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Business confidence falls to lowest level in a year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:12 GMT

Confidence among the state’s employers has fallen to its lowest level in more than a year, a survey of Massachusetts businesses shows.The Associated Industries of Massachusetts, in its monthly Business Confidence Index, said confidence among businesses fell 1.4 points from March to April, dropping from 51.5% to 50.1%, a level which the business association says is “essentially even” with the “the 50 mark that separates optimistic from pessimistic outlooks.”“Businesses report that some customers are postponing buying decisions as they evaluate whether the economy is headed for a soft landing or a recession. At the same time, however, the report on Friday that US employers created 253,000 jobs in April shows that the employment market continues to defy the gravity of any slowdown,” Sara Johnson, the chair of AIM’s Board of Economic Advisors said with the release of the report.That 50.1% confidence score is eight points lower than employers reported this time last year and 8.6 po...

Lucas: Biden should target Mexico’s cartels with troops

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:12 GMT

Joe Biden is sending U.S. troops to the wrong place.They needed to go to New York, a sanctuary city, where hapless Mayor Eric Adams is begging President Biden, a fellow Democrat, for help in dealing with the influx of illegal immigrants flooding his city.Biden’s response has been: “Don’t call me, I’ll call you.”While Adams has blamed “the national government” for “turning its back on New York,” he has held President Joe Biden blameless.Adams said that the once great city of New York “is being destroyed by the migrant crisis.”He said that 59,000 migrants had arrived in New York since last spring, which is about the same number that cross into Texas in a slow week.Perhaps the mayor should be reminded that it was Joe Biden who turned the illegal immigrant spigot on, and only he can turn it off, something he refuses to do.And things are only going to get worse when Title 42 expires May 11. Title 42 allows the U.S.to deny illegal immigrant asylum seekers for health reasons.Biden’s respon...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to provide update on provincial wildfire situation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:12 GMT

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is expected to provide an update on the province’s ongoing wildfires later this afternoon.A press conference is scheduled for 3 p.m. MDT.  Smith will be joined by Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis and other officials.Several thousand people have been ordered to leave their homes as more than 100 wildfires burn across Alberta.Smith activated the cabinet’s emergency management committee Friday and said there would be daily media briefings on the wildfire situation.So far this year, 348 wildfires have burned more than 25,000 hectares across the province. In Fox Lake, about 550 kilometres north of Edmonton, the province said a 4,400-hectare wildfire destroyed 20 homes, an RCMP detachment, a store and the community’s water treatment plant.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2023.The Canadian Press

Ukraine shoots down 35 drones over Kyiv as attacks kill 4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:12 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine air defenses shot down 35 Iranian-made drones over Kyiv in Russia’s latest nighttime assault, as attacks across Ukraine by the Kremlin’s forces killed four civilians, officials said Monday.The bombardments came as Moscow enforced tight security on the eve of traditional Red Square commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.Russian media counted at least 21 Russian cities that canceled military parades — the staple of Victory Day celebrations across Russia — on May 9 for the first time in years. Regional officials cited “security concerns” or vaguely referred to “the current situation.”Parades will go ahead in Russia’s largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. But the use of drones has been banned in both cities ahead of Victory Day. In St. Petersburg, which is often referred to as “northern Venice” for its network of rivers and canals, using jet skis in certain parts of the city has also been prohibited until May 10. In the ...

China tells US to ‘reflect deeply’ over downturn in ties

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:12 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s foreign minister told the U.S. ambassador on Monday that Washington is responsible for the downturn in relations between the two countries and must “reflect deeply” before ties can return to a healthy track, an official said.Qin Gang’s comments follow a suspension of serious dialogue on a range of issues between the world’s largest economies, increasingly at odds over tariffs, attempts by Washington to deprive China of cutting-edge technology, and China’s claims to self-governing Taiwan and large parts of the South and East China Seas.China’s Foreign Ministry quoted Qin as telling Ambassador Nicolas Burns that a “series of erroneous words and deeds by the U.S.” since a meeting in November between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping “have undermined the hard-won positive momentum of Sino-U.S. relations.” “The U.S. side should reflect deeply, meet China halfway, and propel China-U.S. relations out of the difficulties and back...

