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Ford says decision coming ‘very, very soon’ on future of Peel Region

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:27 GMT

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says a decision on the possible future independence of cities within Peel Region will hopefully be made “very, very soon.”Peel encompasses Mississauga, Brampton and Caledon, and the region is responsible for services such as paramedics, health programs and recycling.Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie has been pushing for her city to become independent, saying it will save her municipality $1 billion over 10 years and make it more efficient.Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark announced in November that he would appoint facilitators to assess six regional governments, including Peel Region, and look at the best mix of roles between upper-tier and lower-tier municipalities with an eye to expanding “strong mayor” powers beyond Toronto and Ottawa.Ford says today that a final decision on Peel hasn’t yet been made, but he believes Mississauga and Brampton are large cities that can stand alone.Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown ...

House Republicans pass new asylum restrictions as Title 42 ends; Biden promises veto

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans passed a sweeping bill Thursday to build more U.S.-Mexico border wall and impose new restrictions on asylum seekers, creating a hard-line counter to President Joe Biden’s policies just as migrants are amassing along the border with the end of coronavirus pandemic restrictions.The bill has virtually no chance of becoming law. Democrats, who have a narrow hold on the Senate, have decried the aggressive measures in the bill as “cruel” and “anti-immigrant,” and Biden has already promised he would veto it.But the House GOP pointedly voted on the bill the same day as the expiration of Title 42, a public health emergency rule that allowed border authorities to quickly return many migrants who crossed the border illegally. Biden has conceded that the southern border will be “chaotic for a while” as migrants weigh whether to cross and U.S. officials use a new set of policies that aim to clamp down on illegal immigration while offering more lega...

Overnight temperatures to bring relief in upcoming B.C. and Alberta heat wave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:27 GMT

VANCOUVER — Alberta and British Columbia are bracing for an unseasonable heat wave with daytime highs soaring up to 15 degrees above normal over the coming days, though overnight temperatures are expected to provide some relief.Armel Castellan, an Environment Canada meteorologist in B.C., says the coming heat wave shares some of the same characteristics as a so-called heat dome.But he says it doesn’t have the potential to reach the same extreme highs as the deadly event in June 2021, when temperatures in B.C.’s Interior pushed into the 40s.Castellan says the nights are still longer and cooler in mid-May than they were after the late-June heat dome two years ago, which the B.C. Coroners Service has said caused more than 600 heat-related deaths. Still, Sarah Henderson with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control says it’s crucial for people susceptible to heat to stay hydrated as temperatures rise.All of Alberta and most of B.C. are blanketed with special heat advisories...

S&P/TSX composite down more than 80 points, U.S. markets mixed Thursday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:27 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down more than 80 points Thursday, led by losses in energy and metals, while U.S. markets were mixed after key data releases showed the economy continues to slow. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 81.70 points at 20,417.61.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 221.82 points at 33,309.51. The S&P 500 index was down 7.02 points at 4,130.62, while the Nasdaq composite was up 22.07 points at 12,328.51.U.S. jobless claims rose last week to their highest level in a year and a half at 264,000, around 20,000 more than analysts were expecting. Meanwhile, the Producer Price Index showed that wholesale prices in the U.S. rose modestly in April, the 10th straight slowdown for the figure. “The biggest thing we got from the PPI and the jobless report (seems to be) that the economy is losing steam or slowing down, which in the big picture is what the government wants,” said Michael Currie, senior investment adviser at TD Wea...

Greenpeace alleges ‘greenwashing’ in oilsands ads; Competition Bureau to investigate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:27 GMT

CALGARY — The Competition Bureau of Canada has opened an investigation into allegations of greenwashing against the Pathways Alliance, a consortium of oilsands companies.Greenpeace Canada says it made the allegations earlier this year, together with representatives from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and Environmental Defence, as well as a concerned student from Guelph University.Greenpeace says it is concerned about the Pathways Alliance’s “Let’s Clear the Air” marketing campaign.The campaign talks up oilsands firms’ plan to get to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.But Greenpeace alleges the campaign is a misrepresentation, because it doesn’t account for the emissions generated by the use of the fossil fuel products Pathways sells, only for emissions generated during the production process.In its letter to the complainants, the Competition Bureau said its inquiry will seek to determine if the Pathways Al...

