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Report Documents “Stunning” MBTA Labor Shortage

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:12 GMT

The MBTA appears to be on track to start the next fiscal year with staffing levels 20 to 25 percent below what’s required to maintain the system and needs to hire 2,800 workers in the next 12 months to ensure safety and progress, according to a new report, which raises questions about how long staffing-related service reductions will remain in place. Gov. Maura Healey promised to hire an additional 1,000 transit workers before the end of 2023, and recently proposed $20 million toward the effort with other funds for MBTA hiring coming from the money lawmakers and former Gov. Charlie Baker steered to the T last year. Her hand-picked MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng takes over the fraught system next week, and has said he is committed to “ramping up hiring to ensure that we have the workforce in place to deliver the reliable service that riders deserve.” Factoring in current workforce numbers, vacancies and expected departures, the new Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundati...

2 arrested, 1 sought in thefts of catalytic converters from vehicles in Mississauga

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:12 GMT

Peel regional police say they’ve arrested two men and are seeking a third after several catalytic converters were stolen from vehicles in Mississauga late last month.Police alleged the suspects were caputured on security camera stealing several catalytic converters in the area of Tomken and Kamato roads on March 25, 2023 at around 2 a.m.“Uniformed officers and investigators from 12 Division attended the area and located the suspect vehicle fleeing the scene,” police said in a release. “The suspects were located a short distance away with the assistance of K9. Two suspects were arrested, and the stolen property was recovered.”Emerick Long-Lalonde, 25, of Innisfil, and Samuel Pelletier, 24, of Quebec, are both facing numerous theft and mischief charges.An arrest warrant has been issued for a third suspect, Charles Savoie Tessier, 25, of Mississauga.Catalytic converters are located on the bottom of vehicles and turn exhaust pollutants into less harmful emi...

Court hears legal challenge over a year after government invoked Emergencies Act

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:12 GMT

OTTAWA — A national civil liberties group says nebulous claims about economic instability or general unrest weren’t enough to legally justify the Liberal government’s use of the Emergencies Act early last year.The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is among the groups and individuals appearing in Federal Court beginning today to argue Ottawa lacked sound statutory grounds to use the emergency measures to quell protests that paralyzed the national capital and key border points.The government contends the measures taken to deal with the pan-Canadian emergency situation were targeted, proportional, time-limited and compliant with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.The Public Order Emergency Commission, a mandatory review that takes place after invocation of the Emergencies Act, found the government met the very high threshold for using the law.Now the legal arguments for and against the decision are being heard in a court of law.The three-day hearing began this m...

Energy stocks help lift S&P/TSX composite higher as oil prices rise

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:12 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was up nearly 100 points in late-morning trading, helped higher by strength in energy stocks after Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers announced surprise cuts on the weekend.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 95.68 points at 20,195.57.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 174.87 points at 33,449.02. The S&P 500 index was down 5.19 points at 4,104.12, while the Nasdaq composite was down 109.24 points at 12,112.67.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.30 cents US compared with 73.89 cents US on Friday.The May crude contract was up US$4.07 at US$79.74 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down 13 cents at US$2.09 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was up US$16.40 at US$2,002.60 an ounce and the May copper contract was down four cents at US$4.06 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Abortion bills gain no ground in Kentucky with ban in place

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:12 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — After years of setbacks, abortion-rights supporters in Republican-leaning Kentucky thought they achieved a breakthrough in November, when voters defeated a measure aimed at denying any constitutional protections for abortion.But their hopes that the state’s sweeping abortion ban might be relaxed vanished well before the GOP-dominated Legislature ended its annual session.After years of making anti-abortion policies a cornerstone of their agenda, Republicans skipped over the issue this year, leaving intact a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy while it’s hashed out in the courts. Instead, social conservatives focused on enacting legislation aimed at transgender youths during the session that ended Thursday. A handful of abortion bills, including proposals to restore abortion rights or add rape and incest exemptions to the sweeping ban, either failed to get a committee hearing or never were assigned to a committee. For most states, this was the ...

