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Ticker: Job vacancies, quits plunge in July; US consumer confidence wanes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

Businesses posted far fewer open jobs in July and the number of Americans quitting their jobs fell sharply for the second straight month, clear signs that the labor market is cooling in a way that could reduce inflation.The number of job vacancies dropped to 8.8 million last month, the Labor Department said Tuesday, the fewest since March 2021 and down from 9.2 million in June. Yet the drop appeared to be even steeper because June’s figure was initially reported as 9.6 million. That figure was revised lower Tuesday.July’s figure was still healthy historically — before the pandemic the number of openings had never topped 8 million. And there are still roughly 1.5 available jobs for each unemployed worker, which is also elevated but down from a peak last year of 1.9.Fewer Americans also quit, with 3.5 million people leaving their jobs last month, down from 3.8 million in June, the lowest since February 2021.US consumer confidence wanesAmericans are feeling less confident f...

Biden discuses immigration and trade with Costa Rican President Chaves at the White House

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden hosted his Costa Rican counterpart, Rodrigo Chaves, at the White House on Tuesday, discussing ways to strengthen an agreement between the two countries on possible legal pathways for the increasing numbers of Central American migrants arriving to the U.S. southern border.The two said they would talk about deepening U.S.-Costa Rica trade tries, creating new jobs, advancing democracy and promoting a more orderly immigration process. Chaves’ nation has emerged as an immigration hotspot, as migrants increasingly travel through the dangerous Darien Gap from Colombia into Central America and north into Costa Rica. Sitting down for the meeting in the Oval Office, Biden thanked Chaves for helping meet “migration challenges that we face every single day,” and said that one of his key objectives was “deepening security cooperation” between their countries, including on organized crime.“Our nations are not only united by the challenges we face but, what I’...

Bodies of 3 US Marines killed in Australian aircraft crash retrieved from crash site

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The bodies of three U.S. Marines killed in a tiltrotor aircraft crash during a training exercise in Australia were retrieved from the crash scene while another Marine remained in critical condition, the Marine Corps said Tuesday.Those killed were from Illinois, Virginia and Colorado.The Marine V-22B Osprey with 23 Marines on board crashed Sunday in tropical forest on Melville Island while taking part in Exercise Predators Run, a drill that includes the militaries of Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor.All 20 survivors were injured and were flown by rescue aircraft 80 kilometers (50 miles) south to the city of Darwin within hours of the crash. Three of those Marines remained in Royal Darwin Hospital on Tuesday, one in critical condition and two stable, a Marines statement said.The three casualties had been declared dead at the crash site and their bodies were returned to Darwin late Tuesday, a statement said.Up to 2,500 U.S. Marines have be...

UN warns that hundreds of thousands in Southeast Asia have been roped into online scams

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights office says criminal gangs have forced hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia into participating in unlawful online scam operations, including false romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes.The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a new report, cites “credible sources” that at least 120,000 people in strife-torn Myanmar and roughly 100,000 in Cambodia “may be held in situations where they are forced to carry out online scams.”The report sheds new light on cybercrime scams that have become a major issue in Asia, with many of the workers trapped in virtual slavery and forced to participate in scams targeting people over the internet. Laos, the Philippines and Thailand were also cited among the main countries of destination or transit for tens of thousands of people. Criminal gangs have increasingly targeted migrants, and lure some victims by false recruitment — suggesting they are destined...

University of North Carolina graduate student left building right after killing adviser, police say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — A University of North Carolina graduate student charged with killing his faculty adviser walked into a classroom building, shot the victim and then left, authorities said Tuesday, shedding light on an attack that led to a campuswide lockdown as police searched for the gunman.Tailei Qi, 34, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and having a gun on educational property in Monday’s killing of Zijie Yan inside of a science building at the state’s flagship public university.Chapel Hill city police arrested Qi in a residential neighborhood near the campus within two hours of the attack and didn’t need to use force to take him into custody, UNC Police Chief Brian Jones said at a news conference. He said investigators were still trying to determine a motive and were still searching for the gun used to kill Yan.UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said his team has met with Yan’s colleagues and family to express condolences and offer support.“He was a beloved...

