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‘Fake job:’ Poilievre won’t meet watchdog investigating foreign interference

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:56 GMT

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he chose not to meet former governor general David Johnston, who is investigating allegations of China’s meddling in Canada’s elections and other matters.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau named Johnston as a special rapporteur to look into possible gaps the federal government has when it deals with foreign interference — and possibly recommend a public inquiry.Poilievre says Johnston has a “fake job” and he’s unable to do it independently because he used to be a member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, which is under scrutiny for accepting a donation reportedly linked to China. Poilievre says he sent a letter to Johnston asking him how he can investigate the organization independently, but did not receive a response.He says Canada needs move on from this “special rapporteur distraction” and get on with a public inquiry. The New Democrats say they initiated a meeting between Johnston, par...

Sophie Gregoire Trudeau signs two-book deal with Penguin Random House Canada

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:56 GMT

OTTAWA — Sophie Gregoire Trudeau has signed a two-book deal with Penguin Random House Canada.The first, “Closer Together: Knowing Ourselves, Loving Each Other,” is set to be released next spring.Penguin Random House describes it as a “self-discovery and wellness book for adults.”The publishing house says the book advocates for acceptance and self-knowledge, and will include interviews with “top psychologists, scientists and thought leaders” interspersed with stories of Gregoire Trudeau’s own personal growth.She’s also set to write a children’s picture book, which is due out in 2025.The publisher says the book will encourage kids “to be as connected to the great outdoors as they are to their inner emotional landscape.”This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2023.The Canadian Press

Vatican recalls stamp celebrating Portugal’s colonial empire after complaints

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:56 GMT

ROME (AP) — The Vatican has recalled a postage stamp promoting this year’s World Youth Day in Portugal following complaints that it celebrated Portugal’s colonial empire and the nationalist dictatorship of Antonio Salazar at a time when the Holy See has been atoning for colonial-era abuses.The stamp, which was still available for purchase online Thursday, features Pope Francis leading a group of children up Lisbon’s Monument to the Discoveries. The giant stone and concrete monument was built in 1960 to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator, one of the masterminds of Portugal’s maritime expansion in the 15th century.The monument, which is located on the north bank of the Tagus River in Lisbon, is repudiated by some in Portugal because it was built by and during the Salazar dictatorship as part the government’s push to promote national identity and feats such as the country’s colonial expansion in Africa.The postage stamp, which features the World Youth ...

Israeli crowds chant racist slogans, taunt Palestinians during Jerusalem march

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:56 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Jewish nationalists, some of them chanting “Death to Arabs” and other racist slogans, paraded on Thursday through the main Palestinian thoroughfare of Jerusalem’s Old City, in an annual display that caused new friction between Jews and Palestinians in the tense city.The marchers, who were overwhelmingly male Orthodox teens and young men, were celebrating “Jerusalem Day,” which marks Israel’s capture of the Old City 56 years ago. The Palestinians see the event as a provocation. Two years ago, the parade helped fuel an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.Throughout the afternoon, dozens of groups hoisting blue and white Israeli flags streamed through Damascus Gate – the entry to the area’s Muslim Quarter – as they made their way across the Old City to the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray. The area is normally bustling on Thursday afternoons with Palestinians doing their errands ahead of the weekend.The boister...

Hike again? Take a pause? Fed officials are split about what to do next to fight inflation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:56 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The stubbornness of high inflation is dividing the Federal Reserve over how to manage interest rates in the coming months, leaving the outlook for the Fed’s policies cloudier than at any time since it unleashed a streak of 10 straight rate hikes beginning in March 2022.Many Fed watchers have expected the central bank’s officials to forgo another increase in their benchmark rate when they next meet in mid-June. Yet recent warnings from several of the officials about the continuing threat from high inflation suggest that that outcome is far from certain. And on Thursday, Lorie Logan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said she believes that the economic data so far doesn’t support a pause in the central bank’s rate hikes next month. “The data in coming weeks could yet show that it is appropriate to skip a meeting,” Logan said in written remarks to the Texas Bankers Association. “As of today, though, we aren’t there yet.” On...

