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As crews contain Europe fires, Pope Francis sounds alarm on climate threat to ‘our common home’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:42 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Pope Francis urged governments to do more to fight climate change and protect “our common home” as improving weather conditions Friday helped firefighters contain wildfires in Greece, Italy and other countries in southern Europe.Francis, who has been outspoken on environmental issues, sent a telegram of condolences to Greece, where wildfires killed five people over the past week, including the pilots of a water-dropping aircraft. The pope noted that successive heat waves have exacerbated the dangers of the summer fire season. He offered his prayers for firefighters and emergency personnel in particular.“(I hope) that the risks to our common home, exacerbated by the present climate crisis, will spur all people to renew their efforts to care for the gift of creation, for the sake of future generations,” Francis said.Fueled by the heat waves and strong gusts of wind, wildfires in Europe’s Mediterranean region have kept travelers and residents on alert. In Gr...

Work to reduce parking, add bike lanes in High Park to begin next week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:42 GMT

Work aimed to improve visitor access and roads in High Park is set to begin early next week.The project is part of the ‘High Park Movement Strategy’ that was approved by city council in May. It will result in a new main vehicle entrance, reduced parking, and new bike lanes installed inside the park.The city says work will kick off on Monday and should wrap up by Aug. 5. Most of the work will be done during evening hours to minimize the impact on visitors.Changes visitor can expect when the work is finished:The West Road and parts of Colborne Lodge Drive, south of Grenadier Café, will be car-free at all timesThe main vehicle entrance will be at Parkside Drive and High Park Boulevard and will be open Monday to Friday and closed on weekends and holidays. Visitor vehicles will not be permitted to enter at Bloor Street WestVisitor vehicle access will be provided to the Children’s Garden, Colborne Lodge Drive and the Spring Road Parking lot at all timesPublic parking spaces wi...

Canadian venture capital funding bounces back in Q2 but first half lags behind 2022

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:42 GMT

TORONTO — CPE Analytics says Canadian venture capital funding rose in the second quarter following a pullback in the first three months of 2023, but funding levels for the first half of the year are still well off what they were for the first six months of 2022. The financial data firm says there were $1.95 billion in disbursements during the second quarter after $1.3 billion in the first three months.The $3.25 billion is total disbursements in the first half of the year compares with $4.72 billion in the first six months last year, when rising interest rates started to significantly affect funding. It says the rise in the second quarter was driven by a return of U.S. investors, who so far this year have invested $1.43 billion, accounting for 44 per cent of total funding for the half compared with 40 per cent by Canadian investors.Among Canadian provinces, Ontario was the top venture capital recipient for the first half, securing $1.59 billion, ahead of Quebec’s $696 million, ...

US price and wage increases slow further in the latest signs of cooling inflation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Signs that inflation pressures in the United States are steadily easing emerged Friday in reports that consumer prices rose in June at their slowest pace in more than two years and that wage growth cooled last quarter.Together, the figures provided the latest signs that the Federal Reserve’s drive to tame inflation may succeed without triggering a recession. A price gauge closely monitored by the Fed rose just 3% in June from a year earlier. That was down from a 3.8% annual increase in May, though still above the Fed’s 2% inflation target. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.2% from May to June, up slightly from 0.1% the previous month. Last month’s sharp slowdown in year-over-year inflation largely reflected falling gas prices, as well as milder increases in grocery costs. With supply chains having largely healed from post-pandemic disruptions, the costs of new and used cars, furniture and appliances also fell in June. A measure of “core” prices, which e...

Three dead, three injured in crash in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:42 GMT

SAGUENAY, Que. — Three people were killed and three others were injured in a two-vehicle crash Thursday evening in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region.Quebec provincial police say the collision between a compact car and a truck occurred about 6 p.m. on Highway 172, near Ste-Rose-du-Nord, Que., about 185 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.Police say they no longer fear for the lives of the three injured.Authorities say their initial investigation suggests the head-on collision may have been provoked by a driver attempting to pass another car on the highway.The 28-year-old driver of the compact and his 26-year-old female passenger, who were both from the region, died in the crash, as did a 73-year-old passenger in the truck who was believed to be from Newfoundland and Labrador.Investigators and collision-reconstruction specialists were called to shed light on the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2023.The C...

