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Politicians love to cite crime data. It’s often wrong

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

Amanda Hernández | Stateline.org (TNS)When Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his presidential campaign in May, he proudly told the nation that Florida’s crime rate in 2021 had reached a 50-year low.But really, DeSantis couldn’t say for sure.That’s because fewer than 1 in 10 law enforcement agencies in his state had reported their crime statistics to the FBI. In fact, more than 40% of the Sunshine State’s population was unaccounted for in the data used by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in its 2021 statewide crime report.In Wichita, Kansas, Democratic Mayor Brandon Whipple claimed in May that violent crime had decreased by half during his term. But Whipple’s source, the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer, missed half the violent crimes recorded by the Wichita Police Department, possibly because the agency couldn’t mesh its system with the FBI’s recently revamped system.Across the country, law enforcement agencies’ inability — or refusal — to send their annual crime data...

Student loan debt payments hit HBCU graduates especially hard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

Jarrell Dillard | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsThe return of federal student loan payments in October threatens to derail prospects for graduates of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, a cohort already facing steep economic disadvantages.Aid makes college possible for many HBCU students: 85% of their graduates in 2020 used federal loans, versus 59% of non-HBCU students, according to the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, with HBCU graduates and their parents on average holding almost $21,000 more in federal loan debt.The nation’s more than 100 HBCUs, including Spelman College in Atlanta and Howard University in Washington, D.C., serve more low-income and first-generation students than traditional schools and aim to help close the wealth gap between Black households and their white counterparts.Parents of HBCU students are also more likely to take on loans to support their kids, on average. With payments resuming amid high prices and mortgage rates, entire families are forced...

Calgary Real Estate Board reports 17 per cent increase in home sales for October

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

CALGARY — The Calgary Real Estate Board says the city saw 2,171 home sales in October, marking a 17 per cent increase compared with the same month last year and among the highest levels it has ever reported for October.New listings also rose compared with last year, reaching 2,684 units, which mark the most reported for October since 2015.But inventory levels in October remained more than 40 per cent lower than what’s traditionally available for the month as relatively strong sales prevented any significant shift.The unadjusted residential benchmark price rose to $571,600, nearly 10 per cent higher than October 2022.CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie says supply levels remain a challenge in the market and “it will take some time to see a shift toward more balanced conditions and ultimately more price stability.”The board reported record high sales of apartment condominiums thanks to big gains in new listings, and noted that year-to-date price gains for the category hav...

N.L. wants details on environmental impact before hydrogen project can move forward

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Newfoundland and Labrador’s government says it wants more information from the company hoping to build a massive wind-powered hydrogen and ammonia project.The province ruled today that World Energy GH2 must include more details in its assessment of the project’s potential environmental impacts.The company is led by seafood mogul John Risley and Brendan Paddick, a friend of Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey and former chair of Nalcor Energy, the province’s now-defunct Crown energy corporation.Phase 1 of Project Nujio’qonik aims to erect up to 164 wind turbines on western Newfoundland’s Port au Port Peninsula, and a hydrogen production plant in the nearby town of Stephenville.The proposal has led to local protests, and the provincial government announced last year that the development would require an environmental impact assessment, which the company submitted in August.The news release today from the provincial gove...

Suspect arrested after stabbing in Corso Italia neighbourhood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

A stabbing in the city’s Corso Italia neighbourhood sent one man to hospital on Wednesday afternoon.Police say it happened just before 1 p.m. near the intersection of St. Clair Avenue West and Dufferin Street.The victim, a man in his 40s, was found near the scene and taken to hospital. The extent of his injuries isn’t currently clear.A suspect was arrested nearby.No further details were immediately available.

