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Tag: Strikes

  • Drugs entering the US by sea down 97% since vessel strikes?

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    President Donald Trump has cited dramatic results from U.S. strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, saying they’ve nearly stopped the flow of drugs trafficked to the U.S. by water.

    Since September 2025, the U.S. has struck at least 40 alleged drug vessels, killing 149 people.

    “With our action in the Gulf of America, that sounds so nice when I hear the Gulf of America, drugs entering our country by sea are down 97%,” Trump said at a Jan. 29 White House event. “So when you see the boats being hit, those boats kill on average 25,000 people a boat.” We’ve rated the statement about 25,000 deaths Pants on Fire. 

    Even though Trump mentioned the Gulf of America, his comments appeared to reference the Caribbean and Pacific strikes.

    When asked for evidence about the 97% claim, the White House pointed us to Customs and Border Protection statistics from July 2025 to November 2025. Those numbers show a 98% drop in the pounds of drugs seized by CBP air and marine operations. 

    But drug seizures tell us only how many drugs are stopped from entering the U.S. There isn’t data to show how many drugs are being sent to the U.S. or how many are making it in. Drug experts also say changes in drug seizure data aren’t sufficient to make definitive statements about policy outcomes.

    “No one knows how much doesn’t get caught, so no one can cite a precise percentage change,” Jonathan Caulkins, a Carnegie Mellon University drug policy researcher, said. “Trump is making a claim about something that is unknowable.”

    The White House didn’t explain why it chose those months. There has been a drop in CBP drug seizures since September 2025 when the vessel strikes began, but the percentage drop fluctuates depending on the months compared.

    Additionally, the Coast Guard — not CBP — oversees most drug seizures on water, especially in international waters, an agency spokesperson told PolitiFact. Its data shows a spike in annual cocaine seizures — 200% in fiscal year 2025 compared with its yearly average. (The Coast Guard generally focuses on cocaine seizures, while CBP’s 98% decline is mainly related to marijuana.) 

    While the White House cites a drop in CBP drug seizures as a success, the Coast Guard cites an increase in seizures as a sign of strong enforcement.

    This image from video provided by U.S. South Command, shows a vessel accused of trafficking drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean shortly before it was destroyed by the U.S. military, killing two and injuring one, Jan. 23, 2026. (U.S. Southern Command via AP)

    An uncharacteristically high month for marijuana seizures inflates percent drop

    The White House’s calculation starts in July 2025, which was an outlier with an uncharacteristically high number of marijuana seizures. In July, CBP seized 224,000 pounds of drugs, including 203,000 pounds of marijuana. CBP seizes about 20,000 pounds of all types of drugs in a month.

    From August 2025, the last month before the vessel strikes began, to January, the latest available data, CBP drug seizures dropped 79%.

    For the Coast Guard, drug seizures are up.

    In the 2025 fiscal year which ended in September, the Coast Guard seized 510,000 pounds of cocaine, a 200% increase from a typical fiscal year when the Coast Guard seizes about 167,000 pounds of cocaine. 

    In August 2025, the Coast Guard launched an operation to target cartels and criminal organizations. From August 2025 to February 2026, the Coast Guard seized 200,000 pounds of cocaine more than it seizes in a typical year, according to agency press releases. 

    The Coast Guard has hailed the increase in seizures as a success in “preventing the flow of dangerous drugs into American communities.”

    Statistics don’t show how many drugs make it into the US

    Regardless of the data point, it’s unknown how many drugs enter the U.S. each year. Drug seizures show only how many pounds of a drug were stopped from getting into the U.S.

    “It’s a black market. And so by definition, we do not have good market data,” Elizabeth Dickinson, deputy program director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit that researches global crises.

    The decrease in CBP seizures could point to less enforcement or fewer drugs moving on a specific route, Dickinson said. “There’s really not a good way to understand that data,” she said.

    Dickinson said the Trump administration’s drug enforcement efforts, such as the vessel strikes, have “scared some traffickers away from using specific routes.” 

    Rather than stop trafficking, they might have rerouted. 

    “Drug trafficking is a very old and mature business, in many ways, these organizations have been in a cat and mouse game with law enforcement, not just for years, but really for decades,” Dickinson said. They “are expert at reconfiguring routes, finding new ways to ship things, and innovating in a way to avoid enforcement.”

    Our ruling

    Trump said, after U.S. vessel strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, “drugs entering our country by sea are down 97%.”

    The administration hasn’t provided any evidence that the vessels it has struck were carrying drugs.

    There has been a drop in CBP drug seizures since the strikes began. But the Coast Guard — not CBP — oversees most drug seizures on water, especially in international waters. And that agency has seen a steep increase in drug seizures.

    The White House cites a drop in CBP drug seizures as a success at the same time the Coast Guard cites an increase in drug interdictions as a success, too. 

    However, neither an increase nor a decrease in drug seizures shows how many drugs are entering the U.S. That number is unknowable, according to drug experts. Drug seizures tell us only how many drugs are stopped from entering the U.S.

    Trump’s statement is unsubstantiated. We rate it False.

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  • NYC nursing walkout ends as last striking nurses approve new contract

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    NEW YORK — Nurses at a big New York hospital system approved a new contract Saturday, voting to end a major nursing strike after more than a month.

    More than 4,000 nurses in the privately run NewYork-Presbyterian system went on strike Jan. 12. They are now due to start returning to work in the coming week. The union, called the New York State Nurses Association, said 93% of its members at NewYork-Presbyterian voted to ratify the three-year contract.

    Two other big private hospital systems, Montefiore and Mount Sinai, ended their nurses’ walkout earlier this month by inking contract agreements with the same union.

    “We are so happy with the wins we achieved, and now the fight to enforce these contracts and hold our employers accountable begins,” union President Nancy Hagans said in a statement Saturday.

    NewYork-Presbyterian said that it looked forward to its nurses’ return and that the contract “reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play as part of our exceptional care teams.”

    Both sides had said Friday that they had reached a tentative deal. Union members voted on it Friday and Saturday.

    Provisions included staffing improvements, raises topping 12% over three years and safeguards on the use of artificial intelligence, according to the union.

    The union has said the strike initially involved about 15,000 nurses overall at Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian. It affected only some facilities within the three systems and didn’t involve any city-run hospitals.

    During the strike, Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian brought on thousands of temporary nurses, transferred some patients and canceled some procedures. The hospitals insisted they were smoothly delivering care, including complex surgeries. But some vulnerable patients and their families said some routine tasks took longer.

    The strikers complained of unmanageable workloads and accused the hospitals of trying to chip away at health benefits. The hospitals contested those claims and said the union’s demands were exorbitant.

    Nurses at some Mount Sinai and Montefiore hospitals also walked out in 2023. That strike ended in three days.

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  • Another strike sends 31,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers to picket lines

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    OAKLAND, Calif. — An estimated 31,000 registered nurses and other front-line Kaiser Permanente health care workers launched an open-ended strike this week in California and Hawaii to demand better wages and staffing from the health care giant.

    The picketing that began Monday marked the second major walkout in recent months by employees represented by the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals. A five-day strike in October ended with negotiations resuming, but talks broke down in December.

    This week the union accused Kaiser of refusing to return to national bargaining discussions.

    “We will continue to push Kaiser to stop their egregious unfair labor practices against the frontline workers who deliver the best care for their patients and billions in profit to do the right thing, and come back to the table to bargain in good faith,” the union bargaining committee said in a statement.

    Kaiser said Sunday that the union had agreed to return to local bargaining, even as workers moved forward with the strike. The company said it paused national bargaining last month after what it described as a threatening incident involving a union official.

    “Illegal threats are a line that cannot be crossed,” Greg Holmes, Kaiser’s chief human resources officer, said in a statement. “This union official’s actions have compromised the national bargaining process and undermined both parties’ ability to continue good-faith bargaining.”

    Those on strike, including pharmacists, midwives and rehab therapists, say wages have not kept pace with inflation and there is not enough staffing to keep up with patient demand.

