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‘Worst wildfire season:’ Quebec makes progress as wind fuels flames out West

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:28 GMT

Quebec was on the offensive in its battle against a record wildfire season as gusting winds fuelled growing blazes out West, and the federal government said it would provide free travel documents and visa extensions for people affected across the country. “This now qualifies, unfortunately, as Canada’s worst wildfire season of the 21st century,” Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said in Ottawa. There were 431 wildfires burning across Canada on Monday afternoon and more than 200 were listed as out of control.About 5,000 firefighting personnel have been deployed as the country continues to face the fierce foe. Hundreds more firefighters from Chile, Costa Rica, Spain and Portugal were expected to arrive in the coming days.The international effort has seen some success in Quebec, where thousands of people were starting to return to their homes.“To date, we have won the fight,” François Bonnarde, the province’s public security minister, said.T...

EXPLAINER: Trial begins in tribes’ lawsuit over North Dakota redistricting map

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:28 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Two tribes are in federal court this week, trying to prove to a judge that North Dakota’s legislative district map dilutes Native American voters’ strength on their reservations.A trial began Monday in Fargo in the federal lawsuit brought last year by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe, who allege the redistricting done in 2021 by the Republican-led Legislature violates the Voting Rights Act, the landmark 1965 civil rights law.Their complaint alleges the reapportionment “packs” Turtle Mountain tribal members into one House district and leaves Spirit Lake out of a majority-Native district. A federal judge last year denied the state’s request to dismiss the case on the grounds that the tribes lack standing to sue. The bench trial in Fargo is estimated to last five days. A judge will decide the verdict. Here’s what to know in the lawsuit affecting how the tribes are represented in North Dakota’s Leg...

Kouri Richins, Utah mom accused of killing husband and then writing book about grief, denied bail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:28 GMT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — A judge has ruled that a Utah mother of three who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death, and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, will remain in jail throughout her trial after her sister-in-law called her “desperate, greedy and extremely manipulative” during a court hearing.Kouri Richins knelt her head and cried as a detective testified about authorities finding her husband dead and “cold to the touch,” and prosecutors argued the evidence against her was strong enough to deny her bail.Her case became a true-crime sensation last month when charges were filed as a transfixed public pored over remarks Richins made promoting “Are You With Me?” — the illustrated storybook about an angel wing-clad father watching over his children after passing away.A detention hearing on Monday offered both prosecutors and Richins’ attorneys a chance to preview their cases and provide contrasting theories of what happened. Prosecutors cal...

B.C. port cargo loaders approve strike, but talks continue with maritime employers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:28 GMT

VANCOUVER — More than 7,000 terminal cargo loaders at British Columbia’s ports have voted overwhelmingly in support of strike action against local maritime employers, although both sides are still negotiating to avoid such an outcome.The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada says a vote over the weekend yielded 99.24 per cent support for strike action against the BC Maritime Employers Association “if necessary.”The strike vote gives cargo movers additional leverage in talks with employers, allowing the union to file 72-hour notice for a strike that could begin on June 24 if negotiations do not progress.The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade issued a statement saying a strike could have serious implications for both the B.C. and Canadian economies, given that supply chains have already suffered major blows from the COVID-19 pandemic and recent climate-related disasters, including catastrophic flooding in 2021.The president of the board, Bridgitte Anderson...

Senators fear delay, prejudice in carveouts to allow Afghan aid, as House passes bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:28 GMT

OTTAWA — Senators are concerned that a long-delayed Liberal bill aimed at unblocking Canadian aid in Afghanistan will bog down development groups in red tape and block access based on prejudicial bureaucracy. Terrorism laws currently bar Canadian aid workers from paying taxes for any labour or goods in Afghanistan, as doing so could lead to prosecution for supporting the governing Taliban, which Ottawa designates as a terrorist group.Bill C-41 would allow development workers, such as those building schools, to apply for exemptions to do their work, and would enact a blanket exemption for humanitarian workers providing life-saving aid.The bill passed the House this afternoon with support from all parties except the NDP, who say it violates aid workers’ independence if they have to seek government permission to do their work abroad.Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino is testifying at the Senate human-rights committee on the bill, and would not provide a rough timeline on how ...

