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Train derails in Ayer, spilling trash and recycling from 10 containers

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:43:26 GMT

A train derailed in Ayer on Thursday, but authorities say that its contents do not pose a threat to area residents.The Ayer Fire Department said in a Facebook post at 12:13 p.m., around 40 minutes after the initial incident reports, that the scene is an “active incident” near Sculley Road and that the “railroad cars involved do NOT contain hazardous materials.” The department said it was working with railroad crews, local police and the Ayer Department of Public works to “mitigate this incident.”By the afternoon, freight company CSX confirmed to the Herald that a freight train operated by Springfield Terminals — a Springfield-based fuel company — “derailed five rail cars carrying ten intermodal containers holding solid waste on the Pan Am Southern rail line.”The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency clarified by around 1:12 p.m. that the “solid waste” in this case is trash and recycling.“There were no reported injuries to the crew, no hazardous materials ...

USS Theodore Roosevelt returns to San Diego

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:43:26 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) has returned to San Diego following an 18-month stay in Washington.The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is returning to Naval Air Station North Island after completing a docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, according to U.S. Navy officials.While homeported in Bremerton, WA, Theodore Roosevelt underwent maintenance to modernize the ship's combat efficiency and ensure sustained operational readiness, a news release said. San Diego health professionals quell fears as deadly infection spreads at ‘alarming rate’ nationwide According to Navy officials, upgrades to the ship included:Expanding the ship’s air dominance capabilities to support the F-35C Lightning II, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, and CMV-22B Osprey, as well as future platforms such as the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aircraft system.Installation of the Mark 38 Mod III Machine Gun System and...

A thing of the past: TTC to end sale of tokens on Friday

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:43:26 GMT

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) will officially end the sale of tokens this week, putting an end to the long-accepted form of fare payment.The TTC announced that March 24 is the last day tokens can be purchased from any location where fares are sold. While the transit system stopped selling tokens in 2019, they were still available at select third-party retailers.The TTC has transitioned to PRESTO, which now accounts for more than 90 per cent of TTC ridership.A spokesperson says that TTC customers can continue using previously purchased tokens or tickets to pay their fares. The cost of a fare using PRESTO is the same price as a token.PRESTO cards are available at the Fare Vending Machines at all subway stations, Shoppers Drug Mart locations, online at prestocard.ca and the TTC Customer Service Centre.The TTC first introduced tokens in 1954 after being produced by the Royal Canadian Mint.While the TTC initially considered the token a time-saver, the City of Toronto said many rid...

MPs vote in favour of including invisible disabilities in national housing strategy

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:43:26 GMT

OTTAWA — Members of Parliament have voted unanimously in favour of urging the government to address the needs of people with invisible disabilities in its national housing strategy.Liberal MP Arielle Kayabaga introduced the motion, which calls on the government to include an expert on disabilities in its National Housing Council.It also asks the government to formally recognize the barriers people with disabilities face when it comes to finding a home.The 10-year national housing strategy, which is the Liberal government’s plan to address the severe shortage of affordable housing across the country, has a $72-billion price tag. Its lofty goals include lifting more than half a million families out of housing need and cutting chronic homelessness in half — though a recent report from the auditor general pointed out that the government has not collected data to show how many people are homeless in Canada and questioned how it would track that goal.The first two phases of the rapi...

Disney World reaches union deal with minimum $18 hourly wage

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:43:26 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Unions for service workers at Walt Disney World reached a tentative deal with the company on Thursday that would raise the starting minimum wage from $15 to $18 an hour in a pact that could set the basement for starting pay throughout central Florida’s sprawling tourism industry.Disney World service workers who are in the six unions that make up the Service Trades Council Union coalition planned to vote next Wednesday on the contract proposal after rejecting an earlier offer that fell short of the $18 hourly minimum wage last month. The agreement covers around 45,000 service workers at the Disney theme park resort outside Orlando. Workers could see their hourly wages rise between $5.50 and $8.60 by the end of the five-year contract if it’s approved, union leaders said.“Securing an $18 minimum hourly rate this year, increasing the overall economic value of Disney’s original offer, and ensuring full back pay for every worker are the priorities un...