    They are asking for a 25% wage increase over four years to make up for wages they say are at least 7% behind their peers.

    Kaiser Permanente had countered with a 21.5% increase over four years. The company says that represented employees earn, on average, 16% more than their peers, and it would have to charge customers more to meet strikers’ pay demand.

    Arezou Mansourian, a physician assistant on the bargaining team, told the San Francisco Chronicle that Kaiser has been unable to retain and recruit providers, which is impacting patient care. Medical staff have been leaving Kaiser for higher-paying jobs at other local hospitals, Mansourian said.

    She said the union’s fight for better working conditions will ultimately help patients as well.

    “We know it’s a pain right now, but it’s so that we can take care of you better in the future,” Mansourian told the Chronicle.

    The company said health clinics and hospitals will remain open during the strike, with some in-person appointments shifted to virtual appointments, and some elective surgeries and procedures being rescheduled.

    Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health plans, serving 12.6 million members at 600 medical offices and 40 hospitals in largely western U.S. states. It is based in Oakland, California.

    In New York City, about 15,000 nurses who walked off the job headed back to the bargaining table earlier this month. The New York State Nurses Association said contract negotiations resumed with officials at the three private hospital systems impacted by the strike: Montefiore, Mount Sinai and New York-Presbyterian.

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  • US launches new retaliatory strikes against ISIS in Syria after deadly ambush

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    The U.S. has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.The large-scale strikes, conducted by the U.S. alongside partner forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m. ET, according to U.S. Central Command. The strikes hit multiple Islamic State targets across Syria.Video above: U.S. airstrikes target ISIS militants in NigeriaSaturday’s strikes are part of a broader operation that is part of President Donald Trump’s response to the deadly ISIS attack that killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter, in Palmyra last month.”Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday.The administration is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike. Both Torres-Tovar and Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard.It launched Dec. 19 with another large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.

    WASHINGTON —

    The U.S. has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.

    The large-scale strikes, conducted by the U.S. alongside partner forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m. ET, according to U.S. Central Command. The strikes hit multiple Islamic State targets across Syria.

    Video above: U.S. airstrikes target ISIS militants in Nigeria

    Saturday’s strikes are part of a broader operation that is part of President Donald Trump’s response to the deadly ISIS attack that killed Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, the civilian interpreter, in Palmyra last month.

    “Our message remains strong: if you harm our warfighters, we will find you and kill you anywhere in the world, no matter how hard you try to evade justice,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement Saturday.

    The administration is calling the response to the Palmyra attacks Operation Hawkeye Strike. Both Torres-Tovar and Howard were members of the Iowa National Guard.

    It launched Dec. 19 with another large-scale strike that hit 70 targets across central Syria that had IS infrastructure and weapons.

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  • Airspace and travel restrictions on much of Caribbean airspace following US strikes on Venezuela

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    Much of Caribbean airspace has been closed as the United States hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday and said President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country after months of stepped-up pressure by Washington — an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack. This has caused flight cancellations to and from Caribbean airports. So far, there have been nearly 900 cancellations and over 4,000 delays.The airspace closure impacted thousands of people traveling to or from Caribbean countries, all as a busy holiday travel season winds down.Related video above: See a report on the strikes and capture of Venezuela’s presidentThe legal authority for the strike — and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand — was not immediately clear. The stunning, lightning-fast American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday. Here’s what the attack on Venezuela means for travel in the region:FAA imposes airspace restriction on Puerto RicoThe Federal Aviation Administration has imposed a temporary airspace restriction on Puerto Rico’s international airport and surrounding regions.An announcement by Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan posted on the social media site X said the restriction was placed because of the “security situation related to military activity” in Venezuela.As a result, most commercial airlines to and from the airport that are operated by U.S. airlines have been suspended or may be canceled.Foreign airlines and military aircraft are not included in this restriction, the statement said. “Passengers are urged to check the status of their flight directly with their airline before heading to the airport.”Delta Airlines announced that it began canceling flights in Caribbean airspace Saturday morning, and announcements from American Airlines and United followed soon after.State Department urges Americans in Venezuela to shelter in placeThe State Department issued a new travel alert early Saturday, warning Americans in Venezuela urging them to “shelter in place” due to the situation.”U.S. Embassy Bogota is aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas, Venezuela,” it said without elaboration.”The U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela. U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place.” The embassy in Bogota has been shuttered since March 2019 but operates remotely.The view from New EnglandThe cancellations affected many New England travelers, some of whom became stranded in foreign countries.”At first, we didn’t know what was going on because they kept delaying the flight,” said Tricia Maloney. “All the flights but ours were cancelled, and ours kept being delayed and delayed and delayed and it was finally cancelled.”Maloney and her family were scheduled to fly back to Boston on Saturday from vacation in Curacao, which is about 40 miles from Venezuela.Plans quickly changed for them.”Our hotel didn’t have any availability, so everyone was scrambling for hotels,” Maloney said. “So, we’re in a new hotel now for tonight, and we’ll have to figure something out tomorrow.”Others, like the Marchese family from Wilbraham, ran into the opposite problem.They were supposed to vacation in Aruba, but amid ongoing flight restrictions, their plan B is Florida.Two families from New Hampshire are now struggling to make changes.”Everyone is like panicking, we can’t even find flights out here until Friday,” said Casie Woodman of Fremont, New Hampshire.A vacation to Aruba for Casie Woodman, of Fremont, New Hampshire, is taking an unexpected turn after she woke up Saturday to learn of the U.S military actions in Venezuela and the closed airspace in the area. “There’s no flights through any airlines, even just to get in the United States, until Friday,” said Woodman.Woodman says families at the resort are scrambling and older people are concerned about getting their medicine.Manchester’s Gus Emmick and his family thought they’d be spending their vacation in Saint Martin, but now they are at Logan Airport.”Many, many families are just sitting here trying to scramble and figure out what happened and what they are going to do,” said Gus Emmick, of Manchester, New Hampshire.The family is switching gears and looking to head to Florida.”As much as we love New Hampshire, December has been a little rough, so we are looking for warmer weather and hoping we’ll see some,” said Emmick.Aviation expert Tom Kinton said safety is the reason behind the airspace closure.”There were hundreds of aircraft and fixed-wing drones as part of this operation. You want to get that all cleaned up before you let civilian aircraft back into that airspace again,” said Tom Kinton. According to the FAA, the closed airspace is impacting flights in and out of Caribbean destinations like Aruba, Barbados and even Puerto Rico. Delta flights to and from the following airports have been cancelled for the day, according to a spokesperson. They are as follows:Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico (SJU)Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten (SXM)Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in Saint Croix (STX)Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas (STT)Queen Beatrix International Airport in Aruba (AUA)Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport on St. Kitts, Caribbean Islands (SKB)Curaçao International Airport in Curaçao (CUR)Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados (BGI)Hewanorra International Airport in St. Lucia (UVF)Bonaire International Airport near Kralendijk in the Caribbean Netherlands (BON)Argyle International Airport in Argyle, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVD)Maurice Bishop International Airport in Grenada (GND)V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua and Barbuda (ANU)It’s unclear when the Delta flights will resume for these airports. Now, Kinton said the airspace is slated to open at 5 a.m. Sunday. However, it could be that a narrower airspace is opened for the time being or the opening could be delayed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Much of Caribbean airspace has been closed as the United States hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday and said President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country after months of stepped-up pressure by Washington — an extraordinary nighttime operation announced by President Donald Trump on social media hours after the attack.

    This has caused flight cancellations to and from Caribbean airports. So far, there have been nearly 900 cancellations and over 4,000 delays.

    The airspace closure impacted thousands of people traveling to or from Caribbean countries, all as a busy holiday travel season winds down.

    Related video above: See a report on the strikes and capture of Venezuela’s president

    The legal authority for the strike — and whether Trump consulted Congress beforehand — was not immediately clear. The stunning, lightning-fast American military action, which plucked a nation’s sitting leader from office, echoed the U.S. invasion of Panama that led to the surrender and seizure of its leader, Manuel Antonio Noriega, in 1990 — exactly 36 years ago Saturday.

