UAW escalates strike against GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis, Ford

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:49:09 GMT

UAW escalates strike against GM after landing tentative pacts with Stellantis, Ford DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union has widened its strike against General Motors, the lone holdout among the three Detroit automakers, after reaching a tentative contract agreement with Jeep maker Stellantis.The escalated walkout began Saturday evening at a Spring Hill, Tennessee plant, GM's largest in North America, just hours after the Stellantic deal was reached. Its nearly 4,000 workers join about 18,000 already striking at GM factories in Texas, Michigan and Missouri and Tennessee.The UAW did not immediately explain what prompted the new action after 44 days of targeted strikes. The added pressure on GM is substantial as Spring Hill makes engines for vehicles assembled in a total of nine plants as far afield as Mexico, including Silverado and Sierra pickups. One plant already on strike it supplies with engines, in Arlington Texas, makes full-size SUVs including the Tahoe and Suburban. Vehicles assembled at Spring Hill include the electric Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Acadia an...

176-year-old Austin church aims to turn downtown property into community space

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:49:09 GMT

176-year-old Austin church aims to turn downtown property into community space AUSTIN (KXAN) --- A church in downtown Austin said its turned down tens of millions of dollars from developers wanting to buy the property.First Baptist Church of Austin, also known as First Austin, has served at the corner of 9th and Trinity streets for 53 years. Many would call its location prime real estate, with the future site of the University of Texas at Austin Medical Center less than a mile away. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Future of world-class health care’: UT-Austin Medical Center planned at Erwin Center site But instead of picking up and selling, the church said it's looking to transform its 1.5 block property to meet the growing needs of downtown Austin.Affordable community spaceSpecifically, First Austin Senior Pastor Griff Martin said they want to create a space for affordable child care, more venues for live music and visual arts along with more public spaces for people of all faiths to join together.Martin said they have more space than they use, with 350 active members ...

Vikings lose QB Kirk Cousins to significant injury in win over Packers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:49:09 GMT

Vikings lose QB Kirk Cousins to significant injury in win over Packers GREEN BAY, Wis. — Everything was going right for the Vikings.After proving themselves against the San Francisco 49ers in primetime, the Vikings were well on their way to earning an impressive win over the rival Green Bay Packers.It all came crashing down the moment star quarterback Kirk Cousins left the game with what appeared to be a significant injury. He pulled up lame on a drop back late the game and went down for a sack. He couldn’t put any weight on his right foot as he hopped off the field, and ultimately had to be carted to the locker room.Needless to say, the Vikings weren’t feeling too good after their 24-10 win over the Packers on Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.Though the Vikings are now 4-4 — and right back in the NFC North race — it seems as if they could be without Cousins for the foreseeable future. The next man up if that’s indeed the case is rookie quarterback Jaren Hall. He made his NFL debut in relief and finished the game under center.That pu...

CITY-Sporting playoff series adds to many St. Louis-Kansas City sports connections

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:49:09 GMT

CITY-Sporting playoff series adds to many St. Louis-Kansas City sports connections ST. LOUIS - Missouri's two largest metros, St. Louis and Kansas City, reunite in a professional sports playoff setting for the first time since 1985. St. Louis CITY SC begins a three-game playoff series with Sporting Kansas City on Sunday. For St. Louis, it's not only a highly anticipated playoff run in its inaugural MLS season, but also another chapter in a rich history between STL and Kansas City sports. Heading into the game, these are other intriguing sports connections from the titans of western and eastern Missouri athletics:Cardinals-RoyalsSince the late 1990s, Major League Baseball has provided a yearly installment of the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals through Interleague Play. The Cardinals have largely dominated the regular-season series record of 78-53, good for a .595 winning percentage. Kansas City, however, does have bragging rights with the 1985 World Series title, even if it came on the heels of a controversial call from umpire Don Denkinger. The Royals p...

Nuggets spoil Thunder’s home opener with clinical performances by Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:49:09 GMT

Nuggets spoil Thunder’s home opener with clinical performances by Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr. OKLAHOMA CITY — Armed with another compelling rookie whose debut was a year in the making, the Thunder had extra reason to be inspired Sunday for the 2023-24 home opener. It took two possessions for Chet Holmgren to receive a humbling jolt and for a booming crowd to lose its edge.Nikola Jokic easily scored twice over the 7-foot-1 Holmgren in the post to start the game, and that was enough to foreshadow the rest: a 128-95 Nuggets win spearheaded by Jokic’s 28 points and 14 rebounds, plus Michael Porter Jr.’s 20-point, nine-rebound contribution.Jokic bounced back from a nine-turnover outing Friday in Memphis, where the defending champion Nuggets (3-0) won nonetheless. He still coughed it up four times in OKC but shot 12-for-16 from the field.The Thunder (2-1) has become one of the more popular underdog picks in the NBA to make another huge leap this season after a 16-win improvement in 2022-23 — even without Holmgren, who missed the whole year after being picked second ove...

