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Canada’s foreign minister says China peace talks in Moscow will prolong Ukraine war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says China’s attempts to broker peace in Ukraine will likely just help Russia re-arm and prolong the conflict.In a Monday statement, Joly said the only way to end the war is for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “lay down his weapons and get out of Ukraine,” and accused Moscow of turning to Beijing with a false premise.“Make no mistake, the Russian regime is looking to buy time to resupply, recruit and re-attack,” Joly said in the statement.“A ceasefire not predicated on Russia’s withdrawal of their troops from Ukrainian territory would only serve Putin’s agenda by freezing the conflict before his losses become even greater.”Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Russia, arriving on Monday for peace talks after Beijing laid out a proposal that calls for an end to the conflict, although Xi has no plans to visit Kyiv.Canada and the other countries in the G7 have said since last October t...

Women-owned businesses on the rise, but barriers persist: study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

TORONTO — A new study finds that while the pandemic disproportionately hurt female entrepreneurs, the number of women-owned businesses is on the rise.The Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub’s 2023 State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada report says the proportion of majority women-owned businesses is increasing. The study estimates 18 per cent of businesses are majority-owned by women, up from 16.8 per cent in 2020 and 15.6 per cent in 2017.Lead researcher Wendy Cukier, the founder of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Diversity Institute, says she is also encouraged that the gender gap related to early interest in entrepreneurship and innovation is shrinking.But the study shows majority male-owned businesses have higher survival rates than majority female-owned businesses in the 14 years after their creation.Female entrepreneurs also tend to be concentrated in some sectors and underrepresented in others, and face barriers such as lack of access to capital through fi...

US company says Mexican police illegally seized property

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A U.S. company said Monday that Mexican police and soldiers have illegally entered and seized a cargo port it operates on land it owns on Mexico’s Caribbean coast. Alabama-based Vulcan Materials said the police forced their way into the Caribbean coast dock at Punta Venado, near Playa del Carmen, last week. “It should be clear that the rule of law is no longer assured for foreign companies in Mexico,” the company said in a statement. “This invasion, unsupported by legal warrants, violates Vulcan’s commercial and property rights.”Police and marines first occupied the property last Tuesday night, and they were still there as of Monday, according to the company. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been in a dispute with Vulcan for several years. López Obrador needs the dock to get cement, crushed stone and other materials into the area to finish his pet project, a tourist train known as the Train Maya. The president shut down Vulcan’s stone quarries last ...

Biden issues first veto, taking on new Republican Congress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden issued the first veto of his presidency Monday in an early sign of shifting White House relations with the new Congress since Republicans took control in January. He’s seeking to kill a Republican measure that bans the government from considering environmental impacts or potential lawsuits when making investment decisions for Americans’ retirement plans.It’s just the latest manifestation of the new relationship, and Biden is gearing up for even bigger fights with Republicans on government spending and raising the nation’s debt limit in the next few months.The measure vetoed by Biden ended a Trump-era ban on federal managers of retirement plans considering factors such as climate change, social impacts or pending lawsuits when making investment choices. Because suits and climate change have financial repercussions, administration officials argue that the investment limits are courting possible disaster. Critics say environmental...

Ohio State student found dead amid spring break tragedies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Henry Meacock’s cause, location and date of death have not been released. A previous version of this story stated he was in Mexico for spring break at the time of his death. We regret the error.(NewsNation) — An American college student has been found dead, one of several recent tragedies that have involved university students.Henry Meacock was a student at Ohio State University. The university confirmed his death but exact details of when, where and how the student died have not been released.“The Ohio State community has suffered a tragic loss, and we extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Henry Meacock,” OSU said in a statement. The university is also directing students to the counseling center for support. Miami Beach declares curfew over spring break violence Meacock’s death is not the only tragedy to be reported as college students hit the road for spring break.Another student is on life suppor...

