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Joe O’Biden? President in Ireland, eager to trace roots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:29 GMT

DUBLIN (AP) — President Joe Biden arrived in Dublin on Wednesday primed to trace his ancestral roots on a personal visit for a politician who cites his Irish heritage as a driving force in his life.Biden was headed first for County Louth on Ireland’s east coast, home of his Finnegan ancestors. He was expected to tour a castle and take a walk around downtown Dundalk. The president had also intended to visit a cemetery there, but that plan was scrapped because of uncooperative weather. During his three days in Ireland, Biden also plans to address the parliament in Dublin, attend a gala dinner and visit County Mayo, another ancestral area. Upon his arrival in Dublin, Biden was greeted by Ireland’s prime minister at the airport and then swung by a nearby fire station, where children of U.S. Embassy employees held American and Irish flags and signs that said “welcome home.”According to the Irish Family History Centre, Biden “is among the most ‘Irish’ of all U.S. Presidents.” Ten of...

Tech and industrial stocks help boost S&P/TSX composite, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:29 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in technology and industrial stocks helped Canada’s main stock index climb higher in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 87.29 points at 20,509.14.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 10.19 points at 33,694.98. The S&P 500 index was down 4.71 points at 4,104.23, while the Nasdaq composite was down 46.81 points at 11,985.07.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.26 cents US compared with 74.17 cents US on Tuesday.The May crude contract was up US$1.08 at US$82.61 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.11 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was up US$4.20 at US$2,023.20 an ounce and the May copper contract was up two cents at US$4.04 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Chicago's Daniel James will fight at Bellator 297

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:29 GMT

CHICAGO — A native of Chicago who is working his way up the ranks of Bellator MMA is going to get another chance to fight in his hometown this summer. Daniel James, a heavyweight fighter who is currently fourth in that division, will take on Gokhan Saricam at Bellator 297 on Friday, June 16 at Wintrust Arena, WGN News has learned. This comes after "The American Predator" defeated Marcelo Golm at Bellator 293 in Temecula, California with a third round knockout.That improved James' professional mixed martial arts record to 15-6-1 as he has now scored knockouts in his last five fights. Daniel James making most of return to the US with Bellator This will be the west side native's third fight in the Chicagoland area in his Bellator career, having won his first fight with the company against Erick Correa at Bellator 112 in Hammond, Indiana on March 14, 2014. On November 18, 2022, James made his return to Bellator at Wintrust Arena, scoring a second round knockout of Tyrell Fortune. Th...

Prince Harry will attend father's coronation. Meghan won't

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:29 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry will attend his father King Charles III’s Coronation next month, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday, ending lengthy speculation on whether he would be welcome after leveling charges of racism and media manipulation at the royal family.But Harry's wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain in California with the couple’s two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the palace said. The May 6 date of the coronation at Westminster Abbey coincides with their son’s birthday.Harry’s attendance comes despite the rift within the House of Windsor prompted by his decision to reveal family secrets in his bestselling book, “Spare.”The revelations included details of private conversations with his father, and his elder brother, Prince William. The disclosures fanned tensions between Harry and his family, which had become public when he and his wife moved to North America in 2020.Harry and Meghan, who is biracial, have alleged she faced racist attitudes from bot...

New inflation numbers released: What's getting more expensive?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:29 GMT

(The Hill) – Prices across the economy fell to an annual increase of 5 percent, down from 6 percent annually in February, according to data from the Labor Department.On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.1 percent after rising 0.4 percent in February and 0.5 percent in January.Economists had been expecting inflation to land at 5.1 percent annually and for it to have increased by 0.2 percentage points in March, so the numbers are better than expectations.Grocery prices dropped substantially to an 8.4 percent annual increase from 10.2 percent last month. Food prices, which are some of the inflation that consumers feed most acutely, are still running much hotter than inflation overall. Despite inflation, these things have gotten cheaper Fruits and vegetables dropped 1.3 percent on the month while meats declined by 1.4 percent.The "core" inflation, which removes the categories of food and energy, was up 5.6 percent annually and 0.4 percent since February, somewhat higher than the headline...

