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House elects Mike Johnson as Speaker, ending GOP chaos

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:12:10 GMT

The House elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) to be the 56th Speaker on Wednesday, capping off a chaotic three weeks that paralyzed the lower chamber in a stunning fashion.In finally coalescing around a new leader, House Republicans hope that Johnson can lead them through a series of legislative and political landmines in the weeks and months to come.Johnson, who was in his second term as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, won the Speaker's gavel in a 220-209 vote over Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), officially cementing himself as successor to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) following McCarthy's unprecedented removal earlier this month.Johnson’s ascension marks the end of a nasty and tumultuous period for the House GOP conference, which witnessed McCarthy’s ouster, cycled through four Speaker nominees and saw tensions reach a boiling point before settling on Johnson as their next leader.“Democracy is messy sometimes,” Johnson told reporters following...

US Judge Biggers, who ruled on funding for Black universities in Mississippi, dies at 88

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:12:10 GMT

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Funeral services were being held Wednesday for longtime U.S. District Judge Neal Brooks Biggers Jr. of Mississippi, who issued significant rulings about prayer in public schools and funding of historically Black universities.Biggers died Oct. 15 at his home in Oxford. He was 88.Services were being held in Corinth, according to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.Biggers was a Corinth native and served in the Navy before earning his law degree. He was elected as prosecuting attorney in Alcorn County, where Corinth is located; and as district attorney for part of northeast Mississippi. He was later elected as a state circuit judge.In 1984, President Ronald Reagan nominated Biggers to serve as a federal judge for the Northern District of Mississippi.Two of the biggest cases Biggers handled as a federal judge involved racial disparities in state university funding and prayer in school.In the 1970s racial disparities case, Black plaintiffs argued that Mississippi...

Drought reveals cracks in Canada-U.S. Columbia River Treaty as B.C. lake dries up

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:12:10 GMT

Victoria Youmans says she hasn’t seen Arrow Lakes Reservoir looking so low in more than 20 years.The resident of Nakusp on the shores of the reservoir in British Columbia’s southern Interior says she’s seen thousands of dead fish on the shore, and the receding waterline means boat access has been cut to waterfront properties. Instead of lapping waters, some homes now face an expanse of sucking quicksand.Drought is part of reason. But so too is the Columbia River Treaty with the United States that obligates B.C. to direct water from the reservoir across the border at American behest.The grim scenes described by Youmans illustrate the stakes in ongoing talks between Canadian and U.S. negotiators to modernize the 62-year-old treaty, as the increased risk of extreme weather weighs on both sides. Part of the treaty that gives the United States direct control over a portion of the water in Arrow Lakes Reservoir and two other B.C. dams is set to expire in September 2024.&...

French-language university heads criticize tuition hike for non-Quebec students

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:12:10 GMT

MONTREAL — A group of French-language university heads in Quebec is coming to the defence of English schools who say a planned tuition hike for out-of-province students could devastate their finances.The leaders of the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke, Polytechnique Montréal and HEC Montréal criticize the plan in an open letter published in La Presse today.They denounce “any measure that would put the very existence of a university at risk.”They also criticize what they describe as characterizations of non-Quebec students as “cash cows” and threats to the French language by proponents of the tuition hike.Tuition for new students from other provinces would increase from about $9,000 to around $17,000 starting next fall under the Quebec government plan.The measure is expected to mostly affect the province’s three English universities, McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s, which welcome more non-Quebec students than French...

What a weaker loonie means for Canadians

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:12:10 GMT

TORONTO — The Canadian dollar has dipped against its U.S. counterpart following the Bank of Canada’s decision to hold its key interest rate at five per cent. Here’s what it means for Canadians. How is the loonie doing? As of midday, it was trading at 72.55 cents to the U.S. dollar, compared with 72.83 cents on Tuesday. It was trading above 75 cents US as recently as July, while the current level is approaching a brief low of 72.43 cents US hit in March. It also traded in the 72-cent range last October, and dipped below 69 cents US in March 2020 in the early days of the pandemic. It traded above 82 cents US in May 2021. Who does it help?A lower Canadian dollar can boost industries like tourism, where the weaker dollar increases visitors from abroad, especially from the U.S., as their money goes further here.It can also mean bigger profits for Canadian businesses that export, like the oil and gas industry, forestry and manufacturing. Where does it hurt? A lower loonie mean...

