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Canadian Producer Prices, Building Permits Rise in May as Coronavirus Effects Linger

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US Border Patrol: Crash Killing 7 Resulted From Human Smuggling Attempt in Texas

U.S. Border Patrol officials said a crash in El Paso, Texas, left at least seven people dead, blaming human smugglers for the incident. “Human smuggling is not a victimless crime,” El Paso Sector Border Patrol Chief Patrol Gloria Chavez said in a statement about the incident on June 25. “This is a tragic loss for our El Paso Community.” Three of the victims were illegal immigrants, including one from Guatemala and two from Mexico, the Border Patrol said on Saturday. The other four victims were residents of El Paso, including the 18-year-old driver, according to officials. The incident started on Thursday morning at around 1:30 a.m. when a border sensor sent out an alert about a suspicious vehicle with several passengers, officials told the El Paso Times. The vehicle was…

Canadian Producer Prices, Building Permits Rise in May as Coronavirus Effects Linger

OTTAWA鈥擟anadian industrial producer prices rose 1.2 percent in May on higher prices for meat, fish, and dairy products, Statistics Canada said on Monday, as supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and increased demand boosted meat prices.

The gain in producer prices followed four months of consecutive decreases and matched a flash estimate released by the statistical agency earlier this month.

Statscan said the May increase was driven by higher prices for meat, fish and dairy products as well as gains in energy and petroleum products. Of the 21 major commodity groups monitored by the agency, six rose, 11 fell, and four were unchanged.

Meat product prices rose 13.3 percent, led by fresh and frozen pork, which increased a record 31.3 percent as disruptions in the supply chain from the coronavirus pandemic and higher demand for meat products contributed to the gain.

Earlier this month, Statcan had said it expected meat prices would rise following outbreaks of COVID-19 in Canadian and U.S. meat plants that forced operations to shut down or reduce capacity.

Meanwhile, prices for energy and petroleum products rose by 4.6 percent.

In a separate release, the national statistical agency said Canadian building permits rose 20.2 percent, the largest percentage increase since March 2009, as some provinces eased constraints imposed on the construction industry due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the May figure was still 20.4 percent below the peak seen in January 2020, Statscan said.

The value of residential permits was up in six provinces, rising 18.7 percent, with most of the gains due to a jump in the value of permits in single-family homes, which rose 37.5 percent. Meanwhile, commercial permits jumped 20.8 percent.

By Kelsey Johnson

Focus News: Canadian Producer Prices, Building Permits Rise in May as Coronavirus Effects Linger

US to Ship Remdesivir to States With Rising COVID-19 Cases

NEW YORK—The U.S. government will ship more of Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral treatment remdesivir to states experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases including California, Texas, Florida, and Arizona, according to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) website. The government reallocated remdesivir to states with increasing cases, White House task force coordinator Deborah Birx said during a briefing on Friday. The HHS said on its website that the doses will ship starting Monday and extinguish the full amount of Gilead’s donation of 120,647 treatment courses. It said it would continue to work with Gilead to determine how the company’s anticipated inventory of 2 million doses by year’s end will be allocated. California will receive 464 cases of 40 vials each, Texas will receive 448 cases of 40 vials, Florida…