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Former police chief to investigate release of suspect before Vancouver stabbing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:03 GMT

LANGLEY, B.C. — Premier David Eby said Thursday he had a question after reading a B.C. Review Board decision about the man accused of stabbing three people in Vancouver’s Chinatown on the weekend, while on a day pass from psychiatric detention.How was it possible that such a dangerous person had been released?Former Abbotsford, B.C., police chief Bob Rich has now been appointed by Eby to provide the answer, by investigating the circumstances surrounding the release of Blair Donnelly, 64, from B.C.’s Forensic Psychiatric Hospital. Donnelly’s history of knife attacks dates back to 2006, when he stabbed his teenage daughter to death. Eby said Thursday he had read the review board’s decision, which has been leaked to the media but has not been officially made public, and it was apparent that Donnelly was a “really significant danger to the public.”“When I read it, it seems to clearly conclude that this man was a significant risk and shouldn’t be relea...

Casino giant Caesars Entertainment reports cyberattack; MGM Resorts says some systems still down

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:03 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Casino company Caesars Entertainment on Thursday joined Las Vegas gambling rival MGM Resorts International in reporting that it was hit by a cyberattack, but added in a report to federal regulators that its casino and online operations were not disrupted.The Reno-based publicly traded company told the federal Securities and Exchange Commission that it could not guarantee that personal information about tens of millions of customers was secure following a data breach Sept. 7 that may have exposed driver’s license and Social Security numbers of loyalty rewards members.“We have taken steps to ensure that the stolen data is deleted by the unauthorized actor,” the company said, “although we cannot guarantee this result.”Brett Callow, threat analyst for the New Zealand-based cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, said it was not clear if a ransom was paid or who was responsible for the intrusion — and for the attack reported Monday by MGM Resorts. “Unofficially, we saw a group call...

Arizona sheriff seeks state and federal help to handle arrival of asylum-seekers in rural area

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:03 GMT

DOUGLAS, Ariz. (AP) — The sheriff of Arizona’s easternmost border county asked state and federal officials for help Thursday with the sudden daily release of more than a hundred migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., including families with small children.Along with other local officials at a news conference Thursday, Sheriff Mark Dannels of Cochise County said that the rural area doesn’t have shelters or other infrastructure to attend to the needs of migrants, many of them from faraway countries in western Africa and southeast Asia. “We don’t have any resources at all to house these people,” said Douglas Mayor Donald Huish. The officials said Customs and Border Protection has been overwhelmed with arrivals and began releasing the migrants into small communities such as Douglas and Bisbee on Wednesday and continued Thursday. Some were dropped off at a bus stop outside a Bisbee supermarket.Douglas is a city of about 16,000 people on Arizona’s border with Mexico. Danne...

Workers continue restoring essential services in N.W.T. ahead of fire evacuee return

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:03 GMT

HAY RIVER, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA — Fire crews in the Northwest Territories say work continues fighting hot spots and flareups near evacuated communities while area residents wait to hear when they can return home.Hay River Mayor Kandis Jameson said workers are busy bringing essential services online, and hope remains that residents will be allowed to start coming back this weekend.Essential workers have also returned to Fort Smith, on the Alberta boundary, but it is still not safe for the general population to return.K’atl’odeeche First Nation Chief April Martel said crews are now conducting air and water quality tests to prepare for residents’ returning.Re-entry to the territorial capital of Yellowknife began a week ago.Fire information officer Mike Westwick cautioned returning residents that crews will likely be putting out hot spots and fires for the rest of the season.“All of these fires will need to be managed until the snow falls,” Westwick told reporters on a conferen...

Kim Jong Un arrives in Russian city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur for expected visit to fighter jet plant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:03 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kim Jong Un arrived Friday in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in far eastern Russia and is expected to visit a plant that builds fighter jets as South Korea has said it’s concerned his visit is focused on expanding military cooperation in a possible arms-for-technology deal. The visit to Komsomolsk-on-Amur is one of several the North Korean leader is making on a days-long trip to Russia. Arriving on an armored train from North Korea, he rolled into Russia Tuesday and was met by officials at a station near the Russia-North Korea border. After a long train trip north, on Wednesday he met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome and was greeted by Putin with a 40-second handshake. On Thursday, he largely disappeared from view, before reappearing local time Friday as his convoy swept out of Komsomolsk-on-Amur station. Putin told Russian state TV after the summit that Kim will travel to Komsomolsk-on-Amur, where he will visit an aircraft plant, and then g...

