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Justice Department accuses Minneapolis police of rights violations after George Floyd’s killing

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

By JIM SALTER and MARK VANCLEAVE (Associated Press)MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department alleged Friday that Minneapolis police have systematically discriminated against Black and Native American people for years and often violated constitutional rights following a sweeping investigation that began after George Floyd was killed.The two-year probe found that Minneapolis officers used excessive force, including “unjustified deadly force,” and violated the rights of people engaged in constitutionally protected speech. The investigation also found that both police and the city discriminated against people with “behavioral health disabilities” when officers are called for help.“We observed many MPD officers who did their difficult work with professionalism, courage and respect,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told a news conference in Minneapolis. “But the patterns and practices we observed made what happened to George Floyd possible....

NBA suspends Ja Morant 25 games for 2nd social media video involving a gun

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

Memphis guard Ja Morant has been suspended for the first 25 games of the upcoming season for flashing a handgun in a social media video for a second time, the NBA announced Friday.The Grizzlies star player was shown in the video in May flashing the gun while sitting in the passenger seat of a car. The livestream on Instagram came after Morant served an eight-game suspension for a video in March showing him flashing a handgun in a strip club.Morant is due to make around $33.5 million this season. He now stands to lose just over $300,000 per game during this suspension — or approximately $7.5 million. He also will have to adhere to certain conditions before being reinstated, the NBA said.“Ja Morant’s decision to once again wield a firearm on social media is alarming and disconcerting given his similar conduct in March for which he was already suspended eight games,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. “The potential for other young people to emulate Ja’s conduct is particularly concern...

Food inflation may be easing but prices won’t return to pre-pandemic levels, RBC says

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

TORONTO — A new report from RBC says the cost of filling a grocery cart is finally stabilizing, but don’t expect food prices to go back to pre-pandemic levels. The report released this week says the main drivers of food inflation, such as global supply chain issues and transportation costs, have eased but prices won’t drop any time soon. RBC says food prices have soared by 18 per cent over the past two years, adding to the strain on Canadian household budgets amid rising interest rates. Supply chain bottlenecks, shipping costs and volatile prices of raw food commodities, such as wheat and oils, have stabilized and concerns about the impact of geopolitical strife — mainly the war in Ukraine — have eased. But RBC warns that drought and other extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and could “meaningfully limit” farm production, which would affect the food supply chain.The report points to shrinking livestock herd sizes in Canada and the United States ...

Father admits to fatally shooting 3 young sons at Ohio home, prosecutors say

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

MONROE TOWNSHIP, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man accused of fatally shooting his three young sons admitted to planning the killings and lined them up before executing them with a rifle, prosecutors said Friday. Chad Doerman, 32, who is also accused of wounding the boys’ mother at the family’s home, has been charged with aggravated murder, authorities said.Clermont County’s chief prosecutor of Municipal Court, David Gast, said during Doerman’s arraignment Friday that one of the boys tried to flee into a nearby field but Doerman “hunted” his son down and brought him back to their home before killing him. Doerman’s bail has been set at $20 million. He was being held in Clermont County Jail. Deputies responded to the home in Monroe Township shortly before 4:30 p.m. Thursday after receiving a pair of 911 calls, one apparently from the mother who was screaming that “her babies had been shot” and another from a passing motorist who said a girl was running down the street sa...

Families, loved ones, await word on loved ones in Manitoba bus crash that killed 15

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

DAUPHIN, MAN. — Flags were at half-mast as residents of a western Manitoba city awaited word on the fate of loved ones, while police started to piece together what caused a crash between a semi-trailer and a bus carrying seniors on a day trip to a casino, killing at least 15. “There’s a lot of uncertainty right now,” Brad Michaleski, the provincial legislature member for Dauphin, said Friday in an interview.“We’re just trying to get a handle on how large an issue is this for our area and we’re patiently waiting (on) RCMP.”Mounties said they are working with the medical examiner’s office to confirm identities and pass on information to loved ones of the victims.The bus had 25 people, 10 of whom were sent to area hospitals with head injuries and broken bones.Sandra Kaleta said she is involved with the Dauphin Active Living Centre, which organized the trip, and said she had considered going on the bus Thursday. “I don’t know why I changed my mind,” Kaleta said. “I jus...

