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Inflation has fallen, but the Bank of Canada hasn’t backed off rate hikes. Here’s why

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:19 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s inflation rate has returned to the country’s target range after a tumultuous couple of years of soaring prices.Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday that inflation fell to 2.8 per cent in June, down significantly from the eye-popping peak of 8.1 per cent reached last summer.That’s within the country’s one to three per cent inflation target and, as Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has boasted, the lowest inflation rate in the G7.But despite the good news, the Bank of Canada is still in inflation-fighting mode and seems more likely to raise interest rates further than cut them anytime soon.Earlier this month, the central bank raised its key interest rate again by a quarter percentage point, bringing its key rate to five per cent. At the time, the most recent inflation reading showed the annual rate had fallen to 3.4 per cent in May.Though the decline in inflation was praised by governor Tiff Macklem, he also issued a warning that the central...

6 dead, 14 injured in reported shootings in Chicago over weekend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:19 GMT

CHICAGO — Six people have died and more than 14 people have been shot due to gun violence since Friday night. According to the Chicago Police Department, the shootings took place from the Loop, all the way down to the West Pullman Neighborhood with the victims ages ranging from 16 to 50.Police reposed to a call of a person shot in Little Village around 1:25 a.m. Sunday morning and found a man with a gunshot wound to the head inside of a flipped over vehicle. He was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition and later died of his injuries.Community activist Andrew Holmes said he and his team has been assisting impacted families. Here's a breakdown of what we know from each shooting, in chronological order, beginning late Friday night:1200 Block of West 81st Street (Auburn Gresham) - Friday, around 10:15 p.m.According to CPD, a 16-year-old boy, who had been shot multiple times in the chest, was discovered on the sidewalk and taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where he ...

Sunday Forecast: Partly sunny, chance of isolated showers at night

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:19 GMT

Sunday: Partly sunny with PM chance of isolated showers/thunderstorms. SE 0-5 mph. Air quality is in the Good category. Highs mid 80s, near 80 lakeside.Sunday Night: Partly cloudy & warm. SE 5-10 mph. Lows in the upper 60s, some 70s in the city.Monday: Getting hot and humid. Chance of iso. showers/thunderstorms. SE 10-15 mphChicago Area Radar | WGN TVExtended outlook calls for temps to stay warm to hot and humid as we get into the week ahead. Mon/Tue/Wed all see temps in the mid to low 90s. Thursday looks like the peak of our mini heat wave and we'll get closer to 100. Each day has a chance of afternoon showers/thunderstorms with the humid environment. 

Map shows the contaminated Superfund sites closest to your home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:19 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – More than 1,300 sites around the country are suspected of being so contaminated, hazardous or polluted – or are at risk of becoming so polluted – that they have been deemed a national cleanup priority. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies places around the country that pose a risk to people's health because they have been contaminated by hazardous waste. Since 1980, the agency has taken charge of cleaning up those sites under a law with the nickname "Superfund." (Its full name is The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA.) Superfund sites include poorly managed landfills, mining areas, or industrial facilities. AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile? Maps show which cell provider gives your area best coverage As of June 27, when the National Priorities List was last updated, there were 1,336 sites, plus an additional 40 sites that were proposed as new additions. "It is a list of the worst hazardous waste ...

3 suitcases with human remains found in Florida waterway: police

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:19 GMT

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — Police in Delray Beach, Florida are investigating after a woman's remains were found in three suitcases seen floating in the water Friday. Police were called about a strange item seen floating along the Intracostal Waterway, north of Boca Raton on the state's east coast, local outlet WPTV reported.Three suitcases were found in the waterway, all containing human remains, Delray Police said. Body of girl found in river believed to be that of 2-year-old lost in Pennsylvania flash flood According to local reporting, authorities believe the remains belong to one woman, who has not yet been identified. The remains were sent to a medical examiner to be identified.Delray Police said the woman is white or Hispanic with brown hair. She is believed to be middle-aged, 5'4" tall, and may have tattooed eyebrows. The woman was wearing a floral tank top, a black undershirt, and black mid-thigh shorts. Neighbors confused, feel misled after search for Carlee Russell A...

