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Commuter snapshot: Most workers hit the roads as costs increase

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:12 GMT

By Elizabeth Renter | NerdWalletPeople who drive to work day in and day out have likely grown weary of hearing about the growth (and then partial reversal) of working from home. The rising costs of their commute no doubt add insult to injury.The share of people working from home increased dramatically in 2020 and remains higher now than before the pandemic. But the overwhelming majority of U.S. employees — 77% of them — still commute. That’s 124 million workers on the road in 2022, according to recently released American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This is at a time when vehicle ownership costs are up considerably.In-person workers are less likely to be high earners. Jobs in lower-earning service and manufacturing industries can’t be done remotely like those in many tech and professional fields. Lower relative wages make increased commuting costs tough to handle (along with sharing the road again with higher-earning workers getting called back to their perk-ri...

5 things we learned in Chicago Bulls’ 106-102 preseason loss, including Torrey Craig subbing in for a struggling Patrick Williams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:12 GMT

The Chicago Bulls went down to the preseason wire again on Tuesday, dropping a 106-102 loss to the Toronto Raptors after missing two key chances to go ahead in the final minute.The Bulls will play one final preseason game, hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday before their season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 25 at the United Center.Here are five things we learned from Tuesday’s game:1. Torrey Craig stood out as an early sub for struggling Patrick Williams.Patrick Williams turned the ball over twice in the first three minutes of the game before coach Billy Donovan yanked him out of the rotation. He returned to the court in the second quarter where he sank a 3-pointer and grabbed a rebound, but continued to struggle throughout the second half.Donovan originally planned to play Williams much deeper into the first quarter, but felt frustrated enough with his early play to pull the forward out to administer corrections.“I just thought there were...

House speaker live updates | Jim Jordan appears headed for defeat in second round of voting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Jim Jordan appeared headed for defeat in a second round of balloting for speaker on Wednesday, failing to convince his Republican detractors to support him to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy.Jordan lost 20 Republican votes in the first round of balloting Tuesday and appeared likely to lose even more on Wednesday.Jim Jordan’s rapid rise has been cheered by Trump and the far rightHow the vote for a new speaker worksScalise ends bid to become speaker as holdouts refuse to back himMcCarthy was an early architect of the GOP majority that became his downfallJordan appears to be losing Republican support from Tuesday’s vote for House speaker, but he has picked up a couple of new backers.On Wednesday, Jordan gained Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California, who cast a protest vote for Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday, as well as Rep. Gus Bilirakis of Florida, who was absent.Twenty House Republicans voted against Jordan for House speaker on Tuesday, and his number...

Canadian man with relatives in Gaza says his loved ones are starving, need water

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:12 GMT

An Ontario man says his father and other relatives are on the brink of starvation in Gaza and violence has broken out during scrambles for scarce essential supplies. Moayed Salim says his 66-year-old-year Canadian father, who was born in Gaza, moved last year to the Palestinian territory in his retirement and has been stuck there ever since the Israel-Hamas war broke out. Salim says his father has registered with the Canadian embassy and is hoping to be able to leave Gaza but his family might run out of food and water before then. He says another relative has told him a nearby bakery that was her only source of food was bombed last night and she has seen brutal fights break out over single bottles of water. Salim, who lives in London, Ont., is among the Canadians with family in Gaza who have been calling for the evacuation of their loved ones from the region and for humanitarian aid to be allowed in to the sealed-off territory. American President Joe Biden announced today that Israe...

Pakistan’s ex-leader Nawaz Sharif seeks protection from arrest ahead of return from voluntary exile

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:12 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday sought protection from arrest from a court in Islamabad ahead of his planned return to the country, his attorney and officials said.Sharif, who lived in voluntary exile in London until this month, is expected to return home on Saturday. He is currently a fugitive from justice, having failed to appear before a court in 2019. He stepped down in 2017 after a court convicted him of corruption. Two years later, facing further graft charges, he complained of chest pains and was granted permission by his successor, Imran Khan, to travel to London for medical treatment. Once in London in 2019, Sharif prolonged his stay, saying his doctors were not allowing him to travel.He has been wanted by the Pakistani authorities since 2020, when a court issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to return home from London.A court in Islamabad briefly heard Sharif’s plea for bail and adjourned the hearing until Thursd...

