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Wall Street opens flat ahead of this week’s labor data

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:01 GMT

BANGKOK — Stocks are opening flat on Wall Street Tuesday as investors brace for the first of three government employment reports coming this week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up 0.1% at the open, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is unchanged. Data on job openings in February is due to be reported this morning, with economists forecasting about 10.4 million. Along with the weekly unemployment report on Thursday and the March jobs report on Friday, the data could paint a sharper picture of the U.S. labor market for the Federal Reserve to consider at its next meeting. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story appears below. Wall Street pointed modestly higher Tuesday ahead of the first of three government employment reports this week which could draw a sharper outline of the U.S. employment situation ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next meeting.Futures for the benchmark S&P 500 rose about 0.3%, while the Dow industrials inched up less than 0.2%.On Tuesday...

Canada’s national office vacancy rate hit an all-time high in Q1: CBRE

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:01 GMT

TORONTO — CBRE says Canada’s national office vacancy rate hit an all-time high in the first quarter of the year.The real estate firm says the country’s overall office vacancy rate amounted to 17.7 per cent, while downtown office vacancies sat at 18.4 per cent and the suburban rate landed at 16.8 per cent.Toronto’s downtown office vacancy rate reached 15.3 per cent, the highest level Canada’s largest office market has seen since 1995. Vancouver’s downtown office vacancy rate rose to 10.4 per cent, the highest it’s been since 2004.Ottawa and Montreal both recorded their all-time highest downtown office vacancy rates at 13.2 per cent and 16.5 per cent, respectively.CBRE says tech companies rightsizing their businesses and rethinking their spaces are to blame for many of the vacancy rate increases. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2023.The Canadian Press

‘General Hospital’ turns 60: A behind-the-scenes look

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:01 GMT

ABC’s “General Hospital” marks its 60th anniversary this week, making it the longest-running scripted show currently in production on American television.The soap is marking the milestone with a fan favorite storyline, the Nurses Ball, a gala that raises money for charity. This week the residents of the fictional city of Port Charles dress to the nines and walk a red carpet. In a guest appearance, Chandra Wilson of “Grey’s Anatomy” plays fashion editor Sydney Val Jean.“She’s a big fan of the show,” said executive producer Frank Valentini of Wilson. “She taped all the scenes on the red carpet and was working at ‘Grey’s’ the same day. I’m just so crazy about her.”Valentini is pumped about this year’s musical performances too, as a number of the cast can sing and dance.“Some of the numbers are some of the best things we’ve ever done, and we’ve done some really good stuff.”While viewers enjoy the ball as it plays out this week, Valentini and head writers, Dan O’Connor and Chris Va...

Finland parliament website targeted ahead of NATO entry

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:01 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s parliamentary website was paralyzed by a denial-of-service attack on Tuesday, just before the country made its historic entry into NATO, a move that more than doubles NATO’s border with Russia and has angered Russian President Vladimir Putin. The attacks — in which participants flood targets with junk data — made the parliament’s site hard to use, with many pages not loading and some functions not available for a time.A pro-Russian hacker group known as NoName057 (16) claimed responsibility, saying the attack was retaliation for Finland joining NATO. The hacker group, which has reportedly acted on Moscow’s orders, has taken part in a slew of cyberattacks on the U.S. and its allies in the past. The claim could not be immediately verified.For the most part, Finns went about their business as usual on the bright cold day, belying the historic nature of Finland becoming the 31st member of NATO. Its membership was formalized with a series of st...

Tennessee House moves to expel 3 Democrats after gun protest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:01 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Republican lawmakers took the first steps Monday to expel three Democratic members from the GOP-dominant House for their role in a recent gun control protest at the state Capitol. The extraordinarily rare move resulted in a chaotic and fiery confrontation between lawmakers and supporters opposing the move and has further fractured an already deep political division inside the Tennessee Legislature.Resolutions have been filed against Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson after they led chants from the House floor with supporters in the gallery last Thursday. The resolution declared that the three had participated in “disorderly behavior” and “did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives.” Republican Reps. Bud Hulsey, Gino Bulso, and Andrew Farmer filed the resolutions. They successfully requested Monday that the House expedite the process and vote on the resolutions Thursday. Despit...

