Quote of the Day: Retail ‘Piece of Canada' Shutters After 355 Years

'It felt like going to Tim Hortons and getting a doughnut, except you were buying blankets or slippers.'
BRYAN HIGGINS, who was heading for a farewell visit to a Hudson's Bay Company store in Ottawa. The company, a fixture in Canada for 355 years and the country's last traditional department store chain, is shutting down.

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How a Baltimore-based organization is supporting LGBTQ+ first responders

Being a first responder can take a toll on anybody, but if you're also a part of the LGBTQ+ community, that toll can be even bigger to deal with. That's why the group 'Responders For Pride' works to support the community and teach agencies how to be good allies. LGBTQ+ stigma Nicola Maguire has been a firefighter for 18 years. However, when she started, she wasn't out to her colleagues. Eventually, she came out as a lesbian, and while she didn't experience any hate from them, there was still a stigma she grappled with—a stigma that's still alive and well today. "I won't be the same provider, or firefighter, or police officer I am tomorrow if I came out today," Maguire said as she explained the sort of thoughts some LGBTQ+ members grapple with. It's a stigma she is working to get rid of with the help of 'Responders For Pride', or RFP. "So, we want to be able to make it [so] that they can be their true identity. Growing up as LGBT, you never get to truly grow up, just being your true self," she stated. Mental health awareness for first responders Maguire is the president and one of RFP's founders, created in 2023. The group focuses on raising mental health awareness for LGBTQI+ first responders, sharing resources, and working with different agencies to develop liaison programs. Last month, RFP put on its first ignite conference, providing hands on training to ten different agencies, including one based in Canada. Allison Bingner and Sarah Corrigan, RFP volunteers and first responders, said the org's work has built a local LGBTQ+ support network. "You have your firefighters, you have police, you have everyone that's there that understands everything, from not only the work that you're doing career-wise, but what it is in your personal life," Bingner said. The network RFP curated has been essential in creating safe, welcoming spaces for LGBTQ+ first responders to be themselves. "Use it as a strength instead of a weakness..." WJZ first met Corrigan in 2022, when she first came out and transitioned. "By having groups like RFP out there that make all of this visible to everybody, and showing the world you can be LGBTQ+ and still do this job, I think it really opens up the possibility for more people from our community to do this job," she said. That's all RFP wants first responders to do: be themselves. "Use it as a strength instead of a weakness within their departments, I think really would've helped me from the beginning to just be me and be the person I got hired within the department," Maguire explained. To learn more about 'Responders For Pride' and get involved, click here.

Yahoo

an hour ago

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Russia says ready to supply LNG to Mexico

By Natalia Siniawski MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Russia is ready to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Mexico and share energy sector technologies, the Russian embassy in Mexico said on Saturday on X. "We are already working with Mexico. We have excellent LNG technologies, and we are ready to share these technologies and supply LNG as well," Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev said. Russia is prepared to offer oil extraction technologies suited for challenging geological conditions, as well as solutions aimed at improving the efficiency of oil processing, the embassy added. Mexico's state oil company Pemex said in May it was working to reopen closed wells to boost production, as it struggles to meet the government's output target of 1.8 million barrels per day. Pemex has more than 30,000 wells across the country, about a third of which are shut. Internal documents reviewed by Reuters show the company is prioritizing wells with the potential to ramp up crude, gas or condensate output, though progress has been slow due to limited funding and aging infrastructure. Mexico meets 72% of its total demand for natural gas through imports, almost entirely from the United States. The fuel is used mainly to generate electricity and for industrial activities, with the vast majority of natural gas imports carried by pipeline.

CNET

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You're Buying Your Internet Wrong: Avoid These Top 10 Mistakes To Save Money

