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ACLU sues North Carolina over harsher riot punishments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:51 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Harsher punishments for violent protests in North Carolina are being challenged by a prominent civil rights group, which said in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday that several parts of a new anti-riot law are unconstitutional.The North Carolina law was drawn up in response to protests against racial injustice and police brutality in 2020. The demonstrations following George Floyd’s death were largely peaceful but occasionally descended into chaos after dark.The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina is asking a U.S. District Court to block enforcement of several provisions of the new law, arguing it “impermissibly criminalizes North Carolinians who exercise their fundamental free speech, assembly and petitioning rights.”“It is a flagrant attempt to vilify and criminalize a social justice movement,” said Sam Davis, an attorney with the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation. The law was passed last month by the Republican-controlled General Assembly with...

Alberta premier commits to medicare; NDP points to past musings on private options

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:51 GMT

EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith, in an election-style event, says her United Conservative Party will not make Albertans pay out of pocket to see their family doctor or get medical treatment.Smith says her party, should it win next month’s general election, would also not delist from public funding any future medical procedures or prescriptions.Smith made the announcement Tuesday in a party-sponsored event in front of a medical clinic in Sherwood Park, just east of Edmonton.“Rest assured you will never use a credit card to pay for a public health-care service. You will only ever need your Alberta health-care card,” said Smith.Smith said she was making this “Public Health Care Guarantee” to counter the Opposition NDP “lying” that she has plans to eventually make Albertans pay for some of their care or to see a family doctor.“Liberal-NDP fear and smear politics don’t work in Alberta. Albertans have always seen through these lies for what they are,” said Smith.NDP health critic ...

Canada’s restaurant industry adjusting to single-use plastics ban

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:51 GMT

Canada’s restaurant industry is one of many sectors that has had to adjust in light of the Canadian government’s plastic ban, including changing checkout bags, cutlery, food service ware, stir sticks and straws.It was a prominent part of the discussion on how restaurants will adapt at the Restaurants Canada (RC) show in Toronto this week. The plastics ban is a part of Canada’s goal to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030.Businesses will now have to shift towards non-single-use plastic alternatives, and LEAF Canada is a non-profit trying to help with this transition.“The ban came into effect in December 2022, so it’s in the transition period now where whatever you have now that is single-use plastics you can use until you run out, you won’t be able to buy anymore,” said Vicky Huang, Education and Environmental Resource Coordinator for LEAF Canada.“It definitely impacts the food service industry because that is a big part of how we do.R...

Survivor of fatal Downtown Eastside hotel fire files proposed class-action lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:51 GMT

VANCOUVER — A woman who survived a fatal fire at a downtown Vancouver rooming hotel has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against the building’s owner, the operator of the residence and the city’s fire department.Plaintiff Jennifer Hansma is expected to join fellow survivors and members of a local housing advocacy group at a news conference later today to mark the one-year anniversary of the fire, which killed two people anddisplaced dozens of others.The lawsuit says the owner and non-profit manager of the 110-year-old building, which operated as a rooming house for low-income residents, failed to ensure fire safety measures, while the city did not enforce safety regulations to the same standards it did elsewhere.The claim says a separate fire broke out in the building a few days before the fatal fire, and while that blaze was quickly doused by the sprinkler system and residents using extinguishers, the fire alarm didn’t activate. It says no one took steps to r...

Bank robbery suspect arrested in Virginia after standoff

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:51 GMT

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A bank robbery suspect was arrested in northern Virginia Tuesday after a short standoff with police.No injuries were reported.Arlington County Police said they received a report Tuesday shortly after 3 p.m. about an attempted armed robbery at a Wells Fargo bank on Washington Boulevard in the city’s Clarendon neighborhood.A suspect entered the bank, implied he had a weapon and demanded money, police said.The suspect was barricaded in the bank with four adults and a child, a group that included patrons and employees, police said.Shortly after 4:30 p.m., police reported on Twitter that the suspect had been arrested, and that the five trapped inside with the suspect had exited safely. Traffic cameras showed a heavy police presence throughout the barricade situation. The Associated Press

