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Ticker: MEMA Getting $37M From FEMA; Mortgage rates slide sharply 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it will be sending almost $37 million to Massachusetts to reimburse it for some of the administrative costs associated with managing FEMA grants for COVID vaccinations and testing, non-congregate sheltering, and providing meals to vulnerable populations.Former Rep. Lori Ehrlich announced the funding that the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency will receive through FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program.“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Massachusetts with these costs,” Erhlich, FEMA’s Region 1 Regional Administrator, said. “Reimbursing state, county, and municipal governments – as well as eligible non-profits and tribal entities – for the costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important part of our nation’s ongoing recovery.”FEMA said it has provided more than $2.5 billion in public assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.Mortgage rates ...

Chicago Bears Q&A: What’s Justin Fields’ future now? What to make of Martellus Bennett’s comments? What would it take to get new ownership?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

As the Chicago Bears pick up the pieces from a late collapse against the Detroit Lions, fans at least can take away some positives from the game — particularly quarterback Justin Fields’ strong all-around performance.So what impact — if any — does Fields’ improved showing have on the team’s plans at QB? Brad Biggs answers that and much, much more in his weekly Bears mailbag.Did this performance by Justin Fields change how the Bears will approach the QB position in the 2024 draft? — @daniel11605Fields played well in Sunday’s 31-26 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, completing 16 of 23 passes for 169 yards, including a 39-yard dime to DJ Moore for a touchdown after Fields did a nice job of navigating the pocket. He accounted for 273 yards of offense as he also ran 18 times for 104 yards, season highs in both rushing categories. He took only two sacks, one on the final offensive play when Aidan Hutchinson stripped him on a play that...

‘Death sentence to this hobby’: Toy plane operators face new government regulations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

For the past 30 years, in a wide-open field within the Heber Downs Conservation area east of Toronto, nearly 100 members of the Whitby Aero Modellers R.C. Club would gather to fly toy planes.Pakea Leung is among them.“I’ve been flying radio-controlled toy planes for 50 years,” he said.He even designed his own toy plane with a red maple leaf, which he flew with pride.“I created this,” he told CityNews. “Because I am an immigrant, I like Canada so much – this is the way I designed this one to respect our country.”But due to new Canadian regulations he can’t legally fly it right now at the field his club leases in Whitby, Ont.“I think the government has overstepped.”According to the new regulations, put forth by Transport Canada, those who fly a radio-controlled aircraft that weighs above 25 kilograms must obtain a basic remote piloted aircraft system certification. It requires users to take an online exam and pay a small fee. But the issue for Leung and his fellow cl...

Fighting inflation half-heartedly would be ‘huge mistake,’ BoC’s Macklem warns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem warns fighting inflation half-heartedly and living with its consequences would be a huge mistake.The governor is delivering a speech to the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce today, one day after the release of new inflation numbers that show Canada’s inflation rate fell to 3.1 per cent in October.According to his prepared remarks, Macklem contrasts today’s inflation fight with inflation in the 1970s, highlighting similarities and differences between those two periods of time.Macklem says inflation in the 1970s was also set off by global events, but became volatile and long-lasting part because the government and central bank weren’t willing to restrain spending and rise rates enough to quash inflation.The governor says Canada has two advantages today compared to the 1970s: people expect inflation to come back down in the long run and the Bank of Canada responded forcefully this time with aggressive rate hikes.Macklem’...

Developer asks for Ontario Greenbelt bill amendment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

The owner of one of the 15 properties removed from the Greenbelt is asking the Ontario government to exclude its plot from a bill to return all that land to the protected area, with lawyers raising the prospect of a constitutional challenge if the legislation passes as is.Minotar Holdings Inc. has long held that its 37-acre property in Markham, Ont., was incorrectly included in the Greenbelt in the first place when the protected swath of land was established in 2005. The company sued the province over it in 2017 for $120 million.So when the government set about removing land from the Greenbelt last year for the purpose of housing development, civil servants identified the Minotar property as one candidate. A political staffer serving at the time as chief of staff to the housing minister identified the other 14, reports from the auditor general and integrity commissioner have found.Minotar and the government agreed that removing that property’s Greenbelt designation would settl...

