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Canada needs 300,000 new rental units to avoid gap quadrupling by 2026: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:51:20 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s rental housing shortage will quadruple to 120,000 units by 2026 without a significant boost in stock, Royal Bank of Canada said in a report Wednesday.In order to reach the optimal vacancy rate of three per cent, the report suggested Canada would need to add 332,000 rental units over the next three years, which would mark an annual increase of 20 per cent compared with the 70,000 units built last year.The research analyzed vacancy rate data released in January by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).Canada’s vacancy rate fell to 1.9 per cent in 2022, its lowest point in 21 years, from 3.4 per cent in 2020 and 2021.Competition for units also drove the highest annual increase in rent growth on record, by 5.6 per cent for a two-bedroom unit.Canada’s rental housing stock grew by 2.4 per cent in 2022, led by Calgary at 7.4 per cent and Ottawa-Gatineau at 5.5 per cent, while Toronto and Montreal saw the smallest percentage increases at 2.1 per c...

AP sources: Trump probe grand jury not meeting for the day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:51:20 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump over hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign will not meet Wednesday despite that being one of the days each week when the panel ordinarily convenes, according to four people familiar with the matter.The grand jurors were told to be on standby for Thursday, another day when the panel has been meeting, three of the people said. The reason for the postponement was not immediately clear, but it would indicate that a vote on whether or not to indict Trump will be at least temporarily pushed back.The people who confirmed that the grand jury would not be meeting as scheduled were not authorized to discuss those details on the record and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.The development comes amid mounting signs that the grand jury, which is probing payments to silence a porn actor who says she had a sexual encounter with Trump, is nearing the completion of its work....

Stratford man accused of threatening driver, smashing vehicle window in Durham Region

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:51:20 GMT

Police in Durham Region arrested a 31-year-old man accused in a violent road rage incident that started on Highway 401 in Whitby and ended up off the highway in Oshawa.Police say on Saturday a driver was travelling east on the 401 near Thickson Road when he saw a person in a vehicle behind him becoming “increasingly agitated” and believes the suspect threw an object at his vehicle.The victim followed the suspect off the highway, continuing east to Bloor Street West and Park Road South in Oshawa, where they both stopped.According to investigators, the suspect then walked up to the other vehicle, pointed an imitation firearm at the man and started to smash the driver side window and mirror of the vehicle.The man managed to get away from the suspect who then fled the area.Police haven’t said if the man was injured during the confrontation.Investigators managed to track down the suspect to a residence in Statford where he was arrested. While searching his home and vehi...

Activist investor wants Parkland to sell or spin off Burnaby refinery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:51:20 GMT

CALGARY — A U.S. activist investor has set its sights on Calgary-based Parkland Corp., urging the fuel retailer to consider selling or spinning off its Burnaby refinery.New York-based Engine Capital LP., which owns about a two per cent stake in Parkland, sent a letter to the company’s board on Wednesday. In the letter, Engine criticized Parkland for being “unable to translate its advantaged strategic position and quality assets into adequate returns for shareholders,” and said the company could achieve better performance by becoming a pure play fuel and convenience retailer and getting rid of non-core assets.“We are particularly troubled by Parkland’s staggering underperformance compared to Canadian convenience retailer champion, Alimentation Couche-Tard,” Engine managing partner Arnaud Ajdler and partner Brad Favreau wrote, adding the investment fund proposes Parkland sell or spin off its Burnaby, B.C. refinery as well as its heating oil and propane di...

Murdaugh trial gives unsolved death investigation a boost

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:51:20 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A mother whose son was found dead in the middle of a South Carolina road eight years ago is opening a private investigation into his death after raising almost $90,000 amid the publicity surround the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh.There is no current evidence linking Stephen Smith’s death to the Murdaugh family, the lawyers for the mother say. State investigators, who are also looking into Smith’s death, have also remained tight-lipped about taking over the case around the same time police said Murdaugh killed his wife and son. He is serving a life sentence for those killings.But the lack of evidence hasn’t stopped speculation. And that attention in turn helped Sandy Smith raise in less than two weeks more than $87,000 through Go Fund Me. Her goal was $15,000 — enough to pay to exhume her son’s body and have a private autopsy.“It’s important to me because I love my son and since I couldn’t protect him, I’m going to fight for him,” S...

