Social Studies (general)

3rd suspect arrested in connection with death of a Super Bowl reporter in New Orleans

Sara Cline, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

3rd suspect arrested in connection with death of a Super Bowl reporter in New Orleans

Sara Cline, The Associated Press 2 minute read Thursday, Jun. 5, 2025

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A third person has been charged in connection to the death of a television reporter who had traveled to New Orleans to cover the Super Bowl earlier this year.

Christian Anderson, 33, of New Orleans, was arrested for his alleged role in a recurring scheme that police say involved targeting victims, drugging them and robbing them.

Among those alleged victims was Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old reporter and anchor for Telemundo based in Kansas City, Missouri. Manzano was found dead Feb. 5 in his hotel room in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner.

Manzano's death came a year after his wife died in a car accident. The couple leaves behind a toddler daughter.

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Thursday, Jun. 5, 2025

FILE - This photo provided by Telemundo Kansas City shows television reporter Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old anchor and reporter for Telemundo in Kansas City, Missouri, who was found dead in his hotel room in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner during Super Bowl week. (Telemundo Kansas City via AP, File)

FILE - This photo provided by Telemundo Kansas City shows television reporter Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old anchor and reporter for Telemundo in Kansas City, Missouri, who was found dead in his hotel room in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner during Super Bowl week. (Telemundo Kansas City via AP, File)

What is a famine and who declares one?

Jamey Keaten, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

What is a famine and who declares one?

Jamey Keaten, The Associated Press 4 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

For months, U.N. officials, aid groups and experts have warned that Palestinians in Gaza are on the brink of famine.

Earlier this month, Israel eased a weekslong blockade on the territory as a result of international criticism, but the U.N. humanitarian aid office said Friday that deliveries into Gaza remain severely restricted, describing the current flow of food as a trickle into an area facing catastrophic levels of hunger.

Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people relies almost entirely on outside aid to survive because Israel’s 19-month-old military offensive has wiped out most capacity to produce food inside the territory.

Israel said it imposed the blockade to pressure Hamas into releasing the hostages it holds and because it accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid, without providing evidence. The U.N. says there are mechanisms in place that prevent any significant diversion of aid, though aid trucks have been robbed and hungry crowds have broken into aid warehouses a few times.

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

A young Palestinian waits to collect donated food at a food distribution kitchen in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, May 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A young Palestinian waits to collect donated food at a food distribution kitchen in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Friday, May 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Quebec tables bill to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers on sale of goods

Patrice Bergeron, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Quebec tables bill to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers on sale of goods

Patrice Bergeron, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

QUÉBEC - Quebec is moving to lower interprovincial trade barriers, as part of a push by provinces and the federal government to increase domestic trade in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Minister for the Economy Christopher Skeete tabled a bill on Friday to remove all restrictions on the use and sale of products from other provinces and to facilitate labour mobility – with some exceptions.

Skeete told reporters in Quebec City that the bill sends a message the province is ready to drop barriers and stimulate trade between regions.

"If you look at what Quebec is doing today, we're leading the charge," he said. "We have one of the most ambitious bills in the federation right now. It's something we're very proud of and it's something that will have lasting change going forward."

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

Quebec Minister for the Economy, Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism Christopher Skeete tables legislation at the legislature in Quebec City, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

Quebec Minister for the Economy, Minister Responsible for the Fight Against Racism Christopher Skeete tables legislation at the legislature in Quebec City, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

FAA demands an accident investigation into SpaceX’s latest out-of-control Starship flight

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

FAA demands an accident investigation into SpaceX’s latest out-of-control Starship flight

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press 2 minute read Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration is demanding an accident investigation into this week’s out-of-control Starship flight by SpaceX.

Tuesday's test flight from Texas lasted longer than the previous two failed demos of the world's biggest and most powerful rocket, which ended in flames over the Atlantic. The latest spacecraft made it halfway around the world to the Indian Ocean, but not before going into a spin and breaking apart.

The FAA said Friday that no injuries or public damage were reported.

The first-stage booster — recycled from an earlier flight — also burst apart while descending over the Gulf of Mexico. But that was the result of deliberately extreme testing approved by the FAA in advance.

