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Tropical Storm Idalia leaves shredded homes, roads blocked with powerlines in Florida and Georgia

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:24 GMT

By REBECCA BLACKWELL and TERRY SPENCER (Associated Press)HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Tropical Storm Idalia headed out to sea Thursday after thrashing parts of Florida and Georgia with punishing rains and destructive winds, leaving residents to begin the arduous process of clearing fallen trees, restoring electricity and picking through the debris of devastated homes.Thus far, authorities have confirmed one death, that of a man hit by a falling tree in Georgia. As many as a half-million customers were without power at one point in Florida and Georgia as the storm ripped down utility poles.After pounding Florida, Idalia swung east, flooding many of South Carolina’s beaches and leaving some in the state and North Carolina without power before heading back into the Atlantic Ocean. Forecasters said the weakened storm should continue heading away from the U.S. for several days, although officials in Bermuda warned that Idalia could hit the island early next week as a tropical storm.Rescu...

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson launch fund with $10 million for displaced Maui residents

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:24 GMT

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson have committed $10 million to make direct payments to people on Maui who are unable to return to their homes because of the wildfires, through a new fund they announced Thursday.The People’s Fund of Maui will give $1,200 a month to adults who are not able to return to their primary residences because of the recent wildfires, including people who owned and rented their homes, according to the fund’s website. The fund will also seek donations to extend the length of time it can provide the support.“How do we help?” the “Young Rock” star said he and Winfrey asked each other during the wildfires, saying in a video released along with the announcement that they grappled with how to best direct their efforts. “You want to take care of the greatest need of the people, and that’s giving them money.” They are looking forward to the help of “every person who called me and said, ‘What can I do?’” Winfrey said in the video. “This is...

CIBC profits down on higher loan loss provisions after revised economic outlook

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:24 GMT

TORONTO — A more pessimistic outlook on interest rates and the economy led CIBC to boost how much it set aside for bad loans in its latest quarter, a move echoed by other banks as they prepare for slower growth ahead.CIBC, the last of the big Canadian banks to report its third-quarter results, more than tripled its provisions for credit losses from last year to $736 million in the quarter. The move Thursday came after Canadian and U.S. central banks responded to stubbornly hot inflation by raising interest rates in the quarter, with another increase potentially coming in September.The higher rates are leading to more strain on consumers, and are expected to further cool demand for business loans, though the banks emphasize indicators like delinquencies are generally returning to longer-term trends rather than showing concerning spikes.“Everything we are seeing is pointing towards very strong credit quality, quite a good resilience in the Canadian consumer books,” CIBC ch...

CP NewsAlert: Man in mass stabbing at B.C. library gets life, no parole for 15 years

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:24 GMT

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — A man who killed a woman and wounded six other people in a mass stabbing at a library in North Vancouver, B.C., has received a life sentence with no chance of parole for 15 years.Yannick Bandaogo, 30, pleaded guilty on May 29 to one count of second-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder over the March 2021 attack in and around the public library in Lynn Valley.More coming.The Canadian Press

ACLU sues Tennessee district attorney who promises to enforce the state’s new anti-drag show ban

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:24 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s first-in-the-nation law placing strict limits on drag shows is once again facing a legal challenge after a local district attorney warned Pride organizers that he intends to enforce the new statute despite a federal judge ruling the ban was unconstitutional.The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed the lawsuit late Wednesday on behalf of a organization planning a Blount County Pride festival on Sept. 2. The ACLU is also representing drag performer Flamy Grant, who was hired to perform at the event. The plaintiffs are asking the federal court in eastern Tennessee to block the law from being enforced and declare it illegal.Earlier this year, a federal judge in Memphis ruled that Tennessee’s so-called anti-drag show law was “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad,” and encouraged “discriminatory enforcement.” The ruling was celebrated by LGBTQ+ advocates, but quickly sparked questions because the court decl...

