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Election leaves Spain in political disarray with no party having an easy path to form a government

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:44 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spaniards woke up Monday to find their country in political disarray after a general election a day earlier left no party with a clear path to forming a government. The uncertainty deepened as both of Spain’s two main parties indicated that they hope to take power. The only sure thing seems to be that the country faces weeks, perhaps months, of political negotiations and possibly a new election to sort out the mess.Here’s a look at what happened and what might unfold in the next few months._____A BITTER VICTORY FOR THE OPPOSITIONAlberto Nuñez Feijóo ‘s right-of-center Popular Party, or PP, won the most votes and finished with 133 seats. But contrary to nearly every preelection opinion poll, it fell far short of the 176 seats a party needs to secure a majority in the 350-seat Spanish parliament.Even if it joins forces with the extreme right party Vox, which garnered 33 seats, it won’t reach that threshold. In a nutshell, the PP’s decision to cons...

UPS strike imminent? Here's what you should know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The clock is ticking. As the deadline to reach a new contract nears, a potential UPS strike feels closer than ever.Negotiations broke down earlier this month and unionized workers have been holding rallies and practice pickets across the country. The Teamsters, which represent more than half of the company's workforce, will resume talks with UPS on Tuesday.That leaves less than a week to come to an agreement before the current contract expires at the end of the day on Monday, July 31. The union has authorized a strike and Sean M. O'Brien, a fiery leader elected last year to lead the union, has vowed to do so if their demands aren't met.“We’re sending a message... all 340,000 of our members are united and ready to fight,” O’Brien told The Associated Press at a practice picket Friday in Atlanta, where UPS is based.UPS's unionized workers still seethe about a contract they feel was forced on them in 2018, and say that the company delivers millions mo...

The names you don't know: Hollywood's 'journeyman' actors explain why they are striking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Kravits gets a lot of this: People recognize him — they’re just not sure how. “I’m that guy who looks like the guy you went to high school with,” says Kravits. “People think they've just seen me somewhere.”Actually, they have — on TV, usually as a lawyer or a doctor. “I’ve had enough roles that I’ve been in your living room on any given night,” the veteran actor says. “But mostly people don’t know my name.”Kravits is one of those actors union leaders refer to as “journeymen” — who tend to work for scale pay, and spend at least as much time lining up work as working. They can have a great year, then a bad one, without much rhyme or reason. “We’re always on the verge of struggling,” says Kravits.And they, not the big Hollywood names joining the picket lines, are the heart of the actors’ strike.Many say they fear the general public thinks all actors get paid handsomely and are doing it for love of the craft, almost as a hobby. Yet in most cases it’s their onl...

Eclipse roundtables 'like preparing for a hurricane' in the Hill Country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:44 GMT

DRIPPING SPRINGS, TX (KXAN) - The Hill Country Alliance, a non-profit focused on conserving and protecting the Texas Hill Country, will host the latest of its Hill Country Eclipse Roundtables on July 25th. The total solar eclipse, happening on April 8th, 2024, is expected to bring thousands of people to Central Texas."Think of it kind of like preparing for a hurricane. You want to be totally prepared and self sufficient ready so that you don't need to go into H-E-B on the day of," said Katherine Romans, Executive Director of the Hill Country Alliance.The roundtables bring together eclipse committees from across the area to learn how other committees are handling the expected crowds, but also to get tips from communities that have dealt with past eclipses."These eclipses are gonna be a historic opportunity for the Hill Country, and also present historic challenges," Romans said.An eclipse moves over the Hill CountryTotal solar eclipses occur roughly every 18 months somewhere on the p...

Philly's opens new location in Bennington

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:44 GMT

BENNINGTON, Vt. (NEWS10) -- Philly’s, a restaurant focused on cheesesteaks and more, has opened its third location in Bennington. After being delayed for a year, the restaurant finally had its soft opening on Wednesday, July 19. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! “There were a few reasons for the delays but mainly it was the success and demand of our newly opened Yale location. It put a heavy strain on my team. It has required the manpower we were intending to use to get Bennington open,” said founder Shem Adams.Adams, a Philadelphia native, opened his first Philly’s restaurant in Norwich, Connecticut in 2011. On Bennington's opening day, Adams said the eatery sold out of steak in three hours. Popeyes opens new location in Latham The Philly’s menu includes cheesesteaks, nachos, fries, chicken, wings, and salads. You can view the full menu on the Philly’s website.The restaurant is located at 230 North Street. You can check the Ph...

