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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Workers pushing for an end to smoking in Atlantic City casinos say the main employee union has been won over by tobacco companies seeking allies in the fight against smoking restrictions. An official of a union involved in the anti-smoking push on Monday called for the head of the Atlantic City casino workers' union, Donna DeCaprio, to resign for failing to protect her members from the dangers of secondhand smoke. DeCaprio is president of Local 54 of the Unite Here union, which opposes a smoking ban on the grounds that so much business would be lost by smokers taking their money elsewhere that it could cause one or more casinos to shut down, costing thousands of workers their jobs. “She should be ashamed of herself,” said Ray Jensen, assistant director of United Auto Workers Region 9, which represents dealers at three Atlantic City casinos and is part of a lawsuit seeking to have the courts force an end to smoking in the gambling halls. “She should hand in her union card.” DeCaprio said her union supports the health and safety of its members, adding improvements to the workplace environment need to be made. “A balance needs to be reached that will both protect worker health and preserve good jobs,” she said. “We are protecting our members against multiple casino closures and job losses. The UAW is eager to sacrifice the entire casino industry and put 25,000 good jobs with benefits at risk.” DeCaprio said between 50% and 72% of all in-person casino revenue in Atlantic City comes from smoking sections, which occupy only 25% of the casino floor. She said her union “and the vast majority of the labor movement” support a proposal that would improve ventilation in casinos and prevent any employee from being assigned to work in a smoking section against their will. Whether to ban smoking is one of the most controversial issues not only in Atlantic City casinos but in other states where workers have expressed concern about secondhand smoke. They are waging similar campaigns in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Virginia. Workers have been pushing for four years to end an exemption in New Jersey’s clean air law that allows smoking inside the nine casinos. They say they or their co-workers are becoming ill with cancer, heart disease and other conditions related to exposure to second-hand smoke. Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, has said he will sign a bill to end casino smoking if it reaches his desk. The casinos, joined by Local 54, oppose that effort, saying it will cost Atlantic City thousands of jobs and lead to decreased tax revenue for state programs for senior citizens and the disabled. On Monday, the workers group that calls itself CEASE (Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects) filed an appeal of a court ruling in August that allowed smoking to continue in the nine casinos. The Casino Association of New Jersey declined to comment Monday. Attorney Nancy Erika Smith said as far back as 1993, tobacco companies targeted labor unions in the hospitality industry as potential allies to work against smoking bans in the restaurant and hospitality industries. That effort included the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, a precursor of the Unite Here union. “HERE and the related AFL-CIO affiliates are critical allies which should be cultivated as supporters of the effort to prevent smoking bans,” a public relations firm wrote in a memo to Philip Morris Companies that was made public during several states' litigation against tobacco companies. The memo said having HERE “as an ally in this effort would be a very powerful voice.” As far back as 2001, HERE was part of a 12-member coalition including labor unions advocating for improved indoor ventilation instead of government-imposed smoking bans, according to another document cited in Monday's appeal. The anti-smoking campaigners cite a 2022 report by Las Vegas-based C3 Gaming, a consulting firm, showing that casinos that went smoke-free "appear to be performing better than their counterparts that continue to allow smoking.” ___ Follow Wayne Parry on X at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC Wayne Parry, The Associated PressSyria's Druze hope for better future without Assad#acegame888 。

EPL: Harry Kane names 4 best players, snubs Cristiano Ronaldo, MessiThe counting of votes in the Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane, where Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is squaring off against Kedar Dighe of the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate, will begin at 8 am on Saturday. The seat saw 59.85 % turnout on Wednesday. This election not only marked a significant personal contest between the two candidates, but also symbolised the broader ideological and political divide between the two factions of the Shiv Sena. Eknath Shinde, who has been representing Kopri-Pachpakhadi since 2009 as a Shiv Sena candidate, remains a dominant figure in the region. His hold on the constituency is formidable, having won the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections by a