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S&P/TSX composite ekes out small Friday gain, U.S. markets down

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index eked out a small gain thanks to strength in battery metals, while U.S. markets were down even as the country’s biggest banks beat earnings expectations.  All eyes were on some of the U.S.’ biggest banks Friday as they released their earnings for the first quarter of the year, said Angelo Kourkafas, an investment strategist at Edward Jones.“The banks kicked off the earnings season,” he said. “It was better than expected.” This lent some support to the market even as it contracted a little following Thursday’s rally, he said.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 15.42 points at 20,579.91.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 143.22 points at 33,886.47. The S&P 500 index was down 8.58 points at 4,137.64, while the Nasdaq composite was down 42.81 points at 12,123.47.The bank earnings were encouraging, said Kourkafas.“Today we had JP Morgan, Citibank, Wells Fargo and PNC, all beating expectations,” he said. He noted th...

TDSB student trustees: Discovering root cause of school violence is key to prevention

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

Student trustees at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) are highlighting what they believe to be the root cause of violence in Toronto schools, calling for holistic solutions to prevent further incidents in the communities.Trustees Jeffrey Osaro, a Grade 12 student at North York’s Northview Heights Secondary School, Naomi Musa, a Grade 12 student at Central Toronto Academy and Indigenous trustee Isaiah Shafqat, who attends Kapapamahchakwew (Elem) Wandering Spirit School, have been speaking with students about how to improve educational environments.The three student trustees say the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent isolation that ensued is being glossed over when addressing what has led to an upsurge in violence.“[Students] lack the social skills they were supposed to learn before they came to high school or during school, and we missed out on that because of the pandemic,” explained Musa.“So with the increase in violence, people don...

Macron’s new pension age overcomes last hurdle amid protests

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s Constitutional Council on Friday approved an unpopular plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 in a victory for President Emmanuel Macron after months of mass protests that have damaged his leadership.The decision dismayed or enraged critics of the pension plan. Hundreds of union activists and others gathered peacefully in Paris Friday evening before some groups broke off in marches toward the historic Bastille plaza and beyond, setting fires to garbage bins and scooters as police fired tear gas or pushed them back.Unions and Macron’s political opponents vowed to maintain pressure on the government to withdraw the bill, and activists threatened scattered new protests Saturday.Macron’s office said he would enact the law in coming days, and he has said he wants it implemented by the end of the year. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Friday’s decision “marks the end of the institutional and democratic path of this reform,” adding that th...

CP Rail, Kansas City Southern merger clears path for more cargo, but hitches remain

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

MONTREAL — Under the banner of Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the merger of North America’s two smallest Class 1 railways became official Friday morning as CEO Keith Creel drove home a platinum spike at a ceremony in Kansas City, Mo.Combining Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. with Kansas City Southern Railway Co., the fusion creates the only railway stretching from Canada through to the U.S. and Mexico and marks the continent’s first major rail merger in more than two decades after a U.S. regulator approved the US$31-billion deal last month.It also opens the gate to higher cargo volumes and faster transport, despite several hitches on the network.“We can control our own destiny for our customers, as opposed to being tied to interchanges or being cut out of markets for the lack of a stronger network,” Creel said, in a phone interview from Kansas City.He pointed to grain, lumber and shipping containers as key areas for growth, including a stronger competitive positi...

Source: Chase with possible armed robbery suspect in stolen car ends in Elmhurst crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

ELMHURST, Ill. — A chase with a possible armed robbery suspect in a stolen car that started in Oak Brook ended in a crash in Elmhurst, a source told WGN-TV.The chase started around 2:45 p.m. near 22nd Street and Midwest Road in Oak Brook. Driver dies after falling out of Jeep, being struck by 2 vehicles on Dan Ryan Expressway The pursuit continued north on Route 83 to St. Charles Road and went by York High School. It ended in Elmhurst on St. Charles Road just east of the high school.A suspect was taken into custody after a brief foot chase, the source said.Video from Skycam showed at least one person being treated by paramedics at the scene. The extent of their injuries hasn't been confirmed.

