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Uber will now let parents put teens in rides alone

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:44:10 GMT

Parents will soon be able to put their teenagers in Uber vehicles.The ride-hailing service is rolling out a new feature that will allow children between the ages of 13 and 17 years old to ride alone for the first time.Once their parents or caretakers hail a ride for them, teens will have to give the driver a unique pin number.Then, the app records audio during the ride and the parent can follow the trip’s progress.Parents can contact the driver or Uber’s support team at any time during the ride.Uber says only highly rated and experienced drivers will be allowed to provide rides to unaccompanied teens.The company consulted with Safe Kids Worldwide to develop the new feature.It is slated to go live Monday in more than a dozen metro areas.

State agencies coerced Libor traders into perjury, claims senior Tory MP

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:44:10 GMT

LONDON — British and U.S. authorities covered up state involvement in Libor rigging and scapegoated low and middle-ranking bankers, some of whom spent years in jail, a senior Conservative MP told the House of Commons on Thursday.“I am greatly concerned that the Treasury select committee may have been misled by state agencies about the knowledge and involvement of the state in setting false rates,” said David Davis in a point of order in parliament. The former Cabinet minister told the House of Commons he intends to write to the Metropolitan Police to ask them to investigate any potential perjury that took place. “There is prima facie case to believe that state agencies coerced individuals into perjury that led to false conviction,” he said.The state’s pursuit of Libor traders from 2012 onwards took place amid mass public anger towards banks and bankers for the role they played in the global financial crisis of 2008, which hit economies the world over. Libor u...

NH man arrested in connection with deadly Derry shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:44:10 GMT

A Candia, New Hampshire man is facing a murder charge in connection with a fatal shooting in Derry, New Hampshire on Wednesday night.Officers responding to a reported shooting at the Lobster Claw II on Main Street around 5:45 p.m. found John Kratz, Jr., 64, of Sandown, New Hampshire, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, according to a joint statement issued by New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella and Derry Police Chief George Feole.He was taken to Eilliot Hospital in Manchester, where he was pronounced dead.Following an investigation, John Kratz, 27, was arrested on a second-degree murder charge. He is expected to be arraigned Thursday in Rockingham Superior Court.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Mother’s boyfriend to be arraigned on murder charge in Jeremiah Oliver’s death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:44:10 GMT

The boyfriend of Jeremiah Oliver’s mother is set to be arraigned on a murder charge in connection with his death.The 5-year-old’s body was found in a suitcase on the side of the highway in Sterling in 2014 after he was reported missing. His mother is also set to face charges in connection with this death.Alberto Sierra is already serving 6 to 7 years in prison after pleading guilty to assault and child endangerment charges in Worcester Superior Court.Prosecutors said he assaulted Jeremiah Oliver’s mother, Elsa Oliver, and two of his young siblings between March and December in 2013. Prosecutors said Sierra used a belt to assault the children.Jeremiah’s siblings reported him missing from his Kimball Street home in 2013.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Column: A chilly spring for David Ross and Pedro Grifol and other warning signs for the Chicago Cubs and White Sox for the summer ahead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:44:10 GMT

What the Washington Post termed “a bizarre, localized cold front” hit Chicago on Tuesday afternoon, suddenly turning a warm spring afternoon into a chilly night.Meteorologists called it a “pneumonia front,” comparing it to the chills one experiences when getting ill.Coincidentally, Cubs fans also have been going through a pneumonia front after a feel-good start to the 2023 season evaporated into thin air, leaving them cold and confused and looking for someone to blame.The Cubs blew a five-run, eighth-inning lead Wednesday night in Houston in a 7-6 loss to the Astros, extending their losing streak to five games and falling to 19-24, tied with the rebuilding Cincinnati Reds for third place in the National League Central.Drew Smyly pitched seven perfect innings in a 13-0 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 21, leaving the Cubs at 12-7. They’ve gone 7-17 since, wasting another strong outing by Smyly on Wednesday.The Cubs batted .242 with a .709 OPS...

