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Foreign interference inquiry rejects Conservatives’ renewed request for full standing

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:32:53 GMT

OTTAWA — A federal inquiry into foreign interference has dismissed a request from the Conservative party to reverse an earlier decision to deny it full standing in the factual phase of the proceedings.That means the Conservative party won’t be able to cross-examine witnesses or access documents that aren’t exhibits made into evidence, though representatives will be able to attend hearings, access exhibits and make submissions.The commission will begin holding public hearings next month, looking at attempted meddling by China, Russia and other foreign states, as well as non-state actors, in recent Canadian elections. In a decision today, commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue says the Conservative party hadn’t presented any new facts or developments to warrant overturning her earlier decision, and the party can still contribute by providing documents and information, as well as proposing witnesses and potential areas of examination for those witnesses.Hogue says while the C...

Nevada rangeland taxed by wild horses, land managers plan to round up thousands of the animals

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:32:53 GMT

WINNEMUCCA, Nev. (AP) — U.S. land managers are planning to round up more than 2,800 wild horses across four Nevada counties beginning next week in an effort to reduce pressure on the drought-stricken rangeland.The Bureau of Land Management announced details of the operation Friday, saying the current wild horse population across portions of Pershing, Humboldt, Churchill and Lander counties is more than six times what it should be.Officials said there’s not enough water and forage to support that number. “Herd overpopulation and severe drought conditions have cumulative impacts on public lands, including wild horse health that must be mitigated,” said Chris Mitchell, the manager of the agency’s Humboldt River Field Office. Mitchell said the goal is to restore an ecological balance across millions of acres of public land in northern Nevada. The area also includes habitat for the greater sage grouse as well as bighorn sheep, mule deer and pronghorn antelope. The horses that...

Residents of Iceland village near volcano that erupted are allowed to return home

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:32:53 GMT

GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Residents of the small Icelandic fishing village near where a volcano erupted were told Friday they could return home. The regional police chief said residents, business owners and employees could enter Grindavik beginning Saturday and could stay overnight. The town of 3,800 near Iceland’s main airport was evacuated Nov. 10 when a strong swarm of earthquakes led to cracks and openings in the earth between the town and Sýlingarfell, a small mountain to the north. The volcano finally erupted Monday, spewing semi-molten rock in a spectacular show that lit up the night sky.Scientists said Thursday that the eruption had stopped, though pressure could start building far beneath it once again. They said the lava flow spread across an area of 3.7 square kilometers (1.4 square miles) on the Reykjanes Peninsula, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik.“The stress that has built up over centuries now has been released by ripping the cr...

Railroad operations resume after 5-day closure in 2 Texas border towns

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:32:53 GMT

The federal government on Friday reopened railroad crossings in two Texas border towns, five days after the shuttering of rail operations there disrupted trade and caused outrage. Customs and Border Protection closed railroad operations in Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, on Monday to reallocate their customs officers to help Border Patrol take migrants into custody. Both regions have seen the number of illegal border crossings soar this month. Operations resumed at both cities as of Friday afternoon.Troy Miller, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s acting commissioner, said the closures at Eagle Pass and El Paso were a response to more migrants traveling on freight trains recently. Miller said authorities are seeing “unprecedented” arrivals at the border, topping 10,000 crossings on some days this month.The closures affected two of the six available rail border crossings between the U.S. and Mexico. Union Pacific and BNSF, the affected carriers, said automotive, agricultural, chemica...

Quebec labour strikes: Progress in talks with one teachers union, deadlock in another

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:32:53 GMT

MONTREAL — A Quebec union representing 95,000 teachers says it has made some progress in negotiations with the government after weeks of public sector strikes that have rattled the province.Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement says it reached a partial agreement with the government after an overnight negotiating session.It doesn’t specify the terms of the proposal but says it will present details to its council later today.The union says other points of contention, including salaries, remain unresolved as it continues joint negotiations with other public sector unions under an alliance known as the common front.Meanwhile, a separate union representing 66,000 teachers says it will continue an unlimited strike in the new year amid a deadlock in its own negotiations with Quebec.The Fédération autonome de l’enseignement strike has kept around 800 schools closed for more than four weeks.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 22, 2023.The Canadi...

