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Millions ditched cars for bikes during the pandemic. These cities want the habit to stick

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

By CALVIN WOODWARD (Associated Press)MONTREAL (AP) — In the agonies of the virus that upended most of the world, millions of people from Bogota to Berlin saw what life could be like on two wheels instead of four.Even as commuting to the office and going to school plunged at the height of COVID lockdowns, outdoor recreation, and cycling in particular, surged in country after country as people looked to escape isolation in a relatively safe way. In response, cities worldwide have developed bikeways with new urgency since 2020. The question is whether people stick with their new cycling habit in these closer-to-normal times. On Friday, Bike to Work Day in the U.S., the automatic counters that record each passing cyclist in many cities will get the latest numbers.So far the evidence is incomplete and varies by place. But the numbers suggest that if they build it, people will come.Case studies led by global urban planning researchers Ralph Buehler of Virginia Tech and John Bucher o...

These San Diego areas are among the most expensive U.S. metros to raise a child

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The joys of raising a child comes with a hefty price tag for those living in some of the nation's most expensive U.S. metros, including several San Diego areas.That's according to a new study by financial technology company SmartAsset, which set out to calculate these costs by analyzing how much food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation and other necessities are costing two-parent households. San Diego among cities with the most ‘house poor’ homeowners: study SmartAsset says the average cost to raise a child in the U.S. is $20,813 annually with some parts of the country, like California, dishing out more than $30,000 a year per child. While conducting their study, SmartAsset used data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage Calculator to compare the living costs of a household with two adults and one child to that of a childless household with two adults. This data reflects spending in 2022.The survey's findings show the San Diego, Chu...

Tickets going fast for San Diego Fair Concert Series opening performances

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

DEL MAR, Calif. -- As the San Diego County Fair inches closer, tickets for opening performances on the Corona Grandstand Stage are selling fast, the Del Mar Fairgrounds said Friday.The summer fun will begin with performances from musical group Train, comedian Kevin Hart, and Mexican pop band La Adictiva. 3 artists added to San Diego County Fair Concert Series lineup Train is set to jam out to their hits “Hey, Soul Sister,” “Drops of Jupiter” and "Meet Virginia" on Wednesday, June 7. Tickets start at $40 and include admission to fair. Event organizers say the the concert will start at 7:30 p.m.Then on Friday, June 9, the Del Mar Fairgrounds says Kevin Hart will "carry on his mission to keep the world laughing together" while taking the stage at 7:30 p.m. For those planning to attend the show, organizers say it's a “phone-free” experience, meaning the use of cellphones, smart watches and other devices will not be permitted. Tickets start at $72 and include admission to fair.La Adict...

Russia targets Greenpeace in crackdown on dissent but Kremlin critic Roizman avoids prison

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Friday declared the global environmental group Greenpeace to be an undesirable organization, effectively banning it from operating in the country, its latest move to muzzle critical voices. A statement from the national prosecutor-general’s office said it had determined that Greepeace posed “a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the Russian Federation” and pointed in particular to the conflict in Ukraine. “Since the beginning of the special military operation of the Russian Federation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine, Greenpeace activists have been engaged in anti-Russian propaganda, calling for further economic isolation of our country and tougher sanctions,” it said. Amsterdam-based Greenpeace International said it had no immediate comment. Since launching the Ukraine operation in February 2022, the Russian government has intensified its crackdown on dissent and toughened legislation against critics. The authorities ha...

Man fatally shot engine factory coworker in feud over woman, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

MORAINE, Ohio (AP) — A feud over a woman led one man to fatally shoot his coworker and then shoot himself in the head at a General Motors engine factory in Ohio, police said.A third employee was wounded at the DMAX plant Thursday night, possibly by a stray bullet as the man fired more than 12 rounds from a handgun, Moraine Police Sgt. Andrew Parish said during a news conference Friday. “This was a feud between the two men, apparently over a female,” Parish said.The woman the men were feuding over also works at the plant, but it wasn’t clear if she was there at the time. She wasn’t injured, Parish said.Jeffrey James Allen III, 28, of Dayton, was pronounced dead at the scene. The shooter was alert and conscious when officers found him outside the factory, Parish said. He underwent surgery at a hospital and was listed in critical but stable condition. No charges have been filed so far, but the investigation is ongoing. Police have not released his identity.The w...