It’s the first day of spring: Here’s what that really means

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Spring has sprung!Monday marked the spring equinox — at least for those in the Northern Hemisphere.But what does that actually mean?WHAT IS THE SPRING EQUINOX?As the Earth travels around the sun, it does so at an angle.For most of the year, the Earth’s axis is tilted either toward or away from the sun. That means the sun’s warmth and light fall unequally on the northern and southern halves of the planet.During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal amount of sunlight. Cherry blossom peak bloom prediction announced The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night. That’s because on the equinox, day and night last almost the same amount of time — though one may get a few extra minutes, depending on where you are on the planet.The spring — or vernal — equinox can land on March 19, 20 or 21, depending on the year. This year it landed on Monday at 5:24 p.m. Eastern time.WHY ARE THERE TWO KINDS OF...

Winter temps to leave then it's hello 80s

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Goodbye, winter. Your grip on this weekend's weather didn't dampen the spirits of spring breakers and SXSW goers. But, you can leave now and give us back our feel of spring. BLOG: April showers: Here's the outlook for Central Texas Spring arrives at 4:24 this afternoon with temperatures in the 50s. It does not look like we'll see much of the sun today with the possible exception of the far western Hill Country. There's just too much moisture flowing into the area. NEW BLOG: Monday could be one of our coldest spring equinoxes in Austin Mainly cloudy and cool as we transition from winter to spring Monday afternoonWinds will gust into the lower to upper 20s today. There won't be much change from that going through the entire week. Winds will be strongest Wednesday through Friday.Gusty winds from the south-southeast Monday afternoonA little drizzle/light rain/mist will greet early risers tomorrow morning. A slightly better chance for rain will be part of Tuesday's f...

Texas Senate considers measure to deny bail for violent or sexual offenses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The Texas Senate is expected to take up a resolution Monday that would deny bail for those facing violent or sexual charges, as part of Republicans' larger push around bail reform after campaigning on promises of "tough-on-crime' policies.If approved by voters, SJR 44 would authorize judges to deny bail "under some circumstances" to a person accused of a "violent or sexual offense or of continuous trafficking of persons." The resolution's author, Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, said during a March 7 committee hearing on her legislation that it would give local officials needed tools for making bail determinations."Texas lacks viable options for detaining our most habitual, violent felony offenders without bond," she said. "This bill has been delayed now for a couple of years. And I think it has cost lives to be honest."Currently, the Texas Constitution has little exceptions for cases in which judges can deny bail outright.The legislation has garnered bipartisan supp...

'He has a battle rifle': Police feared Uvalde gunman’s AR-15

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

UVALDE, Texas (Texas Tribune) — Once they saw a torrent of bullets tear through a classroom wall and metal door, the first police officers in the hallway of Robb Elementary School concluded they were outgunned. And that they could die.The gunman had an AR-15, a rifle design used by U.S. soldiers in every conflict since Vietnam. Its bullets flew toward the officers at three times the speed of sound and could have pierced their body armor like a hole punch through paper. They grazed two officers in the head, and the group retreated.Uvalde Police Department Sgt. Daniel Coronado stepped outside, breathing heavily, and got on his radio to warn the others.“I have a male subject with an AR,” Coronado said.The dispatch crackled on the radio of another officer on the opposite side of the building.“Fuck,” that officer said.“AR,” another exclaimed, alerting others nearby.Almost a year after Texas’ deadliest school shooting killed 19 children and two teachers, there is still confusion among inv...

St. Paul Public Schools to offer $10,000 signing bonuses to some new hires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

St. Paul Public Schools is offering more than $1 million in hiring bonuses in hopes of filling a range of special-education positions and other hard-to-fill jobs for the 2023-24 school year.“In this competitive job market, we need to do everything we can to attract the best candidates to our classrooms,” Patricia Pratt-Cook, executive chief of human resources, said in a news release Monday.In a report earlier this year from the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, 84 percent of Minnesota school district leaders said they were feeling the effects of the teacher shortage. That’s up from 70 percent two years prior.The St. Paul district, which already has the second-highest average teacher salary in the state, at $85,128 last year, is offering $10,000 bonuses to the first 70 teachers, social workers, psychologists and speech pathologists they hire who are licensed for special education.Up to 50 new educational assistants and 50 teaching assistants in special education wi...