Today: October 10, 2024
Today: October 10, 2024

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911 workers say centers are understaffed, struggling to hire and plagued by burnout

Emergency call center workers say their centers are understaffed, struggling to fill vacancies and plagued by worker burnout, according to a national survey released Tuesday. The survey conducted by the National Emergency Number Association in conjunction with Carbyne, a cloud technology company focused on emergency services, polled about 850 workers from 911 call centers across the country. It found that many were experiencing burnout, handling more frequent call surges and felt undertrained. The findings show the widespread nature of staffing problems that have been laid bare in some communities in recent years. In St Louis this month, callers tried desperately

911 workers say centers are understaffed, struggling to hire and plagued by burnout
World

U.S. consumer confidence jumps to a two-year high as inflation eases

U.S. consumer confidence shot to the highest level in two years this month as inflationary pressures eased and the American economy continued to show resilience in the face of dramatically higher interest rates. The Conference Board, a business research group, said its consumer confidence index rose to 117 in July from a revised 110.1 in June. The gauge beat the 110.5 that economists had expected and was the highest since July 2021. The index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months. Both improved in July. The future expectations

U.S. consumer confidence jumps to a two-year high as inflation eases
World

Transgender swimmers to be included in the trial of an open category at competitions

Swimming will set up an “open category” that will include transgender competitors, the governing body of the sport said Tuesday. World Aquatics president Husain Al-Musallam said the event would take place in the future among other races but gave no details. Reports suggest it could be this year. “This is a very complex topic,” Al-Musallam said at the World Aquatics Congress in the southwestern Japanese city of Fukuoka. “But I am delighted to tell you today that we are now making plans for the first trial of an open category, and we hope to be able

Transgender swimmers to be included in the trial of an open category at competitions
World

Saquon Barkley, Giants settle on 1-year deal worth up to $11 million, AP source says

Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants settled on a contract for the star running back just in time for training camp, signing a one-year contract worth up to $11 million, a source close to the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Giants had not announced the signing of the player they had placed the franchise tag on in March. The deal, which adds $909,000 in incentives to the $10.1 million Barkley will earn playing under the franchise tag, came on the day players reported

Saquon Barkley, Giants settle on 1-year deal worth up to $11 million, AP source says
World

China removes outspoken foreign minister Qin Gang and replaces him with his predecessor, Wang Yi

China on Tuesday removed outspoken Foreign Minister Qin Gang from office and replaced him with his predecessor, Wang Yi, in a move that has already fueled rumors over the personal lives and political rivalries of China’s Communist Party elite. In its announcement on the national evening news, state broadcaster CCTV on gave no reason for Qin’s removal. Qin dropped out of sight almost a month ago and the Foreign Ministry has provided no information about his status. That is in keeping with the ruling Communist Party’s standard approach to personnel matters within a highly opaque political system

China removes outspoken foreign minister Qin Gang and replaces him with his predecessor, Wang Yi
World

Mexico's native ethnic groups promote their heritage during Oaxaca’s biggest cultural festival

Leticia Santiago carries her ancestral heritage wherever she goes. Every time she addresses the crowds during the Guelaguetza, the biggest cultural event in southwestern Mexico, her words, her garments and her skin reveal a clue about the town where she was proudly born. The 35-year-old Mexican was elected as Centéotl goddess in late June, which means she’ll represent the Aztec deity of maize for a year and lead all festivities during the Guelaguetza, which will run in the state of Oaxaca through July 28. During the government-sponsored event, 16 Indigenous ethnic groups and the Afro-Mexican community

Mexico's native ethnic groups promote their heritage during Oaxaca’s biggest cultural festival
World

Indonesian police crack down on traffickers who sent 122 people to sell their kidneys in Cambodia

