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New York governor pushes for reading education overhaul as test scores lag

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday said she will push for schools to reemphasize phonics in literacy education programs, a potential overhaul that comes as many states revamp curriculums amid low reading scores.The proposal would require the state education department to draft guidelines centered on the so-called science of reading, a phonics-based approach to literacy education, that school districts would have to follow by September 2025. The state Legislature would need to approve the plan before it could go into effect.The change would see New York join a national movement away from an education method known as balanced literacy, which focuses on introducing children to books they find interesting — often at the expense of dedicated phonics instruction. New York, like other states, has seen reading proficiency scores dip after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools and forced classes online. Last year, data show fewer than half of third grade student...

Charities say need for help in Toronto soaring after Christmas and into 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

Coming out of a year when many in Toronto struggled with affordability and housing issues, charity representatives CityNews spoke with say they saw a huge surge in demand for help in 2023 and that need is only expected to grow in 2024.“I’ve been doing this work for 30 years … never, ever has the need been greater than in this last year and in this last quarter of the year, and we wish we never would have to say that again but support is needed now more than ever,” Daniele Zanotti, the president and CEO of United Way Greater Toronto told CityNews.United Way is an umbrella non-profit agency that funds approximately 300 other social service organizations and charities. Zanotti said deepening poverty in recent decades combined with COVID-19 have detrimentally impacted many in the Greater Toronto Area. “Now you add to the headlines, inflation, affordability, increasing food costs, lack of jobs for people, housing that is slipping away from those who are wor...

Canada, allies warn Houthi rebels to stop attacks on shipping vessels in Red Sea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada and some of its allies are warning the Houthis that they will bear responsibility for the consequences of their continued attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The statement, released by the White House and signed by 12 countries, says the ongoing attacks are illegal, unacceptable and profoundly destabilizing. The Iran-backed rebel group has been firing long-range missiles at Israel from Yemen and attacking civilian cargo ships, and the statement said the group has been significantly escalating its efforts in the past week.Around 15 per cent of the world’s seaborne trade typically passes through the Red Sea, but shipping companies have been forced to reroute.The statement says rerouting ships is adding weeks of delays and jeopardizing the movement of food, fuel and humanitarian aid. It calls for an immediate end to the attacks and for release of detained vessels and crews.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2024.The Canadian Press<!̵...

Federal Reserve minutes: Officials saw inflation cooling but were cautious about timing of rate cuts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s policymakers concluded last month that inflationary pressures were easing and that the job market was cooling. In response, the officials chose to leave their key interest rate unchanged for the third straight time and signaled that they expected to cut rates three times in 2024.According to the minutes of their Dec. 12-13 meeting released Wednesday, Fed officials indicated in their own interest-rate forecasts that a lower benchmark rate “would be appropriate by the end of 2024” given the steady progress toward taming inflation. But they ”stressed the importance” of remaining vigilant and keeping rates high “until inflation was clearly moving down sustainably” toward their 2% target. And though Chair Jerome Powell suggested at a news conference after the meeting that the Fed was likely done raising rates, the minutes show that uncertainty about the economy’s outlook meant that further hikes were still possible.The...

An apparent Israeli strike killed a top Hamas commander. How might it impact the Gaza conflict?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The killing of a top Hamas commander in an apparent Israeli airstrike on a Beirut apartment has given Israel an important symbolic achievement in its 3-month-old war against the Islamic militant group.But history has shown the benefits of such dramatic operations are often short-lived, bringing on further violence and equally formidable replacements as leaders of militant groups.The drone strike on Saleh Arouri, the deputy political head of Hamas and a founder of the group’s military wing, follows a long line of suspected Israeli killings of senior militant leaders over the years. While Israel did not claim responsibility for Tuesday’s blast, it had all the hallmarks of an Israeli attack. Both Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group immediately blamed Israel and could soon respond.Here is a look at the strike and Israel’s history of suspected killings of militants abroad:WHAT HAPPENED?A mysterious blast shook a Beirut neighborhood. Hama...

