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‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers’ trial on scheduled break until after Thanksgiving

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:38 GMT

OTTAWA — The trial of “Freedom Convoy” organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Baber is on a scheduled break until after Thanksgiving.The court has finished hearing the testimony of Serge Arpin, the chief of staff to Ottawa’s former mayor, who spoke about how the city responded to the protest that overwhelmed the downtown core for three weeks in early 2022.Arpin also testified about his interactions with convoy organizers while working out a deal with then-mayor Jim Watson to move big-rig trucks out of residential neighbourhoods.The evidence was originally due to be wrapping up by this point in the trial, which had been scheduled to last 16 days, but Arpin is just the fourth witness to finish his testimony.The trial is expected to hear from 22 witnesses, leaving the court to ponder how much more time will be needed to reach the finish line.The trial is expected to resume Oct. 11.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2023.The Canadian Press

Ramp up in U.S. auto strike expected to affect Canadian parts producers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:38 GMT

TORONTO — Autoworkers in the U.S. ramped up their strike Friday in a move that’s expected to have knock-on effects for Canadian parts producers.The expanded strike saw United Auto Worker members walk out at 38 General Motors and Stellantis parts-distribution centres in 20 states, adding 5,600 workers to the 13,000 who began strikes last week at three Ford, GM and Stellantis assembly plants.Sam Fiorani, vice-president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, says he expects Canadian parts suppliers to be either directly or indirectly affected by any shutdowns, whether they’re assembly plants or parts distribution centres.Canadian companies operating in the U.S. have already been affected by the strike, with Magna International Inc. confirming they’ve temporarily laid off about 650 employees at a seat producer that suppliers one of the affected plants.The expanded strike in the U.S. spared Ford from further action as UAW president Shawn Fain says the ...

Ice pops cool down monkeys in Brazil at a Rio zoo during a rare winter heat wave

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:38 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Upon spotting a zookeeper laden with a bucket full of fruit-flavored ice pops, black spider monkeys in Rio de Janeiro’s BioParque gracefully swung their way towards him on Friday, chattering excitedly.While it’s technically still winter in Brazil, with spring due to start on Saturday, a heat wave has engulfed the country since the beginning of the week, causing humans and animals alike to eagerly greet any chance of cooling down.“Normally they get a break from the heat in the winter, but it’s been so hot. They have even shed their winter layer of fur,” said zookeeper Tadeu Cabral, who handed out some treats, while others were scattered around. The ice pops are part of the monkeys’ well-being program. They provide thermal comfort, and dispersing the popsicles in different locations also stimulates their behavioral need for foraging. For the monkeys, the ice pops are watermelon, pineapple or grape flavored. But for Simba, the zoo’s lion, the ice treat is ma...

The UAW strike is growing. What you need to know as more auto workers join the union’s walkouts

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The United Auto Workers’ strike is getting bigger. One week into the union’s historic work stoppages against major car makers, the UAW on Friday walked out of dozens of more factories across 20 states.The UAW’s targeted strikes against General Motors, Stellantis and Ford began after the union’s contract with the companies expired at midnight on Sept. 14. At the time, 13,000 workers walked out of three assembly plants — and union leadership warned that more locations could be impacted there wasn’t significant progress in contract negotiations.Bargaining continued Thursday, although neither side reported any breakthroughs, and on Friday the UAW announced it would be walking out of 38 more General Motors and Stellantis parts distribution centers. Another 5,600 workers joined the strike — meaning that about 13% of the union’s 146,000 members are now on the picket lines.Ford was spared additional strikes Friday because the company has m...

Israel strikes Gaza after Palestinians in besieged strip launch incendiary balloons toward Israel

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:38 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel carried out a series of airstrikes in the Gaza Strip late on Friday after Palestinian activists launched incendiary balloons into Israel as a week of violence along the volatile frontier intensified.The rising tensions along Israel’s front with Gaza came as fighting in the occupied West Bank surged — to levels unseen in two decades. In the latest bloodshed Friday, the Israeli army killed a Palestinian militant in the northern West Bank.Palestinian activists have been protesting for the past week next to the fence separating Gaza and Israel. The protests have turned violent, with demonstrators hurling explosives toward Israeli troops, and soldiers responding with tear gas and live fire. For the first time in the current round of unrest, Palestinian protesters on Friday launched balloons into Israel, blackening large patches of vegetation on the other side of the border. Palestinian health officials said Israeli fire wounded 28 Palestinians during protest...

