Social Studies (general)

Colorado couple found guilty over cross burning meant to draw sympathy for Black candidate

Jesse Bedayn, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Colorado couple found guilty over cross burning meant to draw sympathy for Black candidate

Jesse Bedayn, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, May. 25, 2025

DENVER (AP) — A couple who staged a cross burning to generate voter sympathy for the man who became Colorado Springs’ first Black mayor was convicted Friday of conspiring to set the fire and spread false information about it.

Prosecutors argued that Ashley Blackcloud, who is indigenous and Black, and Derrick Bernard, who is Black, orchestrated and then broadcast the hoax to aid the candidate. However their actions still amounted to a criminal threat, prosecutors said.

The cross burning happened in 2023 during the run-up to a mayoral election in the state's second-largest city. Images and video of the cross, which was burned in front of a campaign sign defaced with a racial slur, were emailed to local news outlets to boost the campaign of Yemi Mobolade.

A jury found Blackcloud and Bernard guilty of using interstate commerce — the internet and email — to make a threat or convey false information about an attempt to intimidate Mobolade with a fire. They were also found guilty of conspiring to do that.

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Sunday, May. 25, 2025

FILE - Colorado Springs, Colo., Mayor Yemi Mobolade considers a question during a news conference after a hearing for the suspect in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub Monday, June 26, 2023, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file)

FILE - Colorado Springs, Colo., Mayor Yemi Mobolade considers a question during a news conference after a hearing for the suspect in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub Monday, June 26, 2023, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file)

Trump says US Steel will keep HQ in Pittsburgh in a sign he’ll approve bid by Japan-based Nippon

Marc Levy And Paul Wiseman, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Trump says US Steel will keep HQ in Pittsburgh in a sign he’ll approve bid by Japan-based Nippon

Marc Levy And Paul Wiseman, The Associated Press 5 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that U.S. Steel will keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh as part of what he called a “planned partnership” that seemed to signal that he’ll approve a bid by Japan-based Nippon Steel to make a big investment in the iconic American steelmaker, if not buy it outright.

Still, Trump's statement left it vague as to whether he is approving Nippon Steel's bid after he vowed repeatedly to block the deal to prevent U.S. Steel from being foreign-owned.

More recently, Trump suggested that Nippon Steel would invest in U.S. Steel, not buy it, and one union official suggested Friday that the federal government will have a role in the company's management going forward. But investors seemed to take Trump's statement as a sign that he's approving some sort of merger, sharply pushing up U.S. Steel's shares, and the companies issued approving statements.

Nippon Steel said the partnership is a “game changer — for U.S. Steel and all of its stakeholders, including the American steel industry, and the broader American manufacturing base.” U.S. Steel said it “will remain American, and we will grow bigger and stronger through a partnership with Nippon Steel that brings massive investment, new technologies and thousands of jobs over the next four years."

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

California utility to pay $82 million settlement in lawsuit stemming from huge 2020 wildfire

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

California utility to pay $82 million settlement in lawsuit stemming from huge 2020 wildfire

The Associated Press 3 minute read Sunday, May. 25, 2025

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California utility has agreed to pay the federal government $82.5 million stemming from an enormous 2020 wildfire that churned through mountains northeast of Los Angeles and into the Mojave Desert, officials said Friday.

The U.S. Justice Department announced the payment by Southern California Edison on Thursday. U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement that the settlement provides "meaningful compensation to taxpayers for the extensive costs of fighting the ... fire and for the widespread damage to public lands."

Edison agreed to pay the settlement within 60 days of its effective date, May 14, without admitting wrongdoing or fault, prosecutors said.

Utility spokesperson Diane Castro said, “Our hearts are with the people who were affected by the Bobcat Fire. We are pleased to have resolved this matter and will continue to advance wildfire mitigation measures."

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Sunday, May. 25, 2025

FILE - Members of a Los Angeles County Fire crew make a stand to protect a home from the advancing Bobcat Fire along Cima Mesa Rd. Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

FILE - Members of a Los Angeles County Fire crew make a stand to protect a home from the advancing Bobcat Fire along Cima Mesa Rd. Friday, Sept. 18, 2020, in Juniper Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

US measles cases rise slightly as Colorado reports a new outbreak

Devna Bose, The Associated Press 8 minute read Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

Measles cases inched up slightly in the U.S. this past week, with a new county impacted in Texas and Colorado reporting a new outbreak.

