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Canada orders binding arbitration to end port lockout

Canada orders binding arbitration to end port lockout

With the lockouts, $930m of goods are being affected daily, affecting supply chains and local economy, the government says. Canada’s labour minister is intervening to end the lockouts of workers at the country’s two biggest ports. Minister of Labour Steven Mackinnon said on Tuesday that the negotiations had reached an impasse and he was directing the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the resumption of all operations at the ports of Vancouver and Montreal and move the talks to binding arbitration. Port of Montreal’s workers were locked out on Sunday and workers in Vancouver on the Pacific Coast have been locked out since November 4. “There is a limit to the economic self-destruction that Canadians are prepared to accept,” MacKinnon said. “In the face of economic self-destruction, there is an obligation to intervene. As minister of labour, that responsibility falls to me.” MacKinnon said 1.3 billion Canadian dollars ($930m) of goods is affected every day. He said it was affecting supply chains, the economy and Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner. Business groups have been calling for government intervention to get the flow of goods moving again. MacKinnon says he hopes operations can be restored in a matter of days. The Maritime Employers Association locked out 1,200 longshore workers at the Port of Montreal on Sunday after workers voted to reject what employers called a final contract offer. The workers were seeking increases of 20 percent over four years. The job action came after port workers in British Columbia were locked out amid a labour dispute involving more than 700 longshore supervisors, resulting in a paralysis of container cargo traffic at terminals on the West Coast. International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514, which represents supervisory longshore workers at the heart of the British Columbia dispute, said it will file a legal challenge to the minister’s orders. “We will fight this order in the courts,” said Frank Morena, ILWU Local 514 president, in a statement. “And we will not forget how these employers and this federal Liberal government have attacked not only the ILWU but all of labour.” Forced to intervene It was the second time in a few months that the Liberal government has stepped in to halt a dispute. In August, it ordered an end to work stoppages at the country’s two largest railway companies. The left-leaning government has previously stated its preference for resolving labour disputes through collective bargaining. MacKinnon said he had been forced to intervene after federal mediators reported that the talks at Montreal and Vancouver were at an impasse. The left-of-centre opposition New Democrats, a pro-union party which is propping up the minority Liberal government, accused Ottawa of caving in to employers. “Back-to-work orders suppress wages for all Canadians, so billionaires get richer and the rest of Canadians fall further behind,” leader Jagmeet Singh said in a statement but made no mention of withdrawing support from the Liberals. The Teamsters union, which represents employees at the two main rail companies that were embroiled in a labour dispute in August, has filed court challenges against rulings by the labour board that forced them back to work. Meanwhile, the Canadian Labour Congress said in a statement, “The government is sending a dangerous message: Employers can bypass meaningful negotiations, lock out their workers, and wait for political intervention to secure a more favourable deal,” Adblock test (Why?)

Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years in prison

Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years in prison

Prosecutors sought 17 years imprisonment for ‘significant’ violations of the Espionage Act. Jack Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts National Guard, has been jailed for 15 years for leaking classified documents about the war in Ukraine and other military secrets. A federal judge in Boston, United States, on Tuesday sentenced the 22-year-old after he pleaded guilty earlier this year to six counts of wilful retention and transmission of national defence information under the Espionage Act. Prosecutors had argued for a 17-year sentence for Teixeira, saying he “perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history”. “The defendant took an oath to defend the United States and to protect its secrets – secrets that are vital to US national security and the physical safety of Americans serving overseas,” prosecutors wrote. “Teixeira violated his oath, almost every day, for over a year.” Breach raised questions about US ability to protect secrets Teixeira, from North Dighton, Massachusetts, was part of the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base, located on Cape Cod. He worked as a cyber-transport systems specialist – essentially an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. Authorities said he shared the classified documents on the messaging app Discord. Teixeira began by typing out copies that he then published online. Later, he photographed the files, some of which bore “SECRET” and “TOP SECRET” markings. The documents included information about allies and adversaries including troop movements in Ukraine and top secret information about Israel’s Mossad spy agency. Teixeira also admitted posting information about a US adversary’s plans to harm US forces serving overseas. The breach raised questions about the US’s ability to protect its secrets and embarrassed the administration of President Joe Biden, which scrambled to contain the diplomatic and military fallout. Teixeira’s lawyers asked for a lighter sentence of 11 years, arguing their client had no political goal and was not working as a spy for a foreign government. In their sentencing document, they acknowledged their client had “made a terrible decision which he repeated over 14 months”. “Instead, his intent was to educate his friends about world events to make certain they were not misled by misinformation,” the lawyers wrote. “To Jack, the Ukraine war was his generation’s World War II or Iraq, and he needed someone to share the experience with.” They noted that Teixeira had never been convicted of a crime before. But prosecutors countered that Teixeira did not suffer from any intellectual disability that would prevent him from knowing right from wrong, adding that his post-arrest diagnosis of “mild, high-functioning” autism was of “questionable relevance” to the case. ‘I wanted to say, ‘I am sorry” Teixeira apologised to the court for his actions before he was sentenced by the US District Judge Indira Talwani. “I wanted to say, ‘I’m sorry for all the harm that I brought and caused’,” Texeira said referring to the “maelstrom” he caused family and friends. “I understand all the responsibility and consequences fall upon my shoulders alone and accept whatever that will bring,” he said. Teixeira hugged one of his lawyers and looked towards his family and smiled before being led out of court. He cannot be charged with any further Espionage Act violations under the terms of his guilty plea. Adblock test (Why?)

