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Labour board flags ‘irregularities,’ low turnout in public service strike vote

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:03:30 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal labour board has found low turnout and irregularities of significant concern with the strike vote that led more than 100,000 public servants to walk off the job this week.The board found in a decision posted Thursday that the Public Service Alliance of Canada failed to properly let members know it had shortened the voting period by eight days, moving the deadline from April 19 to April 11.Only about 35 per cent of members of the bargaining unit actually cast a ballot, and 80 per cent of them were in favour of a strike mandate. Union president Chris Aylward hasn’t previously revealed how many members were in favour of a strike mandate, except to say that it was an “overwhelming majority.”The decision arose from a complaint by a public servant who asked the board to overturn the result of the vote when he was unable to cast his ballot. The board decided against granting that request because it’s unlikely there would have been a different re...

White House: No evacuation plans for all Americans in Sudan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:03:30 GMT

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — The Pentagon has deployed forces and is developing options to assist in the possible evacuation of U.S. Embassy personnel from Sudan, but the White House said Friday there are no plans for now for a broader pullout of the potentially thousands of other Americans from the African country where warring factions are in a violent conflict.The troop moves by the U.S. military are intended “to ensure that we provide as many options as possible, if we are called on to do something. We haven’t been called on to do anything yet,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at a news conference in Germany. Austin and U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, held meeting meetings with defense leaders from other countries to discuss additional support for Ukraine. An estimated 16,000 private U.S. citizens are registered with the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum as being in Sudan. The State Department has cautioned that that figure probably is inacc...

Hassan Diab’s supporters urge Canada to rebuff extradition after guilty verdict

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:03:30 GMT

OTTAWA — Supporters of Hassan Diab are calling on Canada to refuse any new extradition request from France after a court found the Ottawa sociology professor guilty of a 1980 bombing.Diab, who has always maintained innocence, was tried in absentia in Paris for the attack on a synagogue that killed four and wounded 46.A French court sentenced Diab to life in prison today and issued an arrest warrant for him.Following lengthy proceedings that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, Diab was extradited to France where he spent three years behind bars, including time in solitary confinement.French judges dismissed the allegations against him in January 2018 and ordered his immediate release, allowing him to return to Ottawa where he lives with his wife and children.In May 2021, a French court upheld a decision directing Diab to stand trial, a ruling his Canadian lawyer called inexplicable.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2023.Jim Bronskill, The Ca...

Confusion as Musk’s Twitter yanks blue checks from agencies

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:03:30 GMT

Twitter has long been a way for people to keep track of tornado watches, train delays, news alerts or the latest crime warnings from their local police department.But when the Elon Musk-owned platform started stripping blue verification checkmarks this week from accounts that don’t pay a monthly fee, it left public agencies and other organizations around the world scrambling to figure out a way to show they’re trustworthy and avoid impersonators.High-profile users who lost their blue checks Thursday included Beyoncé, Pope Francis, Oprah Winfrey and former President Donald Trump. But checks were also removed from accounts for major transit systems from San Francisco to Paris, national parks like Yosemite and official weather trackers.Twitter had about 300,000 verified users under the original blue-check system. In the past, the checks meant that Twitter had verified that users were who they said they were.While Twitter is now offering gold checks for “verified organizatio...

Eastern Canada sees price jump at the pump, but experts say gas costs could level off

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:03:30 GMT

After a surge in gas prices across Eastern Canada earlier this week, experts say costs at the pump could level off despite the normal high-demand period associated with this time of year.As the cost of oil edged below US$80 per barrel this week, gas prices soared to around 164.9 cents per litre across much of Ontario on Wednesday, marking an eight-cent jump fuelled by the annual switchover to summer blends.Roger McKnight, chief petroleum analyst at En-Pro International, says prices often rise heading into the summer as the weather improves and Canadians head out on the road for weekend getaways.But he says this year could be an outlier, with inflation and the threat of a recession holding demand back.While gas prices in Ontario were sitting at around 159.1 cents per litre on Friday, they continue to linger above 165 cents per litre east of the province and as high as 182.9 cents in B.C., according to price-tracking website Gasbuddy.com.McKnight calls it a “state of flux”...

