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Evangelical leaders press GOP presidential candidates to advocate for more abortion restrictions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, some of the Republican Party’s most influential evangelical Christian figures assembled Friday to celebrate a ruling that sent shockwaves through American politics and stripped away a long-standing constitutional protection.At the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual conference, Republican presidential candidates were urged to push for more abortion restrictions, even as Democrats insist the issue will buoy them going into the 2024 election.Former President Donald Trump, whose three Supreme Court nominees allowed for the reversal of nationwide abortion rights, will give the keynote address Saturday night, the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. On Friday’s schedule were many rivals, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Not far from the ...

Stock market today: Wall Street drops again as oil prices and stocks worldwide slide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Another drop for stocks on Friday has Wall Street on track to close out its first losing week in the last six.The S&P 500 was 0.7% lower in early trading, pulling back further from last week when it reached its highest level in more than a year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 238 points, or 0.7%, at 33,707, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% lower.Stocks fell even more in markets abroad, while crude oil prices dropped on worries that a global economy under threat of a recession will burn less fuel.Europe’s economy appears to be weaker than expected, according to a preliminary report measuring manufacturing and services businesses. That’s adding to this week’s hesitance in markets, caused by a crank higher in interest rates by central banks around the world as they try to get high inflation under control. High rates drive down inflation by slowing the economy, which raises the risk of a recession.High interest rates in the...

Executive chair Jamie Irving resigns from Postmedia board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:50 GMT

TORONTO — Postmedia Network Canada Corp. says Jamie Irving has resigned as executive chair of the media conglomerate’s board.The owner of the National Post and several other regional newspapers says Irving intends to pursue other opportunities.It adds lead director Peter Sharpe will assume the chair role on an interim basis effective immediately.Irving has sat on the company’s board since last year, when Postmedia acquired Brunswick News Inc., the media arm of the Irving family empire, for $16.1 million in cash and shares.He assumed the chairman role at the start of this year, when Postmedia chairman Paul Godfrey stepped down.The board change comes after sources told The Canadian Press in January that the newspaper publisher would lay off 11 per cent of its editorial staff. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:PNC)The Canadian Press

Biden will sign an order seeking to protect birth control access a year after Roe was overturned

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is banking on reproductive rights to be a galvanizing issue for voters in the 2024 election as he collects three top-level endorsements, hosts a rally and issues an executive order seeking to bolster access to contraception as the nation marks a year since the Supreme Court decision overturning federal abortion protections.Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday are being endorsed by Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America and Emily’s List. The groups are throwing their early support behind the reelection effort in part to highlight the importance of the issue for Democrats heading into the election year, the groups’ leaders told The Associated Press.“I think that President Biden has been an incredibly valuable partner, along with Vice President Harris, in fighting back against the onslaught of attacks that we have seen,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and chief executive of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. ...

Tony-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ creator, dies at 99

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony- and Grammy Award-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who with composer Jerry Bock made up the premier musical-theater songwriting duos of the 1950s and 1960s with shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Fiorello!” and “The Apple Tree,” has died. He was 99.Known for his wry, subtle humor and deft wordplay, Harnick died in his sleep Friday in New York City of natural causes, said Sean Katz, Harnick’s publicist.Bock and Harnick first hit success for the music and lyrics to “Fiorello!,” which earned them each Tonys and a rare Pulitzer Prize in 1960. In addition, Harnick was nominated for Tonys in 1967 for “The Apple Tree,” in 1971 for “The Rothschilds” and in 1994 for “Cyrano — The Musical.” But their masterpiece was “Fiddler on the Roof.”Bock and Harnick were first introduced at a restaurant by actor Jack Cassidy after the opening-night performance of “Shangri-La,” a ...