Most actively traded companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:43:26 GMT

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:Toronto Stock Exchange (19,459.92, down 72.86):Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Down 65 cents, or 1.58 per cent, to $40.53 on 12.2 million shares.Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE). Energy. Down $1.16, or 5.10 per cent, to $21.58 on 10.3 million shares.TC Energy Corp. (TSX:TRP). Energy. Down 68 cents, or 1.31 per cent, to $51.30 on 9.5 million shares.Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC). Financials. Down nine cents, or 0.37 per cent, to $24.37 on 9.1 million shares.Crescent Point Energy Corp. (TSX:CPG). Energy. Down six cents, or 0.66 per cent, to $9.02 on 9.1 million shares.Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD). Financials. Down 76 cents, or 0.97 per cent, to $77.33 on 9.1 million shares.Companies in the news:Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B). Up $1.74, or 2.82 per cent, to $63.56. Bombardier Inc. has upped its financial targets for 2025, as the plane maker looks to boost production of business jets amid a gr...

Russian officials seek another opposition activist’s arrest

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:43:26 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court on Thursday issued an order to arrest an opposition activist on charges of disparaging the military, and auhorities declared other activists and bloggers “foreign agents” amid efforts to muzzle criticism of Russia’s action in Ukraine. Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ordered the arrest of Maxim Katz, an opposition activist and blogger who has left Russia. He is accused of spreading false information about the Russian military, charges that carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years.Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine last February, Russian lawmakers approved legislation outlawing the disparagement of the Russian military or the spread of “false information” about what the Kremlin calls “the special military operation” in Ukraine.Courts across the country have increasingly handed out prison terms to critics of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.They included a prominent opposition politician, Ilya Yashin, who was sentenced ...

Gwyneth Paltrow’s lawyer asks about missing GoPro video

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:43:26 GMT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow’s attorneys asked the daughter of a man suing the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer over a 2016 ski collision about missing GoPro camera footage that they called “the most important piece of evidence” at trial Thursday.Steve Owens, Paltrow’s attorney, asked one of the man’s daughters, Polly Grasham, about emails exchanged with her father about the mysterious footage and the possibility that the lawsuit was filed against Paltrow because she was famous. The GoPro footage has not been found or included as evidence for the trial.“I’m famous … At what cost?” Terry Sanderson, the 76-year-old retired optometrist suing Paltrow, wrote in the subject line of an email to his family after the crash.Sanderson is suing Paltrow for more than $300,000 in damages, claiming that she skied recklessly into him on a beginner run at Deer Valley Resort seven years ago, breaking his ribs and leaving him with a concussion. Paltrow ha...

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew: 3 things to know

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:43:26 GMT

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified Thursday at a congressional hearing over concerns about user data collected by the popular video-sharing app and potential Chinese spying.Under his helm, TikTok reached 150 million users in the U.S., the majority of them teens and young adults who are attracted to the app’s simple interface and addictive algorithm that serves up short videos on just about any imaginable topic.Lawmakers have said they’re worried about American data falling into the hands of the Chinese government and claim it threatens national security and user privacy and could be used to promote pro-Beijing propaganda and misinformation. Chew attempted to persuade lawmakers not to pursue a ban on the app or force Chinese parent company ByteDance to give up its ownership stake, testifying that TikTok prioritizes the safety of young users. He says the company plans to store all U.S. user data on servers maintained and owned by the software giant Oracle.Here’s a closer lo...

Trudeau stayed in $6,000 London hotel suite for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:43:26 GMT

OTTAWA — The Prime Minister’s Office says Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, stayed in a $6,000 per night hotel suite while attending the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II.The stay at the Corinthia London hotel became the subject of public debate last fall when media honed in on the details of the $400,000 trip, after obtaining documents through access-to-information requests.But Trudeau’s office and Global Affairs Canada did not respond to questions last month about who stayed in the expensive river suite, which features a butler service.Opposition MPs on the government operations committee asked for a copy of all receipts and invoices associated with the trip last month.In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office says hotel prices surged significantly ahead of the funeral, and many London hotels were sold out as 500 heads of state and their delegations descended on the city.The room was booked on Sept. 9, one day after the Queen’s death.In N...