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S&P/TSX composite down nearly 100 points as tech stocks fall, U.S. stocks also lower

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:41:27 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down nearly 100 points, as losses in the technology sector helped lead the way lower, while U.S. stock markets fall fell in late-morning trading.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 90.58 points at 20,114.29.In New York, where stock markets were closed on Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 49.39 points at 34,369.08. The S&P 500 index was down 4.67 points at 4,450.92, while the Nasdaq composite was down 15.66 points at 13,801.11.The Canadian dollar traded for 75.40 cents US compared with 75.65 cents US on Tuesday.The August crude contract was up US$1.61 from Monday at US$71.40 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was down three cents from Monday at US$2.69 per mmBTU.The August gold contract was up 70 cents from Monday at US$1,930.20 an ounce and the September copper contract was down two cents from Monday at US$3.77 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2023.Companies in th...

Hong Kong-born singer Coco Lee dies by suicide at age 48, her siblings say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:41:27 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Coco Lee, a Hong Kong-born singer and songwriter who had a highly successful career in Asia, has died by suicide, her siblings said Wednesday. She was 48. The star had been suffering from depression for several years, Lee’s elder sisters Carol and Nancy Lee said in a statement posted on Facebook and Instagram, with her condition deteriorating drastically over the last few months.“Although, CoCo sought professional help and did her best to fight depression, sadly that demon inside of her took the better of her,” the statement read.Lee attempted suicide at home over the weekend and she was rushed to a hospital, her sister said. They said that she was in a coma and died on Wednesday.Lee, who was born in Hong Kong but later moved to the U.S. where she attended middle and high school, had a highly successful career in Asia as a pop singer in the 1990s and 2000s, where she was known for her powerful voice and live performances.Lee, who was initially a Mandopop singer, bra...

‘It’s a danger zone’: Cyclists and drivers sound alarm over overhaul on major downtown Toronto street

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:41:27 GMT

Adelaide Street West from Bathurst to Parliament streets is going through a number of changes. The street has been ripped up, streetcar tracks replaced, and cycle tracks are being moved from one side of the street to the other. However, many people who use this thoroughfare say the changeover is wreaking havoc and putting lives in danger.“Not just confusing, dangerous,” cyclist Brandin O’Connor wrote on Twitter, posting photos of injuries he received and blames them on the construction in this area. He joins a chorus of other people speaking out about the project.Will Adelaide St W ever be safe @Toronto311? Track moved to north side to accommodate cars always parking in old south lane (see my last Tweet). Not just confusing, dangerous. Midome Construction @LtdMidome left pylon ring debris in new bike lane causing crash @TO_Transport ????1/3 pic.twitter.com/rd8unmdEAF— Brandin O'Connor (@BrandinOConnor) July 4, 2023“As it stands now, there are currently no useable bike lane...

Canada follows peers, blasts Hong Kong bounties that include Edmonton-born activist

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:41:27 GMT

Ottawa is condemning Hong Kong officials for issuing bounties for the arrest of eight activists living abroad, days after Canada’s peers slammed the move.Hong Kong’s national-security law restricts civil liberties in the territory, which is a special administrative region within China but was guaranteed certain democratic freedoms when Britain handed over the former colony in 1997.Officials announced on Monday that eight pro-democracy activists who are charged under the law are the subject of bounties, with authorities offering the equivalent of roughly $170,000 for information leading to an arrest.Edmonton-born Dennis Kwok, who renounced his Canadian citizenship when he became a Hong Kong legislator in 2012, is on that list.Global Affairs Canada says in a tweet that it is “gravely concerned” by Hong Kong officials seeking to apply the law outside the territory, saying it undermines democratic rights and freedoms.Today’s statement comes after the U.S., ...

Ontario police crack cold case from 1975, charge Florida man with murder

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:41:27 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police say they have cracked a decades-old cold case and charged a man with murder of a woman who was found dead in eastern Ontario 48 years ago.Police say they have identified a woman found dead east of Ottawa in 1975 as Lalla Jewell Parchman Langford, who was 48 at the time.Police say Rodney Nichols, an 81-year-old man who resides in Florida, has been charged with murder.The remains of the victim were found on May 3, 1975 floating in the Nation River near the Highway 417 bridge and the unidentified woman was known for decades as the “Nation River Lady.”A non-profit organization that works to identify victims in cold cases says the woman was identified after OPP contacted them for help on the case in early 2019.The DNA Doe Project says a DNA profile for the victim was uploaded to genetic genealogy databases in 2020 and its team of volunteers identified Langford as a likely candidate within a few weeks.

