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Man pleads guilty to role in Haiti president’s assassination

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:35:00 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A convicted drug trafficker pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court Friday to participating in the assassination of Haiti’s president in 2021. Rodolphe Jaar, 50, pleaded guilty in Miami to conspiring to provide material support, providing material support and conspiring to kidnap and kill President Jovenel Moïse, according to court records. Jaar, who is Haitian and Chilean, is the first of 11 defendants charged in the United States to be convicted in the plot. His sentencing is scheduled for June 2. Dozens have been arrested in Haiti, but the cases are at a virtual standstill amid death threats that have spooked local judges. Moïse was shot 12 times at his private home near Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, on July 7, 2021. While the assassination occurred in Haiti, prosecutors believe most of the planning and funding occurred in South Florida. Authorities said the original plan was to detain Moïse weeks earlier and whisk him to an unidentified location by plane, but that f...

UN head says survival depends on how people manage water

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:35:00 GMT

United Nations (AP) — Humanity’s survival depends on how people manage water, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday at the end of a three-day conference on global water resources during which developing nations made urgent calls for help with cleaner drinking water and better sanitation. “All of humanity’s hopes for the future depend, in some way, on charting a new course to sustainably manage and conserve water,” Guterres said in his closing remarks.This includes rational use of water for agriculture and more aggressive action against climate change, he said, and water “needs to be at the center of the global political agenda.”The U.N. World Water Development Report, issued on the eve of the conference, says 26% of the world’s population — 2 billion people — don’t have access to safe drinking water and 46% — 3.6 billion people — lack access to basic sanitation. U.N. research also shows that almost half the world’s people will suffer severe water stress by 2030.The con...

In Dong’s riding, residents want answers on interference but no ‘rush’ to judge

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:35:00 GMT

TORONTO — In Han Dong’s Toronto riding on Friday, residents voiced hope that the truth would emerge about China’s alleged interference in Canadian elections, but warned against condemning their newly Independent MP before the facts are clear. Dong has resigned from the Liberal caucus amid what he says are false allegations that he advised a Chinese diplomat on what the Trudeau government considered a high-priority file: the arbitrary and retaliatory detention of two Canadians in China.Joanna Leung, a 40-year-old mother of two who lives in Dong’s riding in Toronto’s northeast, said she has “mixed feelings” about the ordeal. Leung was born in China and said one of the reasons her family moved from Hong Kong to Ontario in the 1990s – before Beijing retook control of Hong Kong in 1997 – was because of how little they trusted the Chinese Communist Party. “I already witnessed how the Chinese government influence people so if there’s Chinese ...

Knight Foundation leader to retire, leaving powerful legacy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:35:00 GMT

Alberto Ibargüen announced Friday that he was stepping down as the leader of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, ending a run as the grantmaker’s president that began in the George W. Bush administration. With about $3 billion in assets, Knight is among the 50 wealthiest foundations.During his tenure, Ibargüen made his mark in the cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight operated their newspaper empire. In Detroit, Ibargüen helped orchestrate a $370 million foundation effort to keep the city’s finances from cratering. In Miami, he crusaded for the arts, helping the city become an international cultural destination. And as a former newspaper executive who saw the news industry being decimated all around him, Ibargüen made it a top priority at Knight to restore the credibility and viability of journalism in response to the upheaval caused by the internet.Ibargüen, 79, was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in New Jersey. After serving in the Peace Corps and working as a ...

Longtime PC cabinet minister Merrilee Fullerton resigns

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:35:00 GMT

Merrilee Fullerton, a longtime cabinet minister in Premier Doug Ford’s government, has resigned.Fullerton, who shuffled through three cabinet posts and was in charge when thousands died of COVID-19 in Ontario nursing homes, said Friday that she was stepping down immediately.She did not detail why she was stepping down.The family physician left medicine for politics in the lead-up to the 2018 election when she won her Ottawa-area riding of Kanata-Carleton. She won that seat again, handily, in 2022.“A strong sense of duty brought me to politics after decades as a family physician serving my community, to continue my work toward solutions that would address the shortcomings of our health-care system and improve health services for individuals,” she wrote in her resignation letter to Ford.“To serve the people of this province has been a profound honour.”This afternoon I spoke with the Premier and tendered my resignation as MPP for Kanata-Carleton and as Min...

