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Striking federal workers want Trudeau to step in on negotiations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

The president of Canada’s largest federal public service union says the government isn’t budging on a contract offer that would grant striking federal workers a nine per cent wage increase over three years.Public Service Alliance of Canada National President Chris Aylward says the government told the union by email Tuesday night that it would not move from its latest offer, signalling a stalemate in the negotiations.He’s calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step in.“If the prime minister can turn his back on these striking members, he will turn his back on every single worker in this country,” Aylward said Wednesday.More than 150,000 public servants walked off the job on April 19 to back their demands for higher wages and work-from-home provisions, among other things.PSAC head Chris Aylward at a rally on Parliament Hill today. Negotiations between the federal government and striking federal workers seem to be hitting a snag. Listen to @CityNewsTO...

Ultrasound technician accused of sexually assaulting woman at Oshawa clinic

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

Durham Regional Police have charged an ultrasound technician with sexual assault after investigators said a woman came forward alleging she was touched in an inappropriate sexual manner during a medical procedure.The alleged incident took place in May 2022 at an ultrasound and X-ray clinic in Oshawa.Fifty-eight-year-old Igor Ivanov, of Thornhill, is facing a single count of sexual assault and has been released on an undertaking.Police say Ivanov has worked at numerous clinics throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

Elizabeth Holmes delays going to prison with another appeal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has avoided starting her more than 11-year prison sentence on Thursday by deploying the same legal maneuver that enabled her co-conspirator in a blood-testing hoax to remain free for an additional month.Holmes’ lawyers on Wednesday informed U.S. District Judge Edward Davila that she won’t be reporting to prison as scheduled because she had filed an appeal of a decision that he issued earlier this month ordering her to begin her sentence on April 27. The appeal, filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals late Tuesday, automatically delays her reporting date because she has been free on bail since a jury convicted her on four counts of fraud and conspiracy in January following a four-month trial revolving around her downfall from a rising Silicon Valley star to an alleged scam artist chasing fame and fortune while fleecing investors and endangering the health of patients relying on Theranos’ flawed blood...

Kenya cult death toll rises to 95 as government sets curfew

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The latest death toll in Kenya’s cult investigation has risen to 95 as the government announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the ranch owned by a pastor who is accused of ordering his followers to fast to death.Journalists and human rights activists on Wednesday were barred from accessing the 800-acre (320-hectare) ranch, which has been declared a “disturbed area and an operation zone.”Pastor Paul Makenzi, who was arrested for allegedly directing his followers to fast to death in order to meet Jesus, remains in police custody until at least May 2. He heads the Good News International Church.Police say they took 22 people into custody during Wednesday’s search and rescue operation. Authorities have rescued 34 people from the property, which is near the town of Malindi, since police raided the ranch earlier this month.The Kenya Red Cross Society said that 314 is the latest missing persons figure. Movement will now be restricted on the ranch for 30 days.“Curfew orders...

Missouri judge to weigh transgender health care rules

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — Whether a first-of-its-kind rule placing strict regulations on gender-affirming care in Missouri kicks in Thursday is in the hands of a judge.Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office is set to defend his unusual emergency rule before St. Louis County Circuit Judge Kristine Kerr on Wednesday.Transgender Missourians and health care providers sued Monday, asking Kerr to block the rule. Bailey has touted the emergency restrictions as a way to shield minors from what he describes as experimental medical treatments, although the regulations apply to health care for adults as well. Those suing argue Bailey sidestepped the GOP-led Legislature and acted beyond his authority in attempting to regulate gender-affirming health care under the state’s consumer-protection laws.The rule would “essentially outlaw, on less than two weeks’ notice, virtually all medically-necessary treatment for gender dysphoria in Missouri, treatment that is supported by every major ...

