December 20, 2024

Starbucks workers plan strikes; holiday travel ramps up

23 minutes

Workers at Starbucks stores plan to go on a five-day strike starting Friday to protest lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. The strikes are scheduled to start in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle and could spread to hundreds of stores across the country by Christmas Eve.

A debate over the debt ceiling is at the center of a dispute over funding that is pushing the possibility of a federal government shutdown to the brink in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump has proposed that raising the nation’s debt limit be part of ongoing efforts to avert a government shutdown, saying in a statement Wednesday, “Anything else is a betrayal of our country.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The first U.S. diplomats to visit Syria since President Bashar Assad's ouster earlier this month are in Damascus to hold talks with the country's new leadership and seek information on the whereabouts of missing American journalist Austin Tice.

NEW YORK (AP) — The man arrested in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO is being held without bail after a New York federal court appearance on charges including a death-eligible murder count.

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it deported more than 270,000 people over a recent 12-month period, the highest annual tally in a decade. Its report released Thursday illustrates some financial and operational challenges that President-elect Donald Trump will face to carry out his pledge of mass deportations.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man could face up to 25 years in prison after admitting to setting a fire that destroyed a church. Christopher Scott Pritchard pleaded guilty Thursday to two federal charges for setting ablaze the Church of Latter-Day Saints in Cape Girardeau on April 28, 2021.

In other news:

t's beginning to look like another record for holiday travel.

The TSA is urging holiday travelers to be careful about what they bring on planes.

Biden expected to visit Pope Francis in final international trip of his presidency, AP sources say.

Alberta's premier says Americans will pay a lot more for gas if Trump applies 25% tariffs on Canada.

International students urged to return to US campuses before Trump inauguration.

Pentagon says it doubled the number of US troops in Syria before Assad's fall.

Appeals court removes prosecutor Fani Willis from Georgia election case against Trump and others.

FDA says knockoff versions of Lilly obesity drug must come off the market.

FDA updates the definition of 'healthy' foods.

Stock market today Wall Street ends little changed after giving up a big morning gain.

US home sales hit fastest pace since March with more properties up for sale.

Oklahoma man dies by lethal injection in the nation’s final execution of 2024.

NFL Week 16 kicks off with a key AFC West matchup, one of the NBA's superstars has a day to forget while one of the NHL's best records a four-point night, and the candidates for the 2025 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame class have been announced.

Sammy Sosa appears to acknowledge PED use, apologizes; Cubs welcome him back into fold.

Aaron Hernandez's brother pleads guilty to threatening a shooting at UConn.

Malaysia agrees to resume 'no find, no fee' hunt for flight MH370, 10 years after plane disappeared.

South Korean investigators seek to question reluctant president over martial law.

—The Associated Press

About this program

Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate.

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