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Vancouver’s April home sales down 16.5% from a year ago: board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:52 GMT

VANCOUVER — The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says April home sales slid 16.5 per cent from a year ago as new listings remained below historical norms.The B.C. board says sales for the month totalled 2,741, almost 16 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average.The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver hit $1,170,700 last month, down 7.4 per cent from a year ago but up 2.4 per cent from March.There were 4,307 new listings last month, a 29.7 per cent decrease, when compared with the prior April and a 22 per cent drop from the 10-year seasonal average of 5,525.The board saw the numbers as a sign that home sales are staging a comeback and headed toward levels seen last spring before eight consecutive interest rate hikes were carried out.The rate hikes eroded buying power and sent buyers to the sidelines, but the board believes a shift is underway.“The fact we are seeing prices rising and sales rebounding this spring tells us homebuyer...

Is returning to school worth it for advancing your career? Experts weigh in

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:52 GMT

After several years of working in retail, Shantia Cross had enough. One day in 2021, she decided to walk off the job and leave what she described as a toxic and thankless workplace. Her mother advised her to either find a new job or go back to school, and that got Cross thinking.That same night, she stayed up until 3 a.m. searching for a career where she could use the hard skills that she picked up in journalism school — like interviewing and shooting video — and stumbled upon some testimonials about jobs in user experience, or UX, design. Cross decided on a one-year, intensive post-graduate certificate program at Centennial College in Toronto after searching for programs with a UX design component. Brimming with excitement, she signed up.“I’m really glad I stuck with it,” said Cross, who is now a content strategist for one of the country’s top banks. Cross is just one of many Canadians who have returned to school in order to advance their careers, a move that experts s...

Flooding has pushed Wisconsin’s Bad River closer to Line 5 pipeline: court documents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:52 GMT

WASHINGTON — Heavy flooding throughout the U.S. Midwest has pushed the edge of the Bad River in Wisconsin ever closer to the controversial Line 5 pipeline. Court documents filed Monday show the river overtopped its banks twice last month for a total of nine days, washing away some 2.5 metres of terrain at its closest point. The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa is in court to force the pipeline’s owner, Enbridge Inc., to redirect the line around its territory. The band has been arguing that seasonal flooding along the river escalates the risk of a catastrophic failure in a key watershed. The current river conditions do not require either a shutdown or a purge of the pipeline, under separate contingency plans submitted by both Enbridge and the band.But environmental law group Earthjustice disagrees, saying the line is now just one serious rainstorm away from becoming fully exposed. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2023.The Canadian Press

Opponents make last-ditch effort to stop French pension law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:52 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Opponents of a law that would raise the retirement age in France from 62 to 64 are making last-ditch plans to prevent the change that is set to take effect in September. The country’s main labor unions on Tuesday called for another round of nationwide demonstrations and strikes on June 6. May Day protests across France on Monday drew either 800,000 people — that’s according to French authorities — or 2.3 million people, which was the estimate given by organizers. France’s top constitutional body is expected to rule Wednesday on a request from opposition lawmakers to start a lengthy process that could ultimately lead to a bill or a referendum to restore the minimum retirement age of 62. With President Emmanuel Macron having demonstrated his determination to press on with the unpopular pension reform, here’s a look at the next steps for his government and the plan’s opponents.A LONG SHOT AT A REFERENDUMThe Constitutional Council’s role is to ...

Orillia mourns hometown legend Gordon Lightfoot, makes books of condolences available

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:52 GMT

ORILLIA, Ont. — The Ontario city of Orillia is mourning hometown legend Gordon Lightfoot, saying the famous folk musician had an immense impact on the community and beyond. Lightfoot died of natural causes at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital on Monday at 84.Orillia Mayor Don McIsaac said Lightfoot was highly regarded in the city. “His homecoming concerts at the Orillia Opera House and appearances at the Mariposa Folk Festival have always been celebrated by Orillians as they welcomed him home,” the mayor wrote in a statement. “Many of us who knew him will remember his soft-spoken demeanor, generous personality and infectious laugh.”There are reminders of Lightfoot throughout Orillia, McIsaac said, noting that the singer’s name graces a city auditorium stage and a trail, while a bust of him sits at the Orillia Opera House and a bronze sculpture honouring him stands in a city park.“His deep roots in our city are woven into the fabric of Orillia,&#...

