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‘It’s chaos’: Halifax man learns home was destroyed as officials warn of wildfire danger

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:56 GMT

For the second time in the past seven years, Danny Osborne has fled his home because of a wildfire.In May 2016, he escaped the devastating fires in Fort McMurray, Alta., which forced the evacuation of 90,000 people and destroyed 2,400 homes and businesses. And his Alberta home survived the disaster.But on Tuesday, Osborne learned the Halifax-area wildfire that has been burning out of control since Sunday had gutted his new residence in Nova Scotia.He was among a group from the Yankeetown subdivision northwest of Halifax who were led by RCMP to their properties to retrieve pets after the wildfire swept through.“It’s gone,” the 45-year-old construction worker said after he returned from seeing what was left of his home. “It is completely flattened.”Osborne recalled how when he left his house after an evacuation was ordered, he saw black, churning smoke in his rear-view mirror and felt the same “gut-wrenching” emotions he endured during the Alberta d...

Donald Trump’s legal team and Manhattan prosecutors spar over where he will stand trial

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Ten months before Donald Trump is scheduled to stand trial in his historic New York City criminal case, Manhattan prosecutors are turning the former president’s words against him in a tug of war over precisely where he will be tried.Trump’s lawyers have spent weeks angling to have the hush money case moved to federal court. The Manhattan district attorney’s office responded Tuesday that the case should remain in the state court where it originated, citing old Trump tweets that they say undermine his lawyers’ jurisdictional challenge.Trump, a Republican, pleaded not guilty in state court last month to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to money paid to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, for orchestrating hush money payments during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters.Prosecutors allege that Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, falsely logged the Cohen payments as being for a legal retainer that didn’t exist.Tr...

US Border Patrol chief is retiring after seeing through end of Title 42 immigration restrictions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:56 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the U.S. Border Patrol announced Tuesday that he was retiring, after seeing through a major policy shift that seeks to clamp down on illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border following the end of Title 42 pandemic restrictions.Chief Raul Ortiz said in a note to staff Tuesday obtained by The Associated Press that he will leave June 30. It’s not clear yet who will replace him. “I leave at ease, knowing we have a tremendous uniformed and professional workforce, strong relationships with our union partners, and outstanding leaders who will continue to tirelessly advocate for you each day,” Ortiz said in the note. Ortiz managed the Border Patrol and its roughly 20,000 agents through the COVID-19 pandemic and Title 42 emergency health restrictions that began in March 2020 and allowed agents to quickly return migrants over the border. He also oversaw a new set of restrictions rolled out May 11 meant to discourage migrants from crossing illegally while ...

Australian Parliament takes step toward holding a referendum on Indigenous Voice this year

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:56 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s House of Representatives voted overwhelming Wednesday for a referendum to be held this year on creating an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, an advocate aiming to give the nation’s most disadvantaged ethnic minority more say on government policy.While the Voice would advocate for Indigenous interests, it would not have a vote on laws, and debate for and against the elected body has become increasingly heated and divisive.The 121-to-25 House vote that approved the referendum being held does not reflect the level of lawmakers’ support for enshrining the Voice in the constitution. The opposition conservative Liberal Party voted in support of giving Australians a choice at a referendum but is also campaigning for the Voice to be rejected by the public.The Senate will vote on the bill in June, and the bill needs majority support to ensure that Australia’s first referendum since 1999 takes place between October and December this year.Proponents hope th...

DeSantis kicks off presidential campaign in Iowa, signals he plans to go harder after Trump

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:56 GMT

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — Calling for “a revival of American greatness,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday kicked off a multistate campaign blitz aimed at establishing himself as the Republican Party’s leading next-generation culture warrior while bolstering his place as Donald Trump’s chief rival.In a fiery speech in Iowa during his first campaign event for the 2024 GOP nomination, he called American decline avoidable and offered himself as its alternative.“Our country is going in the wrong direction. We can see it and we can feel it,” DeSantis told about 500 people in a evangelical Christian church auditorium in suburban Des Moines plastered with red, white and blue signs proclaiming a “Great American Comeback.” Hundreds more watched from an overflow room.While DeSantis jabbed at Trump indirectly during his hourlong speech, he pointedly critiqued the former president while talking to reporters and a small audience afterward.DeSantis lashed out at Trump’s suggestion that New York’s pan...

