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Wildfires continue in Alberta as premier, prime minister are set to talk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:50 GMT

EDMONTON — Wildfires raging in Alberta continue to overwhelm some communities and have forced thousands of people from their homes.More than 40 structures, mostly homes, have been lost on the Little Red River Cree Nation, which includes three communities in northern Alberta.Darryel Sowan, the emergency management communications co-ordinator, says some 3,700 people left the area quickly after the evacuation order was put in place.There is no road into the community, so people had to use boats, while higher-risk people were flown out.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is set to speak by phone with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau today to discuss the wildfiresSo far this year, wildfires have burned about 380,000 hectares across the province. “Because it’s isolated, a lot of those people have never even been away from the reserve,” Sowan said Monday. “We want to get them back there and they want to go home. We are trying our best.”Chief Conroy Sewepagaham posted on soc...

U.K. seeks closer ties with Canada in science, military and technology

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:50 GMT

OTTAWA — Britain is seeking closer ties with Canada as it reshapes its foreign policy in the wake of its departure from the European Union.But British High Commissioner Susannah Goshko says her country is also pushing Ottawa to boost its defence spending.The United Kingdom updated its national security and foreign policy last month following uncertainty after its exit from the European Union and tumultuous politics under prime ministers Liz Truss and Boris Johnson.The new plan is looking for expanded connections with Canada on everything from artificial intelligence to sanctions.Goshko says her country also wants to work to counterbalance rising authoritarianism in regions like the Indo-Pacific and as such is raising its military spending beyond the NATO target of two per cent of gross domestic product.Canada however has no plans to meet that threshold.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2023.The Canadian Press

Forensic genealogy leads to arrest in 2007 Kansas rape case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:50 GMT

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police in Kansas have arrested and charged a man in a 2007 sexual assault by matching a DNA sample to data submitted to genealogy websites.Ted Foy, 52, of Augusta, is jailed on $500,000 bond after he was charged last week with rape, aggravated sexual battery and aggravated criminal sodomy. His attorney, public defender Sonya Strickland, didn’t respond to an Associated Press email seeking comment Monday. The Wichita Eagle reports that it was the Wichita police department’s first arrest using investigative genetic genealogy. The process received widespread attention after it was used in 2018 to track down a California serial killer who was responsible for at least 13 killings and dozens of rapes in the 1970s and 1980s. Since then, the method has led to the identification of dozens of suspects in cold cases, though some critics have voiced privacy concerns.“With these sorts of dragnets, you are using probable cause against one person to invade the privacy of ...

Debt options abound, but can Biden, McCarthy strike a deal?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:50 GMT

The White House and Congress could strike a deal to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for budget cuts. Or they could agree to a stopgap measure to keep paying the nation’s bills while negotiations continue. They also could let the negotiations unravel, sending the economy into a chaos.As President Joe Biden prepares to meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the congressional leaders this week for the first time over the debt ceiling crisis, the options for easing out of the standoff are many.But the political incentive for compromise is harder to come by, with no easy endgame ahead of a June 1 deadline to raise the debt ceiling or risk defaulting on the nation’s $31 trillion debt.“We have to avoid default, period. Full stop,” the House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said over the weekend.At Tuesday’s first high-stakes meeting, it’s extremely unlikely there will be any quick resolution. Biden and the big four congressional leaders of the House and Senate wil...

Indiana judge deals blow to state’s lawsuit against TikTok

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:50 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana judge has ruled that downloading the free social media app TikTok doesn’t amount to a consumer transaction under state law, dealing a blow to the state attorney general’s lawsuit claiming the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform misleads its users about the level of inappropriate content and security of consumer information.The decision issued last week denied the request from Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita for a court order preventing TikTok from stating on online app stores that it has “none” or “infrequent/mild” references to drugs, sexual or other inappropriate content for children as young as 12.Judge Craig Bobay of Allen County Superior Court in Fort Wayne also ruled that state courts don’t have authority over TikTok’s statements to Apple’s app store as both companies are based in California.“No aspect of the age rating process takes place in Indiana,” the judge wrote. “This suit-related conduct is not related to and does not arise out o...

