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SNC-Lavalin stock soars as it looks to U.S. for growth, and M&As — eventually

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:38:18 GMT

MONTREAL — SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. sees the United States as ripe with growth potential in energy and infrastructure, key areas that helped the company swing to a profit last quarter — and sent its stock skyward.In the three months ended March 31, SNC rode its engineering services and nuclear divisions to net earnings nearly 15 per cent higher than a year earlier. The former segment boosted its backlog 25 per cent to a record $4.8 billion, while nuclear tacked on almost $1 billion more, lengthening its order list by 23 per cent.The fresh figures Tuesday pushed up the company’s share price by $3.90 or 12.2 per cent to close at $35.88 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The jump marked a nearly 47 per cent increase from a year earlier.SNC hopes to seize on its recent successes with further growth via mergers and acquisitions, particularly south of the border — but not immediately — said CEO Ian Edwards.“We continue to achieve record-high backlog in this growing market. Our posit...

Discord forces members to change usernames, discord erupts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:38:18 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The social app Discord, a favorite of gamers, inadvertently stirred internal strife after announcing last week that it will force its millions of members to pick new usernames. Now the question is whether that the change will escalate into all-out warfare that could include players threatening one another in order to seize control of popular names.The issue may sound trivial compared to real-life concerns such as mass shootings and killer storms. But it’s a big deal for people who rely on the mid-sized social network to recruit fellow gamers, swap virtual weapons and organize strategy in multiplayer games. A Reddit thread on the change drew more than 4,000 comments, the vast majority of them angry or at least unhappy. Discord, which says it has 150 million monthly active users, has no plans to reconsider the new policy, according to a spokesman.WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH DISCORD USERNAMES?Discord users have long been free to choose any name they wanted, even one...

S&P/TSX composite closes flat Tuesday, U.S. markets move lower

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:38:18 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was flat Tuesday, reversing minor losses from earlier in the day, while U.S. markets moved lower. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.58 points at 20,585.73.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 56.88 points at 33,561.81. The S&P 500 index was down 18.95 points at 4,119.17,while the Nasdaq composite was down 77.37 points at 12,179.55.Markets started the day down as they reacted to new data overnight showing that China’s economic rebound continues to disappoint, said Ian Chong, associate portfolio manager for First Avenue Investment Counsel Inc. Exports grew at a slower pace and imports shrank faster, and analysts said Chinese exports are expected to weaken this year. The new data “raises concerns about how China’s economic recovery post-COVID lockdown may not be as strong or as resilient as hoped,” said Chong.“I think that kind of started the day off on a weak footing.” Oil, which has been sensitive to Chinese econo...

What is Title 42 and how has US used it to curb migration?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:38:18 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — This week marks the end of coronavirus restrictions on asylum that have allowed the U.S. to quickly expel migrants at the southern border for the last three years. The restrictions are often referred to as Title 42, because the authority comes from Title 42 of a 1944 public health law that allows curbs on migration in the name of protecting public health. The end of Title 42’s use has raised questions about what will happen with migration at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Biden administration is preparing for an increase in migrants.A look at what Title 42 is and why it matters: HOW DID IT START?In March 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order limiting migration, saying it was necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Schools and businesses were closing their doors and hospitals were filling with patients. President Donald Trump was looking for ways to curtail immigration — his signature political issue.The order authorized Cu...

Perimeter guards absent as 2 men escaped Philadelphia prison

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:38:18 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — There were no corrections officers assigned specifically to watch the housing unit of a Philadelphia prison when two inmates escaped Sunday night, and no armed perimeter guards were on duty as the men broke through the prison’s fence, a correctional officers union official told The Associated Press on Tuesday.Days later, authorities are still searching for the two men — including one who is facing charges in four murders. The men were gone for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center.The city’s prison department is so understaffed that they have not had the armed perimeter guards on duty during that specific nighttime shift for eight or nine months, said David Robinson, president of the public service employees union’s District 33 Council that represents the correctional officers.When the prison is fully staffed, two corrections officers would be assigned to each housing unit. But wit...

