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Retail sales rise solid 0.7% in September, reflecting US shoppers’ resilience despite higher prices

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans showed their steadfast resilience and kept spending online, at restaurants and other outlets in September even as they grappled with higher prices, interest rates and a host of other headwinds piling up.Retail sales rose 0.7% in September, more than twice what economists had expected, and close to a revised 0.8% bump in August, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Retail sales in August were inflated after gasoline prices spiked, however. That was not the case in September when gas prices began to ease.A closely watched category of retail sales that excludes auto dealers, gas stations and building materials and feeds into the gross domestic product jumped 0.6% last month compared to the prior month.Spending at restaurants was up 0.9%, while spending online rose 1.1% last month, according to the report. Sales at general merchandise stores rose 0.4%. Business at grocery stores was up 0.4%. Sales at home furnishings and furniture stores were flat, while e...

Greta Thunberg was among climate activists detained at a protest to disrupt oil executives’ forum

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:13 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Greta Thunberg was detained by British police on Tuesday alongside other climate activists who gathered outside a central London hotel to disrupt a major oil and gas industry conference.Thunberg was among dozens of protesters who chanted “oily money out” and sought to block access to the luxury InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane, which is hosting the Energy Intelligence Forum. The conference features speakers including the chief executives of Shell, Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and Norway’s Equinor, as well as the U.K.’s energy security minister. An Associated Press photographer saw Thunberg being led away by officers and taken into a police vehicle, along with about 10 other activists.Protesters attempted to block access to the conference venue by sitting on the sidewalk by the entrance. They held aloft banners and chanted “oily money out” and “cancel the conference,” while some lit yellow and pink smoke flares.Two Greenpeace activists abseiled down from the roof of the hot...

Live updates | GOP will make another attempt at seating a House speaker with Jim Jordan’s nomination

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:13 GMT

The House of Representatives is set to vote on Jim Jordan’s nomination for speaker on Tuesday afternoon, two weeks after the chamber ousted Kevin McCarthy from the top spot.Jordan was scrambling to shore up the votes needed to clinch the vote in the closely divided chamber. He can likely only lose a few GOP votes to win the nod.What to knowJim Jordan’s rapid rise has been cheered by Trump and the far rightHow the vote for a new speaker worksScalise ends bid to become speaker as holdouts refuse to back himMcCarthy was an early architect of the GOP majority that became his downfallSpeaker McCarthy ousted in historic House voteJordan clinches support of Biden-district RepublicanHours before a floor vote, one of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s most loyal supporters threw his support behind Jordan after days of hesitation.Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., a first-term member, said that after having several conversations with Jordan, he’s decided to vote for him on the floor.“Ther...

Poland’s voters reject their right-wing government, but many challenges lie ahead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:13 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s voters delivered a clear verdict. After eight years of rule by a right-wing government, they have had enough. While the conservative ruling Law and Justice party won more votes than any other single party in a parliamentary election on Sunday, it lost its majority and will not hold enough seats to govern the country. Three opposition groups who waged an energetic campaign on promises to help restore national unity, rule of law and cooperative ties with the European Union and other allies, are poised to get their turn to steer the Central European nation of 38 million people. But the path ahead will be demanding. Here are five challenges facing the country in its transition.THE TRANSITION OF POWERSome Poles are afraid that the ruling party, like former President Donald Trump in the United States and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, might resist the verdict of the voters.Some anxiety was triggered by words uttered on Sunday ...

Canadian Press NewsAlert: Israeli woman with Canadian relatives has died: group

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:13 GMT

An Israeli woman with Canadian family has died, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs says.The centre says the family of Tiferet Lapidot has asked that the development be shared with the media. They describe her as an Israeli woman with Canadian parents.They say she was reportedly kidnapped by Hamas militants and her body was identified Tuesday morning.The war in the Middle East began Oct. 7.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2023.The Canadian Press

EU leaders seek harmony at a virtual summit after cacophony over response to the Israel-Hamas war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:13 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union leaders are trying to overcome the cacophony of different opinions and voices over the Israel-Hamas war into one single political hymn in an attempt to have a bigger diplomatic impact on the global stage.Even if their summit on Tuesday is by virtual video conferencing only, the attack in Brussels that left two Swedes dead last night further underscored the need to show a unified stance in the face of common threats.Ever since the attack of Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, the EU has shown it is a group of 27 different nations and even their common institutions have sent out different messages, sowing confusion about the bloc’s intentions and reaping international criticism. Many member states feel that EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen overstepped her authority by visiting Israel on Friday without a pre-agreed political message and then toed what many saw as an excessively pro-Israeli line. “Foreign and security policy remains a responsibility...

