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Poland plans to grant Ukraine’s request for fighter jets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:38:58 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s president says his country plans to give Ukraine a dozen MiG-29 fighter jets, becoming the first NATO member country to fulfill the Ukrainian government’s increasingly urgent requests for warplanes. President Andrzej Duda said Thursday that Poland would hand over four of the Soviet-made warplanes in the coming days and the rest need to be checked and would be supplied later. Duda did not say if other countries would be making the same move, although Slovakia has said it would send its disused MiGs to Ukraine.While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pleaded for Western supporters to share fighter jets, NATO allies have expressed hesitancy.The Associated Press

Applications for jobless aid in U.S. fall last week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:38:58 GMT

Fewer Americans applied for jobless claims last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy and tamp down inflation.Applications for jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending March 11 fell by 20,000 to 192,000 from 212,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week moving average of claims, which flattens out some of week-to-week volatility, fell by 750 to 196,500, remaining below the 200,000 threshold for the eighth straight week.Applications for unemployment benefits are seen as a barometer for layoffs in the U.S.About 1.68 million people were receiving jobless aid the week that ended March 4, a decrease of 29,000 from the week before.Matt Ott, The Associated Press

Italy retrial ordered for Americans in killing of officer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:38:58 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italy’s highest court has ordered a retrial for two American citizens who were convicted in the slaying of an Italian police officer during a sting operation gone bad.The Court of Cassation late Wednesday threw out the guilty verdicts against Finnegan Lee Elder, now 23, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 22, both convicted in the stabbing death of the 35-year-old caribiniere during a plainclothes operation in July 2019 while the Americans, teens at the time, were on vacation in Rome.The court will issue its reasons for the verdict in the coming weeks, and instruct an appeals court on the precise issues to examine in a new trial. Elder’s lawyer, Roberto Capra, expressed satisfaction at the decision, saying a new trial would open the possibility of recalculating the sentence. “It confirms a topic we raised from the first day: That Elder was not aware of having in front of him a law enforcement agent. The dynamics of the events exclude this fact,” Capra told reporters. He expressed...

Legault to visit Quebec town reeling from vehicle attack : In The News for March 16

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:38:58 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of March 16 …What we are watching in Canada …Quebec Premier François Legault will today visit the eastern Quebec town where a pickup truck plowed into groups of pedestrians, killing two.Legault will be joined by opposition leaders and other politicians in Amqui, the small community in the lower St-Lawrence region, where he will meet with local residents and hold a news conference.Two men were killed and nine people were injured Monday when a man drove a truck down one of the eastern Quebec town’s main streets, allegedly hitting several different groups of pedestrians in what police have described as an intentional act.Thirty-eight-year-old Steeve Gagnon is facing two counts of dangerous driving causing death, and prosecutors have said more charges will follow.Legault said earlier this week that his visit to the...

US futures tick down, regional bank stocks still sliding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:38:58 GMT

BEIJING — Wall Street drifted lower before the bell Thursday, even as European shares got a boost after Credit Suisse said it would borrow up to $54 billion from Switzerland’s central bank to shore up its finances, possibly easing worries about a bank crisis following the failure of two U.S. lenders.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were off 0.3% before the bell and futures for the S&P 500 dipped 0.1%.Credit Suisse’s shares soared 30% on Thursday after it announced the loan, bolstering confidence as fears about the banking system moved from the U.S. to Europe.It was a massive swing from a day earlier, when shares of Switzerland’s second-largest commercial bank plunged 30% on the SIX stock exchange after its biggest shareholder said it would not put more money into Credit Suisse.That dragged down other European banks after the collapse of some U.S. banks stirred fears about the health of global banks. European bank shares recovered a bit Thursday, with the Euro S...

Aimia reports $23.3M net loss in Q4 as it prepares to close Trufopes, Bozzetto deals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:38:58 GMT

TORONTO — Aimia Inc. reported a $23.3 million net loss in its most recent quarter, a period that preceded two manufacturing acquisitions.The Toronto-based holding company says its fourth quarter results compared with a net loss of $14.6 million in the same period the year before.The company says its basic loss per common share for the three months ended Dec. 31 amounted to 32 cents per share compared with 19 cents per share a year ago.Highlights of Aimia’s quarter include its January announcement revealing it will purchase ropes and netting manufacturer Tufropes Pvt Ltd. for $252.6 million. The Trufopes transaction is expected to close Thursday and result in $130 million in annual revenue.Aimia will also buy Italian chemical manufacturer Giovanni Bozzetto S.p.A for $332.4 million, with the deal set to close in the second quarter of this fiscal year.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 16, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSXAIM)The Canadian Press

CPD: Woman stabbed during argument in River North

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:38:58 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman was stabbed early Thursday morning in River North.At around 1:20 a.m., police responded to the 700 block of North LaSalle on the report of a stabbing.Police believe a 34-year-old woman was arguing with another woman when she was stabbed by her.She sustained wounds to the chest and side and was transported to Northwestern in fair condition. 14-year-old boy seriously wounded in South Side drive-by shooting No one is in custody. Anyone with information can leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.

Little Village discount mall vendors plan caravan to avoid eviction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:38:58 GMT

CHICAGO — The 25th alderman plans to lead a group of vendors to Novak Construction, demanding a new agreement is made to avoid them from being evicted from the discount mall. Sources told WGN there will be 70 vehicles apart of the caravan and it will include street vendors as well as those who rent from the discount mall in Little Village.In February, some vendors were given until March 26th to move out of the mall. Vendors day they were told by P K Mall management to liquidate their merchandise after a proposed rent increase in the lease renewal offer was found to be unreasonable and unsustainable. Ravinia Festival announces 2023 summer lineup Novak Construction is planning renovations that will include new building facades and roofs, a new surface parking lot and lighting and signage."To shut down half of the businesses in this discount mall is unacceptable," Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez said. The caravan of 70 vehicles will meet up at the discount mall Thursday morning, hoping it w...

Rainy, windy Thursday in Chicago, temp drop ahead of weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:38:58 GMT

Thursday is looking cloudy with rain showers and breezy winds of S 10-15, gusts of 30 mph. High: 47Rain showers accumulating out West, to make its way to Chicagoland area.Thursday Night: Cloudy, rain, warm late then temp drop, WNW 15-25 G40. 33 Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Friday Night: AM Rain/Snow Chance, Decreasing clouds, windy, WNW 15-25 G40. High: 37Full forecast details at the WGN Weather Center

Ride the new TRON Lightcycle Run roller coaster at Walt Disney World

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:38:58 GMT

It was 2017 when Disney officials took the stage at their D23 Convention and announced that a new roller coaster, TRON Lightcycle / Run, would be coming to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park. In just a few weeks, The Grid is ready to make its debut. TRON is a launching, motorcycle style coaster that sends riders - or what they call users - through a digital world. You are on Team Blue as it faces off against Team Orange. As you zip around the interior show building, you race around screens and other visual effects. This ride is pretty much identical to the TRON roller coaster at Shanghai Disneyland. That ride opened in 2016.Here are some things to know about what is easily the most intense roller coaster at the Magic Kingdom. THE SPEEDDisney has not revealed the official speed of the launch on TRON. They have only said that this is the fastest roller coaster in all Disney Parks, along with its sister coaster in Shanghai. If you’re wondering if its a launch you can hand...