DEA agent leaked secret information about Maduro ally targeted by US, prosecutor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal narcotics agent leaked sensitive case information about one of Washington’s top criminal targets in Venezuela as part of a scheme to sell government secrets to defense lawyers seeking to attract deep-pocketed clients, a jury was told this week. In a wiretapped phone call, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Agent John Costanzo Jr. revealed the exact date in 2019 when prosecutors in Miami planned to bring charges against businessman Alex Saab for allegedly siphoning $350 million from state contracts.The leak, not previously made public, marks yet another embarrassing case of high-profile agent misconduct at the U.S.’ premier anti-narcotics agency and could complicate the Justice Department’s already-fraught prosecution of Saab.Saab has become a cause célèbre among allies of President Nicolas Maduro. The socialist leader claims the Colombian-born businessman is a Venezuelan diplomat targeted for his efforts to bypass American sanctions imposed by the T...

Executive committee proposes Exhibition Place as alternative for Therme megaspa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

Toronto City Council’s executive committee has asked city staff to look into the feasibility of having the Therme health spa moved from its proposed location at Ontario Place to the Exhibition Place grounds. Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik says feedback from public consultations on the project has suggested an alternative site be found for the private spa and waterpark on the western part of Ontario Place.“Exhibition Place may benefit from and provide an improved location for this use due to factors such as proximity to transit, hotel accommodations, parking, existing servicing and other infrastructure.”Malik’s motion suggests part of the spa and waterpark would be included within the Better Living Centre on the CNE grounds.Among the more than 100 letters submitted to the committee in favour of exploring alternative options submission was one from former Canadian Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, who says the CNE is a “very good alternative” for the me...

Canadian Dairy Commission delays farmgate milk price hike by three months

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian Dairy Commission is delaying a planned increase to the farmgate price of milk by three months as the food industry grapples with pressure to stabilize food prices. On Wednesday, the dairy commission said an increase of 1.77 per cent will go into effect on May 1, 2024, instead of February 1, when it would normally take place. The increase translates to just over a cent per litre. Inflation is affecting Canadians and the entire dairy supply chain, from farmgate to consumers’ plates, said CDC chair Jennifer Hayes in a statement. “The CDC always strives to balance consumer impacts with sustainability of the dairy industry.” The commission, a Crown corporation, reviews the price dairy farmers are paid for their milk every fall. Price adjustments normally come into effect the following February. In October, the commission said that according to its pricing formula, the price of milk at the farm level could go up by 1.77 per cent in February.Ahead of...

Ontario hospitals warn stolen patient, employee data may be published

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

Five Ontario hospitals affected by a recent ransomware attack, along with their shared IT provider, are warning patients and staff that their data may be published.The attack caused an outage of some online services at Bluewater Health, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Windsor Regional Hospital on Oct. 23.Affected hospitals have been forced to postpone and reschedule many surgeries and appointments.The hospitals and TransForm, a non-profit group tasked with overseeing the hospitals’ I-T systems, say an investigation involving “leading cybersecurity experts” has determined certain patient, employee and professional staff data has been taken and may be released publicly.They say the hospital organizations are working to restore systems, and updates related to the restoration of systems are expected in the next week.The group says it’s working closely with law enforcement including local police departments, On...

Trooper accused of withholding body-camera video agrees to testify in deadly arrest of Black driver

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

Prosecutors have dropped charges against a Louisiana state trooper accused of withholding graphic body-camera footage that shows another officer dragging Black motorist Ronald Greene by his ankle shackles during his deadly 2019 arrest.Lt. John Clary, the ranking officer at the scene, has agreed to take the stand in the trial of Master Trooper Kory York, a former colleague charged with negligent homicide in the case. York is accused of forcing the heavyset Greene to lie facedown and handcuffed for more than nine minutes, which use-of-force experts said likely restricted his breathing.“Mr. Clary has and will continue to cooperate with the state and testify truthfully in this matter,” said John Belton, the Union Parish district attorney.It was not immediately clear why prosecutors dismissed the obstruction of justice indictment against Clary before he provides his testimony, and the single-paragraph dismissal makes no mention of his pledged cooperation.York is expected to stand trial n...