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Cooling down: US Inflation slows 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:02 GMT

U.S. inflation slowed in May, supporting the case for Federal Reserve officials to pause their run of interest-rate hikes this week.Both the consumer price index and the core CPI — which excludes food and energy — decelerated on an annual basis, highlighting inflation’s descent since peaking last year. At 4%, year-over-year inflation is now at its lowest level since March 2021, according to data out Tuesday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.That said, a key gauge of prices closely watched by the Fed continued to rise at a concerning pace. The core CPI rose 0.4% for a third straight month, in line with estimates. The overall CPI, however, increased a smaller 0.1%, aided by lower gasoline prices.The outsize increases in core prices were driven mainly by rising rents and by another spike in used car prices. Real-time data suggests that increases in those categories will soon ease and help cool inflation.“Outside of those two components, the trend has become very encouraging,” Stephen...

Healey announces new ‘community climate bank’ dedicated to affordable housing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:02 GMT

The Healey administration plans to shuttle $50 million in state funds to a “community climate bank” to help reduce greenhouse gasses in new and existing affordable housing, a move Mayor Michelle Wu said will help bring down the cost of living in Boston.Healey said the new bank will compete for private sector dollars and federal funds available under the Inflation Reduction Act to finance building retrofits that help the state meet “long-term climate objectives” and new construction of decarbonized buildings.”At an event inside the State House, Healey said the bank is the first of its kind in the nation because of its focus on affordable housing. Residents in the affordable housing market bear a disproportionate burden in energy costs and climate impacts, Healey said.“The climate bank is the financial engine for cutting emissions and improving health equity and financial security in our communities,” Healey said. “It’s going to unlock and advance a wide range of rebuildin...

Amazon cloud service outage causes some websites to go dark

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:02 GMT

Amazon’s cloud computing unit, Amazon Web Services, experienced an outage Tuesday affecting publishers who suddenly found themselves unable to operate their sites as former President Donald Trump appeared in court in Miami.The company said on its website that the root cause of the issue was tied to a function called AWS Lambda, which lets customers run code for different types of applications.Amazon said it was experiencing error rates for multiple AWS services in an availability zone based in Northern Virginia. Patrick Neighorn, a company spokesperson, declined to provide additional details about the outage.The outage was first confirmed shortly after 3 p.m.

East Sandwich man dies in construction accident at Brockton Hospital: Plymouth DA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:02 GMT

Emergency responders are investigating a construction accident that killed one person at Brockton Hospital.A large presence of local, state and federal authorities have responded to the area of Quincy Avenue and Libby Street, on the Brockton Hospital campus.Brockton and Massachusetts State Police received a call around noon of a man “trapped by a Bobcat skid steer loader,” Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz told reporters at about 3:45 p.m.Authorities said the man, identified as Roger Porter of East Sandwich, was pronounced dead on scene.Cruz made clear Porter was not driving the construction vehicle when the accident took place, but rather, the 63-year-old was “leveling out gravel as it was being put into a pit.”WCVB reported earlier Tuesday afternoon its news helicopter had flown over Brockton Hospital, finding a Bobcat construction vehicle had fallen over into a hole next to the facility’s foundation.Massachusetts State Police confirmed a piece of construction equip...

Storms forecast to bring rain, but also a risk of winds, lightning, as wildfires rage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:02 GMT

Storms across the country could bring much needed rain, but meteorologists say it’s not enough to extinguish the danger as Canada experiences its worst wildfire season of the 21st century. “Unfortunately, we are not expecting to see enough precipitation to make a huge effect on this situation at this time, especially with how dry it is,” said Sara Hoffman, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. “But again any rain is appreciated and definitely helps.” There were 447 active fires in Canada on Tuesday afternoon, with 226 listed as out of control. Quebec’s public security minister said a rainy forecast in that province was bringing hope for progress in battling the blazes, as more than 7,200 people remained out of their homes due to fires. François Bonnardel said the fire effort was bolstered by the arrival this week of two contingents of American firefighters, with more reinforcements from Spain and Portugal expected to arrive W...

