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No injuries when fire erupts at Philadelphia transit lot filled with decommissioned buses
No injuries when fire erupts at Philadelphia transit lot filled with decommissioned buses

Toronto Sun

time3 days ago

  • General
  • Toronto Sun

No injuries when fire erupts at Philadelphia transit lot filled with decommissioned buses

Published Jun 05, 2025 • 1 minute read Officials inspect the burnt wreckage of a bus at Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority facility in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 5, 2025. Photo by Matt Rourke / AP PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A fast-moving fire erupted early Thursday at a transit bus lot in Philadelphia filled with dozens of decommissioned vehicles, sending a thick plume of black smoke into the sky but causing no injuries. The fire did not impact the morning commute. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Citing an abundance of caution, the city's Public Health Department warned nearby residents to stay indoors if possible and urged others to avoid the area. Agency inspectors were collecting samples to assess air quality and the potential for any threat. The fire at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority facility apparently started sometime before 6:15 a.m., said Andrew Busch, SEPTA 's director of communications. Several buses were soon engulfed in flames, and the fire burned for nearly two hours before it was declared under control. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known. The lot where the fire broke out was filled with decommissioned buses scheduled for disposal, Busch said. He noted that no in-service buses were in the area where the blaze occurred and none were threatened by the fire. NHL Columnists Columnists Columnists Columnists

Second Amendment groups file for summary judgment in bid to overturn Florida's open carry ban
Second Amendment groups file for summary judgment in bid to overturn Florida's open carry ban

Yahoo

time5 days ago

  • General
  • Yahoo

Second Amendment groups file for summary judgment in bid to overturn Florida's open carry ban

Gun-rights groups are pursuing several strategies to win the right to openly carry firearms in Florida. (Photo by Matt Rourke/The Associated Press) A Palm Beach gun owner and two Second Amendment groups have filed a motion for summary judgement in their federal court challenge to Florida's law banning individuals from openly carrying firearms, claiming the law is unconstitutional. Gun Owners of America, the Gun Owners Foundation, and gun owner Richard Hughes originally filed their lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida last August, alleging that the law banning open carry violates the Second and Fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution and places them, their members, and their supporters at risk of being arrested and prosecuted should they openly carry firearms in public. St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro is the lone defendant in the case. In their lawsuit, Hughes and the two gun rights organizations list him because the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office warned the public after the state legalized what is known as 'permitless carry' in 2023 that '[t]he law is not open carry; open carry is still illegal under most circumstances.' In 2017, the Florida Supreme Court upheld state restrictions on openly carrying a firearm, ruling in Norman v. State that the law did not violate citizens' Second Amendment rights in a case brought by Dale Lee Norman, a St. Lucie County resident who faced a second-degree misdemeanor charge after he walked down a road with handgun holstered to his hip, according to the Courthouse News Service. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The federal lawsuit says that state Supreme Court ruling failed on a couple of fronts: for 'not once consulting contemporaneous authorities to discern the meaning of the Second Amendment's text' and for failure to conduct an historical analysis of the 'nation's early tradition as to open carry — or any tradition, for that matter.' 'This case is personal for me and millions of gun owners across the state,' said Luis Valdes, Florida state director for Gun Owners of America. 'Florida likes to brand itself as pro-Second Amendment, but this ban proves otherwise. We are fighting to restore a right that never should've been taken away — and we won't stop until every Floridian can carry openly, freely, and constitutionally.' 'Florida's open carry ban is an outdated and unconstitutional relic,' Sam Parades said in a statement on behalf of the board of directors for Gun Owners Foundation. 'The right to bear arms means exactly that — to carry arms, not just to keep them locked away.' Florida remains one of only five states in the nation that bans the open carrying of a firearm, the others being Illinois, Connecticut, New York, and California — a list of blue states that Florida does not usually share an alliance with. Gov. Ron DeSantis has said on several occasions that he supports open carry, and First Lady Casey DeSantis weighed in as well earlier this year, writing on X that, 'It's time for the Free State of Florida to join other states in enacting open carry! Sounds like a great priority for our GOP supermajority. This is the year.' But it wasn't the year for open carry in Florida's GOP-dominated state Legislature. Senate President Ben Albritton stated his opposition to overturning the ban in his first day as leader while meeting with reporters last November. A trial date has been set for November 3, 2025. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

McDonald's closing CosMc's but plans to test drinks chain 'inspired'
McDonald's closing CosMc's but plans to test drinks chain 'inspired'

Toronto Sun

time23-05-2025

  • Business
  • Toronto Sun

McDonald's closing CosMc's but plans to test drinks chain 'inspired'

