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Summer travel is likely to remain hot this year, so book early

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:58:45 GMT

Travel last summer was, in a word, wild.Pent-up “revenge” travel combined with relaxed restrictions caused a surge in demand. High fuel prices and limited airline capacity drove up costs, with overall travel prices increasing 17% over pre-pandemic levels by June 2022, according to NerdWallet’s Travel Price Index.What about this summer? Will weakening demand lead to lower prices and thinner crowds? It’s not looking likely, according to travel experts.“We aren’t seeing any dip in demand,” says Hayley Berg, lead economist at Hopper, a travel booking platform. “It seems incredible that the demand could be sustained, but we’re not seeing any weakness right now.”It seems that Americans’ appetite for revenge remains unsated. And that could lead to another wild ride this summer.No relief from high pricesPrices for flights, car rentals and hotels may have peaked last year, but they haven’t come down much.Overall trip prices remained 15% higher in January 2023 compared with January 2020...

Michigan 1st state in decades to repeal ‘right-to-work’ law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:58:45 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan, long known as a mainstay of organized labor, on Friday became the first state in decades to repeal a union-restricting law known as “right-to-work” that was passed over a decade ago by a Republican-controlled Legislature.The state’s “right-to-work” law had allowed those in unionized workplaces to opt out of paying union dues and fees. Its repeal is seen as a major victory for organized labor with union membership reaching an all-time low last year. “Today, we are coming together to restore workers’ rights, protect Michiganders on the job, and grow Michigan’s middle class,” Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Friday after signing the legislation.The second-term governor also signed legislation restoring a prevailing wage law that had been repealed by Republicans in 2018. It requires contractors hired for state projects to pay union-level wages.Repealing the “right-to-work” law, enacted in 2012, had long been listed as a top...

Storms bring flash floods, tornado threats to parts of US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:58:45 GMT

DECATUR, Texas (AP) — Authorities searched for a person missing after flash flooding swept away a vehicle in Missouri and a suspected tornado touched down early Friday in north Texas as a volatile storm system threatened to spawn tornadoes in several Southern states.The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center forecast severe weather through Friday evening primarily from the lower Mississippi Valley to the lower Ohio Valley.Forecasters said the greatest threat of tornadoes would come Friday afternoon and evening in portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Storms with damaging winds and hail were forecast from eastern Texas and southeastern Oklahoma into parts of southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois. Heavy rain Thursday night and Friday morning caused flash flooding in parts of Missouri, where authorities said a vehicle became stranded near the town of Fordham. Rescue crews responded late Thursday near a low-water crossing at the Finley River...

Toronto asks to exempt all drugs, include youth, in updated decriminalization request

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:58:45 GMT

Toronto has updated its 14-month-old decriminalization request to the federal government, clarifying it wants a Health Canada exemption to cover young people as well as adults, and all drugs for personal use.The city’s updated submission to its initial January 2022 request asks the federal agency to go further than the exemption it recently granted to British Columbia under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.The letter released Friday and jointly signed by Toronto’s medical officer of health, police chief and city manager lays out what they call a “made-in-Toronto” model.“Fear of criminalization is one of the reasons people may hesitate to access the help they need,” Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city’s Medical Officer of Health, said in a statement while noting that almost 600 people died due to overdose in Toronto in 2021. “The goal of decriminalization is to reduce the mental, physical and social harms associated with criminalizing ...

Mexican president pushes back on US criticism on violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:58:45 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president on Friday angrily rejected comments by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the Mexican government has lost control over parts of the country. However, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged that Mexican cartels had placed people inside Mexico’s drug regulatory agency to approve imports of fentanyl precursor chemicals from China.Earlier this week, Blinken said “I think it’s fair to say yes” when asked at a Senate hearing whether drug cartels control parts of Mexico.The Mexican president responded to those comments at his morning press briefing Friday, saying, “That is false, it’s not true. … There is nowhere in the nation’s territory where authorities are not present.” But López Obrador acknowledged that cartels had stretched their tentacles into the Mexican government’s federal drug regulatory agency, known by its initials in Spanish as Cofepris.“They even had representatives in Cofep...

