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Webb Space Telescope spots most distant black hole yet. More may be lurking

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:28 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have discovered the most distant black hole yet using the Webb Space Telescope, but that record isn’t expected to last. The black hole is at the center of a galaxy dating to within a mere 570 million years of the Big Bang. That’s 100 million years closer to the beginning of the cosmos than a black hole identified in 2021 by a Chinese team using a telescope in Chile. Webb already has spotted other black holes that appear to be even closer to the Big Bang nearly 14 billion years ago, but those findings are still under review, said University of Texas at Austin astronomer Steven Finkelstein, one of the lead researchers. The finding has been accepted for publication by the Astrophysical Journal Letters.Because the signals from this particular black hole are weak, more observations are needed, according to the Texas-led team. There are untold numbers of dormant black holes, some even more distant than this one. But without any glowing gas, th...

S&P/TSX composite ticks lower as telecom and utility stocks pull back, U.S. stocks up

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:28 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index ticked lower Monday, weighed down by losses in telecom and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets rose.It was a generally quiet day on the markets as investors gear up for a big Wednesday that will see U.S. inflation data released as well as the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision, said Mona Mahajan, senior investment strategist with Edward Jones.“There’s some big news ahead of us,” she said. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 8.59 points at 19,822.45.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 209.52 points at 33,944.40. The S&P 500 index was up 10.58 points at 4,409.53, while the Nasdaq composite was up 24.77 points at 13,685.48.Economic data released in recent weeks has continued to be better than expected, helping support hope for a soft landing, said Mahajan.This hope may be helping buoy the recent broadening in market strength following a narrow, tech-stock-fuelled rally, she said.“I think we’re seeing a ...

Joseph Calleja withdraws from `Parsifal’ opening Bayreuth Festival on July 25

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:28 GMT

Tenor Joseph Calleja withdrew Monday from the title role in “Parsifal” that opens the annual Richard Wagner Festival at Bayreuth, Germany, and will be replaced by Andreas Schager.Calleja, who had been scheduled to make his role debut, said in a statement he was advised by his doctor to withdraw because of a persistent throat infection.“Goes without saying that this was a very hard decision to take, and I am so sorry for disappointing those of you who were looking forward to seeing me in this great opera and historic venue,” Calleja said.“Parsifal” opens July 25 in a production by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Jay Schieb. A portion of the audience in the Festpielhaus will wear augmented reality glasses. There are seven performances through Aug. 27.Schager made his Bayreuth debut in 2016 and sang Parsifal from 2016-19 in Uwe Eric Laufenberg’s stagingSchager, who had been scheduled to sing Erik in “Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman)” in a revival of T...

Pierre Poilievre ‘does not agree’ with ‘straight pride’ message in photo at Stampede

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:28 GMT

OTTAWA — A spokesman for Pierre Poilievre says the federal Conservative leader does not agree with the message of “straight pride,” after he was photographed with a man wearing a T-shirt bearing those words.Sebastian Skamski says Poilievre had been posing with “hundreds of people” at the Calgary Stampede on Saturday when he was photographed with an individual “without reading what was written on his shirt.”The bright green T-shirt featured the symbols for men and women that are often posted to the doors of public restrooms.It says “Thank a straight person today for your existence,” in black capital letters, with “straight pride” written at the bottom.Skamski says that “Poilievre does not agree with the message displayed on the T-shirt,” adding that Conservatives are working to build a country where everyone is free to be themselves, “regardless of their sexual orientation.” Poilievre and other politi...

Movie Review: Take the leap with Tom Cruise in ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:28 GMT

Wondering if you should choose to accept the latest “Mission: Impossible” entry? Maybe you’re sick of all the bombast at the movie theater lately? Well, put it another way: Do you really want to disappoint Tom Cruise?On the first day cameras were rolling for “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One,” Cruise drove a motorcycle off an actual 4,000-foot Norwegian cliff and then parachuted down. He did it for you. The least you can do to repay him is watch his movie, right?If you do give in, you’re in for a treat — a heart-pounding, never dragging, mission accomplished that takes audiences from the frozen Bering Sea to the rooftop of Abu Dhabi International Airport and the narrow alleyways of Venice.It’s got plenty of facemasks being ripped off, a car chase through Rome, a shoot-out in the desert, a sword fight on a bridge and an intense, runaway train sequence that may top anything the franchise has ever produced.“This is getting exciting,” one character says e...

