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SIU concludes investigation after man falls to death at downtown hotel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:54:25 GMT

The SIU has concluded their investigation after a man fell to his death in the presence of police at a downtown Toronto hotel.On June 15, officers were called to the Holiday Inn Express in the area of Jarvis and Richmond streets around 3 a.m. for reports of a person in crisis.According to the SIU, police noticed a fourth floor window had been smashed upon arrival. Officers went up and attempted to communicate with a man inside the fourth floor room.The victim fell shortly after and was pronounced dead at the scene.Photos from the scene showed broken glass, pillows and other debris scattered on the street and sidewalk.On his assessment of the evidence, SIU Director Joseph Martino determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe that an officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the man’s death. The SIU is called in to investigate any police interaction resulting in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.With files f...

Far from Israel, Jews grieve and pray for peace in first Shabbat services since Hamas attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:54:25 GMT

Jews in communities far from Israel gathered at synagogues this weekend for their first Shabbat services since Hamas militants attacked Israel, igniting an ongoing war. Rabbis led prayers of peace and shared grief with their congregations. At many synagogues security was tight.PITTSBURGH RABBI SAYS HAMAS ATTACK RESURFACES GENERATIONS OF TRAUMA FOR JEWISH PEOPLEThe deadly Hamas attack is not just another geopolitical event for Jewish people, explained one U.S. rabbi. It is drudging up generations of visceral trauma, especially in Pittsburgh – the city scarred by the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.“More Jews were killed last Shabbat … than on any other day since the Holocaust,” said Rabbi Daniel Fellman of Temple Sinai, during the first service following the violence in Israel. “It isn’t that Hamas wants the destruction of Israel. It’s that Hamas wants the destruction of you and me.”“The world deserves better, the Palestinian people deserve better and we need to do bette...

NDP to debate Israel-Hamas conflict in emergency resolution; Singh to face review

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:54:25 GMT

OTTAWA — Decked out in orange gear and pins, hundreds of people gathered at the NDP convention, where leader Jagmeet Singh is set to take the stage Saturday afternoon.The convention’s second day opened in Hamilton with more than 950 delegates in attendance, almost doubling the previous days’ attendance.Singh, who has been head of the federal NDP since 2017, is also to face a mandatory leadership review — his first since the 2021 election. At the last convention held in April 2022, 87 per cent of delegates voted against triggering a leadership race.The vote is expected to follow Singh’s speech.The New Democrats are also set to debate the war between Israel and Hamas at their convention. Several emergency resolutions that address the Middle Eastern conflict condemn the attacks by Hamas militants, while one calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.With just 30 minutes for delegates to debate the resolutions, not all of them are expected to be discussed. However, a resolution tha...

Ada Sagi was already dealing with the pain of loss. Then war came to her door

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:54:25 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Ada Sagi was getting ready to travel to London to celebrate her 75th birthday with family when Hamas militants attacked her kibbutz and took her hostage.The trip was supposed to be a joyous occasion after a year of trauma. Her husband died of cancer last year, she had struggled with allergies and was recovering from hip replacement surgery. But the grandmother of six was getting through it, even though it was hard.“They had a very, very, very strong bond of 54 years,” her son Noam, a psychotherapist in London, told The Associated Press. “And my mum, this is her main thing now, really, just getting her life back after dealing with the loss of my dad.”Ada Sagi was born in Tel Aviv in 1948, the daughter of Holocaust survivors from Poland. She moved to a kibbutz at the age of 18, not for religious reasons but because she was attracted by the ideals of equality and humanity on which the communal settlements were built.A mother of three, Ada decided to learn Arabic so she co...

Fire-ravaged N.W.T. hamlet asks for independent inquiry as it looks to rebuild

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:54:25 GMT

ENTERPRISE, N.W.T. — Paul Flamand dug through the ashes of his burned-down home in a hamlet known as the gateway to the Northwest Territories. The building was lost to a raging wildfire that tore through Enterprise within a matter of hours in August. But a piece of his heart held onto hope that one thing may have survived — his grandfather’s ring. He saw a slight shining in the debris, and there it was. “It was fine, a little charred up, but the diamonds were still in it. Good enough,” Flamand said in an interview at his plumbing business, which survived the fire. Enterprise, a community of about 100 people on the highway north of the Alberta boundary, lost 80 per cent of its structures. Local leaders are wondering why there was so much destruction. “Once the fire got to that point, nothing could be done,” said Blair Porter, the hamlet’s senior administrative officer. “But did it have to get to that point? Those are the questions we’re asking.”The hamlet trac...

