TV News LIES

Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee voted to ratify their first union contract Thu rsday, securing pay bumps, job protections and a rare win for the United Auto Workers union in the South.

It's been a long road to this contract. Workers initially voted twice against joining the union before casting ballots in favor in 2024, making this VW plant one of the few to unionize in the South, and the rare one that's not a member of the "Big 3" auto companies: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. That was nearly two years ago and negotiations have dragged on since, with workers at one  granting the union the ability to call a strike if necessary.

But contract talks were resolved in early February when the UAW and Volkswagen struck a tentative agreement, which the workers have now voted to approve, with 96% of them voting yes.

"Volkswagen workers have moved yet another mountain," UAW President Shawn Fain said in a press release sent by the union Thursday night. "From having the courage to stand up and form their union, to having the backbone to authorize a strike and hold out for a contract that honors their worth, VW workers are leading the way for the entire labor movement and non-union autoworkers everywhere. Welcome to the UAW family."

In a statement after the tentative contract was announced, Volkswagen officials wrote, "These benefits recognize and reward the hard work and dedication our team members give every day."

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Eight backcountry skiers have been found dead and one remains missing after an avalanche near Lake Tahoe in California, officials said Wednesday, making it the deadliest avalanche in the U.S. in more than four decades.

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said during a news conference that authorities have told the families the mission has moved from rescue to recovery. It is the deadliest avalanche in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier, Washington.

Crews have faced treacherous conditions in their search for the missing skiers since the avalanche struck Tuesday morning. Search and rescue crews were dispatched to the Castle Peak area of the Sierra Nevada after a 911 call reporting the avalanche had buried 15 skiers.

Six of them have been found alive.

The group was on a three-day trek in Northern California’s Sierra Nevada as a monster winter storm pummeled the West Coast.

Two of those rescued after several hours of searching were taken to a hospital for treatment, said Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. Heavy snow and the threat of additional avalanches slowed the rescue effort in the mountains near Castle Peak, northwest of Lake Tahoe.

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Construction on the nation’s largest infrastructure project can resume after a court ordered the Trump administration to release funding it had withheld to gain leverage over congressional Democrats from New York.

On Feb. 18, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the U.S. Department of Transportation released nearly $130 million in funding for the $16 billion Gateway tunnel project in an ongoing lawsuit. The rail tunnel project, under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York, is meant to bolster tunnels along the Northeast Corridor, the busiest passenger rail line in the United States.

The funding resuming is a blow to President Donald Trump, who had vowed to terminate the project in a budget fight with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York.

"This funding freeze was unlawful from the start," James, who has herself been targeted for legal retribution by Trump, said in a statement. "We took swift action in court, and now every dollar that was illegally withheld has been released."

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Six backcountry skiers were stranded and 10 others were missing on Tuesday, Feb. 17, after an avalanche in Northern California swept through as a powerful winter storm battered the region with heavy snow and high winds.

Search and rescue teams were dispatched at around 11:30 a.m. local time after receiving reports of an avalanche incident involving a group of skiers in steep backcountry terrain in the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe, according to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office. The group included four mountain guides and 12 skiers.

By 3:45 p.m. local time, the sheriff's office said at least six skiers survived the avalanche and remained at the site, where they were still waiting for rescuers. The other 10 people remained unaccounted for, according to the sheriff's office.

"Highly skilled rescue ski teams have departed from both Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center to make their way to the six known survivors, who have been directed to shelter in place as best they can in the conditions," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

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The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the revered leader’s assassination, died Tuesday. He was 84.

As a young organizer in Chicago, Jackson was called to meet with King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, shortly before King was killed, and he publicly positioned himself thereafter as King’s successor.Santita Jackson confirmed that her father, who had a rare neurological disorder, died at home in Chicago, surrounded by family.

Santita Jackson confirmed that her father, who had a rare neurological disorder, died at home in Chicago, surrounded by family.

Jackson led a lifetime of crusades in the United States and abroad, advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues, including voting rights, job opportunities, education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.

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At least two people are dead in an apparent mass shooting at an indoor ice rink in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on Monday afternoon, officials told the WPRI local news outlet.

Police confirmed to the outlet that the suspect is dead. A local sports reporter, Branden Mello, said that one of the shooting victims also died.

The shooting allegedly took place during a boys’ hockey game between two local schools.

Shots came from behind the stands, according to Mello. He also reported that a local father is being hailed as a “hero” after grabbing a gun from the shooter, though the shooter also had a second weapon.

Four people have been taken to the hospital.

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