    Here’s what the attack on Venezuela means for travel in the region:

    FAA imposes airspace restriction on Puerto Rico

    The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed a temporary airspace restriction on Puerto Rico’s international airport and surrounding regions.

    An announcement by Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan posted on the social media site X said the restriction was placed because of the “security situation related to military activity” in Venezuela.

    MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO

    Passengers wait at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport as all flights are cancelled following U.S. military action in Venezuela, on Jan. 3, 2026, in Carolina, Puerto Rico. 

    As a result, most commercial airlines to and from the airport that are operated by U.S. airlines have been suspended or may be canceled.

    Foreign airlines and military aircraft are not included in this restriction, the statement said. “Passengers are urged to check the status of their flight directly with their airline before heading to the airport.”

    Delta Airlines announced that it began canceling flights in Caribbean airspace Saturday morning, and announcements from American Airlines and United followed soon after.

    State Department urges Americans in Venezuela to shelter in place

    The State Department issued a new travel alert early Saturday, warning Americans in Venezuela urging them to “shelter in place” due to the situation.

    “U.S. Embassy Bogota is aware of reports of explosions in and around Caracas, Venezuela,” it said without elaboration.

    “The U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela. U.S. citizens in Venezuela should shelter in place.” The embassy in Bogota has been shuttered since March 2019 but operates remotely.

    The view from New England

    The cancellations affected many New England travelers, some of whom became stranded in foreign countries.

    “At first, we didn’t know what was going on because they kept delaying the flight,” said Tricia Maloney. “All the flights but ours were cancelled, and ours kept being delayed and delayed and delayed and it was finally cancelled.”

    Maloney and her family were scheduled to fly back to Boston on Saturday from vacation in Curacao, which is about 40 miles from Venezuela.

    Plans quickly changed for them.

    “Our hotel didn’t have any availability, so everyone was scrambling for hotels,” Maloney said. “So, we’re in a new hotel now for tonight, and we’ll have to figure something out tomorrow.”

    Others, like the Marchese family from Wilbraham, ran into the opposite problem.

    They were supposed to vacation in Aruba, but amid ongoing flight restrictions, their plan B is Florida.

    Two families from New Hampshire are now struggling to make changes.

    “Everyone is like panicking, we can’t even find flights out here until Friday,” said Casie Woodman of Fremont, New Hampshire.

    A vacation to Aruba for Casie Woodman, of Fremont, New Hampshire, is taking an unexpected turn after she woke up Saturday to learn of the U.S military actions in Venezuela and the closed airspace in the area.

    “There’s no flights through any airlines, even just to get in the United States, until Friday,” said Woodman.

    Woodman says families at the resort are scrambling and older people are concerned about getting their medicine.

    Manchester’s Gus Emmick and his family thought they’d be spending their vacation in Saint Martin, but now they are at Logan Airport.

    “Many, many families are just sitting here trying to scramble and figure out what happened and what they are going to do,” said Gus Emmick, of Manchester, New Hampshire.

    The family is switching gears and looking to head to Florida.

    “As much as we love New Hampshire, December has been a little rough, so we are looking for warmer weather and hoping we’ll see some,” said Emmick.

    Aviation expert Tom Kinton said safety is the reason behind the airspace closure.

    “There were hundreds of aircraft and fixed-wing drones as part of this operation. You want to get that all cleaned up before you let civilian aircraft back into that airspace again,” said Tom Kinton.

    According to the FAA, the closed airspace is impacting flights in and out of Caribbean destinations like Aruba, Barbados and even Puerto Rico.

    Delta flights to and from the following airports have been cancelled for the day, according to a spokesperson. They are as follows:

    • Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico (SJU)
    • Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten (SXM)
    • Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in Saint Croix (STX)
    • Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas (STT)
    • Queen Beatrix International Airport in Aruba (AUA)
    • Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport on St. Kitts, Caribbean Islands (SKB)
    • Curaçao International Airport in Curaçao (CUR)
    • Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados (BGI)
    • Hewanorra International Airport in St. Lucia (UVF)
    • Bonaire International Airport near Kralendijk in the Caribbean Netherlands (BON)
    • Argyle International Airport in Argyle, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVD)
    • Maurice Bishop International Airport in Grenada (GND)
    • V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua and Barbuda (ANU)

    It’s unclear when the Delta flights will resume for these airports.

    Now, Kinton said the airspace is slated to open at 5 a.m. Sunday. However, it could be that a narrower airspace is opened for the time being or the opening could be delayed.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • Telluride Ski Resort in Colorado to close Saturday due to labor dispute

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    FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Telluride, one of the best-known ski resorts in the Western U.S., plans to close in the coming days due to a labor dispute between its owner and the ski patrol union.

    The Telluride Professional Ski Patrol Association voted Tuesday to strike Saturday after contract negotiations since June failed to yield an agreement on pay. With no more talks planned before the weekend, Telluride Ski Resort said it will not open that day.

    “We are concerned that any organization, particularly one that exists to help people, would do something that will have such a devastating effect on our community,” owner Chuck Horning said Wednesday in a statement.

    It was not immediately clear whether the closure will last longer. Resort officials were working on a plan to reopen even if the strike continues, according to the statement.

    The patrollers are seeking to be paid more in line with their counterparts at other resorts in the region.

    The union wants starting pay to rise from $21 to $28 per hour, and for wages for patrollers with more than 30 years of experience to increase from $30-$36 per hour to $39-$48.60 per hour.

    While resort officials sought to lay blame for the impending closure on the union, Andy Dennis, interim safety director and spokesperson for patrollers’ association, said it lies with Horning.

    “He’s being a bully. This is what bullies do, take their toys and run,” Dennis said. “All he has to do is give us a fair contract, and this would all be over.”

    Ski patrollers sometimes argue for more pay on the grounds that the cost of living is high in ski towns and they are responsible for people’s safety. Patrollers’ duties include attending to injured skiers and the controlled release of avalanches with explosives when nobody is in range.

    Even without a strike, Telluride has yet to get going fully this season, with unusually warm weather meaning just 20 of the resort’s 149 trails have been able to open.

    Patrollers around the Rocky Mountain region have been voting on unionizing recently.

    Last year an almost two-week strike closed many runs and caused long lift lines at Utah’s Park City Mountain Resort. That strike ended when Colorado-based Vail Resorts acceded to demands including a $2-an-hour base pay increase and raises for senior ski patrollers.

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  • ‘Very serious retaliation’: U.S. strikes ISIS targets in Syria

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    ‘Very serious retaliation’: U.S. strikes ISIS targets in Syria

    The Trump administration launched more than 70 strikes against ISIS targets in Syria on Friday, responding to an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter last week.

    Updated: 6:44 AM PST Dec 20, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    The Trump administration struck more than 70 ISIS targets in Syria on Friday, according to the Pentagon, in retaliation for a deadly attack on U.S. and Syrian forces last week.On Friday evening, President Donald Trump told a crowd in North Carolina, “Just 2 hours ago, we hit the ISIS thugs in Syria who were trying to regroup after their decimation by the Trump administration 5 years ago. We hit them hard.”Trump further described the operation as successful and precise. In a social media post ahead of his speech, he called it a “very serious retaliation.” That sentiment was echoed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, also known as the secretary of war, in another post. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said. The strikes were in response to an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter last weekend. The president blamed the attack on a member of the Islamic State, although the group has not claimed responsibility. Trump said the U.S. retaliation was fully supported by Syria’s new leader, who has overseen warming relations with the West since the fall of the Assad regime last year. Following the U.S. strikes, Syria’s foreign ministry reiterated its commitment to fighting ISIS and underscored the need to strengthen international cooperation to combat terrorism.In a recent national security strategy document, the Trump administration argued that the days in which the Middle East dominated American foreign policy are over. The administration has sought to build ties with countries like Syria, including in the counterterrorism space, but contends that the threats can be contained “without decades of fruitless ‘nation-building’ wars.” The Trump administration is instead looking to focus closer to home, shifting military resources away from the Middle East and towards South America, as tensions mount with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Asked if the Trump administration would rule out regime change in Venezuela, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in an interview Friday, “The president has spoken about his concerns when it comes to the illegitimate regime in Venezuela, his concerns about the gangs we have seen come from Venezuela, the concerns about the narcotrafficking that we’ve also seen.”