Alberta mountain towns work to coexist with bears through warnings and other actions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:54:25 GMT

BANFF, Alta. — When Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno goes out for a run in her Alberta mountain town, she wears a vest holding a can of bear spray, makes noise and keeps an eye out for wildlife.The town in Banff National Park has strict rules around how to dispose of garbage and has recently renewed an effort to offer its residents free fruit tree removal in an attempt to reduce wildlife attractants.“We know that you need a healthy wildlife population in the national park and we take that really seriously,” she said in an interview. “We also know that, for visitors, seeing animals safely — from a safe distance — is a vibrant and special experience.”DiManno, a long-term resident who has been the town’s mayor since 2021, said it’s all part of coexisting with bears in the Canadian Rockies — a reality that took a terrible turn in late September when an Alberta couple and their dog were killed by a grizzly bear during a backcountry camping trip in the nation...

"A humanitarian disaster:' Chicagoans voice concerns for loved ones trapped in Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:54:25 GMT

CHICAGO -- Israel gave civilians in Gaza a 24-hour warning to evacuate Friday before an expected large-scale invasion in the midst of launching deadly airstrikes across the region in the past week. Feelings of distress escalate for Palestinians in Chicago as they worry for loved ones scrambling to seek safety. Israeli air-raids have sent buildings to rubble, killed dozens of civilians in the past day and has minimized access to safekeeping. The U.N. has warned that evacuating more than half of the population would be calamitous and has urged Israel to reconsider action. More than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 8,000 wounded in Gaza. Associated Press reported that the morgue at Gaza's biggest hospital has overflowed as bodies came in faster than relatives could claim. Hospitals in the northern part of the strip have also been ordered to evacuate. "Evacuation is impossible for most people, there is nowhere to evacuate and no way to get there. This is asking to displ...

NADA used car value vs. KBB used car value

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:54:25 GMT

(iSeeCars) -- If you’re buying or selling a used car, you’ll want an accurate valuation of the vehicle to know if it’s fairly priced. Luckily there are plenty of pricing tools available to help you figure out how much a vehicle is worth.You’ve probably heard of the most common two: NADA Guides and Kelley Blue Book®. Is one more accurate than the other? And what are the differences between these two pricing guides? We have the important answers, but first here's a brief description of each:NADAGuidesNADA stands for the National Automobile Dealers Association, which is a trade organization that represents all franchised new-car dealers. NADA publishes the Official Used Car Guide, which provides used car values for dealers across the United States. Since 1933, the Used Car guide has been a trusted and valuable resource for dealers to set retail prices and calculate trade-in values. In 2015, NADA was acquired by J.D. Power, another industry-leading data company. NADA also has a consumer...

Accenture to lay off hundreds more Austin employees for third time this year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:54:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Accenture intends to lay off 351 Austin employees from its Domain office before the end of the year, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, earlier this week. The Ireland-headquartered professional services giant has laid off hundreds of Austin employees already in 2023. A letter made public in May revealed the company would lay off 549 Austin employees also working at the office in The Domain. In June, another wave of layoffs was revealed to affect over 200 workers at a Williamson County Accenture office. The new layoffs are expected to be permanent and are due to a change in client contract requirements, according to Austin Business Journal reporting.

APD gets 11 theft reports during ACL Weekend 1

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:54:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Weekend Two of Austin City Limits Music Festivals is underway. During the first weekend of the festival, the Austin Police Department received 11 theft reports. This includes five reports of people stealing from individuals and six reports of theft or burglary from vehicles. RELATED: ACL lost and found fills up after Weekend 1 During both weekends in 2022, APD received 16 reports similar to these. In 2021, police received 27 theft reports, according to APD. If your phone or another item is stolen at ACL, festivalgoers should call 311 or report the theft online at ireportaustin.com. Before ACL began, APD gave advice to prevent thefts at the festival. Take down your phone’s serial number ahead of the weekend and keep that number in a safe place at home. This can help APD track it down more easily if it does get stolen.Keep valuables in different places on your person. This way, for example, if your phone is in a purse, but your ID is in a fanny pack, only one of tho...