Student Justice Alliance members rally outside the State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., during a Good Jobs First press conference on May 17.   (Photo courtesy of Do Better Nissan) Thirteen years after Japan-based automaker Nissan chose the small, impoverished community of Canton, Miss., as the site of a new auto-assembly plant, a just-released study shows that the company is failing to deliver on its ...

By Tiffany Rider Long Beach Business Journal LONG BEACH, Calif. — The Long Beach Fire Department can expect to begin receiving training on a new paramedic model known as rapid medic deployment (RMD) soon, according to Fire Chief Michael DuRee. Based on an 8-5 vote on May 15 by the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Commission, the proposed policy #407 that outlines requiremen...

By Sistina Giordano The Post-Standard Cortland, NY — Three people were charged after Cortland firefighters discovered they were making meth inside an apartment that caught fire, police said. Around 7 p.m. Wednesday the Cortland Fire Department responded to 34 Union St. after reports came in of a possible house fire, Cortland police said. Smoke was coming from a second-floor window when firefi...

The Associated Press LONDON —  A British Airways jet made an emergency landing at London's Heathrow Airport Friday after developing a technical problem after takeoff. TV footage showed smoke streaming from one of the engines. Airport officials briefly closed both runways at Europe's busiest airport, causing delays. They later resumed operation, but passengers were advised to check their flight sta...

The Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — A massive fire broke out Thursday at a fuel depot on the northern outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, sending bright orange flames leaping high into the air and thick black smoking rolling upward and enveloping the area. Firefighters said in an emailed statement that no injuries had been reported yet. They evacuated a two-block area around the blaze. There was no wor...

The Associated Press BETHESDA, Md. — A parking garage partially collapsed Thursday outside a shopping mall in suburban Maryland, and officials said one construction worker died after being trapped under a concrete slab. Montgomery County rescuers worked to stabilize the structure for more than four hours to free a second worker. Officials said it appears a 50,000-pound section of the parking deck ...

By Manuel Valdes and Mike Baker The Associated Press MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — The Interstate 5 bridge collapse into the Skagit River was caused by an oversize truck hitting the span, the Washington State Patrol chief said. "For reasons unknown at this point in time the semi struck the overhead of the bridge causing the collapse," Batiste told an overnight news conference. The truck made it off t...

Eric Surkamp of the San Francisco Giants throws a pitch during a winning game last season. The Giants have become one of the most valued teams in baseball.   (SD Dirk / Flickr / Creative Commons ) Baseball may be America’s pastime, but concessions workers in the San Francisco Giants' ballpark say it’s past time for a new contract. After negotiations last week, officials with Unite Here Local 2 , w...

The Associated Press STOCKHOLM — Groups of youths have burnt down a restaurant, torched more than 30 cars and injured three police in a fourth night of riots in suburbs of the Swedish capital that started following a fatal police shooting. Police spokesman Kjell Lindgren says at least 30 cars were set ablaze across western and southern Stockholm early Thursday. Firefighters said they have "never b...

By Mario Moretto Bangor Daily News VERONA ISLAND, Maine — Police have recovered and identified the body of a Holden man believed to have committed suicide Monday by jumping off the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. A multi-agency search team was assembled early in the morning after a passing motorist reported an abandoned pickup truck on the bridge at 3:20 a.m. Police found a wallet and cellphone in ...

By  Lori Kurtzman The Columbus Dispatch GAHANNA, Ohio — They laughed as they crawled on the floor, hoods over their heads, clawing for an exit. They had just 60 seconds to escape. “You can’t breathe,” Mifflin Township Fire Lt. Mark Hendricks told them. “The carpet’s hot. It’s melting. What are you going to do?” “Cry?” one student said. More laughter. But there was a sobering undercurrent to t...

Community members reasoned, raged and begged for mercy at a school board meeting about the fate of 54 Chicago public schools. ( Chicago Teachers Union )   At times, the meeting of the Board of Education of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) on Wednesday took on the air of a mass mock trial; at others, it seemed like a public execution. On the dock were 53 elementary schools and one high school charged w...

“I work at Quick Pita in the food court of the Ronald Reagan Building. I work nearly 12 hours every day serving lunch to the thousands of people who work in the building. But I am not here to tell you how hard I work. I am here to tell you that my employer does not follow the law,” testified Antonio Vanegas before a hearing of the Congressional Progressive Caucus yesterday. Vanegas is one of 100,0...

San Antonio Food Bank workers Sergio Baiz (right) and Ed Rivas (left) prepare to cook mashed potatoes that will be served to low-income students. Under the House of Representatives' new budget, food assistance will be cut by $20.5 billion over 10 years.   (U.S. Department of Agriculture / Flickr / Creative Commons). A time-honored tactic of conservative lawmakers is to “starve the beast” by defund...

An oversized puppet of the Wendy's mascot, provided by the People's Puppets of Occupy Wall Street, took part in silent street theater to convince the fast food giant to sign onto the Fast Food campaign. (Coalition of Immokalee Workers)   While rain pattered gently on the concrete steps of Manhattan’s Union Square last Saturday, a group of workers were giving the assembled crowd a tour of the sun-s...