Top 8 today

Top eight stories for today including workers across France went on strike and thousands of protesters joined demonstrations over the cost-of-living crisis; A federal magistrate judge ruled pasta giant Barilla cannot duck a class action for false and deceptive advertising; A jury found Paul Flores guilty of murdering California Polytechnic University student Kristin Smart in 1996, and more.

National

‘Italy’s #1 brand of pasta’ Barilla must face deceptive labeling class action

A federal magistrate judge ruled pasta giant Barilla cannot duck a class action for false and deceptive advertising, finding consumers could be misled by the phrase “Italy’s #1 brand of pasta” and believe its products are actually made in Italy.

(Image by Jan Vašek from Pixabay via Courthouse News)

Workplace safety suit by Amazon warehouse workers revived

Amazon must face a suit alleging that the e-commerce behemoth failed to adequately protect thousands of New York warehouse workers from Covid-19, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday.

Christian Smalls, president of the Amazon Labor Union, speaks at a rally outside an Amazon facility on Staten Island in New York on April 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Regional

California ballot measure to fund EV subsidies beset by strange political divide

You might think that a ballot measure to raise income taxes on millionaires to fund electric vehicle subsidies would be a no-brainer in California. But passage of the referendum, which is on the ballot this November, is far from assured.

Electric vehicle owners chat while charging up at a station. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown)

Paul Flores guilty in 1996 murder of student Kristin Smart

A jury on Tuesday found Paul Flores guilty of murdering California Polytechnic University student Kristin Smart in 1996, following a monthslong trial — and 26 years of fervent investigation.

Paul Flores appears in a Monterey County Court room. He is being tried in the murder of Kristin Smart. (Daniel Dreifuss/ Monterey County Weekly)

Feds to hold California offshore wind energy lease sale in December

The U.S. Department of the Interior on Tuesday announced a West Coast first: an offshore wind energy lease sale in December for areas along the central and northern coasts of California.

Three of Deepwater Wind's turbines stand in the water off Block Island, R.I. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

International

Denmark says explosions ripped holes in Nord Stream pipelines

An investigation by Danish police found that gas leaks from Nord Stream 1 and 2 last month were caused by “powerful explosions,” as new images show a large crack in one pipeline and craters on the seabed.

A large disturbance in the sea can be observed off the coast of the Danish island of Bornholm on Sept. 27, 2022, following a series of unusual leaks on two natural gas pipelines running from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany. (Danish Defense Command via AP)

France goes on strike as Europe’s cost-of-living crisis deepens

Workers across France went on strike Tuesday, and thousands of protesters joined demonstrations in Paris and other cities, to express their frustration with soaring inflation and the country's overhaul of its pension system.

A protester runs with a flag of the National Confederation of Labor Union (CNT) during an Oct. 18, 2022, demonstration in Marseille, southern France. France is in the grip of transport strikes and protests for salary raise that threaten to dovetail with days of wage strikes that have already hobbled fuel refineries and depots, sparking chronic gasoline shortages around the country. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

European rights court hears yearlong house arrest case

Europe’s top rights court heard arguments on Tuesday over whether a 13-month house arrest order imposed on a French man for alleged extremist views violated his human rights.

A victim under a blanket lies dead outside the Bataclan theater in Paris on Nov. 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

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