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Biden condemns wave of state legislation restricting LGBTQ+ rights, says ‘these are our kids’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:11:51 GMT

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday condemned a wave of “cruel” and “callous” state laws curbing the rights, visibility and health care access of LGBTQ+ people, especially children, leaving them feeling under attack like never before and the White House with limited options to intervene.“These are our kids. These are our neighbors. It’s cruel and it’s callous,” Biden said at a White House news conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “It matters a great deal how we treat everyone in this country.”Biden commented hours after the White House postponed a large Pride Month celebration with thousands of guests Thursday night on the South Lawn because of poor air quality from hazardous air flowing in from Canadian wildfires. The president noted steps he has taken to help protect the rights of non-heterosexual people, but said “our fight is far, far from ...

Amazon mulls ad-tier on Prime

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:11:51 GMT

Amazon is exploring the launch of an ad-supported plan for its Prime Video streaming service, following a trend led by other rival outlets looking to boost revenue by adding commercials to their offerings.The ecommerce giant is considering running ads against its programming while offering customers the option to pay more to watch the shows commercial-free and with other features, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources. No decision has been made on an ad-supported tier, the Journal said.Amazon declined to comment.If it goes through with the plan, Prime Video, known for shows including “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” would join a long list of streaming companies that offer ad-supported options to attract subscribers and retain existing customers.Last year, Netflix launched a cheaper plan with ads, after years of being adverse to advertising on its platform. Disney+ also began offering a plan with commercials, while increasing the price of its standard...

Chicago Bears leaders to chat with select group of Arlington Heights-area community members at invite-only meeting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:11:51 GMT

Despite headlines this week about the Chicago Bears’ proposed Arlington Heights stadium project possibly being “at risk,” the football team’s brass will come face to face with about 300 people later this month at a meeting meant to promote communication between local stakeholders and the team.The Bears, operating as the Chicago Bears Football Club, has proposed a multibillion dollar stadium development at the site of the former Arlington International Racecourse the team purchased in February.“We will hear directly from Kevin Warren on his experience with stadium development and what it’s going to take to make Arlington Park the home of the Chicago Bears,”a meeting announcement states.The meeting, set for June 26 at the Metropolis Center for the Performing Arts in Arlington Heights is an initiative of the newly formed Touchdown Arlington group, a private group that sees the arrival of the team as an economic opportunity for the village and ...

Heat need to get back to the basics — energy and effort — after Game 3 loss to the Nuggets

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:11:51 GMT

That wasn’t Heat basketball.A Miami team that scrapped and clawed its way into the NBA Finals and stole home-court advantage from the Denver Nuggets thanks to physical play in Game 2 looked unrecognizable during its Game 3 walloping back in South Beach on Wednesday night.After a 109-94 defeat sent the Heat spiraling into a 2-1 deficit, Miami is now on the ropes: another loss at home in Game 4 on Friday will swing all the momentum in Denver’s favor with the series returning to the Mile High City for Game 5.And only one of the 36 NBA Finals series to reach a 3-1 status has ever seen a team overcome the deficit to win the title: LeBron James’ 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers.The Heat hope to avoid those circumstances with a victory on Friday, and according to All-Star Jimmy Butler, there’s no tactical adjustment that can save this series.“I feel like we’ve just gotta come out with more energy and effort, and that’s correctable,” Butler said after...

Ticker: Mortgage rates retreat from highs; Unemployment applications climb

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:11:51 GMT

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate eased back from a seven-month high this week, a welcome change for homebuyers navigating high borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan fell to 6.71% from 6.79% last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 5.23%.The pullback follows three straight weekly increases, which pushed up the average rate to its highest level since early November, when it climbed to 7.08%.The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with those refinancing their homes, also fell this week, slipping to 6.07% from 6.18% last week. A year ago, it averaged 4.38%, Freddie Mac said.“While elevated rates and other affordability challenges remain, inventory continues to be the biggest obstacle for prospective homebuyers,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.Unemployment applications climbThe number of Americ...

