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GOP lawmakers consider expelling Democrats over gun protest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:50 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s GOP-dominated House is preparing to vote Thursday on whether to expel three Democratic members for their demonstration calling for gun control following the Nashville school shooting, an extraordinary move that the chamber has used only a handful of times since the Civil War.Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson are the subjects of the ouster vote. Last week, the trio approached the front of the chamber floor and chanted back and forth with gun control supporters who packed the gallery days after six people, including three children, were fatally shot at The Covenant School in Nashville.Their possible expulsion has once again thrust Tennessee into the national spotlight, underscoring not only the ability of the Republican supermajority to silence opponents, but also its increasing willingness to do so. The move sends a chilling message just as lawmakers grapple with how to respond to the devastating shooting.Even before the House p...

Applications for jobless aid rising but still at low levels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:50 GMT

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid was higher over the past few months than the government had initially reported, reflecting a modest rise in layoffs as the economy has slowed in the face of higher interest rates.The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of applications has exceeded 200,000 since early February — above previous estimates, though still relatively low by historical standards. The department has revised its estimates of the number of weekly applications for jobless benefits under a new formula it is using to reflect seasonal adjustments. The new formula is intended to more accurately capture seasonal patterns in job losses.For the week that ended April 1, the number of Americans applying for jobless aid was 228,000, the government estimated. That was down from 246,000 in the previous week and 247,000 in the week before that. Using its new seasonal adjustment formula, the government revised up each of those figures by nearly 50,000.“The trend...

Montreal home sales hit new March low, dropping 28% from a year ago: Quebec board

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:50 GMT

MONTREAL — The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says March home sales hit a new low for the month, but it’s seeing signs that such declines are shrinking.The association says 3,947 homes changed hands last month, a 28 per cent drop from the March before.The association says the month marked the first time since September 2022 that sales fell by less than 30 per cent.As sales fell so did average prices, with single-family homes dropping five per cent to $535,000 and condos declining by the same amount to $381,5000. New listings for the month slid eight per cent to 6,487.The board’s market analysis director says the numbers indicate that Montreal is responding positively to the stabilization of interest rates after their rapid rise.“Although the economic uncertainties are far from over, households, like investors, are increasingly confident and inclined to carry out their intention to purchase a home in a context of stabilized financing conditio...

Stocks slip as they close out a weak, holiday-shortened week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks on Wall Street are drifting lower Thursday, threatening to send the S&P 500 to its first losing week in the last four following some discouraging reports on the economy. The S&P 500 was 0.4% lower in early trading, and it’s on pace for a 0.9% loss for the week. The U.S. stock market will be closed Friday for a holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 105 points, or 0.3%, at 33,377, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% lower. A report on Thursday morning showed that fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, though the number was still higher than expected. The government changed how it tracks the numbers, which could cause some swings, and the number of workers getting continuing claims for benefits rose to the highest level since December 2021. Thursday’s data followed a string of reports on the economy earlier in the week that were weaker than expected. That included everything from the number...

Met premieres Blanchard’s `Champion,’ an `opera in jazz’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — When Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” proved a sell-out hit at the Metropolitan Opera in 2021, general manager Peter Gelb wasted no time lining up the composer’s other opera for the current season.And that set the clock ticking for Blanchard and his collaborators to adapt a relatively small-scale work to the vast resources of the nation’s premiere opera house.“We knew we had only a year and a half, so we immediately went to work,” recalled Michael Cristofer, who wrote the libretto. “We had an opportunity to enhance and expand not just story points but also certain scenes. And you want to use all of what the Met is capable of. We were a bit like kids in a candy shop.”“Champion,” which Blanchard calls “an opera in jazz,” premiered at Opera Theatre of St. Louis in 2013. It’s based on the troubled life of prizefighter Emile Griffith, who knocked out Benny Paret in a welterweight title bout in 1962. Paret never regained consciousness and died 10 days later.G...

