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A bid to bar states from regulating AI is getting pushback

A bid to bar states from regulating AI is getting pushback

Washington Post22-05-2025
Happy Thursday from the Tech Brief, where our reading lists are always human-generated. Send news tips and imaginary book titles to: will.oremus@washpost.com
A bid to bar states from regulating AI is getting pushback.
House Republicans' push to pass a 10-year ban on state AI regulations as part of the party's massive tax and immigration bill is forging ahead, but obstacles are mounting.
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Air Canada flight attendants strike over pay, shutting down service
Air Canada flight attendants strike over pay, shutting down service

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Air Canada flight attendants strike over pay, grounding service
Air Canada flight attendants strike over pay, grounding service

Yahoo

time27 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Air Canada flight attendants strike over pay, grounding service

Air Canada suspended all operations as more than 13,000 Air Canada flight attendants went on strike early Saturday after a deadline to reach a deal passed, leaving travelers around the world stranded and scrambling during the peak summer travel season. Air Canada's flight attendants went on strike Saturday, as the airline announced a complete shutdown of operations, creating summer travel chaos for its 130,000 daily passengers. "We are now officially on strike," the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents Air Canada's 10,000 flight attendants, said in a statement. Air Canada, which flies directly to 180 cities worldwide, said it had "suspended all operations" in response to the work stoppage. "Air Canada is strongly advising affected customers not to go to the airport," it said, adding that it "deeply regrets the effect the strike is having on customers." CUPE was in a legal position to strike as of 12:01 am (0401 GMT), after delivering a 72-hour strike notice on Wednesday. The strike began at 12:58 am, both sides confirmed. Air Canada had been gradually winding down operations ahead of the possible labor action. As of 8:00 pm Friday, the airline said it had cancelled 623 flights affecting more than 100,000 passengers. Its full 700-flight daily schedule has been scrapped for Saturday. Unpaid ground work In addition to wage increases, the union says it wants to address uncompensated ground work, including during the boarding process. Rafael Gomez, who heads the University of Toronto's Center for Industrial Relations, told AFP it is "common practice, even around the world" to compensate flight attendants based on time spent in the air. He said the union had built an effective communication campaign around the issue, creating a public perception of unfairness. An average passenger, not familiar with common industry practice, could think, "'I'm waiting to board the plane and there's a flight attendant helping me, but they're technically not being paid for that work,'" he said, speaking before the strike began. "That's a very good issue to highlight," Gomez further said, adding that gains made by Air Canada employees could impact other carriers. Air Canada detailed its latest offer in a Thursday statement, specifying that under the terms, a senior flight attendant would on average make CAN$87,000 ($65,000) by 2027. CUPE has described Air Canada's offers as "below inflation (and) below market value." The union has also rejected requests from the federal government and Air Canada to resolve outstanding issues through independent arbitration. Gomez said he did not expect any stoppage to last long. "This is peak season," he said. "The airline does not want to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue... They're almost playing chicken with the flight attendants." Canada's economy, though showing resilience, has begun feeling the effects of President Donald Trump's trade war, with his tariffs hitting crucial sectors like auto, aluminum and steel. In a statement issued before the strike began, the Business Council of Canada warned an Air Canada work stoppage could add further pain. "At a time when Canada is dealing with unprecedented pressures on our critical economic supply chains, the disruption of national air passenger travel and cargo transport services would cause immediate and extensive harm to all Canadians," it said. FRANCE24 with AFP

Trump produced a made-for-TV summit - but Putin seemed to be the one pulling the strings
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Trump produced a made-for-TV summit - but Putin seemed to be the one pulling the strings

Donald Trump landed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson with the aspiration of departing a few hours later hailed as a peacemaker and a deal broker. Instead, he returns to Washington having let an international pariah back in from the cold and seemingly received precious little in return. If pitched up on the tarmac of many of the world's airports, he could, in theory, be immediately handcuffed. This, after all, is a man for alleged war crimes, including for the alleged abduction of Ukrainian children. Instead, the red carpet was, quite literally, rolled out for him in Anchorage.A flypast was arranged, featuring F-35 fighter jets, the very planes that are regularly scrambled to intercept Russian aircraft operating off the coast of Alaska. Various military members lined up to salute him. Then came the most surprising moment of all. Alongside , Putin climbed into the Beast, the US President's heavily armoured limousine. A dictator, who invaded a sovereign nation three and a half years ago and has been in isolation ever since, riding alongside the most powerful man in the world on a US military base. No wonder he was grinning in the back seat. In the news conference afterwards, Putin was invited to speak before Trump and talked of greeting him on arrival, referring to him as a "dear neighbour". You would be forgiven for thinking this was a summit on Putin's home turf and not the other way round. There was talk of an agreement, but no detail at all on what was agreed. There was no mention of any follow-up meeting with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as had been promised. And, there was not a word on the issue at the heart of the matter: is the producer of his own presidency, and this summit was carefully choreographed, made for TV, even if it was thrown together at short notice. But it was Putin who seemed to be pulling the strings. Journalists shouted questions at him about whether he had underestimated Ukraine, and about the killing of civilians. But he threw a deaf ear. And in his presence, Trump - who loves to talk so much - kept schtum, too. Read more: There was a mismatch in their delegations, too. Putin was joined in the bilat by his grizzled and chiselled foreign secretary, Sergey Lavrov, a veteran of these events, and a wily negotiator. Trump sat alongside his old golfing pal Steve Witkoff, a real estate agent who is now Trump's peace envoy, trying to resolve the conflicts in Ukraine and in Gaza. Witkoff's repeated visits to Moscow in recent months led to this summit. Some were left wondering whether he had miscalculated how much Putin was willing to shift on his maximalist goals in Ukraine. Many foreign policy experts believe Witkoff is too naive for the job and this meeting won't have persuaded them Kremlin team, as ever, had done their homework. They know that Trump responds to flattery. And flatter him, Putin did. One of Trump's most consistent lines is that he would never have invaded Ukraine if Trump were president. Putin gave him a PR boost by suggesting that it was an accurate sentiment. He also, Trump says, agreed with him that he would have won the 2020 election. In the lead-up to the meeting, Trump promised "severe consequences" for Russia if Putin did not agree to a ceasefire. There is no suggestion that he did. Yet Trump appeared on Fox News and talked admiringly of him, claiming Putin "spoke very sincerely", with Trump saying he believed the Russian President genuinely had a desire to end the war in Ukraine. The fact that Putin started the war and continues his onslaught in Ukraine, seemingly overlooked. Trump applauded Putin on his arrival in Alaska and the Russian President must have been patting himself on the back on the way out.

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