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Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Army Corps analysis finds Great Lakes pipeline tunnel would have sweeping environmental impacts

Todd Richmond, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Army Corps analysis finds Great Lakes pipeline tunnel would have sweeping environmental impacts

Todd Richmond, The Associated Press 6 minute read Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

Building an underground tunnel for an aging Enbridge oil pipeline that stretches across a Great Lakes channel could destroy wetlands and harm bat habitats but would eliminate the chances of a boat anchor rupturing the line and causing a catastrophic spill, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Friday in a long-awaited draft analysis of the proposed project's environmental impacts.

The analysis moves the corps a step closer to approving the tunnel for Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. The tunnel was proposed in 2018 at a cost of $500 million but has been bogged down by legal challenges. The corps fast-tracked the project in April after President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies in January to identify energy projects for expedited emergency permitting.

A final environmental assessment is expected by autumn, with a permitting decision to follow later this year. The agency initially planned to issue a permitting decision in early 2026.

With that permit in hand, Enbridge would only need permission from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy before it could begin constructing the tunnel. That's far from a given, though.

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Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

FILE - In this photo shot from a television screen provided by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy in June 2020, shows damage to anchor support EP-17-1 on the east leg of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline within the Straits of Mackinac in Mich. (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy via AP, File)

FILE - In this photo shot from a television screen provided by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy in June 2020, shows damage to anchor support EP-17-1 on the east leg of the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline within the Straits of Mackinac in Mich. (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy via AP, File)

Evacuee describes ‘surreal’ speed of B.C. wildfire that quadrupled in size

Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Evacuee describes ‘surreal’ speed of B.C. wildfire that quadrupled in size

Canadian Press Staff, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

DAWSON CREEK - Shelley Calliou of the Kelly Lake Cree Nation said it was "surreal" how fast a wildfire threatening the community in northeast British Columbia moved.

She said she was told by the RCMP at 6 p.m. Thursday that she had a two-hour window to evacuate, with the Kiskatinaw River fire 18 kilometres southwest of the unincorporated community of Kelly Lake.

"Within those two hours, it moved 10 kilometres. It's fast-moving," said Calliou on Friday from Dawson Creek, B.C., where she said about 70 people had fled, about 80 kilometres north.

The fire that prompted the evacuation order for Kelly Lake and nearby areas on Thursday quadrupled in size overnight, as firefighters warned of "intensifying conditions" in the parched northeast of the province where most fire activity is concentrated.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

The Kiskatinaw River wildfire burns south of Dawson Creek, B.C., in this Wednesday, May 28, 2025, handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, B.C. Wildfire Service *MANDATORY CREDIT*

The Kiskatinaw River wildfire burns south of Dawson Creek, B.C., in this Wednesday, May 28, 2025, handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, B.C. Wildfire Service *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Nova Scotia NDP says province too secretive, must release environmental racism report

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Nova Scotia NDP says province too secretive, must release environmental racism report

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Thursday, Sep. 25, 2025

HALIFAX - Nova Scotia’s Opposition NDP called on Premier Tim Houston's government Friday to release a report about the province's long history of environmental racism, saying it’s a matter of accountability.

An eight-member panel was expected to submit its report to Houston's government in December 2023.

Justice Minister Becky Druhan, who is also responsible for the Office of Equity and Anti-Racism, did not answer Thursday when pressed by reporters to explain why the government is sitting on the report.

Druhan also wouldn’t answer when asked whether she had seen the panel’s recommendations, saying its work predated her appointment as minister.

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Thursday, Sep. 25, 2025

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender speaks to reporters at the provincial legislature in Halifax, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender speaks to reporters at the provincial legislature in Halifax, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

With ‘Atmosphere,’ Taylor Jenkins Reid leaves the Evelyn Hugo-verse behind and travels to space

Alicia Rancilio, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

With ‘Atmosphere,’ Taylor Jenkins Reid leaves the Evelyn Hugo-verse behind and travels to space

Alicia Rancilio, The Associated Press 6 minute read Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

Taylor Jenkins Reid recalls a moment writing her new novel, “Atmosphere: A Love Story,” set against NASA's robust 1980s shuttle program, where she felt stuck. She went, where she often goes, to her husband to talk it through.

“I said, ‘I can’t write this book. I don’t know enough about the space shuttle. I don’t know what happens when the payload bay doors won’t shut and you have to get back within a certain amount of revs, but they can’t land at White Sands. They have to land at Cape Kennedy.’ And he's like, ‘Just listen to yourself. You know so much more than you knew a couple months ago. Keep doing what you’re doing.'”

