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Political shift underway in B.C., says confident Conservative Leader John Rustad

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:30 GMT

VICTORIA — B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad says Premier David Eby and Opposition BC United Leader Kevin Falcon are both looking over their shoulders at the political gains being made by the new kid on the block.Rustad says the presence of his two-member Conservative caucus has stirred debate and changed dialogue at the legislature and the party appears to be gaining momentum with voters as British Columbia’s scheduled fall election approaches.Some recent public opinion polls suggest the Conservatives, who received less than two per cent of the vote in the 2020 election and did not win a seat, would finish in second place if an election were held today.Rustad told a news conference Wednesday that the Conservatives have caused Eby to express anxiety about the party and forced Falcon to change policy, especially with regards to the province’s carbon tax.He says the Conservatives are pulling together a broad coalition of voters, and the party will serve as an alternativ...

CN announces deal to acquire Iowa Northern Railway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:30 GMT

MONTREAL — CN says it’s acquiring Iowa Northern Railway, pending regulatory review. In a press release Thursday evening, CN says it has signed and closed an agreement to acquire the railway, which serves upper Midwest agricultural and industrial markets. The Iowa railway operates approximately 275 track miles in Iowa connecting to CN’s U.S. rail network. CN says the transaction “represents a meaningful opportunity to support the growth of local business by creating single-line service to North American destinations.” Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. CN says a decision from the U.S. Surface Transportation Board regarding the decision is expected in the new year.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:CNR)The Canadian Press

Norfolk Southern to end relocation aid right after one-year anniversary of its fiery Ohio derailment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:30 GMT

Norfolk Southern railroad plans to stop paying relocation aid to people displaced by last February’s fiery derailment in eastern Ohio right after the one-year anniversary of the crash.Railroad officials announced the change this week as they reiterated their long-term commitment to helping the town of East Palestine, Ohio, and the surrounding area near the Pennsylvania border recover. Norfolk Southern has committed more than $103 million in aid to the area, including nearly $21 million paid out directly to residents whose lives were upended by the derailment.When the train careened off the tracks on the night of Feb. 3, several tank cars filled with hazardous chemicals ruptured and their contents caught fire. Then a few days later officials blew open five more tank cars to keep them from exploding. The chemical spill left residents with lingering health worries about potential long-term effects.With the completion of soil removal from the derailment site in October, the Atlant...

House backs GOP bill to block EPA rule on tailpipe pollution; slams plan as electric-vehicle mandate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans approved a bill Wednesday to block strict new tailpipe pollution limits proposed by the Biden administration, calling the plan a back-door mandate for electric vehicles.A rule proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency would require that up to two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. are electric by 2032, a nearly tenfold increase over current EV sales. The proposed regulation, announced in April, would set tailpipe emissions limits for the 2027 through 2032 model years that are the strictest ever imposed — and call for far more new EV sales than the auto industry agreed to less than two years ago.The EPA says it is not imposing an EV mandate, but Republicans say the plan favors EVs and punishes gas engines, forcing Americans into cars and trucks they can’t afford. “Americans should have the right to decide what products and appliances work best for their family, not the federal government,” said Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Minn., the ...

‘This was not going to end well’: Correctional officer testifies at Soleiman Faqiri inquest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:30 GMT

A former correctional officer testifying at a coroner’s inquest into the death of a mentally ill man at an Ontario jail on Wednesday recalled getting an “incredibly bad sinking feeling” as soon as he saw the man in his segregation cell.Clark Moss was a sergeant at the Central East Correctional Centre when Soleiman Faqiri was in custody in December 2016. He told the inquest he was first called up to the segregation unit where Faqiri was held on Dec. 11 because some of the officers were considering refusing to work there on health and safety grounds due to the overpowering smell coming from Faqiri’s cell. Moss said the smell hit him “like a slap in the face” as soon as he came onto the unit. The stench, and Faqiri’s state of crisis, were affecting everyone on the unit, from correctional staff to other inmates, he said.“It was upsetting to see the conditions and know that he’d been there for days,” Moss told jurors. He grew even more upset...

