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Kings Dominion owner merging with Six Flags in amusement park deal valued at $2 billion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

Amusement Park operator Cedar Fair, whose parks include Kings Dominion in Virginia, will merge with Six Flags Entertainment, whose parks include Six Flags America in Maryland, in an all-stock deal valued at $2 billion.The companies call the deal a merger of equals. Cedar Fair shareholders will own 51.2% of the combined company, while Six Flags shareholders will own 48.8%. Both companies’ boards have approved the deal. It still needs shareholder approval.The newly-formed company will operate under the Six Flags name, but adopt Cedar Fair’s New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol “FUN.”Combined, the company will operate 27 amusement parks, 15 water parks and nine resort properties in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.Amusement parks had a good summer this year. Six Flags parks drew 9.3 million visitors in the third quarter, up 16% from a year ago. Cedar Fair’s parks had 12.4 million visitors in the third quarter, a 1% increase.“Six Flags and Cedar Fair shar...

UAW members at the first Ford plant to go on strike vote overwhelmingly to approve new contract

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Autoworkers at the first Ford factory to go on strike have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a tentative contract agreement reached with the company. Members of Local 900 at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, west of Detroit voted 81% in favor of the four year-and-eight month deal, according to Facebook postings by local members on Thursday.Two union officials confirmed the accuracy of the percentage Thursday. Neither wanted to be identified because the vote totals had not been made public.About 3,300 United Auto Workers union members went on strike at the plant Sept. 15 after the union’s contract with Ford expired. They remained on the picket lines until Oct. 25, when the union announced the tentative deal with Ford.Production workers voted 81% to ratify the deal, while skilled trades workers voted 90% in favor. Voting at Ford will continue through Nov. 17. Local union leaders from across the country at Jeep maker Stellantis are meeting in Detroit T...

The NBA’s In-Season Tournament is finally set to begin, giving teams another trophy shot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

Someone asked San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich this week about the chances the Spurs and rookie Victor Wembanyama have of winning the NBA Finals this year.Popovich politely laughed. “Talking about the Spurs and the finals is premature,” he said.But there is another trophy the Spurs — and every other team in the league — have a chance at winning. The NBA’s In-Season Tournament starts Friday, after years of planning by Commissioner Adam Silver to have a second trophy for teams to compete for during the season. He’s likened it to what happens in global soccer and thinks having something besides the end-of-season title will heighten interest.“It’s exciting for everybody,” Popovich said. “You have to understand: all these guys are very competitive. It doesn’t matter what team. They’ve been competitive all their lives to reach this level of basketball. If you put something out there like this, it just adds to that competitiveness and really signals what might...

Spurs managers old and new face off as Postecoglou awaits Pochettino’s Chelsea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — A lot has changed at Tottenham since Mauricio Pochettino was shown the door four years ago this month. The club is on its fourth different manager since then, for a start. But by design or sheer luck, Spurs have stumbled across a coach in Ange Postecoglou who has re-energized the club in double quick time and brought the kind of feel-good factor that hasn’t been present since Pochettino’s departure. The Australian’s impact since being hired at the end of last season has defied expectations and Pochettino returns to Tottenham on Monday with his former club undefeated and at the top of the Premier League after 10 games. Postecoglou is the first coach to win the Premier League manager of the month award in his first two months in England’s top flight — a feat even Pep Guardiola did not manage. And he could make it a hat trick after being nominated again for October. Even the most optimistic of Spurs fans could not have hoped for such a...

Flight attendants who blamed uniforms for their health issues win a lawsuit against clothing company

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

A jury in California ruled that a clothing company should pay more than $1 million to four American Airlines flight attendants who blamed chemicals used in the production of their uniforms for causing a variety of ailments including rashes, headaches and breathing problems.The verdict last week could be just the tip of the iceberg: Lawyers say they represent more than 400 other flight attendants who are making the same claims against the uniform maker.The judge has not affirmed the jury’s decision. A lawyer for the flight attendants called that step a technicality. The uniform maker’s lawyers declined to say whether they will appeal.American gave new uniforms to flight attendants in 2016, and many were happy to get them after a decade wearing the same outfit. Complaints soon followed, however. “I would wake up and my eyes would be completely swollen. I looked like I had been in a boxing match,” says Tracey Silver-Charan. “I was unable to breathe. I often felt like I was ...

