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US made offer to bring home jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. Russia rejected it

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has made a new and significant offer aimed at securing the release of American detainees Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, but Russia has rejected the offer, the State Department said Tuesday.Spokesman Matthew Miller did not reveal the details of the offer nor why Russia had turned it down, but the revelation of the proposal was a fresh indication that Washington is continuing to try to negotiate with Moscow to get both men home.“This was a new proposal, in recent weeks. It was a significant proposal,” Miller said. “And it was rejected by the Russians but it does not, it will not deter us from continuing to do everything we can to try and bring both of them home.”The U.S. government has declared both Whelan and Gershkovich to be wrongfully detained.Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, has been jailed in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage-related charges that both he and the U.S....

Illinois scraps plan for building migrant winter camp due to toxic soil risk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:14 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration announced Tuesday that it is scrapping plans for a temporary winter camp for migrants in Chicago, citing the risk of contaminants at the former industrial site.The setback comes as Chicago struggles to house more than 24,000 migrants arriving from the border with Mexico since August of last year, most in buses sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, according to city data released Tuesday. With the coldest weather looming — and despite a partnership with religious leaders to provide temporary housing — hundreds of asylum-seekers still await placement at airports and police stations, some of them still camped on sidewalks outside precinct buildings.Responding to the urgent need, the state put up $65 million for a tent camp in Brighton Park designed to hold 2,000, and for permanent structures at a 200-bed site in the Little Village neighborhood giving priority to families and people with disabilities. Construction at the Brighton Park site be...

Senators were intimidated, had their privilege breached, Speaker rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:14 GMT

OTTAWA — Senate Speaker Raymonde Gagné says nothing could justify the “disproportionate reaction” some senators had to a decision to adjourn debate on a carbon pricing bill last month.Gagné ruled today that the events that transpired on Nov. 9 breached the privilege of some senators.Sen. Raymonde Saint-Germain raised the question of privilege saying she and Sen. Bernadette Clement felt physically intimidated and harassed that day when another senator stood over their desks and berated them for their positions on the bill.Conservative Sen. Don Plett apologized in the Senate on Nov. 24, saying he was angered by moves to amend the bill and to adjourn debate on that amendment, which he saw as an attempt to delay passage of the legislation.The private member’s bill, which is in its third and final stage of debate in the Senate, would take the carbon price off natural gas and propane used for farming for at least the next eight years.Gagné says what happened in the Senat...

Roger Goodell says football will become a global sport in a decade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:14 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sees football becoming a global sport within the next decade, with his league at the forefront of that effort.That includes, Goodell said Tuesday, adding another international market to next year’s regular-season schedule. He wasn’t specific, but Brazil and Spain are the front-runners. An announcement is expected in the next month or two.“We’re really excited about that,” Goodell said of entering a new market. “I don’t see that as much as expanding the number of franchises as I do expanding the opportunity for people to really just enjoy the game.”Goodell was speaking at a forum that included officials from Las Vegas teams and events to promote the Super Bowl, which will be played at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11.He said the league’s championship game will return to Las Vegas many times after this season.“I think probably I would not have said 10 years ago that I would see myself sitting here for a Super Bowl,” Goodell...

Doug Ford considering reversal of dissolving Peel Region: sources

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:14 GMT

Doug Ford’s provincial government is reconsidering its plan to dissolve Peel Region, sources tell CityNews.A formal announcement is expected, likely later in the week.In May, the Ford government tabled legislation to turn Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon into independent cities and towns. A month later, the Ontario government passed Bill 112, also known as the Hazel McCallion Act. The province aimed to complete the dissolution process by Jan. 1, 2025.#BREAKING – The Ford government is considering doing away with its plan to dissolve Peel Region, sources tell CityNews. A formal announcement possible later in the week. First to report was @robertbenzie— Richard Southern (@RichardCityNews) December 5, 2023The province appointed a facilitator to review the community needs of Durham, Halton, Niagara, Simcoe, Waterloo and York and determine if it should pursue a similar-type dissolution for those regions.Caledon mayor Annette Groves urged the province to rethink its pl...