There are 1,088 confirmed measles cases in the U.S., up 42 from last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Texas, where the nation's biggest outbreak raged during the late winter and spring, reported 10 additional cases this week for a total of 738.

There are three other major outbreaks in North America.

One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,888 cases from mid-October through May 27. Another in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 628 as of Thursday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 1,693 measles cases and three deaths as of Wednesday, according to data from the state health ministry.

2024 sees record warm temperatures, less sea ice cover in Gulf of St. Lawrence

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

2024 sees record warm temperatures, less sea ice cover in Gulf of St. Lawrence

The Canadian Press 4 minute read Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

MONT-JOLI - Last year, the Gulf of St. Lawrence recorded its highest maximum surface temperature and lowest seasonal volume of ice cover in decades, say researchers with the federal Fisheries Department.

Surface temperatures and ice cover are directly related to air temperature, said Peter Galbraith, a research scientist in physical oceanography at the agency's Maurice Lamontagne Institute in Mont-Joli, Que., northeast of Quebec City.

Last July, the surface temperature hit 16.7 C, a record since data started being recorded in 1981, and 2.4 C warmer than average. Between May and November, the warmest surface temperature was 11.6 C, also a record, and 1.6 C higher than average.

“So it was the warmest air temperature, which gave us the warmest sea surface temperature,” Galbraith said.

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Friday, Oct. 3, 2025

Boats make their way through the ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, March 25, 2006. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Boats make their way through the ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, March 25, 2006. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

See a penny, pick it up? In the future, probably not as often – and, some say, that matters

Deepti Hajela, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

See a penny, pick it up? In the future, probably not as often – and, some say, that matters

Deepti Hajela, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — Ask someone for their thoughts: Could it now cost you a nickel? If you want to call somebody stingy, would you say they're a quarter-pincher? And if they spend money unwisely, are they now dime-wise but pound-foolish?

OK, maybe those are some minor, small-stakes, dare we say penny-ante concerns in the wake of the U.S. Treasury confirming Thursday that it will stop making shiny new penny coins after the current production run is complete.

But it is the end of an era in the United States. While there will still be over a billion already existing pennies in circulation, rattling around in jars, gathering dust under the sofa cushions and waiting to be picked up from sidewalks, no new cents will be joining their ranks for the first time in more than two centuries.

Answering advocates' demands to abandon the coin

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

FILE - Freshly-made pennies sit in a bin at the U.S. Mint in Denver on Aug. 15, 2007. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

FILE - Freshly-made pennies sit in a bin at the U.S. Mint in Denver on Aug. 15, 2007. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

The penny costs nearly 4 cents to make. Here’s how much the US spends on minting its other coins

Wyatte Grantham-philips, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

The penny costs nearly 4 cents to make. Here’s how much the US spends on minting its other coins

Wyatte Grantham-philips, The Associated Press 4 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — The impending “death” of the U.S. penny has spotlighted the coin's own price tag — nearly 4 cents to make and distribute each, or quadruple its value.

Months after President Donald Trump called on his administration to cease penny production, the U.S. Mint announced this week that it had made its final order of penny blanks — and plans to stop making new 1 cent coins after those run out.

Coin production costs vary thanks to different raw metals used, complexity of their designs, labor needed and more. Many of those expenses have been on the rise — and the penny isn't the only coin entering our wallets today that costs more to make than it's worth (enter the nickel debate).

Here's a rundown of U.S. Mint production costs from the government's latest fiscal year.

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

FILE - Freshly-made pennies sit in a bin at the U.S. Mint in Denver on Aug. 15, 2007. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

FILE - Freshly-made pennies sit in a bin at the U.S. Mint in Denver on Aug. 15, 2007. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Class-action lawsuit filed in B.C. over 2009 Interior Health data breach

The Canadian Press 2 minute read Preview

Class-action lawsuit filed in B.C. over 2009 Interior Health data breach

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

VANCOUVER - British Columbia's Interior Health Authority has been hit with a class-action lawsuit over a data breach in 2009 that allegedly compromised thousands of employees' personal information that ended up being sold on the dark web.

The lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Thursday says the data breach occurred in December 2009, exposing "highly sensitive" personal information belonging to people who worked for the health authority between 2003 and 2009.

Court documents say the information was accessed by "cybercriminals and other malicious actors," and the "full extent" of the hack still hasn't been disclosed by Interior Health in the 16 years since.

Former employee Rae Fergus, one of the lead plaintiffs, says her personal information has been used since 2022 to fraudulently get a car loan and a credit card, and to open a bank account without her "knowledge or consent."

