Ottawa to allow temporary Syrian, Turkish residents to stay longer after earthquake

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:56:12 GMT

Ottawa to allow temporary Syrian, Turkish residents to stay longer after earthquake TORONTO — The federal government says it will make it easier for temporary residents in Canada from Turkey and Syria to extend their stay in the country after a powerful earthquake struck their countries last month.More than 50,000 people have been killed and millions displaced after the 7.8-magnitude quake and several powerful aftershocks hit the region on Feb. 6.Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says the government will allow people from Turkey and Syria who have a temporary status to visit family, study or work in Canada to apply for an extension to their status and will wave the application fees for them.Fraser says his department has been prioritizing processing temporary and permanent resident applications from people affected by the earthquake.The government says, as of March 10, about 600 Syrian and 6,400 Turkish residents in Canada had temporary status that is set to expire within the next six months.Last month, the federal government said it is to send another $20 million i...

Should remote workers take 'hush trips'?

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:56:12 GMT

Should remote workers take 'hush trips'? (NerdWallet) - Emily Smith was working two jobs — at a hotel and at a retail store — when she realized she was in dire need of a break. Smith, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, says her employers didn’t usually approve of her vacation days, so she invented a fake family emergency, claiming she’d need to work from home. Instead, she went to Las Vegas.“I took meetings poolside, and I timed my flights to happen outside working hours,” she says. “All my work was completed in a timely manner so neither of my bosses ever asked.”That was back in 2012, when most jobs demanded an in-person presence. About 10 years later, more people are working remotely (or poolside like Smith). According to U.S. Census Bureau data released in 2022, more than 27.6 million people worked primarily from home in 2021. That’s triple the number of people working from home in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.Even with the rise of remote work, some workers are hesitant or don’t feel the need to tell their empl...

Vikings agree to terms with depth offensive lineman Oli Udoh

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:56:12 GMT

Vikings agree to terms with depth offensive lineman Oli Udoh In an effort to further bolster their depth up front, the Vikings agreed to terms with depth offensive lineman Oli Udoh on Saturday afternoon, the latest move designed to ensure continuity in the trenches.Already this offseason, the Vikings have re-signed starting center Garrett Bradbury and backup center Austin Schlottmann, re-upped with fellow depth offensive lineman Blake Brandel, and re-worked a deal with veteran offensive lineman Chris Reed.As for Udoh, he has developed into a useful piece on the offensive line. Originally drafted in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft as a project player, the 6-foot-6, 320-pound Udoh has played in 41 games in his career with 17 starts under his belt.Not only did Udoh fill in admirably last season after starting right tackle Brian O’Neill broke his right ankle, he has proven capable of playing both on the interior and exterior of the line in a pinch. His presence should help if O’Neill needs more time than expected to recover.Rela...

Albany police investigate Saturday shooting

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:56:12 GMT

Albany police investigate Saturday shooting ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Albany police are investigating a shooting that took place in the early morning hours of Saturday. Their investigation remains ongoing, and no arrests have been announced. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Per Officer Steve Smith, the police department spokesperson, police received a call reporting the shooting at around 2 a.m. Officers arriving on the scene on Broadway near Lawn Avenue found a a 48-year-old man with gunshot wounds.Police said that he was treated at the scene and then sent to Albany Medical Center Hospital. His identity has not been revealed by police.Stick with NEWS10 for more on this story as it develops.

Judge grants Missouri AG more time to amend petition against Kim Gardner

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:56:12 GMT

Judge grants Missouri AG more time to amend petition against Kim Gardner ST. LOUIS - A judge has granted the Missouri Attorney General more time to amend his petition against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. On Feb. 23, Missouri AG Andrew Bailey filed a writ of quo warranto against Kim Gardner, accusing her of neglecting her duties as circuit attorney. It comes in an effort to remove her from office. According to court records, Bailey's office until March 21 to amend its quo warranto, during which he could outline more allegations of wrongdoing linked to Gardner. John Torbitzky, the special judge assigned to the case, would also grant Gardner 10 days to respond to new allegations. That deadline would be March 31. Top story: Murder victim’s sister waited nine years to hear triple killer was found guilty In a motion filed Wednesday, Bailey asked the judge for more time to present new evidence against Gardner. He also requested a June trial date.  Bailey’s new filing comes after Gardner barely met a deadline to file her respons...

