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US to relax COVID testing for travelers from China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:08 GMT

By Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The Biden administration is preparing to relax COVID-19 testing restrictions for travelers from China as soon as Friday, according to two people familiar with the decision.The people, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the administration has decided to roll back the testing requirements as cases, hospitalizations and deaths are declining in China and the U.S. has gathered better information about the surge.The restrictions were put in place on Dec. 28 and took effect on Jan. 5 amid a surge in infections in China after the nation sharply eased pandemic restrictions and as U.S. health officials expressed concerns that their Chinese counterparts were not being truthful to the world about the true number of infections and deaths. The Washington Post was first to report on Tuesday about the expected administration move.At the time, U.S. officials also said the restrictio...

There’s a stunning new way to view Niagara Falls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:08 GMT

The grandeur of Niagara Falls keeps tourists seeking new and better views of the natural wonder — and it’s easy to find them. On both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the river, you can gaze from lookouts, boat tours, a bridge, towers with wide windows, helicopter rides and even a zipline.But the newest view in town may also be the most fascinating. It’s found at a decommissioned hydropower station that for 100 years generated electricity for several Canadian cities. Now you can walk through the 2,200-foot tunnel that once carried water from the plant back into the Niagara River, bringing you to a viewing platform only 100 yards from the bottom of Horseshoe Falls. That puts you within mist range (no worries, rain ponchos are provided), with a stunning view that has never before been offered to tourists.The 2,200-foot-long tunnel at the decommissioned Niagara Parks Power Station leads to panoramic views of both the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls. (Colleen Thomas/TNS)There’s mor...

Sinclair believes contribution to growth in women’s soccer will be what she’s most proud of

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:08 GMT

On International Women’s Day, Canadian soccer icon Christine Sinclair knows her decades-long soccer career will be remembered alongside her fight to make soccer more inclusive for future generations.It comes amid the public battle between Canada’s women’s national team and Canada Soccer.This battle is well-documented in Sinclair’s memoir, “Playing the Long Game,” but significant developments have occurred since that point.Sinclair said the opportunity arose to write a memoir after the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, and she decided to step outside her comfort zone to be able to share another part of herself with the young girls who look up to her.The Burnaby, B.C. resident helped Canada win gold at the 2021 Olympics and has been a staple on the Canadian national team for over two decades — playing in five World Cups and four Olympic tournaments, scoring 190 goals throughout her career.She’s also become more and more comfortable using her voice to...

Jury deliberations begin for XXXTentacion’s accused killers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:08 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Jury deliberations began Wednesday in the trial of three men accused of murdering rising rap star XXXTentacion during a 2018 robbery outside a Florida motorcycle shop after the alleged gunman’s attorney argued that DNA evidence proves his client and another man are innocent. Attorney Joseph Kimok gave the final defense closing argument in the trial of three men accused of first-degree murder, telling jurors that while the artist struggled with his killers before being shot and DNA was found on the body and on a stolen necklace, it wasn’t from his client, 28-year-old Michael Boatwright. Nor was it from accused second gunman Trayvon Newsome, 24, or accused getaway driver and ringleader Dedrick Williams, 26. “Whoever (XXXTentacion) struggled with is not in this courtroom,” Kimok told jurors as the four-week trial neared its conclusion. “The DNA proves that someone not named Michael Boatwright or Trayvon Newsome participated in this murder.”A fourth ma...

Cyber attack hits engineering giant with contracts for military bases, power plants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:08 GMT

OTTAWA — A Canadian engineering giant whose work involves critical military, power and transportation infrastructure across the country has been hit with a ransomware attack.Toronto-based Black & McDonald has so far refused to publicly comment on the cyberattack, while the Department of National Defence and other clients of the company have downplayed any impact or damage.“Black & McDonald notified OPG that they had experienced a ransomware attack which was unrelated to OPG operations and information,” said Ontario Power Generation spokesman Neal Kelly.“OPG conducted an immediate investigation and found there was no impact to our operations. OPG constantly monitors to ensure the highest levels of cybersecurity.Experts are nonetheless concerned, saying the attack on Black & McDonald represents a far greater threat to Canada’s national security and critical infrastructure than the attack on Canada’s largest bookstore chain, Indigo Books & ...

