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Calgary real estate market sizzles as newcomers flock to Alberta

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

CALGARY — As the curtain rises on the 10-day extravaganza that is the famed Calgary Stampede, homebuyers are also stampeding to snap up real estate in Alberta’s largest city.This summer, the hottest commodity in town isn’t the perfect pair of cowboy boots or a well-broken-in Stetson — it’s a detached home on a nice lot or a perfect downtown condo with a view.“It started taking off around February, and it’s been like this all year,” said Calgary real estate agent Matt Halladay, who has been helping buyers navigate what has become Canada’s hottest real estate market in 2023.That means homes selling often the day they’re listed, he said, for well over the asking price — and occasionally sight unseen, as sellers accept a bid before the scheduled viewings even start.“It’s common to see anywhere from four to 17 offers (on one listing),” Halladay said. “The most I’ve heard of, on one that we lost out on, was 26 o...

S&P/TSX composite ticks upward on energy and base metals, U.S. stock markets down

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

TORONTO — Gains in energy and base metal stocks helped lift Canada’s main stock index higher Friday, while U.S. markets were down after a day of mixed trading. New jobs data in the U.S. and Canada released Friday showed a still-resilient labour market, helping seal the deal for central banks on both sides of the border to announce interest rate hikes at their next meetings. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 20.35 points at 19,831.04.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 187.38 points at 33,734.88. The S&P 500 index was down 12.64 points at 4,398.95, while the Nasdaq composite was down 18.33 points at 13,660.72.Canada posted a bigger-than-expected gain of 60,000 jobs in June after a loss in May, but also saw unemployment rise to 5.4 per cent. June was the second month in a row the unemployment rate has risen as economists and central bank officials eye the labour market for signs of cooling. “The Bank of Canada has little choice but to raise another 25...

Antisemitic flyers linked to U.S. based hate group raise concerns in Peterborough

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

Advocacy organizations say the distribution of antisemitic flyers in Peterborough and elsewhere is linked to an American hate group, as police continue to investigate the latest incident.Over the Canada Day long weekend, 19 Peterborough residents reported receiving flyers promoting anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and white supremacist propaganda, marking the third time in three months that such flyers were distributed to various neighbourhoods in the city.“It’s just not acceptable that our brothers and sisters in the Jewish community have been targeted for this kind of vile hatred,” said Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal.The mayor said the hateful conduct originated from the United States and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish advocacy organization, and others have specifically linked the flyers to the U.S.-based hate group Goyim Defense League (GDL). GDL is described as a “loose” network of individuals on the internet who stream antisemitic co...

'It's been hell': Northwest Indiana family remembers positive spirit of daughter killed in tailgating crash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

CHICAGO — A Northwest Indiana family is devastated after losing their 19-year-old daughter in a Fourth of July crash due to a driver tailgating and a subsequent head-on collision.Jake Norris was getting ready to celebrate the Fourth when he got a call from one of his daughter's friends. His older daughter, Grace Norris, 19, of Demotte, was with her sister Emma, 13, on the way to pick up one of Emma's friends. He frantically began calling them."My girls always answer," Norris told WGN News. "I called both about four or five times then I checked Life360. They hadn't moved in 50 minutes."Life360 is an app that lets families track locations of loved ones.Norris jumped in his car and headed to the scene in the 7000 block of East 117th Avenue in Winfield. "Pulled up on the scene and saw all the lights," Norris said. "I saw the coroner's van and I knew it wasn't going to be good."Grace and JakeAuthorities believe a 44-year-old Crown Point woman was tailgating a Jeep when she attempted to p...

CPD officers under investigation for sexual relationship with migrants living at station

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department is reportedly investigating allegations against officers who engaged in sexual relations with migrants living at a West Side patrol district.According to a spokesman with the Chicago Police Department, an internal investigation was launched on Thursday into allegations that "officer or officers" engaged in sexual relationships with migrants who were living in a police station on the city's West Side.The "officer or officers" involved were assigned to the Ogden District, that covers Chicago's Little Village and Lawndale neighborhoods.Chicago Sun-Times reported that police are investigating whether cops had the sexual relations with the new immigrants, including a teenage girl who is pregnant. Glen Ellyn woman faces 132 counts of animal cruelty charges Since their arrival to the city, the Chicago Police Department has housed many migrants at stations across the city, along with several city-owned buildings as temporary housing.Some of the sexu...

