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Metrolinx lowering price of PRESTO cards next week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:02 GMT

Metrolinx is lowering the price of PRESTO cards next week to make it easier for commuters to take transit across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).Starting August 8, the cost of a PRESTO card will be lowered to $4 from the current price of $6. PRESTO cards are available at transit customer service outlets, Shoppers Drug Mart locations, fare vending machines and ticket vending machines.PRESTO cards can be used to pay fares across multiple transit agencies in the GTHA and Ottawa — including GO Transit and UP Express.RELATED: You can now tap your credit card on Presto machines to pay GO Transit faresA Metrolinx spokesperson said after customers purchase a new PRESTO card, they can create an account before loading money onto it. It can take up to 24 hours after purchase before this can be done.Some transit agency discounts, including those for youth, post-secondary students and seniors, are only available with a PRESTO card.One year ago, Metrolinx introduced the option ...

Stock market today: Wall Street falls as year’s big rally loses more momentum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:02 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling Wednesday as Wall Street loses more momentum following its torrid run so far this year.The S&P 500 was 1.2% lower in midday trading and heading for a second straight loss after hitting a 16-month high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 235 points, or 0.7%, at 35,395, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2% lower.Prices were mixed in the bond market after Fitch Ratings cut the credit rating of the U.S. government. The repeated standoffs in Congress about whether to default on the U.S. debt were among several reasons for Fitch’s cut. The downgrade strikes at the core of the global financial system because U.S. Treasurys are considered some of the safest possible investments.Fitch’s move follows a similar one by Standard & Poor’s in 2011, one that coincided with a European debt crisis to help cause stocks and bonds around the world to swing violently. So far, this most recent downgrade has caused less drama...

Republican National Committee boosts polling and fundraising thresholds to qualify for 2nd debate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:02 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Some Republican presidential candidates haven’t yet met polling and fundraising thresholds for the first debate of the 2024 cycle, and now the qualifications for making it to the second one will be even higher.To get to the second debate, scheduled for Sept. 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, candidates will need at least 3% in two national polls or will need 3% in one national poll as well as two polls from four of the early-voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — a person familiar with the markers set by the Republican National Committee told The Associated Press on Wednesday.The White House hopefuls must also have at least 50,000 unique donors, with at least 200 of those coming from 20 states or territories, according to the person, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly on the qualifications and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The new thresholds were first reported by Politico....

Spain says 37.5 million foreign tourists visited in the first half of 2023, up 24% from 2022

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:02 GMT

BARCEL, Portugal — Spain received 37.5 million international tourists in the first half of 2023, a 24% increase from the same period last year, the government announced Wednesday. The figure is lower than for the same period in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, when 38 million tourists arrived. But officials say the numbers are a sign that international tourism has rebounded strongly since the health crisis. Visitors from Britain topped the tourist list, totaling some 8 million, followed by some 5 million tourists from both France and Germany. Spain is heavily dependent on tourism, which accounts for 12% of gross domestic product. The northeastern region of Catalonia, including Barcelona and the Costa Brava, was the most visited area.The Associated Press

Shock and sadness in Rio favela after Brazil’s early elimination from Women’s World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:02 GMT

A group of girls and young women gathered early Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro’s working-class Manguinhos neighborhood to watch the Brazilian team compete in the Women’s World Cup and pray for a win in the make-or-break match.Instead, the 0-0 draw against Jamaica knocked Brazil out of the tournament in the group stage for the first time since 1995. The 16 assembled viewers in Manguinhos, who had pinned their hopes on the squad, were wracked with disappointment. “It is sad to see Brazil lose. We didn’t even get to the round of 16,” said 14-year-old Maísa Solano, wearing green-and-yellow face paint and a jersey of veteran star Marta. “We could have gone a little further.”Solano and the others present are among the roughly 60 participants in a project called Stars of Mandela that empowers Manguinhos’ girls and young women through soccer and gives more visibility to the women’s game. The non-profit organized the broadcast of the game at the soccer field where they practic...

