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New directive requires CSIS to tell MPs, public safety minister about foreign threats

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:39 GMT

OTTAWA — Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has formally directed Canada’s spy agency to investigate and disclose any foreign threats against parliamentarians, their families, their staff members or Parliament itself, as the MP who was targeted by a Chinese diplomat urged his colleagues to go even further. Conservative MP Michael Chong was invited to testify before the House affairs committee on Tuesday evening. He recommended his fellow MPs obtain documents and records related to his case to better understand the “systemic failure” that led to him learning about threats against his family through the media nearly two years after they were being tracked by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.Chong said he was briefed this month on the contents of the 2021 CSIS intelligence assessment that alleges Zhao Wei, a Chinese diplomat in Toronto, was collecting information about his family members in Hong Kong in order to sanction them.But he said he first learned...

Court rejects Elizabeth Holmes’ motion to stay out of prison while on appeal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:39 GMT

Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has once again lost her bid to stay out of prison while she appeals her fraud conviction tied to a blood-testing hoax that bilked investors.In a one-page ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that Holmes’ appeal did not show that she would have received a shorter sentence or have her conviction reversed due to errors made during her trial. Holmes’ 11-year prison sentence is scheduled to start roughly 20 years after she dropped out of Stanford University when she was 19 years old to start Theranos in Palo Alto, California — the same city where William Hewlett and David Packard founded a company bearing their surnames in a small garage and planted the seeds of what grew into Silicon Valley.Holmes has been free on bail since a jury convicted her on four counts of fraud and conspiracy in January 2022. The verdict followed a four-month trial revolving around her downfall from a rising Silicon Valley star to...

Girl allegedly abducted by mother without custody found safe in North Carolina

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:39 GMT

ST. CHARLES, Ill. (AP) — A girl who was allegedly abducted by her mother in suburban Chicago nearly six years ago has been found safe hundreds of miles away in North Carolina after she was spotted at a business, authorities said.Officers found a woman and a minor child at the business in Asheville, North Carolina, and were able to confirm their identities, police said. They said the woman, Heather Unbehaun, 40, was wanted on an extradition warrant out of Illinois for child abduction. Unbehaun didn’t have custody of the girl after a court order granted permanent custody to the child’s father, the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office said. Unbehaun posted $25,000 bond Tuesday and was released from custody, the state’s attorney’s office said. Unbehaun declined to waive extradition, it said. It wasn’t clear whether she had an attorney who could comment on the allegations against her.South Elgin, Illinois, police said they were notified Saturday by police in Asheville that t...

Argentina: VP Cristina Fernández says she won’t seek the presidency again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:39 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernández made it official Tuesday that she will not be running for president again, putting the brakes on an effort by members of her party to push her to become a candidate in October elections.Fernández, who was president 2007-2015, made her decision public through a statement on her website in which she slammed the judiciary, accusing the courts of trying to forbid her from running for office again as part of an alliance with the opposition.With her decision, the center-left Fernández throws the ruling Peronist party into disarray amid uncertainty over who could be its candidate in this year’s presidential elections.President Alberto Fernández, whose tenure has been marked by an ongoing economic crisis that has included a sharp devaluation of the local currency and annual inflation of more than 100%, already said last month he would not be seeking reelection.“I will not be a puppet of those in power for the sake of...

DeSantis criticizes Trump for implying Florida abortion ban is ‘too harsh’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:39 GMT

Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized Donald Trump on Tuesday for implying Florida’s new six-week abortion ban is “too harsh,” stepping up his attacks on the former president as he prepares to challenge him for the 2024 Republican nomination.DeSantis was responding to a question about Trump’s comments in an article published Monday by The Messenger about the six-week ban the Florida governor recently signed into law. “Many people within the pro-life movement feel that that was too harsh,” Trump told the online outlet.DeSantis contended the law has widespread support among opponents of abortion and noted the former president didn’t say what limits he would back on the procedure.“Protecting an unborn child when there’s a detectable heartbeat is something that almost 99% of pro-lifers support,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Florida, taking questions after he signed a measure to combat human trafficking. “As a Florida resident, you know, he didn’t give an answer about, ...