Another man arrested in connection with shooting at Kansas nightclub

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:28 GMT

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A second suspect is now in custody in connection with a mass shooting that injured nearly a dozen people earlier this month in Kansas, Wichita police announced Monday.A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery and possession of a firearm by a felon. On Friday, a 19-year-old man was arrested. It wasn’t immediately clear if either man has been charged. Their names have not been released. A message left with Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett wasn’t immediately returned.The shooting happened in the early hours of July 2 at City Nightz in downtown Wichita. Nine people were shot and two others were trampled in the chaos that followed. No one died.In addition to the arrests, police are searching for a 23-year-old man believed to have been involved in the shooting. A St. Louis-area man was arrested July 3, but prosecutors later determined he fired his gun to defend himself after shots were fired by two other men at the clu...

Judge who led Desmond inquiry accuses N.S. government of spreading misinformation

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:28 GMT

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government is facing accusations from a former judge who says misinformation and ignorance were behind the attorney general’s decision last week to dismiss him as the commissioner leading a high-profile inquiry. Warren Zimmer was a provincial court judge when he was appointed in July 2018 to lead the fatality inquiry that investigated why Afghanistan war veteran Lionel Desmond killed three family members and himself in their rural Nova Scotia home in 2017.Last Tuesday, Premier Tim Houston said his government decided to replace the judge because his final report was taking too long to complete, and the premier said “it wasn’t clear … a report was forthcoming.”Zimmer was set to retire as a judge in March 2022, a month before the inquiry’s hearings concluded. But his term as a sitting judge was extended four times over the past 18 months to give him time to complete his report. On July 4, Attorney General Brad Johns confirmed he had dec...

Cameron bows out of Kentucky political event hosted by possible Rep. Massie challenger

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:28 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron’s campaign said Monday that he is pulling out of a September political rally after some fellow Republicans objected to his planned appearance alongside a controversial candidate who wants to challenge a sitting GOP congressman in next year’s primary.The congressman, Thomas Massie, said last month that it would be a mistake for Cameron, the state’s attorney general, to attend the northern Kentucky rally hosted by Eric Deters, who also made a bid for governor this year, finishing fourth in the GOP primary.Cameron now has other plans on the day of the event, his campaign said in a statement.“As it turns out, we’re going to be doing other campaign events that day in another region of the state. We plan to campaign in northern Kentucky often between now and November 7,” the campaign said. Deters has said that former President Donald Trump will be headlining his event, but the Trump campaign has not con...

Province, wellness spa developer share vision of the future Ontario Place

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:28 GMT

The future of Ontario Place was a key issue in the Toronto mayoral race with many candidates criticizing or outright rejecting Doug Ford’s plan. But what exactly is his government’s vision?As refurbishment work begins on the aging infrastructure, CityNews went on an exclusive site tour with the Minister of Infrastructure, MPP Kinga Surma, and a representative of Therme, which is the company that will build a wellness spa and water park on the Western portion of Ontario Place.Ontario Place first opened to great fanfare in 1971 and was a popular destination in its heyday.But over the decades, it has become dated and obsolete. It was finally shuttered in 2011 by Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government and now sits shabby and neglected.Premier Doug Ford vowed to change that.A plan was eventually announced earlier this spring for a redeveloped Ontario Place that includes the new location for the Ontario Science Centre, an expanded year-round amphitheater built by LiveNatio...

Luis Robert looks to pull off a White Sox first in nearly 30 years in Home Run Derby

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:14:28 GMT

SEATTLE — On Monday, the White Sox lone representative for the 2023 MLB All-Star Game will try to do something that no player in the franchise has pulled off for nearly three decades.That's winning a Home Run Derby title, which Luis Robert will compete for on Monday evening at 7 p.m. central time.He'll be one of eight competitors in the contest that tests the power of some of the best long ball hitters in baseball, and if he can win, it will be the first time a White Sox player has taken that crown in 28 years. Frank Thomas was the last and only hitter from the team to do so as he won the 1995 Home Run Derby at The Ballpark in Arlington, then home of the Texas Rangers. He was able to defeat Albert Belle 3-2 in the finals to come home with the victory, slugging 15 total homers in the competition. Robert becomes the sixth member of the White Sox to take part in the competition since it began at the 1985 MLB All-Star Game at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Carlton Fisk tied for second in...