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CP NewsAlert: BC United MLA Bruce Banman defects to provincial Conservatives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:50 GMT

VICTORIA — A member of the Opposition BC United caucus has crossed the floor to join British Columbia’s Conservatives.Bruce Banman, the MLA for Abbotsford South, says he is proud to join his friend B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad in the provincial legislature.In a statement, BC United Leader Kevin Falcon says Banman’s move to the Conservatives is not entirely unexpected but it betrays his constituents who elected him to serve as part of the BC United team.More coming.The Canadian Press

WATCH: Home surveillance captures scary carjacking attempt in Brampton driveway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:50 GMT

Police are investigating after a man nearly had his vehicle stolen while he was sitting inside it outside of his Brampton home.The alleged carjacking attempt took place early Wednesday morning at a residence in the area of Castlemore Road and Goreway Drive.Surveillance footage submitted to CityNews shows the victim getting into an SUV on his driveway around 5:15 a.m. Shortly after he gets inside, a white vehicle can be seen driving slowly past the home before coming to a stop just beyond the driveway.Three suspects dressed in hooded sweaters and masks get out of the back and passenger side of the white vehicle and run up on either side of the victim’s SUV. The driver of the suspect vehicle remains on the street.Two suspects approach and open the driver’s SUV door and attempt to remove the victim, while the victim begins screaming and honking his horn. After a brief struggle, the suspects flee back to their vehicle on the street and make a getaway.Harvinder Kataoria, the ...

A 5th teen has been arrested in a deadly mass shooting at a Baltimore block party

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:50 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — A fifth teenager has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting that unfolded during a Baltimore block party over the July 4 holiday weekend, leaving two dead and 28 others wounded.Baltimore police announced the arrest in a news release Wednesday morning, saying detectives believe the teen opened fire at several people.The 15-year-old’s name has not been released because he’s a minor and details about the allegations against him weren’t available because the court records are sealed. It also wasn’t immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.Officials said he will be charged with 44 counts, including attempted first-degree murder.The suspect was arrested Aug. 30 on an unrelated handgun violation, according to the news release. He was taken back into custody Wednesday at a Baltimore residence, police said.Four other teens have also been arrested in the case. One is charged only with possessing a handgun while the others are accuse...

Quebec education minister rejects hearings on gender identity, prefers expert panel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:50 GMT

Quebec’s education minister says he won’t convene a legislative committee on gender identity because he says doing so exposes the sensitive issue to political exploitation.Instead, Bernard Drainville says he’s open to creating a panel of experts to study the issue.Quebec’s political class has been seized with questions about gender identity after several recent reports.A school southeast of Montreal received threats after a nonbinary teacher asked to use the honorific Mx — pronounced Miks — and a school in the province’s northwest planned to provide gender-neutral bathrooms to students for the 2024-25 school year.Drainville says he doesn’t want the topic to be exploited for partisan purposes, which he says is a temptation among political parties when they gather for committee hearings.He says an expert panel could be put in place by Christmas to address the pertinent subjects and look at practices in other countries. On Tuesday, Parti Québécois Le...

Man already charged in killing has also been indicted in a Lyft driver’s slaying

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:50 GMT

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man already charged with murder has been indicted for the killing of a Lyft driver whose car he allegedly stole in an attempt to escape, authorities announced Wednesday.An Okeechobee County grand jury this week indicted Mathew Flores with first-degree murder and armed robbery for the Jan. 30 slaying of 74-year-old Gary Levin. Police had been seeking Flores, 36, for a killing in a central Florida farming community a week earlier when he had a friend use the Lyft phone app to summon Levin in Palm Beach County.Flores shot Levin inside his 2022 Kia Stinger and then dumped his body near Lake Okeechobee, said Eli Lawson, a special agent in charge with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Flores was arrested in North Carolina three days later after police say he led them on a high-speed chase in Levin’s car.Flores was extradited last week to Florida for the Jan. 24 slaying in Hardee County of Jose Carlos Martinez, 43, who was shot multiple t...

