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Watch Live: John Kerry grilled on Climate Office budget; says Herald FOIA will have to wait

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:46:19 GMT

This could finally be the day Climate boss John Kerry thaws his budget out. To what degree we’ll find out as the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability grills him. Follow along below and stay here for updates and a full report:10 a.m. — Chair Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) just started the meeting and didn’t hold back on Kerry has “managed to avoid oversight and accountability.”Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) jumped in next saying global warming will drive up bills and put Americans at risk, taking a softer tone before Kerry speaks.Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) warned Kerry that playing nice with China could prove to be lethal. He’s the chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and is “deeply concerned” about talks with China. “We don’t have to make concessions before we even get to the table.” He added that this all comes as “an American citizen” Mark Swidan of Texas faces death i...

OPP bust 11 as part of Canada-wide 3D gun probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:46:19 GMT

Advanced 3D printing technology is being used to make guns that are being sold to “dangerous offenders,” Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) warned Thursday while announcing a slew of arrests connected to the manufacturing of the untraceable weapons.The OPP said the probe started in Montreal, ultimately leading to search warrants and arrests across Canada — with 11 people charged with 58 offences across Ontario.“This investigation began after police became aware of a business that was selling firearm parts,” the OPP said.Investigators added that the parts aren’t compatible with other guns and are used “exclusively to create personally manufactured firearms.”Even more troubling, the OPP added, is that the guns are totally untraceable.“While all prohibited weapons pose serious risks to community safety, this is especially true for personally manufactured firearms. Unlike other firearms, they do not bear serial numbers and cannot be tra...

House Republicans interrogate FTC’s Khan over ethics, antitrust issues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:46:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans who say the Federal Trade Commission has been overzealous and politicized under President Joe Biden are interrogating agency head Lina Khan, bringing her before the House Judiciary Committee Thursday for the first time amid her court battles with big technology companies.Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has criticized Khan in recent months on a multitude of issues, including what he says are politically motivated actions directed at Elon Musk after he acquired Twitter last year, questions about whether she should have recused herself from certain cases and her legal actions against tech giants on antitrust issues. In April, the committee subpoenaed Khan after an investigation by the panel that concluded the FTC “harassed” Twitter in the wake of Musk’s acquisition.In her opening statement, Khan defended her attempt to aggressively regulate the country’s biggest tech companies. “Our competition mission is driven by the tenet that vigorou...

Corus Entertainment selling Toon Boom Animation subsidiary for $147.5M

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:46:19 GMT

TORONTO — Corus Entertainment Inc. says it has signed a deal to sell its Montreal-based animation software subsidiary Toon Boom Animation Inc. to Integrated Media Company (IMC) for $147.5 million in cash.Colin Bohm, executive vice-president of content and corporate strategy at Corus, says the move will free up capital, increase the company’s financial flexibility and sharpen its focus.Toon Boom’s software is used for animation, storyboarding and production management.Founded in 1994, Corus bought a 50 per cent stake in Toon Boom in 2004 and acquired the remaining interest in 2012. Corus says the deal is expected to generate about $142 million in net proceeds that will be used to repay debt.Shares in Corus were up 20 cents or nearly 15 per cent at $1.56 in early trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:CJR.B)The Canadian Press

Top UN court rejects Nicaragua’s case in a long-running maritime dispute with Colombia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:46:19 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United Nations’ top court on Thursday rejected a case brought by Nicaragua in a decades-long dispute with Colombia over maritime borders and entitlements in the Caribbean.The International Court of Justice dismissed Nicaragua’s bid to gain economic rights over an area of the Caribbean sea that lies more than 200 nautical miles (380 kilometers) from its shores.Nicaragua wanted the international court to review the limits of its continental shelf, and determine new maritime boundaries for the Central American nation.Colombia already claims exclusive economic rights in much of the area that lies to the east of Nicaragua’s 200 nautical mile boundary. Bogota argued that there is no precedent for extending a country’s 200-nautical-mile zone, when it clashes with that of another nation.The area has long been claimed by both countries, and Nicaragua gained fishing rights over a big portion in a 2012 ruling by the world court in The Hague. But Co...