You don't need to be a genius to pick out a good internet plan, but you do have to do a little research. Important information is often buried in the terms of service beneath marketing and industry-speak. I've spent hours reading through internet service provider offerings -- and the customer service reviews about those offerings. It's boring, but the key to getting a decent internet deal -- one that saves you money and comes with enough speed -- is reading the fine print. If you share the sentiments of thousands of Americans who hate their internet service providers, you're probably not thrilled about the prospect of sifting through ISP promotional offers for hours. When the time comes to shop for home internet, it can be tempting to just buy whatever convenient internet plan your friends and neighbors are using and move on with your life. While our internet options are sorely limited depending on where we live, keep in mind that you'll have to live with the internet plan you pick. If it's too slow, you'll be picking up the phone in a few months to call customer service again. If you're getting lured into a plan with hidden fees and promo pricing, you might find your bill doubling after a year or a few months have passed. We rely on the internet for nearly everything these days. With fears of a looming recession and prices rising due to tariffs, it's crucial to find ways to save a little money on such an essential service. Here's my fool-proof method for finding the best internet plan for you. 10 common mistakes made when picking internet plans A little patience and some reading will go a long way with buying an internet plan -- but there are some specific aspects of the plan to look out for. Before you even start shopping, you should have a good idea of how much speed you'll need and your budget. Locating local internet providers ISPs often use flashy advertising or marketing to distract you from the hidden fees or price increases in your internet bill. You don't need a computer science degree to make sense of the internet plan you're paying for. Often, the clues to what your internet service bill will look like and the plan's speed are right in front of you, albeit engulfed in jargon; you just need to know what to look for. Here are the top 10 mistakes I've noticed people making when picking out an internet plan: We'll go over each of these in depth below so that when it comes to finding a good internet service provider, you'll be a pro. 1. Paying for internet speeds you don't need Getty Images Internet is already expensive once you factor in the equipment fees and hidden fees (more on those later). Don't overpay for internet speeds that you just won't use. And don't settle for a low tier only to go crawling back to customer support for an upgrade to a higher tier later. The easiest way to avoid that strife is to take stock of how much internet speed your household is actually using before you begin shopping for a new plan. To start, count the number of gadgets and smart home devices in your home. Smart devices can be sneaky bandwidth hogs, often overlooked when considering internet usage. If you have more than 10 devices online concurrently during a typical day, with internet usage involving more than just browsing the web, a good rule of thumb is to stick to speeds of 500 megabits per second or higher. If you only have one or two devices on during the day and only one or two internet users working remotely, browsing the web, streaming or gaming at a time, you should be safe with 150 to 300Mbps. Since I work remotely and typically only use two devices simultaneously, AT&T Fiber's cheapest 300Mbps tier works just fine for me. If you've experienced excessive lag, buffering and Wi-Fi issues with your current tier, it might be time to size up. Your Wi-Fi setup could be to blame for your internet connectivity issues, so run down the list of possible solutions before upgrading. Advertised vs. actual speeds On that note, keep in mind that what your ISP is advertising as a maximum speed (in my case, 300Mbps), may not be the actual speeds you'll get consistently. Your actual speeds will likely be much slower -- especially if you're relying on Wi-Fi and connecting multiple devices to your network. Even 1,000Mbps tiers may face congestion and slowdowns, as CNET's Trisha Jandoc discovered in her home. When looking for a reliable internet plan, make sure you're taking a holistic look at your speed usage and factoring in slowdowns you may experience depending on the number of devices, the type of internet users in the house and the internet connection type. 2. Not considering the internet connection type Did you know there's more than one type of internet connection? You may have multiple internet connection types at your address; evaluate them all instead of opting for whatever is most convenient. Here's a quick rundown: Fiber internet : Typically considered the gold standard of broadband, fiber internet can deliver symmetrical upload and download speeds -- a feat no other internet connection type can boast of yet. You may be eligible for fiber internet at an address previously only serviceable for cable, so it's worth asking your landlord or calling a fiber provider to see if you can get fiber. : Typically considered the gold standard of broadband, fiber internet can deliver symmetrical upload and download speeds -- a feat no other internet connection type can boast of yet. You may be eligible for fiber internet at an address previously only serviceable for cable, so it's worth asking your landlord or calling a fiber provider to see if you can get fiber. Cable internet : Since fiber internet is much less available than cable internet, you're much more likely to be serviceable for cable instead of fiber. Cable is a decent second-best option, with speeds that can reach multi-gig levels (though upload speeds remain sorely lacking). : Since fiber internet is much less available than cable internet, you're much more likely to be serviceable for cable instead of fiber. Cable is a decent second-best option, with speeds that can reach multi-gig levels (though upload speeds remain sorely lacking). 