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Stock market today: Wall Street rises following updates on consumer confidence, job openings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:58:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose on Wall Street Tuesday as two economic reports suggested the economy is cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to pause hiking interest rates.The S&P 500 rose 0.9%, adding to the weeks’ early gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 135 points, or 0.4%, to 34,696 as of 11:29 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq rose 1.4%.The Conference Board, a business research group, reported that consumer confidence tumbled in August, surprising economists that were expecting levels to hold steady around the strong July reading. Consumer confidence and spending have been closely-watched amid persistent pressure from inflation.Also on Tuesday, the government reported that job openings fell more than expected by economists. The report also showed that the number of Americans quitting their jobs fell sharply for the second straight month, clear signs that the labor market is cooling in a way that could reduce inflation.A strong job market has been credited as a bulwark ...

A village in Maine is again delaying a plan to build the world’s tallest flagpole

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:58:53 GMT

COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine (AP) — Plans to build the world’s tallest flagpole are being delayed — again.The tiny town of Columbia Falls in Maine is extending its moratorium on big developments for another six months following a proposal for a flagpole taller than the Empire State Building, with an observation deck and a flag larger than a football field. The planned tourist attraction would also have an auditorium, living history museums and a monument.Town officials said they lacked rules and regulations for such a large project.The town of 485 residents began grappling with zoning regulations after Morrill Worcester proposed a structure stretching skyward some 1,461 feet (445 meters). Worcester’s family operates a wreath-making company and founded the Wreaths Across America organization, which provides holiday wreaths for military cemeteries.Columbia Falls residents voted to adopt a six-month moratorium in March to give local officials time to draft regulations. The three-member ...

London, Ont. man recorded couple in Airbnb bathroom: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:58:53 GMT

A London, Ont. man is facing a voyeurism charge after a couple inside an Airbnb rental discovered a hidden camera in the bathroom.The London Police Service (LPS) said a couple were inside an Airbnb on Blackacres Boulevard on July 15 when they located a hidden camera. Investigators were contacted, and authorities began looking into the allegations.On July 28, LPS Street Crime Unit members executed a search warrant and located video evidence of voyeurism.Police said two unidentified victims were captured in the video evidence obtained.On Monday, authorities arrested 41-year-old Abinash Samal of London, Ont. He’s been charged with one count of voyeurism.The accused will appear in a London, Ont. court on October 5.

Tech and base metal stocks help S&P/TSX composite gain more than 150 points

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:58:53 GMT

TORONTO — Gains in the technology and base metal sectors helped lead a broad-based rally as Canada’s main stock index rose more than 150 points, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher in late-morning trading.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 166.06 points at 20,191.20.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 127.15 points at 34,687.13. The S&P 500 index was up 40.43 points at 4,473.74, while the Nasdaq composite was up 192.56 points at 13,897.69.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.59 cents US compared with 73.55 cents US on Monday.The October crude contract was up 33 cents at US$80.43 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down less than a penny at US$2.66 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was up US$14.90 at US$1,961.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$3.83 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Preliminary hearing in Jackson Mahomes’ felony case delayed because judge has COVID-19

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:58:53 GMT

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The preliminary hearing in the felony case for Jackson Mahomes, the brother of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, has been pushed back nearly a month because the judge has COVID-19.Jackson Mahomes was charged in May with three felony counts of aggravated sexual battery and one misdemeanor count of battery. He is accused of forcibly kissing a woman Feb. 25 in the office of an Overland Park, Kansas, restaurant that she owned at the time.The hearing was initially scheduled for Thursday. Johnson County District Court Judge Thomas Sutherland said during a scheduling conference over Zoom on Monday that he has COVID-19 and couldn’t be sure he would be well enough by Thursday, the Kansas City Star reported. The hearing was postponed until Oct. 24.At the preliminary hearing, the prosecution is expected to outline its case and the judge will likely hear testimony from witnesses. Jackson Mahomes pleaded not guilty to the charges and is free on $100,000 bo...

