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Trudeau Foundation donor leads group under Chinese Communist Party ‘total leadership’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:37 GMT

A businessman whose reported donations to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation led to the resignation of its CEO is the president of a Chinese cultural organization that says it operates under the authority of the communist government.The website of the China Cultural Industry Association says it adheres to the “total leadership” of the Chinese Communist Party and was formed with the approval of China’s State Council, which is synonymous with the central government.The association says on its Chinese-language site that its president is Zhang Bin, a Chinese billionaire that the Globe and Mail reported had donated $200,000 to the foundation in 2016, along with another Chinese businessman.But the Globe reported that a receipt named a company called Millennium Golden Eagle International (Canada) as the donor.The China Cultural Industry Association says Millennium Golden Eagle International is one of its executive board members and was created with the approval of Chin...

S&P/TSX composite index gains more than 100 points, U.S. markets climb

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:37 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index rose more than 100 points Thursday while U.S. stock markets climbed steadily throughout the day to post gains of more than one per cent. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 110.17 points at 20,564.49.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 383.19 points at 34,029.69. The S&P 500 index was up 54.27 points at 4,146.22,while the Nasdaq composite was up 236.93 points at 12,166.27.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.86 cents US compared with 74.37 cents US on Wednesday.The May crude oil contract was down US$1.10 at US$82.16 per barreland the May natural gas contract was down nine cents at US$2.01 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was up US$30.40 at US$2,055.30 an ounceand the May copper contract was up four cents at US$4.12 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)The Canadian Press

Florida GOP passes 6-week abortion ban, DeSantis supports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:37 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Republican-dominated Florida Legislature on Thursday approved a ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, a proposal supported by GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis as he prepares for an expected presidential run. DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law. Florida currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks.A six-week ban would give DeSantis a key political victory among Republican primary voters as he prepares to launch a presidential candidacy built on his national brand as a conservative standard bearer. The policy would also have wider implications for abortion access throughout the South in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year overturning Roe v. Wade and leaving decisions about abortion access to states. Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi have banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy, while Georgia forbids the procedure after cardiac activity can be detected, which is around six weeks. Democrats and abortion-rights groups sa...

Mother of young boy who shot teacher arrested in Virginia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:37 GMT

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The mother of a 6-year-old boy who shot and wounded his teacher in Virginia has been formally arrested on charges of child neglect and failing to secure her handgun, police announced Thursday. The Newport News Police Department released a booking photo of the woman, 25, and a brief statement that said she turned herself in at the local jail. Police did not release any information regarding bail or whether she was incarcerated. The Associated Press isn’t naming the mother to shield the identity of her son.Authorities had announced Monday that she was being charged with felony child neglect and a misdemeanor charge of endangering a child by reckless storage of a firearm. Her attorney had said that she planned to turn herself in later this week. He did not return a phone call and email requesting comment on Thursday. The woman’s arrest comes more than three months after police say her son shot and wounded first-grade teacher Abby Zwerner as she sat at a r...

Grizzlies guard Ja Morant files countersuit against teen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:37 GMT

Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant has filed a countersuit against the Memphis teenager suing the two-time All-Star, accusing the teen of slander, battery and assault over a pickup basketball game at Morant’s home last July.The lawsuit filed Wednesday night in Shelby County Circuit Court accuses Joshua Holloway, whose lawsuit was amended March 28 after he turned 18, of damaging Morant’s reputation and putting him at risk of losing millions of dollars both in his contract and in potential endorsement deals.Morant declined to comment Thursday when asked about his countersuit after practice. The Grizzlies are the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference preparing to host LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers starting Sunday.The guard signed a five-year, $193 million contract last July that includes a $38 million bonus for making the All-NBA team this season. The NBA suspended Morant eight games in March for “conduct detrimental to the league” for displaying a firearm at a suburb...