UN aid chief warns of ‘gravest crimes’ committed in Israel’s war on Gaza

UN aid chief warns of ‘gravest crimes’ committed in Israel’s war on Gaza

The United Nations’s humanitarian aid chief told a meeting of the Security Council (UNSC) that “acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes” are being committed in Gaza where Israel’s military continues to bombard, besiege and prevent aid from reaching the civilian population. Addressing the UNSC on Tuesday, Joyce Msuya, the interim chief of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), described Israel’s monthlong ground offensive and ongoing siege of northern Gaza as an “intensified, extreme, and accelerated version of the horrors of the past year” in the Palestinian territory. Palestinian civilians have been driven from their homes by Israel’s military and “forced to witness their family members killed, burned and buried alive” in Gaza, which Msuya described as “a wasteland of rubble”. “We are witnessing acts reminiscent of the gravest international crimes,” she warned the council meeting. “The daily cruelty we see in Gaza seems to have no limits,” she said, firmly pointing the finger of blame at Israel for blocking aid from entering Gaza’s besieged north. “As I brief you, Israeli authorities are blocking humanitarian assistance from entering North Gaza, where fighting continues and around 75,000 people remain with dwindling water and food supplies,” she said. Msuya also called out the indiscriminate destruction of Gaza after more than a year of Israeli attacks. “What distinction was made and what precautions were taken, if more than 70 percent of civilian housing is either damaged or destroyed?” The meeting of the UNSC was called by Guyana, Switzerland, Algeria and Slovenia following a report by international food security experts on Friday who said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “extremely grave and rapidly deteriorating” and warned of an imminent famine in parts of the north. Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon called the reports of possible famine in northern Gaza “baseless and slanderous”. He told reporters before the UNSC meeting that the situation in Gaza, including the north, has shown improvement since October. Earlier on Tuesday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said October saw the lowest amount of humanitarian aid enter Gaza this year, and the war-torn enclave had received “nowhere near what we need to support more than two million Palestinians”. Dujarric said that for a second month, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) was only able to reach half the people who rely on UN assistance in Gaza, and only with reduced rations. A convoy of 14 trucks had planned to deliver humanitarian supplies to shelters for displaced people in north Gaza’s Beit Hanoon and the Indonesian Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp on Monday, but only two trucks with ready-to-eat meals, wheat flour and one carrying water made it to two shelters. The other trucks in the aid convoy were unable to make their deliveries because of delays in receiving authorisation from Israeli authorities as well as due to crowds of desperately hungry people waiting along the convoy’s route, Dujarric said. The delivery was the first time in more than a month that people in Beit Hanoon had received any food assistance, he said. The WFP had planned another mission to Beit Hanoon to reach the rest of the shelters and the hospital on Tuesday, but he said that “those missions have been denied” by Israel. “We continue to call for the immediate opening of more land routes into Gaza and for the lifting of administrative and physical restrictions within Gaza to efficiently reach the most vulnerable people and areas,” Dujarric said. Palestine’s UN envoy, Riyad Mansour, told the UNSC meeting that Israel has chosen to perpetrate “famine as a method of war” in a process of ethnic cleansing in Gaza. “Everything we warned against, everything Israel denied, is happening before our eyes,” he said. “We are at the last stages of an orchestrated plan to empty wide areas of Gaza from its Palestinian population.” Adblock test (Why?)

