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B.C. facing wildfires through fall after hot, dry summer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:06 GMT

VANCOUVER — Wildfire behaviour in British Columbia received a late-summer boost from higher than normal temperatures and lower than normal rainfall, especially in the north, and provincial officials say dry conditions are expected well into the fall. In an update Wednesday, Neal McLoughlin with the provincial wildfire co-ordination centre cautioned that wildfire season remains in full swing, as he recapped the month of August.McLoughlin said parts of northern B.C. saw 75 per cent less precipitation than typically seen last month, conditions that have intensified this year’s record-breaking wildfire season. He said the most notable event was a dry cold front that hit the province on Aug. 17, causing extreme fire behaviour, including tornado-like fire wheels and intense growth from the McDougall Creek and Bush Creek East wildfires in the interior. McLouglin said current drought conditions aren’t unexpected in southern B.C., but those in the north are not typical, and dry f...

Haitian officials meet in Dominican Republic to prevent border closings over canal dispute

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:06 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Haiti’s government announced that it met Wednesday with Dominican officials in the Dominican Republic to talk about a recent threat by that country’s president to close all borders in response to a row over the construction of a supposed canal.The brief statement by Haiti’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not provide much detail, except to say that both sides were trying to find a “fair and definitive” solution to squabbles over the use of the Massacre River that runs along the border both countries share on the island of Hispaniola.Dominican officials have not commented on the apparent meeting.Simmering tensions between Haiti and the Dominican Republic deepened on Monday when Dominican President Luis Abinader announced that he had suspended issuing visas to Haitians and threatened to shut down land, air and sea traffic if the conflict over the canal wasn’t resolved before Thursday.The excavation of a supposed canal on Haitian soil began recently, but it...

UAW chief says offers from Detroit companies are inadequate, says union is ready to go on strike

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:06 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — With just over 24 hours left before a strike deadline, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain says offers from the companies aren’t enough and the union is getting ready to strike.In an online address to members Wednesday, Fain said General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have raised their initial wage offers, but have rejected some of the union’s other demands.“We do not yet have offers on the table that reflect the sacrifices and contributions our members have made to these companies,” he said. “To win we’re likely going to have to take action. We are preparing to strike these companies in a way they’ve never seen before.”The union is threatening to strike after contracts with companies that haven’t reached an agreement by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. It would be the first time in the union’s 80-plus-year history that it struck all three companies at the same time.Talks continued Wednesday with the companies, but it appeared that both si...

A federal judge again declares that DACA is illegal. Issue likely to be decided by US Supreme Court

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:06 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday declared illegal a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen agreed with Texas and eight other states suing to stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. The judge’s ruling was ultimately expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, sending the program’s fate before the high court for a third time.Hanen barred the government from approving any new applications, but left the program intact for existing recipients during the expected appeals process. Hanen said his order does not require the federal government to take any actions against DACA recipients. The states have argued the Obama administration didn’t have the authority to first create the program in 2012 because it circumvented Congress.In 2021, Hanen had declared the program illegal, ruling it had not been subject to public not...

Argentine inflation keeps soaring, putting the government on the defensive as elections near

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:06 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Consumer prices in Argentina soared 12.4% in August, compared to the previous month, the highest rate since February 1991, a number that puts the government on the defensive a little more than a month before presidential elections in which a right-wing populist who admires Donald Trump appears the favorite to win. Argentina’s annual inflation rate rose to 124.4%, according to figures released by the government’s INDEC statistics agency Wednesday.Argentina has been suffering from galloping inflation for years, but August marked the first time in more than two decades the monthly rate reached double digits, a phenomenon that is likely to be repeated in September, according to economists.Amid the sharp rise in consumer prices, Economy Minister Sergio Massa is trying to convince Argentines to elect him president rather than Javier Milei, a self-described “anarcho capitalist” who shook up Argentina’s political system by receiving the most votes in last mont...

