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California prison on generator power after wildfires knock out electricity and fill cells with smoke

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:49 GMT

A Northern California prison was on generator power for a second week and inmates were issued masks to cope with unhealthy air after wildfires knocked out electricity and choked the remote region with smoke. Dozens of lightning-sparked blazes have burned for weeks near Oregon, where the largest group, the Smith River Complex, has charred more than 115 square miles (298 square kilometers) of forest. Last week flames came within about 5 miles (8 kilometers) of Pelican Bay State Prison, but firefighters protected communities around the maximum-security lockup that houses about 1,600 inmates in Del Norte County, said Dev Khalsa, a spokesperson at the fire’s command center.“Unfortunately the smoke cover has been pretty thick,” Khalsa said. Air quality was unhealthy in the coastal area Wednesday, according to the U.S. Air Quality Index.Lingering smoke infiltrated Pelican Bay housing, where Terri Thompson Jackson’s husband, Jeffrey Jackson, is incarcerated. She became concerned...

Conservative judge seeks presidency of Israel’s high court in new challenge to embattled judiciary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:49 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — A junior conservative justice on Wednesday launched a bid to become president of Israel’s Supreme Court, an unprecedented move that legal scholars said is yet another challenge to the tribunal’s independence as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government advances with its plan to overhaul the judiciary.In Israel’s 75-year history, the committee that selects the president of the country’s top court has always nominated the most senior judge for the position. With the court’s current president, Esther Hayut, due to retire in October, Judge Yosef Elron’s decision to throw his name in the ring as her replacement represents a departure from tradition.Isaac Amit, the justice set to replace Hayut under the seniority system, is a liberal who has sat on the court for over a decade. Elron, who joined the court in 2017 and is considered its most conservative justice, is believed to be favored by Justice Minister Yariv Levi...

Wasaga Beach granted injunction against illegal car rally this Labour Day weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:49 GMT

An Ontario Superior Court judge has granted Wasaga Beach’s request for an injunction against an illegal car rally planned for the Labour Day long weekend.The ruling says promoting or attending this type of event violates a recently passed bylaw that prohibits vehicular nuisance events, known as the “car rally bylaw,” and under the injunction, provincial police are authorized to arrest anyone who ignores the court order.“The car rally can not in any way be compared to a lawful protest nor in my view could a car rally be equated with any of the Charter-protected rights of freedom of conscience, peaceful assembly, or freedom of expression,” Justice Edwards said in his ruling.“I can see no basis upon which the persons unknown who have published their intentions on social media have the right to violate the Town by law and trample on the rights of others.”The Georgian Bay town has been a popular hotspot for illegal car rallies since the pandemic ...

Locomotive manufacturer, union reach tentative deal to end 2-month strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:49 GMT

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — The country’s largest locomotive manufacturer and its striking union workers have reached a tentative agreement that could end a two-month strike that saw about 1,400 people walk off the job at its Pennsylvania plant.Pittsburgh-based Wabtec announced the agreement with Local 506 of the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America on Wednesday. The company said it calls for wage increases, improves the grievance process and provides other benefits, but it did not disclose specific details.The tentative agreement also maintains a two-tier wage system at the Erie plant that allows the company to pay new hires less money and gradually raises their pay to match those of so-called legacy employees, according to the Wabtec statement.A message seeking comment was left Wednesday afternoon for Scott Slawson, president of Local 506. It wasn’t immediately clear when a ratification vote may be held.Wabtec acquired the plant and the rest of General Electric Trans...

Liberals fight Republican attempt to boot Wisconsin Supreme Court justice from redistricting case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:49 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Liberals argued in a legal filing this week that Republicans were trying to nullify the election of a Democratic-backed Wisconsin Supreme Court justice by asking her to recuse herself from hearing redistricting lawsuits that could result in drawing new legislative electoral maps.Attorneys in two separate redistricting cases filed arguments Tuesday objecting to the Republican-controlled Legislature’s request that Justice Janet Protasiewicz recuse herself. They argued that there was no legal or ethical obligation for Protasiewicz to step aside, despite her comments during the campaign that she thinks the current maps are “rigged” or because she accepted nearly $10 million from the Wisconsin Democratic Party.One motion objecting to Protasiewicz’s recusal argued that such a move would be unsupported by fact or law and “it would be contrary to her duties as a justice on the Supreme Court.”“Unhappy with this electoral result, which they could not prevent t...