Air Force Falcons fly to No. 17 ranking behind dominant defense

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:49:09 GMT

Air Force Falcons fly to No. 17 ranking behind dominant defense FORT COLLINS — Air Force is famous for its relentless option offense.The Falcons slice, dice and pummel the opposition, eventually taking command. Such was the case Saturday night in their 30-13 victory over Colorado State at snowy Canvas Stadium.The Falcons, who jumped from 19th to 17th in the AP Top 25 poll released Sunday, lead the nation with an average of 300.4 yards rushing per game.But it can’t be forgotten that the Air Force defense has played a starring role in the team’s 8-0 start. The Falcons have held opposing offenses to just 237.9 yards per game, third-best in the country behind only Michigan (226.8) and Penn State (234.5).Pass-happy Colorado State had 339 yards of offense Saturday night but was held to just 113 yards in the second half, part of why Air Force controlled the ball for 20 minutes and 38 seconds in the final two quarters, compared to just 9:22 for CSU.The key play of the game came late in the second quarter with the Rams leading 10-7 and holdin...

Avalanche loses again, but teammates, coach Jared Bednar not happy after “dangerous” play leads to Cale Makar injury scare

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:49:09 GMT

Avalanche loses again, but teammates, coach Jared Bednar not happy after “dangerous” play leads to Cale Makar injury scare BUFFALO — The Colorado Avalanche is going to limp home from this three-game road trip with back-to-back shutout losses, but a fortunate diagnosis after a scary situation could be significant.Cale Makar left the game near the end of the second period Sunday after crashing awkwardly into the end boards, but he was able to return and play in the third, and said he should be fine moving forward following a 4-0 defeat against the Buffalo Sabres.“I don’t really remember (what happened), to be honest with you,” Makar said of the incident. “I think a lot of it’s on me, going back slow, no effort. I don’t know if it was my right leg, I think I tried to take a stride and I don’t know if I caught myself or what happened. The next thing I knew, I was sliding into the boards.The Avs were on a power play when Makar retreated to his own end to retrieve the puck. Kyle Okposo followed close behind him, and put his forearm on Makar’s back before he reac...

Broncos 14, Chiefs 9: Denver defense forces three turnovers in first half

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:49:09 GMT

Broncos 14, Chiefs 9: Denver defense forces three turnovers in first half For the second time in 18 days, the Broncos will play the Chiefs. Can Denver pull off the upset and snap their long-running losing streak to its AFC West rivals? Stick here for live updates and analysis as Denver takes on the Chiefs at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.Live updatesHalftime analysis — Broncos 14, Chiefs 9Parker Gabriel, beat writer: The Broncos started a drive in Week 6 with 47 seconds left in the half and gave up three to Kansas City.The Broncos started a drive today with 48 seconds left in the half and gave up three to Kansas City.Forcing three turnovers is great, obviously, but turning that into only a 14-9 lead is dangerous. Broncos need points to open the third quarter to make it count.Ryan McFadden, beat writer: Denver’s defense put together one of its best halves of the season, forcing three turnovers and holding the Chiefs to nine points.Mark Kiszla, sports columnist: Broncos plus 2 on turnovers and plus 5 on scoreboard. Fearless prediction: If Bronc...

Santa Ana winds are battering SoCal: Here are the spots experiencing the strongest gusts 

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:49:09 GMT

Santa Ana winds are battering SoCal: Here are the spots experiencing the strongest gusts  The first Santa Ana wind event of the season has descended upon Southern California, bringing with it incredibly high wind gusts.According to the National Weather Service, consistent wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour will be felt in most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Isolated gusts could reach over 70 miles per hour, weather officials say.  Parts of Laguna Beach may have power shut off ahead of high winds, fire conditions Data collected by the NWS shows which locations across SoCal have experienced the highest peak wind gusts as of 11:30 a.m. Sunday:Magic Mountain Truck Trail: 92 miles per hour Boney Mountain: 73 miles per hour Camarillo Airport: 70 miles per hour Chilao Campground: 65 miles per hour Miller Ranch: 65 miles per hour Escondido Canyon: 62 miles per hour Saddle Peak: 62 miles per hour Dough Flat Trailhead: 61 miles per hour Malibu Creek: 61 miles per hour Backbone Trail: 60 miles per hour LAFD Camp Nine: 59...

Crews halt spread of vegetation fire in Ventura County; shelter in place order temporarily issued

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:49:09 GMT

Crews halt spread of vegetation fire in Ventura County; shelter in place order temporarily issued Firefighters have successfully halted forward progress of a brush fire in Ventura County. According to a social media post from the Ventura County Sheriff, the brush fire was located in an open field next to the Home Depot on Ventura Boulevard in Camarillo.  110 Freeway closed to car traffic for second time in history for ArroyoFest The fire threatened no structures and started at just five acres, Ventura County emergency officials said. It later spread to about 15 acres before being contained.A brush fire breaks out at a field in Camarillo, CA on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. (CalFire)"Numerous personnel will remain in the area over the next several hours extinguishing hot spots," emergency officials said.A temporary shelter in place order was issued for the areas surrounding the fire but was lifted at 2:06 p.m. Sunday.Video posted to X, formerly Twitter, by CHP's Ventura Station shows crews working to extinguish the blaze, with CHP noting that traffic on the northbound side of the 10...