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Death of former governor’s aide brings FBI manhunt to end

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:14 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The three-week manhunt for a former top aide to Maryland’s governor ended in his death after public corruption charges jeopardized his career and ultimately sent him on the run from federal agents when he skipped a court appearance last month. Following numerous twists and turns, the case against Roy McGrath ended Monday night when FBI agents confronted the fugitive outside Knoxville, Tennessee. McGrath, who had served as former Gov. Larry Hogan’s chief of staff, died in the hospital after being wounded by gunfire. As the criminal investigation and prosecution dragged on for years, McGrath consistently maintained his innocence and was adamant about going to trial in hopes of clearing his name, according to his lawyer, Joseph Murtha. But when the March 13 trial date arrived, McGrath surprised his attorney by failing to appear at the U.S. District Court in Baltimore.“We were moving forward and preparing for trial, but you never know what’s going on in someone’s m...

Most Canadians got more from carbon-price rebates than they spent in 2021: report

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:14 GMT

OTTAWA — Most of the Canadians who paid the national carbon price in 2021 got far more back than they paid, a newly released annual report on pollution pricing says.Based on the numbers in the report, the average amount that people paid in the four provinces where the carbon price applied that year was $555. The average rebate was $804.“Numbers still show that as of now, most Canadians get more back from pollution pricing than what they pay,” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said in an interview.Every province must have the same price levied on greenhouse gas-emitting fuels, but only Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario used the federal system that year. Yukon and Nunavut also pay the federal carbon price, but those revenues are returned to the territorial governments directly, not as rebates to households. Northwest Territories and the other provinces opted for their own programs.Those that use the federal system receive a rebate. The system is designed so ...

‘At a crossroad’: Canada’s police chiefs request urgent meeting with premiers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:14 GMT

WINNIPEG — The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has requested an urgent meeting with Canada’s premiers to discuss bail reform and the recent killings of officers.In a letter dated Monday to Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson, association president Danny Smyth said there has been a link in the rise of violence by people released on bail since federal legislation changes were brought in four years ago. Stefanson is the chair of the Council of the Federation that constitutes all of the premiers in Canada“Over the last four years, we can track distinct spikes in the numbers of people released on bail and incidences of violent offences committed by those on bail,” said Smyth in the letter.Smyth, who is also Winnipeg’s chief of police, said that an increase in drug, gang and gun violence has escalated the danger of the profession, noting that eight officers have been killed in the line of duty in the last six months.“The number of murders of police of...

Rally calls for end to Safe Third Country agreement after tragic death of 8 migrants

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:14 GMT

The faces of some of the migrants that have died trying to cross into the United States were plastered on the Federal Public Safety Minister’s office during an emergency rally Wednesday. It comes after eight migrants were killed trying to cross from Canada into the United States last week. Demonstrators called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to grant full and permanent status to all migrants and undocumented persons in Canada.“As he promised, so that the deaths will stop,” said Syed Hussain, the Executive Director for the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.The eight migrants killed last Thursday when their boat capsized in Quebec on the way to the U.S. have been identified as two families of four: The Chaudari family of India and the Iordache family of Romania.“They were facing deportation and two infants, under the age of three, have drowned to death because of the decisions made by Prime Minister Trudeau,” said Hussein. The Iordache family had been ...

Puerto Rico, USVI to receive $108M to upgrade water systems

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:14 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday that Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will receive a total of nearly $108 million to improve drinking water infrastructure across the U.S. territories.Puerto Rico is slated to get $62 million and the U.S. Virgin Islands nearly $46 million.The money is part of a push by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to improve drinking water systems and remove lead pipes. Federal officials said Congress appropriated an additional $6 billion for water projects in U.S. states and territories as part of the $550 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Biden signed in November 2021.Officials said the money will target disadvantaged communities. Puerto Rico, an island of 3.2 million people,d has a 46% poverty rate. The U.S. Virgin Islands, a three-island territory of 87,000 people, has a poverty rate of nearly 20%. The Associated Press