Know your rights as an airline passenger amid summer travel frustration

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:19 GMT

ST. LOUIS (KTVI) – Air travel angst is the theme of the summer travel season, and more Americans are feeling it this year. As of July 18, TSA statistics show 45.3 million travelers have passed through U.S. airport checkpoints, an average of 2.5 million people per day. That’s up significantly from the same period last July when 40.4 million travelers accounted for a daily average of 2.2 million.“I characterize it as a long-running perfect storm,” said Paul Hudson, president of FlyersRights.org.Hudson says congestion delays at major domestic hubs, antiquated computer systems, and pilot and air traffic control shortages are fueling the frustration travelers are experiencing nationwide.“The airlines are not going to generally advise you of your rights,” he said.That’s why Hudson urges travelers to study the contract of carriage for the airline they’re flying because they’re not all the same.“If your flight is canceled or accessibly delayed, you have a right to what’s called an involunta...

1 dead, 1 transported post-Travis County motorcycle crash Sunday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:19 GMT

JONESTOWN, Texas (KXAN) — Austin-Travis County EMS and other emergency crews responded to a fatal two-motorcycle crash in Jonestown Sunday morning.ATCEMS was notified of a crash in the 19400 block of FM 1431 just before 9 a.m. Sunday. North Lake Travis Fire Department, Travis County Sheriff's Office and Travis County Star Flight joined ATCEMS in the response effort.In a follow-up tweet, ATCEMS said FM 1431 is shut down and urged drivers to avoid the area. Two patients were initially marked as trauma alerts, with one set to be transported by air via Star Flight and the other via an ambulance.In a later update, ATCEMS officials said one patient died at the crash scene. Emergency responders added one adult trauma patient has been taken to St. David's Round Rock Medical Center with serious, albeit not expected to be life-threatening, injuries. The Texas Department of Transportation's Austin District tweeted out Sunday both eastbound and westbound lanes along FM 1431 are closed due to th...

A little more rain to come

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Afternoon and evening showers and isolated thunderstorms are part of the forecast today. Much of this rain will fall in our southern viewing area close to a stationary front. The rain chance for this afternoon will be 20%.A few locations will get rain today but there won't be much measuredThe first measured rain in more than two weeks left, on average, .01" to .10". There were a few gauges with more than .10", topped by .40" at Jollyville. Camp Mabry's gauge had .01". CENTRAL TEXAS RAINFALL TOTALS The day dawned with increasing clouds in some of our area. A record warm low was tied at Camp Mabry with the morning minimum of 80°. The record was first set in 2019. Most lows were in the mid to upper 70s.Clouds will break for a few hours late this morning, returning in the afternoon with a few opening up to the forecast of showers and isolated thunderstorms.Today's "normal" high is 98°Maximum heat indices yesterday topped out at 108° at Cameron, La Grange and San Marco...

Williamson County opens its largest park near Liberty Hill

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:19 GMT

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A new 1,354-acre county park is now open in Williamson County. River Ranch County Park opened Saturday near Liberty Hill as the county's largest park. Parkgoers can find a playground, pavilions, hiking trails, bike trails, horse trails and more at the park. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Construction to resume on River Ranch County Park after year-long delay An interpretive center is yet to open, but it will offer hands-on exhibits "where visitors can learn about the natural, cultural and historic resources that make the park special," a release said. Park hours are 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and traffic into the park will close at 9 p.m.Park fees are $4 per adult, $2 for adults age 65 and older and free for children under 12. Park construction began in 2018 with an opening date scheduled in 2020 at the time. After contractor delays and the firing of a previous builder, Williamson County commissioners approved a new contract in August 2022 to finish buildin...

Trudy Rubin: Putin is playing a game of food blackmail. The West can’t let him win

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:19 GMT

ODESA, Ukraine — One year ago, just as I arrived in this historic port city, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to stop blockading Ukraine’s grain exports and fueling a famine in Africa and the Middle East.The day after signing the U.N.-brokered deal, Russians shelled Odesa’s port facilities, as if to warn: “Don’t think this deal protects you.”Exactly one year later, I returned to Odesa just as Russia pulled out of the deal, once again threatening global food supplies. Putin is playing a game of food blackmail, trying to get Western countries to loosen sanctions on certain Russian banks if they want the Ukrainian grain to start flowing again. Canada rightly called the renewed blockade “the weaponization of hunger by the Russian Federation.”As I wrote back then, and reemphasize now, if any Western leaders still nurse fantasies about talks with Putin to end his war on Ukraine, his disdain for the grain deal proves they are fools.And...