Mayor Lightfoot issues emergency declaration over migrant arrivals

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:38:18 GMT

CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot has issued an emergency declaration in response to the ongoing influx of migrants from Texas.Police sources told WGN News as of Tuesday — there are nearly 500 migrants staying in police station lobbies across the city."All City Department Heads are directed to undertake whatever efforts are feasible pursuant to their powers and duties, and to direct their employees accordingly, to manage thisdeclared emergency," part of the declaration reads.In Section 3, Lightfoot reserves the authority to request the mobilization of the Illinois National Guard by Gov. Pritzker.The local crisis began after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott started to send migrants to Chicago and other cities last year.At the end of April, Mayor Lightfoot wrote a letter to Texas Gov. Abbott, stating in part, “We simply have no more shelters, spaces, or resources to accommodate an increase of individuals at this level.”"We have reached a breaking point in our response to this humanitarian crisis p...

Video shows bat-wielding woman attack women with stroller in Albany Park

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:38:18 GMT

CHICAGO — Two women were attacked with a bat Tuesday morning in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood in an assault captured on video.While no one is in custody, Chicago police confirm a battery incident occurred in the 4500 block of N. Mozart St. in Chicago's Albany Park just before 11:30 a.m. Concerned citizen intervenes during attempted child luring in Rogers Park Video obtained by WGN News shows a woman swinging what appears to be a metal bat multiple times, striking another woman as she held onto a nearby stroller. When the woman lets go of the stroller, she is attacked again by the offender.According to police, the attacker was driving a white sedan on Mozart. She exited the vehicle, approached the two women and began striking them with the baseball bat. The woman then got into her car and fled the area, police added. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesPolice did not say what led to the attack. Both victims refused medical attention.In an update, Chicago police said a sim...

EPA must regulate rocket fuel chemical in drinking water after Trump, Biden declined: court

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:38:18 GMT

(The Hill) – A federal court on Tuesday tossed out a decision from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to regulate a chemical used in rocket fuel in drinking water. The Trump administration decided in 2020 not to regulate a chemical called perchlorate that can interfere with thyroid function and may harm fetal brain development. The Biden administration upheld that decision last year. But, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., reversed the decision on Tuesday.The opinion of the three-judge panel, authored by David Sentelle — a Reagan administration appointee — argued that the Safe Drinking Water Act did not give the EPA the authority to reverse a 2011 decision in favor of issuing drinking water standards for perchlorate.A concurring opinion from Florence Pan, a Biden appointee, disagreed on the statutory authority question, but agreed with the ultimate decision for other reasons. Namely, Pan found that the agency was working with a “biased dataset that was sele...

Can Texas become a top 'film-friendly' state?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:38:18 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — This legislative session, lawmakers filed more than a dozen bills aiming to make the state more film-friendly. The Texas Media and Production Alliance (TXMPA) said this is the most bills of the sort it has seen in decades. The bills incentivize film production in a few ways. Some focus on infrastructure investment – such as incentivizing building structures, like sound stages and production studios. Other bills, such as HB 4419 filed by Texas Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Fort Worth, aim to put Texas at the forefront of virtual production, a cutting-edge filmmaking technique – used in shows like ‘The Mandalorian.’ Some bills would also make it more financially sustainable for filmmakers to stay in the state long-term, according to Mindy Raymond, the communications director for TXMPA. “We've had a historic session, the likes we've never seen before since the inception of our incentive program [in 2006],” Raymond said. “I think with the 19 bills that were brought for...

Police ID man, 21, who died in St. Paul motorcycle crash

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:38:18 GMT

Police released the name on Tuesday of a 21-year-old man who died in a St. Paul motorcycle crash.Sail D. Moo, of St. Paul, was in a single-vehicle crash just before 9 p.m. Sunday near White Bear and Bush avenues.Police continue to investigate the crash and said Tuesday that “investigators believe driver inexperience played a role.”Sail Moo, whose friends called him Taywaywa, “was the core of his family after his father had passed, leaving him little to no choice but to step up and take full responsibility for his family,” according to a GoFundMe established for his funeral. “At a very young age he provided and took care of his family wants and needs. He leaves behind a devastated mother, brother, and a baby sister.”Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Native American groups ask state lawmakers for help at outdated Twin Cities facilities like Ain Dah Yung youth shelter in St. Paul Crime & Public Safety | Stolen...