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S&P/TSX composite edges lower Friday, U.S. stock markets also decline

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:42 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index drifted lower Friday, pulled lower by energy, technology and base metals, while U.S. markets also ended the day down after a busy week of economic data and an interest-rate pause from the central bank.  Markets gave back some of their gains but still finished the week strong, said Monda Mahajan, senior investment strategist with Edward Jones.“I think we’re just taking a bit of a breather before a long weekend here in the U.S.,” she said. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 51.98 points at 19,975.37.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 108.94 points at 34,299.12.The S&P 500 index was down 16.25 points at 4,409.59, while the Nasdaq composite was down 93.25 points at 13,689.57.The big news item for the week was the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold its key interest rate steady for the first time since it began its tightening cycle last year. While the announcement was largely anticipated Wednesday, the central ...

African descent advisory group feels lied to over police return to Vancouver schools

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:42 GMT

VANCOUVER — Members of the African descent advisory committee for the Vancouver Police Department say they feel they were lied to over the process to reinstate a program that deploys armed officers to public schools.Parker Johnson said he and the other committee members had “unanimously and unreservedly” determined they did not want police returning to schools this fall, and they were surprised to learn Thursday that a decision had already been made.Johnson was among those who walked out of a Vancouver Police Board meeting, where board member Rachel Roy resigned over the handling of the re-introduction of the contentious program that had been scrapped by the previous school board in 2021.Newly elected school trustees voted five-to-four last November to bring back a “reimagined” program, while the police board voted to approve the department’s budget, which included an allocation for the school liaison officer program.Video from the previous police board...

Father of Highland Park mass shooter appears in court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:42 GMT

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. -- The father of a man charged with fatally shooting seven people at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago appeared in court Friday.Robert Crimo Jr. entered a not guilty plea in February to charges that he helped his son obtain a gun license three years before the attack.He was arrested and charged in December 2022 on seven felony counts of reckless conduct — one count for each person killed. Each count carries a maximum 3-year prison term. These are the victims of the Highland Park parade shooting Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart has said the accusations against Crimo Jr. are based on his sponsorship of his son’s application for a gun license in December 2019.“Parents and guardians are in the best position to decide whether their teenagers should have a weapon,” Rinehart said after the father’s arrest. “In this case, the system failed when Robert Crimo Jr. sponsored his son. He knew what he knew and he signed the form anyway.”Legal experts have...

7 year-old's wish to see Taylor Swift in concert 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:42 GMT

O'FALLON, Mo. (KTVI) — Seven year-old Alma Lacoste lives life a little differently than many other kids her age. Alma was born with spina bifida, a condition that affects the spine, and which limits her mobility. She uses a wheelchair — and when she's at her O'Fallon, Missouri, home, she crawls. “Since April, she has been in the hospital four times with two surgeries,” said Kayla Buckowitz, Alma's mother. “... It's really hard just to see her have to go through so much.” Man says Tesla’s security camera caught woman vandalizing vehicle The 7 year-old has been in and out of hospital rooms since she was born. She also lives with hydrocephalus and epilepsy. Buckowitz says Alma has probably had around 10 surgeries in her young life. Her first surgery happened while she was still in the womb. Through it all, there’s been one constant: Alma's love for music superstar Taylor Swift. She says she loves to sing Taylor's hits everywhere, from home to her hospital bed.“She’s my favorite,...

Trucking company using video game billboards to recruit drivers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:42 GMT

(The Hill) – Transportation and logistics company Schneider National is going to new frontiers to find its next generation of truckers. The company announced last week that it is partnering with video game “American Truck Simulator” to recruit drivers with virtual billboards.“American Truck Simulator,” developed by Czech firm SCS Software, gives players a chance to head their own independent logistics firms. The first-person perspective puts the player in the virtual cockpit of real 18-wheeler as they drive across the American West hauling cargo, and if they want to avoid fines, obey traffic laws.Advanced simulation monitors everything from brake bias to transmission changes, and the most dedicated players own complex control setups meant to mimic actual trucks, according to the game's website.On the roadside, players see billboards just like anyone does on the side of an interstate. But instead of advertisements for a fast food restaurant, upcoming gas station or a lawyer's fi...

