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US, global markets fall on banking turmoil; oil prices slide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

BANGKOK — Shares on Wall Street tumbled in premarket trading Friday as worries flared over turmoil in the banking sector and potentially worsening risks of recession. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1% before the bell and the benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.8%.Most U.S. bank stocks fell between 2% and 4%, dragged down by Deutsche Bank, which fell more than 10% on reports that the company was facing higher costs for insuring itself against default.Investors are worried that more banks might suffer a debilitating exodus of customers following the second- and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history. That turmoil is clouding the outlook for what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates after hiking them to market-rattling heights over the last year. The fear is that all the turmoil in the banking industry could cause a sharp pullback in lending to small and midsized businesses around the country. That could put more pressure on the economy, raising the risk for...

Onex signs agreement to move Gluskin Sheff wealth management advisor teams to RBC

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

TORONTO — Onex Corp. has signed an agreement to move its Gluskin Sheff wealth management advisor teams to RBC Wealth Management Canada (RBC WMC).Under the plan, RBC WMC will offer employment to all of the advisor teams of Gluskin Sheff, Onex’s private wealth business.Onex says Gluskin Sheff intends to wind down its wealth management and wealth planning operations not transferred to RBC WMC.The two firms have also agreed to work together to expand distribution of Onex investment products through RBC WMCOnex president Bobby Le Blanc says the deal will allow the company to focus on investing, asset management and product development while leveraging the scale and strength of one of the country’s largest wealth management platforms.RBC WMC has responsibility for $533 billion of assets under administration.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:ONEX, TSX:RY)The Canadian Press

1500 evacuated as Spain’s fire season starts early

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

MADRID (AP) — More than 1,500 people were evacuated as a major forest fire raged in Spain’s eastern Castellon province on Friday, marking an early start to the nation’s fire season amid bone dry conditions.Local officials said the fire had engulfed around 3,000 hectares of land since it broke out on Thursday, forcing residents from their homes and into shelters operated by the Red Cross and other charities.Ximo Puig, the president of the Valencia region that incorporates Castellon, told reporters the fire was “very early in the spring, very voracious from the beginning.”Puig added that the effects of climate change “are undeniable, so the perspective of firefighting must be considered on an annual basis.”Emergency services in the region said eight towns had been evacuated, including a home for older people in Montan. As of midday Friday, 18 planes and helicopters and more than 600 firefighters and soldiers were tackling the fire. The Spanish military and the nation’s eco...

Search continues in Waukegan for missing 21-year-old Navy sailor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

WAUKEGAN, Ill. — The search for the navy sailor continues almost a week after he failed to return to his base in North Chicago.Surveillance videos shows Seamus Gray along the water's edge which is why search crews have been focusing their search efforts near the harbor. Waukegan police say they will continue the search farther south near the Great Lakes area.  Seamus Gray, 21, was reported missing from Ibiza bar on North Genessee Street in Downtown Waukegan Friday night. Police say Gray and his friends were escorted out of the bar around 1:30 a.m. because they were intoxicated. Minutes later he was shown walking alone near Sheridan Road and Washington Street then walking along the Marina Harbor near the Metra station. Detectives said Gray did not report to the naval base before his 2 a.m. curfew.Search crews have spent the past week searching for Gray by air, water and by the lake using sonar technology. Police also say they are no longer detecting activity on his cell pho...

Postal carrier robbed of mail keys in Westchester

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

WESTCHESTER, Ill. — A U.S. postal carrier was robbed at gunpoint Monday in Westchester.Authorities received a 911 call in the 1900 block of Norfolk regarding a mail carrier who was robbed at gunpoint of their mail keys.Police believe a man wearing a ski mask fled the scene in a red BMW with tinted windows. Westchester Chief of Police Daniel Babich said he met with the local Post Office's manager. He recommended the use of silence panic devices to be installed in the vehicles, according to a press release. USPS to purchase 9,000 electric vehicles, install 14,000 charging stations Police said they are increasing patrols during delivery times.

Why are firing squads for executions being debated again?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The image of gunmen in a row firing in unison into the chest of a condemned prisoner may conjure up a bygone, less enlightened era.But the idea of using firing squads is making a comeback. Idaho lawmakers passed a bill this week seeking to add the state to the list of those authorizing firing squads, currently Mississippi, Utah, Oklahoma and South Carolina.Fresh interest comes as states scramble for alternatives to lethal injections after pharmaceuticals barred the use of their drugs. Bill to execute death row inmates by firing squad clears another hurdle, lawmaker suggests adding ‘hanging on a tree’ Some, including a few Supreme Court justices, view firing squads as less cruel than lethal injections despite the violence involved in riddling bodies with bullets. Others say it's not cut-and-dry, or that there are other factors to consider.Here is a look at the status of firing squads in the United States:WHEN WAS THE LAST EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD...

Trump warns of 'potential death and destruction' if he's indicted

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

Former President Donald Trump on early Friday morning argued that filing charges against him could result in “potential death & destruction” as he railed against the possibility of an indictment by the Manhattan district attorney. “What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?” Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after 1 a.m. Friday.“Why & who would do such a thing? Only a degenerate psychopath that truely hates the USA!” Trump wrote.The post marked an escalation in Trump’s barrage of attacks against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as a grand jury is weighing whether to indict Trump over hush-mone...

Starbucks can now help you order based on your zodiac sign

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

(WXIN) - Your next Starbucks order could be written in the stars. The coffee giant has launched Starbucks Star Signs, a partnership with astrology app Sanctuary that helps craft a drink order based on your zodiac sign.The new Starbucks Star Signs website asks users their astrological sign and whether they prefer a morning or afternoon drink before delivering a recommendation for their destined drink. Along with the grand drink reveal, each sign gets its own power words, spring color and flower. Nearly half of parents with adult children still pay their bills Some of the different suggestions the website churned out included a caramel macchiato for an Aries morning drinker, a cinnamon caramel cream nitro cold brew for a Scorpio afternoon drinker and a Passion Tango tea lemonade for Virgo afternoon drinkers.At the end of the reading, there's an option to order the drink.Sanctuary will also offer customers a chance to win a free reading to anyone who uploads their Starbucks Star Sign...

Florida principal resigns after parents complain about Michelangelo's 'David' statue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — The line between art and pornography is at the center of an education dispute after a Florida charter school principal resigned following accusations that middle school students were shown inappropriate adult content.At issue? Students in the school were shown images of Michelangelo's Renaissance period sculpture "David," leading to complaints that the children were shown pornographic material. ‘Toxic political ideology’: English professor fired over racial justice unit blames DeSantis Tallahassee Classical School, a private institution focused on "training the minds and improving the hearts of young people through a content-rich classical education in the liberal arts and sciences, with instruction in the principles of moral character and civic virtue," gave its principal an ultimatum to quit or be fired after three parents complained, according to reports by the Tallahassee Democrat."David" is a Renaissance Period sculpture depicting biblical hero Davi...

Caritas of Austin reopens Dining Hall after 3 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:27 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A downtown community staple reopened this week after the COVID-19 pandemic forced its doors closed in 2020. Caritas of Austin opened the Dining Hall for the first time in three years on Thursday. The community kitchen, which is located at 611 Neches St., has been open since 1964 but had to switch to to-go only during the pandemic. Where to find homelessness resources in Austin "We are reopening the dining room because we believe it's important for people to have the opportunity to come inside, take a break from the weather," Jo Kathryn Quinn, president and CEO of Caritas Austin, said. The kitchen serves between 250 and 300 meals per day. The dining hall will be open Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to noon.