Suburban man who drowned trying to help children had survived 9/11 attacks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

WINNETKA, Ill. (AP) — A suburban Chicago man who drowned in Lake Michigan while trying to help children struggling in the lake was a survivor of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, his family said.Witnesses said Luke Laidley, 43, was boating Tuesday with others on the lakefront north of Chicago when he jumped into the lake to help at least one child who had fallen off a raft being pulled by the boat.The Winnetka man went underwater before being pulled from the lake by others on the boat. Laidley died later Tuesday at an Evanston hospital and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that his manner of death was drowning, said Natalia Derevyanny, an office spokeswoman. ‘It’s been hell’: Northwest Indiana family remembers positive spirit of daughter killed in tailgating crash An obituary prepared by his family states that Laidley “risked his life for the children who were struggling when their tube flipped on Lake Michigan.”The obituary adds t...

Hammond to consider closing gas stations overnight to curb crime

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

HAMMOND, Ind. — The City of Hammond Common Council will consider an ordinance that would close gas stations overnight in an effort to combat violent crime. Backed by Hammond Mayor Thomas M. McDermott Jr., the ordinance would mandate the closure of any gas station in city limits between midnight and 5 a.m. City officials referenced violent crimes — carjackings, robberies, batteries, shootings and homicide — that occurred late at night and in the early morning at gas stations.MORE NORTHWEST INDIANA NEWS: 17-year-old charged after ‘despicable vandalism’ found on Chesterton sign“We have seen over the last several years violent criminal acts, often involving firearms, occurring at gas stations late and night and in the early morning hours. My job as mayor is to ensure the public’s safety and this ordinance removes a place where, unfortunately, violent incidents continue to take place. I can’t sit back and see innocent people become victims of violent crime. I fully support the Cou...

Delta Air Lines launching two new nonstops from Austin in October

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for July 7, 2023AUSTIN (KXAN) — Delta Air Lines is adding two new nonstop flights from Austin to its schedule later this year.Beginning Oct. 9, the airline will fly direct from Austin-Bergstrom International to both Las Vegas and Orlando. Tickets for both new year-round routes go on sale on July 8. FULL LIST: All the new nonstop flights from AUS this year Daily flights to Harry Reid International in Las Vegas will leave AUS at 3 p.m. and land at 3:59 p.m. local time. Return flights leave Las Vegas at 4:59 p.m. and arrive in Austin at 9:41 p.m.Meanwhile, flights to Orlando International leave AUS at 7:20 a.m. and land at 10:57 a.m. Return flights leave Orlando a 12 p.m. and arrive in Austin at 2:03 p.m."These additions are reflective of our desire to continue monitoring demand trends and shaping our schedule to fit where our customers want to fly most," a Delta spokesperson told KXAN.While new for the airline, nei...

Texas begins installing buoy barrier to deter migrants on Rio Grande River

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Trucks hauling rows of large, orange-colored buoys arrived Friday at the U.S.-Mexico border, where the state of Texas is set to string them along a section of the Rio Grande River as a tactic to deter migrants from crossing illegally into the country. The Texas Department of Public Safety shared pictures on social media of the new buoy barrier, which showed equipment lifting some parts of it off a flatbed truck. The law enforcement agency noted in its tweet, "The buoys have arrived and the installation of the marine barrier on the Rio Grande begins today."The Texas Department of Public Safety shared photos on July 7, 2023 of the buoy barrier that will be installed along the Rio Grande River. (Photo Courtesy: Texas Department of Public Safety)The Texas Department of Public Safety shared photos on July 7, 2023 of the buoy barrier that will be installed along the Rio Grande River. (Photo Courtesy: Texas Department of Public Safety)The Texas Department of Public Safety s...

Rain chances dry up ahead of another heat wave

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Our chances for spotty showers continue to dwindle as very isolated showers continue to dry up. Still, it was another day below 100º, which we have to be grateful for.Tonight will be partly cloudy with widespread low clouds heading in to start our Saturday morning.Those clouds lift by mid-morning to reveal a mostly sunny sky that will push temperatures into the upper 90s tomorrow. We'll probably escape ONE MORE DAY without 100º heat on Saturday, before triple digits return Sunday.Rain chances on Saturday are less than 10%, with the best chance for a stray shower being in our eastern counties.The infamous "heat dome" currently sitting to our west will nudge a bit closer to the state this weekend into next week. This change in pattern will shut down our rain chances and allow temperatures to return to the low 100s.High pressure shuts down rain chances this weekend into next weekThat high will then shift it's center westward, but also strengthen at the same time. This ...