5G or fixed wireless internet : If you can't get either fiber or cable, consider 5G internet. Wireless internet is becoming increasingly popular, and Verizon 5G and T-Mobile Home Internet have dominated the space in recent years. Verizon's 5G home internet plans claim to offer speeds up to 1,000Mbps and T-Mobile just boosted its speeds and added a new speed tier. : If you can't get either fiber or cable, consider 5G internet. Wireless internet is becoming increasingly popular, and Verizon 5G and T-Mobile Home Internet have dominated the space in recent years. Verizon's 5G home internet plans claim to offer speeds up to 1,000Mbps and T-Mobile just boosted its speeds and added a new speed tier. Satellite internet: With nearly 100% availability, satellite internet is a safe bet for rural communities or those on the go, but it tends to be high in costs and is prone to network congestion. Unless you don't have another option, consider satellite and DSL internet a last resort. 3. Falling for promotional pricing and flashy advertising A recent CNET survey found that 63% of adults are paying more for their internet than they paid last year. Internet providers are profit-motivated first. If you stumble upon a cheap internet plan or deal that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Plus, if you decide to call before you do some research, your customer service representative will probably try to talk you into either upgrading to a faster (more expensive) plan or adding some services you simply don't need. Xfinity's FCC-mandated broadband nutrition label displays the "post-introductory price" after one year of service: the monthly cost jumps from $55 to $89. Screenshot by Cierra Noffke/CNET Pricing traps and promotional bait are popular among ISPs. Always read the fine print -- especially before you call. If you're not careful, you could be roped into a two-year contract, with your bill increasing exponentially in the next year. Cable providers Xfinity, Astound and Spectrum are notorious for price increases that can range from $20 to $30 more after a promotional period. In the case of Xfinity, your bill might double after the first year, unless you sign up for a price-lock. If you closely examine the FCC-mandated broadband nutrition labels, you can see what your monthly bill will look like after the promo period ends. 4. Not reading the fine print to look for contracts, hidden fees or data caps OK, I know it's boring and arguably the worst part about picking a good internet plan, but reading through the terms of service is the best way to figure out what the internet plan you're looking at actually entails. Consult your ISP's broadband nutrition labels for basic facts and read their full terms of service for any follow-up issues you uncover. If you still have outstanding questions, write them down and make sure you ask them when you call. First, make sure you're not signing up for a contract unless you have no other option. Contracts require you to stick with an internet service for the entire term. If you decide your internet plan isn't working for you halfway through, you'll either suffer for the next six months or pay a hefty termination fee. Screenshot of Sparklight's broadband nutrition labels across three plans. Notice how Sparklight describes the data included with each plan as "Unlimited." If you read the fine print, you'll find it actually enforces a soft cap of 5TB. Screenshot/CNET Next, make sure you're checking for data caps. The broadband nutrition label should indicate any data caps, but sometimes, ISPs won't use the broadband labels to clearly state whether they're enforcing a data cap (looking at you, Sparklight), so you'll have to read through the fine print. Also, sometimes ISPs enforce "soft caps" or use "priority data," which means your internet speeds will be throttled once you max out your allotted data. Lastly, are there any hidden fees or junk fees you should worry about? That promotional price of $30 a year for 150Mbps may seem attractive initially, but if your provider leases equipment for an additional $15 and enforces a maintenance fee of $12 monthly, you're looking at $57 monthly. In some cases, you may be able to call and negotiate with your ISP to waive a few of those fees. If you're trying to cut back on initial internet costs, consider installing your internet yourself. 