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Blinken on Canada-India rift: ‘Those responsible must be held accountable’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:06 GMT

WASHINGTON — America’s top diplomat is again urging India and Canada to work together on bringing Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killers to justice — and hopefully forestall a deepening of a serious geopolitical rift between two important allies. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he delivered that message Thursday during his meeting in Washington, D.C., with Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s external affairs minister. Relations between Canada and India have plumbed new depths since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited “credible allegations” of links between the Indian government and the shooting death of Nijjar, a prominent Sikh separatist and Canadian citizen. “We’re very concerned about the allegations that have been raised by Canada, by Prime Minister Trudeau,” Blinken told a news conference Friday. “Those responsible need to be held accountable, and we hope that our friends in both Canada and India will work together to resol...

Biden backs new offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Scaled-back plan disappoints all sides

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:06 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday proposed up to three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico, but none in Alaska, as it tries to navigate between energy companies seeking greater oil and gas production and environmental activists who want Biden to shut down new offshore drilling in the fight against climate change.The five-year plan includes proposed sales in the Gulf of Mexico — the nation’s primary offshore source of oil and gas — in 2025, 2027 and 2029. The three lease sales are the minimum number the Democratic administration could legally offer if it wants to continue expanding offshore wind development. Under the terms of a 2022 climate law, the government must offer at least 60 million acres of offshore oil and gas leases in any one-year period before it can offer offshore wind leases.The provision tying offshore wind to oil and gas production was added by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a top recipient of oil and gas...

Defence Department to cut $1B from budget as government tightens spending

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:06 GMT

OTTAWA — The country’s top soldier and outside experts say that cutting almost $1 billion from the Department of National Defence budget will affect the Armed Forces’ capabilities.The chief of the defence staff, Gen. Wayne Eyre, confirmed the figure to MPs on the House national defence committee Thursday. Eyre says there is no way to trim that amount without having an effect on the Canadian Armed Forces. The federal government announced plans to find more than $15 billion in savings in its spring budget by cutting contracting services by 15 per cent and departmental spending by three per cent.  Anita Anand became president of the Treasury Board over the summer and told her colleagues they need to make those cuts by October. David Perry, president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, says cuts to military contracts will affect things like equipment maintenance and engineering, and reduce the Armed Forces’ readiness.This report by The Canadian Press was first pu...

Stella’s Place providing vital mental health supports at new Alexandra Park location

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:06 GMT

Stella’s Place has been working to provide mental health supports to youth and young adults for the last decade in Toronto and since moving to Wolseley Street in March, the organization has made a big impact on the community.The new space is modern and open, designed mostly by its visitors, according to Executive Director Nzinga Walker.“They’ve really helped us to create a space where they felt this is going to respond to their needs and make them feel very comfortable and at home in this space,” said Walker.The space is twice as big as the former office which has allowed them to expand their services beyond counselling.“At Alexandra Park, we have different partnerships with various agencies … we do have our programming, like [the] social anxiety program,” explained Walker. “We also have a peer support program. We try to have our fitness program also for young adults. And we have a number of different services where people can just come and ...

Luke Getsy believes Bears offense 'in process of building something special' despite bad start

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:06 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Of all the members of the Bears who have been taking some heavy criticism in the midst of a bad start, no one is doing so as much as the team's offensive coordinator.But despite a rough three games, Luke Getsy is far from losing faith in his unit or his quarterback Justin Fields, which he made clear on Thursday. "We're in the process of building something special," said Getsy when asked how he's prevented frustration during a difficult start. "It's Week 3 going to Week 4 and we're going to find a way to attack Denver in a completely different way than we did Kansas City. That's the week-to-week challenge that you have."There's different schemes, there's different mentalities of coordinators that you're playing against. Like Coach Flus (Matt Eberflus) kinda always says, you get 24 hours to enjoy or be sad about whatever the heck happened, and you move on, that's part of our business."It's a 17-week process, not a three-week process."That's been harder for some on ...

