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Legal sports betting opens to fanfare in Kentucky; governor makes the first wager at Churchill Downs

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear plunked down a $20 bet Thursday on two home-state college football teams — and against an arch-nemesis school — in a quick transaction signaling that legal sports wagering is off and running in the Bluegrass State.The Democratic governor placed the first sports bet at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, fulfilling a pledge that his administration would launch sports wagering in time for the NFL regular season.“This is entertainment,” Beshear said. “It’s what Kentuckians were looking for. It’s going to boost tourism. It’s going to make sure we don’t lose that many people to Vegas in the first couple rounds in the NCAA tournament.”With an eye toward public approval from voters in a state election year, the governor bet that the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville football teams will win more games this season than oddsmakers predict. A third part of the $20 parlay, all of which must happen for Beshear to ...

Concerns about ongoing inflation pressures weigh on TSX, U.S. markets

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index moved lower Thursday on broad-based weakness a day after the central bank chose to hold its key interest rate, while U.S. markets were mixed. Ongoing concern over inflationary pressures and the future of interest rates continued to put pressure on equities as bond yields rose, said Macan Nia, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife Investment Management. “As we entered September, global markets, especially in the U.S., were priced for perfection. There was this notion … that the Federal Reserve was going to cut six times next year in 2024, and it was also the sentiment that we had maybe perhaps avoided a recession in the U.S.,” said Nia. But that made markets vulnerable this month, he said. “The focus on inflation, the focus on bonds as a result is not going away anytime soon.”The S&P/TSX composite index was down 94.88 points at 20,132.08.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 57.54 points at 34,500.73. The S&P...

Man struck by tree while cleaning hurricane debris is third Florida death from Hurricane Idalia

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

CROSS CITY, Fla. (AP) — An elderly man who was cleaning debris from Hurricane Idalia in north Florida when a tree fell on him has been declared the state’s third death from the Category 3 storm, officials said Thursday.The 90-year-old man died Tuesday in Dixie County after a tree fell on a tractor he was operating, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Hurricane Idalia made landfall with 125 mph (201 kph) winds across the state in Florida’s remote Big Bend region.Other Idalia-related deaths in Florida confirmed by the state’s 25 local district medical examiners are a man who died in a traffic crash near Gainesville hours before Idalia made landfall on Aug. 30 and a windsurfer who went missing that same day off Florida’s Space Coast.A man in Valdosta, Georgia, also died when a tree fell on him as he tried to clear another tree out of the road, according to the Lowndes County Sheriff Office.The Associated Press

VIA Rail re-introducing some Ontario round trips this fall

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

VIA Rail Canada Inc. (VIA Rail) announced on Thursday it’s ramping up service back to pre-pandemic levels by re-introducing two round trips this fall.The routes include Toronto and Ottawa and one round trip between London and Toronto, starting this October.A VIA Rail spokesperson said passengers can start booking trips on train 82/83 as of Thursday and on the other returning frequencies over the next week.Photo: VIA Rail Canada.VIA Rail said to accommodate the changes, the Saturday trip on train 44 will be cancelled starting October 28.Mario Péloquin, President and Chief Executive Officer of VIA Rail, said the introduction of VIA Rail’s 32 new trainsets is already yielding positive results.“Recent increases in equipment availability, coupled with intense recruitment and training efforts, are now allowing us to reintroduce these high-demand frequencies,” Péloquin said.“As we continue to strike a balance between meeting our passengers’ evolving trav...

Man charged with aiding Whitmer kidnap plot says scheme didn’t seem serious

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

One of three men accused of assisting a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer testified in his own defense Thursday, portraying himself as a scared participant in a daytime ride to see her vacation home in northern Michigan.Eric Molitor and twin brothers William Null and Michael Null are charged with providing material support for terrorist acts.Molitor said Whitmer’s name didn’t come up when he was encouraged by the scheme’s leader, Adam Fox, to go to Antrim County to check out a “high-profile vacation house” in August 2020.But Molitor said he became anxious when he learned that it was the governor’s lakeside house in Elk Rapids. He was in a pickup truck with Fox and an FBI informant when they twice drove by the property.“What do I say? How do I act? What do I do? How do I get out of this situation?” Molitor told the jury. “I don’t have training. I don’t have backup. I got nothing.”Molitor’s decision to testify was a rar...