Indonesian police are investigating the illegal trade of human organs involving police and immigration officers who were accused of helping traffickers send 122 Indonesians to a hospital in Cambodia to sell their kidneys, police said Tuesday. Indonesian authorities arrested 12 people, including a police officer and an immigration officer, on July 19, and police will continue to crack down on human smuggling syndicates conducting the illegal trade of human organs, said Hengki Haryadi, the Jakarta police director for general crimes. He said all 122 victims, including factory workers, teachers and executives, had returned to Indonesia, and

Indonesian police crack down on traffickers who sent 122 people to sell their kidneys in Cambodia
World

Israeli doctors walk off the job and more strikes are threatened after law weakening courts passes

Thousands of Israeli doctors walked out of work, labor leaders threatened a general strike and senior justices rushed home from a trip abroad Tuesday, a day after the government approved a law weakening the country’s supreme court that critics say will erode the system of checks and balances. Four leading Israeli newspapers covered their front pages in black ink — an ominous image paid for by an alliance of high-tech companies. The only words on the pages were in a line at the bottom: “A black day for Israeli democracy.” Monday’s vote — on the first of

Israeli doctors walk off the job and more strikes are threatened after law weakening courts passes
World

Wildfires in Algeria leave at least 34 people dead and hundreds injured

Fires raging through forests, mountain villages and towns in northern Algeria have left at least 34 people dead — with 23 of them in the coastal region of Bejaia, according to authorities and a local radio station keeping track of the grim toll in Bejaia. Among those killed were 10 soldiers encircled by flames during an evacuation, the Defense Ministry reported Monday night. Bejaia, part of the Berber-speaking Kabyle region east of Algiers, was the hardest-hit area, with 23 deaths since Sunday, the local Soummam Radio reported on Tuesday. Counting the deaths from the wind-driven blazes

Wildfires in Algeria leave at least 34 people dead and hundreds injured
World

General Motors Q2 earnings rise 52% on strong sales, prices and automaker raises outlook for 2023

Despite taking on a huge chunk of an expensive electric vehicle recall, General Motors posted $2.54 billion in second-quarter net income, a 52% increase over a year ago. Continued strong vehicle sales and pricing, as well as cost cuts, led to the better-than-expected quarter. The Detroit automaker on Tuesday raised its financial guidance for the full year with one qualification: that it can negotiate union labor contracts without a strike. Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson told reporters that customers paid about $1,600 more per vehicle last quarter than from January through March — with an average U.S.

General Motors Q2 earnings rise 52% on strong sales, prices and automaker raises outlook for 2023
World

Israeli military kills 3 alleged Palestinian gunmen in volatile West Bank

The Israeli military said it shot and killed three alleged Palestinian gunmen in the northern occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the latest bloodshed in one of the most violent stretches of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in years. Israeli security forces said they opened fire at Palestinian militants who had shot at them from a car in the West Bank city of Nablus, the territory’s commercial capital and a major focus of the Israeli military’s recently stepped-up raids. In the hilly neighborhood of al-Tur shortly after the shooting, Israeli forces inspected a shattered black Skoda surrounded by

Israeli military kills 3 alleged Palestinian gunmen in volatile West Bank
World

Asia-Pacific needs disaster warning systems to counter rising climate change risks, report says

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region need to drastically increase their investments in disaster warning systems and other tools to counter rising risks from climate change, a United Nations report said Tuesday. The report issued Tuesday by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, or ESCAP, says nearly $145 billion is needed to set up systems to minimize deaths and damage from floods, earthquakes, drought and other disasters. Artificial intelligence, satellites, remote sensing and other technologies can aid in forecasting, notifying the public in times of emergency and providing other services, but telecommunications systems must

Asia-Pacific needs disaster warning systems to counter rising climate change risks, report says
World

UN watchdog says landmines are placed around Ukrainian nuke plant occupied by Russia

The U.N. atomic watchdog says its staff at Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant report seeing anti-personnel mines around the site as Kyiv pursues a counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s entrenched forces after 17 months of war. “Having such explosives on the site is inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards and nuclear security guidance and creates additional psychological pressure on plant staff,” International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement late Monday. However, any detonation of the mines, located between the site’s internal and external perimeter barriers, “should not affect the site’s nuclear