Chuy Garcia announces death of 28-year-old daughter

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:01 GMT

CHICAGO — U.S. Congressman Jesús "Chuy" Garcia announced the death of his daughter on Tuesday.In a short statement, Garcia said his 28-year-old daughter Rosa Garcia passed away Monday night.“Last night our beloved daughter, Rosa, passed away at the age of 28. We are completely heartbroken. Rosa joined our family as a young girl who had been in the foster care system. We did our best to provide a stable, loving, and welcoming home for her. Our family asks for privacy and welcomes your thoughts and prayers during this most difficult time."No cause of death was provided at this time.Garcia has served as the U.S. representative of Illinois' 4th District since 2019. In the 2023 Chicago mayoral election, he finished fourth.

4 found dead in hotel area of Mexico's Cancun beach resort

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:01 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in the Mexican resort of Cancun say they have found four dead bodies in the city's hotel zone, near the beach. The announcement of the deaths Monday comes less that a week after a U.S. tourist was shot in the leg in the nearby town of Puerto Morelos. There was no immediate information on the nationalities or identities of the four victims. Their bodies were found Monday in a lot near one of Cancun's beachside hotels along the Kukulkan Boulevard. Firefighter dies after battling house fire on Chicago’s South Side Prosecutors in the Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said the deaths were under investigation, but did not give a cause of death.

Girlfriend of late Oregon athlete Spencer Webb gives birth to their baby, and guess what his name is

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:01 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Kelly Kay, girlfriend of late University of Oregon tight end Spencer Webb, has welcomed her first child with the former football star, and his name is Spider Webb.Kay, a model and social media influencer, announced the baby boy’s birth in an Instagram post shared last week. According to the caption, her son was born on Thursday, March 30. Oregon City mayor blasts ODOT amid strong opposition to proposed I-205 toll The new mom delivered the baby about eight months after the unexpected death of Spencer Webb, who the Lane County Sheriff’s Office said hit his head after an accidental fall on a trail near Triangle Lake in July of last year. He was 22 years old. One month later, Kay revealed her pregnancy.“We created an angel before heaven gained one,” she captioned an Instagram post. “All you ever wanted was to be a father … I know you’ll be the best one from up above. Can’t believe I have to do it without you but knowing I’ll have a piece of you keeps me going. ...

Forecasters warn of more severe storms and tornadoes in South and Midwest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:01 GMT

Forecasters are warning of more severe weather, including tornadoes, Tuesday and Wednesday in parts of the South and Midwest hammered just days ago by deadly storms.That could mean more misery for people sifting through the wreckage of their homes in Arkansas, Iowa and Illinois. Dangerous conditions Tuesday also could stretch into parts of Missouri, southwestern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas. Farther south and west, fire danger will remain high.“That could initially start as isolated supercells with all hazards possible — tornadoes, wind and hail — and then over time typically they form into a line (of thunderstorms) and continue moving eastward,” said Ryan Bunker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Donald Trump to surrender, make historic court appearance In Keokuk County, Iowa, where 19 homes were destroyed and more were damaged Friday, emergency management official Marissa Reisen worries how those cleaning up the damage will cope if ano...

What is going on with Twitter's blue check marks?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:01 GMT

Elon Musk had promised to take away all of Twitter's blue check marks doled out to Hollywood stars, professional athletes, business leaders, authors and journalists unless they start buying a monthly subscription to the social media service.Musk's goal was to shove the advertising-dependent platform he bought for $44 billion last year into a pay-to-play model — and maybe antagonize some enemies and fellow elites in the process. Donald Trump to surrender, make historic court appearance But the Saturday deadline passed and the blue checks are still there, many with a new disclaimer explaining they might have been paid for or they might not have been paid for — nobody but Twitter really knows. The company didn't return a request to clarify its changing policies Monday.DOES A BLUE CHECK MATTER?Matt Darling has been on Twitter for about 15 years and never cared about not having a blue check, though he'd get a kick out of whenever a verified account of “some real-world im...