“Atmosphere," out Tuesday, follows the journey of astronomer Joan Goodwin, an astronomer selected to join NASA's astronaut program. She and fellow trainees become like family and achieve their dream of going to space — until tragedy strikes.

The story unfolds in two timelines: One when Joan first joins the NASA program and the other in December 1984 when a mission goes terribly wrong. The duo behind “Captain Marvel,” Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, are adapting the book into a film with a theatrical release in mind.

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Monday, Oct. 6, 2025

FILE - Author Taylor Jenkins Reid poses for a portrait at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Author Taylor Jenkins Reid poses for a portrait at the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Hudson’s Bay heads into last days of sale with lots of shoppers, little merchandise

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Hudson’s Bay heads into last days of sale with lots of shoppers, little merchandise

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Friday, May. 30, 2025

TORONTO - Hudson’s Bay headed into its last weekend of liquidation sales with its Toronto flagship teeming with shoppers looking for one last treasure from the department store.

Even before the Yonge Street location opened Friday, shoppers waited in front of its doors, exchanging hopes for what they’d find inside and strategizing how to beat the competition.

When they made it in, they found large swaths of the store had been emptied out, but plenty of deals still remained.

There were $10 Levi's jeans for men, $5 corsets for women and $15 pajama sets.

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Friday, May. 30, 2025

Store closing advertising at the Hudson's Bay in Toronto, on Friday, May 30, 2025. Canada's oldest company, Hudson's Bay, will be permanently closing all its stores in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Store closing advertising at the Hudson's Bay in Toronto, on Friday, May 30, 2025. Canada's oldest company, Hudson's Bay, will be permanently closing all its stores in Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

‘Pray for rain’: wildfire races toward Flin Flon

Carol Sanders and Nicole Buffie 8 minute read Preview

‘Pray for rain’: wildfire races toward Flin Flon

Carol Sanders and Nicole Buffie 8 minute read Friday, May. 30, 2025

Premier Wab Kinew urged Manitobans to remain calm Friday, a pivotal day in the war on wildfires in which shifting winds sent flames bearing down on Flin Flon, more people had to be evacuated from more communities and desperately needed resources were promised by the United States.

“Keep calm and carry on,” Kinew told an afternoon news conference at the legislature.

He said the threat to Flin Flon, about 830 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, had become so severe that the mayor, council and the few others who remained after a citywide evacuation order issued Wednesday afternoon had no choice but to leave Friday.

“We had our health-care workers leave this morning… the only folks remaining on the ground are the firefighters and folks in the office of the fire commissioner and RCMP who are there to battle the blaze,” Kinew said.

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Friday, May. 30, 2025

NICHOLAS ZAHARI / CANADIAN ARMED FORCES FILES

In Norway House, military members help to evacuate residents from Mathias Colomb First Nation, who had escaped a wildfire near their community at the end of May.

NICHOLAS ZAHARI / CANADIAN ARMED FORCES FILES
In Norway House, military members help to evacuate residents from Mathias Colomb First Nation, who had escaped a wildfire near their community at the end of May.

Chief says infrastructure drive could trigger another Idle No More protest movement

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Chief says infrastructure drive could trigger another Idle No More protest movement

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

OTTAWA - A First Nations chief is warning that Canada is "staring down the barrel" of another wave of protests like the Idle No More movement if governments pursue "national interest" projects without their input and consent.

Anishinabek Nation Regional Chief Scott McLeod has joined Indigenous leaders from across the country who say they're alarmed by government efforts to accelerate infrastructure development.

The federal government is developing a "national interest" bill to fast-track nation-building projects with a streamlined regulatory approval process as a substitute for reviews under the Impact Assessment Act.

A handful of First Nations leaders told The Canadian Press Friday they were sent a letter Monday outlining the federal government's plans.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak speaks during a new conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak speaks during a new conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

To the margins of our rivers, our marginalized

Rebecca Chambers 5 minute read Preview

To the margins of our rivers, our marginalized

Rebecca Chambers 5 minute read Friday, May. 30, 2025

It’s not surprising that in the not-quite-public spaces on the margins of Winnipeg's rivers live the marginalized, the people not quite suited, for whatever reason, to a life away from its shores.