Court docs: Fake baby cries used as ruse after Ana Marie Townsend killed in arson fire

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

MARKHAM, Ill. — Fake baby cries were used as a ruse to throw off Ana Marie Townsend's grandparents after the toddler was already dead from an arson fire, prosecutors said in court Friday.Melody Townsend, 40, was arrested last month in California, south suburban authorities announced Thursday. She's been charged with two counts of child endangerment and concealing/aiding a fugitive.Her daughter, Ana Marie Townsend, 2, was found dead July 3, 2017 at the scene of a vacant house fire at 155th and Hamlin in Markham.In bond court Friday, prosecutors outlined what they think happened before Townsend was discovered in the fire.At the end of June 2017, prosecutors said Melody Townsend was living with her daughter's father at a hotel. According to court documents, one day Townsend left Ana with the father, who has not been identified or charged at this time, and went to work.When she returned from work, Ana Marie appeared to be not breathing on the bed. Prosecutors allege Townsend t...

Chicago & House Music: A relationship over four decades in the making

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

CHICAGO -- This fall, ARC Music Festival will mark their third year of honoring a form of music that uniquely can only be from Chicago.ARC Music Festival is scheduled to take over Union Park Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-3. Organizers said the ethos of the festival was to bring the global scene back to the birthplace of house music."Chicago is arguably the most important dance music city in the entire world," Grammy Award winning artist Fatboy Slim said in the ARC Music Festival 2022 Official Aftermovie.Since house music hit the mainstream, many may be unaware that a small community in Chicago laid the foundation for something that people would soon love around the globe.“It's an incredible story of resilience of these communities forced underground and coming up with something that now has this worldwide global residence," Max Chavez, Director of Research & Special Projects with Preservation Chicago said.The End of the Disco EraWhen some hear the words "Chicago" and "disco," many ...

Displaced Little Village Discount Mall vendors find new home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

CHICAGO — Dozens of vendors who lost the right to sell their goods at the Little Village Discount Mall will be able to reopen at a new location at 51st and Kedzie.The vendors were first notified in February that they had a little more than one month to pack up their shops and move out of the mall. However they did not go quietly, instead choosing to try and delay the eviction with the help of local leaders. El Chapo sons among 28 Sinaloa cartel members charged by US Just days before the scheduled eviction date of March 26 the group collectively petitioned a judge for an emergency injunction to stop the eviction. On March 24 the judge denied the petition.At the time, 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez had said they were working to secure another location for the vendors, though he would not state where.Friday, Sigcho-Lopez gathered with a group of vendors to announce they were in the process of officially securing space at the former K-Mart on the northwest corner of 51st and Ke...

The best places to see California's superbloom

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

With California's historic wet winter firmly in the rearview mirror, many Californians are flocking to state parks to catch a glimpse of the spectacular superbloom.Many wildflowers have sprouted all at once, providing plenty of beautiful photo opportunities throughout the Golden State. The California Department of Parks and Recreation is recommending several places for people to see the colorful superbloom in person.Southern CaliforniaAnza-Borrego Desert State ParkAntelope Valley California Poppy ReserveChino Hills State ParkColonel Allensworth State Historic ParkEastern Kern County Onyx Ranch State Vehicular Recreation AreaRed Rock Canyon State ParkTule Elk State Natural ReserveNorthern CaliforniaMount Tamalpais State Park China Camp State Park Trione-Annadel State Park Sugarloaf Ridge State ParkLake Elsinore, a popular spot to view the superbloom, is closed to visitors this year to ensure "the safety of public land and wildlife," the city said. Officials want to prevent the chaos ...

Judge says Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen can be moved to new facility

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. -- Judge Fran Gull says Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen can be moved to a new facility, although the judge didn’t specify where he would go.Allen faces two counts of murder in the deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017 in Delphi. The case went unsolved for years before Allen’s arrest was announced in late October 2022, more than five years after the murders. ‘Prisoner of war’: Attorneys for Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen want him moved to Cass County facility Gull’s order, issued Friday, followed an emergency motion from his defense attorneys last week in which they expressed concerns about their client’s deteriorating mental and physical state.Booking photo of Richard Allen. (Indiana State Police)The state filed its response Friday, although those documents are under seal. Gull’s judgment referenced a Nov. 3 order out of Carroll County that said Allen could be moved within the Department of Correction if circumstances warranted and...