Star Tribune
Nissan, Honda confirm talks on closer collaboration but say there’s been no decision on a merger
The company has struggled for years following a scandal that began with the arrest of its former chairman Carlos Ghosn in late 2018 on charges of fraud and misuse of company assets, allegations that he denies. He eventually was released on bail and fled to Lebanon.
Honda reported its profits slipped nearly 20% in the first half of the April-March fiscal year from a year earlier, as sales suffered in China.
Toyota made 11.5 million vehicles in 2023, while Honda rolled out 4 million and Nissan produced 3.4 million. Mitsubishi Motors made just over 1 million. Even after a merger Toyota would remain the leading Japanese automaker.
All the global automakers are facing potential shocks if President-elect Donald Trump follows through on threats to raise or impose tariffs on imports of foreign products, even from allies like Japan and neighboring countries like Canada and Mexico. Nissan is among the major car companies that have adjusted their supply chains to include vehicles assembled in Mexico.
Meanwhile, analysts say there is an ‘’affordability shift’’ taking place across the industry, led by people who feel they cannot afford to pay nearly $50,000 for a new vehicle. In American, a vital market for companies like Nissan, Honda and Toyota, that’s forcing automakers to consider lower pricing, which will eat further into industry profits.
The district’s attorney and three board members advised against a policy that mandates reliance on Book Looks’ ratings. In a statement, the attorney said the language in the policy would “arguably violate the state law by supplanting the library media specialist’s professional judgment with an external rating system” since Book Looks does not “appear to have any professional library credentials.” The attorney also cautioned against using the site because of its perceived “ideological perspective,” which could “run afoul of the First Amendment.”
Book Looks was started by Emily Maikisch, a former member of Moms for Liberty. A representative with Book Looks did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Book Looks site says it is not affiliated with Moms for Liberty or with any other groups but says it does “communicate with other individuals and groups with whom there is an intersection of mission and values.”
That’s one of the reasons St. Francis Board Member Amy Kelly said the board chose Book Looks.
“We’re red here,” she said at the Nov. 25 meeting, adding that district policies should reflect the community’s priorities. “We’re not always going to be on the same page, but I know we’re conservative. [Community members] don’t want the stuff in the library.”
So far, the district has removed “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” and “Out of Darkness” because of their Book Looks ratings, said Ryan Fiereck, the president of the St. Francis teachers union. “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” had gone through a review committee, which deemed it appropriate to keep in the library, he said, and “Out of Darkness” was set to be reviewed by the committee before the new policy was approved.
Fiereck said he’s heard from union members and community members who disagree with the board’s policy revision.
Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber is challenging the federal government’s plan to idle the Federal Prison Camp in Duluth, a minimum-security facility that is among seven across the country slated to close due to aging infrastructure and staffing challenges.
Stauber, who represents northeastern Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District, on Wednesday called the move “quite misguided. The motives behind this decision do not appear to be reasonable or sound and I am disappointed by the way the announcement was rolled out.”
But many of the facility’s approximately 90 employees may find themselves without a job, since only 15 are expected to be transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution in Sandstone, about 70 miles away from Duluth, according to a letter Stauber sent Tuesday to Colette Peters, director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Stauber was quoting job estimates from union officials, who were not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
It’s unclear when the Duluth prison’s operations will cease. “To inform the employees they would be out of the job through an impersonal letter right before Christmas is far too insensitive,” Stauber wrote, noting he will work with the incoming Trump Administration to reverse the decision.
More than 700 inmates currently incarcerated at the Duluth facility will be transferred to other prisons.
The all-male Duluth prison camp, located on a former U.S. Air Force base, has “aging and dilapidated infrastructure,” including several condemned buildings contaminated with asbestos and lead paint, according to Bureau of Prisons documents obtained by the Associated Press.
While the snowflakes, holiday lights and cold temps suggest otherwise, the season does not begin until the winter solstice on Saturday, Dec. 21.
The winter solstice is the precise moment when the sun appears farthest south in the sky. This year’s solstice is at 3:21 a.m. CT in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory.
It marks the shortest day of the year, with the fewest hours of possible sunlight and the most hours of darkness.
With days set to lengthen, the winter solstice is often seen as a time of renewal in different cultures.
In Minnesota, there are several winter festivals and wellness-related events taking place to help commemorate the season.
“Since pagan days, solstice has traditionally meant the ‘year as reborn,’ with ancient and modern Scandinavians fusing it into the longer ‘Jul’ or Yule season,” according to the American Swedish Institute, which holds a popular annual event each winter solstice.
Here are a handful of solstice events happening around the Twin Cities:
The Bell Museum: Celebrate the sun’s “rebirth,” and observe the sun through telescopes outside the museum from noon to 2 p.m. Other winter programming including a signs of the seasons exhibit and winter walk are ongoing.
