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Court watching ‘Freedom Convoy’ press conferences in criminal trial

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:05 GMT

OTTAWA — A courtroom scattered with “Freedom Convoy” supporters is taking in recordings of several lengthy press conferences hosted by spokespeople during the protest, as the criminal trial for two of its organizers enters its seventh day.Chris Barber and Tamara Lich were among those who organized a convoy of trucks to come to Ottawa in early 2022 to protest COVID-19 public health measures and call for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down. They both face mischief and several counselling charges, including mischief, intimidation and obstructing police, for their role in the demonstrations that blockaded city streets for three weeks.The press conferences from Feb. 6 and 9 were streamed live on Facebook, and feature Lich and other prominent spokespeople taking questions from independent media outlets.Lich speaks very little in the videos, which touch on how the protest was putting pressure on governments to change public health measures, how they expected police to re...

The iPhone 12 emits too much radiation and Apple must take it off the market, French agency says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:05 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French regulators ordered Apple to stop selling the iPhone 12, saying it emits electromagnetic radiation levels that are above European Union standards for exposure. The company disputed the findings and said the device complies with regulations. The French government agency that manages wireless communications frequencies issued the order after the iPhone 12 recently failed one of two types of tests for electromagnetic waves capable of being absorbed by the body. It’s unclear why the phone, which was released in late 2020, didn’t pass the agency’s latest round of tests and why it was only that particular model.France’s digital minister said the iPhone 12’s radiation levels are still much lower than levels that scientific studies consider could harm users, and the agency itself acknowledges that its tests don’t reflect typical phone use. The National Frequency Agency on Tuesday called on Apple to “implement all available means to rapi...

Union demands apology from WestJet after Poilievre speaks on flight’s PA system

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:05 GMT

OTTAWA — The union representing WestJet cabin crew is demanding an apology from the airline after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre spoke on the public address system of a recent flight.A video circulating online shows Poilievre making short remarks on a Sunday night flight that was leaving Quebec City for Calgary after the Conservative Party of Canada’s convention. Poilievre’s campaign-style speech lasts for about 45 seconds and is met with laughter and cheers from passengers. CUPE Alberta’s local president Alia Hussain said it’s “very disappointing” that the airline allowed a politician to use the PA system. “It is doubly disappointing that WestJet is now trying to assign blame on the cabin crew for this event,” Hussein said in a statement Tuesday on X, formerly known as Twitter. Hussain said the cabin crew had no input in the decision to allow Poilievre to speak and that the airline’s rules say only crew members can use the...

Former NYC buildings commissioner surrenders in bribery investigation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:05 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The former buildings commissioner under New York City Mayor Eric Adams surrendered to authorities on Wednesday to face undisclosed criminal charges related to a bribery investigation.Eric Ulrich, a longtime city official who also raised money for Adams, is expected to be arraigned in a Manhattan courtroom later in the afternoon alongside several other defendants.Ulrich resigned from his post as city buildings commissioner last November, six months after his appointment, amid reports that he was being questioned by prosecutors as part of an investigation into illegal gambling and organized crime.An attorney for Ulrich, Sam Braverman, said his client intended to plead not guilty.A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg declined to discuss the charges. Bragg will appear at a press conference at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday alongside the commissioner of the city’s Department of Investigation.The investigation appears to be focused in part on Ulrich’s relationshi...

UN envoy for Sudan resigns, warning that the conflict could be turning into ‘full-scale civil war’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:05 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. special envoy for Sudan who was declared unwelcome by the country’s military rulers announced his resignation Wednesday in a final speech to the U.N. Security Council. He warned that the conflict between Sudan’s two military leaders “could be morphing into a full-scale civil war.”Volker Perthes, who had continued to work outside Sudan, said the fighting shows no sign of abating, with neither side appearing close to “a decisive military victory.”Sudan has been rocked by violence since mid-April, when tensions between the country’s military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, burst into open fighting.Perthes said at least 5,000 people have been killed since then and over 12,000 wounded, calling these conservative numbers. The United Nations says the country also faces a dire humanitarian emergency.Perthes was a key mediator after the conflict began, but the mili...