Suspect, 40, arraigned on murder charges in Philadelphia mass shooting that killed 5

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:41:27 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A 40-year-old accused of killing a man in a house and then gunning down four others on the streets of a southwest Philadelphia neighborhood before surrendering to police officers has been arraigned on murder and other charges.Kimbrady Carriker was arraigned Wednesday on five counts of murder as well as charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons counts of possession without a license and carrying firearms in public, prosecutors said. A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old youth were also wounded by gunfire and another 2-year-old boy and a woman were hit by shattered glass in the Monday night rampage that made the working-class area of Kingsessing the site of the nation’s worst violence around the July Fourth holiday.Police called to the scene found gunshot victims and started to help them before hearing more shots. Some officers rushed victims to hospitals while others ran toward the gunfire and chased the firing suspect. Staff Inspector Ernest Ransom...

EU moves toward latest gene techniques in food production to counter climate change, shortages

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:41:27 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union took a step Wednesday toward adapting its food production to the new ways of the world: The 27-nation bloc wants to embrace the latest gene techniques it hopes will help safely counter global challenges like climate change and shortages. For decades, the EU was conservative in allowing the use of genetically modified organisms — which often brought up connotations of Frankenfood rather than improved crop production — while the United States and others quickly adopted the new bioengineered technologies. However, the EU’s executive commission on Wednesday threw its weight behind so-called new genomic techniques, which seek to change organisms in a much less intrusive way than the GMOs of old, and to allow many to be sold without special labeling. “In many ways, new genomic techniques can give you the same results as through conventional and natural selection, or through targeted crossbreeding, but with much more speed, precision and efficiency,...

Ukraine, Russia accuse each other of planning to attack Europe’s biggest nuclear plant

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:41:27 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and Russia accused each other Wednesday of planning to attack one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants, but neither side provided evidence to support their claims of an imminent threat to the facility in southeastern Ukraine that is occupied by Russian troops.The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been a focus of concern since Moscow’s forces took control of it and its staff in the early stages of the war. Russia and Ukraine have regularly traded blame over shelling near the plant that caused power outages. Over the last year, the U.N.’s atomic watchdog repeatedly expressed alarm over the possibility of a radiation catastrophe like the one at Chernobyl after a reactor exploded in 1986.The six reactors at Zaporizhzhia are shut down, but the plant still needs power and qualified staff to run crucial cooling systems and other safety features.Ukraine has alleged more recently that Moscow might try to cause a deliberate leak in an a...

Democrats' effort to force gun votes fizzles in House

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:41:27 GMT

A Democratic strategy to move tougher gun laws through the House has hit a brick wall of GOP opposition, all but guaranteeing the hot-button issue will be relegated to the realm of campaign messaging in the Republican-led lower chamber.  Democratic leaders had launched procedural maneuvers last month designed to force votes on several gun reform measures over the objections of GOP leaders. The gambit, known as a discharge petition, is rarely successful. But supporters had hoped the effort would bear fruit this year given the growing public outcry over endemic mass shootings and the widespread popularity of proposals like expanded background checks, one of which is sponsored by a Republican. But even that GOP lawmaker, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), has refused to endorse the petition, citing the likelihood that the background check bill would fail in the Senate. The unanimous Republican opposition has highlighted the limited powers of the ...

TSA screens record-breaking number of passengers on busiest day in agency's history: 'Extremely busy'

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:41:27 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – The Transportation Security Administration recorded its single busiest day in history on Friday, TSA officials confirmed over the weekend.On June 30, officers at TSA checkpoints nationwide screened a total of 2,883,595 travelers, marking the “highest number of passengers the agency has screened on record,” according to the TSA.The next-busiest day on record occurred on Nov. 27, 2019 — the Sunday after Thanksgiving of that year — when a total of 2,882,915 passengers were screened.The days before and after July Fourth and Thanksgiving have historically been busy times for travel. In 2019, for instance, TSA officers nationwide screened just under 2.8 million passengers the Sunday before the Fourth, marking another of the agency’s busiest travel days in history. Decreased demand for air travel amid the pandemic, however, contributed to plummeting passenger numbers in the subsequent years.Travelers more than made up for it on Friday, though, with many likely planning trips or...