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Maura Healey ending COVID-19 public-health emergency, vaccine mandate in May

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:46 GMT

Gov. Maura Healey is ending the state’s COVID-19 public-health emergency and vaccine mandate on May 11, coinciding with the feds’ corresponding move.Healey said in a press release Wednesday morning that the announcement two months in advance “allows additional time for impacted organizations to prepare for the end of the public health emergency.”“Thanks to the hard work of our health care providers and communities, we’ve made important progress in the fight against COVID-19,” Healey said in a statement. “We know that we have the tools to manage this virus – vaccines, masking, testing, getting treatments and staying home when sick – and we’ve reached the point where we can update our guidance to reflect where we are now.”Throwing a bone across the aisle to her predecessor Gov. Charlie Baker, as the Democrat Healey has taken to doing with the Republican, she continued on to say that “I’d also like to acknowledge the leadership of Governor Baker and ...

Moderate rainfall continues to soak San Diego, but a break is expected

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:46 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Widespread moderate and heavy rainfall will continue to soak areas of San Diego County Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.A Pacific low pressure system with moisture from an atmospheric river is dumping precipitation across the region, but weather officials say rain will continue past sunrise before gradually decreasing from the northwest during the day. Road preparations begin ahead of storm Come Wednesday evening, NWS says San Diegans can expect an end to the rain.Meanwhile, gusty winds from the south to southeast will continue near the coast into the morning hours before decreasing later into the day, weather officials explained. For the mountains and desert lands, NWS says stronger and gusty southwest winds are expected throughout Wednesday before diminishing from the northwest at night. Looking ahead to Thursday, NWS predictions suggest you may be able to leave your umbrellas at home as dryer weather is forecast, along with slightly warmer temperature...

Bicyclist fatally struck by driver suspected of DUI

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:46 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- A bicyclist was fatally struck by a vehicle in North County on Tuesday, authorities said.The Oceanside Police Department announced at 5:19 p.m. that all southbound lanes of Douglas Drive were shut down from El Camino Real to Mission Avenue due to a traffic accident. 18-year-old killed in East County crash Several hours later, the department tweeted that the lanes had been reopened following a fatal traffic collision. According to police, a preliminary investigation indicated that a bicyclist traveling on Douglas Drive, on or near the sidewalk, was struck by a motorist.Authorities say the male adult bicyclist is believed to be in his 50s. He was reported to have succumbed to his injuries at the scene. His identity has not yet been released.The department said the motorist remained at the scene of the crash and was arrested for suspicion of driving while under the influence and vehicular manslaughter. Anyone with information about the collision is encouraged to...

Award-winning South African jazz singer Gloria Bosman dies

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:46 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Smooth-voiced South African jazz musician Gloria Bosman has been lauded for her contribution to the country’s music industry in a career spanning more than two decades.Bosman died on Tuesday following a short illness, her family announced.“After a short illness, she transcended peacefully at her home, surrounded by family,” the family said in a statement. “Gloria had devoted her life, not just to her family, but to her music, she was loved and adored by many here in South Africa and beyond its borders.” The Soweto-born Bosman was praised for her soothing, silky vocals and versatility in crossing over to various music genres.South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party paid tribute to Bosman, saying the country’s music industry will be poorer without her.“Gloria Bosman belongs to a generation of female musical greats who refused to submit to patriarchal stereotypes in a male dominated industry. She was a fiery and militant revolutionary ...

Canadian Press NewsAlert: CP Rail’s takeover of KCS gains final regulatory approval

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:46 GMT

WASHINGTON — The U.S. rail regulator is giving a green light to Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.’s takeover of Kansas City Southern Railway Co.The Surface Transportation Board’s approval today clears the final hurdle in CP’s bid to buy KCS for US$31 billion in a deal that would create the only single-line rail network linking Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.The merged railway will be named Canadian Pacific Kansas City, with current CP chief executive Keith Creel as CEO and Calgary the global headquarters.While it will remain the smallest of six large railways in the U.S. by revenue, it will operate nearly 33,000 kilometres of rail and employ nearly 20,000 people.It’s been a long and bumpy route to get to this point, with CP Rail fighting a months-long battle with competitor Canadian National Railway Co. over the acquisition before CP closed its proposed deal in December 2021.Both CN and the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice have expressed concerns...