Palestinian man who fled Lebanon seeking safety in Libya was killed with his family by floods

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:05 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — A At the height of Lebanon’s 15-year civil war in the late 1980s, Saleh Ali Sariyeh decided to leave the Palestinian refugee camp where he had been living and move to Libya in search of safety and a better future.On Monday, the 62-year-old architect was killed along with his wife and two daughters in Libya’s coastal city of Derna, when their home was washed away by flooding that devastated the city. The floods killed more than 5,000 people and thousands remain missing days after the floods.Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding in many towns of eastern Libya, but the worst-hit was Derna. As the storm pounded the coastal city of about 90,000 on Sunday, residents said they heard loud explosions when the dams outside the city collapsed. Floodwaters washed down Wadi Derna, a river running from the mountains through the city and into the sea.“We lost contact with them after the storm,” said Sariyeh’s younger brother Mohammed, speaking by telephone from the southe...

‘Complete destruction’: Canadians mobilize to help Morocco after earthquake

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:05 GMT

MONTREAL — A Canadian aid worker in Morocco says he’s seen scenes of “complete destruction” in the wake of a 6.8-magnitude earthquake that has killed more than 2,900 people and left many more injured and homeless.Hassaan Sheikh of Islamic Relief Canada says his team is distributing blankets and mattresses in villages near the quake’s epicentre — about 70 kilometres south of the city of Marrakech — as bodies are being pulled from the rubble of flattened homes.Sheikh says that in the short term Moroccans need food, blankets and hygiene products, while in the longer term they will need their homes, roads and critical infrastructure rebuilt.Ottawa says it hasn’t received a request for assistance from Morocco, but many Canadians are launching efforts to help the North African country as it grapples with the devastating aftermath of Friday’s quake.In Montreal, home to a large Moroccan community, mosques and businesses have started fundraisers and collec...

New England getting more rain, watching Hurricane Lee’s path after flooding, sinkholes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:05 GMT

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — More heavy rain began falling Wednesday in New England, where residents kept one eye on cleanup and another on the path of Hurricane Lee after downpours dropped nearly 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in six hours and flooded parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.The rainfall was a “200-year event,” said Matthew Belk, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boston. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey issued a state of emergency Tuesday night following the “catastrophic flash flooding and property damage” in two counties and other communities.The rain created sinkholes in Leominster, Massachusetts. Cars sank into the ground at an auto dealership. The front yard collapsed at one house, resulting in a 15-foot (4.6-meter) hole that exposed the foundation.Andre Obin said his parents, who have lived in the home for many years, were able to pull out of their driveway shortly before the cave-in.“We’re just so lucky that the pavement didnR...

PWHL, Canadian Tire reach multi-year agreement on sponsorship deal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:05 GMT

TORONTO — The Professional Women’s Hockey League has struck a multi-year agreement with Canadian Tire to be the league’s first funding partner. The collaboration includes sponsorship of the PWHL’s inaugural draft on Sept. 18 in Toronto.Canadian Tire has committed to allocate a minimum of 50 per cent of its sponsorship dollars towards women’s professional sports by 2026 through its Women’s Sports Initiative.The company was one of the premier sponsors which permanently ended its relationship with Hockey Canada because of the national sporting organization’s handling of sexual assault allegations in the past.The PWHL was officially introduced on Aug. 29 with an announcement naming its six markets between Canada and the U.S. The teams will be in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and the New York City area, with play set to begin in January.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2023.The Canadian Press

What to know about renters insurance and what it does and doesn’t cover

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:05 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — When the unexpected happens — whether fire, hail, or human error — renters insurance can provide much-needed stability. But many choose not to purchase coverage, including in places most frequently and hardest hit by natural disasters, new research shows.Linda Klamm, who works as an attorney for insurance policyholders after catastrophes, lost her home to a firestorm in Oakland, California, in 1991, and has firsthand experience with the challenges of collecting on a policy.“The sky went from being a reddish color to the sun looking bloodied. Then it quickly became black,” she said, of that year. “I loaded my 3-year-old and not-quite-6-year-old into the back of the car. We got a few things — our dog, one of our three cats, the kids. There were two ways out. By the time I was leaving, one was engulfed in flames.”In the wake of subsequent fires, including wildfires in California and other states, Klamm offers assistance to policyholders on recovering funds. While homeow...