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Affordability crisis putting Canadian dream at risk: poll

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

An affordability crisis is putting the Canadian dream at risk for immigrants, according to a new Leger poll done exclusively for OMNI News.   The survey finds two-in-five (42 per cent) immigrant households are struggling to make ends meet, with the number increasing to 54 per cent when surveying those who moved to Canada within the last five years. It’s not a surprise to Mary Ann Llanera and Vanessa Viloria. Factory workers by day and cleaners by night, they each work two jobs to afford living in Canada – 13 years after arriving from the Philippines. On top of this, they also do what many immigrants do: send money back home. “Monday to Friday, you’re going from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., five hours of sleep,” said Viloria. “Time is precious now that you have to be awake because one day you’ll sleep forever.”The Leger-OMNI poll, one of the largest polling samples of immigrants in recent years, surveyed 1,522 immigrants across Canada between Oct. 18 and 25. It is one of the few poll...

First Quantum reduces operations at Cobre Panama further as blockade continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

TORONTO — First Quantum Minerals Ltd. says it has reduced operations at its Cobre Panama copper mine further and warns if a blockade of small boats at the mine’s port continues it will have to temporarily halt production.The company says it is down to one remaining ore processing train and that without shipments arriving at the mine’s port, it expects to run out of supplies for the on-site power plant later this week.People in Panama have been protesting an operating agreement between the company and the government for the mine that has raised nationalist anger as well as environmentalist objections.First Quantum says the blockade by the boats has affected the delivery of supplies for the mine’s on-site power generation plant, which is necessary for full operations.It has also affected the loading of copper concentrate onto ships. The company says if the blockade continues it will have to ramp down the remaining processing train this week and temporarily halt produ...

Airbnb names Klain, former White House Chief of Staff, as chief legal officer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

Airbnb has named Ron Klain, former White House Chief of Staff for President Joe Biden, as its chief legal officer. Klain was President Biden’s chief of staff during his first two years in office. He was previously chief of staff to then-Vice President Biden. He held the same position under Vice President Al Gore at 34 years old, making him the youngest chief of staff to a vice president in American history. Klain was also chief legal officer at venture capital firm Revolution, which was started by AOL founder Steve Case. Klain’s appointment takes effect at the start of the year. He will report to Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky. The Associated Press

Italy is outraged by the death of a young woman in the latest suspected case of domestic violence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italy has erupted in outrage over the death of a young woman, allegedly at the hands of her possessive ex-boyfriend, with the Italian premier vowing to crack down further on domestic violence that has claimed the lives of more than 50 women so far this year.Police in Germany over the weekend arrested Filippo Turetta, who had been on the run since Nov. 11, when he was last seen fighting with 22-year-old Giulia Cecchettin, hitting her in a physical attack that was captured by roadside video cameras. Cecchettin’s body, reportedly with multiple stab wounds, was found wrapped in plastic on Saturday in a ditch near Lake Barcis, in the province of Pordenone north of Venice.Italian newspapers had been consumed with the search for them both, given multiple reports from friends and family that Turetta had refused to accept Cecchettin’s decision to end the relationship. Cecchettin’s sister, Elena, had said she had been concerned about Turetta’s possessiveness of her sis...

Live updates | Shell hits Gaza hospital, killing 12, as heavy fighting breaks out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

A shell hit the second floor of a hospital in northern Gaza, killing at least 12 people, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry and a medical worker, as Israeli troops focus on clearing medical facilities where they say Hamas militants take cover. Heavy fighting broke out around the Indonesian Hospital, which has housed thousands of patients and displaced people for weeks.The fighting came a day after the World Health Organization evacuated 31 premature babies from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the territory’s largest, where they were among more than 250 critically ill or wounded patients stranded there days after Israeli forces entered the compound.Israel says Hamas uses civilians and hospitals as shields, while critics say Israel’s siege and relentless aerial bombardment amount to collective punishment of the territory’s 2.3 million Palestinians after Hamas’ Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel.More than 11,500 Palestinians — two-thirds of them women and minors — have been kille...

Kimberly Palmer: Taking these financial steps could help post-divorce recovery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

Jamie Lima remembers his divorce six years ago as one of the most emotionally draining and financially challenging experiences of his life. As a result, he resolved to use his professional background as a certified financial planner to help other people going through similar situations.“I want to make sure other people don’t step on the same land mines and be an advocate for them,” says Lima, founder of the Ramona, California-based Allegiant Divorce Solutions, a financial planning company that helps people going through divorce.While the financial aspect of divorce is often overshadowed by the emotional impact, rebuilding finances after the dissolution of a marriage can be an integral part of overall recovery. Lima and other financial experts recommend following these steps to navigate the financial challenges post-divorce:ADJUST TO YOUR NEW CASH FLOWA separation of finances after a divorce may mean you have to do more with less. “You want to start to look at, ‘If I walk away with h...

Some nurse practitioners in Canada not being paid for administering MAID

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — For the past year, Ellen Gretsinger, a nurse practitioner in Ontario’s Niagara region, has been providing patients with medically assisted deaths — and not getting paid for it.She has a full-time nursing job and a side gig offering virtual care, and in the evenings and on weekends, assesses patients for medical assistance in dying — known as MAID — and delivers the procedure. Like many provinces, Ontario does not have a mechanism for nurse practitioners to take on independent work and be paid for it, like a fee-for-service structure often in place for doctors.And demand for MAID is growing across the country. So Gretsinger does the work for free. She believes in it, especially after watching her mother suffer before she died of cancer.“I just feel that when people are suffering, and this is something that they’ve been told that they can access, then access needs to be there,” Gretsinger said in a recent interview. “So that’...

Two 14-year-old boys found shot to death in alley on South Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

CHICAGO — An investigation is underway after two 14-year-old boys were found shot to death in an alley on the city's South Side, police say.According to Chicago police, the boys were found in an alley in the 800 block of East 89th Place in Chatham just before 2:30 p.m. Saturday.  3 people, including police officer, injured in car crash on South Side Officers say both victims suffered gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on the scene by Chicago fire officials.Currently, it is unclear what led to the shooting and police say no arrests have been made.Authorities have not yet identified anyone involved and an investigation is now underway. Man accused of promoting prostitution arrested after allegedly failing to appear for court date Anyone with information on the deadly shooting is asked to call CPD Area Two Detectives at 312-747-8273.Tips for police can also be filed at CPDtip.com. Tips can be left anonymously.

Monday Forecast: Temps in upper 40s with late day showers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Temperatures in upper 40s Monday with cloudy, late day showers. Winds: E 10-15 G25. High: 48. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Cloudy tonight with rain showers. Winds: E 10-15 G25. Low: 41.Tuesday Forecast: Cloudy, rain showers, breezy. Winds: NNW 10-15 G30. High: 44.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

El Niño-induced wet winter could begin inundating California next month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

(The Hill) -- Meteorologists are anticipating strong El Niño conditions this winter, with widespread wetness likely to drench much of the California coast as soon as next month and persisting into spring. “Currently, we have El Niño conditions, strong El Niño conditions at that. And those are continuing to intensify,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles said during a recent webinar on the subject. “Models suggest that the current El Niño event will further strengthen it potentially into a very strong, or a quote-unquote, ‘super’ El Niño event, within the next couple of months,” he added. El Niño is one of two phases in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation phenomenon — the stage in which trade winds weaken and warm Pacific Ocean water moves toward the Americas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In the northern U.S. and Canada, El Niño tends to come with drier and warmer co...