margin of over 89,000 votes, defeating Congress’s Sanjay Ghadigaonkar. Shinde’s long tenure in the constituency, alongside his leadership in the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), has solidified his position as the go-to leader in the region. As Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, Shinde has positioned himself as the face of development, promising to continue his legacy of growth and governance. On the other hand, Kedar Dighe, contested on behalf of the Shiv Sena (UBT), represented a rival faction led by Uddhav Thackeray. As the nephew of the late Anand Dighe, a revered figure in Thane politics, Kedar Dighe came with a strong legacy of his own. However, the contest was not just about personal legacies, but also about reclaiming the Shiv Sena’s ideological soul, which has been at the heart of the party’s split in 2022. The Shiv Sena (UBT) faction, led by Uddhav Thackeray, continued to battle for its political survival against the Shinde-led faction. The election in this constituency was not just a contest between two individuals, but a symbolic battle between two visions of the Shiv Sena. Eknath Shinde and his allies in the Mahayuti alliance (BJP and others) have positioned themselves as champions of development (Vikas), while the UBT faction, led by Uddhav Thackeray and represented by Kedar Dighe in this constituency, sees itself as the true inheritor of the Shiv Sena’s values of Hindutva and regional pride. Shinde has himself described the contest as one between “Vikas” (development) and “Vinash” (destruction), emphasising his commitment to progress and stability. While the focus was on the Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency, this battle reflects the broader political landscape of Maharashtra. The outcome of the Kopri-Pachpakhadi contest will be more than just a local electoral win. It will represent the ongoing struggle for the soul of the Shiv Sena. For Eknath Shinde, securing a victory here would solidify his leadership not only in Thane, but also within the state’s political power structure. For Kedar Dighe, defeating the Chief Minister would provide a huge moral victory and reinforce the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s claim as the true representative of the party’s ideals.

Bayan al-Hinnawi, who spent years behind bars in Bashar al-Assad's Syria, joined crowds in the heartland of the Druze minority on Friday to celebrate the president's fall, "a dream" come true for the former prisoner. Hundreds of people descended on Sweida's main square, singing and clapping in jubilation, just days after Islamist-led rebels took the capital Damascus, sending Assad fleeing. The Druze-majority city in Syria's south has been a focal point of renewed anti-government demonstrations over the past year and a half. On Friday, residents waved Syria's pre-Assad flag of white, green and black with three stars, and raised olive branches in a sign of peace. Some of them have lost family members during the anti-government uprising that began in 2011 and spiralled into civil war. Others, like Hinnawi, had languished in prison under the Assad family's five-decade rule. "It was a dream," said 77-year-old Hinnawi of Assad's ouster. Decades ago, a few years after Hafez al-Assad seized power -- which he later handed over to his son Bashar -- a 23-year-old Hinnawi was jailed. He was released 17 years later. The grey-haired man said he had "dreamed that one day the regime would fall", but did not believe that he would live to see the day. "It's a wonderful sight. Nobody could have imagined that this could happen", he said. But his joy was incomplete, remembering the many who have died in jail. "I wish that those who died when I was imprisoned in Mazzeh or Saydnaya could see this scene," said Hinnawi. Since Assad's fall, rebel forces and residents have broken into both detention centres, freeing political prisoners and searching for long-missing loved ones. Activists and rights groups say the Assad government tortured and abused inmates at both facilities. "I got out when I was 40, I missed out of my whole life," said Hinnawi, who served in the Syrian army before being jailed. Recalling torture behind bars, he said that "no oppressor in history has done what they did to us." Since Sunday, the ousted government's security forces were nowhere to be seen in Sweida, and the office of Assad's Baath party has been abandoned, as have army checkpoints on the road to Damascus. Local armed men are present, but not the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which spearheaded the rebel offensive against Assad. Siham Zein al-Din, who lost her son in 2014 after he defected from the national army to join rebel fighters, said he had "sacrificed his life... for freedom, for dignity". The family was still searching for Khaldun's remains, said his 60-year-old mother. Like her son, some members of the Druze community took up arms against Assad's forces during the war. The Druze, who also live in Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, make up about three percent of Syria's population, around 700,000 people. Beyond defending themselves from attacks in the areas where they live, Syria's Druze