West Fraser to close one sawmill, curtail another due to high costs and soft markets

VANCOUVER — West Fraser Timber Co. says it’s closing one U.S. sawmill and indefinitely curtailing another because of high fibre costs and soft lumber markets.

The Vancouver-based company says it’s closing its Maxville, Florida, sawmill and indefinitely curtailing operations at its Huttig, Arkansas, sawmill by the end of the month.

West Fraser says the closure of the Maxville sawmill will affect around 80 employees, while the curtailment of the Huttig sawmill will affect 140 employees.

The company says it


Former UK opposition leader Corbyn to join South Africa’s delegation accusing Israel of genocide

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Former U.K. opposition leader will join a South African delegation for this week’s hearings at the International Court of Justice, where the country accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the , the South African government said Tuesday.

South Africa last month, accusing it of intending “to destroy Palestinians in Gaza,” and asked the U.N.’s top court to order Israel to halt its attacks. Israel rejected South Africa’s allegations of genocide


County official Richardson says she’ll challenge U.S. Rep. McBath in Democratic primary in Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) — Jerica Richardson, a county commissioner in suburban Atlanta, announced Tuesday that she will challenge U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath in the Democratic primary in May in a new congressional district on the west side of Atlanta.

Richardson, a Cobb County commissioner, had previously said she would run for Congress, but her decision had been uncertain after McBath’s current district. McBath jumped to a new 6th Congressional District in Fulton, Cobb, Douglas and Fayette counties in which Richardson will also run


Walmart experiments with AI to enhance customers’ shopping experiences

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Walmart has unveiled plans to dive further into the world of artificial intelligence — and drones — to improve its customers’ shopping experiences.

In a Tuesday keynote at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, the nation’s largest retailer announced it will be expanding its drone delivery to 1.8 million additional households in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area later this year. Drones aren’t new to Walmart — which has already completed 20,000 drone deliveries across seven states


Migrant families begin leaving NYC hotels as first eviction notices kick in

NEW YORK (AP) — Migrant families were moved out of a midtown Manhattan hotel on Tuesday as part of Mayor Eric Adams’ plan to ease the pressure on New York City’s strained shelter system by imposing a 60-day limit on shelter stays.

The roughly 40 families that left Row NYC, in the heart of the city’s Theater District, are the first of scores of families that are expected to leave city shelters in the coming weeks. Some of those leaving on Tuesday immediately reapplied for


Most actively traded companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange

TORONTO — Some of the most active companies traded Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:

Toronto Stock Exchange (20,970.98, down 103.93 points):

Toronto-Dominion Bank. (TSX:TD). Finance. Down $3.82, or 4.40 per cent, to $83.07 on 19.9 million shares.

Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Down 32 cents,


The family of an Arizona professor killed on campus reaches multimillion-dollar deal with the school

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The family of a University of Arizona professor who was on campus in the fall of 2022 has reached a multimillion-dollar agreement with the school, attorneys for the man’s wife and sons said Tuesday.

A statement by the law firm representing Kathleen Meixner, wife of professor Thomas Meixner, and their two sons, said that the family agreed not to sue the university as part of the agreement. The family in March filed a claim against the university as a


US-Audiobooks-Top-10

Nonfiction

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear, narrated by the author (Penguin Audio)

2. 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene, narrated by Richard Poe (HighBridge, a Division of Recorded Books)

3. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears, narrated by Michelle Williams and Britney Spears – introduction (Simon & Schuster Audio)

4. The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest, narrated by Stacey Glemboski (Thought Catalog Books)

5. Outlive by Peter Attia, MD and Bill Gifford – contributor, narrated


Canadian ER doctor says wait times are the ‘worst it’s ever been’

Canadian emergency room doctors are growing increasingly concerned over wait times in the thick of the respiratory virus season.

“I’ve worked in emergency departments since 1987, and it’s by far the worst it’s ever been. It’s not even close,” said Dr. Michael Howlett, President of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians.

The Ontario government has not provided any up-to-date information, but the latest publicly available wait time info from November shows patients admitted to hospitals


Small-town Minnesota hotel shooting kills clerk and 2 possible guests, including suspect, police say

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A killed an employee and two possible guests, including the suspect, authorities said Tuesday, one day after an active shooter alert was issued.

An employee at the Super 8 in Cloquet, Minnesota, called police shortly after 6:30 p.m. Monday to say they had found another employee who looked like she had been attacked, Cloquet police Chief Derek Randall said at a news conference Tuesday.

Police arrived within three minutes and found a 22-year-old clerk with a