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Ottawa claws back $82M from health transfers to 8 provinces charging private fees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:40 GMT

OTTAWA — Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says he is clawing $82 million in federal health transfers to the provinces for charging patients for services that should have been covered by the public purse.Eight provinces will see reductions in their next health transfer from the federal government over fees charged to patients in 2020 and 2021.Most of the deductions are related to fees for diagnostic services such as MRIs and CT scans.The federal Liberal government enacted a new policy on diagnostic services in 2020 ensuring fees for such tests were covered by the Canada Health Act’s single-payer policy.The Canada Health Act allows the federal government to reduce health transfers when provinces charge user fees for medically necessary health services.Duclos has also written to every province and territory to warn them about an increase in private fees being charged for other services, including virtual patient visits.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1...

Here’s a quick glance at unemployment rates for February, by Canadian city

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:40 GMT

OTTAWA — The national unemployment rate was 5.0 per cent in February. Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities. It cautions, however, that the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. Here are the jobless rates last month by city (numbers from the previous month in brackets):_ St. John’s, N.L. 6.2 per cent (6.3)_ Halifax 4.7 per cent (4.5)_ Moncton, N.B. 5.3 per cent (5.3)_ Saint John, N.B. 6.4 per cent (6.1)_ Saguenay, Que. 4.2 per cent (4.8)_ Quebec City 1.9 per cent (2.4)_ Sherbrooke, Que. 4.0 per cent (3.3)_ Trois-Rivières, Que. 3.4 per cent (3.2)_ Montreal 4.7 per cent (4.5)_ Gatineau, Que. 4.4 per cent (4.0)_ Ottawa 4.0 per cent (3.8)_ Kingston, Ont. 5.5 per cent (5.8)_ Belleville, Ont. 5.5 per cent (6.1)_ Peterborough, Ont. 4.2 per cent (3.4)_ Oshawa, Ont. 4.5 per cent (4.3)_ Toronto 5.8 per cent (6.0)_ Hamilton, Ont. 5.6 per cent (5.2)_ St. Catharines-Nia...

Here’s a quick glance at unemployment rates for February, by province

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:40 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s national unemployment rate was 5.0 per cent in February. Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets):_ Newfoundland and Labrador 9.9 per cent (11.8)_ Prince Edward Island 7.3 per cent (7.7)_ Nova Scotia 5.7 per cent (5.0)_ New Brunswick 6.3 per cent (7.5)_ Quebec 4.1 per cent (3.9)_ Ontario 5.1 per cent (5.2)_ Manitoba 4.7 per cent (4.2)_ Saskatchewan 4.3 per cent (4.3)_ Alberta 5.8 per cent (6.0)_ British Columbia 5.1 per cent (4.4)This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 10, 2023.The Canadian Press

Man robbed by 5 men in Lakeview East

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:40 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was robbed by five armed men in the city's Lakeview East neighborhood early Friday morning. According to police, the 24-year-old man was walking on the sidewalk near the 1000 block of West Belmont Avenue around 2:30 a.m. when five men exited an SUV armed with handguns. Security guard injured after Wacker Drive bank robbery Police say the men stole the man's phone, laptop, backpack and fled the scene.There were no reported injuries and there is currently no one in custody. Police are actively investigating the incident.

Slushy and icy roads Friday morning for Chicago area

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:40 GMT

CHICAGO — A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect Thursday from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday for the Chicago area.Counties include Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry.In Kane and McHenry counties, the advisory went into effect at 3 p.m. Thursday. Slushy roadways are expected until 7 a.m. Accumulating wet snow is expected with 2-7 inches possible. Highest totals near Illinois/Wisconsin line. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Northwestern parts of the state will see the worst conditions between 3-9 p.m. Northeastern parts of the state will see the worst conditions between 5-11 p.m.Wet and slushy snow, mainly near and north of Interstate 80 and Interstate 88 could lead to hazardous travel.Allow extra time and drive with caution into Friday morning as the travel impact could linger in some areas.In Chicago, the Department of Streets and Sanitation has deployed more than 200 salt spreaders to treat the roads. According to the department, they wi...

