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Extreme weather risk changing Canada’s insurance industry, raising costs

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:33:53 GMT

OTTAWA — Climate change is driving up insurance rates and raising questions about whether private coverage will even be available for some Canadians in the future.The problem could mean the National Flood Insurance Program that Canada is developing to ensure access to affordable overland flood coverage might have to be expanded to wildfires, wind storms and hurricanes in short order.Statistics Canada’s latest inflation report showed home insurance costs were up 8.2 per cent nationally in June, compared with one year earlier. Increases were about 10 per cent in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, and nearly 12 per cent in Nova Scotia.Some of the increase to premiums was due to inflation, but Craig Stewart, vice-president of climate and federal affairs for the Insurance Bureau of Canada, said a big chunk of it was because global reinsurance companies re-evaluated Canada’s risk profile and jacked up their prices.Most companies that sell property insurance in Canada ...

NASA restores contact with Voyager 2 spacecraft after mistake led to weeks of silence

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:33:53 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft was back chatting it up Friday after flight controllers corrected a mistake that had led to weeks of silence. Hurtling ever deeper into interstellar space billions of miles away, Voyager 2 stopped communicating two weeks ago. Controllers sent the wrong command to the 46-year-old spacecraft and tilted its antenna away from Earth. On Wednesday, NASA’s Deep Space Network sent a new command in hopes of repointing the antenna, using the highest powered transmitter at the huge radio dish antenna in Australia. Voyager 2’s antenna needed to be shifted a mere 2%.It took more than 18 hours for the command to reach Voyager 2 — more than 12 billion miles (19 billion kilometers) away — and another 18 hours to hear back. The long shot paid off. On Friday, the spacecraft started returning data again, according to officials at California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.Voyager 2 has been hurtling through space since its launch in 1977 ...

Stock market today: Wall Street falls again to close out its first losing week in four

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:33:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell Friday to close out a rare losing week for Wall Street following mixed reports on the U.S. job market and two of the market’s most influential stocks.The S&P 500 sank 23.86, or 0.5%, to 4,478.03. It was the fourth straight drop for Wall Street’s main measure of health after it set a 16-month high at the start of the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also drifted between gains and losses through the day before ending with a loss. It dropped 150.27 points, or 0.4%, to 35,065.62, and the Nasdaq composite gave up 50.48, or 0.4%, to 13,909.24.Treasury yields tumbled in the bond market after a highly anticipated U.S. jobs report said hiring was a touch weaker last month than economists expected, though wages for workers rose more than forecast.The job market is in a precarious place, where investors want a reading that’s neither too hot nor too cold. On one hand, investors want it to remain strong enough to keep the economy out of a long-pr...

“Cuddling” is just what the doctor ordered for a 200-pound walrus calf rescued this week in Alaska

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:33:53 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A 200-pound (90 kilogram) walrus calf found alone and miles from the ocean on Alaska’s North Slope is being fed every three hours and receiving round-the-clock “cuddling” from doting animal welfare workers who are trying to keep the 1-month-old baby alive.The male Pacific walrus — who, so far, doesn’t have a name — was found Monday and flown a day later from the North Slope to Seward, where the Alaska SeaLife Center is based, a journey of at least 700 miles (1,126 kilometers). Staff with the nonprofit research facility and public aquarium are caring for the gigantic, brown, wrinkly-skinned baby, which was dehydrated and possibly fighting an infection. In an effort to mimic the near-constant care a calf would get from its mom, the walrus is receiving “round the clock ‘cuddling’” to keep him calm and aid in his development, the center said. It described the cuddling as trained staff giving the walrus “the option to have a warm body to lean up against, which...

Shaq visits his Big Chicken restaurant in Rosemont ahead of Lollapalooza DJ set

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:33:53 GMT

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Call it 'Shaqpalozza.'Shaquille O’Neal greeted customers at his Big Chicken restaurant in Rosemont on Friday, just hours before he was scheduled to take the Lollapalooza stage for a DJ set.Dozens gathered to see the 7-foot-1 basketball legend for the official ribbon-cutting for Big Chicken, which opened on July 11. Known for his many business ventures, the Hall of Famer called his dip into the chicken sandwich business a natural fit.  “I been in the food business for a while and was always inspired by chicken sandwiches,” Shaq said.   Shaq’s newest restaurant opens location in Chicagoland Founded in Las Vegas in 2018, Shaq was also heavily involved in creating the Big Chicken menu. Located at 9437 West Higgins Road, Shaq's latest venture is home to a neighbor of one of his favorite cities, Chicago.“I definitely have family here. A lot of friends here. A lot of battles against the Bulls here, but it's one of my favorite cities. That's why I'm glad a franchise ...

