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Jeff Bezos’s fund has now given almost $640 million to help homeless families

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:10 GMT

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ fund to support homeless families announced $117 million in new grants on Tuesday to organizations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, which is a part of a $2 billion commitment Bezos made in 2018 to support homeless families and to run free preschools. That brings the amount granted by the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund to benefit homeless families to almost $640 million. Bezos’ partner, former news anchor Lauren Sánchez, who is also the vice president of the Bezos Earth Fund, thanked the grantee organizations in a video posted to both her and Bezos’ social media accounts. The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte received a second grant this year after first being awarded $5 million by the fund in 2018. Deronda Metz, director of social services, said they can use the funding in more flexible ways than the government grants they receive, including to renovate a 100 room hotel, hire additional staff and expand the facility for an on-campus Boys &am...

Authorities responding to landslide along Alaska highway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:10 GMT

WRANGELL, Alaska (AP) — Authorities in southeast Alaska were responding Tuesday to a landslide that scattered debris along a highway.In a notice posted on social media, the City and Borough of Wrangell said local search and rescue efforts were ongoing to sift through the debris near the community of about 2,000 people, located about 155 miles (249 kilometers) south of Juneau. Local crews were working with authorities that included the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska State Police and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The posting didn’t indicate whether anyone was missing or trapped. The posting said a large-scale search and rescue mission wasn’t feasible due to the site being unstable and hazardous. A state geologist would first have to assess the site to ensure conditions were safe before proceeding, it said. The Associated Press

S&P/TSX composite down nearly 100 points, U.S. stock markets also lower

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:10 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down nearly 100 points in late-morning trading as losses in the industrial, utility and technology stocks helped lead the way lower.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 93.07 points at 20,153.40.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 82.28 points at 35,068.76. The S&P 500 index was down 17.33 points at 4,530.05, while the Nasdaq composite was down 122.12 points at 14,162.41.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.08 cents US compared with 72.85 cents US on Monday.The January crude contract was down 23 cents at US$77.60 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was unchanged at US$3.05 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was up US$26.70 at US$2,007.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down a penny at 3.81 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) The Canadian Press

Champagne expects NextStar to bring in “very few” foreign workers to help build plant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:10 GMT

OTTAWA — Federal Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he expects NextStar Energy Inc. to bring in “very few” foreign workers to help transfer battery manufacturing technology as Canada establishes a new industry.  Speaking in Ottawa, Champagne says the transfer of technology and knowledge will help set up the electric vehicle battery industry for decades of success.He says he spoke with the CEO of NextStar on Monday, along with the head of Stellantis that co-owns NextStar with LG Corp., and was reassured by their commitments to hire Canadians.Labour groups and politicians raised concerns in recent days after a report from Windsor police that they were helping prepare for a potential 1,600 workers from South Korea to come and help build the plant.NextStar chief executive Danies Lee confirmed Monday that the company still plans to hire about 2,500 Canadians to run the plant, and is also “engaging” up to 2,300 local and regional tradespeople to hel...

Stockholm city hall backs Olympic bid ahead of key IOC meeting for 2030-2034 Winter Games candidates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:10 GMT

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The Stockholm city council publicly supported Sweden’s latest bid to host the 2030 Olympics ahead of key meetings Tuesday for potential Winter Games hosts.An International Olympic Committee panel is taking online presentations from would-be hosts to prepare for decisions scheduled for next week. The IOC executive board aims to pick preferred candidates for staging the Winter Games in 2030 and 2034 when it meets in Paris over three days through Dec. 1.“All national Olympic committees with a current interest in hosting the Olympic Winter Games have been offered the opportunity for their project leaders to give a virtual update,” the IOC said Tuesday.While Salt Lake City is widely favored for 2034 — 32 years after hosting the 2002 Olympics — the options for 2030 are Sweden, France and Switzerland. The Swiss bid needs to win a vote Friday of national sports bodies to advance.Preferred candidates can then enter exclusive negotiations, known in Olympic jargon ...

TransAlta going greener: Power generator to spend $3.5B on renewables by end of 2028

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:10 GMT

CALGARY — One of Alberta’s largest power generators says more than two-thirds of its profits will come from renewable electricity production by 2028 — a major transformation for a company that once was one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the country.TransAlta Corp. announced an updated capital growth plan at its investor day on Tuesday which will see the company invest $3.5 billion in clean electricity generating and storage capacity by the end of 2028.The Calgary-based company, which has brought online more than 800 megawatts of wind and solar power since 2021 alone, said it will add an additional 1,750 MW of clean power within the next five years.Most of that new generation will be organic growth — developing wind and solar projects from scratch — though the company is also open to growth through mergers and acquisitions if the right opportunity comes along, said TransAlta CEO John Kousinioris in an interview.“What’s interesting about it is just th...

Munster family offers $15K reward after they were bound, robbed during home invasion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:10 GMT

MUNSTER, Ind. — A $15,000 reward has been offered by a Munster family who was targeted in a violent home invasion last month.At around 11:20 a.m. on Oct. 27, officers responded to a home in the 1400 block of Park West Circle on the report of an armed home invasion.A 60-year-old man, his 59-year-old sister and a 47-year-old extended family member were all bound, battered and robbed at gunpoint.Police determined that five male suspects were involved, utilizing two separate vehicles — A Nissan sedan and a gray or tan SUV.All three victims suffered non life-threatening injuries and the woman was transported to a local hospital.Both vehicles were recovered in Chicago.Detectives are asking the public's help identifying two persons of interest.One of the family members has offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.Anyone with information can call 219-836-6658.

iPhone users, do you hate texting Androids? It may soon get easier

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:10 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — You've likely experienced it before: with your iPhone, you try to text someone with an Android and find yourself face-to-face with those less-than-pleasing green text bubbles appearing on your phone. Emojis look different, group texts aren't as smooth, and seamless reactions to messages become "John Smith liked this image."That could soon change — sort of.An upcoming software update will bring Rich Communication Services (RCS) to iPhones, Apple has confirmed to USA Today and 9to5Mac.If you're an iPhone user, you're likely already familiar with how your phone sends texts. When you text another iPhone and you're on Wi-Fi or cellular data, your iMessage is encrypted and appears as a blue bubble. Sometimes, like when texting an Android, your message will be sent as a green bubble, meaning it was sent via SMS (Short Message Service or basic texts) or MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service, used for photos and videos). What do the orange, green dots on my iPhone mean? Google uses...

Kel Mitchell talks 'Good Burger 2' on WGN Morning News

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:10 GMT

Chicago's very own Kel Mitchell stops by to tell us about his new film, "Good Burger 2" which reteams him with his All That co-star and friend Keenan Thompson. A few others from the original cast also return, along with performances from Kel's real life kids.Find it streaming on Paramount +, starting November 22.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.

Thomas Lennon is back in town with The State this weekend (and he still has a beef with Dean Richards)

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:49:10 GMT

The StateSaturday and SundayRiviera Theatre4746 N. Racine Ave.www.jamusa.com/riviera-theatre/Before his role in “Reno 911!”, Thomas Lennon, was known for the short-lived improv show “The State” on MTV.  Now he's bringing the hilarious stage show to Chicago with his former castmates this weekend at the Rivieria Theatre.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.