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Feds award $15 million contract to Sun Life to lay groundwork for dental care program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:09 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government has awarded a contract worth up to $15 million to lay the groundwork for a new national dental insurance plan.Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Health Minister Mark Holland announced today the contract was awarded to Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada. The federal government says this interim agreement will allow for the “timely launch and successful operation” of the plan, while details of the main contract are finalized.The federal government is working to set up the new insurance plan to replace an interim benefit system that launched last year.A national dental care program is a cornerstone of the supply-and-confidence agreement between the NDP and Liberals.The spring budget promised $13 billion over the next five years to implement the national dental care plan, which the federal government says will insure up to nine million Canadians.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2023. The Canadian Press

Third Democrat launches bid for western Wisconsin swing congressional district

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:09 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A third Democratic candidate has announced that she’s running for a western Wisconsin congressional seat held by freshman Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden in one of the presidential battleground state’s swing districts.Former La Crosse County Board Chair Tara Johnson on Wednesday joined former small-business owner Rebecca Cooke, who ran for the seat and lost last year in the primary, and Aaron Nytes, a Harvard Law School student, in seeking to represent the Republican-leaning 3rd Congressional District, which is comprised of parts of central, southwestern and western Wisconsin, including moderate exurbs of Minnesota’s Twin Cities.Johnson, 61, said she was running to fight for working families, rural communities, abortion rights, affordable health care and prescription drugs, and protecting Social Security and Medicare. She spent 20 years on the La Crosse County Board before stepping down in 2020.In an statement, Johnson said Van Orden, who flipped t...

Connecticut farm worker is paralyzed after being attacked by a bull

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:09 GMT

HARWINTON, Conn. (AP) — A 59-year-old Connecticut man was seriously injured after being attacked by a bull at the farm where he was working.Family members told Hearst Connecticut Media that the bull attacked Randy Janquins on Friday at a farm in Harwinton, Connecticut, as he was putting several cows back into a barn after milking them. “The bull was in heat because it’s their mating season at this time of year,” Ellen Hull, Janquins’ sister, told Hearst. “Randy basically was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”Janquins, of Winsted, Connecticut, suffered a broken neck and is paralyzed from the waist down, Hull said. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors fused vertebrae in his neck, she said. Janquins told his sister he was lying in the farmer’s field for “quite some time” before someone found him. The Associated Press

Christie says DeSantis put ‘politics ahead of his job’ by not seeing Biden during hurricane visit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:09 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie says Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had put “politics ahead of his job” by declining to meet with President Joe Biden during the Democrat’s weekend visit to survey Hurricane Idalia’s damage in DeSantis’ state.“Your job as governor is to be the tour guide for the president, is to make sure the president sees your people, sees the damage, sees the suffering, what’s going on and what needs to be done to rebuild it,” Christie said about his rival for the 2024 nomination in a Fox News interview Tuesday.“You’re doing your job. And unfortunately, he put politics ahead of his job,” Christie said. “That was his choice.”No one knows better than Christie how such a sticky political situation can create an enduring image. Photos of then New Jersey Gov. Christie giving a warm greeting to Democratic President Barack Obama during a visit after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 earned Christie scorn among national...

Nova Scotia singer-songwriter Bruce Guthro remembered as exceptional musician

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:09 GMT

HALIFAX — Bruce Guthro, a legendary singer-songwriter from Cape Breton, has died.Guthro’s friend and colleague Dave Gunning confirmed Guthro died Tuesday at the age of 62.Guthro was lead vocalist for the Scottish Celtic rock band Runrig from 1998 until 2018, and also pursued a successful solo career in Nova Scotia, earning several East Coast Music Awards.In July, Guthro posted to social media that he would be taking a break from performing due to health concerns.Pete Wishart, a Scottish member of the U.K. Parliament and Guthro’s former bandmate, described him online as “an exceptional singer, musician and songwriter taken far too soon.”Tributes to the singer-songwriter poured in on social media.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2023.The Canadian Press