Toronto, Peel police experiencing ‘exponential’ increase in accidental 911 calls

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

Both Toronto police and Peel police say they are experiencing a “exponential increase” in accidental 911 calls due to recent software updates on mobile phones.In Toronto, the 911 call centre received an average 6,500 calls per day in May of 2023, up from 5,200 in 2002. Of those calls, 70 per cent were 911 calls and almost 50 per cent of those were accidental.Anytime a 911 caller doesn’t respond or hangs up on an operator, the operator must make contact by calling back whether there is an emergency or not which can take up to 90 seconds. It comes at a time when 911 call volume and wait times are high.Peel police say recent software updates to the Emergency SOS feature on Android devices makes it easier to dial 911 unintentionally and users are encouraged to turn the setting off.TPS says they are working to reduce call wait times by hiring communication operators, of which it takes up to 18 months to train. They have also introduced text messaging notifications to re...

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat to visit Iran, latest in restoring diplomatic ties after 7-year rift

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat is coming to visit Tehran, the latest step in the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two Mideast rivals, according to a statement from Iran on Friday. The statement said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will meet his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, on Saturday. Prince Faisal is also expected to officially inaugurate the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran. Both nations resumed the work of their diplomatic missions in the other country in recent weeks.The Iranian foreign minister’s visit comes after a visit to Saudi Arabia by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier in June. In March, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions.It was a major diplomatic breakthrough negotiated by China, lowering the chance of further conflict between Riyadh and Tehran — both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region.Iran has been blamed...

Cleanup under way after storms hit swath of Southern states, killing at least 5, destroying homes

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

PERRYTON, Texas (AP) — Cleanup efforts continued Friday after severe storms — including some that produced tornadoes — tore across a swath of Southern states, killing at least five people as they destroyed hundreds of homes, tossed vehicles into buildings and left hundreds of thousands without electricity.In Perryton in the Texas Panhandle, Ochiltree County Sheriff Terry Bouchard said three people were killed when the tornado struck Thursday afternoon.Another person died Thursday night in the Florida Panhandle when at least one confirmed tornado cut through Escambia County, toppling a tree onto a home, county spokesperson Andie Gibson told the Pensacola News Journal.Also, a Mississippi man died after a tree fell on him during stormy weather early Friday. Canton Police Chief Otha Brown told WLBT-TV the man was killed after high winds toppled over a tree onto his carport as he was entering his car.In Texas, of the homes searched so far in Perryton, all but one occupant had been accoun...

German archeologists find Bronze Age sword so well-preserved it ‘almost shines’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A bronze sword made more than 3,000 years ago that is so well-preserved it “almost still shines” has been unearthed in Germany, officials say.Bavaria’s state office for the preservation of historical monuments says the sword, which is believed to date back to the end of the 14th century B.C. — the middle of the Bronze Age — was found during excavations last week in Noerdlingen, between Nuremberg and Stuttgart in southern Germany.It has a bronze octagonal hilt and comes from a grave in which three people — a man, a woman and a boy — were buried in quick succession with bronze objects, the Bavarian office said in a statement this week. It is not yet clear whether the three were related to each other and, if so, how.“The sword and the burial still need to be examined so that our archeologists can categorize this find more precisely,” said the head of the office, Mathias Pfeil. “But we can already say that the state of preservation is extraordinary. A find like this ...

UPS workers vote to authorize strike in high-stakes negotiations for a new contract

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:31:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Unionized UPS workers voted overwhelmingly on Friday to authorize a strike, setting the stage for a potential work stoppage if the package delivery company and Teamsters can’t come to an agreement before their contract expires next month.The Teamsters said 97% of unionized workers voted for the authorization.The Teamsters have urged workers to authorize a strike to give them more leverage in negotiations with the company, but a yes vote does not mean a strike is imminent. UPS agrees to add air conditioning to trucks “This vote shows that hundreds of thousands of Teamsters are united and determined to get the best contract in our history at UPS," Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a prepared statement. "If this multibillion-dollar corporation fails to deliver on the contract that our hardworking members deserve, UPS will be striking itself. The strongest leverage our members have is their labor and they are prepared to withhold it to ensure UPS acts...