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No evidence of political interference in McKinsey contracts: Treasury Board report

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:56:56 GMT

OTTAWA — The Treasury Board said Tuesday it has found no evidence of political interference in federal contracts with consulting firm McKinsey & Company.Treasury Board President Mona Fortier and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek were tasked with reviewing the contracts awarded to McKinsey after media reports detailed the rapid growth in their value since the Liberals came to power in 2015.Departmental audits found no evidence of political interference and no evidence that the integrity of the procurement process was not maintained, the final report said.But the audits did find some administrative requirements and procedures were not consistently followed, which reaffirms preliminary findings published in March.“For example, some procurement files had insufficient or missing documentation and there were errors in the reporting of contracts according to the requirements for proactive publication,” the report said. The contracts came under particular scrutiny because o...

Paul McCartney’s rediscovered photos show Beatlemania from the inside

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:56:56 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Is there really a new way to look at The Beatles, one of the most filmed and photographed bands in history?Yes, says Britain’s National Portrait Gallery, which is providing a fresh perspective with an exhibition of band’s-eye-view images that Paul McCartney captured as the group shot to global fame.Gallery director Nicholas Cullinan said the exhibit, subtitled “Eyes of the Storm,” is a chance “to see, for the very first time, Beatlemania from the inside out.”The seed for the exhibit was sown in 2020, that year of lockdown projects, when McCartney dug out 1,000 forgotten photos he’d taken in 1963 and 1964, as the Fab Four went from emerging British celebrities to world megastars. He and his team asked if the National Portrait Gallery was interested in displaying them.“I think you can probably guess our response,” Cullinan said as he introduced the exhibition to journalists in London on Tuesday.The show includes 250 photos taken in England, France and the United States t...

Watford apologizes to victims of former physiotherapist who allegedly abused players

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:56:56 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — English soccer club Watford has apologized to the victims of a former physiotherapist nicknamed “Paedo Phil” after concluding an investigation into his alleged abuse.Phil Edwards was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of sexual activity with a teenage boy. He was found dead weeks later.Edwards worked for Watford during the 1990s and possibly the 1980s.The findings of Watford’s investigation were made public on Tuesday and added to an independent report into allegations of non-recent child sexual abuse in soccer published in 2021.Edwards was alleged to have asked players to remove all clothing for treatment and would conduct unnecessary groin examinations, which included touching a boy’s penis and “potentially digital penetration.”“As a club, Watford FC wishes to apologize to all young people who experienced the behaviour perpetrated by the late Phil Edwards, while holding a position of influence and access within the club,” Watford said in a statement. “W...

Georgia elections official to speak to federal prosecutors probing Trump’s efforts to undo 2020 loss

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:56:56 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is scheduled to speak to federal prosecutors from the office of special counsel Jack Smith, who is investigating efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss.In a rambling phone call on Jan. 2, 2021, Trump suggested Raffensperger, the top elections official in Georgia, could help “find” the votes necessary to reverse Democrat Joe Biden’s narrow presidential election win in the state. The call came after Trump and his allies spent weeks insisting without evidence that widespread election fraud was the cause of his loss in Georgia and publicly berating Raffensperger for failing to take steps to reverse it.The secretary of state’s office on Tuesday confirmed that he would speak to special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors Wednesday in Atlanta. The planned interview was first reported by The Washington Post.Efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn his loss in Ge...

Biden’s broadband plan aims to connect every home and business in U.S. by 2030. What’s next?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:56:56 GMT

Southwestern New Mexico is poised to become a center of economic vitality, according to Christie Ann Harvey, but it might not reach its full potential without better internet service. Harvey, who runs a nonprofit that works with Luna County on development projects, says the area’s natural beauty and proximity to the state’s only 24-hour border crossing between the U.S. and Mexico could help entice people looking for a new home. But she said high-speed internet has become a “critical infrastructure need” in a place where less than 1% of homes have access to internet speeds the U.S. government considers adequate.“We are seeking to become a destination and improve the life of our people,” Harvey said. “But to do that we have to have the basic necessities that help us attract business.”President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday announced plans to distribute $42.5 billion nationwide to provide reliable and affordable internet service for every home a...

