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BMO Financial Group signs deal to buy Air Miles loyalty rewards program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

BMO Financial Group announced a deal Friday to buy the Air Miles loyalty rewards program in Canada after its U.S. parent company filed for bankruptcy.Financial terms of the bank’s agreement with LoyaltyOne Co. were not immediately available.Air Miles president Shawn Stewart said the deal “brings stability to the Air Miles program.”“It gives us the opportunity to grow the program for our collectors and partners, and confidence in the future of the program,” he said in an interview. “Our U.S. parent company had a ton of debt and that just constrained our ability to invest in value for the collector.”The deal has no impact on reward miles balances or the ability to redeem miles, Stewart added. Air Miles is one of the oldest and largest loyalty programs in Canada, with nearly 10 million active users. Collectors earn Air Miles through participating stores, services and payment cards, which can be redeemed for “aspirational rewards” li...

S&P/TSX composite down in late-morning trading, U.S. stock markets up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down in late-morning trading, led lower by losses in the financial sector, while U.S. stock markets were up on the final day of the trading week.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 23.79 points at 20,062.93.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 153.63 points at 32,408.49. The S&P 500 index was up 14.71 points at 3,933.03, while the Nasdaq composite was up 18.51 points at 11,356.86.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.55 cents US compared with 72.52 cents US on Thursday.The April crude contract was up 46 cents at US$76.18 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.49 per mmBTU.The April gold contract was up US$32.30 at US$1,866.90 an ounce and the May copper contract was up a penny at US$4.05 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

German church reform assembly calls for same-sex blessings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A meeting between Germany’s Catholic bishops and lay representatives agreed Friday to call for the church to approve blessings of same-sex unions.The three-day gathering, which is part of the “Synodal Path” launched in 2019 in response to the sex abuse crisis that has rocked the church in Germany and many other countries, brings together more than 200 representatives of Catholic life in Germany.A majority of 176 participants voted in favor of same-sex blessings starting from March 2026. Fourteen participants voted against them, while 12 abstained. Crucially, the necessary two-thirds backing of the 67 German bishops was also reached, the news agency dpa reported.Many congregations already perform such ceremonies, but these aren’t formally approved by the Catholic Church, a position the Vatican restated in 2021.In an effort to assuage concerns from Rome, German church leaders have insisted the process won’t trigger a schism.However, Pope Francis himself said in a J...

Florida abortion ban could have impact beyond the state

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

TALLAHASSE, Fla. (AP) — Less than a year after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an expected GOP presidential contender, signed a ban on abortions after the 15-week mark of pregnancy, he’s showing support for an even stricter ban introduced this week by state lawmakers. His position could have implications on the availability of abortion not only in Florida but across the South – and also figure into the 2024 presidential race.THE CURRENT FLORIDA LAW In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, giving control over abortion to the states. Some conservative legislatures passed bills years in advance that would impose abortion bans if Roe were overturned. Florida wasn’t among those earlier states, but lawmakers acted after a leak of a draft version of the new abortion ruling, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, in January 2022.Florida lawmakers agreed to ban abortion after 15 weeks, with an exception for the life of the woman but not for rape or inces...

Macron insists pension reform is needed, despite protests

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron insisted on the need for raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 in order to make the French pension system financially sustainable in the coming years, in a letter to workers’ unions released Friday. The move comes after more than a million demonstrators marched in cities and towns across France this week as train and metro drivers, refinery workers and others started open-ended strikes against the centrist government’s plan. Unions called for more protests on Saturday. They are demanding the withdrawal of the bill, which is being debated by the French Senate this week. According to the letter provided by the president’s office, Macron said he made the choice to “make the French work a little longer” because other options, which he rejected, would have involved “decreasing pensions, raising taxes or letting our children and grandchildren carry the financial burden.” Union leader Francois Hommeril of the CFE-CGC, which...

Airports gear up for passenger surge as spring break tests their capacity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

MONTREAL — Airports and airlines are preparing for a surge in passengers ahead of spring break after the industry has struggled to meet explosions of demand at peak times over the past year.As March break kicks off in Ontario this weekend, travellers hope to avoid a repeat of the snaking lines, lost luggage and hundreds of thousands of flight cancellations that beset them last summer and during the winter holidays.March is busy for the airline industry as provincial spring breaks fall throughout the month.Severe staffing shortages and high attrition rates were among the factors conspiring to snarl air travel as the sector began recovering from COVID-19 restrictions in 2022. Last week, Toronto’s Pearson airport announced it would cap the number of flights during peak hours in order to “flatten out” daily crests and smooth the flow of passengers.But even before March began, delay levels at Canadian airports fell short of some of their U.S. peers.In February, the perc...

Murder suspect escapes Oregon courthouse during jury selection, surveillance video shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Authorities in Oregon have released security footage of a murder suspect’s escape from a Washington County Courthouse on Feb. 27.Edi Villalobos, 28, is set to stand trial for allegedly stabbing two people and killing one of them in April 2021, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. He faces several charges including second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.Officials say jury selection was taking place on the day of Villalobos' attempted escape. The jury was out of the room on a break, and Villalobos had just been taken to the bathroom. DA denies claim the gun used in ‘Rust’ shooting was destroyed Sgt. Danny DiPietro of Washington County Sheriff’s Office said Villalobos was put in restraints before going to the bathroom, but they were removed once the suspect returned to the courtroom, as required by Oregon law.Just seconds after the shackles were removed, the suspect bolted from the first-floor courtroom and out the front do...

Patient, crew survive medical helicopter crash in North Carolina

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

FRANKLIN, N.C. (WJZY) - A patient and three crew members survived when a medical transport helicopter crashed in North Carolina, authorities said. Officials said the chopper was going to a hospital in Asheville when it went down.The aircraft sustained severe damage but did not catch fire; the cause of the collision remains unclear. All occupants alive after medical helicopter crashes Macon County 911 Communications Supervisor Todd Seagle said the helicopter went down moments after it declared an emergency around 7 p.m. Thursday, WLOS-TV reported.Macon County Sheriff Brent Holbrooks said the EC-135 helicopter was traveling to Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, when it crashed in Macon County. Holbrooks confirmed all four people on the flight were alive, WLOS reported.Helicopter crash area.The aircraft was transporting a patient from a medical facility in Murphy, North Carolina. Three people involved in the crash were transported by ambulance to Mission Hospital wit...

Lost pet snake hitches ride across Virginia in U-Haul; owner plans to reunite

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) - A U-Haul manager in Virginia was in for a slithery surprise when she opened a rental truck's door to find a 2-3-foot python on the vehicle's floor. Using social media, Virginia's Wildlife Management and Control team learned the reptile was someone's pet from Newport News."We didn't even think it was alive," said Management and Control's Richard Perry. "It was frozen." Latest numbers released on disease claiming lives of Virginia deer Wildlife crews determined it was a non-venomous python - a species not native to central Virginia. The wildlife team spent all night working to revive the creature."We didn't even think it would make it through the night," Perry said. "It was in very, very bad shape."Virginia Wildlife Management and Control was called to the rescue around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday after the ball python was found in the passenger side of the cab. (Photo: Virginia Wildlife Management and Control)Virginia Wildlife Management and Control was ca...

Xi Jinping Begins Unprecedented 3rd Term As China’s President

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:11 GMT