Stock market today: Wall Street drops as banks tumble again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling Tuesday as shares of beleaguered banks tumble again and worries about a possible recession worsen. Rising fear has Treasury yields sinking in the bond market, as Wall Street also waits for the Federal Reserve’s latest move on interest rates and Washington edges closer to what would be a catastrophic default on U.S. government debt. The S&P 500 was 1.6% lower, with losses accelerating as the morning progressed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 520 points, or 1.5%, at 33,531, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% lower. Some of the sharpest drops came from smaller- and mid-sized banks, which have been under heavy scrutiny as the banking system shows cracks under the weight of much higher interest rates. PacWest Bancorp dropped 36.1%, Western Alliance Bancorp fell 24.2% and Comerica dropped 11.6%. Three of the four largest U.S. bank failures in history have come in quick succession since March, and investors have...

CPKC railway hit with violation notice after derailment in Maine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:52 GMT

MONTREAL — State authorities in Maine have hit Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. with a violation notice over fallout from its cleanup efforts after a freight train went off the tracks last month.On April 15, a CPKC train hit a track washout in a wooded area near Moosehead Lake in northwestern Maine, some 220 kilometres southeast of Quebec City, setting several cars ablaze.Government officials say they sent a notice of violation to the railway after heavy construction equipment deployed to access the crash site crushed culverts and caused a significant amount of sediment to enter streams, in violation of a pollution control law.Melanie Loyzim, commissioner of the state’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, sent a second letter instructing CPKC to implement erosion control measures immediately.CPKC said last month that locomotives and four derailed lumber cars went up in flames, with crews using booms — absorbent, tubelike barriers — to contain spilled diesel ...

Illinois State Police update after at least 6 dead, more than 30 hospitalized in I-55 crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:52 GMT

DIVERNON, Ill. (AP) — Both lanes of I-55 reopened Tuesday morning hours after a windstorm in central Illinois causing numerous crashes that killed at least six people Monday, police said.Six people were killed in a 72-car pileup late Monday morning near mile marker 76, between Diveron and Farmersville, about 20 miles south of Springfield. Multiple tractor-trailers were among the vehicles involved, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said.More than 30 people on both sides of I-55 were transported to hospitals with injuries.Authorities held a news conference Tuesday morning and said they are seeking the public's help to identify two of the victims killed in the crash. State police believe one person was driving a blue Chrysler 300 and one person was driving a Hyundai, color not known. Anyone with any information is asked to call authorities at 618-346-3653. ISP needs help identifying two adult victims from the crash on I-55 Monday. One victim was driving...

Jonas Brothers to play Wrigley Field this summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:52 GMT

CHICAGO - For the first time, the Jonas Brothers will get the chance to play at the Friendly Confines this summer. On Tuesday, the Cubs announced that the pop rock band will play a concert at Wrigley Field on Friday, August 25. This will be the Jonas Brother's first performance at the iconic ballpark and will be part of a 35-show "Five Albums. One Night" tour across the United States and Canada that was announced on Tuesday. See the day-by-day lineup for Lollapalooza 2023 Tickets for the concert at Wrigley Field will go on sale to the general public on Friday, May 12 at 10 a.m. central time at Ticketmaster. There is a verified pre-sale for the show that will take place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 9 at 10 a.m. central time and requires registration.Formed in 2005, the group consists of brothers Joe, Kevin, and Nick Jonas, first gaining notoriety with their appearances on the Disney Channel. They've released five studio albums with their sixth, titled "The Album," set to be released ...

The List: Pat and Paul guess past celebrity guests

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:51:52 GMT

A lot of celebrity guests have visited WGN Morning News throughout the years and there's a strong chance that Paul had no idea who they were. In this week's List, Pat and Paul guess past celebrity guests.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.