1 of 3 suspects wanted in shooting death of Karolina Huebner-Makurat arrested

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:46:19 GMT

One of three men wanted in an east-end shooting last week that killed an innocent bystander is under arrest. Police say 32-year-old Damian Hudson has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting that resulted in the death of Karolina Huebner-Makurat.The 44-year-old wife and mother of two was walking in the area of Queen Street East and Carlaw Avenue to pick up lunch when gunshots rang out just before 12:30 p.m. on July 7 when she was struck by a stray bullet. She was taken to a nearby trauma centre where she was later pronounced dead.Police say there was a physical altercation between three men in the area and two of them pulled out handguns and began shooting at each other. Investigators continue to search for two other suspects. A GoFundMe page which has been set up by friends of the Huebner-Makurat family has collected more than $247,000 of the now $350,000 campaign goal since it launched five days ago.

The gunman who killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue is found eligible for the death penalty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:46:19 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The gunman who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 is eligible for the death penalty, a federal jury announced Thursday, setting the stage for further evidence and testimony on whether he should be sentenced to death or life in prison.The government is seeking capital punishment for Robert Bowers, who raged against Jewish people online before storming the Tree of Life synagogue with an AR-15 rifle and other weapons in the nation’s deadliest antisemitic attack. The jury agreed with prosecutors that Bowers — who spent six months planning the attack and has since expressed regret that he didn’t kill more people — had formed the requisite legal intent to kill.Bowers’ lawyers argued that his ability to form intent was impaired by mental illness and a delusional belief that he could stop a genocide of white people by killing Jews.The jurors found among other things that Bowers intended to kill, that substantial planning went into the attack, and that he ta...

Even the most populous places are pushing for US census corrections to boost funding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:46:19 GMT

A misplaced naval ship in California. Overlooked college students in New York City. Missed inmates in Texas.These are some of the reasons why the two most populous states and the largest city in the U.S. filed last-minute requests for corrections to their 2020 census figures right before the deadline at the end of last month. California, Texas and New York City were joined by a dozen and a half other stragglers, including Illinois and New Orleans, that made down-to-the-deadline appeals over the numbers that help determine political power and the annual distribution of $2.8 trillion in federal funding.In total, nearly 200 requests for corrections were filed by local, state and tribal governments through two programs started by the U.S. Census Bureau to give governments opportunities to have their population totals reviewed and corrected if need be.If successful, any corrections will be applied only to future population estimates used for the rest of the decade in determining federal ...

Stretch of Dufferin Street closed for up to 2 months for emergency repairs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:46:19 GMT

A stretch of a main Toronto west end thoroughfare is going to be shut down to drivers for the next couple of months for emergency bridge repairs.The City of Toronto says the southbound portion of the Dufferin Street Bridge over the Gardiner Expressway will be closed after crews discovered damage that needed repairs.The southbound lanes of Dufferin will be blocked off from Springhurst Avenue to British Columbia Road, the northbound lanes and pedestrian sidewalk will remain open. Southbound traffic will be diverted onto Springhurst.“The City will be installing variable message signs, adjusting traffic signals in the area and deploying paid duty officers if necessary to manage traffic,” reads a statement from the city.#TrafficAlertTO The southbound lane of the Dufferin Street Bridge is currently closed to vehicle traffic to facilitate emergency repair work on the bridge. SB traffic is being diverted along Springhurst Avenue. NB traffic and sidewalk remain open. pic.twitter....

Vondrousova tops Svitolina to become the first unseeded women’s finalist at Wimbledon in 60 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:46:19 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Marketa Vondrousova became the first unseeded women’s finalist at Wimbledon since Billie Jean King in 1963, eliminating Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday by reeling off seven consecutive games in one stretch and then holding on for the victory.Vondrousova is a 24-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic who is ranked 43rd. She reached the second Grand Slam final of her career after getting that far as a teenager at the 2019 French Open.“I was crazy nervous,” said Vondrouova, who bowed her head and knelt at the baseline when the match was over. “I was nervous, actually, the whole match.”On Saturday, she will face No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka or No. 6 seed Ons Jabeur, the 2022 runner-up at Wimbledon.Ranked No. 76 and also unseeded, Svitolina returned to the tour from maternity leave just three months ago. She was trying to become the first woman from Ukraine to make it to the title match at a major tennis tournament and received loud support from t...