    WASHINGTON —

    The Trump administration struck more than 70 ISIS targets in Syria on Friday, according to the Pentagon, in retaliation for a deadly attack on U.S. and Syrian forces last week.

    On Friday evening, President Donald Trump told a crowd in North Carolina, “Just 2 hours ago, we hit the ISIS thugs in Syria who were trying to regroup after their decimation by the Trump administration 5 years ago. We hit them hard.”

    Trump further described the operation as successful and precise. In a social media post ahead of his speech, he called it a “very serious retaliation.”

    That sentiment was echoed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, also known as the secretary of war, in another post.

    “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth said.

    The strikes were in response to an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter last weekend. The president blamed the attack on a member of the Islamic State, although the group has not claimed responsibility.

    Trump said the U.S. retaliation was fully supported by Syria’s new leader, who has overseen warming relations with the West since the fall of the Assad regime last year.

    Following the U.S. strikes, Syria’s foreign ministry reiterated its commitment to fighting ISIS and underscored the need to strengthen international cooperation to combat terrorism.

    In a recent national security strategy document, the Trump administration argued that the days in which the Middle East dominated American foreign policy are over. The administration has sought to build ties with countries like Syria, including in the counterterrorism space, but contends that the threats can be contained “without decades of fruitless ‘nation-building’ wars.”

    The Trump administration is instead looking to focus closer to home, shifting military resources away from the Middle East and towards South America, as tensions mount with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

    Asked if the Trump administration would rule out regime change in Venezuela, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in an interview Friday, “The president has spoken about his concerns when it comes to the illegitimate regime in Venezuela, his concerns about the gangs we have seen come from Venezuela, the concerns about the narcotrafficking that we’ve also seen.”

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  • Louvre reopens fully after staff vote to suspend strike

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    PARIS — The Louvre in Paris reopened fully on Friday after staff voted to suspend a strike that had disrupted access to the world’s most visited museum, management and unions said.

    The decision was taken during a general assembly of museum workers, who voted unanimously to pause the strike to allow the museum to welcome visitors, unions said in a statement. The walkout had led to a full closure earlier in the week and a partial reopening on Wednesday.

    Unions said the suspension followed five meetings with Culture Ministry officials but said progress remains insufficient, particularly on staffing levels, pay and long-term security plans. They also cited concerns over building deterioration and working conditions.

    Union representatives criticized what they described as a lack of engagement from Louvre President Laurence des Cars during the strike, saying she neither met staff nor addressed them during the mobilization.

    Workers are due to hold another general assembly on Jan. 5 to decide whether to resume strike action.

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  • Starbucks workers kick off 65-store US strike on company’s busy Red Cup Day

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    More than 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers went on strike at 65 U.S. stores Thursday to protest a lack of progress in labor negotiations with the company.

    The strike was intended to disrupt Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, which is typically one of the company’s busiest days of the year. Since 2018, Starbucks has given out free, reusable cups on that day to customers who buy a holiday drink. Starbucks Workers United, the union organizing baristas, said Thursday morning that the strike had already closed some stores and was expected to force more to close later in the day.

    Starbucks Workers United said stores in 45 cities would be impacted, including New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Diego, St. Louis, Dallas, Columbus, Ohio, and Starbucks’ home city of Seattle. There is no date set for the strike to end, and more stores are prepared to join if Starbucks doesn’t reach a contract agreement with the union, organizers said.

    Starbucks emphasized that the vast majority of its U.S. stores would be open and operating as usual Thursday. The coffee giant has 10,000 company-owned stores in the U.S., as well as 7,000 licensed locations in places like grocery stores and airports.

    As of noon Thursday on the East Coast, Starbucks said it was on track to meet or exceed its sales expectations for the day at its company-owned stores.

    “The day is off to an incredible start,” the company said in a statement.

    Around 550 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores are currently unionized. More have voted to unionize, but Starbucks closed 59 unionized stores in September as part of a larger reorganization campaign.

    Here’s what’s behind the strike.

    A stalled contract agreement

    Striking workers say they’re protesting because Starbucks has yet to reach a contract agreement with the union. Starbucks workers first voted to unionize at a store in Buffalo in 2021. In December 2023, Starbucks vowed to finalize an agreement by the end of 2024. But in August of last year, the company ousted Laxman Narasimhan, the CEO who made that promise. The union said progress has stalled under Brian Niccol, the company’s current chairman and CEO. The two sides haven’t been at the bargaining table since April.

    Workers want higher pay, better hours

    Workers say they’re seeking better hours and improved staffing in stores, where they say long customer wait times are routine. They also want higher pay, pointing out that executives like Niccol are making millions and the company spent $81 million in June on a conference in Las Vegas for 14,000 store managers and regional leaders.

    Dochi Spoltore, a barista from Pittsburgh, said in a union conference call Thursday that it’s hard for workers to be assigned more than 19 hours per week, which leaves them short of the 20 hours they would need to be eligible for Starbucks’ benefits. Spoltore said she makes $16 per hour.

    “I want Starbucks to succeed. My livelihood depends on it,” Spoltore said. “We’re proud of our work, but we’re tired of being treated like we’re disposable.”

    The union also wants the company to resolve hundreds of unfair labor practice charges filed by workers, who say the company has fired baristas in retaliation for unionizing and has failed to bargain over changes in policy that workers must enforce, like its decision earlier this year to limit restroom use to paying customers.

    Starbucks stands by its wages and benefits

    Starbucks says it offers the best wage and benefit package in retail, worth an average of $30 per hour. Among the company’s benefits are up to 18 weeks of paid family leave and 100% tuition coverage for a four-year college degree. In a letter to employees last week, Starbucks’ Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly said the union walked away from the bargaining table in the spring.

    Kelly said some of the union’s proposals would significantly alter Starbucks’ operations, such as giving workers the ability to shut down mobile ordering if a store has more than five orders in the queue.

    Kelly said Starbucks remained ready to talk and “believes we can move quickly to a reasonable deal.” Kelly also said surveys showed that most employees like working for the company, and its barista turnover rates are half the industry average.

    Limited locations with high visibility

    Unionized workers have gone on strike at Starbucks before. In 2022 and 2023, workers walked off the job on Red Cup Day. Last year, a five-day strike ahead of Christmas closed 59 U.S. stores. Each time, Starbucks said the disruption to its operations was minimal. Starbucks Workers United said the new strike is open-ended and could spread to many more unionized locations.

    The number of non-union Starbucks locations dwarfs the number of unionized ones. But Todd Vachon, a union expert at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, said any strike could be highly visible and educate the public on baristas’ concerns.

    Unlike manufacturers, Vachon said, retail industries depend on the connection between their employees and their customers. That makes shaming a potentially powerful weapon in the union’s arsenal, he said.

    Improving sales

    Starbucks’ same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, rose 1% in the July-September period. It was the first time in nearly two years that the company had posted an increase. In his first year at the company, Niccol set new hospitality standards, redesigned stores to be cozier and more welcoming, and adjusted staffing levels to better handle peak hours.

    Starbucks also is trying to prioritize in-store orders over mobile ones. Last week, the company’s holiday drink rollout in the U.S. was so successful that it almost immediately sold out of its glass Bearista cup. Starbucks said demand for the cup exceeded its expectations, but it wouldn’t say if the Bearista will return before the holidays are over.