Analysis: Iran-US prisoner swap for billions reveals familiar limits of diplomacy between nations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:50 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — American captives could be exchanged for billions of dollars of frozen Iranian assets, even as critics back in Washington warn against dealing with Tehran. That’s the way it was in 1981 and the way it likely will be in the coming days.The upcoming prisoner swap between Iran and the United States follows the same contours that the countries have been tracing since the resolution of the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis. The limits of this diplomacy remain largely the same as they have been for over the four decades since, with officials in both countries even using similar language to discuss the deals now.However, Iran faces a new challenge from within as the one-year anniversary of the nationwide protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody approaches this Saturday. And the West faces a nuclear program within the Islamic Republic now enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels and with...

LIVE: Funeral services held for fallen CFD Lt. Kevin Ward

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:50 GMT

CHICAGO — A fallen Chicago firefighter will be laid to rest Wednesday.The funeral service for Lt. Kevin Ward will begin at 11 a.m. at the The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, located at 126 East Chestnut Street, just off Michigan Avenue.Ward was one of three firefighters injured in a blaze Aug. 11 in the 8300 block of West Balmoral in the city's Norwood Park neighborhood. He died days later.Ward, 59, joined the department in 1996 and worked out of Truck 9, located in the 5300 block of North Cumberland. CFD lieutenant dies following Northwest Side fire earlier this month The Chicago Fire Department will fly flags at half-staff until sunset Wednesday to honor his service.Closures are now in place for the funeral procession for Ward. Michigan Avenue is closed between Oak Street and Chicago Avenue.Closures in place now for the funeral procession for fallen CFD Lt Kevin Ward. Michigan Ave closed btw Oak St and Chicago Ave, additional closures in the area until 2pm.https://t.co/V...

Texas man dies of Vibrio infection after eating raw oysters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:50 GMT

GALVESTON, Texas (WFLA) — A Texas man died of a deadly bacterial infection after eating raw oysters, according to local health officials.Officials with the Galveston County Health District in Texas announced the man's cause of death to be Vibrio vulnificus infection last week."The resident who died in Galveston County was a male, within the thirty-to-forty-year age range and had underlying health conditions that predisposed him to vibrio infection," the department wrote in a news release.Officials said the unusually warm ocean water, seen around states like Texas and Florida, has contributed to an increase in Vibrio infections. Five people in the Tampa Bay Area, for instance, were previously confirmed to have died from Vibrio since January. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had also recently issued an advisory following fatal infections in Connecticut, New York and North Carolina.At the time, the CDC said climate change and rising sea surface temperatures was likely fue...

Tracking the Tropics: Are above-average hurricane seasons the new normal?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:50 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — We're officially past the halfway mark of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, but that doesn't mean we're done seeing storms.Already, Colorado State University Senior Research Scientist and renowned hurricane specialist Phil Klotzbach told WFLA.com there have been about 70% more named storms than the whole season average dating back to 1961. Track Hurricane Lee with WFLA's real-time Wobble Tracker Klotzbach has gained notoriety since becoming the lead author of Colorado State University's Seasonal Hurricane Forecasts in 2006. The forecasts have become a primary source for hurricane season predictions behind the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) due to their accuracy and reliability.CSU's latest hurricane forecast, released Aug. 3, predicted a total of 18 named storms, nine hurricanes, and four major hurricanes. The figures were in line with NOAA's calls for an “above-normal” 2023 Atlantic hurricane season.NOAA cited unusually warm sea surf...

Williamson County collaborates with Sam Bass Fire on EMS resources

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:50 GMT

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Williamson County Commissioners Court approved an interlocal agreement Tuesday to authorize expanded emergency medical service resources to certain area stations.The agreement was signed between Williamson County and the Williamson County Emergency Services District No. 2, or the Sam Bass Fire Department in Round Rock. It'll authorize housing county EMS resources and personnel within two of the Sam Bass Fire Department's stations.Under the agreement, the Sam Bass Fire Department agreed to the following obligations:Housing one Williamson County EMS ambulance at Station 2Allocating one office space at Station 2 for oxygen storage and medical supply stowing"Reasonable usage" of common facilities based at Station 2, such as its kitchen, laundry, restrooms and all other amenitiesHousing one Williamson County EMS ambulance at Station 3County use of three bedrooms, one office space, an area for oxygen storage in the vehicle bay and medical supply stora...