Bears will be without 2 defensive starters Sunday vs. Broncos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:06 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — A struggling Bears' defense will be without two of their starters as they look to crack into the win column on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field. Both are in the secondary, which has been hit hard by injuries early in the 2023 season. Per the Bears' injury report, cornerback Jaylon Johnson (Hamstring) and Eddie Jackson (Foot) will be out of the contest against the Broncos at Noon on Sunday. Johnson was injured against the Chiefs and missed all three practices this week as he'll miss his first game of the season. Jackson, meanwhile, will be out for a second-straight game after he injured his foot in a Week 2 loss to the Buccaneers.On top of that, cornerback Josh Blackwell, who is a primary backup at that position, will be out Sunday after missing all three practices this week with a hamstring injury. He missed the Week 2 game in Tampa with a hamstring injury but was able to play against the Chiefs, registering two tackles in the 41-10 loss.This comes as another on...

CDTA unveils pink buses for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:06 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Capital District Transportation Authority has partnered with the American Cancer Society to commemorate the continuation of their "Men Wear Pink" campaign, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As part of the initiative, the CDTA unveiled two new pink buses on September 29 that will soon be hitting the streets of the Capital District. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! CDTA2023 marks the eighth year of the CDTA's participation in the "Men Wear Pink" campaign, which raises awareness and support for those battling breast cancer. The CDTA has raised more than $16,000 this year for the campaign, and has raised over $100,000 since 2016. “This is always an exciting time of year for us,” said CDTA CEO Carm Basile. “The energysurrounding the roll-out of our pink buses is immeasurable each year. This campaign not onlyraises critical dollars for the American Cancer Society, but it also brings our entire w...

New bill aims to improve school zone safety in Albany

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:06 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation to improve traffic safety across the state. Recent bills include authorizing local entities in Albany to create school zone speeding camera programs. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! “Motorists speeding through Albany’s school zones put the lives of our city’s pedestrians – especially our youngest residents – in danger," said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. "Albany’s participation in a school zone speed camera program will allow us to do everything we can to help enhance the safety of pedestrians within school zones."According to statistics cited by Assemblymember Patricia Fahy, 1,765 speeding incidents and 11,238 vehicular accidents were reported in the City of Albany school zones between 2018 and 2022. There were 2,109 injuries and 11 deaths that resulted from the crashes.Governor Hochul also signed legislation to improve the existing "move over" law. The law ...

Louisiana bounty hunter convicted in Missouri kidnapping

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:06 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Wayne D. Lozier Jr., a 44-year-old bounty hunter from the New Orleans area, was found guilty on September 28 of kidnapping and conspiracy charges in the abduction of a St. Peters woman, whom he drove across state lines. During the trial, evidence, including Lozier's own body camera footage, showed that the victim had a warrant issued for her arrest in Louisiana. A bond service had hired Lozier and his partner, Jody L. Sullivan, to find and retrieve the victim. On May 9, 2019, Sullivan rented an SUV, and both individuals, armed with firearms and Tasers, drove to St. Charles County. Neither of them held licenses from Missouri's Department of Commerce and Insurance to operate as bounty hunters in the state. Without informing local law enforcement, they arrived at a St. Peter's residence.  Dramatic video shows armed encounter at St. Charles gas station; teens arrested Lozier said that he did not require permission to enter the house and proceeded to the...

“Super El Niño” likely this winter, NCAR experimental prediction system says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:52:06 GMT

Current El Niño conditions that began a couple months early this year could develop into one of the strongest events on record this winter, according to an experimental research prediction system from the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Atmospheric Research.If the forecast system is right, this El Niño would be comparable to the major El Niño of 1997 and 1998.“Our forecast system has shown that it can do a remarkably good job of accurately hindcasting past El Niño events when we’ve tested it using historical data, which gives us high confidence in this forecast,” NCAR scientist Stephen Yeager, who helped lead the modeling effort, said in a news release.El Niño events, which usually peak in December, are characterized by warmer-than-average temperatures in the Tropical Pacific Ocean. They can have a significant impact on weather patterns across North America, causing the northern U.S. and Canada to become warmer and drier than usual while the southern U.S. becomes w...