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More Americans plan vacations, even as they sour on the economy

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:08:47 GMT

Augusta Saraiva | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsAmericans might be fretting about the job market and inflation, but it’s not stopping them from splurging on vacations.Nearly half of consumers in August were planning a trip in the next six months — the highest share all year, according to Conference Board survey data Tuesday. And about one in five of them are going abroad, a record share in the data going back to the 1970s.Demand for international travel has largely recovered as Americans take advantage of reopening borders, a strong dollar and lower airfares in recent months. That’s prompting airlines to boost service and expand routes, and has helped drive a measure of spending abroad by US travelers to an all-time high earlier this year.The vacation plans reflect Americans’ incessant demand for experiences in a post-pandemic world. Despite an overall easing in consumer confidence in August as inflation and interest-rate expectations rose, many households are still buoyed by the healthy labo...

Search for escaped Pennsylvania murderer enters eighth day, residents say they’re feeling unsettled

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:08:47 GMT

By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA and MARYCLAIRE DALEWEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — As the hunt for an elusive murderer stretches into a second week, residents of suburban southeast Pennsylvania say they’re unsettled and perhaps frustrated — but not panicked — as hundreds of heavily armed searchers scour through roads, neighborhoods and dense woodlands.Danilo Souza Cavalcante, a 34-year-old from Brazil, escaped from the Chester County Prison on Aug. 31 by scaling a wall, climbing over razor wire and jumping from a roof. The breakout mirrored an earlier escape there in May and wasn’t detected by guards for a full hour, authorities say. “This is an outrage. It never should have happened,” said Chester County District Attorney Deb Ran at a news conference Thursday. Cavalcante has been spotted at least eight times since he escaped, said state police Lt. Col. George Bivens. The most recent was at around noon, when a civilian saw someone who looked like Cavalcante ...

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

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:08:47 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 Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:08:47 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 Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:08:47 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 Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:08:47 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 Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:08:47 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 Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:08:47 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 Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:08:47 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 Wed, 12 Feb 2025 21:08:47 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...