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Students blocked from campus when COVID hit want money back. Some are getting refunds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:59 GMT

By Elaine S. Povich, Stateline.orgThousands of college students will get hundreds of dollars in compensation as colleges and universities move this summer to settle multimillion-dollar lawsuits stemming from canceled classes and activities during COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns.While some of the class-action suits against the colleges and universities are still in litigation, and still others dismissed, several major cases have been settled in recent weeks.The settlements mean students who were charged tuition and fees but weren’t able to use in-person services during the pandemic shutdowns will receive some compensation, though they won’t be refunded for all the on-campus amenities they lost.The amounts depend on the total settlement figure, minus legal fees and other court expenses. Each case has a different timeline.Most recently, the University of Delaware agreed in June to set up a $6.3 million fund to partially reimburse tuition and fees that the students paid for classes, housing...

Hawaiian electric’s future in doubt after $1 billion meltdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:59 GMT

By Mark Chediak, Bloomberg NewsHawaiian Electric Industries Co., which supplies roughly 95% of the state’s residents with power, traces its roots back to 1891, just a decade after King Kalakaua met Thomas Edison to see the incandescent light bulb. Now, the utility is facing what’s shaping up to be the biggest-ever test over its future.In just one day, relentless selling wiped more than a $1 billion from the company’s value as the stock plunged by a third in its biggest loss on record. Investors are dumping shares amid increasing scrutiny over power equipment as the possible source of the deadly Maui wildfire.Analysts are starting to raise questions over whether Hawaiian Electric, one of the smallest publicly traded U.S. utilities, will be able to withstand the pressure if it does end up being at fault.In an aerial view, homes and businesses are seen that were destroyed by a wildfire on August 11, 2023 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)To be clear: no official cause o...

Massachusetts medical school latest to fall victim to MOVEit hack, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:59 GMT

More than 134,000 people previously or currently enrolled in at least four state programs may have had personal information leaked as part of a security breach involving third-party software used by a medical school in Worcester.Officials at the UMass Chan Medical School learned about the “security incident” on June 1, making them the latest government-related institution to confirm it had fallen victim to a hack that has affected millions of people and scores of agencies around the world.School officials “immediately fixed the vulnerability” and said the breach involved a file-transfer software program called MOVEit.“No UMass Chan or state systems were compromised in this incident. Impacted individuals have been sent notice by mail and will be contacted by phone, text, and e-mail where possible,” the Executive Office of Health and Human Services said in a statement.The Healey administration said it started sending letters to affected individuals on Monday and encouraged those who r...

California's heat wave could trigger a Flex Alert: Here's what to know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO (KSWB) -- As another anticipated heat wave is expected to set in across the west, California's grid operator could issue its first Flex Alert of the year this week, calling on residents to voluntarily reduce electricity use during certain hours.In a bulletin released Sunday, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) indicated that they could trigger the alert, which is the entity's lowest level emergency warning, in anticipation of high temperatures to prevent additional stress on energy supplies."Widespread heat waves can cause energy supply shortages, as resources arestretched thin across multiple states," the bulletin read. "As part of an interconnected Western grid, (CAISO) is preparing for tight conditions and taking coordinated steps with its neighbors to ensure adequate power supply during this week’s hot weather." Researchers have identified a new pack of endangered gray wolves in California Resources are currently expected to be sufficient to meet the C...

Girl, 9, attacked by group of dogs in Newmarket, owner charged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:59 GMT

A nine-year-old girl was treated for serious injuries after she was attacked by several dogs in Newmarket, resulting in an owner facing charges.York Regional Police said they responded to a call for an animal complaint at an address on Jackson Court around 6 p.m. on July 27.Investigators said a man and his 9-year-old daughter had attended a residence to view puppies for sale when three dogs rushed out of the house and attacked the girl, who was mauled and severely injured.She was rushed to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The young girl has since been released and continues her recovery at home, police said.Newmarket animal services attended the residence, and the three dogs were euthanized, police said.On Tuesday, 68-year-old Leslie Theodore Kovacs of Newmarket was charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm. Police said he was also charged with three counts of dog bite a person under the Ontario dog owners’ liability act.The accused was relea...