Get to know Tyler Scott: Q&A with the new Chicago Bears wide receiver’s college coach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:44:10 GMT

Speed. That’s the first word on every scouting report for Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott. A fifth-round pick in last month’s draft, Scott was a Junior Olympian in track as a kid in addition to being a burner as a high school running back.After he got to college at Cincinnati, he converted to wide receiver and last season produced 54 catches, 899 yards and nine touchdowns for the Bearcats.The Bears felt fortunate to select Scott as late as they did (No. 133) and envision him becoming a dynamic weapon for quarterback Justin Fields. Former Cincinnati receivers coach Mike Brown, who is now at Wisconsin, can’t say enough about Scott’s speed and approach to the game.Brown spoke to the Tribune recently to relay his experience with Scott and offer insight on the rookie’s skill set. Here’s that interview, edited for clarity.Note: This is part of a series of conversations with the college position coaches of this year’s Bears draft pic...

Canada Goose reports $3.1M Q4 loss, revenue up more than 30% from year ago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:44:10 GMT

TORONTO — Canada Goose Holdings Inc. reported a loss of $3.1 million in its fourth quarter compared with a loss of $9.1 million a year earlier as its revenue rose more than 30 per cent.The luxury parka maker says it lost three cents per diluted share for the quarter ended April 2, down from a loss of nine cents per diluted share a year earlier.Revenue in the fourth quarter of the company’s 2023 financial year totalled $293.2 million, up from $223.1 million in the same quarter last year.On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned 14 cents per diluted share, up from an adjusted profit of four cents per diluted share a year earlier.Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of 11 cents per share and $259.1 million in revenue, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.In its outlook for its 2024 financial year, Canada Goose says it expects total revenue between $1.4 billion and $1.5 billion and an adjusted profit between $1.20 and $1.4...

Hong Kong leader defends removing politically sensitive books from public libraries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:44:10 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader said Thursday the city’s public libraries would not recommend books featuring “bad ideologies” to residents after they pulled titles related to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown and certain political figures, further shrinking the city’s freedoms. Chief Executive John Lee was addressing a lawmaker’s question about dozens of books in public libraries that were taken down without a clear explanation. Those include publications about the bloody crackdown and others written by pro-democracy politicians and political commentators.Hong Kong is a former British colony that returned to China’s rule in 1997, promising to retain its Western-style freedoms. But the city’s cultural and creative sectors said the city’s freedoms have shrunk since Beijing imposed a tough national security law following massive pro-democracy protests in 2019. Critics said the book pulling would further undermine Hong Kong’s reputa...

WestJet starts to cancel flights as pilot strike looms, negotiations in stalemate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:44:10 GMT

MONTREAL — WestJet has started to cancel flights as talks with the pilots’ union remained at a “critical impasse,” the company said Thursday, jeopardizing travel plans for thousands of passengers ahead of the May long weekend. Some 1,800 pilots at the carrier and its Swoop subsidiary are poised to walk off the job as of 3 a.m. ET after the Air Line Pilots Association issued a strike notice Monday.WestJet issued a statement early Thursday saying negotiations with the union remained “in a stalemate.” “We remain at a critical impasse with the union and have been left with no choice but to begin taking the painful steps of preparing for the reality of a work stoppage,” CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said in a statement. WestJet Group is parking the majority of its 737 and 787 fleet in a “measured, phased and safe approach,” the statement read. The airline said WestJet Encore, WestJet Link as well as limited 737 flights will continue to operate during this time. With ...

China’s loans pushing world’s poorest countries to brink of collapse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:44:10 GMT

A dozen poor countries are facing economic instability and even collapse under the weight of hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign loans, much of them from the world’s biggest and most unforgiving government lender, China.An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos and Mongolia — found paying back that debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel. And it’s draining foreign currency reserves these countries use to pay interest on those loans, leaving some with just months before that money is gone.Behind the scenes is China’s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help. On top of that is the recent discovery that borrowers have been required to put cash in hidden escrow accounts that push China to the ...