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Time to table online harms bill, experts, advocates, researchers say in open letter

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

OTTAWA — An open letter from experts the government convened last year to provide advice on legislating against online harms is urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to table legislation. The letter published today calls on the federal government to urgently bring forward a bill to address “harms posed by digital platforms,” especially behaviour and content that can affect children. Emily Laidlaw, a law professor at the University of Calgary who was a co-chair of the government’s advisory group, helped organize the letter, and says it is “time to push” for the bill.The letter, signed by more than 50 experts and advocates as of this morning, says two years of federal consultations produced “wide-ranging consensus” that platforms should be held responsible for their services and any harms that result. Calls for action have increased as the Israel-Hamas war leads to more antisemitism and Islamophobia online, and as police highlight online safety...

North Carolina trial judges block election board changes made by Republican legislature

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina trial judges on Thursday blocked portions of a new law that would transfer Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s authority to pick election board members to the Republican-dominated General Assembly.Following a 90-minute hearing, the three state judges agreed unanimously to issue a preliminary injunction sought by Cooper. His lawyers argued that the alterations to the State Board of Elections and county boards in all 100 counties need to be stopped now or his directive in the state constitution to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed” will be harmed irreparably. The Republican legislative leaders whom Cooper has sued can appeal the decision to the state Court of Appeals. The outcome of the injunction request and Cooper’s broader litigation on the law, which was enacted just last month, could affect how the 2024 elections are administered in the ninth-largest U.S. state, where races for president and governor are likely to be closely contes...

Planetarium, rainforest on Ontario Science Centre’s wish list for new site

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

A large planetarium and an outdoor adventure park are among a variety of features the Ontario Science Centre would like to see in a new location at Ontario Place – though there is not currently enough space with the new building’s much smaller footprint.Infrastructure Ontario released a “business case” Wednesday that the government is using to justify moving the science centre from its current east Toronto location to the downtown Ontario Place.The analysis says moving the attraction rather than renovating the existing site would save the province about $250 million over 50 years, largely because the new building would be about half the size of the current space.The business case says the approximately 275,000-square-foot size of the planned new building at Ontario Place is the “smallest possible” size to contain all core programming identified by the Ontario Science Centre.Within the appendices of the business case is a wish list of sorts from the Onta...

Hamilton school locked down for second straight day for ‘weapon’ probe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

Bernie Custis Public Secondary School in Hamilton is under lockdown for the second straight day as police say they are searching the school for an outstanding suspect connected to a previous incident.Nearby Prince of Wales Elementary School has also been placed under a hold and secure.Bernie Custis was first placed on lockdown on Wednesday after reports of an armed person on the premises.Following Wednesday’s investigation a 15-year-old student was arrested and charged with possessing cocaine and fentanyl, as well as being in possession of proceeds of crime under $5,000.Police were first called to the school on King Street East at around 11 a.m. Wednesday.Upon arrival, investigators said a person suspected of carrying a weapon was seen leaving the school in a vehicle, which was later located at a nearby gas station.Five occupants in the car were taken into custody as police searched for a firearm which they were led to believe was in a bag within the school.

Bills linebacker Von Miller facing arrest for assaulting a pregnant person, Dallas police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Police in Dallas have issued an arrest warrant for Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller for allegedly assaulting a pregnant person.According to police, a preliminary investigation of a “major disturbance” at a home on Wednesday determined that Miller, 34, and the victim got into a verbal argument and the suspect assaulted the victim, who is pregnant. They said Miller left the scene before they arrived.The victim was treated for minor injuries and an arrest warrant was issued for Miller.The Bills, who have a bye this week, issued a statement Thursday acknowledging that they are aware of the incident and “are in the process of gathering more information.”The team said it would have no further comment at this point.Miller, selected No. 2 overall by the Denver Broncos in the 2011 NFL draft, is an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time first-team All-Pro selection.Miller, who starred at Texas A&M and was a two-time first-team All-American, has played on two Super B...