Peruvian constitutional court orders release of former President Alberto Fujimori

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:14 GMT

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru’s constitutional court ordered an immediate humanitarian release Tuesday for imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori, 85, who was serving a 25-year sentence in connection with the death squad slayings of 25 Peruvians in the 1990s.The court ruled in favor of a 2017 pardon that had granted the former leader a release on humanitarian grounds but that later was annulled. In a resolution seen by The Associated Press, the court told the state prisons agency to immediately release Fujimori “on the same day.”Fujimori was sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison on charges of human rights abuses. He had been accused of being the mastermind behind the slayings of 25 Peruvians by a military death squad during his administration from 1990 to 2000, while the government fought the Shining Path communist rebels. The Associated Press

Crombie won’t seek seat at Queen’s Park in near future

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:14 GMT

New Ontario Liberal Party Leader Bonnie Crombie says she will not run for a seat at Queen’s Park in the near future.After her leadership win on Saturday, she mused about running in the riding held by former Progressive Conservative labour minister Monte McNaughton, who resigned in September. The government has yet to call a byelection for the riding of Lambton-Kent-Middlesex.The Mississauga mayor says she’ll resign that post in the new year after she gets the city’s budget passed. The conservatives have been attacking Crombie since she won the Liberal leadership, criticizing her housing record and painting her as an elite who is out of touch with voters.Premier Doug Ford accused Crombie in question period of flying in a private jet with a developer.Crombie says that never happened, but admits she has had lunch at Mississauga developer Benny Marotta’s winery and always paid her way.“I know what the premier is trying to do, he’s trying to ...

Frontier Airlines settles lawsuit filed by pilots who claimed bias over pregnancy, breastfeeding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:14 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Frontier Airlines has settled a lawsuit filed by female pilots who accused the airline of discriminating against pregnant or breastfeeding employees.In the agreement announced Tuesday, Frontier will let pilots pump breast milk in the cockpit during “noncritical phases” of flights.The Denver-based airline also agreed to let pilots who are breastfeeding reduce their flying time and treat pregnancy and breastfeeding the same as other medical conditions if they make pilots unable to fly.The settlement was announced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The agency lodged charges against Frontier in 2018, after several pilots sued the airline.Aditi Fruitwala, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit, said the settlement should send a message to airlines and other employers about making reasonable accommodations to pregnant and breastfeeding employees.“We’re hopeful this will inspire more change and stronger prot...

Workplace expert says conditions at Canada’s spy agency ripe for harassment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:14 GMT

VANCOUVER — A University of British Columbia expert on employment discrimination says toxic workplace claims against Canada’s spy agency point to a “perfect storm” of conditions that allow harassment to occur. Beth Hirsh, a sociology professor who studies discrimination and the effect of legal claims on organizations, says lawsuits against the Canadian Security Intelligence Service contain “egregious” allegations. Hirsh commented after CSIS announced last week it had launched a workplace climate assessment in its British Columbia office over claims made public in an investigation by The Canadian Press.Two covert officers who are suing the federal government said they were sexually assaulted at work by the same senior colleague, that bullying and harassment went unchecked and they were failed by the internal investigation mechanism at CSIS.Hirsh says organizations like CSIS, where people work in physical and social isolation, can create “textbook&#...

Top TV of 2023: AP’s selections include ‘Succession,’ ‘Jury Duty,’ ‘Shrinking,’ ‘Swarm’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:49:14 GMT

With so many shows on TV and streaming services, it’s impossible not to miss a gem or two. This year’s top television offerings as selected by The Associated Press include a mix of dramas and comedies that will draw you in. Some are new, some have already ended their runs and some have new episodes on the horizon. There’s no time like December to add a title to your growing TBW (to be watched) list or settle in for a marathon during that time warp between Christmas and New Year’s when no one knows what day it is.Here are 10 shows from 2023 that simply shouldn’t be missed.“The Bear,” FX on HuluLet’s start off with a public service announcement to watch “The Bear” if you haven’t already. The FX show about an award-winning, fine dining chef named Carmy (played by Jeremy Allen White), who returns home to Chicago to run his late brother’s dive quietly debuted on Hulu in 2022 and was a word of mouth and critical hit. Season two did not experience a soph...