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IRS contractor charged with leaking tax return information of Trump, wealthy people

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service was charged Friday with leaking tax information to news outlets about thousands of the country’s wealthiest people. Charles Edward Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., is accused of stealing the tax return information and giving it to two different news outlets between 2018 and 2020, the Justice Department said in a statement. Littlejohn declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press, which also left a message for his attorney, Lisa Manning. Both organizations published numerous articles about the tax information, some of which dated back more than 15 years, charging documents state.The outlets are not named in charging documents, but the description and time frame align with stories about former President Donald Trump’s tax returns in The New York Times and reporting about wealthy Americans’ taxes in the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica. The 2020 New York Tim...

Defence minister insists $1B spending reduction is not a budget cut

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:37 GMT

OTTAWA — The country’s top soldier and outside experts say that finding almost $1 billion in savings in the Department of National Defence budget will affect the Armed Forces’ capabilities, although the defence minister insisted Friday the budget is not being cut.Deputy minister Bill Matthews told MPs on the House of Commons defence committee that the department is identifying “proposals for spending reductions” that total more than $900 million over four years, while trying to minimize the impact on military readiness. “We have to prioritize those decisions so that there is the least amount of impact possible, acknowledging that there will be impact,” Matthews said Thursday.The chief of the defence staff, Gen. Wayne Eyre, said top military leaders were meeting to discuss what that will mean. “I had a very difficult session this afternoon with the commanders of the various services as we attempt to explain this to our people,” Eyre sai...

Clean electricity regs can be tweaked, but no special deal for Alberta: Guilbeault

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:37 GMT

OTTAWA — There will be no special treatment for Alberta when it comes to Canada’s incoming regulations to make electricity cleaner, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Friday.The comments are the latest salvo in the seemingly never-ending battle between Alberta and Ottawa over climate policy.This one relates to new clean electricity regulations that Guilbeault published in draft form in August. The regulations will require all electricity to be from either renewable sources, like wind or hydro, or equipped with carbon-capture technology by 2035.Both Alberta and Saskatchewan have said that that is simply not doable, and they are instead targeting 2050 as the date for full emissions-free electricity. The two provinces still rely heavily on fossil fuels — natural gas for Alberta and coal and gas for Saskatchewan — to make power, and they say they can’t eliminate those or build enough carbon capture without hurting reliability or costing their residents a fortune.Alb...

Prince George, B.C. Mounties urge people not to feed coyotes after 6 attacks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:37 GMT

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — Prince George Conservation and RCMP officers are “actively investigating” six separate coyote attacks within a week in the city.RCMP say in a statement they have issued a warning to the public after receiving separate complaints of the attacks. B.C. conservation officer Eamon McArthur says most of the attacks have been on homeless people, some of whom have also been “actively feeding” the coyotes. He says it’s unclear if they are feeding them by hand or tossing the food, but those coyotes now identify people with food. McArthur said coyotes have bitten some of these people when they’ve been sleeping. RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Cooper says they are now working with conservation officers on patrols to locate the “offending coyotes.”Cooper says the public needs to avoid feeding coyotes as it can lure them to spend more time in populated areas.“They are not domestic animals and should not be treated as such,” says Cooper.McArthur said his tea...

Brazil’s President Lula recovering in hospital after hip replacement surgery

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:37 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was recovering in a hospital Friday after undergoing a successful hip replacement operation, which is likely to put a temporary halt to his frequent international trips but otherwise not disrupt his activities.Dr Roberto Kalil told journalists Friday that the leftist leader would soon be transferred to his room at the Hospital Sirio-Libanes in capital Brasilia, after successful surgery that required a general anesthesia and lasted between two and three hours. Lula, 77, is expected to spend a few days in the hospital and to return to the presidential palace early next week. Lula also underwent minor eyelid surgery, Kalil said.The government had said Lula would remain president throughout instead of temporarily passing authority to Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.“The impact of Lula’s surgery will probably be small and should not affect the decision-making process or negotiations in a significant way,” said Paulo Calmo...

