Retailers brace for strike at ports
Retailers brace for strike at ports
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A union representing dock workers at the East Coast’s busiest port has authorized a strike if a contract deal isn’t reached by the end of next month, lending urgency to preparations by retailers to send cargo elsewhere if labor talks affecting the entire seaboard remain at a standstill.
The negotiations affect ports up and down the East Coast and turn on key issues of overtime rules and container royalties, which are payments to union workers based on the weight of cargo received at each port. Talks broke down last week, and both sides said Wednesday no new discussions had been scheduled.
Some retailers had already put contingency plans into action and were rerouting ships to the West Coast or seeking other alternatives, while others were on the verge of acting, according to Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation.
“Some already have decided to move cargo to the West Coast or to bring it earlier to the East Coast,” Gold said. “From what most folks have told me, they’re going to decide in the next week whether they’re going to pull the trigger.”
The Port of Los Angeles was prepared for the additional traffic, spokesman Phillip Sanfield said.
Young rape victim
cries in testimony
LIBERTY, Texas (AP) — One of the men accused in a series of repeated sexual assaults of a young Texas girl disappeared from his trial Wednesday, following a day of emotional testimony from the now 13-year-old girl who cried as a video of one of the encounters was played for jurors.
Testimony continued despite the absence of 20-year-old defendant Eric McGowen, who is one of 14 adults accused of having sex with the girl during a nearly three-month span two years ago. Six boys also are charged in the case.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys huddled briefly with District Judge Mark Morefield in front of his bench when defendant Eric McGowen, 20, failed to return to the courtroom following an afternoon break. The judge then told jurors the trial would go on without him.
Morefield later said a bench warrant had been issued, and McGowen’s bond was increased from $35,000 to $250,000. The judge denied a defense motion for a continuance in the case and said the trial would resume Thursday morning. McGowen is charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and faces up to life in prison if convicted.
The girl told jurors about two incidents, one in October 2010 and one the next month, in which McGowen and several other men and boys took turns having sex with her while recording the encounters on video.
The girl briefly broke down in tears as jurors were shown a few minutes of video of an alleged October 2010 sexual assault in a house in Cleveland.
Lennon killer has
plans if he’s freed
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The man who killed ex-Beatle John Lennon said in his most recent parole bid that he hoped to live and work with an upstate New York minister if released, according to a hearing transcript released Wednesday.
Mark David Chapman, 57, was denied parole last week for the seventh time. He can try again in two years. Chapman shot Lennon in December 1980 outside the Manhattan apartment building where the former Beatle lived.
Child foundation,
oven-maker fight
BOSTON (AP) — A foundation set up by late chef Julia Child is locked in a legal fight with the manufacturer of Thermador ovens for touting her use of its high-end appliances.
The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts claims BSH Home Appliances Corp. is using Child’s name and image without permission. The Irvine, Calif.-based manufacturer says it is simply making a factual reference to Child’s use of its appliances.
BSH filed a lawsuit in Boston against the foundation last week, asking a federal judge to determine the rights of both sides. The foundation countered by filing two lawsuits this week against BHS, one in state court in Santa Barbara, Calif., where the foundation is based, and the other in federal court in Los Angeles. The lawsuits ask for an injunction to stop BSH from using Child’s name and seek unspecified monetary damages.
Child, who died in 2004, had a Thermador oven in her Cambridge kitchen. It’s now displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington. She also used Thermador products on the set of her popular television show, “The French Chef.”
In its complaint, BSH said the foundation last month sent the company a letter in which it said it has exclusive ownership and control of Child’s name, image, likeness and celebrity identity as well as trademarks and copyrights related to her. BSH said the foundation alleged that BSH’s use of Child’s name and image constitutes copyright infringement, trademark infringement and “a post-mortem violation of Julia Child’s right of publicity.”
The foundation demanded that BSH stop using the name, image and “all other indicia of Julia Child’s personality,” according to the complaint filed by BSH.
BSH acknowledges that it has used images of Child and references to her use of Thermador products on its website and on social media sites, but its attorneys wrote in the complaint that “those uses do not state or imply any endorsement by Ms. Child.”
The company said its references to Child “reflect on the long history, significance and influence of Thermador products on American society and culture, and Ms. Child’s documented and well-known use of those products.”
The foundation, in its lawsuits, said Child, who rose to prominence in the 1960s through her books and TV appearances, had many endorsement opportunities during her lengthy career but chose to forgo them.
“Instead, she focused her career on public education, and allowed her show to be broadcast on PBS, a nonprofit television network, for its entire 10-year run,” the state lawsuit said.
The foundation said BHS has featured Child’s name and photo prominently in advertising, marketing and promotional materials, including on the homepage of the Thermador website, creating the appearance the Child had been its spokeswoman during her career.
Child was opposed to endorsing products, brands or services, the foundation said in a statement Wednesday.
“She believed it detracted from her credibility as a trusted source to her many fans and colleagues who relied on her for information, guidance and inspiration,” the statement said.