UN watchdog says landmines are placed around Ukrainian nuke plant occupied by Russia
World

Taliban bans beauty salons in Afghanistan despite UN concern and rare public protest

The Taliban announced Tuesday that all beauty salons in Afghanistan must now close as a one-month deadline ended, despite rare public opposition to the edict. Sadiq Akif Mahjer, spokesman for the Taliban-run Virtue and Vice Ministry, did not say whether it would use force against salons that do not comply. The ruling is the latest curb on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls following edicts barring them from education, public spaces and most forms of employment. The Taliban said it decided to ban beauty salons because they offered services forbidden by Islam and caused

Taliban bans beauty salons in Afghanistan despite UN concern and rare public protest
World

Heat wave returns as Greece grapples with more wildfire evacuations

A third successive heat wave in Greece pushed temperatures back above 40 C (104 F) across parts of the country Tuesday following more nighttime evacuations from fires that have raged out of control for days. The latest evacuations orders were issued on the islands of Corfu and Evia, while a blaze on the island of Rhodes continued to move inland, torching mountainous forest areas, including part of a nature reserve. Desperate residents, many with wet towels around their necks to stave off the scorching heat, used shovels to beat back flames approaching their homes, while firefighting

Heat wave returns as Greece grapples with more wildfire evacuations
World

Former Stanford goalkeeper in US players' hearts at the Women's World World Cup

Sophia Smith pretended to zip her lips closed as she celebrated her second goal against Vietnam during the United States’ opening match at the Women’s World Cup. It was a tribute to former Stanford teammate Katie Meyer, who died by suicide last year. Smith and teammate Naomi Girma decided on the tribute for Meyer, the goalkeeper star of Stanford’s 2019 NCAA championship. She stopped two penalty shots in the title game. An ebullient California girl known for her animated celebrations, Meyer made the gesture after her first penalty save as a way to silence anyone

Former Stanford goalkeeper in US players' hearts at the Women's World World Cup
World

EU agriculture ministers meet to discuss vital Ukraine grain exports after Russia nixed deal

European Union agriculture ministers met Tuesday to discuss ways of moving grain vital to global food security out of Ukraine after Russia halted a deal that allowed the exports. At the same time, they want to protect prices for farmers in countries bordering the war-ravaged nation. The ministers met in Brussels for the first time since Russia pulled the plug last week on the wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices have pushed more people into

EU agriculture ministers meet to discuss vital Ukraine grain exports after Russia nixed deal
World

Jury to deliver verdict over Brussels extremist attacks that killed 32

A jury is expected to render its verdict Tuesday over Belgium’s deadliest peacetime attack, suicide bombings at the Brussels airport and a busy subway station in 2016 that killed 32 people in a wave of violence in Europe claimed by the Islamic State group. Among the 10 defendants is Salah Abdeslam, who already is serving a life sentence without parole in France over his role in attacks that hit Paris cafes, the Bataclan theater and France’s national stadium in 2015. The suspects in Brussels were tried on charges including murder, attempted murder and participation in the acts

Jury to deliver verdict over Brussels extremist attacks that killed 32
World

Legal dispute facing Texan 'Sassy Trucker' in Dubai shows the limits of speech in UAE

A Houston woman known online as the “Sassy Trucker” has been stuck in Dubai for months after an altercation at a car rental agency, the latest case showing the limits of speech in this skyscraper-studded city-state. The case against Tierra Young Allen, 29, comes as the seven sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates have rules that strictly govern speech far beyond what’s common in Western nations. A middle finger raised in a traffic dispute, a text message calling someone a name or swearing in public easily can spark criminal cases — something that foreign

Legal dispute facing Texan 'Sassy Trucker' in Dubai shows the limits of speech in UAE
World