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Friday, May. 30, 2025

A large encampment along the embankment of the Assiniboine River at the end of Spence Street off of Balmoral Street. (Mike Deal / Free Press)

A large encampment along the embankment of the Assiniboine River at the end of Spence Street off of Balmoral Street. (Mike Deal / Free Press)

S&P/TSX composite slides on Friday but caps off month near record highs

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

S&P/TSX composite slides on Friday but caps off month near record highs

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

Canada’s main stock index on Friday continued to trim the gains that pushed it to a record closing high two days earlier, as investors retreated to defensive stocks while energy and information technology took a hit.

“It’s been another roller-coaster day in markets, capping off generally strong equity index returns for the month,” said Kathrin Forrest, equity investment director at Capital Group.

The S&P/TSX composite index inched down 35.51 points to 26,175.05.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 54.34 points to 42,270.07. The S&P 500 index slipped 0.48 points to 5,911.69, while the Nasdaq dipped 62.11 points to 19,113.77 — but both logged their biggest monthly percentage gains since November 2023.

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

The TMX Market Centre is shown in Toronto, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paige Taylor White

The TMX Market Centre is shown in Toronto, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paige Taylor White

CDC removes language that says healthy kids and pregnant women should get COVID shots

Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

CDC removes language that says healthy kids and pregnant women should get COVID shots

Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press 4 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's top public health agency posted new recommendations that say healthy children and pregnant women may get COVID-19 vaccinations, removing stronger language that those groups should get the shots.

The change comes days after U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.

But the updated guidance on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website sends a more nuanced message, saying shots “may” be given to those groups.

“The announcement from earlier this week sounded like CDC was going to fully withdraw any statement that could be construed as a recommendation for these vaccines in these populations,” said Jason Schwartz, a Yale University health policy researcher. “It's not as bad as it could have been."

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

FILE - A sign marks the entrance to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, on Oct. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

FILE - A sign marks the entrance to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, on Oct. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Canada Post asks jobs minister to force union to vote on ‘final offers’

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Canada Post asks jobs minister to force union to vote on ‘final offers’

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

OTTAWA - Canada Post says it has asked Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu to force a union membership vote on the proposals the Crown corporation put forward earlier this week.

Canada Post presented its "final offers" to the union representing 55,000 workers on Wednesday, with concessions including an end to compulsory overtime and a signing bonus of up to $1,000.

But it stuck to a proposal for a 14 per cent cumulative wage hike over four years and part-time staff on weekend shifts – a major sticking point in the talks.

Canada Post said in a statement Friday that the parties are at an impasse and it believes the best hope of reaching a new collective agreement is a vote administered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

A Canada Post worker arrives for work in Montreal on Tuesday, Dec.17, 2024. Union officials are meeting with Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu in Ottawa on Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

A Canada Post worker arrives for work in Montreal on Tuesday, Dec.17, 2024. Union officials are meeting with Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu in Ottawa on Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

Sikh groups say Ottawa should not invite India’s Modi to G7 summit

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Sikh groups say Ottawa should not invite India’s Modi to G7 summit

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Thursday, Sep. 25, 2025

OTTAWA - Sikh organizations are calling on Ottawa to break with a five-year tradition by not inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit.

Canada is hosting the G7 leaders' summit next month in Kananaskis, Alta.

While the leaders of those G7 nations — France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — are expected to attend, along with the president of the European Commission, Ottawa hasn't said which leaders it has invited from outside that core group of like-minded liberal democracies.

The Canadian Press learned Friday that Canada has invited Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to attend the summit. Brazil's foreign ministry did not immediately say whether he has accepted the invitation.

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Thursday, Sep. 25, 2025

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives for a ceremonial reception for Angola's President João Lourenco at the Indian presidential palace in New Delhi, India on Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives for a ceremonial reception for Angola's President João Lourenco at the Indian presidential palace in New Delhi, India on Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

1 dead and several injured when storm rips through Kentucky community, authorities say

The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

1 dead and several injured when storm rips through Kentucky community, authorities say

The Associated Press 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

SPRINGFIELD, Ky. (AP) — The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia on Friday, hours after a harsh storm hit a remote area of central Kentucky, killing one person and injuring seven others.

In Kentucky, Washington County Judge-executive Timothy Graves said two or three houses were destroyed and downed trees temporarily blocked roads.