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto in this Oct. 9, 2023 photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto in this Oct. 9, 2023 photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

‘We don’t get to discriminate’: How a Raleigh ministry decided to help resettle Afrikaners

Yonat Shimron, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

‘We don’t get to discriminate’: How a Raleigh ministry decided to help resettle Afrikaners

Yonat Shimron, The Associated Press 6 minute read Saturday, May. 24, 2025

RALEIGH, N.C. (RNS) — The 12×30-foot storage unit in a Raleigh, North Carolina, suburb is crammed full of chairs, tables, mattresses, lamps, pots and pans.

Most of its contents will soon be hauled off to two apartments that Welcome House Raleigh is furnishing for three newly arrived refugees. It’s a job the ministry, which is a project of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, has handled countless times on behalf of newly arrived refugees from such places as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria and Venezuela.

But these two apartments are going to three Afrikaners — whose status as refugees is, according to many faith-based groups and others, highly controversial.

___

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Saturday, May. 24, 2025

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau greets Afrikaner refugees from South Africa, Monday, May 12, 2025, at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau greets Afrikaner refugees from South Africa, Monday, May 12, 2025, at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

First solo show in WAG-Qaumajuq’s flagship Qilak gallery

Eva Wasney 5 minute read Preview

First solo show in WAG-Qaumajuq’s flagship Qilak gallery

Eva Wasney 5 minute read Friday, May. 23, 2025

Since his last gallery show in Winnipeg, Abraham Anghik Ruben’s focus has shifted from introspection to cross-cultural exploration.

That personal and artistic arc is currently on display at WAG-Qaumajuq in a sprawling retrospective of the master Inuit sculptor’s 50-year career.

It’s a fitting full-circle reunion.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery hosted Ruben’s first solo show at a major institution in 2001 and now, nearly 25 years later, the artist’s work is featured in the first solo exhibit in Qaumajuq’s main Qilak gallery.

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Friday, May. 23, 2025

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press

A grouping of artworks at Abraham Anghik Ruben’s retrospective collection, at the WAG-Qaumajuq.

Ruth Bonneville / Free Press
                                A grouping of artworks at Abraham Anghik Ruben’s retrospective collection, at the WAG-Qaumajuq.

Trump signs executive orders to boost nuclear power, speed up approvals

Matthew Daly And Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Trump signs executive orders to boost nuclear power, speed up approvals

Matthew Daly And Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press 6 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed executive orders Friday intended to quadruple domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years, a goal experts say the United States is highly unlikely to reach.

To speed up the development of nuclear power, the orders grant the U.S. energy secretary authority to approve some advanced reactor designs and projects, taking authority away from the independent safety agency that has regulated the U.S. nuclear industry for five decades.

The order comes as demand for electricity surges amid a boom in energy-hungry data centers and artificial intelligence. Tech companies, venture capitalists, states and others are competing for electricity and straining the nation's electric grid.

“We’ve got enough electricity to win the AI arms race with China,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said. “What we do in the next five years related to electricity is going to determine the next 50" years in the industry.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Georgia man who fled with the nanny after his wife’s killing is charged with murder 19 years later

Russ Bynum, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Georgia man who fled with the nanny after his wife’s killing is charged with murder 19 years later

Russ Bynum, The Associated Press 4 minute read Saturday, May. 24, 2025

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Investigators first believed Doris Worrell was killed in a botched robbery after her husband found her fatally shot at the South Georgia business they ran in 2006. When suspicion later turned toward Worrell's husband, he fled the U.S. to live in Costa Rica with the couple's live-in nanny.

Nearly 19 years later, Jon Worrell was jailed on murder charges Thursday in rural Coffee County, where the sheriff said authorities never gave up on the cold case. They got a big break in April, when investigators traveled to Costa Rica and found the nanny willing to talk after her relationship with Worrell had ended.

“This case was never forgotten,” Sheriff Fred Cole told reporters at a news conference Friday. "And while the road has been long and often frustrating, we never gave up. Justice delayed is still justice.”

Doris Worrell had worked as a teacher and an interior designer before deciding stay at home to raise three children. She and her husband operated a recreation business, Jon's Sports Park, in the small community of Douglas, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) southwest of Savannah.