A Latino player says his Northwestern teammates hazed him by shaving ‘Cinco de Mayo’ onto his head

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:02 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Ramon Diaz says he was just 17 years old when Northwestern University upperclassmen shaved “Cinco de Mayo” onto the back of his head as the entire football team watched.“The holiday itself has a significant meaning to me and my family and then the Latino community at large,” Diaz told The Associated Press. “I was mocked and ridiculed.”Diaz said he was the only Latino offensive lineman on the team at a time when the athletic department’s culture allowed racist and sexual abuse to thrive and caused psychological and emotional damage to athletes of color. A lawsuit announced on Diaz’ behalf Wednesday is the 10th against the prestigious private university since student journalists at The Daily Northwestern published an article on July 8 that suggested head coach Patrick Fitzgerald may have been aware of hazing, leading to his firing after 17 seasons. Northwestern announced Tuesday that it has hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to lead an investig...

Progress made against massive California-Nevada wildfire but flames threaten iconic Joshua trees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:02 GMT

MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters aided by rain fought to contain a massive blaze that swept through the California desert into Nevada and are threaten ing the region’s famous spiky Joshua trees.The York Fire that erupted last Friday is California’s largest wildfire this year. As of early Wednesday it had burned through more than 128 square miles (333 square kilometers) of land and was 30% contained, fire officials said.Humid monsoonal weather conditions Tuesday afternoon brought brief but heavy rain, especially on the south end of the fire, and kept its spread to a minimum, fire officials said. Similar conditions were expected on Wednesday, with drier weather poised to return on Thursday.“Right now, the monsoonal influence is still over the fire,” said Marc Peebles, a spokesperson for California’s incident management team for the York Fire. “There’s always the possibility of showers that will help the effort.”The 400 or so firefighters bat...

Michigan State to cancel classes on anniversary of mass shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:02 GMT

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University officials plan to cancel classes on the first anniversary of a mass shooting on campus.The university announced Tuesday that classes will be canceled on Feb. 13, WJBK-TV reported. Interim President Teresa Woodruff said the university will remain open that day and a remembrance event will be held. Classes will resume on Feb. 14. Anthony McRae opened fire at Berkey Hall and the MSU Union on Feb. 13, 2023. Three students — Brian Fraser, Arielle Anderson and Alexandria Verner — were killed. Five other students were wounded.McRae had no connection to the victims or to the university, investigators have said. He killed himself the night of the shootings after police confronted him. Investigators said in April they were unable to determine any conclusive motive for the campus shootings.The Associated Press

Nicolas Cage surrealist comedy to open TIFF’s competitive Platform program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:02 GMT

TORONTO — Nicolas Cage’s surrealist comedy “Dream Scenario” will open the competitive Platform program at the Toronto International Film Festival, with acclaimed filmmaker Barry Jenkins set to lead the jury.Cage stars in the satirical feature from U.S.-based filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli as an academic “thrust into the limelight after he starts inexplicably appearing in people’s dreams.”Brampton, Ont.’s Michael Cera and U.S. actress Julianne Nicholson also star.It’s joined by the Canadian drama “The King Tide,” directed by Christian Sparkes, and eight other titles chosen for their “unique directorial perspectives,” TIFF said Wednesday in a release.“Moonlight” director Jenkins will head a three-member panel that will select the winner of a $20,000 award.The jury includes Canadian filmmaker Anthony Shim, whose film “Riceboy Sleeps” won last year’s prize, and Nadine Labaki whose Oscar-nominated film “Capernaum” won the 2018 jury...

‘It feels like a fine’: Bar, restaurant workers speak out over new Smart Serve requirements

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:02 GMT

People who work at your favourite bars and restaurants are facing a government-issued deadline for recertification to keep their jobs. While most of them applaud training updates, they question the fee that goes along with it.“We hire bartenders and wait staff for private events in the GTA,” said Kevin Bagnall, owner of Servers and Shakers, a service-related staffing business in Toronto.Everyone he hires must have a Smart Serve certificate, which is required by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). It’s for any workers who serve, handle or sell alcohol and has been an industry standard for decades. It requires workers to complete an online course, which comes with a fee.“The main focus is for safety,” Bagnall said. “It teaches workers not to overserve and to recognize signs that people maybe too intoxicated, among other things.”Up until now, those who completed the course were good to work for life.“There was no expiry date on those certificates, but now t...