“We were fortunate this was located in a remote part of the county,” Graves said.

Gov. Andy Beshear canceled a visit planned for Friday to Pulaski and Laurel counties, which were hit by a tornado earlier this month. That storm left 19 dead in the state. Officials were responding to reports of a possible tornado in Washington County, he said in a social media post.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

This photo provided by Washington County Sheriff's office shows damage from severe weather in Washington County, Ky., on Friday, May 30, 2025. (Sheriff Jerry Pinkston/Washington County Sheriff's office via AP)

This photo provided by Washington County Sheriff's office shows damage from severe weather in Washington County, Ky., on Friday, May 30, 2025. (Sheriff Jerry Pinkston/Washington County Sheriff's office via AP)

Federal government posts $43 billion deficit between April ’24 and March

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Preview

Federal government posts $43 billion deficit between April ’24 and March

The Canadian Press 1 minute read Thursday, Jun. 5, 2025

OTTAWA - The federal government says it ran a budgetary deficit of $43.2 billion between April 2024 and this past March.

The deficit compared with $50.9 billion for the same stretch in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

According to the Finance Department's monthly fiscal monitor, revenue for the 10-month period totalled $494.8 billion, up from $444.8 billion a year earlier.

Program expenses excluding net actuarial losses amounted to $480.3 billion, up from $440.6 billion, boosted by increases across all major categories.

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Thursday, Jun. 5, 2025

The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill is pictured from the West Gate in Ottawa on Monday, May 6, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

The Peace Tower on Parliament Hill is pictured from the West Gate in Ottawa on Monday, May 6, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Rural Kentucky lawmaker announces switch to the GOP in the latest setback for Democrats

Bruce Schreiner, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Rural Kentucky lawmaker announces switch to the GOP in the latest setback for Democrats

Bruce Schreiner, The Associated Press 4 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 4, 2025

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A longtime state lawmaker announced Friday that she is switching parties, joining Republican supermajorities in the latest setback for Democrats trying to rebuild support across rural Kentucky.

State Sen. Robin Webb, who represents a four-county swath of northeastern Kentucky, revealed she will join the ranks of GOP lawmakers who control the flow of legislation in the state. Webb was one of the last rural Democrats in Kentucky's legislature, and her defection leaves her ex-party more tethered to urban and suburban districts in a state with large stretches of rural territory controlled by the GOP.

Webb said in a news release that she felt increasingly disconnected from the Democratic Party as it continued to “lurch to the left."

“It has become untenable and counterproductive to the best interests of my constituents for me to remain a Democrat,” Webb said. “I will continue to be a fearless advocate for rural Kentucky and for the residents of eastern Kentucky who have been so good to me and my family."

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Wednesday, Jun. 4, 2025

FILE - Democratic state Sen. Robin Webb speaks against a Republican tax proposal on Monday, April 2, 2018, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Adam Beam, File)

FILE - Democratic state Sen. Robin Webb speaks against a Republican tax proposal on Monday, April 2, 2018, in Frankfort, Ky. (AP Photo/Adam Beam, File)

Bloodhounds hunting ‘Devil in the Ozarks’ fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt

Jeff Martin, Andrew Demillo And Safiyah Riddle, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Bloodhounds hunting ‘Devil in the Ozarks’ fugitive are seen as key part of manhunt

Jeff Martin, Andrew Demillo And Safiyah Riddle, The Associated Press 6 minute read Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

A bloodhound picked up the scent shortly after the “ Devil in the Ozarks ” escaped from a lockup in northern Arkansas. The hound didn't have to go far to begin the hunt — it lives at the prison as part of a specialized unit that uses man's best friend to help track fugitives.

Although the scent of convicted killer Grant Hardin was lost because of heavy rain, experts say that even days after Sunday's escape, the animal's highly developed sense of smell can still pick up a fresh trail.

That’s partly due to about 300 million cells in their nose that supercharges their sense of smell, said Terri Heck, a Bloodhound handler and trainer who works with the Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney’s Office.

They’ve got wide nostrils to scoop up smells, and their long ears often work to stir up scents as they drag along the ground. Even their drool plays a role, as that wetness wakes up scents, Heck said.