Air Canada stock slides to one-year low despite frothy summer profits

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:12 GMT

MONTREAL — Air Canada’s share price hit a one-year low on Wednesday as the airline navigates higher fuel costs, competition and interest rates.The company’s stock slipped nearly three percentage points to $17.29 by midday, marking its lowest price since mid-October last year and a one-third drop from its recent peak in July — part of a pattern seen across the North American airline sector.On Monday, Raymond James analyst Savanthi Syth lowered her earnings forecast for the Montreal-based company due to the run-up in jet fuel prices over the past three months.She noted steeper competition with Porter Airlines, Flair Airlines and Lynx Air on domestic, cross-border and sun destination routes, but pointed to Air Canada’s loyalty program and fuel-efficient planes as an advantage.In an interview, ATB Capital Markets analyst Chris Murray said worries also persist over consumers’ willingness to keep spending on travel amid higher interest rates and inflation.Nonethele...

Assembly of First Nations climate strategy seeks collaboration between governments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:12 GMT

OTTAWA — The Assembly of First Nations launched its new national climate strategy in Ottawa today, calling on federal, provincial, and territorial governments to work with First Nations to implement their climate priorities. Interim National Chief Joanna Bernard said this year’s record-breaking wildfire season is a reason why all leaders should be taking climate change seriously, especially in First Nations communities.She says this is only the beginning of what it to come, and Indigenous Peoples have taken matters into their own hands to try to find solutions.The assembly’s member First Nations declared a climate emergency in July 2019, in recognition of how climate change was negatively affecting their lands, waters, animals and peoples. The declaration called for the development of a First Nations-led climate strategy, which the AFN unveiled on Parliament Hill today.The strategy aims to incorporate Indigenous knowledge systems, rights and self-determination in co-oper...

Another Republican enters North Carolina’s campaign for governor, preparing to spend millions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:12 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A veteran North Carolina trial lawyer has entered the Republican primary campaign for governor, pledging to spend millions in personal funds toward a race that’s already full of fellow Republicans who got in months ago.Bill Graham of Salisbury, who competed unsuccessfully for governor in 2008, said Wednesday he’s trying again because he considers himself the candidate best able to break a dominant stretch of Democrats in a state where Republicans often have an advantage in statewide races. Democrats have served in the Executive Mansion uninterrupted since 1993 save for a four-year stretch in the 2010s. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is term-limited and can’t run in 2024, has endorsed Attorney General Josh Stein, who entered the race in January and has been the race’s top fundraiser so far. “We need a nominee who will have the resources, discipline and character needed to defeat the far-left Josh Stein in November,” Graham said whil...

Activists turn backs on US officials as UN-backed human rights review of United States wraps up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:12 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Dozens of U.S. activists who champion LGBTQ, indigenous and reproductive rights and who campaign against discrimination turned their backs Wednesday in a silent protest against what they called insufficient U.S. government responses to their human rights concerns.The protesters, who came from places as diverse as Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and beyond, led the demonstration before the independent Human Rights Committee as U.S. Ambassador Michele Taylor wrapped up a two-day hearing on the United States. It was part of a regular human rights review for all U.N. member countries by the committee.Six other countries including Haiti, Iran and Venezuela also were undergoing public sessions this autumn in Geneva to see how well countries are adhering to their commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — one of only a handful of international human rights treaties that the United States has ratified.The protest came as Taylor said the U.S. commitm...

Mexico says leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras to attend weekend migration summit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:12 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president says the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Honduras will attend a summit on migration that Mexico will host Sunday. The four countries are among the biggest sources of migrants currently showing up at the U.S. border.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said that President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, President Miguel Díaz-Canel Cuba and Prime Minister Ariel Henry of Haiti will attend the meeting in the southern city of Palenque, along with Honduran President Xiomara Castro. López Obrador said the leaders of Ecuador and Guatemala also will attend, and that other countries are expected to send officials to the meeting. López Obrador said the meeting will address migration and the root causes that lead people to leave their home countries.López Obrador recently acknowledged that migration has spiked and that as many as 10,000 migrants are crossing Mexico daily to reach the U.S. border.Many are coming through the jungle-clad Darien Gap. Panama...