Supreme Court of Canada agrees to hear case of B.C. babysitter in toddler’s death

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:32:53 GMT

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear the case of a British Columbia woman whose conviction in the drowning death of a toddler was quashed earlier this year.Documents show that the court has granted the application for leave to hear the case of Tammy Bouvette, whose criminal negligence charge was thrown out by the B.C. Court of Appeal in April.Bouvette’s lawyer is seeking an acquittal in the case rather than the Appeal Court’s order for a stay of proceedings as remedy.An acquittal declares a defendant has been found not guilty by the court, while a stay means the Crown has dropped its charges but does not determine guilt or innocence.Bouvette was originally charged with second-degree murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in 2011 for the bathtub drowning death of a 19-month-old girl she had been babysitting in Cranbrook, B.C.The B.C. Court of Appeal found the Crown failed to disclose several items of key evidence to Bouvette’s lawyers, dep...

Missouri school board that previously rescinded anti-racism resolution drops Black history classes

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:32:53 GMT

O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — A conservative-led Missouri school board has voted to drop elective courses on Black history and literature, five months after the same board rescinded an anti-discrimination policy adopted in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd.The Francis Howell School Board voted 5-2 Thursday night to stop offering Black History and Black Literature, courses that had been offered at the district’s three high schools since 2021. A little over 100 students took the courses this semester in the predominantly white suburban area of St. Louis.In July, the board revoked an anti-racism resolution and ordered copies removed from school buildings. The resolution was adopted in August 2020 amid the national turmoil after a police officer killed Floyd in Minneapolis.The resolution pledged that the Francis Howell community would “speak firmly against any racism, discrimination, and senseless violence against people regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, immigrat...

Seattle hospital says Texas attorney general asked for records about transgender care for children

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:32:53 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked a Seattle hospital to hand over records regarding gender-affirming treatment potentially given to children from Texas, according to court filings that appear to show the Republican going beyond state borders to investigate transgender health care. Seattle Children’s Hospital filed a lawsuit in Austin, Texas, this month asking a court to invalidate or narrow the requests from Paxton, a staunch conservative who has helped drive Republican efforts that target the rights of trans people. His office sent similar letters earlier this year to Texas hospitals.Texas is among more than 20 states that have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. On Friday, court records showed there been no decision yet on the Seattle hospital’s lawsuit. The hospital argued Paxton’s office was overstepping its jurisdiction and had no authority to request the records. “Additionally, t...

A British sea monitoring agency says another vessel has been hijacked near Somalia

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:32:53 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Another vessel has been hijacked near the coast of Somalia, a British sea trade monitoring agency said Friday, raising more concerns that Somali pirates are active again, nearly a decade after they caused chaos for international shipping.A dhow trading vessel was seized by heavily armed people near the town of Eyl off the coast of Somalia, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. It cited military authorities as the source of the information.The agency did not offer any details on who the hijackers were but said an investigation is underway.The European Union’s Naval Force reported that a Maltese-flagged merchant vessel was hijacked in the nearby Arabian Sea last week and moved to the same area off Somalia’s coast. The bulk carrier Ruen had 18 crew onboard when it was hijacked near the Yemeni island of Socotra, around 240 kilometers (150 miles) off Somalia.One crew member was evacuated to an Indian navy ship for medical care, the ...

Truck carrying gas hits railroad bridge and explodes as a train passes overhead

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 12:32:53 GMT

GLENVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — A tractor-trailer loaded with what authorities believe were gas containers slammed into the bottom of an overhead railroad bridge in upstate New York and exploded Thursday night as a freight train was traveling on the tracks above.The crash seriously injured the truck driver and briefly knocked out power to local homes and businesses. At about 6:30 p.m, the truck hit the bridge in Glenville, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of Albany. Police said the driver apparently failed to heed signs warning that the height clearance was 10 feet (3 meters).Video and news photos from the scene showed flames shooting into the sky as the wrecked truck was stuck under the bridge and nearly tipped over. Officials believe it was carrying containers of compressed natural gas. Authorities said there was no major damage reported to the train, which did not stop.“The first thought was ‘god forbid if there is a fatality here,’” Christopher Koetzle, the Glenville town s...