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A gunman who killed four people at a Tulsa hospital Wednesday targeted a doctor who had treated him and bought the AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting on the day of the attack, police said. Michael Louis was armed with a rifle, which he had purchased at 2 p.m. Wednesday, and a handgun when he went to St. Francis Hospital shortly before 5 p.m., officials said. He opened fire inside the Natalie Building, killing Dr. Preston Phillips and Dr. Stephanie Husen, receptionist Amanda Glenn and a patient, William Love, police said at a news conference Thursday. Tulsa Police Chief Wendell...

Diners are feeling a sense of déjà vu as restaurants are again selling food for takeout only, closing dining-room seating or shortening hours as the Omicron variant of Covid-19 spreads. Chains such as Starbucks Corp. and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said they are temporarily limiting operations at individual stores or regions as they face labor shortages and a rise in Covid-19 cases. Other restaurant operators said more of their staff are testing positive for the coronavirus in the Omicron surge than during the growth of the earlier Delta variant and are voluntarily closing for stretches as a result. "It’s one...

New York on Wednesday reported a new single-day high of 67,000 COVID-19 cases, a 64 percent increase in 24 hours, amid a recent rise of testing numbers due to the nationwide surge of the omicron variant. More people are taking COVID-19 tests as families gather for the holidays, and as the threat of the highly contagious omicron variant hits the United States.

Pfizer says it is prepared to roll out its COVID-19 vaccine within “hours” of being approved. CEO Albert Bourla said Thursday the drug company plans to start the process to apply for approval from regulatory agencies across the world in a matter of days, Sky News reported. “Once they give us the green light, our goal is to start shipping in a couple of hours,” Bourla said. Bourla noted that certain agencies could take longer than others to approve the vaccine, which it says has been shown to be 95 percent effective in preventing the virus during trials.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Beginning Oct. 19, Encore at Wynn Las Vegas will alter its operating hours due to low demand. The resort closed at noon on Monday, and will reopen at 2 p.m. every Thursday. Hotel guests will be able to check in at Encore beginning at 2 p.m. on Thursdays, and final check out will be noon on Mondays. The Poker Room at Encore will temporarily move to Wynn Las Vegas beginning October 19 and operate 7 days a week, the resort noted. The Poker area will be located on the casino floor near the Wynn self-park garage.

The Trump administration eased rules Thursday that limit working hours for truck drivers, and the changes brought immediate protests from labor and safety groups. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration extended the maximum working day for short-haul drivers from 12 hours to 14 hours and expanded how far they can drive in a day. The agency said this will let truckers make more deliveries. For long-haul drivers, the regulator will let work other than driving - such as loading or unloading, filling out paperwork, or communicating with an employer or customer - count toward a mandatory 30-minute break after eight...

STORES THAT ARE TEMPORARILY CLOSED Old Navy is closing all stores in the U.S. temporarily starting March 19. More infoAll IKEA stores in the U.S. are temporarily closed. More infoAll TJX Company retail locations and website will close for two weeks starting March 19, including T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, and Marshalls stores. More infoAll Kohl's stores will temporarily close nationwide starting March 19 at 7 p.m. More infoOrchards Mall in Benton Harbor will temporarily close from March 20 until at least March 30.Simon, who owns University Park Mall in Mishawaka and Lighthouse Premium Outlets in Michigan City, has temporarily closed all retail properties in the United States. All Disney stores in North America are temporarily closed.All U.S. Sephora locations will be closed through April...

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Walmart announces changes to hours of operation and special shopping hours as the COVID-19 pandemic changes the landscape of daily life across the country. Over the weekend Walmart stores adjusted its operating hours to help make it easier for associates to stock and perform enhanced cleaning and sanitizing. Walmart saw the results of its efforts and will take additional steps beginning Thursday, March 19. Store Operating Hours Walmart U.S. stores will adjust operating hours to 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Stores that open later than 7 a.m. will continue their regular starting hours. This will further...

Amazon finally caved to pressure for a company-wide $15 minimum wage in November. At Whole Foods, the difference looks to be made up in cuts to scheduled hours. According to reports by the Guardian, employees — who remained anonymous in fear of retaliation — have experienced “significant” decreases to their scheduled hours. In many cases, this negates or even supersedes the increased hourly rate. Employees report a “30% reduction in hours per week for part-timers and about a 10% reduction for full-timers,” with one Illinois-based employee specifically saying that after the raise, his “hours went from 30 to 20 a...