Stamp honours First Nations leader George Manuel, whose work spanned globe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:28 GMT

VANCOUVER — Canada Post has unveiled a stamp depicting First Nations political leader George Manuel, part of a series of three stamps being released to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day this month.Manuel, who died in 1989, was a champion of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and beyond, known for his work as co-founder of the Center for World Indigenous Studies and founding president of the World Council of Indigenous Peoples.Canada Post says Manuel is being recognized for his efforts to improve the social, economic and political conditions of First Nations people, and contributing to the inclusion of Indigenous and treaty rights in the Constitution.It says Manuel was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.The stamp depicting Manuel, a member of the Shuswap Nation in British Columbia, was unveiled Monday in North Vancouver, at a ceremony attended by his children George Manuel Jr., and Doreen Manuel.A stamp honouring Nellie C...

Clinic, physicians challenge revised North Dakota abortion laws in ongoing lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:28 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A former North Dakota abortion provider challenged one of the nation’s strictest abortion laws Monday, arguing the law “fragrantly violates” a court ruling supporting the right of patients in the state to obtain the procedure to preserve their life or health. The lawsuit initially filed last year by what was the conservative state’s sole abortion provider seeks to block a law recently approved by the Republican-led Legislature and signed by Gov. Doug Burgum. The law outlaws all abortions except in cases where women could face death or a “serious health risk” or pregnancies caused by rape and incest, but only in the first six weeks, when many women often don’t know they are pregnant.It seems unlikely that a patient who is pregnant due to rape or incest could get an abortion “within such a narrow time frame” as six weeks, Center for Reproductive Rights attorney Meetra Mehdizadeh told The Associated Press.Conservative states have been working to restrict abortion ...

FTC sues to block Microsoft’s takeover of video game maker Activision Blizzard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:28 GMT

The Federal Trade Commission has sued to block Microsoft from completing its deal to buy video game company Activision Blizzard, the latest antitrust challenge to the proposed merger but one that could hasten a conclusion to the drawn-out dispute.The FTC’s Monday filing in a San Francisco federal court seeks a temporary restraining order and injunction to stop Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of the California company behind hit games such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush.Microsoft, maker of the Xbox game system, has been struggling to win worldwide approval for the deal with just over a month before the deadline to close it, according to the contract it signed with Activision. While a number of countries have approved the acquisition, regulators for two important economies — the U.S. and the United Kingdom — have argued it could suppress competition in the video game market.“We welcome the opportunity to present our case in federal court,” said a...

PacifiCorp could be on the hook for billions after jury verdict in devastating Oregon wildfires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:28 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A jury in Oregon on Monday found the electric utility PacifiCorp responsible for causing devastating fires during Labor Day weekend in 2020, ordering the company to pay tens of millions of dollars to 17 homeowners who sued and finding it liable for broader damages that could push the total award into the billions.The Portland utility is one of several owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska-based investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. The property owners, suing on behalf of a class of thousands of others, alleged that PacifiCorp negligently failed to shut off power to its 600,000 customers during a windstorm, despite warnings from then-Gov. Kate Brown’s chief-of-staff and top fire officials, and that its power lines were responsible for multiple blazes. There has been no official cause determined for the Labor Day fires, which killed nine people, burned more than 1,875 square miles (4,856 square kilometers) in Oregon, and destroyed upward of ...

Mom accused of killing husband, writing book about grief denied bail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:28 GMT

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah (KTVX) -- After a four-hour hearing, a Utah judge has denied bail for Kouri Richins, the woman accused of killing her husband and then writing a children's book about grieving. During Monday's hearing, a judge heard from both parties and three witnesses before making a decision to continue holding Richins without bail during her pretrial period. Richins dropped her head and cried as a detective testified about authorities finding her husband dead and “cold to the touch,” and prosecutors argued the evidence against her was strong enough to deny her bail. Original Story: Utah author of book on grieving death charged with murder The detention hearing built off court documents in which prosecutors allege Richins slipped five times the lethal dose of fentanyl into a Moscow mule cocktail she made for her husband, Eric Richins, amid marital disputes and fights over a multimillion-dollar mansion she ultimately purchased as an investment.Prosecutors called multiple wit...