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Inquiry calls for changes to clarify relationship between RCMP, federal government

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:24 GMT

OTTAWA — A public inquiry is calling for a clearer definition of the relationship between the federal minister of public safety and the commissioner of the RCMP. The Mass Casualty Commission, which examined the circumstances and aftermath of the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia, says the RCMP Act should clarify that the top Mountie acts according to written directions of the minister, instead of under the minister’s direction.During the inquiry’s public hearings, a number of senior members of the Nova Scotia RCMP accused then-commissioner Brenda Lucki and former public safety minister Bill Blair of political interference in the investigation. That stemmed from a teleconference 10 days after the massacre in which Lucki referenced federal gun control legislation and expressed frustration with local RCMP over their communication with the public, especially about details of the weapons used in the killing. It resulted in weeks of political squabbling in Ottawa over wh...

Gov’t to start looking for bias in small business lending

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Banks will need to start reporting the demographics and income of small business loan applicants under new rules published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday.It’s a move that policymakers hope will lead to less discrimination and more transparency in the small business lending market, similar to how other laws have regulated the residential mortgage market for decades.Under the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress mandated the bureau to start collecting data on small business lending decisions to look for patterns of discrimination. Implementation of the rule has taken more than a decade, and the bureau was sued by the California Reinvestment Coalition for its failure to start collecting this data. Bank regulators have for decades collected data on residential mortgage applicants — including race, geography, whether the loan was approved and the interest rate — under a 1970s era law known as the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The data collected under HM...

US Mideast envoy hopeful Saudi-Iran détente will help region

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:24 GMT

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The Biden administration is hopeful that warming ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia will help deescalate conflicts and crises across the Middle East, a senior U.S. diplomat said Thursday.The détente between the two regional heavyweights could help bring Yemen’s nine-year civil war to an end, Barbara Leaf said. Earlier this month, Riyadh and Tehran agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations after seven years of rupture — a move that stirred cautious optimism across the region. “The first order is to see whether Iran will live up to its commitments in terms of Yemen,” Leaf said, stressing that Tehran needs to stop the “lethal aid” it provides its allies.Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran had agreed to stop arming Tehran’s allies in Yemen — the Shiite Houthi rebels who are fighting a Saudi-led coalition in the Arab world’s most impoverished country — as part of the deal.In 2014, the Iran-backed Houthis seized Yemen’s...

US: North Korea engaged in arms-for-food deal with Russia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Thursday said it has new evidence that Russia is looking again to North Korea for weapons to fuel the war in Ukraine, this time in a deal that would provide Pyongyang with needed food and other commodities in return.It’s the latest accusation that Russia, desperate for weaponry and restricted by sanctions and export controls, is turning to “rogue” nations to help it continue to prosecute the 13-month-old war.“As part of this proposed deal, Russia would receive over two dozen kinds of weapons and munitions from Pyongyang,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. “We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions.”The administration has previously declassified intelligence to present evidence that Iran sold hundreds of attack drones to Russia over the summer and that the Wagner Group, a private Russian military company, ...

Timeline of April 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:24 GMT

TRURO, N.S. — The final report released Thursday into the 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting chronicles minute by minute how the tragedy unfolded.—After 9 p.m. on April 18, the killer’s rampage began when he violently assaulted his partner, Lisa Banfield.Gabriel Wortman handcuffed Banfield in the back of his replica police cruiser. He told her he would kill her if she tried to run away.He poured gasoline throughout the home they shared in Portapique, N.S., before lighting it and his warehouse on fire.Banfield pulled off one handcuff, escaped through the front window and ran to nearby woods, where she hid overnight.At 10 p.m. the killer drove his replica cruiser to his neighbours Greg and Jamie Blair’s house.He shot and killed Greg Blair on the deck. Jamie Blair instructed their two children to hide and called the police at 10:01 p.m. She told police Wortman drove to her home in a replica police car and killed her husband.Wortman fatally shot Jamie. The two children hiding in...

