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Jurors deliberate in domestic violence trial of actor Jonathan Majors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:26 GMT

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — A Manhattan jury will soon decide if Jonathan Majors is guilty of assaulting his girlfriend following two weeks of clashing narratives about whether the rising Hollywood star was the aggressor or victim during a chaotic struggle in the backseat of a car.The court case has centered on allegations brought by Grace Jabbari, a 30-year-old British dancer who said the “Creed III” actor struck her on the side of the head, twisted her arm behind her back, and squeezed her finger until it broke during a dispute last spring. In closing arguments that ended before lunch on Thursday, an attorney for Majors portrayed Jabbari as a compulsive liar who concocted a story of an abusive relationship as revenge after catching her boyfriend of two years texting another woman.The 34-year-old actor, who did not testify during the trial, dabbed his eyes with a tissue as his attorney, Priya Chaudhry, implored the jury to “end this ...

Arrest made in Mission Bay crash that killed 12-year-old paddleboarder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:26 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- An arrest has been made in connection to a Mission Bay crash that killed a 12-year-old girl in July.San Diego Police Department Lt. Adam Sharki confirmed to FOX 5 Thursday that 19-year-old Arsanyous Refat Ghaly was taken into custody in Los Angeles on Nov. 8. following a warrant. Marine killed during training at Camp Pendleton identified The arrest comes after a collision occurred shortly before 2 p.m. in the De Anza Cove area on July 30. SDPD said Ghaly was using a personal watercraft when he collided with the girl who was paddle boarding.The victim was brought to shore and first responders performed CPR, police said. She was then taken to a local hospital, where she later died of her injuries.Since then, authorities have been investigating the cause of the collision and whether or not speed was factor in this incident. Though the specifics of those details have yet to be released, portions of De Anza Cove are under a "no wake zone." This limits watercrafts to 5 mph....

Crash closes southbound I-5 lanes near Del Mar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:26 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A crash Thursday afternoon prompted the closures of three lanes on southbound Interstate 5 near Del Mar.The collision involving multiple vehicles was reported near the Via De La Valle exit. Traffic was backed up to Encinitas Boulevard.The HOV lane and two left lanes are closed. Arrest made in Mission Bay crash that killed 12-year-old paddleboarder Check back for updates on this developing story.

REVIEW: finestkind is a crime drama of the finest kind

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:26 GMT

Crime dramas are a genre older than the medium of film. The genre’s tropes are a good way of heightening tension, taking a situation and making the stakes much more dire very quickly. When characters we like are worried about the law, the audience worries about them. Tommy Lee Jones as Ray, Toby Wallace as Charlie, Jenna Ortega as Mabel and Ben Foster as Tom in Finestkind streaming on Paramount+, 2023. Photo Credit: Miller Mobley/Paramount+With his latest film finestkind, director Brian Helgeland (the director of Legend and A Knight’s Tale) makes a fantastic crime drama out of a setting not terribly well-represented in modern filmmaking, commercial fishing boats. This film is about two half-brothers played by Ben Foster (from Hell or High Water) and Toby Wallace (from the Royal Hotel) who begin to reconnect as the latter joins up with the former’s commercial fishing crew. But as the two continue to work together, the times turn tough and the two find themselves hav...

Death toll among B.C.’s homeless rising, hits 342 people last year: Coroner’s report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:26 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s Coroners Service says there’s been a sharp increase in deaths among people experiencing homelessness. A statement from the coroners service says the deaths of 342 people experiencing homelessness were reported last year, an increase of almost 140 over the past two years. The coroners service says there were 1,464 deaths of people who were homeless in B.C. in the period between 2015 and 2022, averaging about 183 deaths per year.Most of those deaths were in Vancouver, Victoria and Surrey, B.C., and 82 per cent of them were male. However, the coroners service says the number of deaths has spiked significantly above the average between 2021 and 2022.The service says the toxic drug supply has significantly contributed to the increase, with more than eight of every 10 deaths in the review classified as accidental. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2023.The Canadian Press

