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Israeli forces cut off north Gaza to isolate Hamas as Palestinian deaths surpass 10,000

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:20 GMT

By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY (Associated Press)KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli army severed northern Gaza from the rest of the besieged territory and pounded it with airstrikes Monday, preparing for an expected push by ground forces into the dense confines of Gaza City and an even bloodier phase of the month-old war.Already, the Palestinian death toll passed 10,000 people, the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Monday. The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. Some 1,400 Israelis have died, mostly civilians killed in the Oct. 7 incursion by Hamas that started the war. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.The war has quickly become the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence since Israel’s establishment 75 years ago, with no end in sight as Israel vows to remove Hamas from power and crush its military capabilities.Casualties are likely to rise sharply as the war turns to clos...

‘Doc’ Antle of Netflix’s ‘Tiger King’ pleads guilty to wildlife trafficking and money laundering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:20 GMT

An exotic wildlife preserve owner who gained notoriety on the popular Netflix series “Tiger King” plead guilty Monday to animal trafficking and money laundering, the U.S. Justice Department announced.Bhagavan “Doc” Antle oversaw the sale or purchase of cheetah cubs, lion cubs, tigers and a juvenile chimpanzee that were all protected as endangered species, according to a Justice Department release. Officials said the 63-year-old man featured in a documentary miniseries about the tiger trade tried to hide animal payments as “donations” to his nonprofit organization.“The defendant held himself out as a conservationist, yet repeatedly violated laws protecting endangered animals and then tried to cover up those violations,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement.Antle faces a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, fines up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release for each count. He operates Myr...

Toronto seeing rise in antisemitic, Islamophobic hate crimes amid Israel-Hamas war: police chief

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:20 GMT

Toronto’s police chief says the city is seeing an alarming trend of antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes amid the latest Israel-Hamas war, adding there are likely many more incidents going unreported.Speaking to reporters while launching Crime Prevention Week on Monday, police chief Myron Demkiw took time to call attention to what he describes as an “alarming trend” of hate-motivated incidents in the city.“It’s very, very concerning,” Demkiw says. “We have committed an extensive amount of resources … we are going to do everything possible to hold those responsible accountable.” Related: Police seek suspect in hate-motivated mischief investigation Police investigate ‘hate-motivated’ threat against doctor in Mississauga An increase in harassment against Jewish and Muslim Americans has been reported since Hamas attacks Last month, Toronto police cited a 132 per cent increase in repo...

Music Review: Cat Power replicates Bob Dylan’s infamous 1966 electric concert, without the boos

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:20 GMT

“Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert” is a faithful song-by-song recreation, without the boos, of Bob Dylan ‘s infamous concert — from the tour where he played electric guitar for the first time.Unlike Dylan’s divisive 1966 shows, no one seeing singer-songwriter Cat Power in 2022 when this was recorded — also at the famed Royal Albert Hall — was likely so angered or surprised by what they heard that they felt compelled to walk out or hurl insults. Her acoustic first set, followed by second set complete with a full, plugged-in band, is rightfully met with thunderous applause. Back in 1966, when Dylan angered folk music traditionalists by plugging in and playing his new songs backed by a band, fans stomped their feet, jeered and walked out. In Manchester, England, one attendee was so angered that he famously yelled “Judas!” at Dylan just before he launched into “Like a Rolling Stone.”The moment gained fame on bootlegs that wrongly attributed perhaps t...

Teen arrested in Southern California restaurant shooting that injured 4 last month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:20 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (AP) — A 15-year-old boy was arrested in connection with a shooting that injured four people inside a restaurant south of San Diego last month, police said.The youth was taken into custody Friday evening, the Chula Vista Police Department said in a press release on Saturday. “Due to his age, no additional suspect information is being released at this time,” the release said.The Oct. 28 gunfire prompted chaos inside NOVO Brazil in Chula Vista and fears of an active shooter loose in the Otay Ranch Town Center, causing police to lock down the mall. Authorities said at the time that they believed the shooting resulted from a dispute between two groups of people. The statement on the arrest said no other information was available for public release.The victims included a 16-year-old boy shot in the legs who investigators say was involved in the initial dispute. Two bystanders, a 58-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman, were also struck. A third bystander, a 21-year-ol...