Merger talks end between large health care systems in Minnesota, South Dakota

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:42 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A merger that would have created one of the largest health service companies in the Upper Midwest has been scrapped.Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services and Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Sanford Health announced Thursday that they would not proceed with the merger they had been discussing since late last year. It would have created a system with more than 50 hospitals and about 78,000 employees.This is the second time in a decade that the two companies considered a merger but failed to complete it, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.The latest attempt drew fierce opposition at the University of Minnesota, which has a partnership with Fairview. The university sold its teaching hospital to Fairview in 1997 and opposed the idea of an out-of-state entity owning the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis. The merged system would have been based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s largest city.Statements from the two companies’ CEOs stat...

Supreme Court upholds murder convictions of man who represented himself at trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:42 GMT

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the murder convictions of a man who represented himself at trial but complained later the proceedings were tainted by a perception of unfairness.In a unanimous ruling today, the top court says no miscarriage of justice arose in Emanuel Kahsai’s trial.Five years ago a jury convicted the Calgary man of two counts of first-degree murder for fatally stabbing his mother and a vulnerable woman in her care.Kahsai behaved disruptively throughout the trial in an Alberta court.Two separate amicus curiae — or friends of the court — were appointed to assist him at different points, but he was unco-operative with them.The Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed Kahsai’s challenge of his convictions, saying he made a conscious and calculated decision to abuse the court process in an attempt to derail the proceedings.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2023.The Canadian Press

Majority of Canadians believe grocery prices will continue to rise: poll

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:42 GMT

A majority of Canadians, 71 per cent, believe food costs will continue to be steep six months from now, according to a new poll.It comes as the latest Consumer Price Index found the cost of food was up 8.3 per cent in June over the last month.The poll from Maru Public Opinion also found that only three per cent of those polled believe food prices will be down six months from now.Most of the Canadians surveyed blamed grocery chains and food outlets for the higher prices, with 39 per cent saying they believe grocery stores are charging excessive prices.RELATED: Canada’s inflation rate tumbles to 2.8%, but economists warn inflation fight not overJust below 30 per cent believe the high cost is due to food suppliers while 15 per cent attribute it to events forcing up the prices including the war in Ukraine, worker strikes at seaports and weather occurrences.The Consumer Price Index found meat increased by 6.9 per cent, dairy products by 7.4 per cent and bakery products by 12.9 per cent.F...

‘We were in the air.’ Mississippi family recounts surviving tornado that tore mobile home apart

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:42 GMT

ROLLING FORK, Miss. (AP) — Streams of air whirled by Ida Cartlidge in every direction, but she couldn’t breathe.Between the thin walls and above the shaky foundation of a mobile home, Cartlidge, 32, miraculously survived a March tornado that carved a path of destruction through Rolling Fork, Mississippi. Mobile home residents in the path of a twister’s fury often don’t live to recount the experience.“It sounded like a real loud train coming through,” Cartlidge said. “And I could feel the wind, it was so powerful you couldn’t even breathe while you were in the air. Cartlidge and her husband, Charles Jones, 59, had forged a quiet life in Rolling Fork with their three sons. She worked in customer service for an appliance company and Jones for a local auto parts shop. They viewed Rolling Fork as a refuge from city life and an ideal place to raise kids. The family lived in a mobile home park behind Chuck’s Dairy Bar, a diner that had long been a nexus of local life for Rolling Fork resid...

She says an Uber stranded her. Then things really got weird

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:42 GMT

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (KTVI) – A rideshare driver in Illinois was supposed to take Kristina Caruso home early on Saturday morning. Instead, Caruso said the driver ordered her out at a gas station at about 2:30 a.m. Things only got stranger after that.Caruso had earlier ordered an Uber to pick her up outside a friend's home in Belleville, Illinois. Being a "very cautious person," she took a screengrab from her Uber app before going outside to meet a driver named "Sara" who pulled up in a black Dodge Avenger.“I always snapshot my driver before they pick me up to send to who I’m with," Caruso said.Caruso's friend Katie walked her outside to the car.“It was dark, but the car looked like what was supposed to be picking me up," Caruso said. “It took me a second to realize we were going the wrong way because it was dark out. I was in the back seat not really paying attention, and then we pulled into a gas station. She pulled up, and she said, ‘Your payment didn’t go through. Get out!’” Misso...