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Former Conservative senator, longtime politico Hugh Segal dead at 72

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:37:29 GMT

OTTAWA — In 1962, then-prime minister John Diefenbaker visited Hugh Segal’s school in Montreal to present the principal with a copy of the newly minted Canadian Bill of Rights.So impressed was Segal with Dief’s description of Canada as a country that was open, free, democratic and based on the presumption of innocence that, at the tender age of 12, he became a lifelong Conservative.“I went home on that Friday night and declared at the dinner table that I like Mr. Diefenbaker and I would be supporting his candidate in the local riding of Mount Royal,” Segal recounted in a speech to the Senate in 2013.“That was not a happy bit of news for me to bring to the Friday night table in our home. My father (a Liberal campaign manager) said those wonderful words which every pre-teen waits for: ‘Over my dead body’ … It got me excited because I knew there was one thing I could do that would upset him all the time.”It was a pattern Segal was t...

US probing Virginia fatal crash involving Tesla suspected of running on automated driving system

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:37:29 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators have sent a team to investigate a fatal crash in Virginia involving a Tesla suspected of running on a partially automated driving system.The latest crash, which occurred in July, brings to 35 the number of Tesla crashes under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since June of 2016. In all the cases, the agency suspects the Teslas were operating on a partially automated driving system such as Autopilot. At least 17 people have died.The safety agency said in documents Thursday that the Tesla ran beneath a heavy truck, but gave no further details.The Fauquier County Sheriff’s office in Virginia said in a statement that on July 19, a Tesla ran underneath the side of a tractor-trailer pulling out of a truck stop, killing the Tesla driver. The department says the truck driver was charged with reckless driving. Sheriff’s office spokesman Jeffrey Long said the possible role of automated driving systems in the cr...

Stock market today: Wall Street swings after inflation data, ends little changed

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:37:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks swung through shaky trading Thursday following the latest update on inflation across the U.S., only to end up roughly where they started.The S&P 500 edged up by 1.12, or less than 0.1%, to 4,468.83. It was just the second winning day for the index in the last eight, but it had been up 1.3% in the morning before wobbling between small gains and losses.The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 52.79, or 0.2%, to 35,176.15 after giving up most of a morning gain of 455 points. The Nasdaq composite added 15.97, or 0.1%, to 13,737.99.The morning’s highly anticipated report showed U.S. consumers paid prices that were 3.2% higher in July than a year earlier. That’s a touch milder than the 3.3% inflation rate economists expected to see and down sharply from last summer’s peak above 9%. Beneath the surface, underlying trends for inflation were also within expectations.The readings bolstered hopes among investors that the Federal Reserve’s campaign to grind down ...

S&P/TSX composite index keeps climbing on Thursday, U.S. markets also rise

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:37:29 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock market index posted a small gain Thursday as it continued its climb this week, helped by strength in financial, telecom and technology stocks, while U.S. markets also rose after the latest inflation report. The latest CPI print in the U.S. showed that inflation ticked higher in July to 3.2 per cent after 12 straight months of declines, but core inflation matched the smallest monthly increase in almost two years. The report helped support continued hope for a soft landing in the U.S., said Tamsin Wilding, fixed income analyst at Leith Wheeler.In both Canada and the U.S., investors will continue to look for data that supports a gradual softening of inflation and the labour market ahead of September, when central banks on both sides of the border are set to make their next rate decision, said Wilding.“They’ve both been facing very similar dynamics on (the labour) front with elevated job vacancies, strong hiring through the first half of the yea...

Construction to limit access to Chicago's Bean

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:37:29 GMT

CHICAGO — Fans of Chicago’s beloved “Bean” won’t be able to get up close and personal with the sculpture for several months.The city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events announced Thursday that construction in Millennium Park is set to begin next week at which point “access and views of Cloud Gate will be limited.”According to the statement on their website, construction on Grainger Plaza surrounding Cloud Gate will begin on August 15, 2023 and continue through the Spring of 2024.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines“This necessary maintenance by the City of Chicago will replace pavers and make other repairs and accessibility upgrades to the Plaza—to enhance the nearly 20-year-old Park’s appearance, visitor experience, and position as the #1 attraction in the Midwest,” the department said.