Toronto ranked Canada’s safest city in new ranking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

Toronto media, ahem, crafts its share of hyperbolic crime headlines that could leave you convinced you’ll be shot, carjacked and cannabilized the second you step foot in the Big Smoke.But according to new data compiled by Money.ca, Toronto is actually the safest city in all of Canada.Money.ca says it used data from the Canadian Crime Index to create its ranking.The Top 10 list calculated the number of criminal offences per 100,000 people.Toronto tallied the lowest number at 286.9 and was also found to be the least likely city for arson, with the lowest chance of break-and-enters.Quebec City (301) and Ottawa-Gatineau (391.8) came second and third respectively.Hamilton came in 10th place, with 420.6 offences per 100,000 people.Top Ten safest places to live in Canada: (Source: Money.ca)TorontoQuebecOttawa-Gatineau, QCSherbrookeOttawa-Gatineau, ONMontrealBarrieTrois-RivièresSaguenayHamilton

Officials investigating fire at Jewish-owned deli in North York; councillors calling it hate-motivated

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

Fire officials remain at the scene of a fire at a deli in North York that two Toronto councillors are calling a hate crime.Toronto fire responded to a call around 6 a.m. Wednesday for a commercial fire at International Deli Foods in the area of Steeles Avenue and Keele Street.Fire officials tell CityNews crews arrived to find smoke coming from the rear of the building. The fire was put out and no injuries were reported.Investigators are working with police to determine the cause of the fire and say they have not ruled out that it may have been set deliberately. Toronto police confirm they remain at the scene.Graffiti could be seen scrawled on the back of the building that reads “free Palestine.”A nearby business owner tells CityNews the deli is owned by a Russian Jewish family.Coun. Mike Colle is calling the incident a “firebombing” and a “disgusting criminal act.”“This is an attack on people because they may not be of your religion or your ...

Tennessee judge denies release of more records in sexual harassment complaint against ex-lawmaker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee judge has squashed an attempt to release more records involving a sexual harassment complaint against a former state lawmaker, including information about how tax dollars may have been spent as part of the investigation.Davidson County Chancellor Russell Perkins’ ruling, handed down Tuesday, is the latest development in the monthslong speculation over how Tennessee’s GOP-dominated House handled a complaint lodged by a legislative intern against former Rep. Scotty Campbell.Campbell resigned last April after it was revealed that an ethics panel found that he violated the Legislature’s workplace discrimination and harassment policy. The resignation came just two weeks after the Republican joined his fellow GOP members in expelling two Black Democratic legislators for protesting in support of gun control on the state House floor.Critics cried foul over Campbell’s ability to weigh in on the expulsions while his sexual harassment compl...

Israel’s peers warn against displacing Palestinians in Gaza to places like Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

OTTAWA — Countries traditionally aligned with Israel are warning its right-wing government against contemplating a displacement of people who live in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli officials repeatedly suggest Canada could take in Palestinians.This week, Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said his country should “encourage migration” of Palestinians from Gaza and re-establish Israeli settlements there, echoing similar comments from National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller is condemning remarks from both politicians as “inflammatory and irresponsible,” while French President Emmanuel Macron calls them “unacceptable” comments.Last month, members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party reportedly discussed countries willing to accept Palestinians in Gaza as refugees.The report by the Israel Hayom newspaper cited unnamed sources as saying a member of the Knesset had...

US again renews protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and top aide over Iran threats

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has once again renewed taxpayer-funded protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and one of his top aides, who have been the target of persistent threats from Iran.The State Department notified Congress late last month that the threats against Pompeo and Trump administration Iran envoy Brian Hook remain “serious and credible” and continue to warrant government-provided security details.The notifications are dated Dec. 19 but were not transmitted to Congress until Dec. 22. They were obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.Tensions in the Middle East have soared since the outbreak of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and escalated further Wednesday after dozens of people were killed in blasts in Iran at a memorial service for Iran Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad on Jan. 3, 2020. Pompeo and Hook were the public faces of the U.S. “maximum pressure” campaign ag...