Quebec updates climate change plan with $1B to reduce carbon emissions from buildings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

MONTREAL — The Quebec government says it will invest $1 billion to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings, which are responsible for almost 10 per cent of the province’s greenhouse gas emissions.Premier François Legault made the announcement today in his update to the government’s green economy plan, which covers a period between 2023 and 2028.About $215 million of that money will help fund projects for thermal waste treatment — methods that transform waste into energy that can be used for such things as heating.Legault says the government plans to create a rating system to assess the energy performance of large buildings.He says his updated plan will help the government reach 60 per cent of its goal of cutting greenhouse gases to 37.5 per cent below 1990 levels by the year 2030.The government says it will spend a total of $9 billion over five years to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to decarbonize the economy.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May ...

Tunisian leader calls meeting with Syria’s Assad ‘historic,’ buries memories of Arab Spring

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Smiles, a handshake and what Tunisian President Kais Saied called a “historic meeting” with the long-ostracized Syrian leader Bashar Assad.The talks between the two presidents, held before the start on Friday of the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, buried memories, and perhaps the legacy, of the Arab Spring which started in Tunisia 12 years ago. That series of uprising gave the North African country its first taste of democracy as protests rolled across the region, including in Syria. “Today, I am absolutely convinced of Tunisian support for Syria,” a statement from Saied’s office said after what it called the “historic” meeting. Tunisia, reborn after its 2011 revolution which toppled autocratic ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, was among the fiercest critics of Assad. But Saied has largely trampled the gains of Tunisia’s revolution since his 2019 election, notably by assuming near full powers after suspending the legislature in 2021 then dissolving...

Energy, telecom and technology stocks help lead S&P/TSX composite higher

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in the energy, telecommunications and technology sectors helped lead Canada’s main stock index higher in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were down.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 57.22 points at 20,354.31.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 93.05 points at 33,442.86. The S&P 500 index was down 6.70 points at 4,191.35, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.31 points at 12,659.53.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.05 cents US compared with 74.07 cents USon Thursday.The July crude contract was up six cents at US$72.00 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was up seven cents at US$2.66 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was up US$3.60 at US$1,963.40 an ounce and the July copper contract was up four cents at US$3.73 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Top House negotiator on debt limit says it’s time to ‘press pause’ as talks come to standstill

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top debt ceiling negotiator for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Friday it’s time to “press pause” on talks as negotiations with the White House came to an abrupt standstill at the Capitol.Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., tapped by McCarthy, R-Calif., to lead the talks, emerged from an hourlong session and said gaps remained between House Republicans and the Democratic administration.“It’s time to press pause because it’s just not productive,” Graves told reporters.Graves said the negotiations are “just unreasonable” and that it was unclear when talks would resume. President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to strike a deal with Republicans led by McCarthy as the nation careens toward a potentially catastrophic debt default if the government fails to increase the borrowing limit to keep paying the nation’s bills.Negotiators met for a third day behind closed doors at the Capitol with hopes of settling on an agreement this weekend before possible H...

Hundreds evacuated as suspected intentional wildfire hits western Spain

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:00:00 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Some 700 people were evacuated from four small towns in western Spain owing to a wildfire fanned by strong winds that has razed some 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres), officials said Friday. More than 400 firefighters, including 50 agents from the army’s Military Emergency Unit, are battling to bring the fire under control in Las Hurdes, a hilly area west of Madrid. Officials suspect the fire, which began Wednesday night, was started intentionally as they say two separate blazes erupted almost simultaneously. The president of the surrounding region of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara, said the person responsible “knew very well what they were doing” to cause the most damage by starting the blaze at night, making it more difficult to extinguish. Many wildfires in Spain are believed by police and officials to be started intentionally. The reasons why are said to vary.Fernández Vara said the problem Friday was not a lack of means to fight the blaze, but the winds.“With 6...