College ends partnership with school over ‘David’ issue

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:24 GMT

HILLSDALE, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan college has ended its partnership with a Florida charter school whose principal was forced to resign after a parent complained sixth graders were exposed to pornography during a lesson on Renaissance art that included Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture.A Hillsdale College spokesperson said Tallahassee Classical School no longer is affiliated with the small, Christian classical liberal arts college in southern Michigan, MLive.com reported Thursday.“This drama around teaching Michelangelo’s ‘David’ sculpture, one of the most important works of art in existence, has become a distraction from, and a parody of, the actual aims of classical education,” spokesperson Emily Stack Davis wrote in a statement. “Of course, Hillsdale’s K-12 art curriculum includes Michelangelo’s ‘David’ and other works of art that depict the human form.”Tallahassee Classical School was licensed to use Hillsdale’s classical education curriculum, but its license was “rev...

Dior transforms Mumbai’s Gateway of India into fashion ramp

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:24 GMT

MUMBAI (AP) — In a glittering splash of luxury fashion Thursday, Dior transformed Mumbai’s grand, historic Gateway of India monument into a runway laden with celebrity, beauty and craftsmanship.Flanked by the brightly lit, iconic Taj Mahal Hotel, the spectacular decor turned the heritage site in India’s entertainment and business capital into a blend of color and style as the models lined up to showcase the Paris fashion house’s 2023 pre-fall collection.The runway, lined with traditional Indian floral designs, reverberated with fusion beats from live musicians as Indian artistry and craftsmanship took center stage in creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s collection.The lineup featured silk dresses, evening coats and sari-inspired skirts that referenced traditional Indian silhouettes. The show opened with an array of neutrals, subtly transitioning to forest green before giving way to a blaze of bright colors and patterns. Throughout it all, most of the models sported strings ...

Group of dead geese in GTA test positive for bird flu

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:24 GMT

Another group of dead geese in the GTA tested positive for bird flu, known as Avian Influenza.The Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative confirmed on Thursday that Avian Influenza is the cause of death of waterfowl found in a stormwater pond in Bolton two weeks ago.“While Avian Influenza is a threat to birds, the risk to humans is very low. Most human avian flu cases have been traced to handling infected poultry or their droppings,” said Dr. Nicholas Brandon, Acting Medical Officer of Health at Peel Public Health.“Residents are asked to follow the recommended guidelines to limit the spread of avian flu and protect the health and safety of residents and pets.”Two weeks ago, officials in Brampton confirmed dead waterfowl were found in the areas of Professor’s Lake and Duncan Valley Foster South.RELATED: Toronto Zoo taking steps to protect its birds from Avian InfluenzaThe City of Vaughan later confirmed with CityNews that animal services responded to a dist...

California police union director charged with importing fentanyl, other opioids

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:24 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- The executive director of the San Jose Police Officers' Association (SJPOA) has been charged with attempting to illegally import a controlled substance, according to the United States Department of Justice. Joanne Marian Segovia, 64, is accused of ordering thousands of opioids to her home and agreeing to distribute them in the United States. A federal criminal complaint states that Segovia used her personal and office computers to order the drugs, including fentanyl, between October 2015 and January 2023. At least 61 shipments were mailed to her home from places like Hong Kong, Hungary, and India, the DOJ said. Man arrested after woman finds camera in San Francisco dressing room "This is an incredibly disturbing allegation. No one is above the law, regardless of who their employer is," said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. "I want to thank U.S. Attorney Ramsey and his colleagues for aggressively pursuing the sources of fentanyl coming into our communitie...

Jury awards nearly $5M verdict to family of Verona Gunn, killed in CPD chase crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:53:24 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A Cook County jury awarded nearly $5 million Wednesday to the family of an 84-year-old retired teacher who was killed when a police cruiser crashed into a police van and careened into a car in which she was a passenger.The jury awarded $4.75 million to the estate of Verona Gunn and $180,000 to be divided among three other people in the car with her when the collision happened, for their physical injuries and emotional suffering, the plaintiffs’ attorneys said in a statement.The verdict is one of the highest in the state of Illinois for the death of someone in their eighties, it added.PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Video released in crash involving CPD vehicles that killed 84-year-old; family files lawsuit“Today, this jury honored their oath and made the City of Chicago accountable for the tragic and untimely death of Mrs. Verona Gunn,” plaintiff’s attorney Andrew Stroth said.Gunn was being driven home after a family cookout when the crash occurred on May 25, 2019, and she di...