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Snow plow drivers, residents clash in some GTA cities this winter

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:12:02 GMT

It’s been a challenging winter for some snow plow operators and residents in cities across the Greater Toronto Area.The region has seen several significant snowstorms in recent months – resulting in large snowbanks and the need for a lot of shovelling – and the cities of Mississauga and Oshawa have said reports of clashes between snow plow operators and residents have increased.The situation became so tense at times that the cities east and west of Toronto had to ask residents to be kinder to municipal snow removal operators.“Snow-clearing crews and operators have been experiencing escalating harassment and violence – including verbal and physical abuse, threats and unacceptable behaviour from several residents upset about snow-clearing operations,” Helen Noehammer, a spokesperson for the City Mississauga, wrote in a statement.After a major storm in early March, city crews and operators hired by the municipality were confronted by some residents who blocked snow-cl...

Guatemala seeks to remove opposition candidate’s immunity

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:12:02 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A prosecutor in Guatemala asked a court Monday to lift the immunity of one of the candidates in June presidential elections, because the candidate had asked about a judge’s motive in prosecuting journalists. Candidates in Guatemala normally have immunity from being prosecuted while they are running, to ensure free elections. But on Monday government prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche asked the country’s Supreme Court to lift the immunity of candidate Edmond Mulet, because Mulet had asked for an investigation into a judge. It was the latest chapter in which Guatemala prosecutors have gone after journalists, politicians, former prosecutors and judges for having investigated corruption inside the government and judicial system. Experts, opponents and foreign governments say that, instead of going after corruption, prosecutors in Guatemala are now going after those who denounce it. “Let’s see if this crazy, totally unjustified request made by the prosecutor is uph...

Biden issues first veto, taking on new Republican House

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:12:02 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden issued the first veto of his presidency Monday in an early sign of shifting White House relations with the new Congress since Republicans took control of the House in January — a move that serves as a prelude to bigger battles with GOP lawmakers on government spending and the nation’s debt limit.Biden sought to kill a Republican-authored measure that would ban the government from considering environmental impacts or potential lawsuits when making investment decisions for people’s retirement plans. In a video released by the White House, Biden said he vetoed the measure because it “put at risk the retirement savings of individuals across the country.”His first veto represents a more confrontational approach at the midway of Biden’s term in office, as he faces a GOP-controlled House that is eager to undo parts of his policy legacy and investigate his administration and his family. Complicating matters for Biden, several Democrati...

‘Not a matter of state secrets’: Anand dismisses concerns over McKinsey contracts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:12:02 GMT

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Anita Anand says there are no security risks from her department’s contracts with McKinsey & Company.Anand told a parliamentary committee this afternoon that the Defence Department has signed about $30 million in contracts with the consulting firm.But she says those contracts focused on helping defence and military officials with human-resources issues and data management, and did not touch on “state secrets.'”McKinsey came under fire last year for working with the U.S. military while also under contract with Russia and China.Its contracts in Canada have been under the microscope amid revelations its work has expanded rapidly since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government came to power in 2015.Anand says McKinsey has been helping the Canadian military with culture-change efforts, which included organizing and reporting on recent consultations with Armed Forces members.This report by The Canadian Press was first publishe...

Two people shot outside Fairview Mall in North York: police

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:12:02 GMT

Toronto police say two people have been shot outside Fairview Mall.Officers were called to a parking lot in the Sheppard Avenue East and Don Mills Road area just after 4 p.m. on Monday for reports of a shooting.Police located two adult male victims suffering from gunshot wounds.Toronto Paramedics tell CityNews both men were rushed to a trauma centre, one with serious injuries and the other with non-life-threatening injuries.There is no information on suspects, but police say the shooting did not happen inside the mall.

