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Trial for ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers not about their political beliefs, Crown says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:14 GMT

OTTAWA — “Freedom Convoy” organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are not trial for their political beliefs, a Crown prosecutor told an Ottawa courtroom Tuesday.Rather, they must answer to charges related to the means they used to achieve their goal.Tim Radcliffe told the court the two organizers didn’t just “hold the line” during their illegal occupation of downtown Ottawa last year, they “crossed the line, and in so doing they committed multiple crimes.”“This case is not about their political views,” Radcliffe said. “What’s at issue … is the means they employed, not the ends.”Lich and Barber were part of the original group that mobilized a convoy of big rigs and other trucks and cars to drive to Ottawa in winter 2022 to protest COVID-19 public health restrictions and the Liberal government.They’re charged with mischief, counselling others to commit mischief, intimidation and obstructing police.Barber, who owns...

1 dead, 1 injured after being struck by truck in Scarborough

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:14 GMT

An elderly man has died at the scene and woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries after they were struck by a truck in Scarborough on Tuesday afternoon, police confirm.It happened at around 12:27 p.m. in the Steeles Avenue East and Silver Star Boulevard area.Police say there are road closures in the immediate area.It’s not clear yet if any charges are pending.No further details were immediately available.More to comeCOLLISION: UPDATESteeles Av East + Silver Star Blvd– Police are on scene investigating– One person was pronounced deceased at the scene– One person was transported to hospital via emergency run^lb— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) September 5, 2023

61 indicted in Georgia on racketeering charges connected to ‘Stop Cop City’ movement

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:14 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Sixty-one people have been indicted in Georgia on racketeering charges following a long-running state investigation into protests against a proposed police and training facility in the Atlanta area that critics call “Cop City.”The sweeping indictment was brought by Republican Attorney General Chris Carr. Prosecutors allege the defendants are “militant anarchists” who have supported a violent movement that prosecutors trace to the widespread 2020 racial justice protests.The “Stop Cop City” effort has gone on for more than two years and at times has veered into vandalism and violence. Opponents say they fear the Atlanta-area training center will lead to greater militarization of the police and that its construction will exacerbate environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area.R.j. Rico, The Associated Press

A computer issue is holding up United flights. The airline and FAA don’t know how long it will last

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:14 GMT

United Airlines flights were halted nationwide on Tuesday because of an “equipment outage,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.One of several FAA bulletins said that United crews were unable to contact airline dispatchers through normal means. The FAA said the issue was limited to United and its subsidiaries. United did not immediately respond to a request for more information.Shares of Chicago-based United Airlines Holdings Inc. fell on news of the ground stop and were down more than 3% in afternoon trading. The Associated Press

Austrian actor gets 2-year suspended sentence over possessing and processing child sex abuse images

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:14 GMT

VIENNA (AP) — An Austrian court on Tuesday found actor Florian Teichtmeister guilty of possessing and producing tens of thousands of files of child sex abuse images and sentenced him to a two-year suspended prison sentence.Teichtmeister previously pleaded guilty to collecting and, in some cases, processing, files containing depictions of the sexual abuse of children, public broadcaster ORF reported. Teichtmeister was not accused of photographing or filming acts of abuse himself. The Vienna state court also ruled that the 43-year-old must undergo therapy and regularly submit to drug tests. If he violates these conditions, he faces placement in a center for mentally ill offenders.“He said he will work intensively on himself, so that nothing is going to happen again,” his lawyer Rudolf Mayer said, adding that Teichtmeister would continue to go to weekly therapy sessions.Teichtmeister is a former member of Vienna’s famous Burgtheater. He also played Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph in the ...

Stock market today: Wall Street slips following two weeks of gains

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slipped on Wall Street Tuesday as traders return from a long holiday weekend to face a relatively quiet week.The S&P 500 fell 0.3%. The index is coming off its second weekly gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 139 points, or 0.4%, to 34,695 as of 1:22 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq was down 0.1%.Markets in the U.S. were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.Industrial stocks has some of the steepest losses. Union Pacific fell 2%. Technology stocks gained ground. Microsoft rose 1.5%.Energy stocks rose along with crude oil prices after Saudi Arabia and Russia said they will extend their voluntary production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day through the end of the year. U.S. crude oil prices rose 2.3% and Chevron rose 1.6%.Investors have a few economic reports to look forward to this week and the latest round of corporate earnings is essentially finished.“There’s not much going on other than investors doing the mental arithmetic over whether the...

US moves to force recall of 52 million air bag inflators that can explode and hurl shrapnel

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:14 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government is taking a big step toward forcing a defiant Tennessee company to recall 52 million air bag inflators that could explode, hurl shrapnel and injure or kill people.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday said it has made an initial decision that the inflators made by ARC Automotive Inc., and under license by another company, are defective. The agency scheduled a public hearing for Oct. 5, a required step before seeking a court-ordered recall.In May the agency asked ARC to recall the inflators, which it says are responsible for at least seven injuries and two deaths in the U.S. and Canada since 2009. But ARC has refused to issue a full-scale recall, setting the stage for the possible court fight.Messages were left Tuesday seeking comment from ARC. The company maintains that no safety defect exists, that NHTSA’s demand is based on a hypothesis rather than technical conclusions, and that the agency has no authority to order a part...

Quebec author Kevin Lambert in contention for prestigious Prix Goncourt award

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:14 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec author Kevin Lambert is in the running for a prestigious French literary prize.The young writer from Saguenay, Que., is on the list of contenders for the Prix Goncourt for his latest novel, “Que notre joie demeure.”The list will be shortened to eight and then four titles before the prize is awarded in November.Lambert’s third novel centres on the excesses of the ruling class and gentrification in Montreal.The book’s profile — and its sales — have increased in recent months after it sparked an online quarrel between the author and Quebec Premier François Legault.Legault published a short review of the book on social media and was rebuked by Lambert, who accused him of failing to understand the novel’s message at a time when the province is in the midst of a housing crisis.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2023.The Canadian Press

Mark Meadows pleads not guilty to charges in Georgia election case and waives right to arraignment

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:14 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has pleaded not guilty to charges accusing him of participating in an illegal scheme to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia and will not appear in court in Atlanta this week.Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had scheduled arraignment hearings for Wednesday for Meadows, former President Donald Trump and the other 17 people charged last month in a sprawling indictment. By midday Tuesday, all of the defendants had pleaded not guilty in filings with the court and waived their rights to an arraignment hearing.During an arraignment hearing, defendants have the right to have the charges against them read and to enter a formal plea. Trump pleaded not guilty in a court filing Thursday and Giuliani entered his plea Friday, with the rest of the pleas trickling in over several days. Meadows and four others are seeking to move the charges against them to federal court. But during a hearing last we...

Ground stoppage lifted for United Airlines after technical outage

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:14 GMT

CHICAGO — United Airlines flights are back in service after they were briefly halted nationwide on Tuesday because of an “equipment outage,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.One of several FAA bulletins said that United crews were unable to contact airline dispatchers through normal means. The FAA said the issue was limited to United and its subsidiaries.United issued a statement that said, “We are experiencing a systemwide technology issue and are holding all aircraft at their departure airports. Flights that are already airborne are continuing to their destination as planned. We’re currently investigating and will share more information as it becomes available.”Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted that he is aware of the situation and the FAA “is currently receiving more information about the cause and scope of the issue, and DOT will make sure UA meets its obligations to affected passengers.”Passengers are urged to check with fly.faa.gov for the status...