But the story didn’t stop there. Late last month we highlighted an internal memo circulated at Arkansas recruiting firm Cameron Smith & Associates which looked to be an attempt to prepare the firm’s employees for layoffs at Wal-Mart’s home office. Then, not a week later, Bloomberg ran a story detailing the grievances of some senior Wal-Mart employees who suddenly realized that although they may still be making more than their subordinates, the wage hierarchy had been distorted and that distortion had nothing to do with merit. As we put it, “higher paid employees don’t understand why everyone under them in...

An 82-year-old woman who was raped by a stranger after she got off a bus last week was forced to wait three hours for a Milwaukee police squad car to respond, police records show. The woman, who has difficulty seeing, finally called back the police dispatcher and asked if she could take a shower, which would have removed key evidence from the rape. The victim was told "do not do anything until a squad arrives." Finally, three hours and six minutes after the assault was first reported, squad cars arrived, according to records obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. A...

The governor of Wisconsin has provoked the ire of the higher education establishment in the state by suggesting that professors on the state payroll spend less and work more. "In the future, by not having the limitation of things like shared governance, they might be able to make savings just by asking faculty and staff to consider teaching one more class a semester," Governor Scott Walker told reporters at the Madison hotel. "Things like that could have tremendous impact on making sure we have an affordable education for all of our UW campuses at the same time we maintain a...

Philadelphia Police are searching for a man who stabbed a McDonald’s employee after an argument over the store’s closing time.The entire altercation was caught on the store’s surveillance cameras.The incident happened at about 11 p.m. on November 3rd inside the McDonald’s Restaurant located at 2851 Grays Ferry Avenue. The suspect and a companion were eating inside the restaurant when they were told the dining area was closing and they were asked to leave. The suspect became irate and began to argue with several employees. The suspect then followed one of the employees outside and continued to argue. When the employee...

<p>Charlie Crist's campaign has filed a motion to extend voting hours in Broward County.</p>

Local governments, community colleges and other public employers are cutting work hours among part-time employees to prepare for coming mandates under Obamacare, according to the New York Times. President Obama twice has delayed the law’s “employer mandate,” which will require large employers to provide health insurance or pay fines. It starts in 2016 for midsize employers and will phase in starting in 2015 for employers of 100 workers or more. But public sector employers are trimming back work hours now, because their obligations will be based on data from this year, the Times reported.

**SNIP** Many of his students who work to pay for their education and living expenses are complaining about being cut to 28 hours. “They’re saying they couldn’t pay their bills at 40 hours, so now they’re having to get a second job,” Diaz said. “That is the new trend.” But it’s not just restaurant workers and sales clerks who are feeling the squeeze. Universities and community colleges that rely heavily on part-time faculty have had to make the hard choice of cutting the number of classes they teach because the schools can’t afford to offer them health insurance.

More than 300 public sector employers have systematically cut work hours for part-time employees to avoid liability under ObamaCare's employer insurance mandate. IBD's list of both public and private-sector employers cutting work hours or staffing levels as a result of the employer mandate now totals 388. Among the new additions to the list is Miami-Dade County Public Schools, which will limit part-time workers to 25 hours per week. Penn State University joins a large group of colleges cutting work hours for undergraduate and graduate students to avoid responsibility for paying for their health care.

GOS, Nigeria – Entombed at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean in an upended tugboat for three days, Harrison Odjegba Okene begged God for a miracle. The Nigerian cook survived by breathing an ever-dwindling supply of oxygen in an air pocket. The other 11 seaman aboard the Jascon 4 died... It was a shock for the diver while he was down there looking for bodies, and we (in the control room) shot back when the hand grabbed him on the screen." Okene kept faith with the psalm he recited, that promises to "give thanks in your name, Lord," at a...

OAKLAND -- Some were attending a birthday party. Others were working at a downtown a hair salon or on their way to a fast-food restaurant. In less than 24 hours over the weekend, 12 people were shot along Oakland streets -- three of them fatally, their deaths marking the city's 63rd, 64th and 65th homicides of the year. As of Sunday evening, investigators had not identified a motive or a suspect in any of the shootings, and none appeared to be connected, police said.

Four public colleges and universities: Florida’s Palm Beach State College, Pennsylvania’s Community College of Allegheny County, Ohio’s Youngstown State University, and New Jersey’s Kean University, are all planning to move adjunct and “contingent” faculty members to part-time status in order to avoid an Obamacare provision requiring businesses with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health coverage for at least 95 percent of their workers. **SNIP** Teachers’ associations like AAUP and AFT are bracing for the shift. Next week, AFT will host a webinar for its members addressing “the implications of the Affordable Care Act for contingent faculty.” In the...