Court inclined toward government view in water rights case

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:12:02 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seems inclined to side with the federal government and a group of states in a dispute with the Navajo Nation over water from the drought-stricken Colorado River.The high court was hearing arguments Monday in a case that states argue could upend how water is shared in the Western U.S. if the court sides with the tribe.Water is a critical resource for the Navajo Nation. The mainstream of the Colorado River flows along the northwestern border of the tribe’s reservation, which extends into New Mexico, Utah and Arizona. And two of the river’s tributaries, the San Juan River and the Little Colorado River, also pass alongside and through the reservation. Still, a third of the some 175,000 people who live on the reservation, the country’s largest, don’t have running water in their homes.The facts of the case go back to two treaties the tribe and the federal government signed in 1849 and 1868. The second established the reservation as the...

Canada will take a ‘hard long look’ at UN call to speed emissions reduction: minister

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:12:02 GMT

OTTAWA — Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says Canada will take a “hard long look” at a call from global climate scientists to hit its long-term greenhouse gas emissions targets 10 years earlier than planned.The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued the call in a new report Monday warning the world is teetering dangerously close to missing its critical targets to keep global warming in check.The panel’s previous reports have warned that global warming must be limited to less than 2 C, and as close to 1.5 C as possible.United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says hitting that goal is going to mean rich countries like Canada get to net-zero emissions by 2040, not by the 2050 target that most have planned around.Guilbeault says Canada will study the report but it can’t change its targets on a whim, because a target is meaningless without a realistic plan to reach it.Canada has set at least eight different emissions targe...

Safety steps Airbnb renters can take — and measures that operators must

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:12:02 GMT

A deadly fire that swept through a building in Old Montreal on Thursday where several apartments were being used as Airbnb units is raising safety concerns about short-term rental properties. Here are several steps guests can take to protect themselves:For guests:Check to see a rental’s registration number is posted in the listing as a way to confirm the operation is above board. (City officials said short-term rentals are illegal in Old Montreal, with 10 establishments authorized to operate, having been grandfathered in. Yet Airbnb lists more than 1,000 places for rent.)Scan the online reviews for any safety concerns.On arrival, confirm that smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in place, and test them. Guests can even bring their own just in case.Look out for flammable materials near a gas stove, such as curtains or paper towels.Check the house manual for an evacuation plan, and map out an escape plan.For hosts:Airbnb suggests operators install carbon monoxide alarms near ...

Venezuela’s oil czar resigns amid corruption investigations

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:12:02 GMT

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s oil czar announced his resignation Monday as officials investigate alleged corruption among public officials, including in the state oil industry.Tareck El Aissami announced his resignation on Twitter and pledged to help the investigation into any allegations involving Petroleos de Venezuela SA, commonly known as PDVSA, while also offering support to President Nicolas Maduro’s anti-corruption campaign.Venezuela’s Anti-Corruption Police last week announced an investigation into unnamed public officials in the justice system, the oil industry and in some municipalities, though they did not cite PDVSA. The attorney general said Sunday that some officials had been arrested, but did not give details.El Aissami could not immediately be reached Monday.Corruption has long been rampant in Venezuela, which sits atop the world’s largest petroleum reserves. But officials are rarely held accountable — a major irritant to citizens, the majority of whom live o...

1 dead, 1 hurt in Texas school shooting; suspect arrested

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 05:12:02 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — One student was fatally shot and another injured when a third student opened fire outside a Dallas-area high school Monday morning before being arrested on a murder charge, police said. The shooting began on a high school campus in the suburb of Arlington around 6:55 a.m., before many students arrived for the first day back to classes after the spring break, according to police and school district officials. Arlington police Chief Al Jones said Monday that a male student who was shot died at a hospital and a female victim was receiving medical care after being “grazed” by gunfire, causing injures that aren’t life threatening. Another male student was arrested at the scene and charged with capital murder, Jones said at an afternoon news conference. The police chief declined to identify the suspected shooter because he is a minor, but said he is being held at a juvenile detention center in the area.The gunman never entered the Lamar High School building a...