2 Mexican migrants shot dead, 3 injured in dawn attack on US border near Tecate, Mexico

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:37 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Two Mexican migrants were shot to death on the Mexican side of the U.S. border in the early hours of Friday morning, Mexico’s National Migration Institute said.Another three suffered gunshot wounds, but were assisted by one of institute’s emergency rescue teams, along with other nine people who were not injured.Rescue services found a group of 14 Mexican nationals at dawn on Cuchuma Hill near Tecate, a city in the border state of Baja California. By the time rescuers climbed up to meet the group, two migrants were already dead.The harsh desert hill is considered a sacred site by at least one Mexican Indigenous group, but is also used by migrant smugglers.The cause of the shooting is not known, but migrant crossings often involve agreements with local cartels for right of passage. Migrants are sometimes shot if their smuggler is working for a rival gang or if they haven’t paid passage rights.Migrants are also often robbed by roving gangs of thieves and ...

‘We are all in shock’: 3 dead after being found unresponsive in Edgewater apartment

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:37 GMT

CHICAGO — An investigation is underway after three people were found unresponsive in an Edgewater building Friday morning, Chicago fire officials said.Firefighters initially responded to the senior living facility in the 5800 block of North Broadway around 7 a.m. As a precaution, a Level 1 hazmat situation was declared, but no carbon monoxide was detected, and officials said no other residents were in danger.Investigators were on site for several hours at the Judge Fisher Apartments, a 195-unit high-rise Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) building. According to the Chicago Police Department, a 57-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene and two women, ages 46 and 70, were taken to Weiss Memorial Hospital, where they later died."We are all in shock," Linda Robles, a resident in the building, said. Person shot, killed by Morris police in apartment complex lot Robles has lived in the Judge Fisher Apartments for 30 years and is an ambassador in the building. She said she had just fi...

GOP blames looming shutdown on 21 Republican holdouts

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:37 GMT

House Republicans are letting loose with criticism of their GOP colleagues who voted against the conference’s short-term funding bill with just a day and a half until a government shutdown.“There are 21 Republicans who just voted to defund the United States military and keep the border open,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.). “They need to be called out by name. I mean, this is not a Republican shutdown. This is a shutdown — if we don't get this done soon — that is caused by 21 individual members of the Republican conference.”The failed bill would have extended funding until Oct. 31 with spending cuts and included a swath of border policy changes, and was intended to give the House GOP leverage ahead of negotiations with the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House. But with the failure of the bill, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) unwilling to bring up a Senate continuing resolution, a shutdown looks likelier than ever. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), a...

Police search for 12-year-old girl missing from Armour Square

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:37 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are searching for a 12-year-old girl missing from the city's Armour Square neighborhood.According to Chicago police, 12-year-old Alyssa Feng is missing from the 200 block of West 26th Street and family members told officers that she was last seen on Wednesday, Sept. 27. 3 dead after being found unresponsive in Edgewater building: CFD According to police, Feng stands 5-foot-3 and weighs around 110 pounds. Police say she has brown eyes and brown hair. Officers say it is unclear what the girl was wearing at the time of her disappearance. Police say Feng is known to frequent areas near the 3700 block of South Wentworth Avenue in Chicago.Police notified the public about Feng’s disappearance in a news release on Friday morning.  Committee of Immigrant and Refugee Rights address migrant crisis Anyone with information on the whereabouts of 12-year-old Alyssa Feng is asked to call CPD Area One Detectives at 312-747-8380.Tips for police can also be filed at CPDtip.co...

NFL to stream 'Toy Story' live animation version of London football game

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:05:37 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (KTVX) – In a first-of-its-kind alternate presentation, the Week 4 NFL game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Jacksonville Jaguars will take place entirely in Andy's room from "Toy Story." You read that right. While the game is broadcasting in real-time from Wembley Stadium in London, it will be simultaneously fully animated and live-streamed in one of Disney Pixar's most iconic locations. When will we know if the government is shutting down? The game kicks off on Sunday morning, Oct. 1 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern, which would be 7:30 a.m. in the Beehive State. Throughout the game, many of "Toy Story's" most recognizable characters such as Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and several of their friends will be making appearances, "participating from the sidelines" and through non-gameplay elements. The entire game, as well as the announcers, graphics, scoreboard, and more, will take on the Toy Story theme. The presentation will be complete with a half-time performance by Toy Story's...