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Ministers to deliver update as Quebec forest fires continue to burn

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:51 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec cabinet ministers are expected to deliver an update this morning on the wildfires raging across far-flung parts of the province, as Canadian Armed Forces members prepare to help fight the threat.About 2,000 residents of Lebel-sur-Quévillon, about 620 kilometres northwest of Montreal, received a mandatory evacuation notice on Friday evening due to forest fires nearby.Mayor Guy Lafrenière said Saturday the fire continued to threaten the municipality even though its spread had slowed overnight, as fire prevention teams dug trenches in the smoke-clouded area to protect it.The evacuation followed relocation orders Friday for some 6,500 residents in parts of the North Shore community of Sept-Îles and the nearby Innu community of Mani-Utenam.Sept-Îles Mayor Steeve Beaupré said Saturday no new evacuations were planned, but residents of one sector remained on alert.Quebec forest fire prevention organization SOPFEU reported Saturday there are 134 active fires in the province...

Vigilantes in Haiti strike back at gangsters with brutal street justice

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:51 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Old cars, used tires and barbed wire block off the biggest neighborhood in the capital of Haiti.Gun-toting gangsters have been robbing, raping and murdering the innocent. Weak or corrupt police and officials have done little, or worse.Now, the people are taking action and a wave of brutal vigilante justice is roiling Haiti, concentrated in this capital of about 1 million. The vigilantes close off neighborhoods. They stone and often chop the limbs of suspected gangsters, behead them and set them afire, sometimes while they are still alive.Vigilantes have killed at least 164 people since the movement dubbed “bwa kale” began in April, according to the United Nations. The name means “peeled wood” in Haitian Creole and insinuates male dominance and power in street slang. “If you’re not from here, we’re going to kill you,” said Leo, a community leader who granted the AP access to the Turgeau neighborhood so that journalists could see how the neighborhood is re...

19 killed in southwest China landslide covering mine worker dormitory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:51 GMT

A landslide tore through a mining company’s worker dormitory early Sunday morning in southwestern China, killing 19 people, authorities said. The disaster struck in a mountainous rural district of Sichuan province’s Leshan county, where rains have been falling constantly for weeks. More than 180 people were mobilized to help find those buried under the debris in an operation that wrapped up on Sunday afternoon. Those killed were all apparently workers with the Jinkaiyuan mining company, according to state broadcaster CCTV. With its humid, rainy climate, southwestern China is prone to landslides, especially in areas where there has been large-scale shifting of land due to farming, deforestation, engineering projects and mining operations. The Associated Press

Summer interest rate hike likely given recent momentum, economists say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:51 GMT

Momentum in the Canadian economy is spurring speculation that a rate hike is on the way, but economists don’t expect the Bank of Canada to pull the trigger this week.The central bank will be making its next interest rate decision on Wednesday, just one week after new data showed the Canadian economy is still growing – despite interest rates sitting at the highest levels since 2007.Statistics Canada recently reported real gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 3.1 per cent during the first quarter. The figure beat out what forecasters had pencilled in for the first three months of the year.Meanwhile, the federal agency’s preliminary estimate for April suggests the economy expanded once again.Even the housing market, which was the first to be hit by rising interest rates, appears to have levelled off as prices rise again.Economists say the momentum is putting the Bank of Canada in a tough spot: the central bank has argued that a slowdown is necessary to...

Trader Joe's explains why it discontinues items more often than other grocery stores

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:51 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – If you had known it was the last time you'd see the feta salad dressing or the chocolate-filled Joe-Joe's on the shelves, you might have taken an extra bottle or box. But the disappointment of a discontinued item at Trader Joe's often takes you by surprise, when it's too late to do much about it. Fans of the grocery chain are familiar with the stores' constantly rotating repertoire of snacks, ingredients and frozen meals. But new items typically mean the company has to give something the boot, and sometimes it's your preferred ice cream flavor that takes the hit. The No. 1 reason items are discontinued, the company explained in a 2022 episode of the Inside Trader Joe's podcast, is low sales volume. You'd think that would be the case for any grocery store, but it happens more often at Trader Joe's for a few reasons. Trader Joe’s addresses ‘conspiratorial theories’ about its small parking lots First off, the stores tend to be smaller than their competitors. "We just phy...

Sunday Brunch: Banana Foster French toast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:51 GMT

Check out this morning's Sunday Brunch with Lure's Fishbar. Chef Nepalti Mendoza to make Banana's Foster French toast.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Weekend Break at Raging Waves Waterpark

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:51 GMT

Check out this morning's Weekend Break with Marcella Raymond where we visit Raging Waves Waterpark in Yorkville.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

GOP hopefuls slam Trump for comments praising Kim Jong Un

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:51 GMT

(The Hill) – Several Republican presidential hopefuls slammed former President Trump for his comments praising North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday, after the country received a seat on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) executive board.Former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis all criticized the former president, who offered his congratulations to Kim in a Truth Social post on Friday.“No one should be praising the dictator in North Korea or praising the leader of Russia who has launched an unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine,” Pence told Fox News while in Iowa on Saturday. “This is a time when we ought to make it clear to the world that we stand for freedom and we stand with those who stand for freedom.”The former Indiana governor also attacked the organization, claiming it "let America and the world down" during the COVID-19 pandemic."I mean, they literally were complic...

Florida woman's car catches fire as she was allegedly shoplifting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:51 GMT

OVIEDO, Fla. (AP) — A Florida woman faces charges of aggravated child neglect and arson after her car became engulfed in flames while she was allegedly shoplifting at a mall, according to an arrest report.Alicia Moore, 24, parked her car in a parking lot outside a Dillard's department store at Oviedo Mall on May 26, according to an arrest report filed by the Oviedo Police Department. The report indicated Moore left children inside the vehicle. Their names and ages were redacted.Security saw Moore and an unknown man shoplifting in Dillard's, according to the report. After about an hour, Moore began leaving Dillard's to see her car engulfed in flames and dropped the merchandise before she left the store. Cement-filled toilets and dead fish: School district bars more than 80 seniors from graduation over ‘pranks’ Bystanders at the mall saw the car and rescued the children inside trying to escape the flames. The children were taken to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children....

The most and least driven electric cars

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:51 GMT

(iSeeCars) -- The average 3-year-old electric car has been driven 9,059 miles per year, almost 29 percent less than the 12,758 miles per year 3-year-old gas-powered internal combustion vehicles drive. As a brand, Tesla tops the list for most-driven electric cars, with all four of its models beating the average for EVs. The Tesla Model X, a midsize family SUV with three rows of seating, is the most-driven electric car, averaging 10,378 miles a year.Summary: Teslas are the most-driven electric cars, with all four models ranking at the top of the listThe average electric car is driven 9,059 miles a year, compared to 12,758 miles for gas-powered vehiclesElectric cars cost 47 percent more than internal combustion cars, but are driven 29 percent lessThe strong relationship between an EV’s range and driving behavior confirms more range will increase use, but that’s not a realistic solution at today’s battery costsiSeeCars analyzed the data of over 860,000 vehicles to determine which e...