Hopes dashed for a new deal in Newfoundland and Labrador’s stalled crab fishery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:27 GMT

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Crab fishers and processors have once again locked horns in Newfoundland and Labrador, prolonging a bitter standoff in the province’s lucrative snow crab fishery.The union representing inshore fishers said Thursday that its latest proposition to hike the price paid to harvesters for their crab catches was roundly rejected by the group representing the province’s seafood processors. The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union accused the Association of Seafood Processors of “pulling the plug” on negotiations.“Our organization has done everything possible to find a solution that will work for all parties and get a fishery going this year. It’s clear that we need immediate provincial intervention to get this situation sorted,” Greg Pretty, FFAW president, said in a news release.Crab season opened in much of Newfoundland and Labrador on April 10, but harvesters have refused to fish in protest of this year’s price at the wharf of $2.20 a...

Woman accused of aiding 2 men who escaped from Philadelphia prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:27 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Two inmates who escaped Sunday night from a Philadelphia prison were aided by a woman in the city, who authorities said Thursday had been charged with escape and conspiracy.A judge set bail at $500,000 for Xianni Stallings, though that ruling was being appealed by prosecutors who had sought $2 million bail. She was arrested around 1 a.m. Wednesday by U.S. Marshals. She was being represented by the public defender’s office, which declined to comment.Ameen Hurst, 18, and Nasir Grant, 24, escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, one of several prison facilities clustered together along State Road, around 8:30 p.m. Sunday by cutting a hole in a fence surrounding a recreation yard, the Philadelphia Department of Prisons has said. The two men were gone for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing. As of late Thursday afternoon, their location was still unknown to law enforcement.Hurst was charged with four counts of murder, whi...

Suspect detained after blast at residential building in Germany injures police, firefighters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:27 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German police have detained a suspect in connection with an explosion at a residential building that injured dozens of first responders on Thursday, some of them seriously, officials said.Police said two officers and three firefighters received life-threatening injuries in the blast at a high-rise building in the town of Ratingen. Four firefighters were seriously injured and 22 police officers suffered minor injuries, they said.The body of a dead woman was recovered from the building, police said. The identity of the person and the circumstances of her death weren’t immediately known.Firefighters and police were initially called to the building in the morning after being alerted about the possibility of a person in distress inside a 10th floor apartment.Police said they were still investigating what caused the blast, which happened shortly after the suspect opened the apartment door. The man then started a fire, preventing police from entering the unit.Following the ex...

123-year-old schooner will be leaving Maine after auction sale

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:27 GMT

ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — A 123-year-old schooner that was once declared the “Official Windjammer of Maine” by state lawmakers has new owners, and it will be leaving Maine.Two brothers who are lifelong sailors had the winning bid this week for the Victory Chimes, which is on the National Register of Historical Places.Miles and Alex Pincus, who operate two floating restaurants in New York, haven’t yet decided what they will do with the schooner. It will eventually be leaving Maine, but the final location has not been decided, a spokesperson said.“We’ve admired Victory Chimes for quite some time. When she went up for auction, we felt a responsibility to step in and ensure her preservation. We don’t have a plan yet other than to get her into safe harbor,” they said in a statement.Victory Chimes, which has been taking guests on pleasures cruises on the Maine coast since the 1950s, became so synonymous with Maine that the 2003 state quarter featured a sailing vessel modeled afte...

'What would happen if I bashed you with this bat?': $800K bond for Chicago woman accused of battery spree

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:27 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman accused of a battery spree involving a baseball bat on the Northwest Side is facing an $800,000 bond.Denise Solorzano, 26, of Chicago, was charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery in a public place, four felony counts of aggravated battery/use of a deadly weapon and one felony count of aggravated assault.The charges stem from an alleged battery spree where eight women were attacked — five with a black and yellow metal baseball bat.The first alleged incident happened in the 4200 block of North Richmond Avenue at around 3 p.m. on Sunday. Prosecutors said Solorzano drove up in a white Subaru sedan and yelled at a 33-year-old woman, "I'm going to beat your ass." The woman was punched multiple times and was driven to the hospital by her husband.About an hour later in the 4000 block of West Lawrence Avenue, a 19-year-old woman heard from behind, "what would you do if I punched you in the face?"The woman had her hair grabbed and was punched three times in t...