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Liberals to amend Criminal Code terrorism provisions that block aid to Afghanistan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

OTTAWA — The Liberal government introduced a bill today to alter terrorism provisions of the Criminal Code that block humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is proposing amendments to the Criminal Code that provide a carveout for Canadian aid workers to carry out duties in areas controlled by terrorists without being prosecuted.Humanitarian groups say Global Affairs Canada has told them for more than a year that purchasing goods or hiring locals in Afghanistan would involve paying taxes to the Taliban, which would mean contributing to a terror group.Canada’s allies moved much more swiftly to alter national laws and issue exemptions after the August 2021 Taliban takeover of Kabul to ensure aid workers could keep working in Afghanistan.Groups such as World Vision Canada say they’ve held back on launching donation appeals because of the rules, despite Afghanistan being one of the countries for which Canadians are most likely to pledge money.T...

Credit card debt up 15 per cent in Q4, younger Canadians feel hardest pinch: Equifax

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

TORONTO — Canadian credit card debt soared in the last three months of 2022 amid rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation with younger Canadians in particular relying on credit to make ends meet.Canadians’ credit card debt increased by more than 15 per cent from the same period a year earlier and totalled more than $100 billion for the first time, according to credit monitoring agency Equifax.Overall consumer debt rose in the fourth quarter of 2022, with total debt at $2.37 trillion, up more than six per cent from the same period in 2021, the agency said in its latest quarterly credit trends report.Equifax said the effects of higher interest rates are yet to be fully felt on homeowners as many have not yet renewed their mortgages, but younger Canadians are feeling the pinch of inflation particularly hard. The financial stress on Canadians is apparent in the latest data, especially for non-homeowners, said Rebecca Oakes, vice-president of advanced analytics at Equifax Cana...

Federal environment minister says Alberta silence over oilsands spill ‘worrisome’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says Alberta’s nine-month silence over two releases of toxic oilsands tailings water is worrisome.He says Alberta is supposed to notify the federal government over such releases within 24 hours.In this case, Alberta government agencies seem to have known about seepage from Imperial Oil’s Kearl oilsand tailings pond for nine months before making a public statement on it.Environmental incidents in Alberta are normally first reported to a government call centre run by Alberta Transportation, which then notifies the provincial regulator. Environment Canada, in a timeline released Wednesday, says it had to learn about the seepage and a second, 5.3-million-litre spill from area First Nations, who themselves were kept in the dark about the extent and nature of the seepage. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has blamed Imperial for the slow communications around the releases. This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9...

S&P/TSX composite down in late-morning trading, U.S. stock markets higher

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

TORONTO — Losses in the base metals sector led Canada’s main stock index lower in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets climbed higher.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 16.44 points at 20,330.09.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 57.22 points at 32,855.62. The S&P 500 index was up 6.73 points at 3,998.74, while the Nasdaq composite was up 49.22 points at 11,625.22.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.63 cents US compared with 72.54 cents US on Wednesday.The April crude contract was up 39 cents at US$77.05 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was down a penny at US$2.54 per mmBTU.The April gold contract was up US$11.60 at US$1,830.20 an ounce and the May copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.03 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Mexican gang said to apologize over deaths of Americans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) — Someone claiming to be the Mexican drug cartel allegedly responsible for the abduction of four Americans and the killing of two of them has condemned the violence and purportedly turned over its own members who were involved to authorities.In a letter obtained by The Associated Press through a Tamaulipas state law enforcement source, the Scorpions faction of the Gulf cartel allegedly responsible for abducting the Americans apologized to the residents of Matamoros, the Mexican woman who died in the shooting and the four Americans and their families.Drug cartels have been known to issue communiques to intimidate rivals and authorities, but also at times like these to do some public relations work to try to smooth over situations that could affect their business.“We have decided to turn over those who were directly involved and responsible in the events, who at all times acted under their own decision-making and lack of discipline,” the letter reads...