UNESCO approves report outlining threats to Wood Buffalo National Park

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:06 GMT

The United Nations body that oversees World Heritage Sites is approving a report that finds Wood Buffalo National Park’s place on that list is in danger.At a meeting in Saudi Arabia, UNESCO delegates voted to approve an investigation that found the park remains under environmental threats from dam construction in British Columbia, oilsands development and climate change.Delegates voted to recommend that Canada implement 17 recommendations in the report.Five of those recommendations pertain specifically to threats posed by the oilsands, upstream of the park.The report is the latest step in UNESCO’s ongoing examination of concerns originally expressed by the Mikisew Cree First Nation almost a decade ago.In 2018, Ottawa developed a plan to revive the park and the report was an assessment of how well it’s working.The report did not recommend removing the park from the list of World Heritage Sites but said about half of what makes it a special place is deteriorating.Of ...

Explosive device detonated near O'Hare Airport

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:06 GMT

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. — The Chicago Police Bomb squad on Wednesday rushed to an industrial site near Chicago O'Hare International Airport following the discovery of an explosive device. The startling incident, which spawned authorities just after 9 a.m., occurred in an industrial area with no homes or schools in the immediate vicinity.Initial reports say the device was discovered close to or on the property of Groot Industries in Elk Grove Village, home to a recycling and garbage transfer operation. The property, located in the 1700 block of S Elmhurst Road, is to the northwest edge of O'Hare.SEE ALSO: Amazon says its increasing pay for contracted delivery driversA black plume of smoke appeared to indicate where the CPD Bomb Unit safely detonated the device without incident. No injuries were reported.   Details remain limited on how the device was discovered. The Chicago Police Department told WGN News that no offenders were in custody. In a written statement, Chicago's Depar...

Chicago faces $538M budget shortfall due to rising costs, migrant crisis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:06 GMT

CHICAGO -- Mayor Brandon Johnson is calling his budget forecast a significant challenge for the city of Chicago.Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration is estimating a $538 million budget gap reportedly due to rising costs for personnel and pensions, but also the cost to care for the new migrants arriving in Chicago.A piece that falls under the "Special Event Projects" line in the budget, which is estimated to go up by $149 million, nearly 300 percent – driven, the city says, by services associated with new arrivals from the border. Explosive device detonated near O’Hare Airport Mayor Johnson writing in a letter along with this budget forecast:“I told the city that I wanted to re-route the rivers of prosperity to the banks of disinvestment so that no one in the greatest city in the world goes thirsty. This effort will take time, and it will require our partnership. Let us not be discouraged by the obstacles ahead, but hopeful about the vitality and hope we can restore across Chicag...

Mayor Johnson's migrant 'tent city' faces criticism ahead of fall, winter season

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:06 GMT

CHICAGO -- A variety of community groups who have been working with the new arrivals in finding them shelter, food and other necessities are denouncing the mayor's latest migrant housing plan.The community are encouraged to attend Wednesday evening's discussion on the mayor’s proposal of putting up tents for the newly arrived migrants.According to Mayor Johnson's latest plan, the tents would be located in the Roseland neighborhood in the parking lot of a former Jewell Osco on 115th Street and Halsted Street. Chicago faces $538M budget shortfall due to rising costs, migrant crisis Immigrant rights leaders stood outside of city hall Wednesday afternoon denouncing the mayor’s proposal, which would place more than 1,000 asylum seekers and migrants who are currently being housed in police stations in large military grade tents."Mayor Brandon Johnson would you put your family in those tents? Would you sacrifice your family and if so, let’s get it. If you’re going to put your family in t...

Scholarship tax credit program for Chicago students in jeopardy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:06 GMT

CHICAGO — Theauntae Jones says he hopes to head to college next year in Ohio but the road there hasn’t been easy. “My mom was struggling really hard and this helped her a lot,” the Leo Catholic high schooler said of the ‘Invest in Kids’ program. “Mom came into my room and she was really happy (and) said, ‘We got the scholarship.’ It gave her $8,000.” The Illinois Invest in Kids Scholarship Program allows taxpayers a 75% credit for every dollar donated towards the funding of scholarships that help send students from low-income families to private schools. The program is due to sunset by the end of the year, however, and will go away entirely by January 2025 unless lawmakers step in to save it. More than 9,000 kids are on scholarship, with about 26,000 more on the waiting list. It’s why hundreds, including Rev. Michael Pfleger, gathered at St. Sabina on Wednesday, demanding action from officials in Springfield. “We can't keep talking about children reaching their purpose and...