Sajjan says Ottawa looking at disaster response options in wake of wildfires

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s record-setting wildfire season is spurring the federal government to consider how to tackle future fires, floods or earthquakes.Minister for Emergency Preparedness Harjit Sajjan said Thursday that could mean a more national approach to disaster response, as the government announced $65 million in federal funding for wildfire response in six provinces and territories.“We’re looking at all different types of disasters, doing the lessons learned and we’ll come out with the appropriate response,” Sajjan said at a news conference that included several other federal cabinet ministers and MPs.“I would say all options are currently on the table, but we don’t have an answer for you yet,” said the minister responding to a question about Canada forming a national force to battle wildfires. “We’re looking at wildfires, yes, but we also need to look at floods. We also need to be ready for potential earthquakes.”F...

Former FTX crypto executive pleads guilty to making millions in illegal campaign contributions

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A former top executive at the failed FTX cryptocurrency exchange pleaded guilty Thursday to making tens of millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to U.S. politicians and engaging in a criminal conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business.Ryan Salame, the former co-chief executive of FTX Digital Markets, is the fourth high-ranking official at the company or its affiliates to plead guilty to criminal charges. Under a deal with prosecutors, he agreed to forfeit up to $1.55 billion in assets. He could also be called as a witness to testify at the trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who was arrested last year in the Bahamas and extradited to the U.S. to face charges that he committed a host of crimes while running the popular digital currency trading platform.Salame, 30, entered his plea before a judge in Manhattan, admitting to the court that he illegally used millions of dollars from a hedge fund controlled by Bankman-Fried to make poli...

Stock market today: Wall Street stumbles in mixed trading as Big Tech stocks drop again

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street slipped in mixed trading Thursday as the threat of high interest rates continues to dog Big Tech stocks. The S&P 500 fell 14.34, or 0.3%, to 4,451.14 for its third straight loss. The Nasdaq composite was hit particularly hard by the drop for tech stocks, and it sank 123.64, or 0.9%, to 13,748.83. The Dow Jones Industrial Average held up better than the rest of the market because it has less of an emphasis on tech, and it rose 57.54 points, or 0.2%, to 34,500.73.Stocks felt pressure from the bond market, where yields rose earlier in the week after a report showed stronger growth for U.S. services industries last month than economists expected. Yields remained high after a report on Thursday said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected.While such reports are encouraging for the economy, indicating a long-predicted recession is not near, they could also keep conditions humming strongly enough to push upward on inflati...

Alberta enters global lithium race with opening of first extraction pilot project

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

OLDS, Alta. — Alberta got out of the starting gates in the global critical minerals race Thursday with the opening of the province’s first lithium extraction pilot project.At his company’s site just east of the town of Olds in central Alberta, E3 Lithium CEO Chris Doornbos called the occasion the start of a “new era” for the province’s traditionally oil-and-gas-dominated economy.“Without forsaking our past, the lithium industry opens up a whole new industry, using our existing skill set,” Doornbos said.“The opportunity to be a global leader, and to make Alberta a lithium jurisdiction, is really and truly here.”Lithium, a light metal, is in demand around the globe right now because it is a key component in electric vehicle batteries.Currently, the world’s biggest lithium producers are Australia, Chile and China. However, it has long been known that Alberta is home to one of the world’s largest lithium deposits, located deep ...

TIFF’23: Perfect Days and the simplicity of life

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

Complexity has become a large part of our lives. Using numerous social medias, keeping up multiple friendships and relationships, learning all of the latest celebrity drama. It can be too much for many, who may find themselves yearning for simplicity. For the protagonist of this film, what makes a day perfect is simplicity.#TIFF23 Perfect Days is another fantastic film by Wim Wenders, centered around a powerful yet simple performance by Kōji Yakusho. It's the one film I've seen at the festival that I can't wait to rewatch as soon as possible.— James Mackin @ TIFF 23 (@JamesMackin10) September 7, 2023Perfect Days is a Japanese film directed by German filmmaker Wim Wenders (who previously made Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire, and Pina). It stars beloved Japanese actor Kōji Yakusho (from Cure and Babel) as a man called Hirayama. He is an aging man working as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo, living a very structured and simple life where every day is almost exactly the same. B...