‘It’s grim:’ Community devastated by shooting deaths in Sault Ste. Marie

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:12:10 GMT

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Halloween decorations still fluttered from the front porch of a home in Sault Ste. Marie where three children were found shot dead this week, the youngest victims of a rampage in the northern Ontario city that ended with five people killed.In the front windows, more decorations hung in anticipation of the upcoming celebration, while outside, yellow police tape surrounded the bungalow as neighbours could occasionally be seen weeping nearby. The entire neighbourhood, one resident said, was feeling the weight of what police have described as a tragic case of intimate partner violence. “You can feel it in the air outside, like it’s grim,” said Aarika Bonin, who lives down the street from the home where the children – aged six, seven and 12 – were killed. “I stand outside to put my son on the bus and it’s sad … it’s just a sad day for the whole community and the families involved. It’s going to be sad for a while.&#...

Jury selection continues in trial of boat captain in 2019 fire that killed 34 passengers

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:12:10 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jury selection continued Wednesday in the federal trial of the captain of a scuba dive boat that caught fire in 2019, killing 34 people on board and becoming the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. Captain Jerry Boylan is charged with one count of misconduct or neglect of ship officer, a pre-Civil War statute colloquially known as “seaman’s manslaughter” that was designed to hold steamboat captains and crew responsible for maritime disasters. He faces 10 years behind bars if convicted.He has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. His federal public defenders did not return The Associated Press’ repeated requests for comment, and a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.The National Transportation Safety Board blamed Boylan for the tragedy, saying his failure to post a roving night watchman allowed the fire to quickly spread undetected, trapping the 33 passengers and one crew member below.U.S. District Court Judge Geo...

1,000-plus cars recovered, over 200 arrested in stolen vehicle investigation across Toronto

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:12:10 GMT

Toronto police announced that over 1,000 cars had been recovered, and more than 200 people were arrested and charged as part of a stolen vehicle investigation across the city.Police Chief Myron Demkiw was present to unveil the results of Project Stallion, an initiative that focused on vehicle and catalytic converter thefts that began in November 2022.Project Stallion concluded in September 2023, resulting in the recovery of more than 1,000 stolen vehicles worth almost $60 million and more than 500 charges laid against 228 people. Demkiw said there have been just under 1,000 vehicles stolen in Toronto to date in 2023, and during Project Stallion, more than 3,500 vehicles were stolen across two police divisions. Related: ‘Trust your instincts’: Police warn public of 3 carjackings within week in Markham Investigators believe thieves are stealing vehicles and using a variety of cars to carry out other violent crimes or are shipping them overseas, where they ...

Health-care standards not met at Alberta correctional centre, report finds

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:12:10 GMT

EDMONTON — Alberta’s public interest commissioner has found what he calls “serious lapses” in medical care at a provincial correctional centre.Kevin Brezinski’s investigation, responding to a whistleblower, says Alberta Correctional Health Services failed in five cases to provide adequate medical care at the Edmonton Remand Centre. In two of those cases, the patients died, while the other three were hospitalized.A nursing consultant who reviewed patient records concludes the agency provided poor pain management, inadequate help with drug withdrawal and didn’t monitor or record vital signs adequately.Brezinski says Alberta Correctional Health Services has responded to his concerns and he’s satisfied with the changes.The public interest commissioner is an agent of the Alberta legislature to whom public-sector employees or members of the public can bring concerns about government officials.This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Oct....

UAW appears to be moving toward a potential deal with Ford that could end strike

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:12:10 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The United Auto Workers union appears to be edging closer to a tentative contract agreement with Ford that would be critical to ending the union’s 6-week-old strikes against the three major Detroit automakers, two people with knowledge of the talks said Wednesday.The people said the union made a counter-offer to Ford that proposes a 25% general wage increase over the life of a new four-year contract and said that negotiations on Tuesday extended well into Wednesday morning. Previously Ford, Stellantis and General Motors had all offered 23% pay increases.A Ford deal would include cost-of-living pay increases that could lift the total pay raises above 30%, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the talks. In addition, workers would still receive annual profit-sharing checks.It’s still possible that the negotiations, despite the meaningful progress being made, could unravel. But if the UAW can r...