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Christmas trees have gotten a lot less real in recent decades, in charts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

(CNN) — Next to those stockings hung by the chimney with care, it appears more likely than ever that the trimmed tree will be, well, faux.The holiday tradition of setting up a Christmas tree has endured centuries. But this year, 77% of Americans displaying a Christmas tree say they’ll opt for an artificial one, according to a survey from the American Christmas Tree Association, an industry promotion group.The shift to fake trees has been a steady one. Imports of artificial trees have been climbing since the mid-90s, and spiked in 2021 despite Covid-19-related supply chain issues, according to the Census Bureau, which started tracking tree imports in 1994.What about the real trees?As artificial trees started looking more authentic and became more accepted in homes, the natural Christmas tree industry has been in a slow decline over 40-50 years, according to Marsha Gray, executive director of the Real Christmas Tree Board, an industry trade group.One recent pain point was the economic...

Viktor Orbán: The EU is blackmailing Hungary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Thursday the European Commission is blackmailing Hungary by withholding billions in frozen funds over rule-of-law concerns.Orbán said the blackmail is “a fact,” even admitted by the blackmailers themselves — members of the European Parliament.“In our view, Hungary fulfils all the qualities of the rule of law, and when the European Commission has specific needs, we implement everything from them, and we are also cooperative,” Orbán told reporters in Budapest during a press conference. “You cannot blame me for doing everything I can to promote Hungary’s interests in such a blackmailed situation.”Orbán’s government has been embroiled in a long-standing dispute with Brussels, which has frozen billions of EU funds intended for Hungary over concerns about human rights and the rule of law in the country.Last week, the European Commission unblocked €10.2 billion in frozen EU cohesion funds earmarked for Hungary.The comm...

Fire at apartment construction site in Dorchester

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

Boston firefighters battled a blaze in Dorchester Thursday morning.The fire at the building on Dorchester Avenue was located on the second and third floors; firefighters could be seen climbing ladders and balconies to reach the flames.The fire was under control by 8:30 a.m. Authorities said there were no injuries to report and that the Boston Fire Investigation Unit was on site to work to determine the cause of the blaze.https://twitter.com/BostonFire/status/1737830004237427106This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Harvard President Claudine Gay to update her dissertation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

Get Harvard President Claudine Gay rewrite … again.The embattled campus boss will need to make three corrections to her Ph.D. dissertation amid plagiarism allegations, according to multiple reports.The college newspaper, the Crimson, states the Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing body — is behind the corrections. Harvard did not respond to a Herald request for the same statement.The Crimson added that the Corporation revealed, in part: “The members … concluded that Gay’s inadequate citations, while regrettable, did not constitute research misconduct.”The Corporation has stood by GayThe Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website, reports Gay is facing more plagiarism woes — where up to 40 accusations of lifting others’ work are being made. “The document paints a picture of a pattern of misconduct more extensive than has been previously reported,” the website posted.As the Herald has reported that Harvard’s Corporation...

Statistics Canada reports retail sales rose 0.7% to $66.9 billion in October

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says retail sales rose 0.7 per cent to $66.9 billion in October, helped by higher sales at new car dealers.The agency also says its early estimate for November suggested sales were relatively unchanged last month, but cautioned the figure would be revised.For October, Statistics Canada says sales were up in seven of the nine subsectors it tracks. The overall increase came as sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers gained 1.1 per cent in October, helped higher by a 1.3 per cent increase at new car dealers and a 2.0 per cent rise at other motor vehicle dealers.Core retail sales — which exclude gas stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers — were up 1.2 per cent in October.Retail sales in volume terms rose 1.4 per cent in the month.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2023.The Canadian Press

France’s president is accused of siding with Depardieu as actor faces sexual misconduct allegations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Women’s rights activists criticized French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday for appearing to take sides with actor Gérard Depardieu by saying the film star who is facing sexual misconduct allegations “makes France proud.” Speaking Wednesday night on TV channel France 5, Macron described himself as a “big admirer” of a “great actor.” Macron added: “He makes France proud.”Macron’s comments in a televised interview came after a documentary that aired earlier this month said 16 women have accused Depardieu of harassing, groping or sexually assaulting them. The France-2 report also showed the actor making obscene remarks and gestures during a 2018 trip to North Korea. Asked about the latest accusations against Depardieu, Macron said he believed in the presumption of innocence and the judicial process. “You will never see me participate in a manhunt,” the French leader said. Macron also criticized his culture minister’s decision to launch a disciplinary procedure c...

Israeli police are investigating 19 prison guards in the death of a 38-year-old Palestinian prisoner

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Nineteen Israeli prison guards are under investigation in the death of a 38-year-old Palestinian security prisoner in their custody, police said Thursday. Thaer Abu Assab was found with “severe signs of violence” on his body, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, an advocacy group. He died on Nov. 18 at the Ketziot prison in the southern Negev Desert. Abu Assab was arrested in 2005 and was serving a 25-years sentence for attempted murder.The Prisoners’ Club demanded an investigation, including an autopsy. Police originally told the group that it was difficult to identify the guards involved due to their helmets. Police announced the investigation of the guards Thursday, after a gag order expired. The Israel Prison Service said it was cooperating.The Prisoners’ Club says about 7,800 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons. Hundreds were rounded up since the Oct. 7 start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, triggered by a ...

Weekly US unemployment claims rise slightly but job market remains strong as inflation eases

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but still remained at historically low levels despite high interest rates intended to slow hiring and cool the economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims were up by 2,000 to 205,000 the week that ended Dec. 16. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 1,500 to 212,000.Overall, 1.87 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits the week that ended Dec. 9, little changed from the week before.Weekly unemployment claims are a proxy for layoffs. They have remained at extraordinarily low levels in the face of high interest rates.The Federal Reserve began raising interest rates last year to combat the inflation that surged as the result of an unexpectedly strong economic rebound from the COVID-19 recession of 2020. The Fed has raised its benchmark rate 11 times since March 2022. And inflation has eased. Consumer pri...

Top US military officer speaks with Chinese counterpart as US aims to warm relations with Beijing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke with his Chinese counterpart on Thursday, in the first of what officials said will be renewed talks between the two nation’s senior military leaders, as the Biden administration works to thaw relations with Beijing.The video call between Brown and Gen. Liu Zhenli is the first senior military communications between the U.S. and China since August 2022, when Beijing suspended all such contacts after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. It comes on the heels of similar conversations between top U.S. and Chinese diplomats, all triggered by the meeting last month between U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping. Biden’s meeting with Xi, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, was aimed in part at restoring the military talks amid escalating concerns about frequent unsafe or unprofessional incidents between the two nati...

Green Christmas expected in Toronto as winter officially arrives tonight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:00 GMT

Winter officially arrives Thursday night but there won’t be a winter wonderland in Toronto this Christmas.It is expected to be a calm, snow-free start to the season across the GTA as the winter solstice begins at 10:27 p.m. ET. The low will be near -4 C under partly cloudy skies.A mix of sun and cloud will greet the first full day of winter on Friday, with a high of 1 C.“Conditions are pretty quiet for the next couple of days. We have the chance of showers on Saturday,” CityNews weather specialist Denise Andreacchi said.Then on Sunday, which is Christmas Eve, Santa won’t need the extra winter gear while making stops in the city because we are in for a green Christmas. It will be mostly cloudy with a high near 4 C.The mild weather continues on Christmas Day with a high near 6 C and no snow in the forecast.David Phillips, chief climatologist at Environment Canada, says the rest of Canada will also see a green Christmas since most of the country has been unusual...