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Boston redistricting fight is back — now in federal court

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:00:16 GMT

The City Council’s dirty laundry is back flapping in the wind, this time in federal court, as what will be a multi-day hearing kicked off over whether a judge should step in and scrap the new Boston redistricting map.City Councilor Michael Flaherty on Tuesday spent around three hours on the stand as a witness for the plaintiffs — who are technically suing him in the case of Walters et al v the Boston City Council in an effort to scuttle the map the body passed in November.“Basically all the rules were out the door,” said Flaherty of the stretch run of the redistricting process.The redistricting cycle that will never die continues, for now, in the arguments in this case.Basically, the plaintiffs — a handful of people who live in the districts around which the two sides are at odds — are arguing that in the deliberations, the council focused on racial makeups in the South Boston, Dorchester and Mattapan districts in a way that was inappropriate and that there were some procedural viol...

Alberta Energy Regulator to launch third-party probe of Kearl oilsands tailings leak

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:00:16 GMT

EDMONTON — The Alberta Energy Regulator says it’s looking for an investigator to dig into a release of oilsands tailings water that wasn’t made public for nine months. In a statement released Tuesday, the regulator said it’s seeking a “qualified, impartial, third-party body” to consider how it notified First Nations, governments and other stakeholders about two releases at Imperial Oil’s Kearl oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta.Although Imperial notified the agency in May of discoloured water near one of the tailings ponds, area First Nations were not kept apprised of the ongoing investigation. Nor were the federal, Alberta and Northwest Territories governments. The seepage wasn’t reported until nine months later after another 5.3 million litres of tailings escaped from a containment pond.“I have been in regular contact with (the regulator’s) CEO Laurie Pushor, and he assures me he welcomes this third-party review both as...

US, Russia stop sharing nuke data under faltering New START

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:00:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Russia have stopped sharing biannual nuclear weapons data under the faltering New START treaty, the last arms control pact between the two countries, U.S. officials said Tuesday.Officials at the White House, Pentagon and State Department said the U.S. had offered to continue providing this information to Russia even after President Vladimir Putin suspended Russia’s participation in the treaty last month, but Moscow informed Washington that it would not be sharing its own data. “Because of Russia’s noncompliance with these obligations under the treaty, the United States will not provide its biannual data exchange to Russia either, in order to encourage Russia to return to compliance with the treaty,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.The White House, which has previously accused Russia of multiple violations of the treaty, has said Russia’s refusal to comply is “legally invalid” and the decision to withhold the nuclea...

Indigenous youth hope dance performance inspires next generation

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:00:16 GMT

Indigenous youth from remote communities in Manitoba and Ontario are in Winnipeg this week preparing for a dance performance of a lifetime.Twenty-seven Indigenous dancers are learning a new choreography for their “Future Leaders Dance.”They will perform the dance May 12-13 in Toronto for the 16th annual Indigenous Youth Performance.The event is organized by Indigenous-led program Outside Looking In, which gives Indigenous youth the chance to learn how to dance in exchange for high school credits.Program manager Lindy Kinoshameg says the dance they are learning is about Indigenous injustice.“They are learning about injustice and how widespread it is,” said Kinoshameg. “It is important for the youth to understand this and find a way to move through it and move past it. How can they make a difference in the world around them.”Kinoshameg says all the dancers are supporting one another through this journey to becoming future leaders in the community.“Outside Looking In” progr...

Suspect wanted in assault on 15-year-old at Bathurst station

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:00:16 GMT

Toronto police are searching for a suspect wanted in connection with an assault on a 15-year-old boy at Bathurst subway station.Officers were called to the TTC station around 9:15 a.m. on March 23 for reports of an assault.It’s alleged the boy was on the escalator heading up to the street-level exit when a man, who was walking in front, turned around and punched the boy in the face without provocation.The suspect is described as between 30 to 35 years old, around six foot two inches, with brown hair and a long brown beard. He was wearing a multi-coloured hat with a black brim and white lettering on the front, a black hooded sweater, black pants with a camo stripe down the legs, and brown boots.Security images of the suspect have been released.Suspect wanted in connection with assault on a 15-year-old boy at Bathurst station. Photo credit: Toronto Police Service

