November 10, 2023 2:17 am
PENNSYLVANIA — A restaurant chain that has locations in the Pittsburgh-area has paid $11.4 million in back wages and liquidated damages for more than 1,000 employees. According to the United States Department of Labor, the money was recovered after a series of investigations and litigation in connection with 40 Plaza Azteca Mexican restaurant locations owned by Ruben Leon in seven states. Plaza Azteca locations involved in the lawsuit included Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Virginia. Of the over 1,000 employees involved in the lawsuit, 15 Washington workers will be getting $135,000 in back wages and damages. An investigation showed Leon and the restaurants violated overtime and minimum wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Department of Labor said. Specifically, the department alleged that numerous Plaza Azteca Mexican restaurants paid back-of-the-house employees predetermined amounts. By doing so, the employers failed to pay some employees who worked up to 40 hours in a workweek the required minimum wage and did not pay some employees time-and-a-half for hours over 40 in a workweek. The employers also failed to maintain accurate records of employees’ work hours and wages, the department said. The Wage and Hour Division encourages former or current affected employees to contact the division at 215-861-5180 with any questions.
November 9, 2023 3:29 pm
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia says he won’t seek reelection in 2024, giving Republicans a prime opportunity to pick up a seat in the heavily GOP state. The 76-year-old Manchin revealed the news Thursday in a statement, saying he had made the decision “after months of deliberation and long conversations” with his family. Manchin’s decision to retire severely hampers Democratic hopes of holding on to the coal country seat. For the last few years, Manchin has been the only Democrat elected to statewide office in West Virginia. Manchin is a longtime politician who’s served as governor, secretary of state and state legislator.
November 9, 2023 3:26 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities are trying to determine who sent suspicious letters, including some containing fentanyl or other substances, to local election offices in at least three states. It’s the latest instance of threats faced by election workers around the country. Elections offices in Washington, Oregon and Georgia appeared to have been targeted. The Pierce County auditor’s office in Tacoma, Washington, released images of the letter it received, showing the letter was postmarked in Portland, Oregon, and read in part: “End elections now.” Authorities are also trying to intercept a letter headed to an elections office in Fulton County, Georgia, the largest voting jurisdiction in one of the nation’s most important presidential swing states.
November 9, 2023 10:55 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Liberal and moderate candidates have won seats in high-profile polarizing elections against social conservatives across the U.S. Candidates backed by Moms for Liberty and the 1776 Project, groups that question open discussions on race and sexuality in schools, lost Tuesday in closely watched races in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Virginia and elsewhere, though both groups claimed successes overall. While school boards deal with nitty-gritty local issues, they have increasingly been at the center of battles over what to teach about race, gender and sexuality — and how to treat transgender students. Conservatives fared well in school board races in Pennsylvania’s York County and Minnesota’s largest school district and suburban Houston.
November 9, 2023 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon says the U.S. has carried out an airstrike on a weapons warehouse in eastern Syria. It targeted a facility linked to Iranian-backed militias, in retaliation for what has been a growing number of attacks on bases housing U.S. troops in the region for the past several weeks. In Wednesday’s strike, U.S. officials say two U.S. F-15 fighter jets dropped multiple bombs on the warehouse, which was known to be used by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. This is the second time in less than two weeks that the U.S. has bombed facilities used by the militant groups, who U.S. officials say have carried out at least 40 such attacks since Oct. 17.
November 9, 2023 5:05 am
MIAMI (AP) — The Republican presidential candidates at Wednesday’s debate all say they support Israel, but they are squabbling over China and Ukraine. Donald Trump was again absent, holding his own event nearby. At center stage were Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, who are fighting for a distant second place in the Republican field. Both traded allegations that the other had welcomed Chinese investment into their state. Tim Scott, Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy were also onstage. They face new urgency to cut into Trump’s margins with the leadoff Iowa caucuses just two months away.
November 9, 2023 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden’s attorney says subpoenas issued by House Republicans to members of President Joe Biden’s family are a “political stunt.” Wednesday’s subpoenas are the most aggressive step yet by Republicans in an impeachment inquiry bitterly opposed by Democrats. The move by House Oversight Committee chair James Comer to subpoena the Democratic president’s son Hunter and brother James comes as Republicans look to gain ground in their nearly yearlong investigation. The Republicans have thus far failed to uncover evidence directly implicating the president in any wrongdoing. The White House and the family’s lawyers say the investigation has been a political ploy but Hunter’s attorney indicated that he could be inclined to appear “at the right time.”
November 9, 2023 5:01 am
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A judge in Michigan is expected to hear arguments Thursday on whether Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has the authority to keep Donald Trump’s name off state ballots for president. Activists are suing to force Benson to keep the former president’s name off ballots. His attorneys are demanding that Trump be allowed on the 2024 Republican primary ballot. Liberal groups have filed similar lawsuits in other states, portraying Trump as the inciter of the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack. Activists point to part of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits a person from running for federal office if they have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the U.S. or given aid or comfort to those who have.
November 9, 2023 5:00 am
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood’s actors union has reached a deal with studios to end its strike. The contract agreement reached Wednesday must still be approved by the union’s board and its members, but the leadership said actors will be allowed to return to work starting Thursday. They can rejoin writers, whose own long strike ended in late September. For the first times since spring, all the parts of Hollywood production will be back in action. The actors chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland tells The Associated Press that they reached a deal that was worth the cost on issues including pay and the use of artificial intelligence in production.
November 9, 2023 4:58 am
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City overnight as ground forces battled Hamas militants in dense urban neighborhoods from which tens of thousands have fled in recent days. Israel has been vague on troop movements, but officials say Gaza’s largest city is the focus of their campaign to crush Hamas’ military and governing capabilities following its deadly Oct. 7 assault inside Israel. Officials told The Associated Press that international mediators are closing in on a possible deal for a three-day humanitarian cease-fire in exchange for the release of around a dozen of the estimated 240 hostages captured by Hamas.