Senior US envoy looks into possibilities for solving Lebanon-Israel border dispute

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:24 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — A senior U.S. envoy visiting Beirut said Thursday that Washington is looking into possibilities for solving a decades-old border dispute between Lebanon and Israel, a year after he brokered a deal on the maritime frontier between the two nations. Amos Hochstein, a senior advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden, also expressed disappointment with Lebanon’s reluctance to implement reforms amid the country’s historic economic meltdown. He spoke to reporters at the end of a two-day visit to Lebanon during which he met with the caretaker prime minister, the Parliament speaker and other officials.Hochstein last year brokered a maritime border deal between Lebanon and Israel paving the way for gas exploration in the area, in what many hope will eventually help pull Beirut out of its economic crisis. Lebanon and Israel have formally been at war since Israel’s creation in 1948.Asked whether he is coming to mediate between Lebanon and Israel over their disputed land border, Ho...

Delegation to Syrian prison camps calls on Ottawa to swiftly help Canadian detainees

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:24 GMT

OTTAWA — A civil society delegation that visited Syrian prison camps is calling on Ottawa to give immediate consular assistance to Canadian detainees and to swiftly repatriate all citizens wishing to return to Canada.The four-person delegation says it held meetings with officials and saw several Canadian men, women and children, as well as non-Canadian mothers of Canadian children.The detained Canadians are among the many foreign nationals in ramshackle centres run by Kurdish forces that reclaimed the war-ravaged region from militant group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.Delegation members, including Sen. Kim Pate, also want Canada to issue temporary residence permits to ensure that non-Canadian mothers and siblings of Canadian children can travel to Canada.The delegation met with two Canadian men held in Syria, including Jack Letts, saying both want consular assistance and to be able to return to Canada.Letts’s mother Sally Lane says she is “overjoyed” to hea...

Laurentian Bank reports Q3 profits down as strategic review continues

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:24 GMT

MONTREAL — Laurentian Bank of Canada reported a dip in third-quarter profits as it continues to work through a strategic review.“The review is still underway, and we do not intend on disclosing further developments until it concludes,” said chief executive Rania Llewellyn on an earnings call Thursday.“During this time, we remain committed to executing on the bank strategy and our fiscal 2023 priorities with the full support and confidence of the board.”The review, which was announced in July and will explore a range of options including a potential sale, comes as the bank reported a third-quarter profit of $49.3 million, down from $55.9 million in the same quarter last year.Revenue totalled $260.8 million for the quarter compared with $260.0 million in the same quarter last year.Laurentian’s provision for credit losses amounted to $13.3 million for its third quarter compared with $16.6 million a year earlier.On an adjusted basis, the bank says it earned...

Scotiabank announces senior executive changes including new oversight for Tangerine

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:24 GMT

TORONTO — Scotiabank announced a raft of changes in its senior executive ranks, including a new head for the group overseeing its Tangerine online banking business and a new chief human resources officer.The moves follow the appointment of Scott Thomson, former chief executive of heavy equipment dealer Finning International Inc., as chief executive of the bank in February.Scotiabank announced it has hired former ING executive Aris Bogdaneris as group head, digital transformation, Tangerine, marketing and analytics.Bogdaneris will be responsible for overseeing the bank’s Tangerine business, which was owned by ING before it was acquired by Scotiabank in 2012, as well as global marketing, customer insights, data and analytics and real estate.The bank also said Barb Mason, group head and chief human resources officer (CHRO) will retire at the end of 2023. She will be replaced by RBC executive Jenny Poulos who becomes deputy CHRO, effective Oct. 2, and CHRO, effective Dec. 4.Scotia...

B.C. Premier Eby writes to Bank of Canada governor, urging him to halt rate hikes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:24 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia Premier David Eby is calling on the Bank of Canada to halt further interest rate hikes.In a letter Thursday to Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem, Eby urged him to consider the “human impact” of rate hikes.The Bank of Canada is set to make an interest rate decision next Wednesday.“While the role of the Bank of Canada is to make decisions about monetary policy, my role as premier is to stand up for people in B.C. and ensure their voices are heard as decisions are made that impact them,” said Eby’s letter.“People in B.C. are already hurting,” he said. “In your role as governor, I urge you to consider the full human impact of rate increases and not further increase rates at this time.”The letter said the Bank of Canada had raised rates 10 times since March last year, with the current interest rate at five per cent, the highest in 22 years.Eby also wrote Thursday to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling ...