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Queen Elizabeth statue coming to Ontario legislature, government pays $1.5M

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:38:11 GMT

A statue of Queen Elizabeth is coming to the grounds of Ontario’s legislature, ending a years-long delay and reigniting a conversation about the commemoration of historical figures.The Ontario government says it has allocated $1.5 million to complete the project, which it hopes to see finished this fall — contractors broke ground on the statue’s foundation late last month.The statue was originally intended to go up in 2017 to mark the queen’s Sapphire Jubilee and the 150th anniversary of Confederation, but the government says a fundraising effort spearheaded by a private heritage trust faltered.Minister of Legislative Affairs Paul Calandra says when he learned about the stalled project last year, the government allocated the money to get it over the finish line.He says the statue will commemorate Canada’s longest-serving head of state, who reigned at a time when the country established itself as a major global power.Ontario NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa says the ...

Wisconsin lawsuit asks new liberal-controlled Supreme Court to toss Republican-drawn maps

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:38:11 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A lawsuit filed Wednesday asks Wisconsin’s newly liberal-controlled state Supreme Court to throw out Republican-drawn legislative maps as unconstitutional, the latest legal challenge of many nationwide that could upset political boundary lines before the 2024 election.The long-promised action from a coalition of law firms and voting rights advocacy groups comes the day after the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped from a conservative to liberal majority, with the start of the term of a justice who said that the Republican maps were “rigged” and should be reviewed.The Wisconsin lawsuit is just one of many expected or pending court challenges that could force lawmakers or special commissions to draw yet another set of maps before the 2024 election. In one of the most recent examples, Alabama lawmakers passed new congressional districts last month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that its districts violated federal law by diluting the voting strength of...

Pence fought an order to testify but now is a central figure in his former boss’s indictment

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:38:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Mike Pence fought the Department of Justice in court to try to avoid testifying against his former boss. But in Tuesday’s federal indictment, the former vice president plays a central role in the first criminal charges against Donald Trump that deal with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.The 45-page indictment is informed, in part, by contemporaneous notes that Pence kept of their conversations in the days leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, as Trump tried to pressure Pence to go along with his desperate — and prosecutors say illegal — scheme to keep the two men in power.Among the discussions: An episode in which Trump is alleged to have told Pence that he was “too honest” for rejecting Trump’s false claims that Pence had the power to overturn the vote. “Bottom line – won every state by 100,000s of votes,” Trump said in another conversation, according to the indictment.Pence, who is among a crowded field of Republicans...

Toronto couples left scrambling after weddings cancelled as Berkeley Events goes into receivership

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:38:11 GMT

Couples expected to get married at one of Berkeley Events’ three venues in the east end of downtown Toronto were devastated to hear the events company has gone into receivership.Tyrelle Hunt was devastated to discover her wedding at her dream venue of Berkeley Field House in just 10 days won’t be happening.Hunt’s original wedding was scheduled for May of 2020, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it was cancelled. The family physician said due to the stress of working in health care during the pandemic, they decided to delay their wedding until August 12, 2023. Hunt said she didn’t receive a call from anyone from the venue but found out about the closure through a screenshot from a former VP with the company.Michael Sherman, the former VP of Berkeley Events, posted on LinkedIn that he was deeply upset and sad to hear about the sudden closure. He told CityNews he was terminated immediately like everyone else at the company.“Berkeley Events was operating e...

RioCan REIT Q2 net income rises by almost 43% from last year

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:38:11 GMT

TORONTO — RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says its second-quarter net income was almost 43 per cent higher this year than last.The Toronto-based real estate company says net income for the period ended June 30 amounted to $112 million, up from $78.5 million a year ago.It attributed the large increase to lower fair value losses on investment properties in the latest quarter.Revenue for the quarter was $276 million, down from $308.4 million a year earlier.Funds from operations totalled $131.6 million, or 44 cents per diluted unit, a slight decrease from $131.7 million a year ago, or 43 cents per diluted unit.RioCan blamed the small drop in funds from operations per unit on lower residential inventory gains and lower lease cancellation fees.RioCan’s committed occupancy rate for the quarter was 97.4 per cent, up from 97.2 per cent a year ago.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN)The Canadian Press

Fargo shooter was reportedly interviewed by police about guns, propane tanks in 2022

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:38:11 GMT

The gunman who last month killed a Fargo police officer and wounded two others and a civilian reportedly admitted owning nearly a dozen guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition in a 2022 police interview following a kitchen fire at his home.Firefighters notified police after seeing guns, ammunition and propane tanks in Mohamad Barakat’s apartment, according to a report provided to The Associated Press Wednesday by the City of Fargo Fire Department.Battalion Chief Jason Ness noted what appeared to be “a significant amount of gun ammunition,” “multiple ‘assault style’ rifles,” a 20-pound propane cylinder in a bedroom, a second smaller propane cylinder in the kitchen, and “a funnel, blender, and other items that looked to be for measuring purposes” in his report on the Sept. 6, 2022 fire. “FPD determined everything was legal with the gun collection,” Ness wrote. “The individual admitted to owning approximately 10 guns and 6,000 rounds of ammunition. My decision to r...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and wife, Sophie, announce separation

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:38:11 GMT

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, have announced they are separating after 18 years of marriage.The couple were married in Montreal on May 28, 2005 and have three children together.The Prime Minister’s office released a statement confirming the separation.“Sophie and the Prime Minister have signed a legal separation agreement. They have worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward.“They remain a close family and Sophie and the Prime Minister are focused on raising their kids in a safe, loving and collaborative environment. Both parents will be a constant presence in their children’s lives and Canadians can expect to often see the family together.”The statement concludes by announcing that the family will be vacationing together next week.On her Instagram page, Sophie also addressed the separation, saying the decision ca...

Amazon begins offering grocery delivery for customers who are not Prime members

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:38:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon has begun offering its Fresh grocery delivery service to customers who aren’t Prime members. The initial rollout will only be available in a dozen cities, including Boston, Phoenix, Dallas and San Francisco, the company told customers Wednesday in an emailed announcement. Previously, Amazon had only offered grocery deliveries for Prime members, who pay $139 a year for faster shipping and other perks. Non-Prime members who’re interested in trying out the service will pay $13.95 for deliveries under $50. That’s $4 more than Prime members have to pay for the same order size. Deliveries for orders between $50 and $100 will cost $10.95, and orders over $100 will incur a $7.95 fee. The company said pick-up orders are free from select metro areas. Amazon operates 44 Fresh grocery stores across the country, most of which are located in California, Illinois, Virginia and Washington state. It also operates more than 20 cashier-free convenience stores in the U.S. under t...

Lighthouse featured in ‘Forrest Gump’ goes dark after lightning strike

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:38:11 GMT

PORT CLYDE, Maine (AP) — Lightning has knocked out a lighthouse on the Maine coast that was featured in the movie “Forrest Gump.”The Marshall Point lighthouse, established in 1832, has been dark since Thursday when a lightning strike took out the light and foghorn, and damaged the associated circuitry, said Nat Lyon, director of the Marshall Point Lighthouse and Museum.“It fried everything. It fried the light, the circuit breakers, the foghorn,” Lyon said Wednesday. “At this point we have a lightless lighthouse until the Coast Guard can effect the repairs.”A tenant living in the keeper’s house reported a “tremendous crash” and noticed the light was out after the lightning strike, Lyon said. Coast Guard Station Southwest Harbor, which is responsible for the navigational aid, removed the light for repairs on Monday and is still working on getting the foghorn working, he said. The Coast Guard didn’t respond to messages from The Associated Press.The lightho...

Greece plans hourly caps on visitors to ancient Acropolis and will let in up to 20,000 daily

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:38:11 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Visits to the Acropolis of Athens, Greece’s most popular archaeological site, will be capped starting next month at a maximum 20,000 daily and subject to varying hourly entry limits, the Greek government said Wednesday.Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the controls are needed to prevent bottlenecks and overcrowding at the UNESCO World Heritage site. As many as 23,000 people a day have been squeezing into the monument complex, mostly large groups visiting before noon.“That’s a huge number,” Mendoni said in an interview with the Real FM radio network. “Obviously tourism is desirable for the country, for all of us. But we must work out how excessive tourism won’t harm the monument.”The new entry limits will be implemented on a trial basis from Sept. 4, and will come permanently into effect from April 1 2024, the minister said. There will be no limit on how long visits may last, although Mendoni said people who come with organized tours or from c...