Chelsea, Everett and Revere win federal grants to improve bus traffic

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:11:51 GMT

Millions in federal cash has been awarded to upgrade traffic signals so that buses are given priority when moving through Chelsea, Everett and Revere.The U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration announced an MBTA project in those cities totaling $2.96 million under a grant program created through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.“Your zip code shouldn’t determine whether you have access to safe, affordable transportation,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said with the announcement.The project, which will complete design work next year and begin construction in 2025, will add technology to signal arrays that identify and allow buses to move more quickly through traffic, improving commute times for mass transit users and making transportation times more predictable.According to the MBTA, the communities covered by the grant are some the most desperate for easy bus connection to the transit systems’ other modes of travel, like th...

Elevated walkway collapses in Texas beach city, injuring dozens

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:11:51 GMT

SURFSIDE BEACH, Texas (AP) — Nearly two dozen teenagers from a summer camp were injured when an elevated walkway collapsed Thursday in a beachside city in Texas, with five flown to the hospital by helicopter.None of the injuries were expected to be life-threatening, Brazoria County officials said. The cause of the walkway collapse in Surfside Beach, a small city on the Gulf of Mexico, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of downtown Houston, was under investigation.Surfside Beach Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Justin Mills said his department responded to an emergency call at 12:34 p.m. and set up landing areas for the medical helicopters. Sharon Trower, public information officer for Brazoria County, said all of the victims were between 14 and 18 years old and from the Bayou City Fellowship summer camp. Six were taken to hospitals by ambulance, and about 10 more were taken to hospitals by private vehicles, Trower said. Aerial video from TV station KTRK showed the walkway...

DeSantis recruiters eyed Catholic church for migrant flights that bishop calls ‘reprehensible’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:11:51 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recruiters set their sights on Sacred Heart Catholic Church in the Texas border city of El Paso in search of asylum-seekers they could take from its bustling migrant shelter to California’s capital on taxpayer-funded private jets.Intentionally or not, envoys for Florida’s Catholic governor and Republican presidential candidate infused an element of his own religion into his latest move on immigration, which has drawn sharp criticism from El Paso’s Catholic bishop.“Without going into the details of the politics of it, it does seem clear that they were being used not out concern for the migrants but in an effort to make a political point,” Bishop Mark Seitz told The Associated Press on Wednesday. Seitz said many migrants arriving in the U.S. don’t know the geography, including how far cities and states are from one another, and are just anxious to move on.“If you’re seeking to help a person who needs to get ...

Attorney: Ownership of Nashville shooter’s writing will go to students’ parents

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:11:51 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ownership of the writings of a shooter who killed six people at a Nashville school earlier this year will be transferred to the families of students at the school, an attorney representing the shooter’s parents announced Thursday. The development is the latest twist in the increasingly complex legal battle over the release of Audrey Hale’s writings and other documents in the police investigation. Supporters of the parents hope that the transfer of ownership will strengthen the families’ argument that they have standing to intervene and stop the release of Hale’s writings.Hale, then 28, opened fire at the school on March 27, before being shot to death by officers. Hale was a former student at the school and it is thought that Hale’s writings might reveal a motive for the attack.Late last month, Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles ruled that the Covenant School parents have a right to intervene against the groups seeking the release of th...

S&P/TSX composite ticks lower Thursday, U.S. stock markets move higher

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:11:51 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index ticked lower Thursday amid broad-based weakness, while U.S. markets moved higher, led by the technology sector. “It’s definitely a quieter market today,” said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at Purpose Investments. The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate Wednesday to 4.75 per cent after several months of holding it, in the latest move by the central bank to fight inflation. “I think a lot of people are just digesting the moves we got yesterday,” Taylor said.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 40.99 points at 19,942.70.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 168.59 points at 33,833.61. The S&P 500 index was up 26.41 points at 4,293.93, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.63 points at 13,238.52.Markets in the U.S. are anticipating inflation data in the U.S. next week followed by the Federal Reserve’s own rate announcement, said Taylor. At this point, markets seem to expect a pause from the Fed next week, s...