CEBA loan repayment deadline extension doesn’t go far enough: CFIB

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:03 GMT

Canadian businesses who took out federal pandemic loans will have some more time to pay them back — but there’s a catch.A small business could apply for up to $60,000 through the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) program, and up to $20,000 would be forgiven if paid back by a certain date.The federal government announced on Thursday that date has now been extended by a few weeks, from Dec. 31, 2023 to Jan. 18, 2024. For businesses unable to make that, they will have until the end of 2026 to pay the loan back with interest.Today we announced our plan to:Get more rental homes built by removing the GST on the construction of new apartment buildingsExtend the Canada Emergency Business Account term loan repayment deadline &Ensure grocery chains come forward with a plan to stabilize prices.— Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland) September 14, 2023The announcement came more than a month after business groups from coast to coast to coast pushed for more time, claiming a quar...

B.C. ending state of emergency as wildfire risk winds down

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:03 GMT

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government says it is ending the state of emergency imposed last month when thousands of residents were chased out of their homes by wildfires. The government says in a statement the wildfire risk is diminishing in much of the province as temperatures cool, allowing most residents to return home. Bowinn Ma, B.C.’s minister of emergency management, says while the provincial state of emergency that lifts at the end of Thursday is no longer required, the wildfire season isn’t over and many communities still have local states of emergency. The provincial state of emergency was declared Aug. 18 as winds fanned fires into infernos in several areas, including the Kelowna and Shuswap regions, where most of the 400 homes and other structures destroyed this season were located. Ma says conditions in northern B.C. continue to be very challenging, with 125 active fires in the Prince George Fire Centre. This year has been a record for area burned at 23...

MedWatch Digest: Physically demanding jobs can risk mental acuity — and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:03 GMT

For Thursday, Sept. 14, WGN’s Dina Bair has new medical information, including: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch Physically demanding jobs associated with risk for cognitive impairmentWhile exercise helps both the mind and body, Columbia University doctors say consistently working in jobs with high physical demands is associated with a risk for cognitive impairment.  They examined more than 7,000 men and women diagnosed with dementia and cognitive impairment at age 70. Then researchers probed their careers from 33 to 65.Researchers found a higher incidence of mind-robbing illnesses in people who were pushed physically every day at work. Experts say the results of their study point to the need to develop strategies to protect people in physically demanding careers. Early detection of breast cancer through breast milk Breast cancer is found in breast milk.  Breast milk from breast cancer patients diagnosed during pregnancy or postpartum contains circulating tumor DNA. The young wo...

CTA touts record ridership, highest since pandemic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:03 GMT

CHICAGO — Ridership on the Chicago Transit Authority continues to rebound. According to a release, the agency has given more than one million rides on multiple occasions this summer. The CTA conducted more than one million rides on four weekdays — Aug. 29, Aug. 30, Sept. 6 and Sept. 7 — with last Thursday recording the agency's highest daily ridership level since before the COVID-19 pandemic.  SEE ALSO: CTA issues request for proposals in Red Line extension projectThe CTA also neared one million rides on Aug. 31 (more than 964,000) and Sept. 1 (more than 992,000) first. “I want to thank the students, parents, commuters, and leisure riders for helping CTA hit this important ridership milestone. As we continue to recover from the pandemic, these milestones demonstrate the necessity, sustainability and affordability of CTA service for our communities,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “While special events have helped boost ridership on the weekends, hitting and exceeding the ...

Farm bill deadline approaches as lawmakers list priorities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:03 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- The deadline for this year's farm bill is fast approaching and Democrats and Republicans in the House say certain aspects are top priorities that need to be included."The farm bill is critically important, not only to food but to national security," said Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.).Molinaro wants to ensure more milk production and help local farmers access foreign markets."Make sure that we can move product from upstate New York to families and markets across the globe, ensuring dairy has the support they deserve, opening job opportunities up in agriculture," Molinaro said.Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said crop insurance and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits need improvement."Making SNAP benefits applicable to fresh local produce and including dairy and cheese, which I would support," Auchincloss said."There's a number of issues here," said Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Penn.).Meuser has his own list of goals."Rural broadband, very important," Meuser...