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Avion rewards program expands to customers who don’t bank with RBC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:14 GMT

TORONTO — The Avion rewards program is opening up to people who aren’t clients of Royal Bank of Canada.The Toronto-based bank says Canadians will now be allowed into the free rewards program regardless of where they bank or shop.Avion offers members deals at more than 2,400 online retailers and lets shoppers earn points they can redeem for merchandise and gift cards.The membership level open to customers without RBC products is called Avion Select.Avion Select has most of the program’s core benefits but doesn’t offer cash back or savings on in-store purchases and does not allow users to use points on bills payments and investments.Avion’s expansion comes as companies are beefing up their loyalty programs. Cineplex Inc., Scotiabank and Empire Company Ltd. revamped the Scene program last year and BMO Financial Group announced a deal in June to buy Air Miles in Canada.This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 1, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:RY, TSX:BNS, T...

Stock market today: Wall Street edges back from its big rally for the year so far

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:14 GMT

TOKYO — Most stocks are edging back from their big surge following a mixed set of earnings reports from U.S. companies. The S&P 500 was down 0.3% Tuesday, coming off its fifth straight winning month. The Dow was up 60 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq was 0.7% lower. Norwegian Cruise Line tumbled despite reporting stronger profit for the spring than expected. Expectations have been high for it and rivals after its stock soared earlier this year. Worries have been rising about expectations broadly building too high for the market, which saw the S&P 500 surge 19.5% this year through July to a 16-month high.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street pointed slightly lower early Tuesday as market optimism set off by recent rallies was balanced by lingering worries about inflation. Futures for the Dow Jones industrials ticked down 0.2% before the bell, while futures for the S&P 500 retreated 0.3%.Several reports in the coming week could poke ho...

Man Booker Prize long list features 4 Irish writers, 4 debut novelists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Author Sebastian Barry, who has received four previous nominations for the Man Booker Prize and twice been short-listed for it, was one of four Irish writers to make the long list Tuesday for the prestigious award.Barry is up this year for his novel “Old God’s Time,” about a retired police detective who gets dragged back into a cold case investigation of a murdered priest suspected of sexually abusing children.Twelve other writers, including four debut novelists and two prior Man Booker nominees, are up for the 50,000 pound ($64,000) prize. The authors are from seven different countries on four continents. “All 13 novels cast new light on what it means to exist in our time, and they do so in original and thrilling ways,” said Esi Edugyan, chair of the judges. “Their range is vast, both in subject and form: they shocked us, made us laugh, filled us with anguish, but above all they stayed with us.”The award recognizes the best in long fiction published in the...

The first generation of solar panels will wear out. A recycling industry is taking shape

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:14 GMT

Sunlight beats down on a graveyard for dead solar panels in Yuma, Arizona, hundreds stacked in neat piles, waiting for their next life. The great majority of worn and damaged panels are still dumped in landfills. But with more and more piling up, many people know that needs to change.In this desert city where Arizona, California, Sonora and Baja California meet, North America’s first utility-scale solar panel recycling plant has opened to address what founders of We Recycle Solar call a “tsunami” of solar waste. Plans to address climate change rely on massively scaling up clean, solar electricity.The panels, stacked and banded, come here from the company’s main collection warehouse in Hackettstown, New Jersey, plus six other locations across the country.Workers maneuver the stacks into the sprawling 75,000 square foot facility on forklifts, then gently lift each out by hand to begin separating by brand and model. Some only have a few cracks in their glass, sometimes from storm...

National Bank to buy the Canadian branch of SVB’s commercial loan portfolio

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:14 GMT

MONTREAL — National Bank of Canada says it will acquire the Canadian branch of Silicon Valley Bank’s commercial loan portfolio.The Montreal-based bank says the portfolio it will nab is made up of about $1 billion in loan commitments, of which $325 million are outstanding.Much of the portfolio is focused on the technology, life science and global fund banking sectors and will be integrated into National Bank’s technology and innovation banking group.The bank says the deal is subject to closing conditions and must be approved by the Ontario Superior Court, which is supervising the wind up of Silicon Valley Bank in Canada.National Bank says the deal will likely close in the coming weeks and is not expected to have a material impact on its results.Silicon Valley Bank, a U.S. financial firm favoured by startups, failed earlier this year, when its clients rushed to withdraw billions of dollars as they feared for the organization’s solvency.This report by The Canadian Press was...