Published May 23, 2025 • 1 minute read A McDonald's sign is seen in Philadelphia, Monday, April 26, 2021. Photo by Matt Rourke / AP McDonald's said Friday that it's closing down CosMc's, a new restaurant format it began piloting in the U.S. last year. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account But the company said beverages inspired by CosMc's will soon be tested at U.S. McDonald's locations. Among the drinks on CosMc's current menu: a matcha iced latte, a turmeric spiced latte, a prickly pear-flavored slushy with popping candy on top and a frozen sour cherry energy drink. McDonald's announced in late 2023 that it wanted to test a small-format store with customizable drinks and treats that would appeal to afternoon snackers — and potentially grab sales from rivals like Starbucks and Dutch Bros. McDonald's sales often slump in the afternoon between mealtimes and the company wants to change that. 'This is a $100 billion category that's growing faster than the rest of (casual dining) and with superior margins. And it's a space that we believe we have the right to win,' McDonald's Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said at the time. But Kempczinski said CosMc's drinks might be too complex to fit in with regular McDonald's store operations. McDonald's wound up opening one CosMc's location near its headquarters in Chicago and seven in Texas. Five locations remain, but the company plans to shut them all down by the end of June. The company is also shutting down CosMc's app. McDonald's said CosMc's allowed it to experiment with bold flavors and different technologies, like drive-thru lanes that manage traffic based on the complexity of orders. It was also able to quickly edit the menu based on customer feedback. Toronto Maple Leafs Columnists Toronto Maple Leafs Canada World

Rules of the game are still uncertain and ... Why US-China tariff pause may be bad news for these countries eyeing 'China-plus-one' strategy of American companies
Rules of the game are still uncertain and ... Why US-China tariff pause may be bad news for these countries eyeing 'China-plus-one' strategy of American companies

Time of India

time13-05-2025

  • Business
  • Time of India

Rules of the game are still uncertain and ... Why US-China tariff pause may be bad news for these countries eyeing 'China-plus-one' strategy of American companies

Representative Image. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) The new America-China agreement to pause tariffs on each other is reportedly pressuring manufacturing hubs such as Vietnam and Mexico to make their own, better deals with the US to continue benefiting from a 'China-plus-one' strategy of American companies. According to Reuters, in the volatile trade landscape shaped by President Donald Trump 's tariff announcements, countries gauge their success by how their trade terms stack up against others. For five weeks, nations facing Trump's "reciprocal" global tariff regime, announced April 2, found relief in having lower rates than China, which faced U.S. tariffs soaring from 20% to 145% between March and May. Vietnam, for instance, had a 46% rate, Thailand 36%, and Malaysia 24%, giving them a comparative advantage. Reuters reports that these manufacturing hubs expected multinational corporations to further shift supply chains away from China, bolstering the "China-plus-one" trend. However, a breakthrough in U.S.-China trade talks has introduced a 90-day tariff reprieve, reducing China's import tax to 30%. While still higher than the 10% rate for competing hubs during the pause, experts suggest this could slow the momentum of supply chain diversification. Uncertainty persists "The rules of the game are still uncertain," Diego Marroquin Bitar, a North American trade consultant, told Reuters. "I think companies are just going to delay their investments as much as they can." Since Trump's first term, tariffs on China aimed to drive manufacturing back to the U.S., but "reshoring" largely failed. Instead, companies like Apple sought alternatives in low-cost countries like Vietnam, Thailand, and Mexico. Reuters notes that if the U.S.-China tariff pause extends, these nations risk losing their edge. Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia ... Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia are now negotiating their own tariff deals with the U.S., while Mexico seeks to lower duties on products like automobiles. Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told Reuters that companies may slow offshoring from China, maintaining it as their main hub while making partial arrangements elsewhere. Sun Chenghao, a fellow at Tsinghua University, highlighted to Reuters that Trump's unpredictable policymaking creates uncertainty, leaving companies hesitant to fully engage in China. Vietnam, which has attracted Chinese manufacturers since Trump's first-term tariffs, faces pressure to secure better deals. Leif Schneider, head of Luther in Vietnam, told Reuters that if Vietnam negotiates a better deal than China, it could solidify its role as an alternative investment destination. Reuters also reports that Vietnam's foreign investment pledges fell to $2.84 billion in April, down 30% from March and 8% year-on-year. In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum has emphasized its tariff-free advantage under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, though steel, aluminum, and auto tariffs remain. Jorge Guajardo, a former Mexican ambassador to China, told Reuters that despite the U.S.-China deal, companies like Walmart and Target, rattled by recent trade tensions, will continue seeking alternative supply sources, with Mexico poised to benefit. AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now

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