US stock fall as bank worries spread to Europe; Dow down 500

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:46 GMT

BEIJING — Stocks are tumbling on Wall Street Wednesday as worries about the strength of banks worsen on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. The S&P 500 was 1.4% lower in early trading, while markets in Europe slumped even further as shares of Switzerland’s Credit Suisse tumbled to a record low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also fell sharply at the open. Credit Suisse shares tanked following reports that its top shareholder won’t pump more money into the bank. Three recent bank failures in the U.S. have investors on edge, and the Credit Suisse news prompted renewed selling in bank stocks both in the U.S. and Europe. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.U.S. futures tumbled Wednesday and bank stocks around the world slumped as anxiety over the health of the global banking system surfaced again with new potential troubles arising at Europe’s Credit Suisse. Futures for the benchmark S&P 500 slid 1.7% and the Dow Jones ...

UK Treasury chief predicts no recession in Britain this year

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:46 GMT

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt is staging a moment of high political theater Wednesday, unveiling his budget to a crowd of baying lawmakers as consumers demand more help with the high cost of living and workers press for higher wages with strikes at schools, hospitals and the offices of civil servants.Even as Hunt plays his historically scripted role — emerging from his official residence with the spending plan in a battered red dispatch box, then carrying it to the House of Commons where he was greeted by jeers and cheers — the truth is he sought to be as boring as possible.That’s because the last time the government staged a similar “fiscal event,” the mini-budget presented by Hunt’s predecessor last September, it set off an economic catastrophe by promising huge tax cuts without saying how it would pay for them. The value of the pound plunged, mortgage rates soared and the central bank was forced to intervene to protect pension funds.This time, strong and stable is...

Russia downplays jet’s encounter with US drone

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:46 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia does not rule out “constructive dialogue” with the United States even though relations between Moscow and Washington are in a “deplorable state,” the Kremlin’s spokesman said a day after the U.S. reported that a Russian fighter jet struck the propeller of a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea, .U.S. officials accused Russia of attempting to intercept the unmanned aerial vehicle, which American forces brought down. Asked Wednesday if the incident could inflame tensions with Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated the Russian Defense Ministry’s statement that Russian jets didn’t use their weapons or impact the U.S. drone.Peskov described U.S.-Russia relations as being at their lowest point but added that “Russia has never rejected a constructive dialogue, and it’s not rejecting it now.”U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the drone was flying in international airspace and over international waters when the en...

Neighbors Bulgaria, Romania sign agreement to boost ties

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:46 GMT

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarian President Rumen Radev held talks Wednesday with his visiting Romanian counterpart as the two neighbors and NATO allies signed a cooperation agreement to boost bilateral ties amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.Radev met with Klaus Iohannis in the capital, Sofia, where the two leaders discussed topics including regional security, energy, and economy. They also discussed their countries’ bids to one day join Europe’s ID-check-free travel zone, the so-called Schengen area.In a news conference afterwards, Radev highlighted Tuesday’s U.S. drone collision with a Russian fighter jet over the Black Sea, saying “we must do everything possible” to prevent events from escalating into a global conflict.“In addition to supporting Ukraine,” he said, “we must work to end this conflict as quickly as possible.”Iohannis called Wednesday’s meeting “a key moment for bilateral relations” and said the Black Sea drone incident was “serious and regrettabl...

Man arrested after homicide in Kingston Road and McCowan Road area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:46 GMT

One man has been arrested after a homicide investigation in the Kingston Road and McCowan Road area.On Mar. 14 Toronto police arrested 35-year-old Jahmaal Frederick-Dywer of no fixed address. He has been charged with first degree murder.Toronto police investigated a shooting after responding to a call on Mar. 6 at approximately 1 a.m. at the Roycroft Motel located on Kingston Road.Officers located a man with gunshot wounds who was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries.The man succumbed to his injuries on Mar. 12, identified as 39-year-old Shawn Walters of no fixed address.Frederick-Dywer is scheduled to attend Toronto East Courts on March 15 at 10 a.m.