Month: January 2021

Significant Winter Snowstorm to Hit East Coast, New York, Boston

A strong snowstorm will hit the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States starting on Sunday and lasting until Tuesday—with tens of millions of Americans coming in the path of the weather system. “Heavy snow and a wintry mix will produce hazardous travel from portions of the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic, including the…


Novavax Submits Vaccine for Approval as Ottawa Seeks EU Reassurances on Export Rules

OTTAWA—The federal government is reviewing a new COVID-19 vaccine that has been submitted for regulatory approval. Maryland-based Novavax quietly applied on Friday for Health Canada to approve its vaccine, which studies have suggested is effective against the British and South African variants of the virus. The application comes less than two weeks after Ottawa finalized…


US Consumer Spending Slumps Further; Inflation Creeping Higher

WASHINGTON—U.S. consumer spending fell for a second straight month in December amid renewed business restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 and a temporary expiration of government-funded benefits for millions of unemployed Americans. The report from the Commerce Department on Jan. 29 also showed inflation steadily rising in December. Expectations that inflation would perk up…


US Consumer Spending Decreases Further; Inflation Creeping Up

WASHINGTON—U.S. consumer spending fell for a second straight month in December amid renewed business restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 and a temporary expiration of government-funded benefits for millions of unemployed Americans. The report from the Commerce Department on Friday also showed inflation steadily rising last month. Expectations that inflation would perk up this…


Toys R Us Retrenches Again, Shutters Its Last 2 US Stores

NEW YORK—Toys R Us is retrenching once again. The only two Toys R Us stores that opened in November 2019 as part of a small U.S. comeback attempt by the iconic toy chain have now closed. The Toys R Us store at the Galleria mall in Houston shuttered on Jan. 15, while one at the…


Canada’s Death Toll From COVID 19 Surpasses 20,000 as New Flight Restrictions Begin

Canada’s official COVID-19 death toll surpassed 20,000 today, after dozens of deaths were reported in Quebec and Ontario. The sobering figure emerged after Quebec reported 31 new fatalities related to the virus and Ontario reported 43. Canada has now recorded 20,016 deaths since the first case of COVID-19 surfaced in the country just over a…


Popular Fertility App Sued Over Allegedly Sharing Personal Data with Chinese Firms

A popular fertility app has been sued for allegedly sending personal data to Chinese analytics firms without users’ consent. Premom, a digital ovulation tracker owned by Illinois-based company Easy Healthcare, came under scrutiny last year when a privacy watchdog group found that the app on Android devices was sharing data about the user without permission,…


Man Pretending to Be Homeless Student Exposed as Registered Sex Offender

Police in Lake Forest, California, arrested a registered sex offender carrying meth after encountering a beggar claiming to be a law student. The arrest came after a Lake Forest homeless liaison officer patrolling the shopping centers off Lake Forest Drive and Rancho Parkway Jan. 27, encountered a homeless person asking for food, according to a Facebook post by Lake…


UK Police Break up London Boat Party With Over 70 Guests

British police on Saturday night broke up a party being held on a boat with more than 70 guests in attendance, in breach of CCP virus restrictions, London police said. The Metropolitan Police said it received reports of a large gathering on a moored boat on Saturday evening. Officers arrived at the venue in Volt…


US Home Contract Signings Set Record High for December

SILVER SPRING, Md.—The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes declined slightly for the fourth straight month, but it was still a record high for December. The National Association of Realtors’ index of pending home sales dipped 0.3 percent to 125.5 in December, an all-time high, according to the Jan. 29 report. An…