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  • Starbucks workers kick off 65-store US strike on company’s busy Red Cup Day

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    More than 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers plan to strike at 65 U.S. stores Thursday to protest a lack of progress in labor negotiations with the company.

    The strike was intended to disrupt Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, which is typically one of the company’s busiest days of the year. Since 2018, Starbucks has given out free, reusable cups on that day to customers who buy a holiday drink.

    Starbucks Workers United, the union organizing Starbucks baristas, said stores in 45 cities would be impacted, including New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Diego, St. Louis, Dallas, Columbus, Ohio, and Starbucks’ home city of Seattle. There is no date set for the strike to end, and more stores are prepared to join if Starbucks doesn’t reach a contract agreement with the union, organizers said.

    Starbucks emphasized that the vast majority of its U.S. stores would be open and operating as usual Thursday. The coffee giant has 10,000 company-owned stores in the U.S., as well as 7,000 licensed locations in places like grocery stores and airports.

    Around 550 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores are currently unionized. More have voted to unionize, but Starbucks closed 59 unionized stores in September as part of a larger reorganization campaign.

    Here’s what’s behind the strike.

    Striking workers say they’re protesting because Starbucks has yet to reach a contract agreement with the union. Starbucks workers first voted to unionize at a store in Buffalo in 2021. In December 2023, Starbucks vowed to finalize an agreement by the end of 2024. But in August of last year, the company ousted Laxman Narasimhan, the CEO who made that promise. The union said progress has stalled under Brian Niccol, the company’s current chairman and CEO.

    Workers say they’re seeking better hours and improved staffing in stores, where they say long customer wait times are routine. They say too many workers aren’t getting the required 20 hours per week they need before Starbucks’ benefits kick in. They also want higher pay, pointing out that executives like Niccol are making millions.

    The union also wants the company to resolve hundreds of unfair labor practice charges filed by workers, who say the company has fired baristas in retaliation for unionizing and has failed to bargain over changes in policy that workers must enforce, like its decision earlier this year to limit restroom use to paying customers.

    Starbucks says it offers the best wage and benefit package in retail, worth an average of $30 per hour. Among the company’s benefits are up to 18 weeks of paid family leave and 100% tuition coverage for a four-year college degree. In a letter to employees last week, Starbucks’ Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly said the union walked away from the bargaining table in the spring.

    Kelly said Starbucks remained ready to talk and “believes we can move quickly to a reasonable deal.” Kelly also said surveys showed that most employees like working for the company, and its barista turnover rates are half the industry average.

    Unionized workers have gone on strike at Starbucks before. In 2022 and 2023, workers walked off the job on Red Cup Day. Last year, a five-day strike ahead of Christmas closed 59 U.S. stores. Each time, Starbucks said the disruption to its operations was minimal. Starbucks United said the new strike is open-ended and could spread to many more unionized locations.

    The number of non-union Starbucks locations dwarfs the number of unionized ones. But Todd Vachon, a union expert at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, said any strike could be highly visible and educate the public on baristas’ concerns.

    Unlike manufacturers, Vachon said, retail industries depend on the connection between their employees and their customers. That makes shaming a potentially powerful weapon in the union’s arsenal, he said.

    Starbucks’ same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, rose 1% in the July-September period. It was the first time in nearly two years that the company had posted an increase. In his first year at the company, Niccol set new hospitality standards, redesigned stores to be cozier and more welcoming, and adjusted staffing levels to better handle peak hours.

    Starbucks also is trying to prioritize in-store orders over mobile ones. Last week, the company’s holiday drink rollout in the U.S. was so successful that it almost immediately sold out of its glass Bearista cup. Starbucks said demand for the cup exceeded its expectations, but it wouldn’t say if the Bearista will return before the holidays are over.

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  • Boeing defense workers on strike in Midwest reject company’s latest offer

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    Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed voted Sunday to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago.

    The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners but threatens to complicate the aerospace company’s progress in regaining its financial footing.

    “Boeing claimed they listened to their employees – the result of today’s vote proves they have not,” Brian Bryant, president of the International Association of Machinists union, said in a statement.

    Union leaders say talks have stalled over issues such as wages and retirement benefits, while Boeing has argued that workers’ demands exceed the cost of living in the Midwest.

    Ahead of Sunday’s vote, the union told its members that it did not recommend approval of the company’s latest offer, which it said “had no meaningful improvements” to retirement benefits and wage increases for workers with more seniority.

    Negotiations escalated over the summer in the days leading up to the strike, with the workers rejecting an earlier proposed agreement that included a 20% wage hike over the life of the five-year contract.

    Boeing quickly countered with a modified agreement that didn’t boost the proposed pay raises but did remove a scheduling provision affecting the workers’ ability to earn overtime pay. Workers rejected that offer, too, and went on strike the next morning.

    The company has said that it was prepared for a strike, with a contingency plan in place “to ensure our non-striking workforce can continue supporting our customers.”

    Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security business accounts for more than one-third of the company’s revenue. Boeing is set to report its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday.

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  • Trump intensifies military strikes on suspected drug cartels

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    President Donald Trump’s administration has intensified its military campaign against alleged drug smugglers, with a ninth strike announced overnight targeting a boat suspected of carrying drugs.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the ninth strike resulted in the deaths of three people. On Tuesday, the administration reported that two individuals were killed in a separate attack on a boat suspected of smuggling drugs toward the U.S.Trump has justified these military actions by asserting the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. He said, “We will hit them very hard when they come in by land and they haven’t experienced that yet, but now we’re totally prepared to do that. We’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we come to the land.”Lawmakers from both political parties have expressed concerns about President Trump ordering these military actions without receiving authorization from Congress or providing many details.Typically, the Coast Guard intercepts alleged drug smugglers, arrests them, and turns them over to the court system for prosecution. The Trump administration is skipping that step and using the military to kill them. In one strike, two people survived. Instead of prosecuting them, the White House returned the alleged drug smugglers to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia, where at least one of them did not face charges. Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:

    WASHINGTON —

    President Donald Trump’s administration has intensified its military campaign against alleged drug smugglers, with a ninth strike announced overnight targeting a boat suspected of carrying drugs.

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the ninth strike resulted in the deaths of three people.

    On Tuesday, the administration reported that two individuals were killed in a separate attack on a boat suspected of smuggling drugs toward the U.S.

    Trump has justified these military actions by asserting the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. He said, “We will hit them very hard when they come in by land and they haven’t experienced that yet, but now we’re totally prepared to do that. We’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we come to the land.”

    Lawmakers from both political parties have expressed concerns about President Trump ordering these military actions without receiving authorization from Congress or providing many details.

    Typically, the Coast Guard intercepts alleged drug smugglers, arrests them, and turns them over to the court system for prosecution. The Trump administration is skipping that step and using the military to kill them.

    In one strike, two people survived. Instead of prosecuting them, the White House returned the alleged drug smugglers to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia, where at least one of them did not face charges.

    Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau:


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  • Broadway musicians reach labor deal, averting a strike

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    NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — The union representing Broadway’s musicians reached a tentative labor agreement with commercial producers on Thursday, averting a potentially crippling strike that would have silenced nearly two dozen musicals.

    The American Federation of Musicians Local 802 — which represents 1,200 musicians — had threatened to strike if they didn’t have a new contract by the morning, after going into mediation Wednesday.

    Early Thursday, the union said it had struck a tentative deal that includes wage increases and contribution increases to the health fund.

    “This three-year agreement provides meaningful wage and health benefit increases that will preserve crucial access to healthcare for our musicians while maintaining the strong contract protections that empower musicians to build a steady career on Broadway,” AFM Local 802 President Bob Suttmann said in a statement.

    The 23 shows that could have gone silent ranged from megahits like “Hamilton” and “The Lion King” to newcomers like “Queen of Versailles” and “Chess,” which are still in previews. Plays would not have been automatically impacted.

    It was the second Broadway labor deal in less than a week. Labor tensions had already seemed cool after Actors’ Equity Association — which represents over 51,000 members, including singers, actors, dancers and stage managers — announced a new three-year agreement with producers over the weekend.