5. Not calculating the cost per Mbps The cost per Mbps is a great way to gauge how good of a deal your internet plan is. Internet prices fluctuate depending on the internet connection type, regional pricing or related market issues. The cost per Mbps is the ratio between the monthly rate (excluding taxes and extra fees) and the advertised speeds -- or the price you're paying for 1Mbps of speed. You can find the cost per Mbps by dividing the monthly rate by the plan's max speed. A good rule of thumb is to stick to a cost per Mbps between 10 and 25 cents or lower -- if you can. Anything lower than 10 cents per Mbps is usually a good deal. I'll caution that the high speeds of fiber internet plans can make using the cost per Mbps approach confusing. For example, AT&T's fastest tier of 5,000Mbps costs $245 a month. That's a hefty price for a lot of speed. The cost per Mbps of that plan comes out to 5 cents, which is pretty good by broadband standards but an unrealistic monthly rate for home internet. If you're thinking of picking a plan with promotional pricing, compare the cost per Mbps for both the introductory and post-introductory rates. Spectrum's $50 for 500Mbps plan comes out to a decent 10 cents per Mbps, but if you stick with that plan for a year, your monthly rate will jump to $80, which is a much higher 16 cents per Mbps. In that case, consider shopping around after your promo period ends. 6. Not comparing internet plans or reading customer reviews I know, I know, I've already asked you to read the terms of service for one ISP, and now I'm asking you to cross-analyze the offerings from multiple ISPs. It's tedious work but the only way to ensure you're getting the best deal is to carefully read and compare the terms of service of all the ISPs in your area. Now that you know what to look for, you can compare the cost per Mbps and terms of service across different ISP plans. If you're one of the lucky few who can choose between more than one or two decent internet providers, you should choose carefully. The terms of service will give you a good sense of what to expect from your internet plan but those words are written from an ISP perspective. You should always take customer reviews with a grain of salt but they're usually an honest portrayal of how those service terms actually play out. For example, if people express consistent confusion about price hikes, consider that a red flag about promotional pricing traps. You can turn to resources like Reddit for city-specific threads about ISPs or the Better Business Bureau for a closer look at what people didn't like about their service. 7. Ignoring tech support and security We usually don't think about our internet until something starts going wrong. Like most internet shoppers, you're probably not planning for connectivity issues and if you pick a good ISP and speed, hopefully, you won't have to deal with those issues. But internet connectivity problems are inevitable, whether it's a problem with your equipment, your Wi-Fi setup, outages your provider is experiencing or more significant problems beyond your control. If you can choose between a good ISP without free tech support and a good ISP with free tech support, opt for the support. You'll never know when you'll have to make a phone call to troubleshoot your connection or your equipment. 8. Not buying your own routerBefore I started writing about home internet, I never considered my router and I couldn't tell you the difference between a modem and a router. But now I know that it can save you money to buy your equipment upfront instead of paying an extra $10 to your ISP every month. Most routers cost $200 or less, which will pay for itself in a little more than a year. Plus, you won't have to worry about racing to return your equipment when your plan ends. There's also a chance your router can offer better performance than the one your ISP offers. CNET's Joe Supan saved nearly $1,000 by buying his own router instead of renting from Xfinity and he noticed improved upload speeds after doing so. Just note that if you buy your own router, you likely won't be eligible for tech assistance from your ISP anymore, and they may even try to blame your internet connectivity issues on your router. Most router manufacturers -- notably TP-Link, Netgear, and Linksys -- offer their own customer service support anyway. 9. Not looking at mobile bundle discounts (or other deals) The best home internet discounts typically come from bundling with your ISP's mobile service. Switching over your mobile service provider can be a hassle if you don't already get service from the same company but you could save as much as $35 each month on internet by doing so. Astound and Mediacom offer some of the best mobile discount opportunities but you may have other options, too. ISPs often try to lure customers with low pricing or other add-ons, and while some deals aren't worth signing up for, others, like T-Mobile's $300 gift card and Frontier Fiber's $30 plan for 500Mbps, are worth a try. 10. Not thinking twice about your router placement Last but not least, after you've done your research and committed to a plan, you'll have to pick a date for installation. Most people trust that the technicians who install their equipment will pick the best place in the house, but that's not always the case. Wi-Fi works best with an optimized setup. If you can place your router/modem in a central spot in the house, closest to where you're working or where your most used TV is located, work with your technician to make that happen. You can always invest in some Wi-Fi extenders or a mesh network if you think the connectivity will be an issue but don't assume your technician knows what's best. After all, this is your internet plan, and you'll be using it every day. FAQs Should I rent or buy my modem or router? It may seem daunting to buy your own router, but the decision could save you money in the long run. Most routers cost around $200, which should pay for itself after a year since many ISPs charge $10 to $15 for equipment rental. If you buy your own router, your ISP won't be able to offer tech support if there's an issue with the equipment, but router manufacturers often come with their own tech support anyway. Plus, newer routers often perform better than the routers ISPs rent out -- CNET broadband writer Joe Supan bought his own router (which saved him nearly $1,000), and he saw improved upload speeds with his cable internet.