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Prime’s ‘Citadel’ spy series expensive & entertaining

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:05:13 GMT

“Citadel” begins with an inverted camera shot, suggesting to viewers they are in for a disorienting ride.The expensive and reasonably entertaining new science-fiction-tinged spy series from Prime Video — debuting with its first two episodes this week, before releasing its four remaining first-season installments weekly — continues to suggest this after flipping to the standard orientation.Executive produced by Hollywood heavyweights Joe and Anthony Russo, “Citadel” places us aboard a passenger train, on which we meet two agents of the series’ namesake global spy agency, Richard Madden’s Mason Kane and Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Nadia Sinh. They exchange some flirtatious banter, as well as a kiss to maintain their cover, before he excuses himself to fight another man in a restroom and she corners their target at a nearby table.“What are you, CIA?” the man asks her. “MI6?”“Do I look like a woman who plays for the minor leagues?” Nadia responds.In fact, he knows full well that she’s Citade...

Rainy and cold: Toronto, GTA long-term forecast looks bleak as May arrives

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:05:13 GMT

After one of the darkest winters in Canadian history, the early spring forecast in Toronto and the GTA leaves much to be desired as below-seasonal temperatures and rain appear to be the story as May begins.It will be a chilly start to May across southern Ontario and the Golden Horseshoe, with temperatures more typical of early April and late March. Heavy rain will hit Toronto on Friday, with 15-20 mm expected to fall by the weekend’s arrival.You might want to keep your weekend plans to indoor activities as Saturday is shaping up to be a wash. There’s currently a 90 per cent chance of rain, with 10-15 mm expected in the city and wind gusts reaching up to 54 km/h.The same goes for Sunday; though rain showers will be lighter, 15 mm could fall by Monday.CityNews weather graphic. Photo: CityNews Toronto.Regarding weekend temperatures, Saturday and Sunday’s daytime will hover around 11 C — well below the historical average for the end of April, which is around 16 C...

Iran navy seizes Marshall Islands oil tanker in Gulf of Oman

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:05:13 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s navy seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday amid wider tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program, the latest-such capture in a waterway crucial for global energy supplies.The Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Advantage Sweet. Satellite tracking data for the vessel from MarineTraffic.com showed it in the Gulf of Oman just north of Oman’s capital, Muscat, on Thursday afternoon. It had just come from Kuwait and listed its destination as Houston, Texas.The Advantage Sweet issued a distress call at 1:15 p.m. while in international waters as Iran seized the vessel, the Navy said. “Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability,” the 5th Fleet said in a statement. “Iran should immediately release the oil tanker.”The Navy initially said Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized the vessel, bu...

Take Our Kids to Work Day retools at 30 as work has changed

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:05:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — At Michigan State University, children of employees can spend Thursday seeing what it’s like to staff a dairy farm, work in sports or plant a tree at the school’s first in-person Take Our Kids to Work Day since the pandemic began. Some 1,500 employees and kids have registered and the university has invited staff to bring any child in their life to explore the campus.“This is a way that people can see each other and meet their families, show off MSU, which is designated a family friendly university,” said Jaimie Hutchison, director of the university’s WorkLife Office. “It also allows people to see what others do across campus and have more pride in the institution that they work for.” MSU’s plans recall the roots of Take Our Kids to Work Day, which celebrates its 30th anniversary on Thursday. This year, Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Foundation, the nonprofit that promotes the day, hopes more organizations remind people of the import...

Former talk-show host Jerry Springer dead at 79

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:05:13 GMT

Jerry Springer, the onetime mayor and news anchor whose namesake TV show featured a three-ring circus of dysfunctional families willing to bare all on weekday afternoons including brawls, obscenities and blurred images of nudity, died Thursday at 79.At its peak, “The Jerry Springer Show” was a ratings powerhouse and a U.S. cultural pariah, synonymous with lurid drama. Known for chair-throwing and bleep-filled arguments, the daytime talk show was a favorite American guilty pleasure over its 27-year run, at one point topping Oprah Winfrey’s show.Springer called it “escapist entertainment,” while others saw the show as contributing to a dumbing-down decline in American social values.“Jerry’s ability to connect with people was at the heart of his success in everything he tried whether that was politics, broadcasting or just joking with people on the street who wanted a photo or a word,” said Jene Galvin, a family spokesperson and friend of Springer’s since 1970, in a statement. “He’s ir...