South Korean court overturns impeachment of government minister ousted over deadly crowd crush

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday overturned the impeachment of the public safety minister ousted over a Halloween crowd surge that killed nearly 160 people last October at a nightlife district in the capital, Seoul. The court’s decision allows Lee Sang-min to return as the minister of the interior and safety. Vice Minister Han Chang-seob has served as acting minister since February when South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament voted to impeach Lee, saying he should be held responsible for the government’s failure to employ effective crowd control measures and its botched emergency response, which contributed to

South Korean court overturns impeachment of government minister ousted over deadly crowd crush
World

Stock market today: Asian markets follow Wall St up after Chinese promise to support economy

Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher Tuesday after China’s ruling Communist Party promised to shore up its sagging economy ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting traders hope will announce this interest rate cycle’s final increase. Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Sydney advanced. Tokyo declined. Oil prices rose. The Chinese ruling party on Monday promised measures to boost sluggish economic growth by supporting real estate sales and other struggling sectors but gave no details and didn’t mention possible stimulus spending. Any stimulus is “unlikely to be significant” while Beijing takes a “gradual and targeted approach,” said Andrew

Stock market today: Asian markets follow Wall St up after Chinese promise to support economy
World

South Korea's Casey Phair becomes the youngest ever World Cup player at 16 years and 26 days of age

Throughout South Korea’s Women’s World Cup opener against Colombia on Tuesday, players stayed loose behind the goal. Early in the 78th minute, one player broke away from the group. Casey Phair, at 16 years and 26 days, stepped onto the field and became the youngest player to do so in a World Cup — women’s or men’s. “Going on, I was really, really nervous,” said Phair, who has an American father and a South Korean mother and was raised in the United States. “It was a scary moment, but then going on and running around, I think

South Korea's Casey Phair becomes the youngest ever World Cup player at 16 years and 26 days of age
World

Two teachers called out far-right activities at their German school. Then they had to leave town.

Two teachers in eastern Germany tried to counter the far-right activities of students at their small town high school. They counseled bullies who threatened to beat up immigrant classmates. They gave more lessons about their country’s Nazi past. They invited in a Black rapper to talk about mutual respect. None of it helped. In desperation, Laura Nickel and Max Teske wrote a public letter in which they described an atmosphere of intimidation at Mina Witkojc School in Burg. They reported students greeting each other with the Nazi salute, scratching swastikas on their desks and playing music

Two teachers called out far-right activities at their German school. Then they had to leave town.
World

Anger grows in Ukraine's port city of Odesa after Russian bombardment hits beloved historic sites

Tetiana Khlapova’s hand trembled as she recorded the wreckage of Odesa’s devastated Transfiguration Cathedral on her cellphone and cursed Russia, her native land. Khlapova was raised in Ukraine and had always dreamed of living in the seaside city. But not as the war refugee that she has become. In only a week, Russia has fired dozens of missiles and drones at the Odesa region. None struck quite as deeply as the one that destroyed the cathedral, which stands at the heart of the city’s romantic, notorious past and its deep roots in both Ukrainian and Russian

Anger grows in Ukraine's port city of Odesa after Russian bombardment hits beloved historic sites
World

Strong typhoon blows closer to northern Philippines, forcing evacuations and halting sea travel

A powerful typhoon blew closer to the northern Philippines on Tuesday, forcing thousands of evacuations and a halt to sea travel ahead of torrential rains and tidal surges up to 3 meters (nearly 10 feet). The strongest winds at the storm’s center are expected to remain offshore as Typhoon Doksuri barrels northwest off Cagayan and Batanes provinces, but they may hit outlying islands in the archipelago. The typhoon’s 680-kilometer- (420-mile-) wide rainband could cause flash floods and set off landslides in northern provinces, the country’s weather bureau said. Doksuri was last tracked 310 kilometers (193 miles)

Strong typhoon blows closer to northern Philippines, forcing evacuations and halting sea travel

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