Palestinian opens fire in Israeli settlement near Jerusalem, wounding 4 before being killed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:14 GMT

MAALE ADUMIM, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian gunman opened fire in an Israeli settlement east of Jerusalem on Tuesday, wounding at least four people before being shot and killed, Israeli police said. The shooting outside a shopping mall in the sprawling Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim, in the occupied West Bank, was the latest in the most violent stretch of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the territory in nearly two decades. The Palestinian assailant, dressed as a security guard, was shot and killed by an off-duty Israeli police officer who had heard gunshots and rushed to the scene. The Israeli police said the attacker wounded four civilians, who were in light to moderate condition.Fighting between Israel and the Palestinians in the West Bank intensified early last year when Israel launched near-nightly raids into Palestinian areas in the West Bank in response to a spate of Palestinian attacks against Israelis.The violence has spiked this year, with more than 150 Palestinians...

Jury begins weighing death penalty or life in prison for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:14 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A jury is deliberating whether the man who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue should receive the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Robert Bowers perpetrated the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history when he stormed the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018 and opened fire, killing members of three congregations who had gathered for Sabbath worship and study. The same jury that convicted Bowers in June on 63 criminal counts began deliberating his sentence Tuesday morning. In closing arguments Monday, prosecutors said the 50-year-old truck driver was clearly motivated by religious hatred, reminding jurors that Bowers had spread antisemitic content online before the attack and has since expressed pride in the killings. They urged jurors to impose a death sentence.Bowers’ lawyers asked jurors to spare his life, asserting that he acted out of a delusional belief that Jewish people were helping to bring about a genocide of white people. They said he...

$50K reward offered after armed robbery of USPS carrier in River Grove

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:14 GMT

RIVER GROVE, Ill. — The United States Postal Service is offering a $50,000 reward after a letter carrier was robbed at gunpoint last month in River Grove.The armed robbery happened July 18 at around 9:30 a.m. in the 8700 block of West Richard.Authorities said a group of four attacked the carrier. The carrier was not injured.On Tuesday morning, USPS released a surveillance image of one of the four suspects.Authorities said the man is 5'6", has a thin build, wore a light grey hooded sweatshirt and a black facial covering.The suspects are considered armed and dangerous.Anyone with information can contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455.

Helicopter crashes into cornfield in southern Illinois, killing pilot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:14 GMT

OAKDALE, Ill. (AP) — A helicopter crashed Monday afternoon in southern Illinois, killing its pilot, authorities said.A Bell UH-1H “Huey” helicopter crashed in a field in Oakdale, Illinois, around 1:45 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said.Only the pilot was on board, the FAA said.The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the FAA said.The pilot was declared dead at the scene of the crash, Illinois State Police said.Investigators believed the helicopter hit power lines, causing it to lose control and crash into a cornfield, police said.Oakdale is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of St. Louis, Missouri.

Shedd Aquarium transformation plans unveiled

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:14 GMT

CHICAGO — Shedd Aquarium leaders plan to unveil "never-before-seen renderings and new details about construction plans" for their Centennial Commitment.2030 will mark the Shedd's 100th anniversary. Last year the organization announced a $500 million investment to modernize the aquarium by that centennial anniversary. Is tonight your lucky night? Mega Millions $1.05 billion jackpot up for grabs again Shedd leaders will be joined by Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson Tuesday to reveal plans for new exhibits, learning spaces, and amenities to be installed over the next few years, according to a press release.WGN plans to livestream the event in its entirety within this story beginning at approximately 10 a.m.According to the Shedd's Centennial Commitment website, the vision for the aquarium includes:Deeper community investments and partnerships that not only bring the aquarium further into Chicago neighborhoods, but also bring neighborhood-level environmental discussions and ...