At a glance: The three hush money cases in Trump indictment

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:14 GMT

The criminal charges that Donald Trump is now facing in New York stem from three separate instances in which the former president and his associates are accused of making hush money payments during his 2016 campaign: to two women to suppress information about extramarital sexual encounters they said they had with years earlier, and to a onetime Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have a story about a child he alleged Trump had out of of wedlock. Trump has been charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He surrendered earlier Tuesday in Manhattan and pleaded not guilty to all charges. A look at the three cases cited by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who outlined the charges:TRUMP TOWER DOORMANBragg first listed the incident involving a former Trump Tower doorman who was paid $30,000 after he claimed he had information about a child who Trump had out of wedlock. That doorman, Dino Sajudin, received the payment from the parent company of the National Enquire...

Former pro wrestler accused of transphobic comments at event

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:14 GMT

CANTON, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia school board member, who is also a retired professional wrestler, is accused of verbally harassing a transgender woman in the industry at a Los Angeles fan event.Robert Rechsteiner, known as Rick Steiner, was banned Saturday from WrestleCon — a three-day event — after allegedly making transphobic comments to trans wrestler Gisele Shaw, news outlets reported.Shaw claims Steiner called her a “piece of trash and filth” as she was preparing to sign autographs for fans.“I was shocked and could not believe that this was even happening,” Shaw said in a Twitter post. “To have someone saying those comments who a lot of people look up to and consider their hero was quite shocking and disheartening.”Steiner, 62, is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling, where he was a seven- time World Tag Team Champion and two-time winner of the Tag Team Championship under World Wrestling Entertainment.Since 2006, Steiner has served on the Cherokee County Boa...

Kansas OKs bill that penalizes doctors for some abortions

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:14 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Doctors accused of not providing enough care to infants delivered alive during certain kinds of abortion procedures in Kansas could face lawsuits and criminal charges under a bill that won final approval Tuesday in the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature. The legislation faces an uncertain fate in a legal and political climate that’s made Kansas an outlier on abortion policy among states with GOP-led legislatures. The bill applies not only to “botched” or “unsuccessful” abortions but also when doctors induce labor to deliver a fetus that is expected to die within minutes or even seconds outside the womb, which often occurs because of a severe medical issue. The Kansas House voted 86-36 to approve a proposed “born-alive infants protection” law similar to a proposed law that Montana voters rejected in November. The Senate approved the measure last week and it goes next to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who vetoed such a bill in 2019.The Senate voted...

Coroner to hold public inquests into deadly Montreal fire, police killing

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:14 GMT

Quebec’s chief coroner has accepted a request by the province’s public security minister to hold public inquests into the killing of a provincial police officer and a fire in Old Montreal that left seven people dead.Public Security Minister François Bonnardel said Tuesday he hoped the public hearings would lead to recommendations to help prevent similar deaths in the future and provide answers to Quebecers about the two high-profile fatal cases. Provincial police Sgt. Maureen Breau was stabbed to death March 27 while attempting to make an arrest in Louiseville, Que. The man accused of killing her — who was shot dead by police — had a history of mental health issues and had been found not criminally responsible at least five times for past offences.And on March 16, seven people died in a fire in an Old Montreal heritage building that housed illegal Airbnb rentals. The father of one of the victims has said his daughter told 911 operators as the fire spread through the buil...

Pet dog infected with avian flu but risk to public is low, federal government says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:14 GMT

OTTAWA — A pet dog has been infected with H5N1 avian flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said Tuesday. The dog in Oshawa, Ont., was infected after chewing on a wild goose and developed symptoms and died.“It is the only case of its kind in Canada,” the agency said in a news release.A necropsy completed on Monday showed the dog’s respiratory system was affected. “Based on the current evidence in Canada, the risk to the general public remains low and current scientific evidence suggests that the risk of a human contracting avian influenza from a domestic pet is minor,” the agency said.  There have been large outbreaks of H5N1 flu among birds both globally and within Canada. The CFIA has reported intermittent detections of the virus among some wild mammals, including foxes, mink, raccoons, skunks, seals, dolphins and black bears.  There have been no cases of humans being infected with the virus in Canada. There was one “travel-related̶...