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Ticker: Wage growth slowing sharply, report; New cyber-attack targets businesses

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:31 GMT

Wage growth in U.S. job postings has been softening for more than a year now, and at the current rate it could return to pre-pandemic levels by early 2024, according to Indeed Hiring Lab.Advertised wages rose 5.3% in May from a year earlier, a marked decline from the peak of 9.3% in January 2022, according to Indeed’s wage tracker. The slowdown has been broad-based across industries, but it’s been particularly pronounced in low-wage sectors — for the type of positions that saw gains as the economy recovered from the pandemic.At its current rate of deceleration, wage growth would return to its 2019 average of 3.1% late this year or early in 2024, according to Indeed.Among the sectors that are seeing a sharp pullback is the software industry, which has been through waves of layoffs in recent months following a hiring spree at the height of the pandemic.The Atlanta Fed’s wage growth tracker also dropped to 6.1% in April after peaking at 6.7% in June last year.New cyber-hack targets bus...

Recipe: Make these brownies to give to Dad on Father’s Day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:31 GMT

I was surprised that the late film star, Katharine Hepburn, was legendary in her day for her brownies. As a youngster, I adored the film roles she portrayed, quirky women often with an endearing rebellious streak. I never imagined that she had found baking fame until I read a revised recipe for her brownies in David Lebovitz’s “The Great Book of Chocolate” (Ten Speed Press).Lebovitz wrote that her recipe was fine, but to reflect more current tastes he tweaked it to include additional chocolate and chocolate chips. They are delicious, rich in chocolate goodness with the crunch of chopped nuts, either pecans or walnuts. The texture somewhere between cakey and fudge-like.They would make a welcome gift for Dad this Father’s Day, June 18. They are scrumptious on their own, but I like them served topped with ice cream or whipped cream and fresh strawberries. That’s how my dad would have liked them.Dave and Kate’s Remarkable BrowniesYield: 16 browniesINGREDIENTSSoft butter and flour for pr...

After 5-year-old Andover girl was killed in a crosswalk, her family pushes for pedestrian safety improvements

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:31 GMT

The devastated family of the 5-year-old Andover girl who was killed in a crosswalk last month is calling on town officials to make pedestrian safety improvements in the wake of the tragedy.In early May, Sidney Mae Olson died after a large truck hit and killed her in an Elm Street downtown crosswalk. The 5-year-old girl was on her way to art class with her family.Sidney’s father Eric Olson and a group of concerned parents called “Sidney’s Rainbows” are now pushing for safer streets in Elm Square and across town.“In an instant, we had an impossible void in our lives,” Olson said in a statement, which he plans to read at a community forum about pedestrian safety on Thursday. “My wife and I lost a daughter. My son lost his big sister. Her classmates lost a dear friend.“No one should die in a crosswalk,” he added. “Yet, there have been three similar incidents in the last 18 months on Elm Street alone. Andover is thriving, but th...

15 pieces of gear worth packing for summer adventures

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:31 GMT

When thinking of summertime essentials, perhaps pool floaties and sunscreen come to mind. Beachgoers will want to pack their umbrellas, sunshades and perhaps a boogie board for a fun day on sunny shores.While camping becomes less desirable during the Sunshine State’s sweltering summer months (unless in an air-conditioned RV), there are still plenty of outdoor adventures worth embarking on. Whether it’s water-based excursions on a paddleboard, workouts or nighttime get-togethers in the backyard, there are small pieces of gear that can enhance outdoor activities.From the back patio to the trailhead, here are 15 pieces of equipment and accessories that are worth packing when venturing outdoors this summer. These items can be found for less than $300 each and everything pictured belongs to me personally.Central Florida Explorer Patrick Connolly shows off his favorite gear for summertime adventures including the ENO DoubleNest hammock at Lake Baldwin Park on May 31, 2023. (Patrick Connol...

MLB, WNBA postpone games due to smoke from Canadian wildfires

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball postponed games in New York and Philadelphia on Wednesday night because of poor air quality caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires.A National Women’s Soccer League game in New Jersey and an indoor WNBA game set for Brooklyn were also called off Wednesday amid hazy conditions that have raised alarms from health authorities.The New York Yankees’ game against the Chicago White Sox was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader starting at 4:05 p.m. on Thursday, and the Philadelphia Phillies’ game against the Detroit Tigers was reset for 6:05 p.m. on Thursday, originally a day off for both teams.“These postponements were determined following conversations throughout the day with medical and weather experts and all of the impacted clubs regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in both cities,” MLB said in a statement.The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert for New York City, saying: “the New York S...