Cormac McCarthy, author of ‘No Country for Old Men,’ dies at 89

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:02 GMT

Cormac McCarthy, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist who in prose both dense and brittle took readers from the southern Appalachians to the desert Southwest in such novels as “The Road,” “Blood Meridian” and “All the Pretty Horses,” died Tuesday. He was 89.McCarthy died of natural causes in Santa Fe, New Mexico, publisher Alfred A. Knopf said.McCarthy, raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, was compared to William Faulkner for his Old Testament style and rural settings. McCarthy’s themes, like Faulkner’s, often were bleak and violent and dramatized how the past overwhelmed the present. Across stark and forbidding landscapes and rundown border communities, he placed drifters, thieves, prostitutes and old, broken men, all unable to escape fates determined for them well before they were born. As the doomed John Grady Cole of McCarthy’s celebrated “Border” trilogy would learn, dreams of a better life were only dreams, and falling in love an act of folly.McCarthy’s own story was one of belated,...

S&P/TSX composite makes small gain Tuesday, U.S. stocks rise ahead of rate decision

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:02 GMT

TORONTO — Gains in the energy, financial and base metal sectors helped Canada’s main stock index post a small gain Tuesday as the loonie crested 75 cents US, while U.S. markets also rose modestly the day before a highly anticipated interest rate announcement from the Federal Reserve. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 69.09 points at 19,990.40.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 145.79 points at 34,212.12. The S&P 500 index was up 30.08 points at 4,369.01, while the Nasdaq composite was up 111.40 points at 13,573.32.“Investors are waiting for the Fed decision that comes out tomorrow,” said Anish Chopra, managing director with Portfolio Management Corp.“Based on the … modest market moves upward, they’re leaning slightly positive that the Federal Reserve will take a pause and won’t raise rates.” The Federal Reserve is set to make its next interest rate announcement Wednesday. Meanwhile, the latest inflation data for the U.S. came out Tuesd...

Ontario not ready for surge in Alzheimer’s cases

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:02 GMT

There appears to be hope yet in life-altering treatment for those with Alzheimer’s.Health Canada has approved a new test to detect the brain-damaging disease, but the Ontario government is not ready to roll out screenings and therapies in a timely and effective manner.CityNews 680’s Sladjana Tamindzic and James Munroe spoke with the CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Ontario, Cathy Barrick, to learn more.Q&A with the Alzheimer Society of Ontariohttps://toronto.citynews.ca/wp-content/blogs.dir/sites/10/2023/06/13/alzheimers-for-web.mp3

Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie to run for leader of Ontario Liberal Party

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:02 GMT

Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie has officially registered to run for leader of the Ontario Liberal Party.Crombie is expected to formally announce her run at a press conference on Wednesday.NEW – Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie is now officially registered to run for leader of the Ontario Liberal party. Official confirmation expected from her at a news conference Wednesday afternoon— Richard Southern (@RichardCityNews) June 13, 2023In late May, Crombie confirmed with CityNews that she had set up an exploratory committee for a potential leadership bid.Ontario Premier Doug Ford addressed the speculation that Crombie was considering a run, saying it would be a “slap in the face” to Mississauga residents for her to remain as mayor while running for Liberal leader.RELATED: Following the dissolution of Peel Region, there are questions about who’s next?Crombie later explained that exploring a leadership bid with the Ontario Liberal Party while remaining mayor...

More GO Transit riders flag issue with accessibility at Exhibition station

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:11:02 GMT

Just one day after CityNews reported on the accessibility issues plaguing the Exhibition Go Station, another wheelchair user said they were left stranded on the platform.Calls are now growing louder for Metrolinx to provide a better solution for those who rely on the elevators while they remain out of service.Hannah, who relies on a wheelchair, was left stranded on Friday night after taking the GO train from Oshawa to see a concert at Budweiser stage.Before arriving at the North Platform at Exhibition station, she was informed the elevators were out of service. Her friend Sara called GO Transit directly to find a solution.“The gentlemen said the only way to get there is to walk around, ‘You need to book 48 hours in advance, it’s plastered all over our website,’ so now the only way to get there is to walk,” explained Sarah.The elevators have been out of service since November as the busy station undergoes a revamp for the Ontario Line.In the meantime, GO trans...