No evidence to support conspiracy between ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers: defence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

OTTAWA — Tamara Lich’s defence team says there’s no evidence to support that she and a fellow “Freedom Convoy” organizer should be viewed as co-conspirators in court, because their actions were not illegal. The Crown finished its case against Lich and Chris Barber on Monday.The two are co-accused of mischief and intimidation, among other charges connected to the massive protest against COVID-19 restrictions that gridlocked downtown Ottawa for weeks in 2022.The Crown hopes to prove that the two worked so closely together that evidence against one of them should apply to the other.In a court filing, Lich’s lawyers say the Crown’s application should be dismissed because the Crown has not proven that Lich and Barber agreed to protest COVID-19 mandates by illegal means. The trial is expected to resume next week.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2023.Laura Osman, The Canadian Press

New Philanthropy Roundtable CEO Christie Herrera ready to fight for donor privacy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Christie Herrera says, as the new president and CEO of Philanthropy Roundtable, she plans to fight for the principles the advocacy organization has always prized. But Herrera, who was officially promoted in mid-October, recognizes that battle is getting tougher and more complicated than ever.“The Roundtable is going to be who we’ve always been — and that’s a home for donors who share our values,” she said. “We will continue to be passionate about philanthropy, about values-based giving, about philanthropic freedom, and about philanthropic excellence – the nuts and bolts of giving that I feel the philanthropic sector has gotten away with some of the social issues they’re taking up.”Challenges to the Roundtable’s values abound, however – even from fellow conservatives. The House Ways and Means Committee, led by Republican Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, is looking into the political activities of tax-exempt organizations and wrote that “Congress may need to consider clos...

S&P/TSX composite edges higher despite lower oil prices, U.S. stock markets also up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index edged higher in late-morning trading as gains led by technology and utility stocks were partially offset by losses in the energy sector as the price of oil moved lower.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 19.37 points at 20,129.34.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 135.01 points at 35,223.30. The S&P 500 index was up 15.84 points at 4,554.03, while the Nasdaq composite was up 66.90 points at 14,266.88.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.76 cents US compared with 73.00 cents US on Tuesday.The January crude oil contract was down US$3.33 at US$74.44 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was down three cents at US$2.97 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down US$5.40 at US$1,996.20 an ounce and the December copper contract was down seven cents at US$3.74 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)The Canadian Press

Taco Bell to unveil 1-carat diamonds made from taco shells in Toronto

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

In an event sure to shell out curiosity, without spilling the beans, Taco Bell Canada has announced what it calls its biggest crown jewel yet: four 1-carat diamonds made from taco shells. A spokesperson for the fast-food chain says the taco shell diamonds have been lab-grown in a process that took more than 12 months at a “top-secret, undisclosed location… serving as an ode to the perfectly imperfect nature of tacos.”Taco Bell will host a pop-up event at 1132 Queen St. W. in Toronto on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2. Members of the public are invited to attend and witness the lab-grown taco shell diamonds in person. “Taco Bell is all about celebrating life’s messy moments and embracing what it means to be imperfect,” said Devon Lawrence, Marketing Director, Taco Bell Canada. Canadians can enter to win a pair of dazzling taco diamonds for themselves and a friend. (CNW Group/Taco Bell Canada)“The idea that even something as beautiful as diamonds has imperf...

Charleston, South Carolina, elects its first Republican mayor since Reconstruction Era

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The historic South Carolina city of Charleston has elected its first Republican mayor since the Reconstruction Era.William Cogswell, formerly a Republican state lawmaker, defeated incumbent Democratic Mayor John Tecklenburg by about 2 percentage points in Tuesday’s runoff, according to the South Carolina Election Commission. Results posted online by the commission showed a 569-vote margin separating the the two candidates.Cogswell, 48, had secured the most votes in the Nov. 7 general election but not a majority, meaning that he and Tecklenburg headed to Tuesday’s runoff.Charleston’s municipal elections are technically nonpartisan. But Tecklenburg is a well-known figure in the state’s Democratic politics, endorsing Joe Biden in South Carolina’s pivotal 2020 presidential primary.Cogswell, who served three terms as a Republican in the state House and describes himself as a moderate, earned endorsements from others within South Carolin...