Court rejects Connecticut officials’ bid to keep secret a police report on hospital patient’s death

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Police reports about deaths and other incidents in public hospitals cannot be kept secret, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, citing the importance of government transparency and the public’s right to know what happened.A majority of the justices rejected an attempt by state officials to prevent the release of a police report about a patient who reportedly choked to death on food in 2016 while being restrained by staff members at Connecticut’s only maximum-security psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane.State officials argued the report was confidential under the patient-psychiatrist privilege as well as under the federal medical privacy law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.While the court majority acknowledged the harm that could result from publicly releasing a patient’s medical information, “we must also acknowledge the unfortunate and undeniable reality that governmental secrecy can be used to...

Canada ‘trailing partners’ on securing vital utilities and services: internal memo

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

OTTAWA — A newly released federal memo concedes Canada is “trailing key international partners” who have updated their approaches to securing vital utilities and services from a growing array of risks. The Public Safety Canada memo says “new and rapidly evolving threats pose a greater risk of harm to Canadians and their cyber, economic and national security.” The Canadian Press used the Access to Information Act to obtain the internal briefing note, prepared in advance of a January meeting of deputy ministers.The federal government is looking to update a 2009 national strategy intended to protect critical infrastructure in sectors ranging from energy and water to manufacturing and transportation. An updated strategy would bring Canada into greater alignment with international partners as officials manage risks from extreme weather events, supply chain failures, cyberattacks or espionage, said Public Safety spokesman Tim Warmington.“With a renewed unders...

Quebec boy acquitted of assault after ‘teasing’ sister as they were watching movie

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

SHAWINIGAN, Que. — A child has been acquitted of assaulting his younger stepsister after what a Quebec judge deemed to be a harmless bit of teasing.The boy, who was 12 years old at the time, admitted to having touched his then-11-year-old sister’s thighs while the two were watching a movie one evening.But the girl suffered no harm as a result of her brother’s actions, Quebec court Judge Geneviève Marchand wrote in her June 14 decision, which was published this week.Though the boy admitted to touching his sister, the judge ultimately acquitted him of assault on the basis of a defence known in Latin as de minimis non curat lex — “the principle that the law does not concern itself with trivial matters,” Marchand explained. The boy’s only intention was to tease his sister, and this teasing was consistent with their playful relationship, the judge said.“The accused’s actions are so harmless and devoid of any violence or malicious intent that they...

Acuña’s encounter and Guaranteed Rate Field shooting raise questions about safety of players, fans

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A shooting that likely happened inside of Guaranteed Rate Field, followed by a scary moment for Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr. in Colorado. Both in a span of four days.While Major League Baseball is on track for a marked increase in attendance this year, the pair of high-profile incidents raised questions about the safety of players and fans inside and outside of big league ballparks.A spokeswoman for the Major League Baseball Players Association said Tuesday that the union takes player safety “very seriously” and that it reviews club and stadium protocols throughout every season “to mitigate the possibility of similar future incidents.”Acuña had an encounter with two fans during Atlanta’s 14-4 win over Colorado on Monday night.One fan got his arms against Acuña during the middle of the seventh inning. Two security people quickly grabbed the fan and, as they tried to drag him away, a third security person approached.A second fan then sprinted t...

S&P/TSX composite gains 265 points Tuesday, U.S. markets also rise

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

TORONTO — Gains in energy, technology and base metals helped lead a broad-based rally on Canada’s main stock index Tuesday, which rose 1.32 per cent, while U.S. markets also posted gains. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 265.27 points at 20,290.41.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 292.69 points at 34,852.67. The S&P 500 index was up 64.32 points at 4,497.63, while the Nasdaq composite was up 238.63 points at 13,943.76.Stocks rose on a pair of economic reports that showed a continued downtrend in the data that informs central bank decisions on interest rates, said Lesley Marks, chief investment officer of equities at Mackenzie Investments.“I guess it’s the case of bad news is good news,” said Marks. The U.S. government reported that job openings in July fell to the lowest level since March 2021. “Job openings are a key indication of the health of an economy,” said Marks. Meanwhile, the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence fell in Au...