Absolute Software cutting 40 jobs as part of restructuring plan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:50 GMT

VANCOUVER — Absolute Software Corp. is cutting about 40 jobs as part of a restructuring plan to reduce its operating expenses. The security software company says the job cuts represent about five per cent of its workforce.The restructuring plan also includes office space reductions.Absolute expects to take about US$1.8 million to US$2.8 million in one-time charges in connection with the changes.The costs include severance payments, notice pay, employee benefits contributions and related costs and impairment charges.The company says it expects that the majority of the charges will be incurred in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:ABST)The Canadian Press

Fighting in Myanmar sends thousands fleeing to Thailand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:50 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — More than 5,000 people have fled from eastern Myanmar into Thailand in recent days as fighting between Myanmar’s army and armed resistance groups has intensified in the border area, Thai media and officials said Thursday.At least 5,428 civilians, including more than 800 children, crossed the border by Wednesday night from Myanmar’s Myawaddy district to seek refuge in Thailand’s Tak province, public broadcaster Thai PBS reported, citing an unidentified security official.It said they fled as ethnic rebels from the Karen minority, allied with guerrillas of the pro-democracy People’s Defense Force, attacked two Myanmar government outposts near the border. The army’s regular soldiers are assisted by members of the Border Guard Force, composed of militias of ethnic minority groups allied to the military government.Myanmar’s ethnic minorities have been fighting for greater autonomy for decades, but armed conflict in the country escalated sharply after Myanmar’s army ousted t...

Japan’s army says helicopter carrying 10 crashed into ocean

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:50 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A missing Japanese army helicopter carrying 10 crew members is believed to have crashed into the sea off a southern island after objects appearing to be aircraft parts were spotted in the area, an official said Thursday.The UH-60JA Black Hawk helicopter disappeared from radar on Thursday afternoon while on a reconnaissance mission north of Miyako island, the head of the Ground Self Defense Force, Yasunori Morishita, said at a news conference.Debris believed to be aircraft parts was spotted in the area, about 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles) southwest of Tokyo, he said. The government is aggressively building up its defense capability in southwestern Japan in response to China’s increasingly assertive military activity in the region, including Taiwan.Kyodo News said Japanese coast guard ships also found traces of oil that may be related to the missing helicopter, but officials declined to confirm the report. Morishita said the helicopter was stationed at a key region...

Bulls' position in the play-in tournament is set

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:50 GMT

MILWAUKEE - As they approach their final two games of the regular season, the Bulls know exactly where they'll start the next phase of their 2022-2023 campaign.Thanks to a 105-92 loss to the Bucks on Wednesday night, the team is officially locked into their spot in the play-in tournament, and it's the toughest one to advance from in order to get to the NBA Playoffs.At 38-42, the Bulls have the tenth seed in the Eastern Conference, or the fourth play-in spot, which means they'll immediately face an elimination game when they take the court on Wednesday, April 12.They'll face either the Raptors in Toronto or the Hawks in Atlanta that evening, with a loss ending either team's season. At the moment, the Bulls would be slated to face the Raptors, whom they went 1-2 against in the regular season.If Billy Donovan's team can win that game, they would face the loser of the contest vs the No. 7 and No. 8 seed on the road on Friday, April 14. The winner of that game would be the eighth seed in...

Teen boys arrested following series of carjackings, robberies in Logan Square

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:50 GMT

CHICAGO — Two teen boys have been charged following a series of carjackings and robberies within a half hour Wednesday in Logan Square.The boys, 13 and 15, were arrested just before 11:10 a.m. in the 4300 block of West West End Ave.Police believe they were responsible for five crimes within a half hour throughout Logan Square earlier that day.The timeline of the crimes is below, per Chicago police.5:59 a.m. – 2100 block of North Whipple – carjacking of a 38-year-old man6:14 a.m. – 2700 block of North Mozart – carjacking of a 53-year-old man6:18 a.m. – 3600 block of West Altgeld – attempted robbery of a 55-year-old man6:30 a.m. – 2600 block of West Cortland – robbery of a 27-year-old man6:30 a.m. – 1800 block of North Talman – robbery of 50-year-old manThe 13-year-old boy was charged with two counts of vehicular hijacking, two counts of robbery, attempted robbery, unlawful possession of a credit card and criminal damage to property. 35-year-old woman shot to death in South Side res...