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Back-to-school shoppers expected to head back to stores but pull back on spending

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

TORONTO — The stationary aisles are expected to be busier this year as parents and students return to in-store shopping when stocking up on back-to-school essentials, though their baskets may be a little less full. The annual shopping ritual comes as rising costs for food and housing squeeze optional spending plans for many households.A survey by the Retail Council of Canada found that about 73.6 per cent of back-to-school shoppers plan to spend more than $50 this year, down from about 77 per cent last year. And while last year shoppers planned to spend the most on clothing, books and music and electronics, this year stationary is expected to be the top spending category, with 61 per cent saying that’s where they’ll direct the biggest chunk of their school shopping dollars. Last year stationary didn’t even make it into the top 10 of categories in the survey, which polled more than 9,000 Canadian adults on Caddle Inc.’s mobile platform and online panel, which ...

Daily horoscope for August 23, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping and important decisions after 10 p.m. PDT today. The Moon is in Scorpio.Happy Birthday for Wednesday, August 23, 2023You are kind, generous, compassionate and hardworking. Your willpower and determination give you self-discipline. This is a slower-paced year. It’s time to rest and rejuvenate your energy. Focus on your closest relationships and make sure they are people who have your best interests at heart.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★Despite your increasing desire to get better organized and be as efficient and productive as possible in everything that you do, in the next few weeks, Mercury retrograde will stir up some problems and create silly, goofy mistakes. This will be frustrating. Be patient with yourself. (It’s minor stuff.) Tonight: Productivity!TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★Your focus on romance, social outings, fun activities, sports, the arts and playful times with children will increase in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, Mercury retrog...

Commission clears creation of joint venture by Scania and sennder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the creation of a greenfield joint venture by Scania CV AB (‘Scania') of Sweden and sennder Techologies GmbH (‘sennder') of Germany.The joint venture will supply heavy-duty battery electric vehicles (‘BEV') based on a pay-per-use-model along with associated digital, physical, and commercial services. Initially, it will be active in Germany and later on it will roll out its services in other European countries. Scania, part of the Volkswagen Group, is a worldwide developer and manufacturer of trucks and buses, including BEVs, and a provider of vehicle financing, insurance, and rental services. sennder is a digital road freight forwarder providing a wide range of full truck load services to shippers across Europe.The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given its limited impact on the market. The transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure....

Miss Manners: We had cleared dinner, and then this guest walked in

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: What would you do if you were hosting a dinner party, invited the guests, and one guest RSVP’d: “I would love to come. However, I have another engagement, so I will be late.”Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: The neighbors ask if this rich woman left me anything. She did, but I don’t want to tell them. Advice | Miss Manners: Our friend doesn’t have a husband but she still wants the big bedroom Advice | Miss Manners: Shouldn’t I be the one to decide if my kid is being rude? Advice | Miss Manners: The bride told me to lie to her fiance about why I can’t be ‘best woman’ Advice | Miss Manners: How do I tell them I won’t serve the fancy dessert they brought? The guest arrived late by one hour and 30 minutes. We had put away the food from the dinner and had begun to serve dessert.However, the late-arriving guest said she was hun...

‘I do worry’: Virginia’s Warner on Gov. Youngkin’s fundraising power

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

Early voting gets underway in a month across Virginia for this year’s legislative elections, which will decide political control of the state’s currently divided General Assembly.The election is set for Nov. 7, with early voting starting on Sept. 22.“We’ve got a House of Delegates that we could take back or a Senate that we could lose,” said Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat.The Virginia House is currently controlled by the GOP with 49 Republicans, 46 Democrats and five vacancies.Of the 40 seats, there are 22 Democrats and 18 Republicans in the Senate.All 140 seats in the entire General Assembly will be on the ballot in November’s election.Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has made it clear that one of his main political priorities is to work toward flipping the Senate. In order to do that, Republicans would need to flip two seats currently held by Democrats.That would force a 20-20 tie in the chamber that could be broken by Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome...