Maui Fires: How to find missing, how to help, what you need to know

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:37:29 GMT

HONOLULU (KHON2) -- With much of historic Lahaina town either burned to the ground or severely damaged, the impacts keep changing as recovery efforts continue.The latest fatality count is 36, according to Maui County.People are searching for loved ones and the world wants to know how to help. ‘We will need to rebuild a large part of Maui’: Gov. Green How to find lost or separated loved onesThe American Red Cross is acting as the clearinghouse to reunite families. Family members can call 1-800-RED-CROSS for help. A Maui woman has created an alphabetical spreadsheet of those lost or separated. The list is public and can be found on this website.Where are the sheltersThere are shelters at Maui Preparatory Academy, Mayor Hannibal Tavares Community Center, Maui High School and War Memorial.The convention center in Honolulu is also prepared to provide shelter to 4,000 people. This includes visitors trying to leave the state and residents who leave Maui.For those trying to leave Lahaina,...

'King of the Hill' voice actor Johnny Hardwick dead: reports

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:37:29 GMT

(WGHP) — A man known for his voice has died, TMZ is reporting. On Thursday, TMZ reported that voice actor and comedian Johnny Hardwick, known best for his role as the chain-smoking conspiracy theorist Dale Gribble on the long-running animated show "King of the Hill," has died. He was found dead in his Texas home after a welfare check, according to the report. Hardwick's death was confirmed by the medical examiner's office in Texas, USA Today says.No cause of death was provided but foul play is not suspected. Hardwick got his start as a standup comedian in the early 1990s with his television debut on "The Jon Stewart Show" prior to his most beloved role as the oblivious, hat-wearing Dale Gribble on Mike Judge's animated show "King of the Hill." Hardwick was in all but one of King of the Hill's 259 episodes and was slated to reprise his role as Dale in the new revival show, though it's unclear where in production the show was. Though “King of the Hill” ended its run in 2010, Hardwick...

Battle over student loan forgiveness continues

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:37:29 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Another federal student loan forgiveness program may be in legal trouble.An appeals court in Texas blocked a Biden administration rule to help out students who claim they were misled and defrauded by for-profit schools."We're talking about veterans who were preyed upon. Their money was taken, their benefits were taken and they were never given a degree," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said.Cardona is vowing to put up a fight in court.Already, the Biden administration has approved roughly $13 billion in debt forgiveness for defrauded students, and about half have had their debts cleared."We hear from students every day," said Aaron Ament, president of the National Student Legal Defense Network.Student Defense said the new rules would speed up the process, expand the number of students eligible for forgiveness and put for-profit schools on the hook for repayment.But the group challenging the rules argues they go too far.In the lawsuit, Career Colleges and Sc...

Map shows the hottest neighborhoods in US cities

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:37:29 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Does it feel like a totally different climate when you go across town? It may be the urban heat island effect. The way a city is designed can make hot weather feel even worse. The temperature on your block is influenced by everything from the number of trees on the street to the color of the pavement. When trees and vegetation (which absorb heat) are replaced by buildings and roads (which can radiate heat), it feels hotter. "The heat island effect can result in significant temperature differences between rural and urban areas," explains the Environmental Protection Agency. Map shows which areas of the US will be underwater in 2050 Climate Central, an organization of scientists and journalists focused on studying the impacts of climate change, broke down 44 cities into Census blocks to determine which neighborhoods suffer from the worst urban heat effects. In some cities, like Indianapolis, Albuquerque and San Jose, the worst impacts are concentrated in the cities'...

'Above-normal’ hurricane season now forecasted due to higher sea temperatures

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:37:29 GMT

(The Hill) - Record high ocean temperatures may lead to more hurricanes than previously expected this season, according to national weather forecasters.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has upped its prediction for the hurricane season from average to an "above-normal level of activity" for this year, the group announced Thursday.Experts predicted about a 60 percent chance that hurricane season has more activity than normal this year, a rise from a 40 percent chance back in May. The group expects between 14 and 21 named storms, with seven to 11 of them being hurricanes. Between two and five of those storms are expected to be major hurricanes with winds stronger than 111 mph, the forecast says. Odds of a ‘strong’ El Niño grow again: Will you feel it locally? Forecasters previously predicted a quieter season because the Pacific Ocean is in El Niño — shearing winds from the west that would usually weaken storms before they get serious enough to form hurr...