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Banks face rising shareholder pressure through climate resolutions as AGMs loom

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:37:17 GMT

TORONTO — It was only after his flight landed in Toronto last year that Wet’suwet’en hereditary chief Na’Moks learned that Royal Bank of Canada had cancelled its in-person annual general meeting with less than a day’s notice.The bank cited COVID-19 as the reason it moved the event entirely online, but those assembled to protest the bank’s climate record were left wondering if there was more to it andNa’Moks says he was insulted that executives weren’t willing to face him.Undeterred, he is trying again this year. Na’Moks will head to Saskatoon for the bank’s April 5 meeting, where he plans to share his concerns about its fossil fuel funding and encourage the assembled shareholders to support a resolution related to respecting Indigenous rights. “Dave McKay, he’s the CEO, but he has to listen to the people that do business with him,” said Na’Moks.The resolution he’s pushing, put forth by the B.C. General Employees’ Union with the support of the Unio...

Police reform divides community where cop killed Black man

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:37:17 GMT

The Rev. James Stokes remembers Grand Rapids following the slaying of George Floyd, when demonstrations devolved into rioting that left businesses damaged and scores of people arrested.Stokes and other leaders in the western Michigan city desperately wanted to avoid a similar outbreak of violence when a white Grand Rapids police officer fatally shot Patrick Lyoya, a Black motorist, last April. After video of that shooting was publicly released, outrage in the community grew, and some feared a violent response. But the protests — while loud and angry — were peaceful. No buildings were burned. No shops were looted.City leaders say policing reforms and outreach to Grand Rapids’ Black community, including the clergy, helped to keep the peace after Lyoya’s slaying. Others believe the reform efforts have been slow and their impact superficial at best.“We knew what potentially could have happened,” said Stokes, pastor of New Life Tabernacle church. “As pastors, we g...

One in four college applicants avoids entire states for political reasons

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:37:17 GMT

(The Hill) – A new survey, drawing notice in academia, shows that 1 in 4 applicants decided against applying to a college this year solely because of the politics in its state. The finding, long rumored in college admissions circles, has dire implications for some of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. Tulane University in Louisiana, Stanford in California, Rice in Texas, Columbia in New York and the University of Miami all pride themselves on assembling a class from large pools of applicants drawn from every state. In the public sector, the University of Alabama counts on out-of-state admissions for revenue, enrolling nearly three-fifths of its students from outside its borders. Yet, large numbers of conservative and liberal applicants ruled out those schools, along with their states, because of partisan politics.  “When you’re making a decision about a school, it’s really about choosing a community to live in,” said Chloe Chaffin, 20, a junior...

The Kings made the playoffs – these teams now have the longest postseason droughts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:37:17 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Their current point guard was just 8 years old and George W. Bush was president the last time the NBA's Sacramento Kings made the playoffs.After a dismal 12th-place finish just one year earlier, the Kings, behind new head coach Mike Brown, completed a stunning turnaround and clinched a top-four seed in the playoffs. “We want to do bigger things, but 16 years — that’s a long time,” star Kings point guard De'Aaron Fox said. These MLB teams have never won a World Series: Will that change this season? The team’s 16-year playoff drought was the longest in NBA history and the longest active postseason dry spell among teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball.So which fan bases can now claim to be the most tortured?EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 12: A New York Jets fan looks dejected during the game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium on November 12, 2015 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Buffalo Bills defeated the New York Jets 22-17. (Photo by Elsa/G...

What makes Candida auris so dangerous?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:37:17 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Health care facilities around the country have been put on alert by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and told to look out for signs of Candida auris, or C. auris, a fungus that can be deadly if it enters a patient's bloodstream. The fungus has already been detected in more than half of U.S. states and is spreading at an "alarming" rate, the CDC says.Candida auris, which mainly spreads in health care settings like hospitals or nursing homes, can cause serious and invasive infections, according to the CDC. The fungus is especially dangerous because it is resistant to antifungal drugs, making it hard to treat. CDC warns of drug-resistant, deadly fungus: How is it spread? "If you get infected with this pathogen that's resistant to any treatment, there's no treatment we can give you to help combat it. You're all on your own," Melissa Nolan, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of South Carolina, said. That means it's up t...