Clash over LBGTQ+ decor at Starbucks leads to planned strikes at more than 150 stores in days ahead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:50 GMT

Workers at more than 150 Starbucks locations across the country are planning to go on strike as the coffee chain and a union representing baristas clash over displays supporting LBGTQ+ causes in stores during Pride month.Starbucks Workers United said in a tweet Friday that 3,500 workers will be on strike over the next week. Starbucks has consistently denied claims by union organizers that it was banning Pride displays in its U.S. stores after brands like Disney, Target and Bud Light suffered a related backlash and negative social media campaigns in some parts of the country. Even brands like Chick-fil-A, which closes on Sundays for a day of “rest and worship,” and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store have been targeted online by anti-LBGTQ+ groups and individuals. The union that represents baristas, Workers United, says that store managers around the country have curtailed or removed displays during a monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ people. In some cases, the union said, managers told w...

Ontario cannabis regulator wants feedback on rules restricting window displays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:50 GMT

TORONTO — The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario is considering amending regulations that require cannabis stores to ensure pot can’t be seen from the exterior of their shop.The provincial body that oversees the licensing of pot shops says it is collecting feedback on the visibility of cannabis to respond to safety concerns.It says in an email to The Canadian Press that it will be collecting feedback until July 11 and it will notify stores at a later date should it decide to make changes to the regulations.Restrictions limiting the visibility of cannabis from the exterior of stores are meant to ensure minors are not enticed by weed or pot accessories.Most stores comply with the regulations by covering their doors and windows or building an interior wall that blocks the view of people passing by the exterior of the store.A significant rise in robberies prompted Alberta’s cannabis regulator to allow stores to take down window coverings last summer.This report by The Canadi...

AP Election Brief | What to expect in New York’s primaries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York voters will choose candidates in local primary elections held across the state Tuesday.In New York City, a contest featuring a member of the exonerated “Central Park Five” tops the list of 23 City Council primaries throughout the city. The Associated Press will also cover the reelection bids of the incumbent Democratic district attorneys in the Bronx and Queens as well as several mayoral primaries in Oneida and Westchester counties.In central Harlem, three Democrats are facing off to replace 9th District City Council member Kristin Richardson Jordan, a first-term incumbent who announced in May she would not seek reelection after narrowly winning the seat in 2021. Vying to replace her are state Assembly members Inez Dickens and Al Taylor and criminal justice reform activist Yusef Salaam, who was one of five men convicted and later exonerated in the “Central Park Jogger” rape case. As with all New York City Council races this year, this election will use a r...

Victim in Burlington dog attack dies in hospital: Police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:50 GMT

One of the victims of a dog attack in Burlington earlier this month has died in hospital.Halton police confirm the individual was pronounced dead on June 16. Police are not identifying the victim.Three people were injured in the attack on June 6 where officers responded to a home in the area of Walkers Line and Fairview Street.At the time, police said two adults suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries and a third adult suffered minor injuries.The dog was shot and killed at the scene by responding officers.Police say there are no criminal elements to the investigation and Halton Regional Police Service has little involvement.

'Fiddler on the Roof' creator Sheldon Harnick dies at 99

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony- and Grammy Award-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who with composer Jerry Bock made up the premier musical-theater songwriting duos of the 1950s and 1960s with shows such as "Fiddler on the Roof," "Fiorello!" and "The Apple Tree," has died. He was 99.Known for his wry, subtle humor and deft wordplay, Harnick died in his sleep Friday in New York City of natural causes, said Sean Katz, Harnick's publicist.Bock and Harnick first hit success for the music and lyrics to "Fiorello!," which earned them each Tonys and a rare Pulitzer Prize in 1960. In addition, Harnick was nominated for Tonys in 1967 for "The Apple Tree," in 1971 for "The Rothschilds" and in 1994 for "Cyrano — The Musical." But their masterpiece was “Fiddler on the Roof.”Bock and Harnick were first introduced at a restaurant by actor Jack Cassidy after the opening-night performance of "Shangri-La," a musical in which Harnick had helped with the lyrics. The first Harnick-Bock musical was "The Body Beau...