Stock market today: Surge for Meta powers Wall Street higher

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:05:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is rising Thursday after Meta Platforms became the latest Big Tech company to blow past profit expectations and reports painted a mixed picture of the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 was 0.7% higher in early trading and on pace for its first gain in three days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 181 points, or 0.5%, at 33,483, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was leading the market with a 1% gain. Facebook’s parent company was doing some of the heaviest lifting, and it jumped 15.1%. Not only did Meta beat analysts’ estimates for profit during the first three months of the year, it also gave a forecast for revenue that topped expectations. The majority of companies have been beating profit forecasts so far this reporting season. Hasbro climbed 9.8%, and eBay rose 2.4% after they also topped Wall Street’s estimates. But expectations were quite low coming into this reporting season because of still-high inflation, much higher inter...

Nebraska lawmakers to begin 2nd round of debate on abortion

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:05:13 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers were expected to begin a second round of debate Thursday on a bill that would ban abortion once cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, which generally occurs around the sixth week of pregnancy and before most women know they’re pregnant.Supporters advanced the so-called heartbeat bill from the first round of debate earlier this month with only a one-vote margin to break a filibuster. The bill must survive Thursday’s debate and a final round to pass, but the effort in the Republican-controlled state remains in question. Yet to be considered is an amendment introduced by a Republican co-signer to the bill that would extend the proposed ban to 12 weeks.The amendment and reports of support for it by some lawmakers who voted for the bill earlier this month could signal that a ban set very early in pregnancy may face pushback even from those who want further abortion restrictions.The bill makes specific exceptions for ectopic pregnanci...

Military sex assault reports rise, even as Army numbers fall

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:05:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of reported sexual assaults across the military inched up by about 1% last year, as a sharp decline in Army numbers offset large increases in the other three services, U.S. officials told The Associated Press. The small overall uptick is significantly less than the 13% jump the Defense Department saw in 2021, but it’s overshadowed by the fact the Air Force, the Navy and the Marine Corps all had more reports last year than the previous year, according to the two U.S. officials.Because the Army is much larger than the other three services, its 9% drop in reported sexual assaults last year drove the overall military increase down. That large decrease comes a year after Army leaders saw a nearly 26% jump in reports involving soldiers — the largest increase for that service since 2013.The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Pentagon’s report on the cases had not yet been publicly released, said the Air Force saw the larg...

Putting radiation to the test to heal irregular heartbeat

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:05:13 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Doctors are zapping the heart with radiation normally reserved for cancer, a bid to better treat people with life-threatening irregular heartbeats who’ve exhausted other options.While it’s highly experimental, surprising early research suggests it may reprogram misfiring heart cells to control heartbeats more like younger, healthier cells do.“It may actually rejuvenate sick tissue, and that’s pretty exciting,” said Dr. Stacey Rentschler of Washington University in St. Louis.An irregular heartbeat called ventricular tachycardia is a major cause of sudden cardiac arrest, blamed for about 300,000 U.S. deaths a year. Treating it with radiation is a radical approach — cancer doctors are trained to avoid radiating the heart at all costs for fear of collateral damage.Now researchers are about to begin the first rigorous study to prove if a quick, one-time dose to fight this irregular heartbeat really works well enough — and is safe enough — for more patients li...

Average home price will not revert to pre-pandemic levels this year: CMHC

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:05:13 GMT

TORONTO — The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the average home price will not revert to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 because declines in prices will taper off soon and bottom out sometime this year.The federal housing agency is predicting home prices and sales will record year-over-year declines and by the end of the year, leave the country with an average annual price below the 2022 level.However, the declines won’t blunt much of the market’s heat because CMHC’s chief economist foresees a more significant drop in housing starts this year than was experienced between 2020 and 2022.Bob Dugan sees some recovery in 2024 and 2025, but expects supply gaps in Canada’s most expensive and supply-constrained housing markets, including Vancouver and Toronto, to worsen.He says home ownership will be less affordable across Canada in the near-term because of higher mortgage rates and still-elevated price levels.He adds rental affordability will also likely decline as dema...