Mexico’s Supreme Court lifts 2022 ban on bullfighting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:30 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned a 2022 ban on bullfighting in Mexico City, opening the way for events to resume.A panel of five justices voted to overturn a May 2022 injunction that said bullfights violated city resident’s rights to a healthy environment free from violence.The justices did not explain their arguments for overturning the ban, but bullfight organizers claimed it violated their right to continue the tradition. The capital had a history of almost 500 years of bullfighting, but there had been no fights since the 2022 injunction.A crowd of people gathered outside the Supreme Court building Wednesday, holding up signs reading “Bulls Yes, Bullfighters No!” and “Mexico says no to bullfights.”Critics say the fights inherently represent cruelty to animals.“Animals are not things, they are living beings with feelings, and these living, feeling beings deserve protection under the constitution of Mexico City,” said city councilman Jorge Gaviño, w...

Quebecers evacuated over fears of dike breach won’t be able to return before Dec. 17

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:30 GMT

MONT-LAURIER, Que. — Residents forced from their homes in Quebec’s Laurentians region over fears a dike could burst and unleash a torrent of water won’t be able to return for another 11 days.Officials told a briefing today that an inspection of the Morier dike northwest of Montreal shows no deterioration since signs of erosion were detected on the weekend. Martin Ferland, an Environment Department engineer, says work to build a berm to stabilize the dike will begin on Saturday but the evacuation order will be maintained until Dec. 17The provincially owned dike was built in 1954 and has the capacity to retain 382 million cubic metres of water, the equivalent of more than 100,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.In the event of a breach, homes and roads located downstream could be damaged by flooding or landslides.Authorities also revised upwards the number of people who are currently evacuated in the municipalities of Chute-St-Philippe and Lac-des-Écorces to 1,900 and said the...

A former Ukrainian lawmaker who fled to Russia found shot dead outside of Moscow

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:30 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A renegade Ukrainian lawmaker who fled to Russia shortly after Moscow’s invasion was found dead on Wednesday near Moscow. The Ukrainian military intelligence lauded the killing, warning that other “traitors of Ukraine” would share the same fate. Illia Kyva, 46, a former member of Ukraine’s parliament who had called for Kyiv to surrender when Russian troops invaded the country in February 2022, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in a cottage village near Moscow.Russia’s state Investigative Committee opened a probe on murder charges.Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, said in televised remarks that Kyva was “done,” adding that “the same fate will befall other traitors of Ukraine and accomplices of Putin’s regime.”Before going over to the Russian side, Kyva had fought against Moscow-backed separatist rebels in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk and was elected to parliament in 2019.Since his fli...

UNLV-Dayton basketball game canceled in wake of mass shooting in Las Vegas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:30 GMT

UNLV’s basketball game at Dayton on Wednesday night was canceled because of a mass shooting earlier in the day at the Las Vegas school.“Further information will be released when available,” Dayton posted on X. “We ask that our fans keep the UNLV community in their thoughts and prayers.”Multiple people were shot at on UNLV’s campus, and the suspect was found dead, according to police. There was no immediate news on the number of victims or their status.___Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here.___AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketballMark Anderson, The Associated Press

Wisconsin Republican leader opposes GOP bill to disband bipartisan elections commission

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:19:30 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin legislative leader said Wednesday that he opposes a bill from fellow Republicans that seeks to give the GOP-controlled Legislature the ultimate power to oversee elections, taking it away from an independent bipartisan commission.Republican state Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu told The Associated Press in an interview that he “wouldn’t imagine” that the bill introduced this week will come up for a vote. The proposal would put the secretary of state in charge of elections, rather than the Wisconsin Elections Commission, but the Legislature would have the final say over any decisions.LeMahieu, despite being a critic of how the elections commission works, said he didn’t want to turn over its responsibilities to the secretary of state.“I think that would just make that position way too partisan, frankly, which would be unfortunate,” he said.Introduction of the bill comes amid ongoing attempts from some Republicans to oust the head of th...