Bank of Canada considered raising interest rates at its last meeting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada considered raising interest rates earlier this month, as it feared being too slow to react to sticky inflation.In its summary of deliberations released Wednesday, the central bank says its governing council contemplated another rate hike. The main arguments in favour of another rate hike were resilience in economic growth, potential challenges bringing inflation down from three to two per cent and the risk of waiting too long to respond to stubborn inflation.While the central bank appears confident that inflation will fall to three per cent by mid-year, it remains concerned that the return to two per cent inflation may take longer as the cost of services remains elevated.Ultimately, the Bank of Canada maintained its key interest rate at 4.5 per cent on April 12 and decided in favour of waiting for more economic data to determine whether rates need to rise further. “Governing council agreed at this decision to maintain the target for the overnight ra...

Development in the Greenbelt could put dozens of species in peril

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

From under the water to up in the air, Duffins Rouge Agricultural Preserve (DRAP) is filled with hundreds of species, including eagles, herons, deer, salmon and wood frogs. The river running through the preserve feeds other parts of the Greenbelt, and experts say the land is some of the best farmland in the country.This 5,000-acre area, often referred to as the crown jewel of the Greenbelt, has been protected from development until the Ford government repealed its preservation last November. Now this land is expected to be turned into housing — but it won’t be lost without a fight.Jean and Robert Hilscher are avid bird watchers in the area. They were in Duffins Rouge when CityNews visited the preserve in mid-April.“This is a corridor, people don’t know that millions of birds are coming over and they’re tired after flying over lake Ontario,” explained Robert. “One of the key places they look to come down because of the right vegetation and food is ...

Flooding Mississippi River prompts evacuations, sandbagging

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

Communities along the Upper Mississippi River scrambled Wednesday as the always massive river swelled to near record levels, forcing some to be evacuated from their homes while others downstream stacked sandbag walls and closed off flood-prone areas near the waterway.The river has grown so large because of a huge snowpack in northern Minnesota that began to quickly melt last week due to rising temperatures.A small number of people had to leave their homes in Wisconsin as the river kept rising. Others were stacking sandbags in the small community of Buffalo, Iowa, in anticipation of flooding this weekend and early next week.The Mississippi was expected to be especially high along parts of Wisconsin, and crest Wednesday or early Thursday in La Crosse. In Iowa, forecasts predict the river will reach the third-highest level ever recorded when it crests Saturday about 160 miles to the south in Davenport, Iowa.Improved floodwalls and other temporary measures should prevent significant pro...

Mississippi jail escapee surrounded, believed dead

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Authorities hunted Wednesday for four inmates, including one suspected of killing a man and stealing his pickup truck, who escaped over the weekend from a Mississippi jail that has been under federal scrutiny.Leake County Sheriff Randy Atkinson told WJTV-TV that the suspect in the killing, 22-year-old Dylan Arrington, is believed to be dead after he barricaded himself inside a burning home near Conway, Mississippi, Wednesday morning. The suspect shot a deputy from within the home, the Leake County Sheriff’s office said in a statement on their Facebook page, adding that the deputy was transported to a hospital where he was stabilized. “The situation continued for roughly two hours before it was resolved,” the office said. No further explanation of what that meant was given in the statement. Multiple law enforcement agencies were searching parts of the state, with the Leake County Sheriff’s Office telling residents to “please keep your doors loc...

HBCUs capitalize on growing interest by adding sport options

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:29 GMT

The outrage, frustration and emotional trauma Jahi Jones felt as he watched video of police murdering George Floyd three years ago compelled him to seek ways to lift up other young Black men. He just wasn’t sure how to do it.Jones had attended the University of Maryland on an academic scholarship and was a walk-on for the wrestling team. He became team captain, competed at the NCAA championships and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He later noticed that, in 2021, Black men made up half the 10 Division I national champions but fewer than 10% of Division I wrestlers. That’s when everything started to click.“I would start thinking about ways that I could get involved to help inside of the wrestling community and just make things more fair and equitable,” he said. “It was just seeing the lack of diversity, but also seeing that … we excel inside the sport, but (we are) just not having those same opportunities to develop.”Now 25, Jones is the executive...