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US intelligence assessment determines intentionally caused explosion killed Wagner chief

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:23 GMT

A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment has found that the plane crash presumed to have killed Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was intentionally caused by an explosion, according to U.S. and Western officials.One of the officials, who were not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the explosion fell in line with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “long history of trying to silence his critics.”The officials did not offer any details of what caused the explosion that was believed to have killed Prigozhin and several of his lieutenants to avenge a mutiny that challenged the Russian leader’s authority.Details of the U.S. assessment surfaced as Putin on Thursday expressed his condolences to the families of those who were reported to be aboard the jet and referred to “serious mistakes.”A Russian serviceman inspects a part of a crashed private jet near the village of Kuzhenkino, Tver region, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 2...

Artist loses bid to remove panels covering anti-slavery murals at Vermont school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:23 GMT

An artist has lost his appeal to remove fabric panels concealing murals he painted to honor African Americans and abolitionists involved in the Underground Railroad but that officials at the Vermont law school where they’re housed found to be racially insensitive.Artist Sam Kerson created the colorful murals entitled “Vermont, The Underground Railroad” and “Vermont and the Fugitive Slave” in 1993 on two walls inside a building at the private Vermont Law School, now called Vermont Law and Graduate School, in South Royalton. In 2020, the school said it would paint over them. But when Kerson objected, it said it would cover them with acoustic tiles. The school gave Kerson the option of removing the murals, but he said he could not without damaging them.When Kerson, who lives in Quebec, sued in federal court in Vermont, the school said in a court filing that “the depictions of African Americans strikes some viewers as caricatured and offensive, and the mural has become a source of...

Official leading search for Mexico’s disappeared resigns as critics worry government may rig numbers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:23 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The head of Mexico’s commission leading the search for tens of thousands who have disappeared over past decades of violence has stepped down as critics accuse the government of trying to undermine the true numbers of the missing in the run-up to presidential elections.Escalating cartel violence has increasingly eclipsed large swaths of Mexico, leaving thousands of Mexicans reported missing this year alone.Karla Quintana, head of the National Search Commission, did not elaborate on the motives for her resignation, saying on Wednesday only that she is leaving her post “in light of current circumstances.”“The challenges surrounding the disappearance of people remain,” Quintana posted on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter. “The State must continue to push for a comprehensive policy geared toward prevention, searching and fighting impunity.” Populist President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s government has recently come under critici...

Judge orders new trial in 1993 murder but discredits theory that prison escapee was the killer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:23 GMT

A judge has ordered new trials for two men convicted of murdering a woman in 1993 inside her home near Buffalo, New York, but who have always maintained their innocence.Additional DNA analysis and the fact that the original prosecutors withheld evidence that could’ve helped the defense means the convictions of Brian Scott Lorenz and James Pugh should be overturned, the judge ruled Wednesday.However, Erie County state Supreme Court Justice Paul Wojtaszek did not credit a sensational claim made during a reexamination of the case: that the real killer was Richard Matt, a convicted murderer who escaped from an upstate New York prison in 2015 and was fatally shot by a federal agent.Deborah Meindl, 33-year-old a nursing student and mother of two, was stabbed dozens of times and strangled inside her home in Tonawanda.Her husband Donald Meindl, who had a $50,000 life insurance policy on his wife and who was carrying on a relationship with a 17-year-old employee at the Taco Bell he man...

Greek authorities report hundreds of migrant arrivals on islands over the past three days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:23 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — More than 300 migrants have arrived on Greek islands, most near the Turkish coast, over the past three days in separate incidents reported by the coast guard.On Thursday, the coast guard said authorities had found 107 people the previous day on the islands of Samos, Mykonos and the tiny island of Ro, which lies in the Mediterranean off the southern coast of Turkey.Those were in addition to another 109 people whose arrival Wednesday the coast guard announced the same day on the islands of Lesbos, Rhodes, Samos and Santorini, while a further 118 arrived Tuesday on the islands of Ro, Rhodes and Lesbos.Most were picked up near the coastline by coast guard patrol boats from dinghies or other vessels provided by smugglers. All were taken to migrant reception centers.For decades Greece has been one of the preferred entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict or poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and hoping for a better life in Europe.More...