Group at suburban senior home shows there's no expiration date on friendship

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:33:53 GMT

VERNON HILL, Ill. — You often hear that things get better with age. A group of seniors from Vernon Hills have certainly found that to be true when it comes to friendships.Jim Novak and Steve Kohn say without the burden of child rearing and jobs friendships in their golden years feel different."Makes me feel secure and happy to have these people," Kohn said."You feel like you belong,” Novak said. “I think that's the best expression I can use. You feel like you belong."For several years now, they have traveled in a pack at Brookdale Hawthorn Lakes Senior Living Home. Their dinner table was a full-fledged men's roundtable until the day they made a new invite. More from Erin: Organization has compassion blooming in vacant lots on South Side "We noticed Bunny sitting by herself and we had an empty chair at our table," Novak said."Just because you're 85 doesn't mean you can't find your new best friend,” Tammy “Bunny” Hemmingway said. “And that's what I see all the time"The boys and Bunn...

Simone Biles in Chicagoland to compete in first event since 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:33:53 GMT

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL (AP) — Ignore the wedding band and it could have been 2019 for Simone Biles. Or 2016. Or 2014.Long before Tokyo. Long before the "twisties.” Long before two years off in which the gymnastics star took a step back, took a long look at the arc of her record-setting career and decided she wasn't done. Not quite yet.There she was walking onto the floor at NOW Arena on Friday on the eve of the U.S. Classic, her first meet since winning bronze on balance beam at the delayed 2020 Olympics, a medal she called among the sweetest she's ever earned.There she was laughing with her teammates. There she was running and stretching and flipping — and yes, occasionally twisting — with the casual ease she summoned so regularly when the seven-time Olympic medalist was at her peak.Those heady days may be over. Biles is 26 now and at a different place in her life. She married Green Bay Packers defensive back Jonathan Owens in April. Her Instagram feed is filled with images ...

APD: Man found dead in backyard of south Austin home

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:33:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department said Friday a man's death in south Austin isn't being investigated as a homicide.Around 11:35 a.m. Friday, police said a caller reported there was a person in the backyard of a home near the 5200 block of Emerald Meadow Drive, which is close to Stassney Lane between Menchaca Road and First Street.Officers found a man "obviously" dead when they arrived at the home, police said."It's an undetermined death at this time," APD Officer Andrew Horne said.It's unclear how that person was connected with the home or how they arrived in the backyard, APD said."Nothing obvious at all to point to cause of death and whether there would be foul play or not. Still undetermined. Still very fresh investigation," Horne said.

How to get free, on sale school supplies at weekend Back to School drives ahead of students' return

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:33:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Some Central Texas students will return to class this coming week, and school districts and communities are hosting Back-to-School events and school supply drives in preparation. Related: 76 Texas school districts have moved to four-day weeks Here are the events giving away free backpacks and school supplies on Saturday:4:12 Kids' annual Back to School Giveaway Event, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at 521 North Pecos Street, Lockhart;Georgetown Cultural Citizens Memorial Association's drive, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at 1200 West 17th Street, Georgetown;Round Rock ISD's Back to School Bash, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at 1801 Tiger Trail, Round Rock;Del Valle ISD's Back to School Bash, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 5201 Ross Road, Del Valle;Barton Creek Square's supply drive, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at 2901 South Capital of Texas Highway, Austin; and,Back to School Market Day, from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. at 5750 Williams Drive, Georgetown.Round Rock ISD's Back to...

Hottest temperatures still to come in Austin's longest heatwave on record

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:33:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin is in the midst of its longest stretch of consecutive 100° days on record. For the 28th day in a row Friday, temperatures hit the triple digits at Camp Mabry.A Heat Advisory and Excessive Heat Warning are in effect this weekend for dangerously high temperatures from midday through the afternoon and evening. A Red Flag Warning is also in effect for dangerous fire weather conditions, as fires that may form will spread rapidly under these conditions.The next 7 days appear to be the hottest stretch of the summer yet -- with daily record high temperatures forecast almost every afternoon and not a drop of rain in sight. It appears likely that Austin's stretch of 100°+ days will extend to 40 or more days. BLOG: Forget the heat: Here's when cooler air usually comes Austin Interactive Weather Stats (2023) Staying cool is paramount in this heat wave but many of your fellow citizens still have a difficult time doing so. Consider supporting our ongoing KXAN Summer F...