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Saturday, May. 24, 2025

In this image from video provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Coffee County Sheriff Fred Cole speaks with reporters in Douglas, Ga., on Friday, May 23, 2025, to discuss the arrest of Jon Worrell in the 2006 death of his wife, Doris Worrell. (Georgia Bureau of Investigation via AP)

In this image from video provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Coffee County Sheriff Fred Cole speaks with reporters in Douglas, Ga., on Friday, May 23, 2025, to discuss the arrest of Jon Worrell in the 2006 death of his wife, Doris Worrell. (Georgia Bureau of Investigation via AP)

Here’s a look at recent aircraft tragedies, mishaps and close calls

Josh Funk, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Here’s a look at recent aircraft tragedies, mishaps and close calls

Josh Funk, The Associated Press 6 minute read Saturday, May. 24, 2025

At least three people were killed when a private jet crashed into a San Diego neighborhood Thursday morning, adding to the long list of aviation disasters this year.

About 100 people had to be evacuated after the plane struck at least one home and jet fuel caught fire throughout the neighborhood. The Federal Aviation Administration said six people were aboard the plane. It wasn't clear how many died, although music agency Sound Talent Group said its co-founder and two other employees died in the crash.

Many people are concerned about aviation safety after all the aircraft collisions and near-misses.

Disasters have ranged from the midair collision that killed 67 people near Washington, D.C., in January to an airliner clipping another in February while taxiing at the Seattle airport. In March, an American Airlines plane caught fire after landing in Denver, sending 12 people to the hospital. A sightseeing helicopter broke apart and crashed into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey last month, killing six people.

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Saturday, May. 24, 2025

Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

North Carolina court says it’s OK to swap jurors while they are deliberating

Gary D. Robertson, The Associated Press 3 minute read Saturday, May. 24, 2025

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina's highest court on Friday left intact a murder conviction that a lower appeals court had thrown out on the grounds that a jury shake-up during deliberations violated the defendant's rights and required a new trial.

By a 5-2 decision, the state Supreme Court reversed last year's decision of a state Court of Appeals panel that had sided with Eric Ramond Chambers, who has been serving a sentence of life in prison without parole.

The state constitution says no one can be convicted of a crime except by “the unanimous verdict of a jury in open court” that state justices have declared in the past repeatedly must be composed of 12 people.

A 2021 state law says an alternate juror can be substituted for one of the 12 after deliberations begin as long as the judge instructs the amended jury to begin deliberations anew. The judge at Chambers' 2022 trial did just that when an alternate juror joined deliberations because an original juror couldn’t continue the next day due to a medical appointment.

Runway lights weren’t working as pilot tried to land at foggy San Diego airport before fatal crash

Julie Watson And Josh Funk, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Runway lights weren’t working as pilot tried to land at foggy San Diego airport before fatal crash

Julie Watson And Josh Funk, The Associated Press 6 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The runway lights were out, a weather alert system wasn’t working and there was heavy fog at a San Diego airport when a pilot who had flown across the country made the decision to proceed with landing but came up short and crashed into a neighborhood, likely killing all six aboard the aircraft, investigators said Friday.

Investigator Dan Baker of the National Transportation Safety Board said officials will work over the next year to determine what caused the Cessna 550 Citation to crash just before 4 a.m. Thursday. The jet was carrying a music executive and five others. No one in the neighborhood of U.S. Navy housing died, but eight people were treated for smoke inhalation from the fiery crash and non-life-threatening injuries.

The pilot acknowledged the weather conditions for landing at the small airport were not ideal and debated diverting to a different airport while discussing the visibility with an air traffic controller at a regional Federal Aviation Administration control tower, according to audio of the conversation posted by LiveATC.net.

The FAA had posted an official notice for pilots that the lights were out of service, but it’s not known whether the pilot had checked it. He didn’t discuss the lights being out with air traffic control, but was aware that the airport’s weather alert system was inoperable. Ultimately, the pilot is heard saying that he’ll stick with the plan to land at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

at the site of a plane crash Friday, May 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

at the site of a plane crash Friday, May 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

‘Soup Nazi’ actor dips ladle for victims of Vancouver festival attack

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

‘Soup Nazi’ actor dips ladle for victims of Vancouver festival attack

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

VANCOUVER - "Soup Nazi" actor Larry Thomas, best known for his guest role as a strict soup seller on the sitcom "Seinfeld," will be picking up his ladle again to raise money for victims of last month's attack on Vancouver's Lapu Lapu Day festival.

The Los Angeles-based actor said he will be serving at the Greens And Beans Deli in New Westminster, B.C., on Sunday as part of the restaurant's fundraising efforts.