2 Chicago officers injured in crash after driver runs red light on Far North Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:51:20 GMT

CHICAGO — Two Chicago officers were injured after a driver ran a red light and crashed into their police vehicle, according to authorities.The crash happened just before 2 a.m. Wednesday in the 6800 block of North Sheridan on the city's Far North Side.According to police, two officers were transported to an area hospital after their vehicle was struck in the intersection by a car that failed to stop at the red light.Three people were taken into custody, including a female juvenile that was transported to St. Francis Hospital in an unknown condition, police say. 78-year-old woman killed, 5 family members injured in North Side car crash No other injuries were reported. Police said the vehicle that struck the officers may have been stolen.

Celebrating 75 years of WGN-TV with Paul & Pat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:51:20 GMT

WGN's Morning News has been the most watched morning program for more than a dozen years. Partially for its extensive news coverage but also for the laughs that gets us up and rolling in the morning. As we continue to celebrate 75 years on the air, Paul Konrad and Pat Tomasulo are joining us this morning.Daytime Chicago airs weekdays on WGN from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Apple Music bug? Mystery playlists vex some users

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:51:20 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Have you noticed any unusual appearances — or disappearances — in your Apple Music application? You may be among some other users who say phantom playlists that don't belong to them are showing up in their libraries.Alternatively, some users say their own playlists (and saved songs) have disappeared completely. According to various Reddit threads, the phenomenon has been reported before and there doesn't appear to be a clear fix. Technology outlet The Verge and Apple news site 9to5Mac both note that the issue only seems to affect the Apple Music app on iOS (desktop). Dunkin’s newest item sounds like something Taco Bell would offer Nexstar reached out to Apple for comment and/or any possible guidance for users who may encounter this issue. "Found this random song uploaded to my library," one Reddit user explains in a thread. "I didn't add this." One reply offered consolation that while at least the song that was reportedly added was a "banger," they had "zero clue what'...

Rare parasite strain killed California sea otters, could pose human health risk: study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:51:20 GMT

(The Hill) -- An unusually virulent type of toxoplasmosis is killing California sea otters — and may pose an eventual public health threat to other marine animals and to humans, a new study has found.This deadly disease, thus far identified in four stranded otters, comes from a rare strain of the microscopic parasite Toxoplasma gondii, according to the study published Wednesday in Frontiers in Marine Science.While toxoplasmosis is common in sea otters and can be fatal, the authors stressed that this form appears to be especially vicious and capable of swiftly killing healthy adult animals.Because this strain of Toxoplasma has never been detected on California’s coast before, the researchers are assuming that it is a recent arrival.As such, they expressed concerns about potential contamination of the environment and the marine food chain — warning that such circumstances could pose a public health risk. Thus far, however, no infections have been reported in humans...

Ambulance and departing Southwest plane come within 173 feet at airport: 'Significant potential for collision'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:51:20 GMT

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. (WDVM) – A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 was taking off from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) in January when an ambulance crossed the same runway, coming within 173 feet of the plane, according to a Federal Aviation Administration analysis.The FAA's analysis of the incident shows that an Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicle crossed Runway 15R without authorization from air traffic control on Jan. 12, 2023. The Southwest flight had been cleared to take off from the same runway moments earlier."The closest estimated horizontal separation occurred at a distance of 173 feet," the FAA said. Airline investigating after flight attendants allegedly fight over passenger’s request Air traffic control recordings obtained by LiveATC.net captured the moment the Southwest flight was cleared for takeoff at around 1:50 p.m. that day. Seconds later, the fire and rescue vehicle was cleared to cross Runway 10 and instructed to "...