Quebec company buys private island with chalet to boost employee happiness

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:23 GMT

LAVAL, Que. — A Montreal-area company has come up with a novel — if extreme — way to boost employee happiness: buying them a private island.The 30 workers at data services company Mon Technicien are now able to book stays on their employer’s newly acquired, 930-square-metre island in the Laurentian Mountains northwest of Montreal.The Labelle, Que., getaway includes a single, two-bedroom cabin with enough room for eight people, as well as a barbecue, pedal boat, dinghy and other water sport equipment.Mon Technicien president Sylvain Dion says his Laval, Que., company jumped on the opportunity to buy the island as a way to expand its employee benefits package.Employees aren’t directly charged for their stays, but the perk is taxable.Dion says he expects the prospect of private island sojourns will make his company more attractive to prospective job applicants.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2023.The Canadian Press

3 teens including 14-year-old charged in violent Mississauga carjacking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:23 GMT

Three teenagers, including a 14-year-old, have been arrested in connection with a violent armed carjacking in Mississauga.Peel police say just before midnight on August 23, a food delivery driver was parked outside an apartment building in Mississauga when they were approached by three suspects in disguise.Police say all three were in possession of an “edged weapon” and forcibly removed the victim from their vehicle before fleeing the scene.Investigators say they were able to quickly locate the stolen vehicle and a high-risk traffic stop was executed and the three teens were arrested.Two 17-year-olds and a 14-year-old have been charged with robbery and wearing a disguise with intent.Police say the 14-year-old has also been charged with breach of probation for several previous offenses including assault, robbery, uttering threats and weapons dangerous.The names of the teens cannot be released due to provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Wagner plane crash seems intended to send a clear message to potential Kremlin foes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:23 GMT

When Yevgeny Prigozhin launched his armed rebellion that challenged the Kremlin, Western officials predicted Russian President Vladimir Putin would seek vengeance against the mercenary leader.Two months to the day after the action that Putin labeled a “stab in the back” and “treason,” those forecasts seem to have come true, in ruthless and menacing fashion.Although authorities have not yet confirmed the deaths of Prigozhin and his top lieutenants from the Wagner private military contractor in Wednesday’s plane crash northwest of Moscow, it sent an immediate chill through Russian official circles.Even amid the uncertainty, the message was clear: Anyone who dares to cross the Kremlin will perish.But even as the crash worked to restore an image of Kremlin authority that was badly crippled by the Prigozhin mutiny, it also sowed confusion and anger among Russian hard-liners, heralding perhaps other challenges to Putin as the war in Ukraine marked its 18th month.Many see the events ...

TD Bank Group reports profits down, rolls out expanded share buyback program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:23 GMT

TORONTO — TD Bank Group announced it was significantly expanding a share buyback program as it reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago.The bank said Thursday its net income totalled $2.96 billion or $1.57 per diluted share, down from $3.21 billion or $1.75 per diluted share in the same quarter last year, as it saw a rise in provisions for credit losses as well as higher expenses in part related to its failed bid to buy U.S.-based First Horizon.TD called off the US$13.4-billion deal in May citing regulatory uncertainty, leaving a question as to what it would do with the extra cash it had built up for the deal. Investors got a partial answer Thursday as the bank announced a plan to buy back 90 million shares, or about 4.9 per cent of outstanding shares, after it just completed a 30-million share buyback program.TD chief financial officer Kelvin Tran said in an interview that the buybacks were part of the bank’s consistent capital deployment approach that ...

Cooling buses sent to shelter housing migrants in Gage Park after AC unit breaks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:23 GMT

CHICAGO — Cooling buses were provided Thursday at the Gage Park Field House, which is being used as a shelter for migrants, after the HVAC system shut down.According to a statement from the city, the Office of Emergency Management and Communications and Chicago Park District are working to repair the air conditioning units at the field house. The cooling system went down Wednesday and a technician was called to repair the system. However, the system broke down again Wednesday night. Cooling buses were ordered to provide relief from the heat. Excessive Heat Warning remains in effect as dangerous temps continue across Chicago area Residents were also advised to seek shelter at the following cooling centers: Gage Park Library, 2807 W 55th St and Lindblom Park, 6054 S Damen. There are also 27 cooling centers set up throughout the city.  An Excessive Heat Warning remains in effect across until 8 p.m. Thursday as dangerous conditions continue across the Chicago area.