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Military police under investigation over handling of sexual assault case

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:07 GMT

OTTAWA — The Military Police Complaints Commission is investigating the way officers handled allegations of sexual assault against a soldier who took his own life, the commission announced Thursday. Military police charged Maj. Cristian Hiestand, a flight instructor in a Royal Canadian Air Force flight training squadron, with two counts of sexual assault in November 2021. The complainant alleged that Hiestand sexually assaulted her twice, after they had just ended a relationship. Hiestand died by suicide two months later, and his parents and sister filed separate complaints with the military police, saying they “rushed to judgment” and didn’t take a statement from the accused before laying charges. A military police officer has also filed a complaint alleging the investigating officers didn’t record the woman’s interview even though they could have, and that an off-duty sergeant tried to help with the investigation while intoxicated. The commission deni...

Saskatchewan to use notwithstanding clause over pronoun policy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:07 GMT

REGINA — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says his government will use the notwithstanding clause of the Canadian Constitution and pass legislation this fall to ensure the province’s pronoun policy remains in place.More coming.

Catholic Bishops say $30-million reconciliation fund on track to meet new deadline

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:07 GMT

OTTAWA — Canadian Catholic leaders say they are almost halfway to their fundraising goals for a reconciliation fund formed after the church failed to meet previous financial obligations.The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops held its annual meeting in Toronto this week, where church leaders were told the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund has raised $11.5 million so far, nearly 40 per cent of its goal. The Canadian bishops made a commitment in 2021 to raise $30 million in up to five years. They expect to raise at least $14 million by the end of the year.The Catholic Church was under pressure to properly compensate survivors under the Indian Residential School Survivor Agreement after it was reported that less than $4 million had been raised out of a $25-million goal.Forty-eight Catholic church entities had signed on to fundraise through “best efforts” as part of the compensation package under the settlement that was struck in 2006 with Ottawa, former residential school ...

Man arrested in shooting at Lil Baby concert in Memphis

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:07 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A man has been arrested in a shooting that wounded one person at a Memphis concert headlined by rapper Lil Baby, police said Thursday. Kevin Young, 22, was arrested Wednesday on charges including reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of weapons and drugs at a home in Memphis, police said on social media.Police responded to the Sept. 7 shooting at the FedExForum, located just steps from the popular Beale Street tourist destination in downtown Memphis. The 19,000-seat arena is home to the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and the University of Memphis men’s basketball team. The arena is also used as a concert venue.Lil Baby was rushed off the stage when shots were fired. A man was wounded and taken to a hospital. No other injuries were reported.The concert was canceled and the building was evacuated. Police have not said how the suspect was able to bring a gun into the arena, which contracts with a private security company to screen people for weapons. The arena ha...

State officials in Michigan scratched from lawsuit over lead in Benton Harbor’s water

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:07 GMT

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday dismissed state officials from a lawsuit related to past lead contamination in a small southwestern Michigan city’s drinking water but said the case could proceed against city officials, including the mayor.Lawyers for residents compared Benton Harbor to Flint where lead contaminated the city’s water system in 2014-15. But U.S. District Judge Hala Jarbou said there were significant differences.The state had a hands-on role in switching Flint’s water source to the Flint River and then failing to order treatment to reduce corrosion from old pipes. But such a role wasn’t present in Benton Harbor.State regulators “did not create the city’s water problem,” Jarbou said.Jarbou said the lawsuit, which claims violations of federal rights, can proceed at this early stage against Mayor Marcus Muhammad, the city and former water plant director Michael O’Malley. They deny misleading the public about water quality.For...

Blinken meets Indian foreign minister as row between India and Canada simmers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:07 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Thursday with India’s foreign minister amid a simmering row between New Delhi and Ottawa over allegations of Indian government involvement in the killing of a Sikh activist in Canada. Blinken and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met Thursday at the State Department as the U.S. tries to navigate the dispute between its northern neighbor and the South Asian country critical to its Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China’s rising influence in the region. Neither man spoke to the controversy that has disrupted Canada-India relations in very brief comments to reporters. U.S. officials had said they expected the topic to be raised. “We have consistently engaged with the Indian government on this question and have urged them to cooperate,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.Earlier Thursday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had been told Blinken would address the matter and encourage the Indian government to coop...

GOP senators sharply question Pentagon nominee about Biden administration’s foreign policies

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:07 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate hearing Thursday on the nomination of the official to be the Pentagon’s top policy adviser was dominated by Republicans expressing their frustrations with the Biden administration’s foreign policies, from the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan to Ukraine funding and climate change.Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee grilled Derek Chollet, who has been serving as the counselor for the State Department, about mistakes the administration made in leaving Afghanistan and whether enough is being done to control the U.S.-Mexico border.Chollet has been nominated to be the next undersecretary of defense for policy. He served previously in the Pentagon as assistant secretary for international security from 2012 to 2015.Chollet urged continued support for Ukraine, said it is crucial for the United States to learn from the 20-year war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal, and agreed that America needs to have a safe and secure border, which is...

Mom of Colorado man killed by police after taking ‘heroic’ actions to stop gunman settles with city

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:07 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado city has reached a $2.8 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by the mother of a man killed by police in 2021 after taking heroic actions to stop a gunman who had shot another officer, a law firm announced Thursday.Kathleen Boleyn filed the lawsuit in June 2022, a year after the midday shootings in the main square of Olde Town Arvada, a historic shopping and entertainment area about 7 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of downtown Denver.Boleyn said her son, Johnny Hurley, ran toward danger and shot the gunman, Ronald Troyke, who had just fatally shot Officer Gordon Beesley. An investigation found Troyke, who died after Hurley shot him, was intent on killing as many officers as he could that day.The lawsuit said Hurley was crouched down with a rifle pointing down and not in a threatening position when he was shot, adding that a witness said Hurley was taking the magazine out of a rifle that he took away from the shooter.A district attorney investigation cleared...

New California law raises minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour, among nation’s highest

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:07 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A new law in California will raise the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 per hour next year, an acknowledgment from the state’s Democratic leaders that most of the often overlooked workforce are the primary earners for their low-income households.When it takes effect on April 1, fast food workers in California will have the highest guaranteed base salary in the industry. The state’s minimum wage for all other workers — $15.50 per hour — is already among the highest in the United States. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the law Thursday amid a throng of cheering workers and labor leaders at an event in Los Angeles. Newsom dismissed the popular view that fast food jobs are meant for teenagers to have their first experience in the workforce.“That’s a romanticized version of a world that doesn’t exist,” Newsom said. “We have the opportunity to reward that contribution, reward that sacrifice and stabilize an industry.”Newsom’s signat...

A first is ahead for Connor Bedard on Thursday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:24:07 GMT

CHICAGO — The No. 1 overall pick from the 2023 draft is going to have a first in his career in the National Hockey League on Thursday night.It won't be quite as exciting as a couple of weeks from now, but this will be the first time that Connor Bedard takes the ice at the United Center. That's because the Blackhawks are opening up the 2023 preseason against the Blues on Thursday, one of six exhibition games they'll play before their season opener in Pittsburgh on October 10. Bedard is on the roster for the contest against St. Louis as he takes the ice for the first time in a game against fellow NHL players. Earlier in September, the center took part in the first of two contests at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase in St. Paul, Minnesota.During that contest against the Blues' best young players, Bedard registered a hat trick, further adding to the anticipation of the start of his Blackhawks' career. Included in that is head coach Luke Richardson, who got to see what the center could ...