The US sanctions more foreign firms in a bid to choke off Russia’s supplies for its war in Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Thursday imposed a new round of sanctions on 130 firms and people from Turkey, China and the United Arab Emirates in an effort to choke off Russia’s access to tools and equipment that support its invasion of Ukraine.The sanctions imposed by Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control target third-party firms and people alleged to assist Moscow in procuring equipment needed on the battlefield, including suppliers and shippers. In addition, the State Department imposed diplomatic sanctions targeting Russian energy production and its metals and mining sector.Thursday’s sanctions targets include Turkish national Berk Turken and his firms, which are alleged to have ties to Russian intelligence. The Treasury Department said Turken’s network arranged payments and shipping details designed to bypass sanctions and move goods from Turkey to Russia.A series of United Arab Emirates firms alleged to have shipped aviation e...

No. 4 Florida State QB Jordan Travis has thrown 1 TD in 20 straight games, next faces Pitt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

No. 4 Florida State (8-0, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) at Pittsburgh (2-6, 1-3), Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)Line: Florida State by 21 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.Series record: Pitt leads 6-4.WHAT’S AT STAKE?The Seminoles can clinch their first appearance in the ACC championship game since 2014 if they can avoid a letdown against the reeling Panthers. Pitt needs to win out to avoid missing a bowl game for just the second time in coach Pat Narduzzi’s nine seasons. That could be asking for a lot following a 58-7 blowout loss to Notre Dame.KEY MATCHUPPitt’s offensive line vs. Florida State’s front seven. Injuries and shaky play have wreaked havoc on a unit that is typically a strength for the Panthers. Sophomore QB Christian Veilleux spent most of the Notre Dame game running away from defenders, leading to poor throws that turned into interceptions. For Pitt to have any chance, they need to protect Veilleux and open holes for a running game that is dead ...

Pennsylvania to partner with natural gas driller on in-depth study of air emissions, water quality

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

The state of Pennsylvania will work with a major natural gas producer to collect in-depth data on air emissions and water quality at well sites, enhance public disclosure of drilling chemicals and expand buffer zones, officials announced Thursday, touting the collaboration as the first of its kind.CNX Resources Corp., based in Canonsburg, will partner with the state Department of Environmental Protection on environmental monitoring at two future well sites throughout all stages of the drilling and fracking process — an intensive data-collection exercise that could be used to drive future policy changes. CNX will also report air quality data on a new website, beginning with one of its existing wells in Washington County, in the state’s southwest corner, and eventually expanding to its entire Pennsylvania operation. The company has drilled more than 500 wells in the vast Marcellus Shale natural gas field. Gov. Josh Shapiro was set to appear with Nick Deiuliis, CNX’s president an...

Investors Title: Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Investors Title Co. (ITIC) on Thursday reported net income of $7.1 million in its third quarter.The Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based company said it had net income of $3.75 per share.The insurance company posted revenue of $61.4 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ITIC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ITICSource

Netanyahu has sidestepped accountability for Hamas attack, instead taking aim at his security chiefs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:55 GMT

A growing list of Israeli officials have accepted responsibility for failing to prevent Hamas’ brutal attack on Israeli communities during the Oct. 7 incursion that triggered the current Israel-Hamas war. Conspicuously absent from that roll call is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Following the horrific assault, which saw the deadliest day for Israelis since the country was established 75 years ago, Netanyahu has repeatedly sidestepped accountability. He has instead blamed others, in what critics say shows a leader thinking more about his own political survival than soothing and steering a traumatized nation.“Netanyahu is fighting a personal battle of survival and that takes precedence over fighting Israel’s war against Hamas,” said Netanyahu biographer and journalist Anshel Pfeffer. “As part of that battle, he’s prepared to malign those who are now commanding Israel’s army and intelligence services.”When hundreds of Hamas militants broke down Israel’s...