Pete Davidson charged with reckless driving months after Beverly Hills crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:42 GMT

(KTLA) – Comedian and actor Pete Davidson has been charged with misdemeanor reckless driving months after crashing into the side of a Beverly Hills home, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Friday.The charge stems from a March 4 incident in which Davidson was allegedly driving a Mercedes Benz at a high rate of speed.He lost control of the vehicle before jumping a curb, taking out a fire hydrant and crashing into the side of a house, police said at the time.Davidson’s girlfriend, actress Chase Sui Wonders, was in the car at the time.No one was injured in the crash. Driver whose car vaulted over tow truck speaks out “We believe that Mr. Davidson engaged in reckless driving, which ultimately resulted in his involvement in a serious collision into a home,” a D.A. spokesman told KTLA.Davidson, 29, is best known for his eight-season stretch on “Saturday Night Live.” Sui Wonders, 26, is best known for her role in the Max series “Generation,” as well as her role as...

Synthetic human embryos created in lab

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:42 GMT

Scientists say they have created synthetic human embryos using stem cells, sidestepping the need for eggs or sperm.The world's first embryo-like structures are at the very earliest stages of human development. And, they don't have a beating heart or a brain.Scientists in the U.S. and the United Kingdom say they could one day help advance the understanding of genetic diseases, or the biological causes of recurrent miscarriage.The work is raising serious ethical and legal questions. Lab-grown entities, like this, fall outside current legislation in most countries.Read more with this article from The Guardian.Will Covid Vaccines Change?Covid vaccines are on track for a change this fall.The FDA  is trying to determine whether the next round of shots in the U.S should only include protection against the newest variants that are now dominant worldwide.The current vaccine still contains the original coronavirus strain, even though it has long been replaced by mutated versions.Sign up for o...

Central Texas celebrates Juneteenth with weekend of local events, parade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Juneteenth is Monday, June 19, and Texas communities are marking the anniversary over the weekend. 2023 is the first year that Juneteenth is a federal holiday. Austin museum to host week-long festival leading up to Juneteenth Austin's Juneteenth Parade starts Saturday at 10 a.m. It will begin at Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Salina Street, and ends at Rosewood Park. After the parade, there will be a festival event at the park until 9 p.m. Free medical marijuana certifications at Austin Juneteenth Celebration “Austin's historical Juneteenth Celebration remains an important time that we come together to celebrate the African American journey to freedom,” said Tami D. Johnson-Dawson, Juneteenth Chair of the Greater East Austin Youth Association (GEAYA). “We recognize this time together as empowering and uplifting and it really feels like one big family reunion! May we never forget the injustices that we have overcome from the enslavement of our ancesto...

How to donate to the 33rd Family Eldercare Summer Fan Drive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Family Eldercare Summer Fan Drive is back this summer, and we need your help, especially as brutal heat has settled over Central Texas.The Summer Fan Drive has provided relief from the Texas heat with free fans for more than 30 years. You can save lives from heat-related illnesses.How can you help? You can make monetary donations now through Sept. 15 or bring inexpensive box fans on July 15 for the Fan Drop-Off Event. Where to drop off a fanWhen: July 14 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.Where: KXAN, Roger Beasley locations and Whittlesey Landscape Supplies. Check here for full details on locations.What: Bring inexpensive box fans or monetary donationsWhy: Because FANS SAVE LIVES.Heat is the No. 1 weather-related killer, with seniors, people with disabilities and children at the highest risk. More than 1,300 Americans die every year due to extreme heat, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Austin Downtown Alliance announces immediate downtown road closures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Downtown Alliance announced Friday it would close roads effective immediately throughout downtown.  From June 15 through June 19, Guadalupe between Sixth and Eight Streets will be closed. Seventh Street between San Antonio and Lavaca Streets will also be closed. The Austin entity is closing the roads so that contractors can dismantle a tower crane. Further from July 21 to July 23, the intersection of Guadalupe and 17th streets is expected to close. This closure will happen due to another dismantling of a construction tower crane.“We apologize for the late communication on street closures impacting downtown June 15 through June 19,” an Austin Downtown Alliance spokesperson added.