Northeast B.C. swelters as Shuswap region hopes for rain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:58:53 GMT

Large portions of northeastern British Columbia continue to swelter a day after some areas hit daily record temperatures. Environment Canada says temperatures will again push near or past 30 C in parts of the Peace River Regional District and the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality.The heat warning is expected to be in place until this evening.Historic records for daily high temperatures for Aug. 28 were broken Monday in Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson.Fort Nelson reached 33.9 C, almost six degrees higher than the previous record for that day recorded in 1986.The BC Wildfire Service has cautioned that warm, dry conditions in northern parts of the province have led to increased fire activity in the region, with the Fort Nelson First Nation putting two reserves on alert. Meanwhile, crews battling a destructive wildfire in the Shuswap region are hoping for help from rain that could begin falling in the area Tuesday night.Mike McCulley, an information officer with the BC ...

Suncor’s revised focus on oil production proof of need for emissions cap: Guilbeault

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:58:53 GMT

OTTAWA — Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says he is more convinced than ever of the need to regulate emissions in the oil and gas industry, following a prominent CEO’s comments about refocusing his company on oil production.Suncor CEO Rich Kruger told investors in a conference call on Aug. 15 that the company had a “disproportionate” focus on the longer-term energy transition to low-emitting and renewable fuels. He promised a “revised direction and tone” focused more on the immediate financial opportunities in the oilsands.Guilbeault says the comments were extremely disappointing in the middle of a summer when global temperatures hit record highs and climate change is exacerbating wildfires across Canada.He also says they have furthered his resolve to introduce a cap on greenhouse-gas emissions from the oil and gas industry in a bid to force companies to ratchet down their carbon footprint.The draft regulations that will identify where the cap wi...

Court restricts union pickets at Metro warehouses, grocer says deliveries to resume

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:58:53 GMT

Metro has been granted a temporary injunction to restrict pickets by its striking workers at distribution warehouses in Toronto.The Montreal-based grocer says deliveries will resume and stores will be resupplied as soon as possible.These distribution centres supply fresh products to all of Metro and Food Basics stores in the province,” Metro said in a statement.“Metro remains committed to the bargaining process and wants to present its offer; it urges the union to go back to the table resolve this matter.”Metro announced it was seeking an injunction against Unifor and the workers on Friday, the third day of picketing at its distribution warehouses that prevented deliveries of fresh products to its stores provincewide.More than 3,700 workers at 27 Metro stores in the Greater Toronto Area have been on strike since July 29 after rejecting their first tentative agreement.The order restricts the pickets from unlawfully blocking or delaying access to multiple Metro distr...

Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa awarded teams in Professional Women’s Hockey League

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:58:53 GMT

Hilary Knight, Marie-Philip Poulin and their U.S. and Canadian national hockey team contemporaries now have a firm idea of where they’ll be playing in January.The newly founded Professional Women’s Hockey League unveiled its Original Six franchises on Tuesday, with franchises based in NHL markets — three in the United States and three in Canada — with track records of supporting the women’s game.Boston, New York City’s tri-state area and Minneapolis-St. Paul were the U.S. sites selected as homes for the yet-to-be-named teams.The Canadian franchises will be based in the nation’s three largest northeastern centers of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.The PWHL also announced that each team will have a 10-day window to sign three free agents through Sept. 10 before holding a 15-round draft on Sept. 18. Teams can sign no more than 20 players to contracts before training camps open in November.Teams will play a 24-game schedule, which is expected to ov...

Hurricane Idalia 11 a.m. track: Winds increase to 85 mph: Winds increase to 85 mph

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:58:53 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Idalia strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane early Tuesday and is expected to rapidly intensify in the Gulf of Mexico.The National Hurricane Center said Idalia is about 275 miles south-southwest of Tampa. The storm's winds have increased to 85 mph.Idalia is forecast to make landfall along the northwest Gulf Coast of Florida sometime on Wednesday as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 major hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. Real-time wobble tracker monitoring Hurricane Idalia’s shifts in Gulf of Mexico As of the 11 a.m. update, Idalia was over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, moving north at 14 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Idalia's track remains west of Tampa Bay.Storm surge remains the biggest threat with Idalia, with some areas north of Tampa Bay expected to see 8 to 12 feet of storm surge, with 4 to 9 feet in the Tampa Bay area and 3 to 7 feet south of Tampa Bay. The storm surge threat is increased thanks to highe...