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Montana transgender lawmaker barred by GOP from House floor

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:37 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Republicans in Montana barred transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from participating on the House floor for the rest of the 2023 session after she refused to apologize for telling them last week that they would “see the blood on your hands” over votes to ban gender-affirming medical care for children.The punishment of the freshman lawmaker caps a weeklong standoff between House Republican leaders and Zephyr that began after she told colleagues last week, you will “see the blood on your hands” over votes to ban gender-affirming medical care for children.Zephyr will still be able to vote remotely under terms of the punishment, yet will be unable to discuss proposals and amendments under consideration with the 99 other members of the Montana House.In a defiant speech Wednesday she gave before her colleagues voted, Zephyr addressed House leaders directly and said she was taking a stand for the LGBTQ+ community, her constituents in Missoula and “democracy itself.”She a...

Biden bats away questions about age, polls; launches 2024 ad

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden rolled out the first ad of his 2024 reelection campaign on Wednesday, casting himself as a warrior in defense of freedom, but immediately found himself grappling with questions about his advanced age and droopy poll numbers. At an afternoon news conference with South Korea’s president, Biden swatted away questions about his 42% job approval rating in part by arguing that most politicians running for reelection end up in roughly the same boat. “I feel good, I feel excited about the prospects,” he said. “I think we’re on the verge of turning the corner in a way we haven’t in a long time.” As for his age — the president would be 86 when he left office if reelected — Biden said such numbers don’t even compute with him.“I can’t even guess how old I am,” he said. “I can’t even say the number, it doesn’t register with me. The only thing I can say is they’re going to see a race and they’re going to judge whether I hav...

Industrial and energy stocks drag down S&P/TSX composite, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:37 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down at the market close on Wednesday, driven by drops in industrials and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 73.15 points at 20,366.72.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 228.96 points at 33,301.87. The S&P 500 index was down 15.64 points at 4,055.99, while the Nasdaq composite was up 55.19 points at 11,854.35.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.39 cents US compared with 73.41 cents US on Tuesday.The June crude contract was down US$2.77 at US$74.30 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was down 13 cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was down US$8.50 at US$1,996.00 an ounce and the July copper contract was down less than a penny at US$3.86 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Ontario Science Centre employees ‘angry and confused’ by plan to move: union

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:37 GMT

The union representing about 400 employees at the Ontario Science Centre says the workers are “angry and confused” by the government’s plans to move the attraction to downtown Ontario Place.Premier Doug Ford said Tuesday that the employees are “excited” by the prospect, but the union says that’s not the case.The Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union says in a statement that moving the science centre from the current east Toronto site on a ravine to a pavilion on the Ontario Place grounds could mean a smaller, more crowded space, reducing exhibit capacity and leading to possible layoffs.They say most staff have worked at the science centre for more than 10 years and have built their lives in nearby neighbourhoods.RELATED:Reasons for Ontario Science Centre relocation versus renovation still not fully clearCommunity backlash to proposed Science Centre relocationThe union says where Ontario Place is located is a congested section of downtown, ...

Toronto man charged for confining woman, sexually assaulting her over year and a half

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:37 GMT

A Toronto man is facing over 40 charges after he allegedly forcibly confined a woman and sexually assaulted her multiple times over a year-and-a-half.Investigators said 29-year-old Dhrubo Hasan of Toronto was arrested last week on Friday, April 21.Hasan faces an abundance of charges, including six counts of assault and assault by choking, three counts of sexual assault, three counts of mischief under $5,000, nine counts of failing to comply, assault with a weapon, aggravated assault and three counts of forcible confinement, among others.The accused was slated to appear in court today.Police did not release any information about the woman involved.Investigators are concerned there may be more victims and are urging them to come forward.

First Republic shares sink again, down nearly 60% in week

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:37 GMT

First Republic Bank’s stock continued to slide Wednesday, an ongoing rout that has erased 60% of its value just this week on concerns about the bank’s financial health in the wake of two other bank collapses.Shares slumped almost 30%, following an even more severe tumble Tuesday, after the bank revealed that depositors withdrew more than $100 billion last month following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.Trading in the bank’s shares was halted several times for volatility. The bank said late Monday that it was only able to stop the bleeding after a group of large banks stepped in to save it by depositing $30 billion in uninsured deposits. The San Francisco bank plans to sell off unprofitable assets, including low interest mortgages it provided to wealthy clients. It also has plans to lay off up to a quarter of its workforce, which totaled about 7,200 employees at the end of last year. With deposits fleeing, First Republic was forced to borrow f...

Haiti police condemn vigilante killings amid gang violence

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:37 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Police pledged Wednesday to crack down on unrelenting gang violence that has paralyzed swaths of Haiti’s capital, and pleaded with Haitians to end a string of grisly vigilante killings.The appeal came after an angry crowd on Monday killed at least 13 suspected gang members who police had arrested, with video and pictures shared on social media suggesting that an even greater number since then have died after being stoned and set on fire.“If anyone hears anything, please advise the police,” Garry Desrosiers, spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, said at a news conference. “Do not take justice into your own hands.”Desrosiers said police are mobilized and that anti-gang operations will continue as he urged people to contact police if they see unusual activity or people they don’t recognize in their neighborhoods.He told The Associated Press that “a lot” of victims were killed this week but declined to provide specifics.The vigilante violence Monday t...

Canadian Pacific Kansas City first-quarter earnings up more than 35%

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:37 GMT

CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Kansas City says its net income for the first quarter of 2023 was $800 million, up more than 35 per cent from $590 million a year earlier. The Calgary-based railway company says diluted earnings per share were 86 cents, up more than 36 per cent from 63 cents the same quarter last year. Revenues for the quarter ended March 31 were $2.27 billion, up more than 23 per centfrom $1.84 billion a year earlier. This is the first earnings report since Canadian Pacific Railway officially combined with Kansas City Southern Railway on April 14 after the U.S. rail regulator approved the US$31 billion deal in March. CPKC says core adjusted earnings per share, which exclude significant items and accounting related to its purchase of Kansas City Southern, were 90 cents, up from 67 cents a year earlier.Volumes, as measured in revenue ton-miles, were up 11 per cent compared with a year earlier.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2023.Companies in ...

US nuclear weapons modernization plan spurs cost questions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:37 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. agency that oversees development and maintenance of the nation’s nuclear arsenal is moving ahead with plans to modernize production of key components for the weapons, but some watchdog groups and members of Congress are concerned about persistent delays and cost overruns.The National Nuclear Security Administration released its annual plan on Monday, outlining the multibillion-dollar effort to manufacture plutonium pits, the spherical cores that trigger the explosion in thermonuclear weapons, at national laboratories in New Mexico and South Carolina.The Savannah River Site in South Carolina faces a 2030 deadline to make 50 pits per year. Officials already have acknowledged they won’t meet that timeline, and this year’s report no longer includes a target date for Los Alamos National Laboratory, in New Mexico, to meet its goal of 30 pits per year. Last year’s report had pegged 2026 as the year when manufacturing would be up and running at Los Al...

Man stabbed to death during fight inside Irving Park apartment

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:37 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was stabbed to death Wednesday afternoon during a fight inside an apartment in Irving Park, according to Chicago police.Chicago Police Department officers were called to the apartment around 1 p.m. in the 4700 block of North Kilpatrick Avenue. Woman carjacked at gunpoint by 5 men in Lincoln Park: police According to information from police, the man, 56, was stabbed by another man, 23, during a fight.The identities of those involved haven't been released. The incident is still under investigation by Area 5 detectives.