    Members of both unions had been working under expired contracts. The musicians’ contract expired on Aug. 31, and the Equity contract expired Sept. 28.

    The health of Broadway — once very much in doubt due to the coronavirus pandemic that shut down theaters for some 18 months — is now very good, at least in terms of box office. It has been a long road back from the days when theaters were shuttered and the future looked bleak, but the 2024-2025 season took in $1.9 billion — the highest-grossing season in recorded history, overtaking the pre-pandemic previous high of $1.8 billion during the 2018-2019 season.

    The unions pointed to the financial health of Broadway to argue that producers could afford to up pay and benefits for musicians and actors. Producers, represented by The Broadway League, had countered that the restored health of Broadway could be endangered by potential ticket price increases to accommodate the demands.

    The most recent major strike on Broadway was in late 2007, when a 19-day walkout by stagehands dimmed the lights on more than two dozen shows and cost producers and the city millions of dollars in lost revenue.

    On Wednesday, three U.S. senators from New York and New Jersey — Democrats Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker and Andy Kim — wrote to both sides, urging them to “participate in good faith negotiations and continued communication.” The senators noted that Broadway supports nearly 100,000 jobs and is “an essential cornerstone in the economic well-being of surrounding businesses and sectors, including hospitality, retail and transportation.”

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  • 2024 Coast Guard drug seizure data supports Rand Paul claim

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    President Donald Trump says U.S. military strikes on eight vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, mostly targeting boats from Venezuela, were legal because they carried drugs being delivered to the United States.

    Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said maritime law enforcement statistics show that not all boats suspected of carrying drugs actually have drugs onboard. He said the military’s strikes were not in line with usual U.S. policy.

    “When you stop people at sea in international waters, or in your own waters, you announce that you’re going to board the ship and you’re looking for contraband, smuggling or drugs. This happens every day off of Miami,” Paul said Oct. 19 on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We know from Coast Guard statistics that about 25% of the time the Coast Guard boards a ship, there are no drugs. So if our policy now is to blow up every ship we suspect or accuse of drug running, that would be a bizarre world in which 25% of the people might be innocent.” 

    Paul made a similar statement in an Oct. 12 interview.

    More than 30 people have been killed so far in the strikes, and the Trump administration has provided no evidence that the vessels contained drugs. We rated Trump’s recent statement that each strike saved “25,000 American lives” Pants on Fire.

    Paul’s office pointed PolitiFact to the U.S. Coast Guard’s 2024 fiscal year report, which said that year the agency intercepted drugs in about 73% of cases when they boarded boats, with about 27% of vessel interceptions yielding no drugs.

    Experts said the data supports Paul’s point, but noted that it’s unclear how the Coast Guard defines the term it uses to describe intercepting drugs — “a drug disruption.” 

    “If the (Coast Guard) boards a vessel and finds a known drug trafficker but no drugs, and that individual gets arrested and convicted, does that count as a ‘drug disruption’?” said Jonathan Caulkins, a Carnegie Mellon University drug policy researcher. “Or suppose they approach the vessel, it jettisons the drugs overboard, and so the Coast Guard seizes the vessel but the drugs have disappeared into the water. Is that a successful disruption?”

    Paul’s figure might not translate directly to the recent boat strikes, experts said, since the U.S. could have had intelligence about those specific vessels.

    PolitiFact contacted the Coast Guard about its data collection process but did not hear back.

    Coast Guard report details the agency’s drug interceptions

    The Coast Guard reports data about how often it intercepts drugs to the Department of Homeland Security. Its 2024 fiscal year report, which covers October 2023 to September 2024, summarizes the agency’s performance in various programs.

    During that period of time, the Coast Guard disrupted drug runs in 91 out of 125 boat interdictions, the report says, which was a rate of about 73%.

    “The quality of searches performed by Coast Guard boarding teams is high,” the report said, adding that its metrics depend on the quality and timeliness of the intelligence the agency receives.

    The rate has varied in recent years. The agency started reporting this drug interception data in fiscal year 2021, according to the report, which shows a drug disruption rate that year of 59% — meaning 41% of boats searched yielded no drugs.

    The rate rose to 64% in 2022 and 69% in 2023. The 2024 drug interception rate of 73% represents the Coast Guard’s highest since it started tracking the data. It lists an 80% interception rate as its annual  goal.

    Sign up for PolitiFact texts

    The Coast Guard didn’t answer our questions about its data collection process or what amounts to a drug disruption. A 2025 Coast Guard report evaluating agency data from fiscal years 2021 through 2023 found it didn’t accurately reflect all drug interdictions as some reports didn’t contain drug seizure results or the required documentation.

    Experts said we don’t know whether the 2024 Coast Guard statistic directly translates to the recent strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.

    “The people with fingers on the trigger may demand a much higher certainty rate before shooting,” Caulkins said. “So, even if the senator’s figure were correct when looking across all the many, very diverse operations over the course of a year, that doesn’t mean it applies to the special case of boats of Venezuela. Perhaps it does, but perhaps not.”

    The Trump administration’s lack of information about the type or quantity of drugs it says were on the boats makes it impossible to know if every or any of the boats carried lethal drugs, and if they were en route to the U.S.

    Drug experts previously told us that Venezuela plays a minor role in trafficking drugs that reach the U.S. Most illicit fentanyl in the U.S. comes from Mexico, not Venezuela. It enters the country mainly through the southern border at official ports of entry, and is smuggled in mostly by U.S. citizens.

    Our ruling

    Paul said, “About 25% of the time the Coast Guard boards a ship, there are no drugs.”

    A 2024 Coast Guard report said the agency boarded and intercepted boats with drugs on them about 73% of the time, which means 27% of the interceptions yielded no drugs.

    This drug disruption statistic, however, might not translate directly to the recent boat strikes, experts said, since we don’t know what kind of intelligence the U.S. had about those vessels.

    Paul’s statement is accurate but needs clarification. We rate it Mostly True.

    RELATED: Fact-checking Donald Trump: Has each boat strike off the coast of Venezuela saved 25,000 lives? 

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  • Broadway enters an anxious time as labor action threatens to roil theaters

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    NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — Broadway is a tense place these days after two major labor unions authorized strike action amid ongoing contract negotiations with producers.

    Actors’ Equity Association — which represents over 51,000 members, including singers, actors, dancers and stage managers — and American Federation of Musicians Local 802 — which represents 1,200 musicians — have voted in favor of a strike authorization, a strategic step ahead of any work stoppage. No strike has been called.

    Members of both unions are currently working under expired contracts. The musicians’ contract expired on Aug. 31, and the Equity contract expired on Sept. 28.

    Both unions want pay increases and higher contributions by producers toward employee health care costs, a key sticking point. Actors Equity also wants producers to hire more backup performers and stage managers, add protections for performers in the event of injury and put limits on how many performances in a row actors can be asked to do without a day off.

    The health of Broadway — once very much in doubt due to the COVID-19 pandemic — is now very good, at least in terms of box office. The 2024-2025 season took in $1.9 billion, the highest-grossing season in recorded history, overtaking the pre-pandemic previous high of $1.8 billion during the 2018-2019 season. It has been a long road back from the days when theaters were shuttered and the future looked bleak.

    The unions are pointing to the financial health of Broadway to argue that producers can afford to up pay and benefits for musicians and actors. Producers, represented by The Broadway League, counter that the health of Broadway could be endangered by increasing ticket prices.

    “On the heels of the most successful season in history, the Broadway League wants the working musicians and artists who fueled that very success to accept wage cuts, threats to healthcare benefits, and potential job losses,” Local 802 President Bob Suttmann said in a statement Tuesday.

    A strike would cripple most of Broadway, but some shows might continue. “Beetlejuice” and “Mamma Mia!” arrived as part of tours and so do not have a traditional Broadway contract. And shows playing at nonprofit theaters, such as the musical “Ragtime” at Lincoln Center Theater and the play “Punch” from the Manhattan Theatre Club, have separate labor agreements.

