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Suit: Chocolate maker ignored natural gas alert before blast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

A Pennsylvania candy-maker ignored warnings of a natural gas leak at its chocolate factory and bears responsibility for a subsequent explosion that killed seven workers and injured several others, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.The family of Judith “Judy” Lopez-Moran, a 55-year-old mother of three, filed what their lawyers called the first wrongful-death suit against R.M. Palmer Co. after the March 24 blast in West Reading.Workers smelled natural gas that day and notified Palmer, but the 75-year-old, family-owned company “did nothing,” the lawsuit said.“The gas leak at the factory and the horrific explosion it caused was foreseeable, predictable, and preventable,” the suit said. “Tragically, Judith Lopez-Moran’s death and suffering were preventable.”The lawsuit, filed in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, also names gas utility UGI, which declined comment. A message was sent to Palmer seeking comment.Authorities are still investigating the cause of the explosion, which levele...

N.B. tourism approaching pre-pandemic levels as rental car industry still struggling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

FREDERICTON — Tourism in New Brunswick last year approached pre-pandemic levels, but the province’s rental car industry struggled, a new study by Statistics Canada says.The study released Tuesday said tourism activity in the province “turned around rapidly” but was still 20 per cent lower than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.“Despite a rebound in the number of visitors to New Brunswick, several macroeconomic factors impacted the pace and the extent of the recovery for tourism service providers, including the passenger car rental industry.”While inflation led to significant price increases for hotel rooms and restaurants, the study said some of the steepest increases in the province in the past two years were in the rental car industry.“Nationally, prices for rental of passenger vehicles have risen by nearly 50 per cent since 2019,” it noted. “The cost pressures associated with the maintenance and repair of existing vehicles and t...

Law will end time limit on Maryland child sex abuse lawsuits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Gov. Wes Moore signed legislation on Tuesday to end Maryland’s statute of limitations for when civil lawsuits for child sexual abuse can be filed against institutions.The bill signing comes less than a week after the state’s attorney general released a report that documented the scope of abuse spanning 80 years and accused church leaders of decades of coverups.Under current law, people in Maryland who say they were sexually abused as children can’t sue after they reach the age of 38. “There is no statute of limitations on the hurt that endures for decades after someone is assaulted,” Moore, a Democrat, said. “There is no statute of limitations on the trauma that harms so many still to this day, and this law reflects that exact truth.” The Maryland General Assembly passed the bill last week, hours after Attorney General Anthony Brown released a long-awaited report of nearly 500 pages with details about more than 150 Catholic priests and o...

Wall Street drifts through muted day ahead of inflation data

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street drifted through a muted day of trading Tuesday, with stocks and bonds making modest moves ahead of reports later in the week with the potential to move markets.The S&P 500 had its smallest one-day move in more than a year, slipping 0.17 points, or less than 0.1%, to 4,108.94. Most of the stocks in the index rose, as did the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which gained 98.27, or 0.3%, to 33,684.79. The Nasdaq composite slipped 52.48, or 0.4%, to 12,031.88. The biggest immediate question for Wall Street has been whether the Federal Reserve will keep hiking interest rates in its attempt to get high inflation under control. It’s already raised rates at a furious pace over the last year, enough to slow some areas of the economy and for strains to appear in the banking system. That’s why markets are gearing up for Wednesday’s report on inflation. Economists expect it to show inflation slowed to 5.2% in March from 6% in February. That would mean continued prog...