largely stayed on the sidelines of the civil war. Many managed to avoid compulsory conscription since 2011. Residents of Sweida have long complained of discrimination and the lack of basic services. Many buildings in the city are constructed from black volcanic stone that can be found in the area, and its roads have fallen into disrepair. Sheikh Marwan Hussein Rizk, a religious leader, said that "Sweida province has been marginalised" for decades, with most of its residents living in poverty. But, surrounded by the joyful protesters, Rizk said better days may be coming. "Today, we look to the future and ask for a helping hand... Our hand is extended to all Syrians." Next to him, resident Hussein Bondok held up a poster of his brother Nasser, a journalist and opposition activist who was last heard from in 2014 when he was arrested. Bondok, 54, said he believes his brother was likely killed under torture in one of Damascus's prisons. Nasser struggled for freedom, Bondok said. "I want to congratulate him now, because the seeds he had planted with his brothers-in-arms has become a tree." lk/ami/itCryptocurrencies are enormously volatile, but that volatility can create opportunities for profit.Diddy Denied Bail in 4th Request for Prison Release Before Trial

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A top US official sought to quell growing concern Sunday over reported drone sightings in the country's northeast, reiterating there was no known security threat as authorities monitor the situation. President Joe Biden's administration has faced mounting criticism for not clearly identifying origins of the objects seen hovering over parts of New York and New Jersey. The criticism has come even from Biden's own party, with top Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer calling Sunday for action to make it easier for federal, state and local authorities to work together to detect and if need be "bring down" any drone seen to pose a threat. Video footage of mysterious airborne phenomena recently has clogged social media, with spottings also reported in Maryland and Virginia. "Some of those drone sightings are, in fact, drones. Some are manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday on ABC's "This Week" program. "But there's no question that drones are being sighted," he said, noting there are more than one million registered across the United States. "I want to assure the American public that we are on it," he said. "If we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity, we will communicate with the American public accordingly. Right now, we are not aware of any." Even as Mayorkas sought to reassure the public, Boston police announced Sunday that two Massachusetts men had been arrested the previous night for allegedly conducting a "hazardous drone operation" near the city's Logan International Airport. State police were conducting a search for a third suspect, who authorities said fled the scene. Schumer, in a letter to Mayorkas Sunday, urged the Department of Homeland Security to immediately deploy special drone-detection technology across New York and New Jersey, since traditional radar struggles to detect such small objects. He also called for passage of legislation to explicitly authorize state and local law enforcement to work with federal agencies to detect and "bring down drones that threaten critical facilities or mass gatherings." Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, meanwhile expressed frustration at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over its communications around the issue. "The answer 'we don't know' is not a good enough answer," he told "Fox News Sunday." "When people are anxious... people will fill a vacuum with, you know, their fears and anxieties and conspiracy theories," he said, calling for the FAA to hold public briefings. White House national security spokesman John Kirby had previously said the aircraft could be lawfully operated planes or helicopters mistaken for drones. "While there is no known malicious activity occurring, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight a gap in authorities," he said Thursday, calling for Congress to pass new legislation to "extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities." New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Sunday that authorities had agreed to send a drone detection system to her state. "I am grateful for the support, but we need more. Congress must pass a law that will give us the power to deal directly with the drones," she said on X. On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump urged federal authorities to clearly identify the drones' origins. "Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!" he posted on social media. As the price of drones has fallen -- small quadcopter models with Wi-Fi camera capability can be purchased for as little as $40 -- their numbers and popularity have soared, making their presence in American skies a greater concern. acb/des/bbk/mlm Get any of our free email newsletters — news headlines, sports, arts & entertainment, state legislature, CFD news, and more.Tre Carroll scores 18 as Florida Atlantic fends off Texas State 89-80