    The most recent major strike on Broadway was in late 2007, when a 19-day walkout dimmed the lights on more than two dozen shows and cost producers and the city millions of dollars in lost revenue.

    More than 30 members of Congress, including the entire New York delegation, have signed a letter urging all sides to bargain in good faith and avoid a strike.

    “A disruption to Broadway will result in significant economic disruption to not just the New York metropolitan area but harm theater workers and patrons across the country and around the world,” the letter states.

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  • 31K Kaiser Permanente nurses, other health care workers strike for better wages

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    SAN FRANCISCO — SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An estimated 31,000 registered nurses and other front-line Kaiser Permanente health care workers went on strike Tuesday to demand better wages and staffing from the California-based health care giant.

    Organizers say the five-day strike across 500 medical centers and offices in California, Hawaii and Oregon is the largest in the 50-year history of the United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals. The strike could grow to include 46,000 people.

    Those on strike, including pharmacists, midwives and rehab therapists, say wages have not kept pace with inflation and there is not enough staffing to keep up with patient demand.

    They are asking for a 25% wage increase over four years to make up for wages they say are at least 7% behind their peers.

    Kaiser Permanente has countered with a 21.5% increase over four years. The company says that represented employees earn, on average, 16% more than their peers, and it would have to charge customers more to meet strikers’ pay demand.

    The company said health clinics and hospitals will remain open during the strike, with some in-person appointments shifted to virtual appointments, and some elective surgeries and procedures being rescheduled.

    Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit health plans, serving 12.6 million members at 600 medical offices and 40 hospitals in largely western U.S. states. It is based in Oakland, California.

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  • Day of strikes in France challenges new prime minister’s budget plans

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    PARIS — Protesters hit France with transport strikes, notably hobbling the Paris Metro, demonstrations and traffic slowdowns and blockades Thursday, pitting the power of the streets against President Emmanuel Macron ‘s government and its proposals to cut funding for public services that underpin the French way of life.

    The first whiffs of police teargas came before daybreak, with scuffles between riot officers and protesters in Paris. Nationwide demonstrations, from France’s biggest cities to small towns, were expected to mobilize hundreds of thousands of marchers, voicing anger about mounting poverty, sharpening inequality and struggles for low-paid workers and others to make ends meet.

    “We say ‘no’ to the government. We’ve had enough. There’s no more money, a high cost of living,” striking transport worker Nadia Belhoum said at a before-dawn protest targeting a Paris bus depot. She described “people agonizing, being squeezed like a lemon even if there’s no more juice.”

    Labor unions that called strikes are pushing for the abandonment of proposed budget cuts, social welfare freezes and other belt-tightening that opponents contend will further hit the pockets of low-paid and middle-class workers and which triggered the collapse of successive governments that sought to push through savings.

    Opponents of Macron’s business-friendly leadership complain that taxpayer-funded public services — free schools and public hospitals, subsidized health care, unemployment benefits and other safety nets that are cherished in France — are being eroded. Left-wing parties and their supporters want the wealthy and businesses to pay more, rather than see spending cuts to plug holes in France’s finances and to rein in its debts.

    “Public service is falling apart,” said teacher Claudia Nunez. “It’s always the same people who pay.”

    The day of upheaval — with strikes also impacting schools, industry and other sectors of the European Union’s second-largest economy — aimed to turn up the heat on new Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. Macron appointed him last week, tasking Lecornu with building parliamentary support for belt-tightening that brought down his predecessors.

    “Bringing in Lecornu doesn’t change anything — he’s just another man in a suit who will follow Macron’s line,” said 22-year-old student Juliette Martin.

    “We want our voices heard. People my age feel like no one in politics is speaking for us,” she said. “It’s always our generation that ends up with the insecurity and the debt.”

    Unions have decried budget proposals by Macron’s minority governments, weakened by their lack of a dependable majority in parliament, as brutal and punitive for workers, retirees and others who are vulnerable.

    “The bourgeoisie of this country have been gorging themselves, they don’t even know what to do with their money anymore. So if there is indeed a crisis, the question is who should pay for it,” said Fabien Villedieu, a leader of the SUD-Rail train workers union. “We are asking that the government’s austerity plan that consists of making the poorest in this country always pay — whether they are employees, retirees, students — ends and that we make the richest in this country pay.”

    Striking rail workers waving flares made a brief foray into the Paris headquarters of the Economics Ministry, leaving trails of smoke in the air before leaving.

    Macron’s opponents also continue to denounce unpopular pension reforms that he railroaded through parliament and which raised the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64, triggering a firestorm of anger and rounds of protest earlier in what is his second and last term as president, which ends in 2027.

    The government said it was deploying police in exceptionally large numbers — about 80,000 in all — to keep order. Police were ordered to break up traffic blockades and other efforts to prevent people who weren’t protesting from going about their business. Paris police used tear gas to disperse a before-dawn blockade of a bus depot. French broadcasters also reported sporadic clashes in the cites of Nantes, in the west, and Lyon in the southeast, with volleys of police tear gas and projectiles targeting officers.

    The Interior Ministry reported 94 arrests nationwide by midday.

    “Every time there’s a protest, it feels like daily life is held hostage,” said office worker Nathalie Laurent, grappling with disruptions on the Paris Metro during her morning commute.

    “You can feel the frustration in the air. People are tired,” she said. “It’s not very democratic when ordinary people can’t even do their jobs. And Lecornu — he’s only just started, but if this is his idea of stability, then he has a long way to go. We don’t need big speeches, we need to feel that someone in government understands what this chaos means for us.”

    The Paris Metro operator said rush-hour services suffered fewer disruptions than anticipated but that traffic largely stopped outside those hours except on three driverless automated lines.

    French national rail company SNCF said “a few disruptions” were expected on high-speed trains to France and Europe, but most will run.

    Regional rail lines, as well as the Paris Metro and commuter trains, will be more severely impacted.

    In airports, only few disruptions are anticipated as the main air traffic controllers union decided to postponed its call for a strike pending the appointment of a new Cabinet.

    Last week, a day of anti-government action across France saw streets choked with smoke, barricades in flames and volleys of tear gas as protesters denounced budget cuts and political turmoil.

    Although falling short of its self-declared intention of total disruption, the “Block Everything” campaign still managed to paralyze parts of daily life and ignite hundreds of hot spots across the country.

    ___

    Associated Press journalists Sylvie Corbet, Michael Euler, Oleg Cetinic and Yesica Brumec in Paris contributed.

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  • Boeing workers reject their latest contract offer, extending strike at three Midwest plants

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    Another contract proposal has been rejected by Boeing workers who now have been on strike for nearly six weeks from three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed.

    The vote on Friday refusing the latest proposal sends the workers back to the picket lines, according to the union representing the 3,200 striking workers who build fighter jets, weapons systems and the U.S. Navy’s first carrier-based unmanned aircraft. Fifty-seven percent of members voted against the proposal, the union said.

    “Boeing’s modified offer did not include a sufficient signing bonus relative to what other Boeing workers have received, or a raise in 401(k) benefits,” the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 837 said in a statement.

    “We’re disappointed our employees have rejected a 5-year offer, including 45% average wage growth,” said Dan Gillian, Boeing Air Dominance vice president and general manager, in an emailed statement. “We’ve made clear the overall economic framework of our offer will not change, but we have consistently adjusted the offer based on employee and union feedback to better address their concerns.”

    Boeing said no further talks are scheduled.

    “We will continue to execute our contingency plan, including hiring permanent replacement workers, as we maintain support for our customers,” Gillian said.

    The strike, which began Aug. 4, is far smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. Still, the work stoppage has threatened to complicate the aerospace company’s progress in regaining its financial footing.

    Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security business accounts for more than one-third of the company’s revenue.

    Boeing Co., based in Arlington, Virginia, employs more than 170,000 workers in the U.S. and more than 65 other countries.