NATO member Romania says it has found drone pieces from Russian attacks in Ukraine on its territory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:09 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s defense minister said Wednesday that pieces apparently of a drone from Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine’s port on the Danube River have been found on the territory of his country. Romania is a NATO member.Angel Tilvar, the minister, told local news channel Antena 3 CNN that parts of what was most likely a drone were discovered in the eastern Tulcea county, an area of the Danube that forms a natural border between Romania and war-torn Ukraine.“I confirm that in this area, pieces that may be of a drone were found,” he said, adding that the pieces didn’t pose a threat. It’s unclear if Romania has determined when or from where the drone was launched. There has been a series of recent attacks by Russia on Danube ports in Ukraine, which are close to Romania, a NATO member since 2004.Tilvar’s comments come after Romania’s Ministry of National Defense “categorically denied” claims made on Monday by the spokesperson of Ukraine’s Ministry of F...

S&P/TSX composite down more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets also lower

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:09 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index posted a triple-digit decline in late morning trading, weighed down by a broad-based decline, led by the base metal, industrial and financial sectors, while U.S. stock markets also moved lower.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 151.73 points at 20,262.03.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 206.10 points at 34,435.87. The S&P 500 index was down 36.33 points at 4,460.50, while the Nasdaq composite was down 152.09 points at 13,868.86.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.20 cents US compared with 73.38 cents US on Tuesday as the Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate on hold.The October crude contract was down 26 cents at US$86.43 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.53 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down US$9.70 at US$1,942.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was down six cents at US$3.79 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, ...

CPTPP panel sides with New Zealand over Canada dairy supply-management rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:09 GMT

OTTAWA — A Pacific Rim trade panel says Canada’s dairy-sector protections violate obligations Ottawa signed with countries like New Zealand.The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership includes certain quotas for countries to export dairy at preferred tariff rates into other member countries.New Zealand says Canada is limiting its quotas to protect domestic dairy processors, who operate under federal rules regulating the cost and supply of products such as milk and cheese.The trade panel today says it agrees with part of the complaint from May 2022 and ordered Ottawa to change how it uses quotas. New Zealand calls the decision “a decisive win” while Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng says it is a “clear victory for Canada.”Ng says the ruling confirms that Ottawa does have some discretion over how it allocates its dairy quotas.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2023.The Canadian Press

14 CPS employees fired, resigned in PPP fraud investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:09 GMT

CHICAGO — Twelve Chicago Public Schools employees have resigned or been fired for defrauding a federal pandemic relief program. Two more are in the process of being fired.According to the CPS Office of the Inspector General, the investigation is ongoing.The OIG reports the employees, most of which had six-figure salaries with the district, used false loan applications to get up to $21,000 in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loans.Those loans are primarily meant to help business owners pay their employees during the height of the pandemic.The OIG reports of the 14 employees, many admitted to making false statements on the loan applications.At least one of the CPS employees involved worked in the central office and got a $75,000 loan. At the time, the employee made more than $200,000 a year.The report also says that many of the 14 employees include school administrators and managers.The OIG says close to 800 full-time CPS employees received PPP loans. Some of course are legitima...

'Mr. Brightside,' 'Shake It Off,' 'Jolene' among 2024 candidates' favorite songs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:09 GMT

(The Hill) – “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Shake It Off” and “Fast Car” are among the songs that some of the 2024 GOP presidential candidates say bring them “instant joy.”About half of the 13 Republican White House hopefuls answered an inquiry from Politico Magazine published Wednesday about a viral social media post that asked users on X (formerly Twitter) to share 20 of their “all-time fav tracks.”“Not the ‘best’ songs, the ones that bring you instant joy the second you hear the first note, the ones that give other people the best insight into what stirs your soul,” the August post said.Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie heavily represented the Garden State with his musical picks, selecting Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” and Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road.” Also making the cut on Christie’s list: The Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Pressure” by Billy Joel, “Castle on the Hill” by Ed Sheeran, and The Eagles’ classic “Hotel California.” Biden campaign predicts GOP candidates...