Pop-punk band Sum 41 to split up after finishing tour and final album, band says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:50 GMT

TORONTO — Canadian pop-punk band Sum 41 will split up following the release of their final album and a farewell world tour. In a social media post Monday, the band said they will finish all upcoming tour dates this summer in Europe and the U.S. as they look forward to the release of their final album, “Heaven x Hell.” Details of the album release and the final tour have yet to be announced. In a social media post announcing the split, the band said being a group since 1996 has led to some of the best moments in their lives.The Ontario-formed band won a Juno for group of the year in 2003 and rock album of the year in 2005. Its current members are frontman Deryck Whibley, guitarists Dave Baksh and Tom Thacker, bassist Cone McCaslin and drummer Frank Zummo.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2023.The Canadian Press

Simulation suggests 2020 census missed many noncitizens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:50 GMT

New results from a U.S. Census Bureau simulation suggests a significant number of noncitizens were missed in the 2020 census, a national head count during which the Trump administration tried but failed to prevent people in the country illegally from being tallied.A simulated head count by the statistical agency utilized 31 types of administrative records from government agencies and third-party sources to produce estimates of the U.S. population on April 1, 2020 that could be compared to the survey-like responses used in the last official tally of every U.S. resident. The simulation was an experiment which doesn’t change the results of the once-a-decade count of every U.S. resident that helps determine political power and the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal funding in the U.S. Almost a fifth of noncitizens found in the administrative records had addresses that couldn’t be matched in the 2020 census, suggesting that “a significant fraction of noncitizens” were missed,...

Bank of Canada launches public consultations on digital currency

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:50 GMT

The Bank of Canada says it wants to hear from Canadians on what kind of features it should include in a potential digital currency.In an online survey running until June 19, the central bank asks what people think about a range of design options including being able to use the currency offline, to recover funds lost from theft and to make transactions without a bank account.A digital currency would be different from cryptocurrencies as it would be backed by the central bank and its value wouldn’t change since it would be just another form of Canadian currency.The Bank of Canada says that while it doesn’t see a need for a digital dollar now, it’s preparing for the potential need ahead.It says a digital currency might be necessary if cryptocurrencies or digital currencies issued by other countries become widely enough used in the country that they start to compromise the role of an official, centrally issued currency.The Bank of Canada says a digital currency could a...

Waukegan High School volleyball coach shot and killed while driving: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:50 GMT

WAUKEGAN — A Waukegan High School volleyball coach was shot and killed while driving over the weekend.Niolis Collazo, 23, of Waukegan, was killed in a shooting on 10th Street and Lewis Avenue in Waukegan around 10:45 p.m. Saturday. Police said Collazo's vehicle was one of two vehicles struck by gunfire.According to officials, a man, who occupied the first vehicle that was hit, was not injured. The second vehicle was occupied by Collazo, who was struck by the gunfire. She was transported to Vista East Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.The school sent out the following email Monday to its community confirming Collazo's death, saying, in part:It is with great sadness that we report the unexpected passing of Ms. Niolis Collazo. Ms. Collazo worked as an assistant boys volleyball coach at Waukegan High School. She was also a counselor with Youth Guidance’s Working On Womanhood program, where she worked with young ladies at Smith Middle School. CPD investigates death of 24-ye...

Police name suspect accused of hitting 18 at Texas bus stop, killing 8

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:50 GMT

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (KVEO) — A Brownsville resident with a lengthy criminal history has been identified by police as the driver accused of smashing into a crowd at a bus stop in the Texas border town Sunday. Eighteen people were hit, eight of whom were killed. At a Monday press conference, Brownsville Police Chief Felix Sauceda identified the suspect as 34-year-old George Alvarez. Sauceda said he attempted to flee the scene after the crash, but was held down by people on the scene.Alvarez was charged with eight counts of manslaughter, 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bond is set at $3.6 million. Gerardo Salinas/ValleyCentralThe crash happened at 8:30 a.m. Sunday in front of the Ozanam Center, which is a shelter for migrants and homeless people in Brownsville. The SUV ran a red light, lost control, flipped on its side and hit the 18 victims, Sauceda said. 8 dead, 10 injured when SUV strikes crowd near migrant shelter When police arrived on scene, officers f...