Maryland governor signs gun-control bills tightening requirements

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:39 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed gun-control measures into law on Tuesday, and the National Rifle Association quickly filed a federal lawsuit against them.The governor signed legislation approved by state lawmakers this year in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.The high court’s ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen last year ended a requirement similar to a Maryland law for people to demonstrate a particular need to get a license to carry a concealed gun in public.One of the measures Moore signed Tuesday removes the “good and substantial reason” language from Maryland law that the court found unconstitutional in the Bruen case. But the Maryland General Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats, also tightened gun laws to prevent someone from carrying a concealed handgun in certain areas.“Gun violence is tearing apart the fabric of our communities, not just through mass shootings but through shootings that are happening in each of o...

Nebraska lawmakers debate attaching 12-week abortion ban to trans youth health care ban

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:39 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers were taking up debate late Tuesday on a plan that would tack on a proposed 12-week abortion ban to a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors.The combination of the two highly contentious measures sets up what could be one of the most volatile debates of the session.Technically, lawmakers were slated to take up the final round of debate on the trans health bill, which has already advanced from the first two of three rounds it must survive to pass and go to Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s desk. But because legislative rules don’t allow amendments to be attached to bills in the final round, lawmakers debated whether to send the bill back for a second round of debate in order to add the abortion amendment to it.Opponents of the move planned to filibuster for the entire two hours of debate allowed in the final reading of a bill. Conservatives in the unique single-chamber, officially nonpartisan legislature will need ...

11 teams have never won the NBA Finals: Could that change this year?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:39 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – As the NBA Conference Finals get underway, it's hard to overlook how many times two of the remaining contenders - the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics - have won the championship. Despite their combined 34 NBA championships, 17 each, there are nearly a dozen active teams that have never hoisted the Larry O'Brien Trophy. The NBA Finals, previously the NBA World Championship Series, has been held yearly since 1947. Winners of the Eastern and Western conferences meet for a best-of-seven series. The winner of that series then receives the aforementioned Larry O'Brien Trophy. The Lakers and Celtics, currently vying for the top spots in their respective conferences, are tied for the most NBA Finals titles. As a franchise, the Warriors - both in Philadelphia and in California - have the next most titles at seven. These professional sports teams have the longest postseason droughts Meanwhile, there are 11 teams that have never won the championship, including the Denv...

New Orleans woman trades Taylor Swift tour tickets for a year of free pizza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:39 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— A New Orleans woman and her friend made a pizza owner's wildest dreams come true. Zander White at Zee's Pizzeria offered free pizza for a year to anyone who could give him and his wife tickets to see mega-superstar Taylor Swift.New Orleans resident Jeannine Davidson saw on Facebook that Zee's Pizzeria was offering free pizza for a year in exchange for Swift tickets to her 'The Eras' tour. "My friend Suzie Coe, who lives in South Carolina bought two tickets previously for the Taylor Swift show in Houston," Davidson told Nexstar's WGNO. "Then when she realized where we were sitting she didn't like them, so she went and bought two other seats. So I texted her as a joke, asking if she still had the other two tickets, and so she replied back yes, and that I should contact Zee's to get a free pizza." Cat that loves Taylor Swift music up for adoption Jeannie and Suzie then went to Zee's and met with White. "Suzie came in the day we were flying to Houston, and when we...

TMPA: Texas Peace Officers' Memorial runs out of room for more names

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Texas Peace Officers' memorial stands on the Texas Capitol grounds. It honors officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Since its establishment in 1999, more than 2,000 names have been engraved."From what I understand, there's no more room for that to happen for the 2023 names. It's sad" Tyler Owen with the Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA) said. "So moving forward for next year, and moving forward after that, we don't have any room." Cameron officer, suspect killed in shooting identified Owen added that means, at this point, there's a chance Cameron Police Sgt. Josh Clouse's name will not make it onto the wall. Sgt. Clouse died in the line of duty last week while responding to a domestic violence call. "It's sad" Owen said. While the memorial is on state grounds, Owen said it's funded by private donations. He said law enforcement groups already developed a construction plan for an expansion, and that plan is approved, they just need to...