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Alberta’s electricity cost surge helps drive inflation even as energy prices drop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:21 GMT

Statistics Canada says a spike in the amount Albertans paid for electricity last month counteracted an overall decline in energy prices in July — and was one of the key reasons cited by the agency as the overall inflation rate ticked up.The agency says energy prices were down 8.2 per cent in July on a year-over-year basis, compared with 14.6 per cent in June. That was driven both by gasoline prices falling less dramatically from prices a year ago, along with electricity prices rising at a faster pace in July than they did in June.Yet the price of electricity was up 11.7 per cent last month compared with 5.8 per cent in June, with the gain attributed to a 127.8 per cent increase in Alberta electricity prices.Statistics Canada notes Alberta’s electricity costs are often volatile and were influenced by high summer demand. July’s costs also rose compared with last year due to the province phasing out temporary measures that helped keep energy costs lower before the summer.El...

Accounts of ‘body checks’ at Miss Universe Indonesia shock the nation as contestants speak out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:21 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Their dreams of representing Indonesia in the 2023 Miss Universe pageant turned to nightmares when they were forced to undergo “body checks” in front of local organizers. Now seven contestants have filed complaints with the police, accusing the organizers of sexual harassment, their lawyer said Tuesday. During the July 29-Aug. 3 Miss Universe Indonesia contest in the capital of Jakarta — and ahead of the show’s Grand Final event — the contestants were told to strip to their underwear for “body checks” for scars or cellulite, said lawyer Melissa Anggraini. The checks took place in a ballroom at the downtown Sari Pacific Hotel, where the contest was held, with about two dozen people present, including men. Five of the contestants said they were then photographed topless, Anggraini said. “We have obtained some evidences, even videos showing that the organizer had carried out ‘body checks’,” she added. One of her clients, 23-year-old model Priskila Ribka ...

Renaming Toronto’s Dundas Street: ‘Important first step’ or wasteful expense?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:21 GMT

For some people, renaming Toronto’s Dundas Street is a necessary step to confront the history of a city built in part by individuals connected to the British Empire’s transatlantic slave trade.Others say the estimated $ 8.6-million cost of renaming the 23-kilometre thoroughfare is a wasteful expense for a city facing a financial crisis, including a looming budget shortfall estimated at $1.5 billion.The renaming looks set to move forward after Toronto’s new mayor, Olivia Chow, voiced support for the project earlier this month, with her spokesman Shirven Rezvany endorsing it as a “response to community wishes.”But while taking questions from reporters on Monday, Ontario’s Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy appeared to question the wisdom of that decision.When asked if the province would be giving Toronto more money to cover the budget shortfall, Bethlenfalvy said, “We’ve been there for Toronto, we’ve put in billions of dollars to ...

Madonna reschedules tour after ICU stay, North American dates kick off this December

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:21 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Madonna ‘s rescheduled Celebration Tour will kick off in Brooklyn, New York, in a matter of months.In June, Madonna suffered what her manager called a “serious bacterial infection” that led to her hospitalization in an intensive care unit for several days. The North American leg of her Celebration Tour was originally scheduled to start July 15 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and to run through October 8 in Las Vegas. It was postponed as she recovered. Her tour will now start on October 14, at London’s O2 Arena.On Tuesday, Live Nation announced that the majority of Madonna’s North American tour dates have been rescheduled. They immediately follow a stint in the U.K. and Europe, kicking off on December 13 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and running through April 24, 2024, when it will conclude at Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes.Dates in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Phoenix — as well as Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Nashville, Tennessee — hav...

Ex-FBI counterintelligence official pleads guilty to conspiracy charge for helping Russian oligarch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:21 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A former high-ranking FBI counterintelligence official pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge Tuesday, admitting that he agreed after leaving the agency to work for a Russian oligarch he had once investigated to seek dirt on the oligarch’s wealthy rival in violation of sanctions on Russia.Charles McGonigal, 55, entered the plea in federal court in Manhattan to a single count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and to commit money laundering, saying he was “deeply remorseful for it.”McGonigal told Judge Jennifer H. Rearden that he carried out his crime in the spring and fall of 2021, accepting over $17,000 to help Russian energy magnate Oleg Deripaska by collecting derogatory information about a Russian oligarch who was a business competitor of Deripaska.Sentencing was set for Dec. 14, when McGonigal could face up to five years in prison.Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Dell told the judge that prosecutors had proof McGonigal w...