Multifamily house fire displaces 20+ in Dutchtown Monday morning

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:44 GMT

ST. LOUIS - An early-morning fire in the Dutchtown neighborhood leaves four families without homes.Firefighters responded to the multifamily house on South Compton Avenue a little before 5:00 a.m. They say the fire started in the back of the building, but spread into the kitchens of two of the units.The other two units have heavy water damage from the firefighting efforts. More than a dozen children and about nine adults had to evacuate the building. Cooling centers opening again as high temperatures return Firefighters are helping them after they ran out of the house in their pajamas without any of their belongings."We have about 20 people who are displaced right now," St. Louis Fire Department Captain Leon Whitener shared. "Crews are currently salvaging shoes and clothes and bringing it out to the residents as most residents ran out in their sleeping clothes. So, if you look behind me, you'll see crews are bringing shoes out, bringing clothes out because we have people sitting o...

MCA takes a break from trauma for something rare in contemporary art shows: Humor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:44 GMT

It is rare to walk into a contemporary art gallery these days and encounter the sort of direct humor offered up in the exhibition “Indigenous Absurdities,” currently at the MCA Denver. That is just not the age we are living in.Instead, trauma is all the rage as curators endeavor to use their spaces as forums for exploring current social ills and for dissecting sins of the past. Galleries are not feel-good places as much as they are classrooms for difficult learning.Anna Tsouhlarakis’ “She Must Be a Matriarch” greets visitors at the MCA Denver. (Wes Magyar / Provided by Museum of Contemporary Art Denver)Most of us see this as a necessary reckoning, overdue and legitimate in most cases, and it is bound to continue for some time. But it is not much fun for the paying customers who go to see the shows. They endure the situation because they feel they ought to, sometimes because they want to understand and grow, and sometimes because they want to alleviate whatever feelings of guil...

How to show out-of-towners a good time in Denver

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:44 GMT

My family moved from the Detroit area to Littleton when I was nine, and I (unofficially) became an extension of Colorado’s tourism office. I sent handwritten cards to friends and family back in Michigan inviting them to come visit Colorado.Each invitation promised a West-facing seat at the dinner table for the duration of their visit so they could take in majestic views of the Rocky Mountains, and the envelopes contained fool’s gold nuggets I bought with my allowance from a mountain town gift shop. Hey, gold lured people to our state, as I had learned in my Colorado history class, so it seemed like a good marketing strategy.I drummed up plenty of interest, and, over the decades, as visitors came to town, my family developed a few go-to’s on our itinerary to dazzle our guests. Some traditions are no more. Who remembers the Baby Do’s mine-themed restaurant overlooking Interstate 25 and downtown?But many live on. The Zip Code Man still occasionally performs on Pearl Street in Bou...

Does it take a 77-page technical manual to regulate pickleball? In Centennial, it might.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:44 GMT

A maelstrom of thoughts and feelings about pickleball is on full display in Centennial, as the suburban city embarks on an effort to devise regulations to ensure that residents are able to partake in the fast-growing sport without driving their neighbors crazy.“The sound from pickleball all day is extremely bothersome,” a woman wrote, one of more than 100 comments submitted to the city on the topic in June. “Courts should either be in existing parks or areas more than 500 feet of residences, with hopefully some kind of sound barrier.”At the other end of the spectrum are those who think the government should stay off the 44-foot-by-20-foot courts that play host to the tennis and ping-pong mashup that’s taking the country by storm.“Please build more pickleball courts anywhere and everywhere you can!” one resident posted. “Those who don’t like the noise can move away — we don’t want grinches in Centennial!”Noise is...

Will tipping disappear as Colorado restaurant service fees rise?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:44 GMT

Reading the fine print is always important, especially when dining at a restaurant these days.Call them “service fees” or “living wage fees” or “creating happy people” fees, as restaurateur Frank Bonanno’s restaurants do, but they can range from 4 to 22% — and they are catching on as a way to offer stability in a volatile industry.“It’s important for local diners to be aware that, now more than ever, restaurants are not money-makers,” Colorado Restaurant Association spokesperson Denise Mickelson said.The fees, she said, have lasted as the COVID pandemic ebbed because they offset pay disparities between front-of-the-house workers (servers, bartenders) and back-of-the-house staff (cooks, dishwashers) and help retain people amidst the industry-wide labor shortage across the country.While servers and customers have mixed thoughts about the use of fees (Casa Bonita is facing pushback from workers over its decision to cut tipping altogether), a re...