University of Minnesota Duluth senior defensive lineman dies of genetic heart condition

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Reed Ryan, a senior defensive lineman at the University of Minnesota Duluth, has died of a genetic heart condition, his family says. Ryan, who was 22, died Tuesday at a Duluth hospital. His obituary said he went into cardiac arrest one week earlier following a football team workout in the weight room. Until then, no one knew about the heart condition. His obituary said he was “doing what he loved” and had “lived life to the fullest in his short years.” His pursuits included running an online vintage store.Ryan graduated from Waunakee High School in 2019 and was the State of Wisconsin Defensive Player of the Year. He started out at North Dakota State University, before coming to the University of Minnesota Duluth this year. During the season, he recorded seven tackles and assisted with an eighth. “He helped bring out the best in others with his positive attitude, infectious smile, and genuine care for the people around him,” head football coach Curt Wiese said in...

Claims of toxic workplace at CSIS absolutely ‘devastating’: Trudeau says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

AJAX, Ont. — Allegations of a toxic workplace culture, involving harassment and sexual assault at Canada’s spy agency are “devastating” and “absolutely unacceptable,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday. His comments come after a Canadian Press investigation revealed four officers with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service raised concerns about the toxic culture within the British Columbia office. One CSIS officer said she was raped nine times by a senior colleague while in surveillance vehicles, while another said she was sexually assaulted by the same man. The women said they warned their bosses that the man needed to be kept away from young women. Trudeau, who was in Ajax, Ont., for a separate announcement, said the allegations are of “deep, deep concern.” “These allegations are absolutely unacceptable. We need to make sure that everyone in every workplace, no matter how delicate or sensitive or secret the work is th...

Will an earlier Oscars broadcast attract more viewers? ABC plans to try the 7 p.m. slot in 2024

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

Academy Awards enthusiasts won’t have to stay up quite as late to hear the best picture winner in March.The 96th Oscars will begin one hour early, with the official show starting at 7 p.m. Eastern for the first time, ABC said Thursday. The official pre-show will also begin earlier, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.The show has traditionally begun at 8 p.m. Despite various experiments to keep the runtime to three hours, the broadcast has sometimes stretched into the 11 o’clock hour.The Oscars are broadcast globally in more than 200 territories and film academy membership has also become more international in recent years. Those involved in the show, from the film academy to the network, have also been working to get ratings back to pre-pandemic levels and making modest gains.Jimmy Kimmel is returning to host the show for the fourth time, with Raj Kapoor serving as executive producer and showrunner alongside Katy Mullan and director Hamish Hamilton.The 96th Academy Awards will air live on A...

Wartime Israel shows little tolerance for Palestinian dissent

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Bayan Khateeb knows she’s a terrible cook. So when she managed to pull off a dish of cooked tomatoes and eggs, she took a photo to show friends on social media.“Soon we shall eat the Shakshouka of victory!” crowed her caption, which included an emoji of the Palestinian flag.Khateeb intended the Oct. 8 Instagram post as a joke, she said. But in the fraught atmosphere that has gripped Israel since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, statements that might have once sounded innocuous have taken on more sinister meaning and resulted in scores of arrests.A classmate saw the post and thought Khateeb, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was cheering on Hamas. When the post was shared more widely, Khateeb suddenly found herself accused online of supporting terrorism. The next thing she knew, she was suspended from her studies at a prestigious university, ejected from her dorm, fired from her two jobs and interrogated in shackles by Israeli police.“I felt like I was in a nightmare...

Kankakee County moving to encrypt public safety scanners

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:48 GMT

KANKAKEE COUNTY, Ill. — Kankakee County is moving to encrypt public safety scanners, according to its communication center.The Kankakee County Communication Center is beginning the project soon and starting with police channels. That is expected to take three to six months and then fire/EMS channels will be encrypted.The general public and media outlets will not be able to hear transmissions in real time. The county is citing three reasons for the move; officer safety, citizen privacy and reporting accuracy. The county said agencies will distribute information through social media when it's "appropriate and factual. As Chicago police scanners go quiet, public may hear less about crime The county pointed to the Freedom of Information Act as a way to still obtain information.In Chicago, the city began encrypting police scanners last year on a thirty-minute delay.