Texas lawmakers file record breaking 1,500 bills for 2025 legislative session

Texas lawmakers file record breaking 1,500 bills for 2025 legislative session

Tuesday was the first day Texas lawmakers could file bills for next year’s legislative session, and they were not shy about submitting a record-breaking 1,500 in the first filing period. Though there is no real advantage, staffers camped out behind the Senate chamber in order to file early. The early rush will, however, give a glance into issues plaguing the Lone Star State before the 89th legislative session reconvenes in 2025. TEXAS CONGRESSMAN LOOKING AT PATH TO ‘HEALTHY’ GOP HOUSE MAJORITY | FOX NEWS VIDEO The bills filed covered everything from abortion, border security, restrictions on undocumented students receiving in-state tuition, proof of citizenship to register to vote and ways to lower property taxes or eliminate them altogether. It is not uncommon for lawmakers to file thousands of bills during the session, but a majority never make it to the governor’s desk. The lowest bill numbers are reserved for the highest priority bills set by the House speaker and lieutenant governor in charge of the Senate. TEXAS ANNOUNCES OVER 1M INELIGIBLE VOTERS REMOVED FROM VOTING ROLLS SINCE LAST PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Republicans flipping control in the House and Senate will undoubtedly affect the upcoming legislative session, but many of them have not yet filed their bills. Currently, the red state is expecting to have a surplus of $20 billion to fund the new mandates at the start of the 2025 session, according to state comptroller Glenn Hegar.

House Republicans to elect new Trump-era leadership with majority still undecided

House Republicans to elect new Trump-era leadership with majority still undecided

House Republicans are gathering behind closed doors Wednesday to elect their leaders in the next Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., are all running for their current roles again with no stated challengers as of Tuesday afternoon. National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson, R-N.C., is also running for another term. SHUTDOWN STANDOFF LOOMS IN CONGRESS’ FINAL WEEKS BEFORE TRUMP’S RETURN TO WHITE HOUSE Each of the four leaders will still have to pitch themselves to the House Republican Conference on Wednesday morning, and the election is expected later that afternoon. But contests are expected for the No. 5 and No. 6 House GOP leadership roles. Three House Republicans have confirmed they are running for House GOP conference chair: Reps. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., Kat Cammack, R-Fla., and Lisa McClain, R-Mich. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is not running for the role again after she was tapped to be ambassador to the United Nations in the new Trump administration. HOUSE LEADERS MOVE QUICKLY TO CONSOLIDATE POWER IN SHOW OF CONFIDENCE FOR REPUBLICAN MAJORITY That position is in charge of overseeing and executing the conference’s messaging as well as setting up conference-wide meetings. Two Republicans are also vying for the role of House GOP policy committee chair: Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla., is challenging current Policy Committee Chair Gary Palmer, R-Ala. Hern, who is term-limited for leading the House GOP’s de facto conservative think tank, has been actively campaigning for the role. Fox News Digital obtained fliers on Tuesday that Hern’s staff was distributing to fellow Republicans touting Hern’s endorsement for the low-level leadership role. DEMS PRIVATELY FRET ABOUT LOSING HOUSE AFTER GOP VICTORY IN WHITE HOUSE, SENATE Even if Wednesday’s elections come together drama-free, Johnson will have to work to win the support of hard-line Republican skeptics – some of whom have already signaled they will need to be persuaded by the speaker – in time for the House-wide vote for speaker in January. Electing a House speaker requires a full majority vote in the House. While the final numbers are still up in the air, Republicans are widely expected to keep the majority by just single digits. It means Johnson can afford precious little dissent to win the gavel again and avoid a scenario like the infamous 15-round vote for House speaker that ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., endured in early 2022.

Republicans to huddle behind close doors to elect McConnell’s successor Wednesday

Republicans to huddle behind close doors to elect McConnell’s successor Wednesday