Rights group urges eastern Libya to free singer, blogger

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:12 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A global rights group Monday urged authorities in eastern Libya to release a singer and a blogger arrested for allegedly violating a widely criticized cybercrime law.According to a statement from Human Rights Watch, both women — popular folk singer Ahlam al-Yamani and blogger Haneen al-Abdali — were arrested in February for allegedly violating “honor and public morals.”The Interior Ministry in the eastern city of Benghazi accused them of insulting “the status of the chaste and dignified Libyan woman in our conservative society with acts and behaviors that are foreign to us and offend our customs, traditions and true religion.”They have since been held in connection with cases “against honor and public morals” and for violating the anti-cybercrime law, which the east-based House of Representatives adopted in September, the ministry said.A spokesman for the the east-based government did not respond to a request for comment.U.N.-backed investigators and other global ...

Rogers finalizes $26-billion merger with Shaw after receiving government approval

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:12 GMT

TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. has closed its $26-billion purchase of Shaw Communications Inc. after receiving final approval from Ottawa last week, bringing to an end two years of uncertainty as regulators scrutinized the deal.“This is a momentous day for our customers, who will benefit from the latest services and network technology, and for our teams, who have worked so hard to get us here,” said Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri in a press release.“We’re proud to bring together these two iconic companies to deliver more value, more connectivity, and more innovation for Canadians.”Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne gave the green light to the takeover on Friday by agreeing to the transfer of Shaw-owned Freedom Mobile’s wireless licences to Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, the final regulatory step allowing the main deal to go ahead.Rogers and Shaw agreed in June 2022 to sell Freedom Mobile to Videotron for $2.85 billion in an attempt to ease competition concerns raised by the ...

BoC surveys show economy softening, future inflation expectations falling

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:12 GMT

OTTAWA — New reports from the Bank of Canada suggest business and consumer expectations on inflation are moderating, but a potential recession continues to weigh on economic outlooks.The surveys released today show inflation expectations are easing, but consumers and businesses continue to expect inflation to remain above two per cent until at least 2025.The Bank of Canada closely monitors inflation expectations in the economy because inflation can stay high if businesses and consumers continue to expect prices to rise rapidly.The central bank aggressively raised interest rates since March 2022 to clamp down on rapidly rising prices. It’s currently holding its key interest rate steady at 4.5 per cent and doesn’t anticipate raising it again, so long as inflation cools fast enough.With its key interest rate at the highest level since 2007, higher borrowing costs are expected to further constrain consumers and weigh on business activity in the coming months.The central bank’s sur...

Peru removed as host of this year’s men’s Under-17 World Cup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:12 GMT

ZURICH (AP) — Peru was stripped of hosting the men’s Under-17 World Cup on Monday because FIFA said the country was not ready to stage the tournament later this year.FIFA did not name a replacement host for the 24-team tournament scheduled to be played from Nov. 10-Dec. 2.The decision comes one week after FIFA took the men’s Under-20 World Cup from Indonesia because that country did not want to host Israel at its tournament in May.FIFA cited Peru’s inability “to fulfill its commitments to completing the infrastructure required to stage the tournament.”“There is now not sufficient time to secure the required investment and complete the necessary work with the Peruvian government ahead of the tournament start date,” FIFA said.FIFA picked both Peru and Indonesia in 2019 to host the respective 2021 editions of the tournaments. Both have been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.Argentina wants to stage the Under-20 World Cup. FIFA is expected to confirm a host n...

LSU's Reese unapologetic over gestures to Iowa's Clark

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:12 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — LSU's Angel Reese waved her hand in front of her face while staring down Caitlin Clark, then pointed toward her finger as if to say a ring was coming while walking toward the Iowa star.The gestures late in the Tigers' 102-85 victory in the NCAA championship game Sunday lit up social media, with comments supporting the “Bayou Barbie” for trash talk that's just part of the game and condemning her for lacking grace in victory.The bubbly junior from Baltimore, who transferred from Maryland to join flamboyant LSU coach Kim Mulkey, was unapologetic in the postgame news conference.“All year, I was critiqued about who I was,” Reese said. “I don’t fit in a box that y’all want me to be in. I’m too hood. I’m too ghetto. But when other people do it, y’all say nothing. So this was for the girls that look like me, that’s going to speak up on what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you.”Clark, the scoring sensation who was the first with consecutive 40-point games in an NCAA...