Washington Supreme Court upholds effort to balance tax code

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:58:45 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington Supreme Court on Friday upheld the state’s new capital gains tax, which was adopted by lawmakers in an effort to balance what is considered the nation’s most regressive tax code.In a 7-2 decision, the justices found the tax to be an excise tax — not a property tax, which the state Constitution limits to 1% annually, or an income tax, which Supreme Court decisions dating to the 1930s have found unconstitutional.“For 134 years, Washington state has been waiting for the day when a fairer tax system came about, one where working people were not carrying an inequitable share of the burden,” Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Today is that day. Washington’s capital gains tax helps right an upside-down tax structure where low-income Washingtonians ultimately expend a much larger share of their income in taxes than our wealthiest residents.”Washington is one of nine states without an income tax, and its heavy reliance on sales ...

California ends some water limits after storms ease drought

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:58:45 GMT

DUNNIGAN, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom ended some of the state’s water restrictions on Friday because a winter of relentless rain and snow has replenished the state’s reservoirs and eased fears of a shortage after three years of severe drought.He also announced local agencies that supply water to 27 million people and many farmers would get much more from state supplies than originally planned. But Newsom did not declare an end to the drought, warning much of the state is still suffering from its lingering effects.“Are we out of the drought? Is the drought over in the state of California?” Newsom said. “I want to affirm your instinct that it should be, it feels like it is. It is — and continues to be — complicated. And I know that’s disappointing for some because it would be nice to have a governor say the drought is over.”Newsom said he would stop asking people to voluntarily cut their water use by 15%, a request he first made nearly two years ago wh...

Person of interest questioned after argument leads to 1 dead, 1 wounded in Austin: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:58:45 GMT

CHICAGO — A person of interest is being questioned after a verbal altercation turned deadly on the city's West Side, police said. Around 8:30 a.m., in the 5300 block of W. Division in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, a 19-year-old male and a 17-year-old male allegedly got into an argument with another man. According to police, the man pulled out a gun and shot the 19-year-old and 17-year-old multiple times. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesThe 19-year-old was rushed to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead. The 17-year-old was also taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition. Area Five detectives are investigating. Anyone with information may leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.

Kawasaki Motors recalling lawn mower engines due to fire hazards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:58:45 GMT

(WHTM) – The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced that about 33,100 of Kawasaki's riding lawn mower engines are being recalled due to fire hazards. The affected engines were sold nationwide under the Ferris and SCAG brand names from November 2017 through September 2022.According to the CPSC, contact with the fuel pump cover can damage the high-pressure fuel line, causing a fuel leak that can result in burn and fire hazards. Disney-themed children’s toys recalled over choking hazard The engines involved in the recall are from model years 2018 through 2022 for the Kawasaki FT730V-EFI series. The series numbers are printed on the engine air filter covers, while the engine model and serial numbers can be found on the engine fan housing. The following model and serial number ranges are included in this recall:Model NumberSpecification NumberEngine Serial Number RangeFT730VAS41, BS41, CS41, DS41,AS42, BS42, CS42, DS42FT730VA00107 - FT730VA66205Information provided by CPSCKaw...

Advocate Heath Care to remove mask mandate and allow more patient visitors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:58:45 GMT

CHICAGO — Advocate Health Care is making some major policy changes regarding their COVID procedures. Masks will be optional starting Monday with no limit to patient visitors and doctors with Advocate say the time is right. Dr. Robert Citronberg, executive medical director of infectious disease and prevention of Advocate Health Care Now with the climbing rate of community transmission in all the counties in Illinois "Now with the declining rate of transmission in all the counties in Illinois in places where we serve patients, we are now able to remove that masking requirement," Dr. Robert Citronberg, the executive medical director of infectious disease said. Students surprise classmate with head-shaving birthday party There are some exceptions to the mask optional and visitation rules such as only two visitors at a time will be allowed with the patients in general pediatrics and the ICU. Masks will continue to be required for visitors of transmission-based isolation, that is if vi...