Thomas said the April 26 attack that killed 11 people was a "terrible thing," prompting him to reprise his fundraising relationship with the deli that stretches back 20 years.

Leona Green, owner of the deli, first reached out to Thomas to ask him to serve soup at a fundraiser for the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.

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Tuesday, Sep. 23, 2025

People hold a candlelight march during a vigil on the street where a vehicle-ramming attack occurred at the Filipino community's Lapu Lapu Day festival last week in Vancouver, on May 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

People hold a candlelight march during a vigil on the street where a vehicle-ramming attack occurred at the Filipino community's Lapu Lapu Day festival last week in Vancouver, on May 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Federal election: Newfoundland riding flips to Conservatives after judicial recount

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Federal election: Newfoundland riding flips to Conservatives after judicial recount

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Friday, May. 23, 2025

ST. JOHN'S - A federal election riding in rural Newfoundland flipped to the Conservatives on Friday, netting the party another seat in the House of Commons. 

After a recount process that took nearly two weeks, Elections Canada announced that Conservative Jonathan Rowe had defeated Liberal Anthony Germain in the Terra Nova—The Peninsulas riding by just 12 votes.

The result reverses the first tally of the ballots after the April 28 election, which had Germain ahead by 12 votes.

Rowe's win gives the Conservatives 144 seats in the House of Commons, and brings the Liberals down to 169, which is three seats shy of the threshold for a majority government. The Bloc Quebecois has 22, the NDP has seven and the Green Party has one.

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Friday, May. 23, 2025

A voter leaves a polling station after casting a ballot in the federal election in Calgary, April 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A voter leaves a polling station after casting a ballot in the federal election in Calgary, April 28, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Hot diggity dog! Wienermobiles put on riveting race in Wienie 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Hot diggity dog! Wienermobiles put on riveting race in Wienie 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Dave Skretta, The Associated Press 3 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Give the Borg-Wiener Trophy at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the Wienermobile affectionately known as Slaw Dog.

In a down-to-the-wire race among the six iconic Wienermobiles that serve as goodwill ambassadors for Oscar Mayer, the hot dog-on-wheels representing the Southeast proved to be the big dog on Carb Day ahead of Sunday's running of the Indianapolis 500.

It made a dramatic pass of the Wienermobile repping Chicago at the finish line to win the inaugural Wienie 500 on Friday.

The margin was about a half a bun.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles head into the first turn as they compete in the Wienie 500 following the practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles head into the first turn as they compete in the Wienie 500 following the practice session for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Toronto Zoo warns of extinctions if Ontario mining bill becomes law

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Toronto Zoo warns of extinctions if Ontario mining bill becomes law

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

TORONTO - Species could go extinct if Ontario passes a controversial mining bill that is set to transform its approach to endangered species and the environment, the Toronto Zoo warned the province.

Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, would strike a blow to the recovery of several species the institution has been trying to save, said Dolf DeJong, the zoo's CEO, at a committee hearing at Queen's Park on Thursday.

If and when the bill becomes law, DeJong wants the province to step up with funding so it can dramatically increase its biobank with Ontario species that could die off as a result of the legislation.

"We're concerned this act will result in the erosion of biodiversity and the loss of species at risk," DeJong said.

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

A Blanding's turtle is shown in this undated handout photo provided by the Toronto Zoo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Toronto Zoo
*MANDATORY CREDIT*

A Blanding's turtle is shown in this undated handout photo provided by the Toronto Zoo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Toronto Zoo
*MANDATORY CREDIT*

Justice Department reaches deal to allow Boeing to avoid prosecution over 737 Max crashes

Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Justice Department reaches deal to allow Boeing to avoid prosecution over 737 Max crashes

Alanna Durkin Richer, The Associated Press 4 minute read Friday, May. 23, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has reached a deal with Boeing that will allow the airplane giant to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed and killed 346 people, according to court papers filed Friday.

Under the “agreement in principle,” which still needs to be finalized, Boeing would pay or invest more than $1.1 billion, including an additional $445 million for the crash victims’ families, the Justice Department said.

In return, the department has agreed to dismiss the fraud charge against Boeing, allowing the manufacturer to avoid a possible criminal conviction that could have jeopardized the company's status as a federal contractor, according to experts.

“Ultimately, in applying the facts, the law, and Department policy, we are confident that this resolution is the most just outcome with practical benefits,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement.

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Friday, May. 23, 2025

The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a press conference with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Justice Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a press conference with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Justice Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Inquiry must be called to get answers on sand mine scandal

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

Inquiry must be called to get answers on sand mine scandal

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Friday, May. 23, 2025

It’s pretty clear by now that an inquiry should be called into the Sio Silica scandal.

