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Biden to visit Canada this month to discuss defense, trade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will visit Canada later this month, the White House announced on Thursday, where he’ll address the country’s parliament and meet with Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau.A key point on the agenda will be modernizing the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which monitors the skies above the continent. The defense partnership was in the spotlight recently when NORAD tracked a suspected Chinese spy balloon that passed over the two countries before being shot down over the coast of South Carolina.A U.S. fighter jet later shot down an unidentified flying object in Canadian airspace.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will be joined by first lady Jill Biden and they’ll spend March 23 and 24 in Ottawa. She said the trip “will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the U.S.-Canada partnership and promote our shared security, shared prosperity, and shared values.”Biden and Trudeau plan to discuss the ong...

S&P/TSX composite falls more than 250 points Thursday, U.S. markets slide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:42 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index fell more than one per cent Thursday with weakness in financials, industrials and telecom helping bring the market down.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 259.81 points at 20,086.72.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 543.54 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 32,254.86. The S&P 500 index was down 73.69 points, or 1.9 per cent, at 3,918.32, while the Nasdaq composite was down 237.65 points, or 2.1 per cent, at 11,338.35.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.52 cents US compared with 72.54 cents US on Wednesday.The April crude contract was down 94 cents at US$75.72 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was down a penny at US$2.54 per mmBTU.The April gold contract was up US$16.00 at US$1,834.60 an ounce and the May copper contract was up a penny at US$4.04 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

U.S. President Joe Biden’s long-awaited Canada visit to happen March 23-24

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:42 GMT

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Ottawa on March 23 to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Canadian soil, his first visit north of the border since taking the oath of office in 2021. The White House said the president and his wife Jill Biden will spend two days in Canada, although a detailed itinerary has not yet been released.The two leaders will discuss an ongoing upgrade of the jointly led Norad continental defence system, which came under heavy scrutiny last month following the discovery of a Chinese surveillance balloon over U.S. and Canadian airspace. They will also discuss how to fortify shared supply chains, combat climate change and “accelerate the clean energy transition,” the White House said in a statement. Biden will also address a joint session of Parliament “to highlight the importance of the United States-Canada bilateral relationship.”A visit to Canada is customarily one of a new U.S. president’s first foreign...

Deepening worries about high rates send Wall Street lower

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks stumbled on Wall Street Thursday and added to the week’s losses as markets remain anxious about the prospect of more aggressive action by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation.Major indexes started the day higher and gradually lost ground until they fell sharply in late trading. The S&P 500 fell 73.69 points, or 1.8% to 3,918.32. It marked the second-worst loss of the year for the benchmark index and further eroded gains made throughout January to kick off the year.The sharp slide, which sank 95% of stocks in the S&P 500, was particularly hard on banks. The S&P 500’s financial sector slumped 4.1%.SVB Financial Group lost 60% of its value after announcing plans to raise up to $1.75 billion in order to strengthen its position amid concerns about higher interest rates and the economy. Bank of America, Citigroup and other big banks fell sharply.The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 543.54 points, or 1.7% to 32,254.86 and the Nasdaq fell 237.65 points,...

Railroad CEO ‘sorry,’ but avoids specifics at Senate hearing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Norfolk Southern’s CEO earnestly apologized before Congress on Thursday for last month’s fiery hazardous materials train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border and pledged millions of dollars to help the local town recover. But he stopped short of fully endorsing tougher safety regulations or specific commitments to pay for long-term health and economic harm. In a packed Senate hearing, CEO Alan Shaw said his railroad firmly supports the goal of improving rail safety, but he also defended his company’s record. He was questioned closely by both Democrats and Republicans about specific commitments to pay for long-term health and economic harm — and about the decision making that led to the release and burn of toxic vinyl chloride from five tanker cars — as well as the company’s commitment to safety and helping the people of East Palestine, Ohio.“I’m terribly sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the folks of that community,” Shaw...

Reports: Several dead in shooting in German city of Hamburg

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:42 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Several people were killed in a shooting Thursday evening in the northern German city of Hamburg, according to local media reports.The German news agency dpa said “several” people were dead and some injured, but didn’t give precise figures. Police said on Twitter that a large operation was under way in the city’s Alsterdorf district.Further details on what happened weren’t immediately available. Berlin, The Associated Press

Police: Extremists kill 25 fishermen in northeast Nigeria

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:42 GMT

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Islamic extremists killed at least 25 fishermen during an attack in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state, the police told The Associated Press on Thursday,The rebels attacked the fishermen in the remote Mukdolo village of Borno where the years-long extremist violence is concentrated, said the local police chief Abdu Umar. Some of the bodies in the Wednesday attack were recovered and buried on Thursday, he said.“There is no single human being in that place because it has been abandoned but the villagers from Dikwa go there to fish. Unfortunately, this time, Boko Haram (extremists) surrounded the place and killed 25 of them and nine escaped,” the police chief said of the attack. Locals reported more than 30 killed in the attack.Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy, continues to grapple with a 14-year-old insurgency in the northeast by Islamic extremist rebels of Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province. Th...

‘Can I claim my dog as a dependent?’ NYC 311 system turns 20

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — “Can you tell me the steps for boiling a live chicken?” “Can I claim my dog as a dependent on my taxes?”New York City officials on Thursday marked two decades of the city’s 311 nonemergency answering system by releasing a top-20 list of those and other memorable calls.Mayor Eric Adams said the 311 system has received 525 million contacts by phone, text and other means since its inception in March 2003. He said the service “has become an indispensable resource for New Yorkers looking to make a noise complaint, report a cleanliness issue, learn whether alternate side parking is in effect and so much more.”Adams said in a news release that the city’s first-ever 311 call was for a noise complaint in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. Baltimore was the first U.S. city to use 311 for nonemergency calls in 1996. New York City’s 311 system was inaugurated by then-mayor Mike Bloomberg on March 9, 2003 and grew to become the nation’s largest such service.N...

Iowa athletics department to cover full race bias settlement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:42 GMT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A race discrimination lawsuit filed against the University of Iowa by former football players will be settled using funds entirely from the school instead of having taxpayer money cover half of the $4.2 million deal, the university’s president said Thursday.President Barbara Wilson put an end to the original plan that called for $2 million being pulled from the state’s general fund after listening to the public’s concerns and consulting with the Board of Regents, she said in a statement.The university’s athletics department will reimburse the state for the $2 million, The Des Moines Register reported.The state’s Appeal Board approved the plan to use taxpayer funds for the settlement in a 2-1 vote on Monday. Board member and State Auditor Rob Sand voted down the proposal, saying the university’s athletics department has the funds to cover the full settlement.Iowa lawmakers then introduced a bill on Wednesday that would require athl...

It’s almost Oscars time. Here’s everything you need to know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Hollywood is gearing up for the 95th Academy Awards, where “Everything Everywhere All at Once” comes in the lead nominee and the film industry will hope to move past “the slap” of last year’s ceremony. Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 Oscars, including when they are, where to watch the live show and this year’s controversies. ___WHEN ARE THE OSCARS?The Oscars will be held Sunday, March 12, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ceremony is set to begin at 8 p.m. EST and be broadcast live on ABC. CAN YOU STREAM THE OSCARS?The broadcast can be streamed with a subscription to Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and Fubo TV. Some of these services offer brief free trials. You can also stream the show on ABC.com and on the ABC app by authenticating your provider. WHO’S HOSTING?Jimmy Kimmel will host for the third time and his first time since 2018. That was also the last Oscars to feature a solo host. The show went hostless for several years after Kimm...