Book Review: Tom Rachman’s new novel ‘The Imposters,’ a global journey of disparate stories

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:56:56 GMT

“The Imposters,” by Tom Rachman (Little, Brown and Company) Dutch novelist Dora Frenhofer, now in her 70s, is living alone in her London apartment during the coronavirus pandemic, determined to write her last novel while she still can.As the lead character in Tom Rachman’s new book “The Imposters,” Dora proceeds to take us on a romp around the world, from New Delhi to New York, Copenhagen to California, Paris to Australia to the Middle East. Many of the characters we meet along the way are assorted types of writers, and characters taken directly from Dora’s life. Her estranged daughter is a stand-up comedy writer in Los Angeles. A deliveryman she befriended ends up writing fake news in England. There’s also Dora’s brother, who was lost in India decades ago, a former lover and her last remaining friend. Each chapter in Rachman’s book is a complete story that connects to the others, even if it isn’t always immediately clear how the stories tie toget...

From ‘unmitigated disaster’ to ‘common ground,’ Ford changes tune on Chow

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:56:56 GMT

TORONTO — Ontario Premier Doug Ford may have previously predicted Olivia Chow would be an “unmitigated disaster” as Toronto’s next mayor, but he said Tuesday that he will find common ground and work with her. Chow eked out a win in the mayoral byelection against 101 other candidates vying to replace scandal-departed John Tory, with former deputy mayor Ana Bailão coming in a close second. Ford had stumped for former police chief Mark Saunders, who placed a distant third, and had warned that under a Chow mayoralty taxes would go up 25 to 30 per cent and businesses would flee the city.But a day after the election he softened his tune, congratulating Chow and vowing to work together.“I had a great talk with her last night and, you know, she’s been in politics long enough and during the election you throw some mud back and forth but I’ll tell you one thing, people expect us to work together and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” ...

Misconduct by federal jail guards led to Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide, Justice Department watchdog says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:56:56 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jeffrey Epstein, despite his high profile and a jail suicide attempt two weeks earlier, was left alone in his cell with a surplus of bed linens. Nearly all the surveillance cameras on his unit didn’t record. One worker was on duty for 24 hours straight.The Justice Department’s watchdog said Tuesday that negligence, misconduct and poor job performance by the federal Bureau of Prisons and workers at the New York City jail enabled Epstein to take his own life in August 2019.Inspector General Michael Horowitz, saying he found no evidence of foul play, blamed numerous factors for Epstein’s death, including the jail’s failure to assign him a cellmate and overworked guards who lied on logs after failing to make regular checks. Had the guards done so, Horowitz said, they would’ve found Epstein had excess linens, which he used in his suicide.“The combination of negligence, misconduct and outright job performance failures documented in the report all contributed to an ...

S&P/TSX composite up in late-morning trading, U.S. stock markets also higher

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:56:56 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in the industrial, financial and base metal sectors helped lift Canada’s main stock index higher in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also rose.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 69.37 points at 19,656.69.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 121.62 points at 33,836.33. The S&P 500 index was up 21.43 points at 4,350.25, while the Nasdaq composite was up 87.76 points at 13,423.54.The Canadian dollar traded for 75.88 cents US compared with 76.04 cents US on Monday.The August crude oil contract was down 45 cents at US$68.92 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was down a penny at US$2.88 per mmBTU.The August gold contract was down US$7.60 at US$1,926.20 an ounce and the September copper contract was down a penny at US$3.80 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Here’s a look at mayor-elect Olivia Chow’s campaign promises

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:56:56 GMT

Olivia Chow has been elected as Toronto’s 66th mayor following Monday night’s byelection.The former city councillor and NDP MP captured 37 per cent of the popular vote and is set to become the first Toronto mayor who is a person of colour — and the first woman mayor since amalgamation.Her win as a progressive candidate ends more than a decade of conservative rule at city hall.Chow will have be faced with a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall, a housing affordability crisis and aging public infrastructure, among other issues. Her campaign focused on building “an affordable, safe and caring city, where everyone belongs.”Here’s a look at some of her campaign promises.HousingBuilding more affordable housing, with the city as the developer, along with helping better-protect renters from eviction quickly became key promises in Chow’s campaign.Here are more pledges she made in regards to housing:Create the Secure Affordable Homes Fund with a $100 million annual inves...