Chase warns Chicago employees about potential for more downtown disturbances

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:03:30 GMT

CHICAGO — Several large employers are cautioning their workers about the potential for more downtown disturbances Friday and Saturday night.  There is no indication the concern rises to the level of closing offices or business, and it’s not uncommon for social media chatter to trigger alerts that turn out to be unfounded.Chase sent an email to its Chicago employees that reads in part: “Global Security is monitoring developing information related to a potential gathering of juveniles in downtown Chicago on the evenings of Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22.  We wanted to alert all Chicago employees in an abundance of caution as these gathering could follow recent trends where incidents of disruption and disorder occur...” Chicago police detail safety plans after last weekend’s violence in Loop Two teens were shot and 15 people were arrested last Saturday night in the Loop after crowds flooded the streets.2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins says CPD command staff plan to put captains a...

Michigan man gets 10 months over racist attempts to scare Black Lives Matter protesters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:03:30 GMT

(The Hill) – A Michigan man was sentenced to 10 months in prison over attempts to intimidate Black Lives Matter protesters.Kenneth Pilon, 62, called nine Starbucks stores and told employees to threaten and racially demean employees supporting Black Lives Matter. He also threatened to kill Black people, according to court records. Michigan man had left nooses, racist notes to stem Black Lives Matter protests Pilon had called the stores in the days after Starbucks announced it would provide T-shirts for employees who wanted to support Black Lives Matter in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.Pilon also left nooses and threatening notes at Starbucks parking lots and other establishments.One note read, “An accessory to be worn with your ‘BLM’ t-shirt. Happy protesting!” court records show.

Lipari Foods voluntarily recalls their ground cumin

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:03:30 GMT

CHICAGO — A health risk identified by two organizations has led to the recall of ground cumin from a Michigan-based company.Lipari Foods has issued a voluntary recall of a specific lot of their Branded Ground Cumin Tubs manufactured by International Food due to possible Salmonella contamination. It was brought to their attention by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) after a sample of it collected by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services tested positive for the organism.Here is the information on the product involved in the recall.LIPARIGROUND CUMIN6 OZ. TUB22091460109/2024094776212620The ground cumin was distributed in Illinois along with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.No illnesses have been reported. Those who have this specific brand of ground cumin should not cons...

Fall hazard forces recall of Rollerblade USA youth in-line skates

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:03:30 GMT

CHICAGO — A specific brand of skates from Rollerblade USA is being recalled by the company this week due to a fall hazard.The company's Rollerblade Fury Black/White and Fury G Black/Pink youth inline skates, which came in three adjustable sizes with ranges of 12J-2, 2-6 and 5-8, are being called back due to a fall hazard.Rollerblade USA says that there have been 11 reports of the brake supports fracturing or breaking off of the skates. No injuries have been reported due to the defect.According to the company, customers should stop using them immediately and contact the company for a free replacement brake support. For those people who have these skates, you can contact the company in the United States toll-free at 866-734-5708 from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. central Monday through Friday. You can also email Rollerblade USA at [email protected] or go online to https://www.rollerblade.com/usa/en/fury-recall or www.rollerblade.com and click on “Fury Product Recall” for more...

Texas House moves to expand Medicaid coverage to new moms for a year after childbirth

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:03:30 GMT

AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — The Texas House advanced a bill Thursday that would allow low-income moms to stay on Medicaid for a full year after childbirth. The bill was preliminarily approved with bipartisan support in a 125-11 vote. All of the votes against the bill were from Republicans. It is expected to pass the House in a final vote on Friday.Currently, postpartum Medicaid expires after two months in Texas. The House passed a similar measure last session, but the Senate reduced it to six months of coverage. That proposal is stuck in bureaucratic limbo after the federal government said it is “unapprovable” in its current form.But in the two years since the Legislature last met, the landscape around this issue has changed dramatically. Most states adopted the 12-month policy, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v. Wade engendered more support for new moms.The Republican Party of Texas, as well as Gov. Greg Abbott and more than 170 Texas groups from across the political spec...