Sam Zell, billionaire Chicago real estate investor, dies at 81

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:56 GMT

Sam Zell, a Chicago real estate magnate who earned a multibillion-dollar fortune and a reputation as “the grave dancer” for his ability to revive moribund properties has died due to complications from a recent illness. He was 81.Bearded and blunt-spoken, Zell reveled in bucking traditional wisdom. He had a golden touch with real estate, and got his start managing apartment buildings as a college student. By the time he reached his 70s, he had amassed a fortune estimated at $3.8 billion.Zell sold Equity Office, the office-tower company he spent three decades building, to Blackstone Group for $39 billion in 2007.A month later, he made another deal that ultimately tarnished his image: the acquisition of the ailing Tribune Co. for $13 billion. The media giant filed for bankruptcy the following year.“Sam Zell was a self-made, visionary entrepreneur. He launched and grew hundreds of companies during his 60-plus-year career and created countless jobs. Although his investments spanned indus...

A Guide to NASCAR's Chicago Street Race

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:56 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago Street Race is coming to the Windy City this summer, and it's all about a new chapter in motorsports in the area. The Chicago Street Race is NASCAR's latest foray into the market with a most unique twist - a street race in the city's iconic downtown area. It's an event that's brought a mix of excitement and curiosity along with a fair amount of opposition to how it will affect The Loop over the course of June and July.WGN News Now has created this guide to the first ever Chicago Street Race event in Chicago with a number of details on the event itself, closures, special performances, and drivers that will participate.Where is NASCAR racing in downtown Chicago?They will be on a 2.2-mile street course that will feature 12 turns with the start/finish line on Columbus Drive in front of Buckingham Fountain. Drivers will go counter-clockwise on the course with time spent on DuSable Lake Shore Drive, Balbo Drive, Michigan Avenue, East Congress Plaza, and Jackson Street. ...

More women attempt suicide. More men die by suicide.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:56 GMT

(The Hill) -- America faces a large and growing public health problem: suicide by men. More than 38,000 men died by suicide in 2021, the highest number and rate of deaths in 20 years. Men die of suicide at four times the rate of women.  As a societal issue, male suicide has been somewhat overshadowed by the very real mental health crisis afflicting American women and girls.  Thirty-seven percent of women have been diagnosed with depression in their lifetimes, compared to 20 percent of men, and those rates are rising, according to Gallup survey data released Wednesday.  Paradoxically, women are more likely to attempt suicide, but men are more likely to die by suicide. The main reason is firearms. A person who attempts suicide with a gun is many times more likely to die than someone who uses another method, such as pills or self-inflicted cuts. Firearms figure in only 5 percent of suicide attempts but in over half of deaths.  America may le...

Man arrested on suspicion of arson for St. Paul mosque fire

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:56 GMT

Police have arrested a 42-year-old man on suspicion of arson at a St. Paul mosque Wednesday.Officers took the man into custody just before 8 p.m. Wednesday at East Seventh and Wall streets in St. Paul’s Lowertown area, according to a Thursday jail log. He is being held in the Ramsey County jail.No one was injured in the fire at Tawhid Islamic Center of Minnesota at Dale Street and University Avenue. Officers were called to the mosque, which was under construction as it was being remodeled, about 8:45 a.m. Wednesday.State and local leaders condemned the incident at a place of worship.The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Minnesota chapter said it was the sixth attack on a mosque in the state this year. There were arsons at two mosques within two days last month in Minneapolis and a man was federally charged. Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Witness to George Floyd’s murder sues Minneapolis for emotional distress, assault Crime & Public ...

‘Avoid prolonged time outdoors’: Air quality alert from wildfires expanded to all of Minnesota until Friday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:56 GMT

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has now expanded an air-quality alert to encompass all of Minnesota until 6 a.m. Friday.A map showing an expanded air quality alert for Minnesota due to Canadian wildfire smoke. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency)Most of Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, is under a “red” air quality index category.“In the red area,” MPCA states, “everyone should avoid prolonged time outdoors.”In its updated alert on Thursday, the MPCA gave details of the smoky situation:“A band of very heavy ground-level smoke from wildfires in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan is currently moving along a cold front in northwestern Minnesota. The smoke will continue to move south and east and eventually impact the entire state of Minnesota. The smoke should clear rapidly overnight into Friday morning.”Initally, the agency had issued an alert for parts of northern and central Minnesota beginning at 10 p.m. Wedn...