Biden budget with deficit cuts, tax hikes won’t fly with GOP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — As political gridlock puts the government at risk of defaulting, President Joe Biden on Thursday is making an opening offer with a budget plan that would cut deficits by $2.9 trillion over the next decade — a proposal that Republicans already intend to reject.It’s part of a broader attempt by the president to call out House Republicans who are demanding severe cuts to spending in return for lifting the government’s legal borrowing limit. But the GOP has no counteroffer so far, other than a flat “no” to a Biden blueprint with tax increases on the wealthy that could form the policy backbone of Biden’s yet-to-be-declared campaign for reelection in 2024.“We see this as a value statement,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday. “This is something that shows the American people that we take this very seriously when we think about the fiscal responsibility, when we think about how do we move forward.”Biden’s package of t...

Health data breach hitting Congress ‘could be extraordinary’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House leaders say the impact of a hack of health insurance marketplace used by members of Congress “could be extraordinary,” exposing sensitive personal data of lawmakers, their employees and families.DC Health Link, which runs the exchange, said an unspecified number of customers were affected and it was notifying them and working with law enforcement to quantify the damage. It said it was offering identity theft service to those affected and extending credit monitoring to all customers. Some 11,000 of the exchange’s more than 100,000 participants work in the House and Senate or are relatives.In a letter to the exchange’s director posted on Twitter, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the breach “significantly increase the risk that Members, staff and their families will experience identity theft, financial crimes, and physical threats.” They said the FBI had informed them that it was able to purchase the stolen data on the ...

In Kentucky GOP governor race, one rival aims at the center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — On stage for the first time as a statewide candidate in the Kentucky governor’s race, a small-town mayor stood out for his stands on abortion and other issues that could draw in centrist voters, even as leading rivals veered to the right.Republican Alan Keck cracked a joke when asked to define “woke,” and said he tries to avoid the term that’s become a culture-war rallying cry for social conservatives.It was one of several instances when Keck parted ways with a trio of his rivals during the first televised debate in the campaign for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in Kentucky.Keck, 38, the mayor of Somerset in southern Kentucky, shared the stage Tuesday with Attorney General Daniel Cameron, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles and Auditor Mike Harmon. Former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft declined to participate. Seven other competitors in the May 16 GOP primary didn’t qualify, based on their fundraising and other criteria, the local...

WATCH: Funeral services underway for fallen Chicago Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer who was killed in the line of duty will be laid to rest Thursday.Officers from across the country are expected to be present for the funeral of Officer Andrés Vásquez Lasso.32-year-old Andres Vasquez-Lasso, courtesy CPDA funeral procession will begin at 9:30 a.m., leaving from Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn, located at 4727 West 103rd Street. The processional will head to St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 7740 South Western Avenue, where a funeral mass service will be held.Expect rolling street closures today for the funeral of Chicago Police Officer Andrés Vásquez Lasso, who was killed in the line of duty last week while responding to a domestic disturbance on Chicago’s South Side.There will be two processions today for the service. DETAILS: pic.twitter.com/I4JW9ZSPqP— Sarah Jindra (@SarahJindra) March 9, 2023The 19th Ward alderperson is asking the community to line the streets during the procession to honor the fallen offic...

YETI coolers recalled over injury risk

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:55:50 GMT

(WXIN) - More than 1 million YETI coolers are being recalled over a risk involving the magnet-lined closures.The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the recall involves the YETI Hopper M30 Soft Cooler 1.0 and 2.0, Hopper M20 Soft Backpack Cooler and SideKick Dry Gear Case. The products have a main pocket closure lined with high-powered magnets enclosed in a heat-sealed plastic strip.Recalled YETI Hopper M30 1.0 – Soft Cooler in Charcoal color (Photo//CPSC)called YETI Hopper M20 Soft Backpack Cooler in Charcoal color (Photo//CPSC)Recalled YETI Hopper M30 2.0 -Soft Cooler in Charcoal color (Photo//CPSC)Recalled YETI SideKick Dry Gear Case in Charcoal color (Photo//CPSC)The recalled coolers were sold at Dick’s Sporting Goods, ACE Hardware, Academy Sports + Outdoors, YETI and other stores nationwide and online between March 2018 and January 2023. New federal safety standard protects children from small magnets The recall was initiated because the magnet-lined closures can fail and...