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  • Arab world reacts to Israeli strike on Hamas leaders visiting Qatar

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    Qatar ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has urged U.S. President Donald Trump to back efforts to hold Israel responsible for recent strikes that targeted a delegation of senior Hamas officials who were meeting in Doha on Tuesday.

    Why It Matters

    Growing discontent with Israel among key U.S. partners have raised concerns about potential strains on Washington’s relationships. Arab leaders are signaling that repeated actions that destabilize the region cannot be allowed to continue with impunity.

    Trump said he did not support the location of Israeli strikes and that the actions do not serve U.S. interests. Unlike when Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran in June, Qatar is a major non-NATO ally, which Trump prioritized visiting on his first foreign trip since retaking office, and has been mediating alongside the U.S. for a Gaza ceasefire. It also gifted Trump with a $400-million Boeing 747 jet.

    This frame grab taken from an AFPTV footage shows smoke billowing after explosions in Qatar’s capital Doha on September 9, 2025.

    JACQUELINE PENNEY/AFPTV/AFP/Getty Images

    What To Know

    Qatar claimed it received no prior notification of the blasts that hit several locations across the capital, including residential buildings housing Hamas members, stating that information from the U.S. arrived 10 minutes into the attack. Trump, however, said Qatar had been informed of the “impending” attack, but that “it was too late to stop.”

    Arab and regional leaders reacted strongly to the strikes and condemned them as a blatant aggression and violation of Qatar’s sovereignty. Hamas confirmed that six people were killed in the Doha strike, including the son of senior leader Khalil al-Hayya, his chief of staff and three bodyguards.

    A Qatari security officer was also killed. Israel has not confirmed if senior Hamas officials were killed but Hamas said the attack “failed” to do so and that its leaders survived.

    The Qatari emir called on the international community to meet its “legal and moral responsibilities” and punish those involved, telling Trump in a phone call that Washington should support such a “just approach,” according to Qatar News Agency.

    Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that in the previous days, negotiations had been ongoing with full effort in response to a U.S. demand to discuss its latest ceasefire proposal, which came with an ultimatum for Hamas.

    “Yet, the Israeli side has sabotaged every opportunity for peace,” he said in a Tuesday press conference. “Does the international community need more to see who the bully in the region is?” he added.

    Backed by the U.S. in its goal to defeat Hamas, Israel hailed the operation, saying it targeted “terrorists” who planned the attack of October 7, 2023. The strikes are believed to have been carried with more than 10 fighter jets, according to media reports.

    Qatar also has the support and solidarity of regional countries and beyond as well as from the European Union and the United Nations.

    Saudi Arabia, another key Trump ally, said the country is making all its capacities available to support Qatar in whatever actions it pursues and warned of what it described as “grave consequences resulting from the Israeli occupation’s persistence in its criminal transgressions,” its foreign ministry stated.

    Hamas Leader Khalil al-Hayya
    Khalil al-Hayya, a high-ranking Hamas official who has represented the Palestinian militant group in negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal, in Istanbul on April 24, 2024.

    Khalil Hamra/AP Photo

    What People Are Saying

    Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign secretary said: “Everyone saw how our air defense deterred a barrage of missiles that were launched from Iran, but unfortunately the Israeli enemy used weapons that this radar did not detect.”

    U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday, according to The Associated Press: “I’m not thrilled about it, I’ll be giving a full statement tomorrow. But I will tell you this, I was very unhappy about it. Very unhappy about every aspect.”

    Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told Al Jazeera Wednesday: “Israel wants to impose its dominance over the region, and the scale of the threat is large and growing.”

    Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote on X on Tuesday: “Israel’s attack today on the Hamas negotiation delegation in Qatar has once again clearly demonstrated the blind rage of the [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu government and its intent to deepen the conflict and instability…Those who make terrorism a state policy will never achieve their goals.”

    Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati government adviser, wrote on X: “The security of the Arab Gulf states is indivisible, and we stand heart and soul with the sisterly State of Qatar, condemning the treacherous Israeli attack that targeted it, and affirming our full solidarity with it in confronting this aggression.”

    What Happens Next

    Qatar is yet to announce details of its next course of action in response to Israel, which has vowed to continue its mission against “enemies everywhere, at every range.”

    It remains to see what steps Trump is taking to de-escalate tensions and maintain relations with partners in the region.

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  • Yemenis mourn killed Houthi prime minister as rebel group targets ship in Red Sea

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    ADEN, Yemen — Hundreds of Yemenis mourned Monday the death of Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed al-Rahawi, killed last week along with several officials by an Israeli strike, as the group targeted an oil tanker in the Red Sea, renewing their attacks in the crucial global waterway.

    The Israeli attack came three days after the Houthis launched a ballistic missile toward Israel that its military described as the first cluster bomb the Iranian-backed rebels had launched at it since 2023.

    In the capital city of Sanaa, mourners attended the funeral, held at Shaab Mosque and broadcast by Al-Masirah TV, a Houthi-controlled satellite news channel.

    Crowds inside the mosque chanted against Israel and the United States as they grieved the deaths of the officials, including the foreign affairs, media and culture, and industrial ministers.

    Funeral attendees Ahmed Khaled and Fathy Mahmoud told The Associated Press the families of the slain officials arrived in ambulances for the funeral, where the bodies were placed in caskets inside the mosque.

    Footage showed 11 coffins with individual photos of the killed officials on each and wrapped in Yemeni flags.

    “We’re participating in this funeral because Israel killed those officials and that’s enough reason to attend their funeral,” Ahmed Azam, another attendee, told the AP.

    Al-Rahawi was the most senior Houthi official to be killed since an Israeli-U.S. campaign against the rebel group started earlier this year. Other ministers and officials were wounded, confirmed a Houthi statement on Thursday, following the Israeli attack.

    “We entered a huge and influential war and clashed with the U.S. This war was not only military-focused but also economic as Israel targeted everything,” Acting Houthi Prime Minister Mohamed Muftah said in his address at the funeral on Monday.

    He confirmed that despite Israeli attacks, Yemeni ports controlled by the group are still functioning and that there is no food or fuel crisis.

    The Yemeni rebels said Monday they launched a missile at an oil tanker off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea.

    Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed responsibility in a prerecorded message aired on Al-Masirah. He alleged the vessel, the Liberian-flagged Scarlet Ray, owned by Eastern Pacific, had ties to Israel.

    The maritime security firm Ambrey described the ship as fitting the Houthis’ “target profile, as the vessel is publicly Israeli owned.”

    Eastern Pacific is a company that is ultimately controlled by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer and had been previously targeted in suspected Iranian attacks.

    In a statement, the company said “the vessel has not sustained any damage and continues to operate under the command of its Master. All crew members onboard the Scarlet Ray are safe and accounted for.”

    The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks on Israel and on ships in the Red Sea in response to the war in Gaza, saying they were acting in solidarity with Palestinians. Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods pass each year.

    The Iranian-backed Houthis stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war. They later became the target of an intense weekslong campaign of airstrikes ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump before he declared a ceasefire had been reached with the rebels. The Houthis sank two vessels in July, killing at least four on board, with others believed to be held by the rebels.

    The Houthis’ fresh attacks come as a new, possible ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war remains in the balance. Meanwhile, the future of talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s battered nuclear program is in question after Israel launched a 12-day war against the Islamic Republic in which the Americans bombed three Iranian atomic sites.

    A U.N. official said the world body was unable to contact many of its staff in Houthi-held areas as of Monday morning.

    The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said 11 U.N. staffers, who were detained on Sunday during a Houthi raid on their offices, include international and local workers, and a senior international official. The rebel group also seized documents and other materials from the U.N. offices, according to the official.

    World Food Program executive director Cindy McCain said Monday afternoon on X that Houthis forcibly entered WFP offices, confiscated and destroyed property, and detained nine of its team members — part of the 11 already arrested. McCain wrote the rebel group’s actions were “unacceptable.” ___

    Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Magdy and Khaled from Cairo.

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