Barrick Gold increases stake in Hercules Silver with $23.4M investment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:20 GMT

TORONTO — Barrick Gold Corp. has signed a deal to increase its stake in Hercules Silver Corp. to more than 10 per cent with an investment of $23.4 million.Under the agreement, the gold miner will acquire 21,265,370 units in a non-brokered private placement at a price of $1.10 per unit.Each unit includes one common share and 0.32 of a common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one Hercules common share at a price of $1.32 per common share for a period of two years.Barrick currently owns 5,291,500 common shares of Hercules or a 2.73 per cent stake. Following the private placement, Barrick will hold 26,556,870 common shares of Hercules and 6,804,918 warrants, representing a 12.33 per cent stake in Hercules on a non-diluted basis and 15.02 per cent on a partially diluted basis. Hercules is a junior mining company developing the Hercules silver project, northwest of Cambridge, Idaho.Hercules shares were up 19 cents at $1.12 in late-morning tradin...

US orders Puerto Rico drug distribution company to pay $12 million in opioid case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:20 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — One of Puerto Rico’s biggest distributors of pharmaceutical drugs was ordered to pay $12 million after being accused of not reporting hundreds of suspicious orders for controlled substances, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.Drogueria Betances, LLC is accused of not reporting at least 655 orders for fentanyl and at least 113 orders for oxycodone from 2016 through June 2019. The orders were considered suspicious given in part their frequency and size, the department said.The company also is accused of hundreds of record-keeping violations and of not submitting reports of its distribution transactions to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, including those involving opioids, from May 2017 to July 2018, officials said.In addition, the company was ordered to improve its compliance program and report suspicious orders to the DEA, among other things.Drogueria Betances did not immediately return a message for comment.The complaint filed by the U.S. g...

Cody Dorman, who watched namesake horse win Breeders’ Cup race, dies on trip home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:20 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cody Dorman, the teenager who watched his namesake horse Cody’s Wish win at the Breeders’ Cup, has died. He was 17.Dorman died Sunday after suffering a “medical event” on the family’s way home to Kentucky after attending the world championships at Santa Anita last week, according to a statement from his parents posted Monday on Godolphin Racing’s social media account.Dorman was born with the rare genetic disorder Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, and the effects include delayed growth and development, intellectual disability, low muscle tone and seizures. He used a wheelchair.“With Cody’s diagnosis at birth, we always knew this day would come, but we were determined to help Cody live his best life for however long we had him,” the boy’s parents, Kelly and Leslie Dorman, wrote.Dorman first met the horse during a Make-A-Wish visit to Godolphin’s Gainsborough Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, when Cody’s Wish was a 5-month-old weanl...

Sex offender Randall Hopley removed his ankle bracelet to avoid court date: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:20 GMT

Vancouver police say high-risk sex offender Randall Hopley was likely worried about an upcoming court appearance and took “deliberate actions” to avoid it when he walked away from his Vancouver halfway house.Sgt. Steve Addison says at about 3 p.m. on Saturday Hopley told several people that he was going to a nearby thrift store, but removed his electronic monitoring bracelet a short time later and has not been seen since.Hopley has a history of convictions for assault, property and sexual crimes, including three sex offences against children.He was declared a long-term offender and handed a six-year prison term for the 2011 abduction of a three-year-old boy in southeastern British Columbia.Addison says Hopley was accused of violating his supervision orders earlier this year and had been released to a halfway house while awaiting the outcome of that case when he walked away.A Canada-wide warrant has been issued and Addison says the 58-year-old could still be in Vancouver ...

‘Some’ deaths after fire at Canada’s high commission in Abuja: Nigerian official

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:20 GMT

OTTAWA — A fire official in Nigeria’s capital said people died after blaze erupted Monday at Canada’s high commission in Abuja.“Some of the (people) were fatally injured, said Sina Abioye, head of operations for the fire service in the capital area said. “We are still trying to carry out our investigation.”He could not confirm how many people died or suffered injuries, nor when exactly the fire took place.Local media reported smoke appearing midday from the building, which is located in the diplomatic quarter of Abuja.Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Data the department filed with the Senate foreign-affairs committee shows that as of August 2022, there were 12 Canadian diplomats posted in Abuja and 32 locally hired staff.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2023.The Canadian Press<!– Photo: 20231106111128-65491459d3d41e9f95c4f762jpeg.jpg, Caption: Nigerian officials say there ha...