Virginia court revives lawsuit by teacher fired for refusing to use transgender student’s pronouns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:26 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A lawsuit filed by a Virginia high school teacher who was fired after he refused to use a transgender student’s pronouns was reinstated Thursday by the state Supreme Court. Peter Vlaming, a former French teacher at West Point High School, sued the school board and administrators at West Point High School after he was fired in 2018. A judge dismissed the lawsuit before any evidence was heard in the case. But the Supreme Court overturned that ruling and said the lawsuit can proceed to trial.Vlaming claimed in his lawsuit that he tried to accommodate a transgender student in his class by using his masculine name and avoiding the use of pronouns, but the student, his parents and the school told him he was required to use the student’s male pronouns.Vlaming said he could not use the student’s pronouns because of his “sincerely held religious and philosophical” beliefs “that each person’s sex is biologically fixed and cannot be changed.” Vlaming also said he wou...

Bill that lifts GST from rental developments, amends competition law to become law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:26 GMT

OTTAWA — Legislation that lifts GST charges off rental developments and amends the country’s competition law has passed in the Senate and is poised to become law.Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland introduced the legislation this fall in response to growing concerns about housing and affordability in the country.The federal government is lifting GST charges off rental developments to incentivize developers to build more purpose-built rentals, a segment of the housing supply that experts say is in very short supply.The legislation also aims to boost competition in the country by giving new powers to the Competition Bureau.It will be empowered to compel information from companies to conduct market studies and block collaborations that stifle competition and consumer choice.It would also eliminate the “efficiencies defence” in the Competition Act, which allowed for anti-competitive mergers to be approved in cases where the efficiencies generated offset the competitive ...

A look at alcohol sales rules by province across the country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:26 GMT

TORONTO — The Ontario government has announced sales of beer, wine, cider and ready-to-drink cocktails will be allowed in convenience stores and all grocery stores in Ontario by 2026.Here’s how alcohol is sold in other Canadian provinces:British Columbia: Beer, wine and spirits are sold in provincially-owned and private liquor stores. Craft beer can be purchased at a brewery. In 2015, the B.C. government allowed wine to be sold in grocery stores that met specific rules.Alberta: The province has operated a privatized liquor retail industry for 30 years, with 2,400 retailers offering more than 30,000 products overseen and regulated by the province. Liquor has also been sold at a handful of  7-11 retail stores since 2021. Saskatchewan: Customers can purchase alcohol from licensed retailers, including in standalone stores or businesses attached to a permitted restaurant. In smaller communities, businesses can sell alcohol alongside unrelated products, as long as they have a liquor...

Canada’s biggest banks come in at bottom of low-carbon finance ranking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:26 GMT

TORONTO — A report by BloombergNEF finds that while Canada’s top five banks are among the biggest energy financiers globally, they rank among the worst of the top 100 when measured on how much of that funding is directed to low-carbon sources.The report found that in 2022 banks globally directed an estimated 73 cents toward low-carbon energy for every dollar supporting fossil fuel supply, or a 0.73-to-one ratio. That’s well off the four-to-one ratio the report notes they need to hit this decade to limit global warming to 1.5 C. Canada’s biggest banks ranged in ratios of between 0.45:1 for BMO’s $18.9 billion in energy funding, enough to place it 88th in the ranking, down to 0.32:1 for Scotiabank’s $35.9 billion in funding, which pushed it below the top 100.In between, CIBC had a 0.41:1 ratio for its $17.9 billion in funding, RBC had a 0.37:1 ratio for its $42.7 billion, and TD Bank had a 0.35:1 ratio for its $30.2 billion in funding, putting it at the b...

Amazon, Target and more will stop selling water beads marketed to kids due to rising safety concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Three major retailers — Amazon, Target and Walmart — say they’re suspending sales of water-bead products marketed to young children due to growing safety concerns.Water beads are small, colorful balls made of superabsorbent polymers. They are often sold as toys, including in craft activity kits, and as sensory tools for children with developmental disabilities. But warnings about the dangers of the beads being ingested have been piling up. “When (water beads) absorb water, they can swell to many times their size,” said Dr. Joshua King, medical director of the Maryland Poison Center. “And while most even still pass through the gut without trouble, occasionally they swell to a size where they actually obstruct the bowel.”This can lead to severe discomfort and life-threatening injuries, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission notes in online guidance — adding that water beads can also end up in ears, causing damage or hearing loss. According to the regulator, ...