Geothermal developer wants to delist endangered Nevada toad

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:35:00 GMT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — In an unusual move that could pit two Biden administration agencies against each other, the developer of a planned Nevada geothermal power plant says it intends to sue U.S wildlife officials to overturn the endangered species listing of a toad in adjacent wetlands.Ormat Technologies said in a 60-day notice of its intent to sue the Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service that the listing of the Dixie Valley toad in December was illegal.“The toad does not meet the definitional standard for a threatened — let alone endangered — species, and the service failed to base its decision on the best scientific and commercial data available,” Reno-based Ormat said.It’s the latest legal maneuver in a series of conflicts underscoring challenges President Joe Biden faces in vowing to protect fish and wildlife while also pushing development of so-called green energy projects on U.S. lands to help combat climate change.A court battle over the toad’s listing woul...

CPD opens up 'expedited' re-hiring process for former officers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:35:00 GMT

CHICAGO — After years of officer departures, the Chicago Police Department on Friday announced the creation of two programs that would expedite the rehiring of officers who have recently left the department and allow officers from other municipalities to join the CPD.The “rehire program” would allow officers — age 50 or younger — who left the CPD in the last three years to return to the department at the rank of police officer, regardless of which rank they held when they left. Rehires will be paid at the same rate as when they left the CPD.Meanwhile, the “lateral hire program” allows officers in other municipalities to join the CPD while receiving credit for service time in other police departments. To qualify for the lateral hire program, those officers must be younger than 40 at the time of hire and complete a 12-month probationary period and “an individualized training plan,” according to a statement from the CPD.The terms of the programs were agreed upon last month by the CPD a...

Elgin man dies after falling from chairlift at ski resort in Colorado

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:35:00 GMT

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — A man from Elgin died last week after he fell from a chairlift at a ski resort in Colorado.John Perucco, 60, of Elgin, died on March 17 when he fell while trying to remove snow from the seat, according to the Summit County, Colorado Coroner's Office. The sheriff's office said the restraint bar was in the up position. 2 Illinois teens die in sledding accident in Colorado after landing on ice The incident happened at a ski resort about 80 miles west of Denver."We are committed to conducting a thorough and comprehensive investigation to determine the cause of this tragic incident," Summit County Coroner Amber Flenniken said in a release. Chicago suburb tops ‘Best Places to Live in Illinois’ list The coroner's office said they are reminding skiers and snowboarders to follow safety guidelines at all times and to use the restraint bar for additional safety.

Southwest suburban playground named one of the most inclusive nationwide

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:35:00 GMT

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. —A playground in southwest suburban Downers Grove was named one of the most inclusive school playgrounds in the United States. Owen’s Playground for Kids of All Abilities at Hillcrest Elementary School in Downers Grove Grade School District 58 ranked third on the top-10 list.  The school and healthcare staffing company Soliant compiled the list. Several factors were considered, including inclusive design, quality and quantity of accessible play features and any unique stories behind the playground’s origin.    Downers Grove North shoots for history in IHSA Final Four The idea behind Owen's Playground came from an eighth-grade student whose brother struggled with mobility issues from cerebral palsy. “Owen’s Playground for Kids of All Abilities came to fruition thanks to the incredible generosity of the Hillcrest community and many local businesses and organizations,” said District 58 Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell. “We appreciate their support very much! Distr...

Biden, Trudeau celebrate 'inseparable' US-Canada relations

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:35:00 GMT

OTTAWA, ONTARIO (AP) — President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday celebrated the close, “inseperable” U.S.-Canada relationship and declared their nations' shared values have never been more important for a world facing both tumult and possibility.Biden, making his first visit to Canada as president, said the U.S. is lucky to have Canada as its neighbor as both countries grapple with the rapidly changing global economy, climate change, war in Europe and more.On immigration, Biden and Trudeau used the visit to announce an agreement aiming to stem the flow of asylum seekers at unofficial border crossings from the U.S. to Canada.The accord eliminates a loophole under existing rules and will allow both countries to turn away asylum seekers at their borders At the same time, however, Canada announced that 15,000 migrants from the Western Hemisphere will be given official slots to apply to enter the country.Before their speeches before Parliament, the leaders sat down ...