Residents offered bus visits to their burned homes in and around West Kelowna, B.C.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:49 GMT

People whose homes were destroyed by the wildfire in and around West Kelowna, B.C., are being contacted to schedule escorted bus visits to assess the damage.Only people whose properties are completely destroyed or damaged to the point they’re uninhabitable will be invited to participate at this time, the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre said in a statement on Wednesday.The process is aimed at ensuring people who have lost their homes “have the privacy, time and space to be the first to see their properties,” it said.Bus visits are being offered before officials lift any further evacuation orders in neighbourhoods ravaged by wildfire nearly two weeks ago, the centre added.People must remain on the bus during their visit, and not all properties will be visible from the bus, such as those with a long driveway, the statement noted.Regional staff, as well as RCMP and mental health professionals, will be present during visits to offer support to property owne...

Montreal will not return toppled John A. Macdonald statue that stood downtown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:49 GMT

MONTREAL — The City of Montreal announced Wednesday that it won’t put back a downtown statue of Canada’s first prime minister that was toppled and beheaded three years ago by protesters.Sir John A. Macdonald is considered the architect of Confederation — but also of the residential school system — and the city says it plans to partner with a local institution, such as a museum, to display his bronzed image in a different location with more contextual information for onlookers.Montreal won’t return the statue, city councillor Ericka Alneus told reporters Wednesday, “not with the aim of erasing history, but with the aim of confronting it with the values and concerns of our time.”Erected in 1895, the prominent statue of Macdonald, who championed the assimilation of Indigenous people, was frequently the target of vandalism before protesters tore it down from its pedestal in downtown Montreal’s Place du Canada on Aug. 29, 2020. Since then, ...

Georgia Power customers could see monthly bills rise another $9 to pay for the Vogtle nuclear plant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:49 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Residential customers of Georgia’s largest electrical utility could see their bills rise another $9 a month to pay for a new nuclear power plant under a deal announced Wednesday.Georgia Power Co. said customers would pay $7.56 billion more for Plant Vogtle construction costs under the agreement with utility regulatory staff. The Georgia Public Service Commission’s five elected commissioners must approve any deal, but such agreements are typically persuasive. With the commission’s Public Interest Advocacy staff and three leading ratepayer groups signing on, the agreement is likely to avert contentious hearings over how much blame the company should bear for billions in cost overruns at two new nuclear reactors southeast of Augusta. Vogtle’s Unit 3 and Unit 4 are the first new American reactors built from scratch in decades. Each reactor can power 500,000 homes and businesses without releasing any carbon. But even as government officials and some...

S&P/TSX composite ticks higher on energy, tech and metals, U.S. markets also rise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:49 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in energy, technology and battery metals stocks helped Canada’s main stock index tick higher Wednesday, while U.S. stock markets also rose. This week, the markets have been fighting back after a weak and volatile month of August, albeit with the lower volume that normally comes at summer’s end, said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at Purpose Investments.The historical volatility of August normally carries into September, he said.“We might be (in) a bit of a quiet relief rally for the last week of the month, but probably setting up for some more fireworks in the next few weeks.” The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 39.91 points at 20,330.32.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 37.57 points at 34,890.24. The S&P 500 index was up 17.24 points at 4,514.87, while the Nasdaq composite was up 75.55 points at 14,019.31.Markets are still taking any negative economic news as positive as they look for continued affirmation that rate hikes...

Children getting wrongly dropped from Medicaid because of automation `glitch’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:49 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Children in many states are being wrongly cut off from Medicaid because of a “glitch” in the automated systems being used in a massive eligibility review for the government-run health care program, a top Medicaid official said Wednesday. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is asking all states to review their computer-automated processes to make sure that children are evaluated separately from their parents — and aren’t losing coverage merely because of their parents’ ineligibility or inaction. Though federal officials remained vague about the scope of the problem, it likely involves at least half the states and potentially affects millions of children, said Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. “I think it’s a very significant problem,” said Alker, whose center is tracking the Medicaid renewal process in each state.In most states, children can qualify for Medicaid at househ...