Tanked Biden pick highlights escalation of dark-money forces

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When President Joe Biden nominated Gigi Sohn to serve on the Federal Communications Commission, the longtime consumer advocate expected to face criticism over her desire to expand free internet access and improve competition among broadband providers.Instead, Sohn found herself the target of an aggressive campaign funded by a conservative group that doesn’t have to disclose its donors. The American Accountability Foundation called Sohn too partisan, anti-police and soft on sex trafficking. The attacks landed — to the point that even some Democrats abandoned her. Sohn withdrew her nomination, ditching her fight for a five-year term as an FCC commissioner. “Look, I’m not naive. I’ve been a consumer advocate my whole career. I knew I was going to get some opposition,” Sohn told The Associated Press. “Now, did I expect what was to come — the dark money, the lies, the caricatures? No.”The battle over the nomination is the latest example of how organizations with politic...

Heavy rains lead to flooded roads, basements in Germany

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:12 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Heavy rains in southwestern Germany have flooded roads and basements, forced train routes to close temporarily, and left some residents trapped in their homes because they were surrounded by water. In Zollernalbkreis county in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, hundreds of firefighters were on duty late Sunday after thunderstorms led to creeks bursting their banks and flooding streets, German news agency dpa reported Monday.Several families in the town of Balingen were unable to leave their homes because floodwaters had washed around the buildings, according to dpa. They had to flee to upper floors where they waited until firefighters rescued them using ladders.In the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, heavy rain flooded roads and caused landslides in the town of Daaden-Herdor, where about 250 members of the fire department were deployed during the night, dpa reported. No one was injured.Smaller landslides also caused some debris to land on roads and tracks, leading to the t...

Facebook has 3 billion users. Many of them are old.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:12 GMT

Facebook says it is not dead. Facebook also wants you to know that it is not just for “old people,” as young people have been saying for years. Now, with the biggest thorn in its side — TikTok — facing heightened government scrutiny amid growing tensions between the U.S. and China, Facebook could, perhaps, position itself as a viable, domestic-bred alternative. There’s just one problem: young adults like Devin Walsh have moved on. “I don’t even remember the last time I logged in. It must have been years ago,” said Walsh, 24, who lives in Manhattan and works in public relations. Instead, she checks Instagram, which is also owned by Facebook parent company Meta, about five or six times a day. Then there’s TikTok, of course, where she spends about an hour each day scrolling, letting the algorithm find things “I didn’t even know I was interested in.” Walsh can’t imagine a world in which Facebook, which she joined when she was in 6th grade, becomes a regular part ...

Trudeau gravel thrower set to be sentenced; Crown and defence at odds over jail time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:12 GMT

An Ontario man who threw gravel at Justin Trudeau during a 2021 federal election campaign event marred by protest is set to be sentenced today.Shane Marshall, a 26-year-old man from St. Thomas, pleaded guilty to common assault in March.His defence lawyer told a provincial court last week that Marshall let his anger management issues get the better of him when he tossed stones at the prime minister during a September 2021 campaign stop in London.The Crown, meanwhile, framed Marshall’s action as not just an assault on a political candidate, but an assault on democracy.

America's new favorite breed is a dog-show contender this year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The United States' new favorite dog breed — the comical, controversial French bulldog — has never won the nation's pre-eminent dog show.Yet here, at an ambling trot, comes Winston. The Frenchie with NFL connections is a strong contender at this week's Westminster Kennel Club dog show, less than two months after the release of rankings showing that his kind has become the country’s most prevalent dog breed.Frenchies' rise has been stunning: from 83rd most popular to No. 1 in three decades. It also has been dogged by concerns about their health, debate over the ethics of breeding, denunciations of a gold-rush-like market with ever more “exotic” variations, and a recent spate of high-profile and sometimes fatal robberies. Tennis, or terriers? US Open’s home hosts famed dog show If all that says something about these stumpy-snouted, pointy-eared, deep-chested, quizzical little bulldogs, what does it say about the culture that loves them?THEIR MEDIA IMAGE IMPACTS THEI...