08:00:49 GMT

Today in History Today is Monday, Jan. 1, the first day of 2024. There are 365 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that slaves in rebel states shall be “forever free.” On this date: In 1892, the Ellis Island Immigrant Station in New York formally opened. In 1942, the Rose Bowl was played in Durham, North Carolina, instead of Pasadena, California because of security concerns in the wake of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor; in it, Oregon State defeated Duke, 20-16.In 1953, Hank Williams Sr., among the most important singers and songwriters in country music history, was discovered dead at age 29 in the back seat of his car during a stop in Oak Hill, West Virginia, while he was being driven to a concert date in Canton, Ohio. In 1954, NBC broadcast the first coast-to-coast color TV program as it presented live coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. In 195...