19th police district council members hold first meeting, address weekend violence

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:56 GMT

CHICAGO — Newly-elected council members for the Chicago Police Department's 19th District held their first meeting today, and used part of their time to address violence that happened over Memorial Day weekend in the area."I’m sure many of you are here because of the news of shootings that have taken place in a few blocks span," said 19th District council member Sam Schoenberg. "There have been 5 people shot over the last week."The shootings happened over a span of a few days in the Lakeview neighborhood, which is a part of CPD's 19th District. North Lawndale family seeks justice for woman killed in hit-and-run The shooting that sparked the conversation was a triple shooting that happened in the 600 block of West Barry Avenue early Sunday morning.Two other shootings that happened in the area include one in the 500 block of West Surf Street where police said a man was shot and killed, and another in the 500 block of West Melrose Street, where police said a person was injured after ...

Accelerated cognitive decline seen after heart attacks: study 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:56 GMT

(The Hill) - A new study has found a rapid decline in global cognition, memory and executive function in those who suffer from a heart attack compared to those who do not.  In a study published in the JAMA Neurology journal, researchers found that people who suffered from at least one or more incidents of myocardial infarction (MI), also known as a heart attack, had a “significantly faster” rate of decline in global cognition, memory and executive function over the years compared to those who did not. The research also found that having a heart attack was not associated with an immediate decrease in these functions after the event, but rather impacted long-term brain health.  The researchers analyzed a pool of more than 30,000 people from six different studies based in the United States. Out of this sample, 1,033 individuals suffered from a myocardial infarction event. The median time for a follow-up was 6.4 years after the heart attack.   Which virus is causing congestion, c...

Fire destroys two buildings in Delmar apartment complex

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:56 GMT

DELMAR, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Two buildings were destroyed, and eight families were displaced after a fire in Delmar on Tuesday. The fire took place at an apartment complex on Equinox Court. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Crews were called to Buildings 9 and 11 around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday after someone saw flames while driving down Kenwood Avenue. Both buildings were fully engulfed and are now a total loss. It took multiple fire crews around two hours to put out the blaze. They had some challenges with the water pressure due to the complex being on a dead end."We still had water, but it wasn't enough to knock both of these buildings down. Plus, we were fighting two fires at the same time, so both buildings were totally engulfed in flames, so it took more water to do that." Colonie Town Supervisor suing NYC, Albany over migrant arrival Eight families were displaced and are receiving help from the Red Cross. Officials said one fi...

Tired of waiting, St. Louis County residents contact FOX 2 about getting burned-out home demolished

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:56 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A north St. Louis County resident contacted the You Paid For It team to get a burned-out shell of a house demolished.Reginald Newburn said the house on Yvette Court burned down years ago, but residents in the Florissant-area subdivision just haven’t been able to get the county to tear it down.“Calls, emails, pictures going out there. I can’t get any help from anybody to do anything,” Newburn said. “I keep getting promises right now. They act like we never did anything at all. Other neighbors have called, same thing. They don’t answer our calls, they don’t return calls, they won’t address it. They say they’re coming out. They come out, we never see them. Ask them to stop by and talk to us personally, so we can explain to them. We don’t get none of that.” Woman ‘saving up’ as Ferguson PD cracks down on expired tags Newburn said the house is attracting trouble.“We got drug dealers now and do their little business now in the cul-de-sac. As you can see, illegal ...

'I will try and get a fifth vote,' Councilman Trakas not giving up on pedestrian travel ban bill 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:56 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Aimee Wehmeier travels from her Webster Groves home to the Walgreens across the street, where she picks up her prescription. It’s a trip that does not provide her with any sidewalks, so she uses her wheelchair in the street."For me, getting from point A to point B is a choice and a freedom," Wehmeier said.It's a decision that may have been illegal if St. Louis County Executive Sam Page had not vetoed Bill 86 Tuesday morning."What makes it interesting is suddenly I go from a being a law-abiding citizen to somebody that is violating the law,” Wehmeier said. Woman ‘saving up’ as Ferguson PD cracks down on expired tags She and her organization, Paraquad, asked Page to veto the bill that would ban people from traveling or sitting on roadways in unincorporated St. Louis County.St. Louis County Councilman Ernie Trakas introduced the bill.“If you live in unincorporated St. Louis County, you don't matter, that’s the message Sam Page sent today," Trakas said. &n...