S&P/TSX composite gains on energy and base metal stocks, U.S. markets mixed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in energy and base metal stocks helped Canada’s main stock index gain more than 100 points Tuesday, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 146.03 points at 20,421.85.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 98.27 points at 33,684.79. The S&P 500 index was down 0.17 points at 4,108.94, while the Nasdaq composite was down 52.48 points at 12,031.88.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.17 cents US compared with 73.93 cents US on Monday.The May crude contract was up US$1.79 at US$81.53 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.19 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was up US$15.20 at US$2,019.00 an ounce and the May copper contract was up four cents at US$4.02 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Mexican tourist killed in Mexican resort of Tulum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican tourist has been shot to death in the Caribbean coast resort of Tulum in a dramatic robbery at a U.S. chain coffee shop, prosecutors and police said Tuesday. The tourist apparently refused to hand over an expensive watch he was wearing, and was shot by the robbers. Video of the killing posted on social media Tuesday showed men with motorcycle helmets burst into the coffee shop at gunpoint Monday. Another man in the video, reportedly the victim’s bodyguard, then took out a pistol and opened fire on the robber, who fled. The bodyguard chased the robber toward the street and kept firing at him through the store’s door.Police in the coastal state of Quintana Roo said one of the thieves fled was wounded and later arrested at a local hospital.State Prosecutor Oscar Montes de Oca said the bodyguard had been released because he had a weapons permit, and may have been acting in self defense.It was the latest chapter of continuing violence on Mexico’s ...

Louisville attack shows challenge of curbing violent videos

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Social media companies are once again in the spotlight after a bank employee in Louisville, Kentucky, killed five people in a mass shooting and livestreamed the attack on Instagram.Tech companies have gotten better in recent years at cooperating to tamp down the spread of mass shooting videos on mainstream platforms. But there’s still no easy way to stop shooters from broadcasting their grisly crimes without shutting down livestreaming services altogether.Here’s what we know so far about what happened in Louisville:HOW DID META RESPOND?Instagram parent company Meta, which also owns Facebook, said in a statement that it quickly removed the livestream of the Louisville shooting on Monday morning.But Meta did not immediately respond to questions Tuesday about how long it took to take down the livestream — or how many people watched it before it was removed.Instagram allows users to anonymously report livestreams. Once a report has been submitted, the company...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis returning to Illinois in May

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

PEORIA, Ill. — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is making a trip back to Illinois next month.DeSantis will be the keynote speaker for the joint 2023 Lincoln Day Dinner with the Peoria and Tazewell County Republican Central Committees on Friday, May 12. The event is one of the largest in the state's GOP politics, with Republican activists, leaders, officeholders, and prospective candidates from across Illinois coming to speak to voters, a press release annoucing DeSantis' visit said. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visits Chicago suburb in support of police union In the past, the event has welcomed former Vice President Mike Pence and former Texas Governor Rick Perry as guest speakers. “Governor Ron DeSantis is one of the preeminent conservative voices in our country, fighting back against the radical left,” said Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Dunlap). “As Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis has enabled his state to thrive because he leads with fiscal responsibility, family values, and...

Five reasons Democrats chose Chicago to host the 2024 convention

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

Chicago will play host to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, the party announced Tuesday, putting the Windy City and the Midwest as a whole front-and-center in next year’s presidential campaign.President Biden and Democratic National Committee (DNC) leaders ultimately chose Chicago over Atlanta, which was viewed as the next closest competitor, as well as New York City.Here are five reasons why Democrats ultimately opted for Chicago, which lasted hosted a Democratic convention in 1996.The Blue Wall argument The political case for Chicago relied on the importance of the Midwest battleground states, with neighboring Wisconsin and Michigan especially pivotal not just in the presidential contest, but in Senate, House and state-level races as well.The governors of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, along with federal and local representatives from each of those states, wrote to Biden and DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison last month to argue that picking Chicago would be a n...

Outcome Health leaders convicted on federal fraud charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:10 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Jurors found three former leaders of a Chicago-based company guilty of multiple counts of fraud on Tuesday, following a 10-week federal trial that tracked Outcome Health's rise and dramatic fall after allegations that the officials had lied to customers and investors while taking in about $1 billion.The Chicago Tribune reported that jurors found Outcome Health co-founder and former CEO Rishi Shah guilty on 19 of 22 counts, co-founder and former president Shradha Agarwal guilty on 15 of 17 counts and former chief operating officer Brad Purdy guilty on 13 of 15 counts.Shah, Agarwal and Purdy have not been sentenced yet. Interim Chicago police superintendent: Officer who shot, killed Adam Toledo should be fired Outcome Health targeted pharmaceutical companies, selling ads that would run on televisions and tablets which the company provided to doctors' offices and waiting rooms. Prosecutors alleged that the executives lied about how many doctors' offices the a...