Starbucks union to strike over Pride displays

June 24, 2023

Workers at 150 Starbucks locations will strike in the coming week over what their union says is a clash over decor supporting LGBTQ+ causes, but the company denies it’s banned any such displays and accused the union of using misinformation as a tactic in labor talks. Starbucks Workers United said in a tweet Friday that 3,500 workers will be on strike over the next week, starting with the flagship location in Seattle. The union has tried to establish a foothold at Starbucks for some time and at least 358 Starbucks stores have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to hold ...

3M reaches $10.3 billion settlement over water contamination

June 24, 2023

TRAVERSE CITY, (AP) — Chemical manufacturer 3M Co. will pay at least $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over contamination of many U.S. public drinking water systems with potentially harmful compounds used in firefighting foam and a host of consumer products, the company said Thursday. The deal would compensate water providers for pollution with per- and polyfluorinated substances, known collectively as PFAS — a broad class of chemicals used in nonstick, water- and grease-resistant products such as clothing and cookware. Described as “forever chemicals” because they don’t ...

Oxford shooter showing ‘disturbing behavior’ in jail

June 24, 2023

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT — A teenager awaiting sentencing for killing four students at a Michigan high school has been “exhibiting sporadic, disturbing behavior” in jail, prosecutors said, just a month before a key hearing to determine if he will serve a life prison ...

Man charged in brother’s death

June 22, 2023

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a Michigan man with murder in the shooting death of his brother. McKinnley Hearon, 42, was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, lying to police and a felony firearms count, MLive.com reported. Prosecutors allege that Hearon shot his brother at their home in Eastpointe following an argument on June 15. Hearon first told police that his brother wasn’t home, but police found the body behind the house. Hearon is being held on $2 million bond. It wasn’t immediately clear if he has an attorney.

WI Supreme Court rules on pot searches

June 21, 2023

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A car smelling like marijuana is enough for police in Wisconsin to justify searching a person in the vehicle, even though substances legal in the state can smell the same, the state Supreme Court said on Tuesday. The court’s conservative majority ruled 4-3 that Marshfield police had grounds to search the driver of a vehicle that smelled like marijuana, overturning lower court rulings that said officers couldn’t be sure that what they smelled was not CBD, a legal, marijuana-derived substance. The scents of CBD and marijuana are indistinguishable. Two ...

Charges filed in death of young teacher hit while changing flat tire

June 21, 2023

HARPER WOODS, Mich. (AP) — A woman suspected of drunken driving was charged in the death of a young teacher who was struck while changing a flat tire along Interstate 94 in suburban Detroit. Connor McMahon, 23, was a graduate of Fraser High School and had just finished his first year of teaching there. McMahon got a flat tire while returning home from a Detroit Tigers game that was rained out June 13. Fraser principal, Ryan Sines, called his death a “heartbreaking tragedy.” A 25-year-old woman was charged Saturday with operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death, and ...