S&P/TSX composite down Wednesday, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:31 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index moved lower Wednesday as the market digested an interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada, while U.S. markets were mixed. The Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75 per cent, the first increase since January. The raise was a response to inflation ticking unexpectedly higher in April after months of steady decline, said Kevin Burkett, portfolio manager at Victoria-based Burkett Asset Management.Inflation in April was 4.4 per cent year over year, up from 4.3 per cent in March. “It was breaking what was a very steep downtrend in inflation data,” said Burkett. While the market was initially caught by surprise at the Bank of Canada’s decision, it appears to have digested it and normalized as the day wore on, said Burkett. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 71.91 points at 19,983.69.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 91.74 points at 33,665.02. The S&P 500 index was down 16.3...

Canadian Pacific guilty of contempt of court around long work shifts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:31 GMT

OTTAWA — A Federal Court judge has found Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. guilty of contempt of court for employees working excessively long hours.The ruling says the rail operator failed in 22 instances in 2018 and 2019 to comply with cease-and-desist orders laid out by an arbitrator.The orders related to rest provisions that largely limit shifts to 10 or 12 hours, depending on the circumstances.Teamsters Canada president François Laporte says in a statement that Canadian Pacific recklessly puts lives on the line in forcing train crews to work longer than allowed.Canadian Pacific says it disagrees with the Federal Court decision and plans to file an appeal.The June 6 decision comes less than two months after one of the railway’s freight trains went off the tracks due to a washout in Maine that saw locomotives and four derailed lumber cars go up in flames.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:CP)The Canadian Press

Ex-Florida State football player acquitted in fatal shooting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:31 GMT

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida jury agreed Wednesday that a former Florida State football player acted in self-defense when he fatally shot one man and injured another several hours after he scuffled with his girlfriend. Travis Rudolph, 27, was found not guilty of one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder by a Palm Beach County jury, the Palm Beach Post reported. The 12-member panel also chose not to convict Rudolph on lesser offenses, including second-degree murder and manslaughter.Rudolph was first arrested in April 2021 after four men went to his home several hours after he fought with his girlfriend, investigators said. At some point, Rudolph armed himself with a semi-automatic rifle and opened fire on them as they drove away, killing Sebastien Jean-Jacques and wounding Tyler Robinson. Rudolph testified that the men were armed and shooting back at him. Investigators said they never found evidence of the fleeing men returning fire.Rudolph...

Activist: Kidnapping, killings of call center workers in Mexico has been happening for years

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:31 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A missing-persons activist in western Mexico said Wednesday that call center workers have been going missing in Mexico since at least 2017, and that authorities have done little to solve the cases.Activist Hector Flores says authorities’ failure to investigate those disappearances helped set the stage for what authorities believe was a mass kidnap-killing of eight young call center employees last month.The violent Jalisco cartel operates call centers in the western state of the same name; the centers target Americans in timeshare frauds. The cartel is suspected of killing people who try to quit working at these call centers.“”There have been similar cases,” with one person going missing in 2017, another in 2019 and two in 2021, said Flores, the co-founder of the volunteer search group “Light and Hope.” Three of those victims worked at call centers that sell timeshares, said Flores, whose own son has been missing in a separate case since 2021.A U.S. official ...

Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, begins erupting after 3-month pause

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:24:31 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, began erupting on Wednesday after a three-month pause, displaying spectacular fountains of mesmerizing, glowing lava that’s a safe distance from people and structures in a national park on the Big Island. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement that a glow was detected in webcam images from Kilauea’s summit early in the morning, indicating that an eruption was occurring within the Halemaumau crater in the summit caldera.The images show fissures at the base of the crater generating lava flows on the crater floor’s surface, the observatory said.Before issuing the eruption notice, the observatory said increased earthquake activity and changes in the patterns of ground deformation at the summit started Tuesday night, indicating the movement of magma in the subsurface.“We’re not seeing any signs of activity out on the rift zones right now,” said Mike Zoeller, a ...