Large numbers of Hispanics didn’t pick single race in census

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:00:16 GMT

More than 43% of Hispanics either didn’t respond to the question asking them to select their race or selected the “some other race” box on the 2020 census form, the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday, lending support to arguments that the federal government should change its race and ethnicity categories.The percent of the Hispanic population reporting a single race went down to 57.8% in the 2020 census from 81.6% in 2010 census, according to the Census Bureau.At the same time, around a third of the Hispanic population reported being two or more races in the 2020 census, compared to around 5% in the 2010 census.There were more than 62 million Hispanic individuals in the 2020 head count of every U.S. resident, or almost 19% of the U.S. population. A post-census report card on the quality of the count showed that Hispanics were undercounted by almost 5%.The latest figures on Hispanic racial identity in the once-a-decade census back up arguments from proponents of changing the feder...

Israel’s Netanyahu: Mossad helped Greece uncover terror plot

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:00:16 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Tuesday said his country’s intelligence agency Mossad helped Greece prevent a terrorist attack planned against at least one Jewish site in Athens.Greek authorities said earlier that two men described as being of Pakistani origin, who were not named, had been arrested for allegedly planning an attack on a Jewish restaurant. The attack was considered to be imminent and to be intended to cause extensive loss of life.The suspects were charged Tuesday with terrorism offenses, while a third man believed to be outside Greece has been charged in absentia with similar offenses.A statement from Netanyahu’s office maintained that the attackers were linked to Iran.“After the start of the investigation of the suspects in Greece, the Mossad rendered intelligence assistance in unraveling the infrastructure, its work methods and the link to Iran,” the statement said.“The investigation revealed that the infrastru...

Court reinstates Adnan Syed’s conviction in ‘Serial’ case

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:00:16 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland court did not give the family of the murder victim in the case chronicled in the hit podcast “Serial” enough time to attend a court hearing in person that led to Adnan Syed’s release, a Maryland appellate court ruled Tuesday, and it ordered a new hearing to be held.Though Syed’s conviction has been reinstated, he will not be taken back into custody.In a 2-1 decision, the Appellate Court of Maryland ruled the state’s law provides victims with the right to prior notice of the hearing on a motion to vacate convictions, and that right was violated in the case of the family of Hae Min Lee, Syed’s ex-girlfriend and high school classmate who died more than two decades ago.The court ruled that giving her brother, Young Lee, only one business day before the hearing was “insufficient time to reasonably allow Mr. Lee, who lived in California, to attend the hearing in person,” and required him to attend the hearing remotely.“Allowin...

French police counter protest violence; garbage strike ends

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:00:16 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Bolstered French police forces clashed with demonstrators in numerous cities Tuesday as hundred of thousands of marchers protested President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopular retirement reform.Security was ramped up for the 10th round of protest marches since January after the government warned that some demonstrators intended “to destroy, to injure and to kill.” The Interior Ministry put the number of demonstrators nationwide at 740,000, down from more than 1 million five days ago when protesters voiced their rage at Macron’s order to ram the bill raising France’s legal retirement age from 62 to 64 through parliament without a vote. The Paris police counted 93,000 in Paris compared with 119,000 last Thursday, when violence reached a peak.In a bid to keep up pressure on the government to simply withdraw its retirement measure, unions organizing the protests called for new strikes and marches on April 6.In a sign that protests may be losing a little steam, sa...

Police: Aaron Hernandez’s brother arrested in ESPN incident

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:00:16 GMT

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — The brother of the late New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is facing criminal and motor vehicle charges in Connecticut, accused of throwing a brick onto the ESPN headquarters campus and eluding police during brief pursuits in other towns.Dennis John Hernandez, 36, who also has been known as D.J. and Jonathan, was given a misdemeanor summons for breach of peace Thursday by Bristol police in connection with the ESPN incident, according to a police report.Hernandez, who played quarterback and wide receiver at UConn in the mid-2000s, went to ESPN in a car, possibly an Uber, and threw a bag containing a brick and a note onto the property, police said. He then left.The note said: “To all media outlets, It’s about time you all realeyes the affect media has on all family members. Since you’re a world wide leader maybe you could lead how media and messages are delivered brick by brick. Clean it up! Yours truly, Dennis J. Hernandez,” according to police.He...