S&P/TSX composite edges upward Wednesday, U.S. markets mixed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:08 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index edged upward Wednesday after falling more than one per cent the day before, while U.S. markets were mixed. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 70.99 points at 20,346.53.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 58.06 points at 32,798.40. The S&P 500 index was up 5.64 points at 3,992.01,while the Nasdaq composite was up 45.67 points at 11,576.00.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.54 cents UScompared with 72.90 cents US on Tuesday.The April crude contract was down 92 cents at US$76.66 per barreland the April natural gas contract was down 14 cents at US$2.55 per mmBTU.The April gold contract was down US$1.40 at US$1,818.60 an ounceand the May copper contract was up five cents at US$4.03 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Roll Up To Win players upset after $10,000 AMEX card win was result of technical error

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:08 GMT

Tim Hortons has kicked off its traditional Roll Up To Win contest at participating locations, but the rollout didn’t go as smoothly as expected after a technical issue prompted several players to believe they were $10,000 richer.Josh Rose was one of those players. The St. Catharines, Ont. resident was on his way home from an early morning shift when he decided to stop by his local Tim Hortons to grab a coffee for his soon-to-be wife—a small gesture leading into preparations for their wedding day.A day that turned out to be extra special after the pair rolled up the virtual rim and won. Or so they thought.“I opened the app, rolled it, and it popped up ‘Winner!’ You are the winner of a $10,000 American Express pre-paid card,” Rose tells CityNews.After a full day of celebrations, Rose discovered the prize was no longer there.“I went back into the app and didn’t see it in my Tim’s app, so I contacted Tim Hortons. I said, “Hey, I got ...

Alaska governor proposes sex ed limits, teacher bonuses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:08 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed what he calls a parental rights bill that would require written permission from a parent when a child asks to change the name or pronoun they use at school as part of a package he says is aimed at broadening the conversation around public education.The Republican also proposed cash payments for teachers as a way to address recruitment and retention concerns, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The Democratic chair of the Senate Education Committee and members of the House’s largely Democratic minority said the parental rights measure is divisive and a distraction from their priorities: school funding and finding ways to attract and keep teachers. The bill in the Senate was not referred to the education committee.Other elements of Dunleavy’s bill include prohibiting teaching sex education before fourth grade, requiring written parental permission for children to participate in sex education after fourth grade and requi...

At the Oscars a year later, The Slap stays in the picture

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:08 GMT

The Academy Awards are Sunday, but did last year’s Oscars ever really end?When Hollywood reconvenes at the Dolby Theatre for the 95th Academy Awards, the ceremony will signal many things. The probable triumph of “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” A potentially historic night for Asians and Asian Americans in the film industry. Possibly a record number of jokes about “Cocaine Bear.”But for many, nothing will register more than returning to the site of The Slap. In a way, we’re all still living in that frozen-in-time moment. Chris Rock’s face twisted to the side. Will Smith’s arm dramatically extended. A deathly hush over the Dolby Theatre. A new low for the Oscars but a high point of public fascination, The Slap was immediately etched into collective memory, and its shock has kept reverberating. Rock, in a live stand-up special on Sunday, only just offered his fiery rebuttal, adding a fresh new volley in the still ongoing discourse around the incident.For the first time, two sequel...

In fraud case, embattled Ozy Media is a no show

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:16:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Ozy Media billed itself as “the New and the Next” as its charismatic cofounder, former MSNBC and CNN host Carlos Watson, attracted millions of dollars from investors on a promise to attract young, sophisticated audiences.But on Wednesday, the once-buzzy company didn’t even have representation in court as it was arraigned on securities fraud and wire fraud charges.There was confusion when representatives for the company were a no-show at its arraignment at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn. A judge had to enter a plea of “not guilty” on its behalf.Outside the courtroom, a public defender who had been hurriedly assigned to represent the company at the hearing quickly tried to make sense of the case. She asked a journalist what Ozy did and what the case was about.Later, she was excused from what is expected to be a complex and sprawling case involving hundreds of thousands of documents and allegations that the company’s executives misrepresented its financial...