The incoming Senate Republican Conference will meet to hold secret ballot elections for several leadership positions on Wednesday morning, including the successor of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who will lead the Republican majority next year. At 9:30 a.m., the conference for the 119th Congress will select a new leader, Republican whip, conference chair, Republican policy committee chair, vice conference chair and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRS) chair. Those vying for the coveted leader role are Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rick Scott, R-Fla.  On Tuesday, 42 GOP senators gathered for a leader candidate forum led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. Several of the lawmakers expressed satisfaction with how the discussion went, and Scott ended the evening by adding two additional endorsements.  According to Lee, the Republicans discussed a range of issues, some procedural, some substantive, and some policy-oriented.  President-elect Donald Trump notably has not made an endorsement in the Senate leader race. Scott’s race, however, has gained the support of high-profile Trump allies like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and X owner Elon Musk. TRUMP ALLIES BACK RICK SCOTT IN GOP SENATE LEADER RACE AS THEY LOOK TO INFLUENCE SECRET BALLOT Senate Republican conference Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., is running unopposed for whip, while Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., is running unopposed for vice conference chair. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is unopposed in her bid for Republican policy committee chair and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is running unopposed for NRSC chair. Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., will face off for the No. 3 GOP role of conference chair. The Wednesday morning elections will take place in the old Senate chamber in the Capitol. Before each race, each candidate will have two nominating speeches from other senators. Then they’ll make their own case. There may be some discussion before senators vote, and the secret ballot will remain private unless individual senators decide to disclose who they chose. Even then, there is no way to verify. SCHUMER WON’T ALLOW DAVE MCCORMICK AT SENATE ORIENTATION, CITING OUTSTANDING PA BALLOTS The elections could last for hours, with the 2022 elections lasting until 1 p.m. after Scott challenged McConnell in the leader race. In order to be elected, a candidate must receive a majority vote from the 53-member conference. This means they must garner 27 votes. Senators will not assume the new roles until the new Congress begins in January.

Biden-Trump White House meeting revives presidential tradition skipped 4 years ago

Biden-Trump White House meeting revives presidential tradition skipped 4 years ago

Just over a week after his sweeping election victory, former and future President Trump returns to the White House on Wednesday. Trump is returning to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., his first time back in nearly four years, at the invitation of the man he knocked out of the 2024 White House race: President Biden. The two presidents will sit down in the Oval Office around 11 a.m. ET, according to the White House. For Biden, who ended his re-election bid in July a month after his disastrous debate performance against Trump reignited questions over whether the 81-year-old president was physically and mentally up for another four years in the White House and sparked calls for him to drop out of the race, the meeting with his predecessor and now successor may be awkward. LOYALTY MATTERS: TRUMP PICKS ALLIES AND SUPPORTERS TO FILL OUT HIS SECOND ADMINISTRATION Trump spent years verbally eviscerating Biden and his performance in the White House. And even after Biden ended his re-election bid, Trump continued to slam the president and his successor atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket, Vice President Harris. HERE ARE THE DEMOCRATS WHO MAY RUN FOR THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2028 And Biden for a couple of years has labeled Trump a threat to the nation’s democracy. But Biden, a traditionalist, wants to ensure a smooth transition between administrations. “I assured him that I’d direct my entire administration to work with his team,” the president said of his call last week with Trump after the election when he made the invitation.  VANCE IS THE FRONT-RUNNER, BUT HERE’S WHO ELSE MAY RUN FOR THE 2028 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION Trump’s team, in an apparent change of tone toward Biden, said the president-elect “looks forward to the meeting.” Biden’s offer to Trump to visit the White House was an invitation he himself was never accorded. Four years ago, in the wake of his election defeat at the hands of Biden, Trump refused to concede and tried unsuccessfully to overturn the results. Breaking with longstanding tradition, Trump didn’t invite Biden to the White House. And two weeks after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters aiming to upend congressional certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory, Trump left Washington ahead of the presidential inauguration of his successor, becoming the first sitting president in more than a century to skip a successor’s inauguration. “President Biden’s decision to welcome President-elect Trump to the White House is a tribute to normalcy in the presidential transition process. What was denied to Joe Biden following his election is being restored to Biden’s credit,” veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance told Fox News. Lesperance, the president of New Hampshire-based New England College, called the invitation by Biden “a remarkable gesture in that it legitimizes Trump’s return to power by the nation’s leading Democrat and, hopefully, will be met with a commitment to orderly transitions in the future.” The meeting will be the first between Biden and Trump since they faced off in their one and only debate on June 27 in Atlanta. The two presidents, along with Harris and Trump’s running mate, now-Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance, stood next to each other on Sept. 11 in New York City’s Lower Manhattan at ceremonies for the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This will be Trump’s second meeting at the White House with a departing president. Eight years ago, after defeating Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton, Trump sat down at the White House with President Obama, who was finishing up his second term. “We now are going to want to do everything we can to help you succeed. Because, if you succeed, then the country succeeds,” Obama told Trump at the time. While a tradition, the meeting between the incoming and outgoing presidents is not mandated. A big question mark heading into the meeting: Will the vice president join Biden and Trump for any portion of the gathering? Harris phoned Trump last week and congratulated him on his victory over her. The last time a sitting vice president ran for president and lost was 24 years ago when then-Vice President Al Gore narrowly lost to then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush. Gore ended up joining Bush and outgoing President Clinton in the Oval Office for what was said to be a very awkward meeting.