Ethics Commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor released his long-awaited report into the matter this week. He found that former premier Heather Stefanson, then deputy premier Cliff Cullen and then economic development minister Jeff Wharton, violated the province’s Conflict of Interest Act by attempting to approve a licence for a controversial silica sand mining project after their government was defeated in the Oct. 3, 2023 provincial election.

All three ministers pushed to have a Class 2 licence under the Environment Act approved for Sio Silica, days before the new NDP government was sworn into office.

They did so even though they knew, or ought to have known, that it violated the “caretaker convention,” a longstanding constitutional principle in Canada that prohibits governments from making major policy decisions once a general election is called (unless it’s related to an urgent matter of public importance).

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Friday, May. 23, 2025

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES

Ethics Commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor found that former premier Heather Stefanson, then deputy premier Cliff Cullen and then economic development minister Jeff Wharton, violated the province’s Conflict of Interest Act.

MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
                                Ethics Commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor found that former premier Heather Stefanson, then deputy premier Cliff Cullen and then economic development minister Jeff Wharton, violated the province’s Conflict of Interest Act.

Cohere asks U.S. court to toss complaint from media alleging copyright infringement

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Cohere asks U.S. court to toss complaint from media alleging copyright infringement

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press 3 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

TORONTO - Cohere is asking a U.S. court to throw out complaints from media outlets that have accused the artificial intelligence company of infringing on their copyright.

In a dismissal motion filed in a New York court on Thursday, Cohere accused publishers including the Toronto Star, Condé Nast, McClatchy, Forbes Media and Guardian News of deliberately using its software to "manufacture a case."

The Toronto-based company said the outlets must have "stylized" prompts they entered into Cohere's software to elicit portions of their own work, which sometimes included inaccuracies.

It argued nothing in the complaint filed by the outlets suggests that any real customer has ever used the company's software to infringe on the publisher's copyright.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto in this Sunday, Oct. 9, 2023 photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto in this Sunday, Oct. 9, 2023 photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

Trump administration sues 4 New Jersey cities over ‘sanctuary’ policies

Mike Catalini, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

Trump administration sues 4 New Jersey cities over ‘sanctuary’ policies

Mike Catalini, The Associated Press 3 minute read Friday, May. 23, 2025

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The Trump administration sued four New Jersey cities over their so-called sanctuary city policies aimed at prohibiting police from cooperating with immigration officials, saying the local governments are standing in the way of federal enforcement.

The Justice Department filed the suit Thursday against Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Hoboken in New Jersey federal court. The lawsuit seeks a judgment against the cities and an injunction to halt them from enacting the so-called sanctuary city policies.

“While states and local governments are free to stand aside as the United States performs this important work, they cannot stand in the way,” the suit says.

It's the latest case from Republican President Donald Trump's administration against sanctuary policies. The administration also sued Chicago, Denver, the state of Colorado, and Rochester, New York.

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Friday, May. 23, 2025

FILE - Mayor Ras Baraka speaks to supporters and media after a court appearance in Newark, N.J., Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE - Mayor Ras Baraka speaks to supporters and media after a court appearance in Newark, N.J., Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Alberta, Ottawa spending $7 million to fund six new urban wildfire teams

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Preview

Alberta, Ottawa spending $7 million to fund six new urban wildfire teams

The Canadian Press 3 minute read Friday, May. 23, 2025

STRATHMORE - Nearly $7 million in provincial and federal spending will create six teams of urban wildfire crews, Alberta's public safety minister announced Friday.

Speaking in Strathmore, Alta., Mike Ellis told a news conference that having six more teams means Alberta will have up to eight specialized crews that can respond to fires threatening communities.

"We've witnessed the immense destruction wildfires can cause at home and in other parts of the world," Ellis said.

"That's why we're focused on building more skilled, specialized and ready to deploy teams that can work to ensure communities, businesses and critical infrastructure are protected in the event of a wildfire."

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Friday, May. 23, 2025

Firefighters work on the smouldering remains of houses in Slave Lake, Alta., on May 16, 2011. Slave Lake is one of six communities receiving funding to have an urban wildland firefighting team. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ian Jackson

Firefighters work on the smouldering remains of houses in Slave Lake, Alta., on May 16, 2011. Slave Lake is one of six communities receiving funding to have an urban wildland firefighting team. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ian Jackson