25 Europe-bound migrants dead in boat sinking off Tunisia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:37 GMT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — At least 25 African migrants died and 15 are missing after a boat carrying them toward Europe sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tunisia this week, Tunisian authorities said.The Tunisian coast guard on Thursday recovered the bodies of 15 people trapped under the boat near the coast of Sfax, a port in east-central Tunisia, Sfax Prosecutor Faouzi Masmoudi told the Associated Press.On Wednesday, the coast guard recovered 10 other bodies and rescued 72 migrants from the sunken vessel he said. The prosecutor estimated that 15 to 20 others who had been on the boat are still missing, based on survivors’ accounts.Nearly all those who died or were rescued were from sub-Saharan Africa, Masmoudi said.Attempts at illegal migration have increased in recent weeks from the Tunisian coast towards the nearby Italian coast, leaving dozens dead and many missing. The central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migration route in the world, according to the Intern...

Blind Indiana veteran climbing world's tallest mountain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:37 GMT

Dugger, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – Climbing the world's tallest mountain is a steep goal, but climbing it when you are blind is an even rockier challenge."I'm a little nervous, but I'm truly trying to stay as emotionally neutral as I can," said Lonnie Bedwell, of Wabash Valley, Indiana. This adventurer is quite familiar with controlling his nerves. He has kayaked the rapids of the Colorado River. And even climbed Mount Denali, the highest peak in the U.S. Surfer fights off shark that took his foot: ‘I was trying to go for the eyes’ But even though Bedwell, who lost his sight in a hunting accident in 1997, likes to push his limits, climbing Mount Everest was never really on his radar."I truly didn't have a desire to do it to begin with," said Bedwell, laughing.Bedwell's climbing Mount Denali in June 2022. (Photo Courtesy Alex Johnson, Erin Johnston and "Sightless Summits" team)But then, he received two phone calls: One from another climber and the other from the Blind Veterans Association...

Surfer in Hawaii fights off shark that took his foot: 'I was trying to go for the eyes'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:37 GMT

HONOLULU (KHON) – Mike Morita said he's grateful to be alive after losing his foot in a shark attack while surfing with friends in Honolulu.Morita, 58, was bitten by the shark just before 7 a.m. Sunday morning, Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said. He had been surfing off the Kewalo Basin, an area said to be an unusual spot for shark attacks, according to marine life experts.Morita said he and his friends were catching small waves in the clear waters that morning. Just before he was attacked, he was lying on his board, waiting for the waves to come in."It wasn't really like a chomp. It was just pressure," Morita said. "I can feel the strength of it and right away I knew it was a shark." ‘It felt very surreal’: Florida surfer ‘having nightmares’ after shark attack Morita's friends told him the shark pulled him underwater, and was shaking him back and forth. The 58-year-old says he tried punching the shark, but didn't have much success. So he wound up wrapping his arms and legs ...

Authorities arrest man in connection to 'deliberate' Pentagon leak

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – Days after leaked Pentagon documents became widespread on Twitter, authorities have taken one man into custody in connection with the leak.The Justice Department confirms a member of the U.S. Airforce National Guard was arrested.“Today the Justice Department arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal retention and transmission of classified national defense information," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said.While the Justice Department is leading the ongoing investigation, the Pentagon says it is taking the issue seriously and is reviewing who can access certain classified information.“It is important to understand that we do have stringent guidelines in place for safeguarding classified and sensitive information,” Pentagon Press Secretary Airforce Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said.The Pentagon says the process includes the need to obtain security clearances and the signing of non-disclosure agreements.“A...

DFL weighs new tax bracket for top-earning Minnesotans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:02:37 GMT

As Minnesota lawmakers piece together a tax bill, a new higher tax bracket is on the table for the state’s highest earners.It’s a move supporters say will bring needed ongoing funding for state programs, but opponents argue it could hurt business growth and push high earners out of the state.The House Taxes Committee is considering a fifth new tax bracket that would create a 10.85% tax for individual filers making more than $600,000 a year. The earning level for joint filers would be $1 million. It would go into effect for the 2023 tax year.Bill sponsor Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, DFL-St. Paul, who has carried a similar proposal in the past, told the tax committee this week that while Minnesota has a historic $17.5 billion budget surplus, much of that is one-time cash and the new bracket would be necessary for creating ongoing revenue for the state.“From our farmers to our families in the city … in order for us to provide the resources they need to have good quality of life we do need to ...