Grocery price increases continue to outpace overall inflation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:59 GMT

OTTAWA — Grocery prices are still rising at a far higher pace than overall inflation, despite moderating somewhat in July. The price of groceries grew 8.5 per cent in July compared with last year, down from a 9.1 per cent year-over-year gain in June, as prices for fresh fruit and bakery products rose at a slower pace.However, 8.5 per cent is still a far cry from the headline inflation reading of 3.3 per cent, which has significantly fallen from a high of more than eight per cent last year. Food price inflation is expected to continue easing in the coming months as lower commodity prices and easing supply chain pressures pass through to retail products, said RBC economist Claire Fan in a note.  Some forecasters are saying the latest inflation report has raised the odds of an interest rate hike next month from the Bank of Canada. A hike isn’t entirely out of the question, but there’s more economic data to come before the central bank makes its decision, Marwa Abdou, senior...

Death toll rises to 10 in powerful explosion near capital of Dominican Republic; 11 others missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:59 GMT

SAN CRISTOBAL, Dominican Republic (AP) — The death toll from a powerful explosion near the capital of the Dominican Republic rose to 10 on Tuesday as firefighters searched through smoldering rubble, authorities said.More than 50 people also were injured in Monday’s explosion at a bustling commercial center in the city of San Cristobal, said Joel Santos, minister of the presidency. At least 36 of the injured remained hospitalized, Santos said.President Luis Abinader visited San Cristobal, located just west of Sango Domingo, on Tuesday and said an additional 11 people were missing, adding that authorities were still trying to extinguish the fire amid collapsed buildings and charred vehicles.“We’re doing everything humanly possible … to investigate the situation of the 11 missing,” he said. “The search for survivors has been very difficult.”Health Minister Daniel Rivera said authorities have still not been able to access “ground zero” where the explosion occurred because it...

A human rights group in Niger says it can’t get access to officials who were detained after coup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:59 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Human rights activists in Niger say they have been unable to gain access to top political officials who were detained after mutinous soldiers ousted the African country’s democratically elected president nearly three weeks ago.The military officers who carried out a coup against President Mohamed Bazoum also arrested several former government ministers and other political leaders, according to Ali Idrissa, executive secretary of the Network of Organizations for Transparency and Analysis of Budgets, a local human rights group. . Requests to see them and check on their well-being have gone unanswered, he said.The junta that seized power has held Bazoum, his wife and son under house arrest in their compound in the capital since July 26. It says it plans to prosecute Bazoum for “high treason” and undermining state security, crimes that are eligible for the death penalty in Niger. Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, a spokesperson for the junta, said in a Sunday evenin...

Kenya launches an inquiry into alleged abuses by a British army training unit, including a killing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:59 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A parliamentary committee in Kenya has launched an inquiry into alleged human rights violations and ethical breaches by a British army training unit that has been active for decades in the country the U.K. calls “our defense partner of choice in East Africa.”The British High Commission in Nairobi and the training mission have said they intend to cooperate fully with the inquiry. “We take all allegations made against U.K. service personnel seriously, and they are investigated swiftly by the service authorities or the host nation authorities with appropriate support from the armed forces,” a British army spokesperson said.Britain has roughly 200 military personnel permanently based in Kenya. Most of them currently are training more than 1,000 Kenyan soldiers a year before their deployment to neighboring Somalia to combat al-Qaida’s longtime East Africa affiliate, al-Shabab. The British government invests more than 1.1 billion Kenyan shillings ($9.6 million) every...

A strong tropical storm lashes parts of Japan and disrupts holiday travel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:59 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A strong tropical storm lashed central and western Japan with heavy rain and high winds Tuesday, causing flooding and power blackouts and paralyzing air and ground transportation while many people were traveling for a Buddhist holiday week.The storm weakened from Typhoon Lan early in the morning and made landfall near Cape Shionomisaki in the central prefecture of Wakayama, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. On Tuesday afternoon, it was just south of Fukuchiyama city and had sustained winds of up to 90 kph (55 mph) as it headed north. It was then expected to veer east toward Hokkaido over waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, the JMA said.NHK public television said 20 people, many of them elderly, were injured in five prefectures near the storm’s path — Hyogo, Osaka, Kyoto, Shiga and Wakayama. The storm caused rivers to overflow, damaged some buildings and paralyzed traffic. In Maizuru in northern Kyoto prefecture, a flooded river sent muddy wa...