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Ukrainian president in U.S. capital pushing gridlocked lawmakers to advance aid funds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:25 GMT

WASHINGTON — There’s little evidence Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has managed to change any minds on Capitol Hill.Zelenskyy is in the U.S. capital in an effort to convince Republican lawmakers to advance additional military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. But Republicans are refusing to approve more funding without a clear U.S. strategy on Ukraine, as well as measures to confront the migration crisis at the Mexico-U.S. border. House Speaker Mike Johnson says the White House has yet to provide more clarity on how U.S. aid will help bring an end to Ukraine’s war with Russia. Johnson says it’s up to the Senate to approve legislation already passed by the House that would restrict asylum claims and buttress border security. Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet later Tuesday with U.S. President Joe Biden.“They have not provided us the clarity and the detail that we’ve requested over and over,” Johnson said after members of Congress met with the U...

Auto union boss urges New Jersey lawmakers to pass casino smoking ban

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:25 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Shawn Fain, the international president of the United Auto Workers union who recently won large raises for his workers, is taking aim at a new target: New Jersey lawmakers who are delaying votes on a bill to ban smoking in Atlantic City’s casinos.The head of the powerful union, which represents workers at three casinos here, is urging legislators to move the bill forward in a scheduled hearing Thursday, warning that the union will “monitor and track” their votes.Many casino workers have been pushing for three years to close a loophole in the state’s public smoking law that specifically exempts casinos from a ban. Despite overwhelming bipartisan support from lawmakers, and a promise from the state’s Democratic governor to sign the measure, it has been bottled up in state government committees without a vote to move it forward.The same state Senate committee that failed to vote on the bill last month is due to try again on Thursday. Fain’s ...

CN resignations show firms need to take Indigenous reconciliation seriously: Experts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:25 GMT

Experts say corporate Canada has some soul-searching to do in the wake of the resignation of Canadian National Railway Co.’s Indigenous advisory council.The panel of prominent Indigenous leaders appointed by CN collectively announced their resignations Monday. They said the railway has failed to acknowledge past wrongs or follow the panel’s recommendations for reconciliation.A number of large Canadian corporations have appointed Indigenous advisory councils in the last few years in response to a call to action by the federal Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The committee called on corporate Canada to commit to meaningful consultation and respectful relationships with Indigenous people, and ensure they have equitable access to jobs, training, and education opportunities in the corporate sector.But experts say appointing an Indigenous advisory council will backfire on companies that aren’t genuinely willing to implement the advice they receive.This report by The ...

Rights group says security services in Belarus raid apartments and detain election observers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:25 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Security services in Belarus are breaking into apartments and detaining people in their workplaces across the country as they carry out hundreds of searches among election observers ahead of next year’s vote, the Belarusian human rights center Viasna said Tuesday.It’s the latest crackdown against human rights and democracy figures ahead of parliamentary and local elections scheduled for February. Activists’ phones are reportedly being checked and they are forced to sign warnings against “promoting extremist activities.” The charge has previously been levelled at democracy activists and carries up to seven years in prison.Representatives from the main intelligence service, the KGB, which has retained its Soviet name, are forcing activists who were observers in the last presidential election to record “repentance videos.”There was no comment from authorities.Belarus was rocked by protests during President Alexander Lukashenko’s disputed re-election ...

Young Thug trial on pause until January after co-defendant is stabbed in jail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:25 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The trial for rapper Young Thug and five other people is on pause until early next year after one of the defendants was stabbed in the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta.Shannon Stillwell, 31, was stabbed multiple times Sunday evening during a fight with another man housed in the same part of the jail, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said. Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville sent jurors home Monday morning, telling them one of the defendants had a “medical issue” but told them to return the next morning.On Tuesday, he told them the “medical issue still exists” and, given the time that it may take to deal with it, “I’m going to recess you for the holidays today.” He had previously told the jury they would have a break starting at the end of the proceedings this Friday and continuing through the new year.Glanville told the jurors they are to return to court Jan. 2 at 9 a.m. and instructed them not to read anything about the trial or talk to anyone about ...

