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Defendant in Pittsburgh synagogue massacre carried out attack, defense acknowledges as trial begins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:39 GMT

PITTSBURGH — The trial of the man charged in the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history opened Tuesday with his own lawyer acknowledging that he planned and carried out the 2018 massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue and made hateful statements about Jewish people.Robert Bowers went to Tree of Life synagogue and “shot every person he saw,” defense attorney Judy Clarke acknowledged in her opening statement.Bowers, 50, could face the death penalty if he’s convicted of some of the 63 counts he faces in the Oct. 27, 2018, attack, which claimed the lives of 11 worshippers from three congregations who shared the building. Charges include 11 counts each of obstruction of free exercise of religion resulting in death and hate crimes resulting in death.In the long run-up to the trial, Bowers’ lawyers did little to cast doubt on whether he was the gunman and instead focused on trying to save his life. Bowers, a truck driver from the Pittsburgh suburb of Baldwin, had offered to plead guilty i...

2 likely in Iowa apartment collapse wreckage, more missing, mayor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:39 GMT

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE and HANNAH FINGERHUT (Associated Press)DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Five Iowa residents remain unaccounted for, including two people whose remains may be in a pile of rubble at the site of a partially collapsed apartment building, officials in the city of Davenport said Tuesday.Mayor Mike Matson confirmed the numbers at a news conference following criticism that the city was moving too quickly toward demolishing the building, which partially collapsed Sunday afternoon. The 116-year-old brick and steel structure, built as a hotel, had more recently been used as apartments, and tenants had been allowed to remain even as bricks began falling from the building.After the partial collapse, the city had announced plans to begin demolishing the building as early as Tuesday morning, but they delayed after a woman was found Monday evening.Officials now say immediate demolition was never intended, but they did want to quickly stage the site for the tear-down. The womanR...

Facing GOP backlash, McCarthy labors to shore up votes for debt deal in time to prevent US default

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:39 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and AAMER MADHANI (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Under fire from conservatives, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy worked strenuously Tuesday to sell fellow Republicans on the debt ceiling and budget deal he negotiated with President Joe Biden and win approval in time to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default.Leaders of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus lambasted the compromise as falling well short of the spending cuts they demand, and they vowed to try to halt passage by Congress. A much larger conservative faction, the Republican Study Committee, declined to take a position, leaving McCarthy hunting votes. With tough days ahead, the speaker urged skeptical GOP colleagues to “look at where the victories are.” Unhelpfully for Biden, he said of the Democrats on ”Fox and Friends,” “There’s nothing in the bill for them.”A key test was coming late Tuesday when the House Rules Committee was to consider the 99-page bil...

Death toll in Guyana girls dorm fire rises to 20 when 14-year-old dies in hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:39 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — The death toll in a girl’s dormitory fire in Guyana rose to 20 on Tuesday when a 14-year-old girl died of her injuries at a hospital in Georgetown, the country’s health ministry said.Sherena Daniels had been in intensive care at the state-run hospital since she was airlifted there early on May 22, the morning after the fire raced through the dorm at a government boarding school in the town of Mahdia, which serves Indigenous villages in southwest Guyana. She died early Tuesday, the ministry said.Police say the blaze was deliberately set by one of Daniels’ colleagues who became angry after the dormitory matron seized the girl’s mobile telephone to prevent her from making contact with older men in the area.State prosecutors charged the 15-year-old with 19 counts of murder on Monday. A court remanded her to juvenile detention until July 5, when the state and defense attorneys will decide if they are ready to proceed with a preliminary hearing. She was not...

What’s to know about the Texas prison where Elizabeth Holmes is starting her 11-year sentence?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:39 GMT

BRYAN, Texas (AP) — Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has reported to a federal prison in Texas — marking the start of her 11-year sentence for overseeing a notorious blood testing hoax.Holmes, 39, was convicted of fraud last year for duping investors who contributed hundreds of millions of dollars in the failed Silicon Valley startup. Holmes and Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, Holmes’ former partner and fellow executive who is currently serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence, said Theranos had developed a device that could quickly scan for diseases and other medical conditions with a just few drops of blood. But the technology never worked as advertised — leading to the meteoric downfall of a company that once promised to revolutionize health care.On Tuesday, Holmes entered a federal women’s prison camp in Bryan, Texas — a minimum-security facility where the federal judge who sentenced Holmes in November recommended she be incarcerated.Here are some things to know about Feder...