Austin ranks No. 1 on best US housing markets for growth, stability list

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:37:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — According to a new study, 12 of the top 20 U.S. cities that ranked as being the best housing markets for growth and stability were in Texas, and six Texas cities made the top 10.SmartAsset compared home value data for 400 metropolitan areas between 1998 and 2022 using data from the Federal Housing Administration and calculated cumulative increases during that time, as well as the frequency of significant drops in value to compile the list.“The Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metro area ranks No. 1 overall, thanks in large part to home values that have skyrocketed in the last 25 years,” the study said. “Between 1998 and 2022, home prices increased by 353.92%, the most cumulative growth in our study, without much downside.”The nearly 354% increase was more than any other metro area in the nation, according to SmartAsset.According to information from the study, home prices were not the only thing growing.“The population has nearly doubled in the last 20 years, in part than...

EarthX conference to provide ways to help combat climate change

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:37:17 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — With Earth Day approaching, a conference will be held in Dallas that will provide valuable information on what people can do to help save our planet. The EarthX conference takes place April 19th through 23rd at Fair Park in Dallas. EarthX is an international not-for-profit environmental organization dedicated to educating and inspiring people to take action.Dr. Sid Thurston is the Vice-President of EarthX. He will be chairing one of the many conferences conducted during the weekend. His will be on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22. He will lead a discussion on Climate Change Adaptation. It's designed to educate attendees on how to make people and their communities/countries more resilient to climate change. The conference-filled weekend will open with the keynote address from the deputy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who will be talking about the federal government's role in educating our citizens through Climate Ready Nation. The 15 conferences...

Real World Economics: Why are the French so angry? It’s about history

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:37:17 GMT

Edward LottermanPoor King Charles III. In the face of widening, deepening and increasingly violent public protests and strikes over the government of President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise France’s full retirement age, the new British king’s planned state visit to France was postponed. He went to Germany instead.Here in our nation, a similar increase from an already-higher age requirement may be in the political works, but there is little public indignation.Here, an earlier, little noticed phased-in increase from age 65 to 67, stemming from the 1983 Greenspan Commission recommendations, was carried out with no demonstrations, no garbage in the streets, no tear gas or bonfires.But a 1995 effort in France by then-president Jacques Chirac collapsed ignominiously after months of protests eerily similar to current ones.Why the striking differences between our nation’s reaction and theirs?That question is the subject of “comparative economic systems,” a discipline eff...

April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:37:17 GMT

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- People around the world are supporting those with autism and raising awareness in honor of World Autism Day on April 2. The day has been celebrated annually for 16 years. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Andrew Paolano from Glens Falls is a 29-year-old with autism who helps raise awareness and money for autism foundations. Paolano says he's done well in his life managing his autism, such as working, and living on his own, though he knows it is not possible for everyone. He has a social group for people with disabilities that anyone is welcome to join, and he wants to get the word out, especially on World Autism Awareness Day.You can learn more about his social group by watching the story in the player above.

Patroons stunned by previously winless Academie

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:37:17 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Albany Patroons have owned the Academie Alma this year, winning the first three meetings of the season series by an average of nearly 30 points per game. But when the two sides squared off at The Armory Saturday night for the final time this season, Academie looked like a different team. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The Alma entered the matchup 0-6, sitting dead last in the Northeast division. And yet they erupted for a season-high 115 points, taking down Albany 115-103 in shocking fashion, and snapping the Patroons' nine-game winning streak.It was business as usual for Derrick Rowland's bunch in the first half. They were scoring at will, and took a 57-43 lead into the locker room at halftime. It appeared they were primed for another blowout win.But Academie's offense found not just a second gear out of the break, but a third, fourth, fifth and sixth gear. Alma rattled off 36 points in the th...