Mikaela Shiffrin receives slalom trophy; Petra Vlhova wins last race

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:56:12 GMT

Mikaela Shiffrin receives slalom trophy; Petra Vlhova wins last race SOLDEU, Andorra — Seven weeks after securing it, Mikaela Shiffrin was finally able to hold and kiss the crystal globe for the best slalom skier of the women’s World Cup season.The dominant American had already locked up the discipline title at a mid-season slalom in the Czech Republic in January, but trophies in ski racing are traditionally handed over only in the final week of the season.Her Slovakian rival Petra Vlhova used a frenetic finish on her decisive run Saturday to win the slalom at the World Cup Finals ahead of Croatian prodigy Leona Popovic, while Shiffrin placed third.“It’s the sum of a lot of hard work and many amazing races and the work of the whole team,” Shiffrin said. “I’m very thankful and very proud.”Shiffrin, who also secured her fifth overall and second giant slalom globe, won six of the 11 slaloms this season, making her the first woman to win seven season titles in slalom, surpassing Swiss standout Vreni Schneider, who won it six times in the 1980...

Bay Area weather: 3,000 PG&E customers still in the dark, but power expected restored by midnight

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:56:12 GMT

Bay Area weather: 3,000 PG&E customers still in the dark, but power expected restored by midnight Four days after a punishing atmospheric river storm knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of Bay Area residents, about 3,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers in the region remained in the dark Saturday morning — but utility officials expected to have electricity fully restored by midnight.Roughly 1,500 customers were without power in the South Bay, while another 1,500 on the Peninsula were still waiting for the lights to come on. That’s down from nearly 7,000 across the Bay Area Friday afternoon.Power had been fully restored in the East Bay, North Bay and San Francisco, PG&E officials said.At the outage’s peak on Tuesday, some 367,000 customers were without power, leaving the utility with its most outages in a single day since 1995. By noon Thursday, that number had fallen below 38,000. According to the PG&E, the storm damaged at least 217 power poles and 157 transformers.Related ArticlesWeather | PG&E slashes Bay Area outage numbers...

Kangaroo loose by I-680 in Bay Area, police seeking owner of animal with bad leg

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:56:12 GMT

Kangaroo loose by I-680 in Bay Area, police seeking owner of animal with bad leg A possibly injured kangaroo was loose Saturday morning beside I-680 in Alamo, the California Highway Patrol reported.“There is a kangaroo with a bad leg on the shoulder of the freeway,” CHP Sgt. Matt Gutierrez said around 11 a.m. Saturday, adding that it was not known whether the animal had been hit by a vehicle.Police believe there is an animal preserve nearby, and an officer was in the area trying to find out where the animal, native to Australia, had come from before ending up by the highway near Stone Valley Road, Gutierrez said.The Highway Patrol responded to the Contra Costa County incident, first reported publicly in a tweet by news website Danville/San Ramon Updates, around 10:45 a.m. Saturday.CHECK BACK ON THIS DEVELOPING STORY

US Open ‘very hopeful’ unvaccinated Novak Djokovic can play

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:56:12 GMT

US Open ‘very hopeful’ unvaccinated Novak Djokovic can play After Novak Djokovic withdrew from tournaments in Florida and California because he still can’t travel to the United States as a foreign citizen who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, a U.S. Tennis Association spokesman said Saturday the group is “very hopeful” the top-ranked player will be allowed into the country for the U.S. Open in August.“Policies concerning access to the United States are determined by the White House. We are very hopeful that the policy preventing Novak Djokovic from entering the United States will be rescinded, or lapse, in the near future,” the USTA’s Chris Widmaier wrote to The Associated Press. “No COVID-19 restrictions are in place at the U.S. Open for any player, fan or other attendee. Novak, one of our sport’s great champions, would be welcome to compete at the 2023 U.S. Open.”The two-week U.S. Open starts in Flushing Meadows on Aug. 28.Djokovic, a 35-year-old from Serbia, was unable to get to New York for the season’s last Grand Sla...

Johannessen, Baldwin lead, still to finish 3rd rounds at SDC

Published Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:56:12 GMT

Johannessen, Baldwin lead, still to finish 3rd rounds at SDC ST. FRANCIS BAY, South Africa (AP) — Kristian Krogh Johannessen and Matthew Baldwin shared the lead at the SDC Championship in South Africa on Saturday when the third round was suspended because of fading light.The pair had moved to 11 under par through 13 holes when players were called off at the St. Francis Links course on South Africa’s south coast.The tournament, which is making its debut on the European tour, is playing catchup after high winds caused a postponement on Friday, leaving many players to complete their second rounds and move straight to their third rounds on Saturday.Norway’s Johannessen led by three shots when the second round was finally completed on Saturday but third-round playing partner Baldwin whittled away at that lead with four birdies and no dropped shots through those 13 holes.As the Englishman made his move, Johannessen dropped a shot on No.11, his second bogey of the round.Daniel Brown and Joost Luiten earlier set the clubhouse target of 9 ...