Rights boss starts inquiry into Vancouver police media restrictions at camp removal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:25 GMT

VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s Human Rights Commissioner has launched an inquiry into police restrictions on media covering the decampment in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside in April.Kasari Govender says in a news release that reports of Vancouver Police denying access to some journalists covering the decampment “raise serious red flags and merit investigation.”Govender says it is crucial for media to be able to gather information on possible human rights violations when police are conducting operations where they may come into contact with marginalized people.She says there were “multiple reports” of journalists encountering blockades or not having access to parts of the Downtown Eastside during the police operation where police were pulling down tents and disposing of campers belongings. Vancouver Police said last month there were no media exclusion zones during the tent-clearing operation, but reporters were gathered at a “muster point̶...

US agency takes first step toward requiring new vehicles to prevent drunk or impaired driving

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:25 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators say they have taken the first step toward requiring devices in vehicles that prevent drunk or impaired driving.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Tuesday that it is starting the process to put a new federal safety standard in place requiring the technology in all new passenger vehicles.Such devices were required in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed by Congress in 2021.The agency says an advance notice of proposed rule making will help it gather information about the state of technology to detect impaired driving. The regulation would set standards for the devices once technology is mature, NHTSA said in a statement.It can take years for a regulation to make its way through the process, which includes public comment periods. In 2021, the latest year for which statistics are available, nearly 13,400 people were killed in drunken driving crashes, costing society $280 billion in medical expenses, los...

Jurors deem Soleiman Faqiri’s death a homicide as inquest concludes with 57 recommendations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:25 GMT

Jurors have deemed the death of a mentally ill man at an Ontario jail a homicide and made 57 recommendations, including that the province create a designated “inspectorate” for corrections.The jury examining the circumstances of Soleiman Faqiri’s death began deliberating Friday afternoon after hearing about three weeks of evidence.Their conclusion came just before noon on Tuesday.Faqiri, who was 30, was arrested in early December 2016 after allegedly stabbing a neighbour while experiencing a mental health crisis.The inquest has heard that Faqiri, who had schizophrenia, appeared increasingly unwell during his time at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, but did not see a psychiatrist, nor was he taken to hospital.He died on Dec. 15, 2016, after a violent struggle with correctional officers that broke out as they were escorting him from the shower to his segregation cell.Coroner’s counsel urged jurors to rule his death a homicide, a proposal that wa...

Maryland judiciary seeks applications to replace slain judge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:25 GMT

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — Maryland’s state judiciary is accepting applications to replace a circuit court judge who was killed earlier this year by a man whose divorce case the judge was presiding over, authorities have said.Judge Andrew Wilkinson was shot to death in his driveway Oct. 19, just hours after granting a divorce to Pedro Argote’s wife and awarding her full custody of their four children. Authorities quickly identified Argote as a suspect and launched a search.Argote, 49, was found dead the following week in a heavily wooded area outside Hagerstown not far from where the shooting unfolded. An autopsy later confirmed he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a spokesperson for Maryland’s chief medical examiner said Tuesday.Wilkinson, 52, was appointed to the bench nearly four years ago, fulfilling his longtime dream of becoming a judge after working as an assistant county attorney and later starting his own law office, according to loved ones.The Maryland Judiciary posted...

Boy, 16, considered 'high risk' missing from Northwest Side: Chicago police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:25 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department is requesting assistance in locating a missing teenager. CPD has classified the situation as high-risk.Juan Huerta, 16, was last seen at approximately 4 p.m. on Nov. 30 at his residence in the 4400 block of West Fullerton Ave on the city's Northwest Side.Police describe Huerta as a Hispanic male of medium complexion, with black hair and brown eyes. He is approximately 5-foot-8, 160 pounds.Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Huerta can contact the Chicago Police Department Area 5 SVU at 312-746-6554.