Two Canadian women who returned from Syrian camp to be released on bail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:51 GMT

BRAMPTON, Ont. — Ontario judges have ordered that two women who were arrested upon returning to Canada last week from a prison camp in northeastern Syria be released on bail.  Ammara Amjad and Dure Ahmed were ordered released on bail pending terrorism peace bond applications, under conditions that cannot be detailed because they are subject to publication bans.The two women appeared Tuesday at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, Ont. for separate bail hearingsThey were among four Canadian women and 10 children who landed in Montreal last week after being held for years at the al-Roj prison camp in northeastern Syria.Another woman who was among the group Canada repatriated from Syria was released on bail in Edmonton Friday, pending a terrorism peace bond application.A terrorism peace bond allows a judge to order the defendant to enter into an arrangement to be of good behaviour, potentially with conditions such as a curfew, or else possibly face a prison sentence.The detainees ...

As shootings hit close to home, govs wrestle with next steps

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:51 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two weeks after one of his wife’s closest friends was killed in a Nashville school shooting, Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday called on Tennessee’s GOP-dominant General Assembly to pass legislation that would keep firearms away from people who could harm themselves or others.Lee, a Republican, is the latest prominent public official to experience personal loss in a mass shooting while having to delicately balance how to use his authority to help prevent future tragedies through policy. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed that he, too, had lost one of his best friends when a gunman killed five people at a bank in downtown Louisville and injured eight others on Monday.Lee told reporters Tuesday that he talked with Beshear, a Democrat, after Monday’s shooting, which claimed the life of Tommy Elliott, a lifelong friend of Beshear’s. Four other people also were killed. On March 27, Cynthia Peak, 61, a substitute teacher and friend of Lee’s w...

String of mail carriers robbed at gunpoint in Chicago continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:51 GMT

CHICAGO — A string of armed robberies involving postal workers across Chicago continues, with a 32-year-old man becoming the city's latest victim. Chicago police are investigating after the department said a postal worker was robbed as he delivered mail at an apartment complex on 80th and Colfax in the city's South Shore neighborhood. Chicago police warn of armed robberies targeting USPS mail carriers "I'm just sad to hear that because we have a very nice postal worker, very nice," said a South Shore resident who wished to be identified only by her first name, Evenly. "I guess they're kind of afraid now with all the crime. You never know what you're going to run into."Police said the postal worker was in the entryway of the apartment building when someone approached him with a gun and demanded his property around 11 am. The postal worker obliged and the unidentified suspect ran off. The crime occurred as a local contractor worked across the street.  2 Chicago postal w...

A look back to when Chicago hosted the 1996 DNC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:51 GMT

CHICAGO — It's been almost 30 years since the last time Chicago hosted a major political convention.On Tuesday morning, Chicago was selected to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention.Back in 1996, the city's talent was on full display for delegates who gathered in late August. President Bill Clinton easily secured the nomination for a second time.The United Center, which opened two years earlier, was the host site. It's expected to be the primary site again in 2024.There were many other events held across the city as Chicago used the convention to showcase its beauty and diversity. Chicago selected to host 2024 Democratic National Convention Some protestors also descended on the city, but they were corralled several blocks away from the convention.Mayor Daley played host for the week and it was a literal and figurative turning of the page from the 1968 Democratic National Convention — in which police clashed with demonstrators.

Hiring event to be held for hospitality work in Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:51 GMT

CHICAGO — Despite some rocky months with the economy, the job market is still hot and employers are looking to fill jobs — specifically the hospitality industry in Chicago.Patrick Combs is the interim CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership and Michael Jacobson, the president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association.He joined the WGN Evening News to discuss the 6th annual Hospitality Hires Chicago 2023 (HHC2023). The in-person hiring event on Tuesday, April 18, from 9 to 3 pm at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago.Both employers  and job seekers must pre-register. The fee for employers to register is $200; there is no fee for job seeker registration.  Employers should register by April 5 and job seekers should register by April 12,