Trump tops DeSantis by 21 points in new South Carolina poll

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:29 GMT

(The Hill) – Former President Trump topped Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) by 21 points in a hypothetical new GOP primary poll in South Carolina, one of the first states to vote in the Republican primary. A poll from Winthrop University found Trump leading a potential Republican field with 41% of registered Republicans supporting him, followed by DeSantis with 20%. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who also served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, came in a close third with 18%, while Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) followed with 7%. The poll’s release comes amid Scott's Wednesday announcement that he is launching a presidential exploratory committee to allow him to raise money for a campaign and potentially move toward officially running. He is planning to visit the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina this week.But Scott and other Republicans still trailed behind Trump, sometimes by a wide margin. Almost three-quarters of Re...

'Joe Exotic' says he's running for president as a Democrat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:29 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The "Tiger King" says he'll be running for president in 2024 as a Democrat.Joseph Maldonado, perhaps better known to "Tiger King" viewers as Joe Exotic, announced his presidential bid in March.Though he is serving time in federal prison, Maldonado says he's not going to let that stop him from running for the nation’s top office.This is not the first time Maldonado has launched a bid for the presidency. He ran in 2016 under the Libertarian Party. He also ran for Oklahoma governor as a Libertarian in 2018.Now, Maldonado says he's filing his 2024 presidential campaign with the Democratic Party."I'm joining the Democrats to fight like hell for every child in America. Their future won't be destroyed by endless laws and the shadow of violence," reads a post shared to the official Joe Exotic Twitter account. "It's time for a g------ revolution, and I'm leading the charge!" Carole Baskin plans to sell Big Cat Rescue, send animals to Arkansas Maldonado's campaign is ...

Post Malone personally designed this Raising Cane's restaurant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:29 GMT

MIDVALE, Utah (KTVX) – Famed rapper Post Malone, who has found himself a home in Utah, has put his creative energy into a whole new project: redesigning one of the state's Raising Cane's locations. The fast food chain calls it a "complete visual restaurant takeover." Post Malone's design influence stretches from the parking, to the restrooms inside the building, down to the packaging the chicken tenders comes in. Reflecting the artist's "bold style and enthusiastic personality," Raising Cane's typical brick design has been replaced with a solid pink wrap decorated with Post Malone tattoo imagery and a stainless steel '1' tower. A brushed silver 1974 Ford F250 with a custom license plate will sit outside as a permanent fixture outside the restaurant. Taco Bell to bring back one of 2 discontinued items based on fans’ votes The solid pink theme continues on the inside of the restaurant as well, covering the flooring and walls.Personal memorabilia, such as outfits and guitars, will ha...

Prince Harry will attend his father's May 6 coronation, palace says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:29 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry will attend his father King Charles III’s Coronation next month, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday, ending lengthy speculation on whether he would be welcome after leveling charges of racism and media manipulation at the royal family.But Harry's wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain in California with the couple’s two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the palace said. The May 6 date of the coronation at Westminster Abbey coincides with their son’s birthday.Harry’s attendance comes despite the rift within the House of Windsor prompted by his decision to reveal family secrets in his bestselling book, “Spare.”The revelations included details of private conversations with his father, and his elder brother, Prince William. The disclosures fanned tensions between Harry and his family, which had become public when he and his wife moved to North America in 2020. Britain’s royal line of succession: Who is next in line to the throne? Harry and...

VIDEO: Bobcat spotted in Plum Creek neighborhood in Kyle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:29 GMT

KYLE, Texas (KXAN) -- A Kyle resident had an Easter animal encounter over the weekend, but it wasn't with a bunny. Sophia Johnson sent KXAN a video of a bobcat she came across while walking her dog in the Plum Creek area of Kyle. You can watch the video below. Johnson said she was out for a walk on Easter Sunday with her chihuahua when the encounter happened. Her chihuahua can even be heard growling at the bobcat in the video. Johnson said she took the sighting as an "auspicious sign." She plays in a band -- whose name has a feline connection -- called Tiger Alley, and she's writing an instrumental song in the bobcat's honor. "I am taking the sighting as an auspicious sign," Johnson said in an email, "glad it was a bobcat and not a tiger that I ran into. Ha!"Bobcats have previously been spotted near Central Texas neighborhoods. In October, a bobcat family was caught on video playing in a Pflugerville resident's backyard. A couple weeks later, security ...