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Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

Police set up checkpoints looking for escaped prisoner Grant Hardin, Thursday, May 29, 2025, near downtown Calico Rock, Ark. (AP Photo/Nicholas Ingram)

Police set up checkpoints looking for escaped prisoner Grant Hardin, Thursday, May 29, 2025, near downtown Calico Rock, Ark. (AP Photo/Nicholas Ingram)

Wisconsin Elections Commission votes to let small communities hand count ballots

Scott Bauer, The Associated Press 2 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 4, 2025

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin communities with fewer than 7,500 people can hand count ballots under a decision by the state elections commission this week.

However, under the Wisconsin Elections Commission decision, those communities and all other Wisconsin towns, villages and cities must still comply with federal law and provide at least one electronic voting machine at a polling location to accommodate voters with disabilities.

The commission's decision Tuesday came in reaction to a complaint against the northwestern Wisconsin town of Thornapple, population about 700, over its decision to hand count ballots in the April 2024 presidential primary or the August state primary. The decision also comes as a federal lawsuit over Thornapple's decision not to have an accessible voting machine continues.

A federal judge in October sided with the U.S. Department of Justice and ruled Thornapple was violating 2002's Help America Vote Act, or HAVA. The judge ordered the town to offer disabled people accessible voting machines. An appeal by the town is pending.

Sellers outnumber prospective homebuyers as high prices and mortgage rates skew the housing market

Alex Veiga, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Sellers outnumber prospective homebuyers as high prices and mortgage rates skew the housing market

Alex Veiga, The Associated Press 4 minute read Wednesday, Jun. 4, 2025

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homeowners eager to sell may have to wait a while before a buyer comes along.

As of April, the U.S. housing market had nearly 34% more sellers than buyers shopping for a home, according to an analysis by Redfin.

Aside from April 2020, when the pandemic brought the economy and home sales activity to a standstill, there haven’t been this few buyers in the market for a home before, based on records that date back to 2013.

The trend is good news for home shoppers — if they can afford to buy at current mortgage rates and prices, which are still rising nationally, albeit more slowly.

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Wednesday, Jun. 4, 2025

FILE - A sale sign stands outside a home on the market Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in the east Washington Park neighborhood of Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

FILE - A sale sign stands outside a home on the market Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in the east Washington Park neighborhood of Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience

Stefanie Dazio, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

A show inside a cathedral featured raw chickens in diapers. The German president was in the audience

Stefanie Dazio, The Associated Press 3 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

BERLIN (AP) — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country's president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show “hurt religious feelings."

The show, "Westphalia Side Story,” was part of a May 15 celebration to mark the 1,250th anniversary of Westphalia, a region in northwestern Germany.

Video footage shows one woman and two shirtless men singing “Fleisch ist Fleisch” (“Meat is meat”) — apparently spoofing Austrian band Opus' 1984 pop song “Live is Life” — with scythes and dancing with the dead chickens on a stage in front of Paderborn Cathedral's altar.

Performance company bodytalk said in a statement Friday that the show featured work-in-progress excerpts from “Westphalia Side Story" — which references the American musical "West Side Story."

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

This grab taken from video shows performers dancing as they hold raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers, inside Paderborn's cathedral, Germany, Friday May 16, 2025. (RTL via AP)

This grab taken from video shows performers dancing as they hold raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers, inside Paderborn's cathedral, Germany, Friday May 16, 2025. (RTL via AP)

Supreme Court lets Trump end legal protections for 500,000 migrants, exposing more to deportation

Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Supreme Court lets Trump end legal protections for 500,000 migrants, exposing more to deportation

Lindsay Whitehurst, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Sep. 25, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday again cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip temporary legal protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants for now, pushing the total number of people who could be newly exposed to deportation to nearly 1 million.

The justices lifted a lower-court order that kept humanitarian parole protections in place for more than 500,000 migrants from four countries: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The decision comes after the court allowed the administration to revoke temporary legal status from about 350,000 Venezuelan migrants in another case.

The court did not explain its reasoning in the brief order, as is typical on its emergency docket. Two justices publicly dissented.

The administration filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court after a federal judge in Boston blocked the administration’s push to end the program. The Justice Department argues that the protections for people fleeing turmoil in their home countries were always meant to be temporary, and the Department of Homeland Security has the power to revoke them without court interference.

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Thursday, Sep. 25, 2025

FILE - Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)