Pirates aim to sweep series against the Cardinals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

St. Louis Cardinals (55-72, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (57-69, fourth in the NL Central)Pittsburgh; Wednesday, 12:35 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Cardinals: Zack Thompson (2-5, 3.90 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 39 strikeouts); Pirates: Luis L. Ortiz (0-0)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cardinals -123, Pirates +103; over/under is 9 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates will try to sweep a three-game series with a victory against the St. Louis Cardinals.Pittsburgh has a 31-32 record in home games and a 57-69 record overall. The Pirates have a 28-51 record in games when they have allowed at least one home run.St. Louis is 55-72 overall and 27-35 in road games. The Cardinals have the fifth-best team on-base percentage in MLB play at .331.Wednesday’s game is the 10th time these teams meet this season. The Pirates are up 7-2 in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Bryan Reynolds has 26 doubles, four triples and 18 home runs while hitting .268 for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen...

Padres and Marlins meet in series rubber match

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

Miami Marlins (65-62, third in the NL East) vs. San Diego Padres (60-67, fourth in the NL West)San Diego; Wednesday, 4:10 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Sandy Alcantara (6-10, 4.16 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 141 strikeouts); Padres: Seth Lugo (4-6, 3.92 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 103 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Padres -123, Marlins +104; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins play on Wednesday with the winner claiming the three-game series.San Diego is 34-33 in home games and 60-67 overall. The Padres have gone 30-11 in games when they did not allow a home run.Miami has a 28-35 record in road games and a 65-62 record overall. The Marlins have gone 29-52 in games when they have allowed at least one home run.The matchup Wednesday is the sixth time these teams meet this season. The Padres hold a 3-2 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Juan Soto has 26 doubles, a triple, 24 home runs and 75 RBI for the Padres. Manny Machado is 6-for-36 with two do...

Phillies look to sweep series against the Giants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

San Francisco Giants (65-61, third in the NL West) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (69-57, second in the NL East)Philadelphia; Wednesday, 4:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Giants: Alex Cobb (6-5, 3.75 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 113 strikeouts); Phillies: Michael Lorenzen (7-8, 3.57 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 94 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Phillies -133, Giants +112; over/under is 9 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Philadelphia Phillies will look to sweep a three-game series with a victory against the San Francisco Giants.Philadelphia has a 36-24 record at home and a 69-57 record overall. Phillies hitters have a collective .428 slugging percentage to rank eighth in MLB.San Francisco has a 30-33 record on the road and a 65-61 record overall. The Giants rank 10th in the NL with 138 total home runs, averaging 1.1 per game.Wednesday’s game is the sixth time these teams meet this season. The Giants have a 3-2 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Bryson Stott has 27 doubles, two triples and 12 home run...

Braves and Mets play to decide series winner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

New York Mets (59-68, fourth in the NL East) vs. Atlanta Braves (81-44, first in the NL East)Atlanta; Wednesday, 7:20 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Mets: Jose Quintana (1-4, 3.03 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 25 strikeouts); Braves: Charlie Morton (12-10, 3.54 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 146 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Braves -199, Mets +166; over/under is 10 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets play on Wednesday with the three-game series tied 1-1.Atlanta has a 43-22 record in home games and an 81-44 record overall. The Braves have a 37-14 record in games when they did not give up a home run.New York is 28-40 on the road and 59-68 overall. The Mets have a 41-18 record in games when they scored at least five runs.Wednesday’s game is the 13th time these teams meet this season. The Braves are ahead 9-3 in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Olson has 21 doubles, two triples, 43 home runs and 108 RBI while hitting .266 for the Braves. Marcell Ozuna is 17-for-34 with six doubl...

A gantry has collapsed at the construction site of a bridge in India, killing at least 17 workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:41 GMT

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — A gantry at a railroad bridge being built in northeastern India collapsed Wednesday, killing at least 17 workers and injuring several others, police said.The gantry collapsed at a bridge in Sairang, a town on the outskirts of Aizawal, the capital of Mizoram state, according to the police control room. The bridge has been under construction for nearly two years.People living nearby rescued injured workers and rushed them to hospital, police said. Rescuers from the government-run National Disaster Response Force also rushed to the scene to search for survivors.Railroad authorities are investigating the cause of the collapse. There were 40 workers at the site when the accident happened, the police said.India’s transport infrastructure has long been marred by safety concerns, sometimes leading to major disasters on its highways and bridges.In October last year, a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river in the western Indian state of Gujarat, sen...