Here’s a list of September inflation rates for selected Canadian cities

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:13 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s annual inflation rate was 3.8 per cent in September, Statistics Canada says. The agency also released rates for major cities, but cautioned that figures may have fluctuated widely because they are based on small statistical samples (previous month in brackets):— St. John’s, N.L.: 4.4 per cent (4.2)— Charlottetown-Summerside: 2.8 per cent (3.6)— Halifax: 4.9 per cent (4.7)— Saint John, N.B.: 4.2 per cent (3.3)— Quebec City: 4.9 per cent (4.8)— Montreal: 5.0 per cent (5.2)— Ottawa: 2.9 per cent (3.2)— Toronto: 4.1 per cent (4.3)— Thunder Bay, Ont.: 3.1 per cent (4.0)— Winnipeg: 2.8 per cent (3.4)— Regina: 4.0 per cent (4.6)— Saskatoon: 4.0 per cent (5.1)— Edmonton: 3.5 per cent (4.2)— Calgary: 4.4 per cent (4.8)— Vancouver: 4.0 per cent (4.1)— Victoria: 2.8 per cent (3.4)— Whitehorse: 3.8 per cent (4.6)— Yellowknife: 1.8 per cent (3.7)— Iqaluit: 1.2 per cent (1.9)This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2023.The Canadian Press

Wisconsin Senate poised to give final approval to bill banning gender-affirming surgery

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:13 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gender-affirming surgery for minors would be banned in Wisconsin under a Republican-sponsored bill up for final approval in the GOP-controlled Legislature on Tuesday.Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has vowed to veto the measure. The Assembly passed the bill last week, without any Democratic votes, and the Senate was slated to give it final approval Tuesday, which would then send it to Evers.Republican lawmakers across the country want to limit the rights of transgender youths, sparking fierce pushback from the transgender community and triggering discrimination lawsuits along the way.At least 22 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, and most of those states face lawsuits. Gender-affirming surgery for minors is rare, with fewer than 3,700 performed in the U.S. on patients ages 12 to 18 from 2016 through 2019, according to a study published in August.The Wisconsin bill is one of several in the state target...

Woman, 40, fatally shot during altercation on South Side

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:13 GMT

CHICAGO — A 40-year-old woman was fatally shot after an altercation with a man on the city's South Side.The shooting happened around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 8200 block of South Drexel. Police said the woman was in a verbal altercation outside of her house, when a man shot her and fled the scene.The woman was shot in the chest and transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, where she was later pronounced dead.The medical examiner has identified the woman as Lekeysha Taplet. Pedestrian struck and killed on DuSable Lake Shore Drive; southbound lanes closed at North Avenue No one is in custody. Area Two detectives are investigating.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus is back!

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:13 GMT

CHICAGO — It's a show that many generations of Chicagoans got to see as children, and now it's making a comeback with a whole new look in 2023. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is back after a six-year hiatus that began in 17 as the company is rolling out a new show to appeal to the next generation of fans. There are no animals this time with the circus featuring a number of different acts as part of the presentation that will have a stop at Rosemont's Allstate Arena November 3-5. Before this show rolls back into Chicagoland, Dean Richards made a trip to Palmetto, Florida to check out the rehearsals for this new "high-tech" show at the headquarters of Feld Entertainment.He spoke with that company's COO Juliette Feld Grossman about what spectators can expect to see out of this new look Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as they hit the road after six years. You can see Dean's segment on the upcoming show from October 17's WGN Morning News in the video above.Ge...