North America

A collection of 702 posts

Judge Rules Starbucks Illegally Fired Workers After Unionizing

On Wednesday, US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) judge Michael Rosas ruled that Starbucks had illegally fired seven workers in New York in an alleged retaliation against unions and ordered the former employees' reinstatement....

Metaculus

NFL: Judge Allows Brian Flores' Lawsuit to Proceed

The National Football League (NFL) and three of its teams must face trial after a judge rejected the option of arbitration to settle former head coach and current Vikings’ defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ accusation of discriminatory hiring practices....

Metaculus

New York City to Pay Millions to George Floyd Protesters

New York City has agreed to pay $21.5K to at least 200 protesters who were detained, arrested, or met with force by police during a June 4, 2020 demonstration protesting the death of George Floyd. It will pay another $21.5k each to cover legal costs, and $2.5k to defendants given court tickets, t...

United States of America

US House Panel Approves Bill Allowing Biden to Ban TikTok

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 24 to 16 on Wednesday to give Pres. Joe Biden the power to ban TikTok, the social media app owned by Chinese company ByteDance....

China

FAA Nominee Washington Receives Senate Hearing

Phil Washington — the current CEO of Denver International Airport — has testified before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation almost eight months after Pres. Joe Biden nominated him to head up the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The delay in the hearing has lef...

Politics

Fla. Bill Aims to Limit Media Defamation Protections

Weeks after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused legacy news outlets of increasingly favoring 'preferred narratives' over truth, GOP state Rep. Alex Andrade has introduced a bill that would make it easier to successfully sue news media for defamation....

Politics

Dominion Lawsuit: Murdoch Says Fox Hosts Endorsed False Election Claims

Fox News' controlling owner, Rupert Murdoch, admitted that some of the network's broadcasters endorsed false claims regarding the 2020 Election results. Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox for $1.6B claiming the network made false allegations about the ballot technology company that hurt their b...

Lawsuits

US Marshals Service Hit With Ransomware Attack

The United States Marshals Service announced it was hit with a ransomware attack on Feb. 17. The agency called the attack — in which malware locks up computer systems until a ransom is paid — a “major incident.”...

Air travel

Supreme Court Skeptical of Biden’s Student Loan Cancellation Plan

The conservative-majority US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on Tuesday voiced skepticism over whether it’s within Pres. Joe Biden’s authority to implement his plan for student loan forgiveness by treating it as part of the COVID emergency.

Politics

Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner Subpoenaed by Special Counsel

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the daughter and son-in-law of former Pres. Donald Trump, have reportedly been subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith as part of his investigation into the Jan. 6 riots and the days leading up to that day.

Politics

US Shoots Down Fourth Flying Object Over North America

The US on Sunday, under orders from Pres. Joe Biden, shot down another aerial object, this time over Lake Huron, Mich., near the Canadian border.

United States

US Shoots Down Fourth Flying Object Over North America

The US on Sunday, under orders from Pres. Joe Biden, shot down another aerial object, this time over Lake Huron, Mich., near the Canadian border. An F-16 fighter jet took out the "object."

United States

Migrants Leaving NYC Head to Canada

Amid New York City's migration crisis, NYC Mayor Eric Adams confirmed in an interview Monday that the city is providing tickets to migrants seeking to go elsewhere, with many heading to Canada.

Social issues

Dell to Slash Over 6K Jobs

Dell Technologies Inc. has announced its intention to cut roughly 6,650 employees — about 5% of its overall workforce — amid slumping demand for PCs. The news comes amid a wave of mass layoffs in the tech sector, with companies such as Amazon and Alphabet having announced jobs cuts in recent weeks.

Money

Kamala Harris Unveils $4.2B in Central America Investments

On Monday, US Vice President Kamala Harris unveiled $950M in new private sector commitments in the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras — building on her plan to reduce mass migration to the US by creating economic opportunities in the home countries of many migrants

Guatemala

Koch Network to Oppose Trump in 2024

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a conservative group that spends billions on campaigns and is backed by billionaire Charles Koch, said Sunday it will support a candidate other than former Pres. Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential primaries.

Politics

US Judge: Ban on Marijuana Users Owning Guns Unconstitutional

On Friday, US District Judge Patrick Wyrick in Oklahoma ruled a federal law banning marijuana users from possessing firearms violates the Second Amendment

Gun control

Train Derailment Causes Massive Fire in Ohio

A roughly 50-car-long Norfolk Southern freight train headed from Illinois to Pennsylvania derailed on Friday night near the town of East Palestine, Ohio

Palestine

More Than a Third of US Plants, Animals at Risk of Extinction

According to a report released on Monday, 40% of animals and 34% of plants in the US are at risk of extinction, while 41% of ecosystems are facing collapse

Endangered species

Chinese Balloon Downing: US Says It Recovers Key Parts

The US military Monday said it has recovered key electronics, including sensors, from the alleged Chinese spy balloon it shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4....

Metaculus

US Labor Report: 517K Jobs Created in January

On Friday, the US Dept. of Labor's latest jobs report showed 517K new jobs were created last month, far exceeding the expectations of most economists. Even after the December 2022 jobs report was revised, it showed just 260K jobs created.

United States

Project Veritas: Pfizer Director Allegedly Concerned Over Vaccine Effect on Reproductive Health

In a new video released by Project Veritas — a US undercover journalism outlet — on Thursday, an alleged Pfizer director appears to share concerns about the COVID vaccine's potentially negative effects on women’s reproductive health.

Health

Arctic Blast Grips US, Canada

In what the US National Weather Service is calling an "epic, generational" onslaught of arctic air, record low temperatures and high winds from Canada barrelled into the northeast United States Friday.

Weather

US Proposes Rules to Limit Sugar in School Meals

US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Friday proposed new standards for the nation's school meal program — which serves breakfast to 15M children and lunch to 30M kids every day — including limits on added sugars for the first time ever

Healthy eating

College Board Revises African American Studies Course

The College Board, which is responsible for developing high school Advanced Placement (AP) courses, announced revisions to the AP class in African American studies on Wednesday, which Florida Gov

African-Americans