Alert issued after string of robberies in Grand Crossing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:40 GMT

CHICAGO — A community alert has been issued following a string of robberies in Grand Crossing.In each of the robberies, police said two to three males displayed guns and took the victim's property. They then fled the scene on foot or in a vehicle.A timeline of the incidents is below, per Chicago police. 2 teen boys charged with battery, attempted robbery of 84-year-old in Chatham 7100 block of South Prairie Avenue on January 26 at 9:50 p.m.7100 block of South State Street on February 4 at 9:45 a.m.7300 block of South Michigan Avenue on February 4, 2023 at 8:15 p.m.7000 block of South Michigan Avenue on February 6, 2023 at 2:30 p.m.7300 block of South Indiana Avenue on February 28, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.Anyone with information can call police at 312-747-8380.

Scattered snow, rain showers into Friday morning in Chicago areas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:40 GMT

CHICAGO — Still seeing some scattered rain and snow showers as the winter weather advisory wraps up. Temperatures are running in the low to mid 30s, wind chill running in mid-upper 20s. Midway picked up half an inch of snow while O'Hare picked up 1.2 inches. Weather will feel like upper 20s with windchills. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Friday night: Spotty rain and snow mix, mostly cloudy, with a low of 28. Weekend is expecting a little more sunshine with scatters of snow and rain in the evening. Temps will rise to upper 30s.

These states spend the most on policing and corrections

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:40 GMT

(MoneyGeek) Amid ongoing cases of excessive force by law enforcement officers and discussions about and federal funding and the debt ceiling, MoneyGeek analyzed the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data to determine how much states spend on policing and corrections. We also compared spending in Democratic and Republican-controlled states to see how political leaning influenced state expenditures. Here's what we found.KEY FINDINGS:- Washington, D.C. and Alaska spent the most on police and corrections per capita, spending around $1,300 and $1,000 per capita, respectively.- Despite being considered tax-friendly states, Florida and Nevada spent the highest percentages of their budgets on law enforcement (7.3% and 7.0%, respectively).- While Democratic states spent 39% more per capita on law enforcement, both Republican and Democratic states spent the same percentage of their budgets on policing and corrections, 5.1%.Which states spend the most on policing and corrections?MoneyGeek analyze...

Patrick Kane gets on the board member of the Rangers Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:40 GMT

MONTREAL - There are still a fair amount of Blackhawks fans who are keeping their eye on a team from New York City. Those who have got to see a first from Patrick Kane in another uniform in the National Hockey League on Thursday.The former Blackhawks star not only got his first goal but also his first assist as a member of the Rangers against the Canadiens in Montreal. It comes in his third game with New York after being traded from Chicago on February 28 in a three-team trade that also included the Arizona Coyotes. Blackhawks give fans a chance to say thanks to Patrick Kane Kane got on the board as a Ranger in the second period when he had the secondary assist on the goal by New York captain Jacob Trouba. Later in the second period, Kane would get his first goal as a Ranger as he fired a shot from the left of the goal past Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault.That tied the game at three and the Rangers would go on to win in a shootout as New York improves to 39-19-9 on the season a...

Elvis' private jet arrives in Florida; new owner to transform it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:14:40 GMT

PLANT CITY, Fla. (WFLA) — After sitting in a New Mexico desert for about 40 years, a private jet once owned by Elvis Presley has made it to Tampa Bay, Florida. The King of Rock 'n' Roll's 1962 Lockheed JetStar is being stored in Plant City by owner James Webb of "Jimmy's World" on YouTube, who bought it for $234,000."Airplane itself is flipping cool, even without the obvious connection, but if you add in the Elvis connection, there's no rock 'n' roll star bigger than Elvis, in my opinion," Webb said.The jet was transported from Roswell, New Mexico, to Florida, traveling more than 1,600 miles. According to People magazine, the battered jet, which had been parked at the Roswell International Air Center in New Mexico, sold at auction on Jan 8 — which would have been Presley's 88th birthday.Presley bought the jet, which seats up to nine, on Dec. 22, 1976, for $840,000. It was one of several jets in his personal fleet, according to the auction site. Two of them are currently being displa...