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Retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, has died at age 93

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

By MARK SHERMAN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, an unwavering voice of moderate conservatism and the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court, died Friday. She was 93.O’Connor died in Phoenix, of complications related to advanced dementia and a respiratory illness, the Supreme Court said in a news release. Chief Justice John Roberts mourned her death. “A daughter of the American Southwest, Sandra Day O’Connor blazed an historic trail as our Nation’s first female Justice,” Roberts said in statement issued by the court. “She met that challenge with undaunted determination, indisputable ability, and engaging candor.”In 2018, she announced that she had been diagnosed with “the beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer’s disease.” Her husband, John O’Connor, died of complications of Alzheimer’s in 2009.O’Connor’s nom...

Did you feel it? Series of earthquakes recorded near San Diego County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A series of earthquakes shook an area near San Diego County Thursday night, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.The first, a 3.3 magnitude, was recorded at 11:35 p.m. east of Ocotillo, California in in Imperial County. The quake, about 18-miles from El Centro, occurred at a depth of about 5.5 miles, sending shockwaves that were felt as far west as Lakeside. Wrong-way driver collision prompts closure of southbound I-5 in North County Another quake shortly followed at 11:43 p.m., reaching a 4.8 magnitude and depth of almost 6 miles east of Ocotillo. The USGS intensity map shows this one was felt much further than the first. Shockwaves were reported as far west as the San Diego coast, and as far north as Victorville in San Bernardino County.The shaking continued right after midnight with a 2.6 quake rattling the Ocotillo area, once again. This lesser incident was recorded with a depth of about 1.5 miles, with no reports of aftershocks felt, according to USG...

Sentencing hearing for Nathaniel Veltman scheduled for January

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

A sentencing hearing for a man who killed four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont. and injured another has been set for January.Prosecutors and defence lawyers are scheduled to make their submissions on sentencing in the case of Nathaniel Veltman on Jan. 4 and 5.Veltman, 22, was found guilty last month of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for hitting the Afzaal family with his truck while they were out for a walk on June 6, 2021. Related: Nathaniel Veltman guilty on all counts in London, Ont., attack ‘It very much can set a precedent’: Criminal attorney breaks down London attack trial A guilty verdict, and a community can begin to heal Accused in London, Ont., attack says he felt ‘urge’ to hit Muslim family members The case, which the jury heard over more than two months, was the first where Canada’s terrorism laws were put before a jury in a first-de...

Evidence admissible in drug case despite Charter concerns, Supreme Court rules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a man’s drug-related conviction, saying evidence in his case is admissible despite concerns about violation of his Charter rights.In February 2017 near Banff, Alta., a police officer pulled over George Zacharias’s truck because the windows were illegally tinted and a light wasn’t working.The officer, upon suspecting illicit drug activity, called in backup support and a sniffer dog.A search of the truck turned up a large amount of cannabis and Zacharias was arrested for possession for the purpose of trafficking.Zacharias alleged that police had breached his Charter rights to be protected from unreasonable search and seizure and arbitrary detention.But the trial judge admitted the evidence on grounds that excluding it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2023.The Canadian Press

A look back at 50 years of Kiss-tory as the legendary band prepares to take its final bow

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Fifty years ago, four young New Yorkers dragged their guitars, amps and drums to a loft on 23rd Street in New York, dreaming of becoming the biggest band in the world.This weekend, Kiss, the band started by those four — albeit with two different members currently in the fold — will say its goodbyes about 10 blocks north of that loft. Kiss will play Madison Square Garden, having become if not THE biggest band in the world, certainly one of the biggest, one that’s redefined expectations for the live concert experience.Here is a look back at major events in Kiss’ history, taken from Associated Press interviews with Kiss members, quotes they gave to other media and material from band members’ autobiographies:1973: Gene Simmons, who worked briefly as a teacher and loved horror films and comic books, and cabbie Paul Stanley, who once dropped passengers off at Madison Square Garden to see Elvis Presley and vowed someday he’d be on that same stage, ex...

Pakistan’s supreme court hears petition on forceful deportation of Afghans born in the country

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s top court opened a hearing Friday on a petition by human rights activists seeking to halt the forceful deportation of Afghans who were born in Pakistan and those who would be at risk if they were returned to Afghanistan. The deportations are part of a nationwide crackdown by the government in Islamabad that started last month on Afghans who are in Pakistan without papers or proper documentation. Pakistan claims the campaign does not target Afghans specifically, though they make up most of the foreigners in the country. Pakistan has long hosted about 1.7 million Afghans, most of whom fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation. In addition, more than half a million people fled Afghanistan when the Taliban seized power in August 2021, in the final weeks of U.S. and NATO pullout. Since Islamabad launched the crackdown in October, giving Afghans until the end of the month to go back or face arrest, hundreds of thousands have returned home, many in Pakistan-or...

Worker dead after falling two storeys from home in East York

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

One person is dead after falling from a home they were working on in East York on Friday morning.Police say a man fell two storeys from a home near Yardley and Glenburn avenues, in the area of St. Clair and Victoria Park, around 9 a.m.Paramedics tell CityNews the man was pronounced dead at the scene.The Ministry of Labour has been called in to investigate.This is a developing story. More to come.

Lawsuits against Trump over Jan. 6 riot can move forward, appeals court says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawsuits against Donald Trump brought by Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the U.S. Capitol riot, can move forward, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Trump’s request to dismiss the lawsuits that accuse him of inciting the violent mob on Jan. 6, 2021. But the court said it’s ruling was not the final word on whether presidential immunity shields the Republican from liability in the case and said the judges express “no view on the ultimate merits of the claims” against the former president. The case was decided by a unanimous three-court panel that included Judge Gregory Katsas, a Trump appointee to the bench who authored his own concurring opinion.A lawyer for Trump, Jesse Binnall, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment on the ruling.The decision comes as Trump’s lawyers are arguing he is also immune from criminal prosecution in the case br...

A yoga leader promised followers enlightenment. But he’s now accused of sexual abuse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

PARIS (AP) — To his followers, he was “Grieg,” their guide through tantra yoga toward enlightenment and a higher state of consciousness. For European police, Gregorian Bivolaru represents a far more sinister figure: a master manipulator accused of sexual abuse and exploitation. The arrest this week in the Paris region of the 71-year-old yoga leader and 40 others marked the culmination of a six-year police manhunt involving Interpol. The sweep, led by a French police unit that combats crimes committed by sects and which mobilized 175 officers, also freed 26 people, described by French authorities as sect victims who’d been housed in deplorably dirty and cramped conditions. On Friday, 15 of the suspects were being presented to a judge who could hand them preliminary charges. French police have for months been investigating a range of suspected crimes, including rape, human trafficking, illegal confinement and preying on followers as part of a sect.It wasn’t possible to reach Biv...

Former TDSB trustee Parthi Kandavel wins Scarborough Southwest byelection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

The long string of never-ending elections in the city’s east end concluded Thursday night with former Toronto District School Board trustee Parthi Kandavel winning the municipal seat in Scarborough Southwest.Kandavel beat out 22 other candidates in the byelection held Thursday night, garnering just over 27 per cent support. Kevin Rupasinghe finished a close second in the race with 22 per cent of the votes cast.Kandavel replaces former councillor Gary Crawford, who resigned in July to run as a Conservative candidate in the provincial byelection in Scarborough-Guildwood. He previously finished runner-up to Crawford in the 2022 municipal election.“It’s been a long journey. You’re aware it was a close election for council last year and to see this result really fills my heart,” Kandavel told supporters after the unofficial results were published.Affordability in housing and food security, increasing the frequency of TTC service, public safety and the high c...