Judge blocks Internet Archive from sharing copyrighted books

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:21 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has approved a permanent injunction against the online Internet Archive from scanning and sharing all copyrighted books already made available by publishers. Judge John Koeltl had already ruled in March that the Archive had illegally offered free e-editions of 127 books in copyright, including works by J.D. Salinger and Toni Morrison. Four leading publishers — Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, John Wiley & Sons and Penguin Random House — had sued the Archive in 2020 in response to its establishing a “National Emergency Library” early in the pandemic, when most libraries and bookstores were shutdown. The Archive had contended that it was protected by fair use and that it had a larger mission to make information as widely accessible as possible. The injunction was part of an agreement filed last week by the two sides in the lawsuit. Koeltl, of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, did agree with the Archive on one issue that remained in...

US-Audiobooks-Top-10

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:21 GMT

Nonfiction 1. Atomic Habits by James Clear, narrated by the author (Penguin Audio)2. Outlive by Peter Attia, MD and Bill Gifford – contributor, narrated by Peter Attia, MD (Random House Audio)3. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, narrated by the author (Simon & Schuster Audio4. Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins, narrated by the author and Adam Skolnick (Lioncrest Publishing)5. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F(asterisk)ck by Mark Manson, narrated by Roger Wayne (HarperAudio)6. American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, narrated by Jeff Cummings (Blackstone Audio, Inc.)7. 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, narrated by Richard Poe (HighBridge, a Division of Recorded Books)8. Adversity for Sale by Jeezy, narrated by Jay Jenkins (HarperCollins Leadership)9. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey, narrated by the author (Random House Audio)10. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie, narrated by Andrew MacMillan (Simon & Schuster Audio)Fiction1...

Madonna to perform in Canada in January and February after hospital delay

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:21 GMT

TORONTO — Madonna is set to celebrate her comeback in Canada in the new year.The pop legend has rescheduled the North American leg of the Celebration Tour, which was delayed weeks ahead of its planned kickoff in Vancouver last month when Madonna landed in hospital.The tour will now kick off in London on Oct. 14, and the singer will stop at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Jan. 11 and 12 and Vancouver’s Rogers Arena on Feb. 21, 2024.Live Nation says it will honour tickets for the previously scheduled shows. Madonna’s manager has said the performer developed a serious bacterial infection in late June, which led to a several-day stay in the ICU.The tour is now set to begin in the United Kingdom in October, and she’ll cross the pond in December, starting the North American leg in Brooklyn, N.Y.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2023.The Canadian Press

Stock market today: Wall Street falls in global slide set off by weakening Chinese economy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:21 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks worldwide are falling Tuesday as China’s faltering recovery raises worries for the rest of the global economy.The S&P 500 sank 0.9% in afternoon trading after data showed a deepening slump in July for the world’s second-largest economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 305 points, or 0.9%, at 35,001, as of 2:03 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.8%.Coming into this year, the expectation was that China’s economy would grow enough after the government removed anti-COVID restrictions to prop up a global economy weakened by high inflation. But China’s recovery has faltered so much that it unexpectedly cut a key interest rate on Tuesday and skipped a report on how many of its younger workers are unemployed.Worries about the knock-on effects for the rest of the global economy are weighing on Wall Street, where stocks have already been retrenching in August. The pullback follows a gangbusters first seven months of the year that cr...

Tuesday Forecast: Temps in mid 70s with showers possible

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:21 GMT

CHICAGO — A few lingering showers and thunderstorms Tuesday, then decreasing clouds and breezy conditions. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Winds: NNE 5-30 mph. Air quality is in the Good category for Chicagoland. Highs mid 70s, upper 60s by the lake. A Beach Hazard Statement has been issued through Tuesday evening. High wave activity and dangerous currents are expected at Lake Michigan beaches. Waves six to nine-feet may reach some areas.Partly cloudy tonight and less humid with comfortable conditions. Winds: NNE/SW 5-10 mph. Lows near 60.Wednesday Forecast: Partly to mostly sunny and warmer. SSW 5-15 mph. High 86.Extended outlook calls for showers/t'storms for Thursday, mostly in the morning. Highs in the lower 80s, but could get warmer if skies clear out earlier. Then we're trending back towards some August heat. We'll see upper 80s likely on Friday and mid to low 90s through the weekend which could end up being our hottest stretch of weather so far this su...