Blue Jays’ Bass apologizes for sharing anti-LGBTQ2S+ video, says ‘ballpark is for everybody’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:39 GMT

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Anthony Bass apologized and said he spoke with his teammates after he shared a controversial video on Instagram that encouraged the boycotting of Target for their support of LGBTQ2S+ rights.Various Twitter users published screenshots of the alleged video that Bass shared, depicting a man named Ryan Miller behind the Instagram account “dudewithgoodnews,” instructing the audience to consider boycotting Target on behalf of Christianity and the bible.Bass briefly addressed the media on Tuesday afternoon at the Rogers Centre and did not take questions. In a statement, the 35-year-old apologized for the post he called offensive to the Pride community.“I’m truly sorry for that,” Bass said. “I spoke with my teammates and shared with them my actions from yesterday. I apologized [to] them, and as of right now, I am using the Blue Jays’ resources to better educate myself and make better decisions moving forward.”Bass ad...

AG largely praises B.C. COVID-19 tourism supports, cites ‘minor’ shortfalls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:39 GMT

VICTORIA — B.C’s auditor general says the province’s COVID-19 support program for the devastated tourism industry followed most required guidelines, though he raised some concerns about the way it was documented and monitored.Michael Pickup says there were “minor inconsistencies” with the otherwise well designed and implemented destination development grant program that handed out more than $41 million in 2021 and 2022.He says in his report released Tuesday that the grant came at a time when nearly two-thirds of people in the tourism industry lost their jobs in 2020 and was launched under a compressed timeline, raising the risk of applications being inconsistently assessed. Pickup says 12 of the 106 projects that received money were missing notes from reviewers detailing the rationale for their decision and while due diligence was done, it wasn’t well defined.He found some issues with how the program was monitored because the required progress reports d...

John Hannaford named new clerk of the Privy Council, as Janice Charette retires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:39 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed a new head of the federal public service.John Hannaford, who is currently the deputy minister of natural resources, will become clerk of the Privy Council next month.Janice Charette, the current clerk, is set to retire June 24 after nearly 40 years in the public service, including as Canada’s envoy to Britain.Hannaford was also a deputy minister of international trade and a foreign policy adviser to Trudeau, and served as Canada’s ambassador to Norway from 2009 to 2012. Trudeau says in a statement that Hannaford brings a wealth of experience and a strong reputation to the role. The clerk of the Privy Council Office is tasked with advising the prime minister and cabinet on managing the country from a non-partisan perspective.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2023.The Canadian Press

Charity helping abuse survivors hosting fashion show to raise money after struggle during pandemic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:39 GMT

A Newmarket-based charity that helps survivors of abuse get back on their feet is throwing their first fashion show fundrasier to raise money for the organization that has struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic.Abuse Hurts has been around for over 30 years that offers several services, programs, and advocates for human rights and was founded by Ellen Campbell.“I’m a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. I started the agency when I was with the Starlight Children’s Foundation and thought if I can just help one person and it’s just grown [from there],” said Campbell. “Unfortunately, the need is so great.”Gary and Teresa Kruze have been volunteers with Abuse Hurts since the passing of Gary’s brother Martin.Martin Kruze was a survivor of the Maple Leaf Gardens’ sex abuse scandal and was the first male to step forward with his story. He died by suicide just days after the sentencing of Gordon Stuckless.“It’s 25 years ago that my late b...

Debt limit deal is in place, but budget deficit is still a multi-decade challenge for US government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Even with the new spending restraints in the debt limit deal, the U.S. government’s deficits are still on course to keep climbing to record levels over the next few decades.The projections are a sign that the two-year truce between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., might be only a pause before a far more wrenching set of showdowns over the federal budget. Why is the debt slated to keep rising? It’s due to the growing costs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.Both Biden and McCarthy ruled out any cuts to Social Security and Medicare, two programs that benefit older voters, before their teams even began their budget talks. That omission reflects the politics around two popular programs as Democrats and Republicans prepare for next year’s presidential election. It also means the agreement finalized on Sunday keeps the risk of ever-escalating debt on the tabl...