Statistics Canada reports retail sales up 0.3 per cent at $66.1 billion in July

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:38 GMT

OTTAWA — Retail sales edged higher in July, driven by sales at supermarkets and grocery stores, but Statistics Canada said Friday its early estimate for August pointed to a decline. The agency said retail sales jumped 0.3 per cent to $66.1 billion in July as sales at food and beverage retailers surged 1.3 per cent for the month. CIBC senior economist Katherine Judge said the increased spending at grocery stores could be a sign that households opted to dine out less, as higher interest rates and prices weighed. “That casts doubt on the notion of services consumption providing an offset to weak goods consumption at the start of the third quarter,” she added. Statistics Canada said its early estimate for August suggested retail sales dropped 0.3 per cent for that month, though it cautioned the figure would be revised.Judge said the advanced August reading could have been impacted by wildfires.“But even when allowing for a rebound in September, real retail sales look t...

GOP candidate challenging election loss in race to lead Texas’ most populous county drops lawsuit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:38 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — The highest profile Republican candidate who had sued seeking to overturn election results in the nation’s third-most populous county, a Democratic stronghold in deeply red Texas, has dropped her lawsuit.Alexandra del Moral Mealer was one of 21 GOP candidates who had filed lawsuits challenging their losses in November’s election in Harris County, where Houston is located. Most of the lawsuits were filed by candidates who lost judicial races. The first trial related to the lawsuits — in which a candidate blamed her defeat on ballot shortages and allegations that illegal votes were cast — took place in August. A ruling in that lawsuit is pending. Mealer had lost her bid to become Harris County judge, the county’s top elected official who deals with spending and is in charge of local emergency response. She lost by more than 18,000 votes to Lina Hidalgo, the Democratic incumbent.In a statement on Thursday, Mealer said she dropped her lawsuit because the county pushed bac...

Both parties rally supporters as voting begins in Virginia’s closely watched legislative elections

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:38 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Early voting started Friday in Virginia’s costly, high-stakes and closely watched legislative elections after a week in which elected officials and candidates rallied their supporters across the state.All 140 General Assembly seats are on the ballot, with candidates running for the first time in an environment shaken up by maps overhauled in the most recent once-a-decade redistricting process. With the Legislature narrowly divided, both parties say they see a path to a full statehouse majority running through a little more than a dozen battleground districts centered in central Virginia, Hampton Roads and the outer Washington suburbs. “At the heart of this is holding our House and flipping our Senate,” Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin told supporters in Petersburg on Thursday afternoon, urging the crowd to vote early, donate and volunteer.A GOP trifecta would clear the way for Youngkin to move swiftly on what he calls his “commonsense” conservati...

Interim CPD supt. takes blame for White Sox game not being stopped after shooting: report

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:38 GMT

CHICAGO — Interim Chicago Police Supt. Fred Waller is taking the blame for the White Sox game not being stopped completely after two women were shot at the stadium on Aug. 25.According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Waller said the game was allowed to continue without interruption due to “miscommunication” on the Major League Baseball protocol, and that issue has been addressed and will not happen again.“We did not know exactly what we had on our hands. We didn’t think it was an active shooter. But we didn’t know,” Waller told the Sun-Times.A 42-year-old woman was shot in the leg and a 26-year-old woman suffered a graze wound to her stomach during the White Sox game against the Athletics at Guaranteed Rate Field. It is still unclear if the bullets came from inside or outside the stadium.The women who were shot have been interviewed, but no suspects have been identified. Jerry Reinsdorf: ‘Virtually no possibility’ shot came from inside Sox park “We’re still using technology to show us i...

Wrigley Field concession workers authorize strike ahead of final homestand

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:38 GMT

CHICAGO — In another effort to get a new contract, a number of workers at Wrigley Field could walk off the job this weekend.UNITE HERE Local 1, which represents a number of concessions employees in the ballpark who work for Levy Restaurants, announced that their membership voted by "an overwhelming majority" to authorize a strike ahead of the team's final regular season series against the Colorado Rockies.That begins on Friday and runs through Sunday, and thanks to the vote, the union could call for a strike at any moment. This comes as UNITE HERE Local 1 and Levy haven't been able to come to terms on a new contract since their old one expired on Oct. 31, 2020.Over 700 bartenders, cashiers, cooks, dishwashers, suite runners and warehouse workers at Wrigley Field are represented by the union.“Workers of Compass Levy at Wrigley Field welcome visitors to one of the most iconic venues in Chicago and serve baseball fans with dedication," said UNITE HERE Local 1 president Karen Kent in a ...