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MPs to vote on Pierre Poilievre’s pitch to exempt carbon price from all home heating

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:18 GMT

OTTAWA — Members of Parliament will vote today on a motion from the federal Conservatives calling for the carbon price to be lifted from all forms of home heating and not just heating oil.Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the temporary heating oil exemption Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last month is divisive.Poilievre says Trudeau is engaging in regional favouritism in a bid to reverse the Liberals’ sluggish poll numbers in Atlantic Canada. Trudeau says heating oil is much pricier to use than natural gas and that a disproportionate number of households in Atlantic Canada still use heating oil, and need more time to replace their furnaces with heat pumps.But the Liberals say there are actually more Canadians outside the Atlantic region that use home heating oil but only three Atlantic provinces have signed on to a program to help oil users switch to electric heat pumps.The New Democrats plan to vote in favour of Poilievre’s motion after failing to convi...

7 bystanders wounded in shooting at Texas college homecoming party, sheriff’s office says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:18 GMT

HEMPSTEAD, Texas (AP) — Authorities outside of Houston were searching Monday for those responsible for a shooting at a large college homecoming party that left seven people wounded. Gunfire broke out around 10 p.m. Sunday at a Prairie View A&M University homecoming party near the school’s campus, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of downtown Houston, according to the Waller County Sheriff’s Office.Detectives arrived at the “trail ride pasture party” and found two men, two women and a male minor had been shot, the sheriff’s office said in a statement. They all suffered gunshot wounds “to their lower extremities” that appeared not to be life threatening, according to the statement. The sheriff’s office said more than 1,000 people attended the party and that police were called after an argument escalated into gunfire. Investigators are unclear on how many people opened fire but said each of those injured was a bystander.A promotor, who authorities did...

Telecom companies discuss increased adoption of AI at annual conference

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:18 GMT

TORONTO — As Canada’s telecom sector undergoes technological changes, artificial intelligence could be leveraged to predict and reduce network outages or change the way customer service is provided.That is one of the key messages from Telus Corp.’s chief information officer Hesham Fahmy, who says AI is useful for recognizing data patterns and detecting anomalies.His comments came on the opening day of the Canadian Telecom Summit taking place Monday to Wednesday in Toronto, where topics such as AI and industry evolution are front and centre.Fahmy says any debate of whether there needs to be more integration of AI in the sector is over and predicts more adoption happening at a rapid pace in the years to come.Raising the level of transparency surrounding network outages is an ongoing focus of the federal regulator, as the CRTC launched a consultation in March with the goal of developing a framework to improve the reliability and resiliency of telecommunications networks.Fah...

30 people dead in Kenya and Somalia as heavy rains and flash floods displace thousands

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:18 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Heavy rains and flash flooding have killed at least 30 people and displaced tens of thousands in Kenya and Somalia, aid agencies reported Monday. In Somalia, the federal government declared a national emergency after the extreme weather killed at least 14 people and destroyed homes, roads and bridges. Emergency and rescue workers were trying to reach an estimated 2,400 residents trapped by flood waters in the Luuq district of southern Somalia’s Jubaland state. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned of a high risk of flooding along the Juba and Shabelle rivers and called for the evacuation of people living along the entire stretch of the Juba.The heavy rains in Somalia follow four consecutive years of drought that pushed the country to the brink of famine.In neighboring Kenya, the Kenya Red Cross said the death toll had risen to 15 since the heavy rains began Friday, with the port city of Mombasa and the northeastern counties o...

Myanmar resistance claims first capture of a district capital from the military government

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:18 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Armed resistance groups fighting Myanmar ‘s military government seized a district capital in the north Monday after taking state offices and a police station in a four-day offensive, according to residents, the country’s major opposition coalition and media reports.Kawlin in Sagaing region is the first administrative capital seized by the resistance forces in continuing strife since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.Sagaing has been a stronghold of armed resistance to the army, which has responded with major offensives using ground troops supported by artillery and air strikes, burning down villages and driving hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Loosely organized resistance groups opposed to army rule, known as the People’s Defense Force, or PDF, have sprung up around the country since the army’s takeover. They have made alliances with well-established armed ethnic minority groups such as the Ka...

4 men charged in theft of golden toilet from Churchill’s birthplace. It’s an artwork titled America

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:18 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Four men were charged Monday over the theft of an 18-carat gold toilet from Blenheim Palace, the sprawling English mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. The toilet, valued at 4.8 million pounds ($5.95 million), was the work of Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan. It was part of an art installation at Blenheim Palace, near the city of Oxford, a few days before it vanished overnight in September 2019. The Crown Prosecution Service said Monday it has authorized criminal charges against four men, ages 35-39, over the theft. They are accused of burglary and conspiracy to transfer criminal property. The golden toilet, titled “America,” was intended to be a pointed satire about excessive wealth. The lavatory was fully functioning, and prior to the theft, visitors to the exhibition could book a three-minute appointment to use it. The artwork has never been found.At the time of the theft, police said that because the toilet had been connected ...

CP NewsAlert: At least one dead after fire at Canada’s high commission in Nigeria

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:18 GMT

OTTAWA — At least one person is dead after a fire Monday at Canada’s high commission in Nigeria, according to local fire officials.More coming.The Canadian Press<!– Photo: 20231106111128-65491459d3d41e9f95c4f762jpeg.jpg, Caption: Nigerian officials say there have been deaths after a fire at Canada’s high commission in Abuja. Cars drive past the National Assembly building in Abuja, Nigeria, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Chinedu Asadu –>

Calgary’s Tate McRae to appear on ‘Saturday Night Live’ as musical guest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:18 GMT

Calgary singer-songwriter Tate McRae has been announced as the musical guest of an upcoming episode of “Saturday Night Live.” McRae is set to perform on the Nov. 18 edition of the show, which will be hosted by actor Jason Momoa.“SNL” announced the pairing on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. McRae first gained recognition as a finalist on the televised U.S. dance competition show “So You Think You Can Dance.”She released her debut album “I Used To Think I Could Fly” in 2022 and her single “greedy,” released earlier this year, hit more than 260 million streams on Spotify. “Saturday Night Live” airs on NBC and Global TV. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2023.The Canadian Press

Tech weakness weighs on S&P/TSX composite, while U.S. stock markets rise

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:18 GMT

TORONTO — Losses in the technology stocks helped lead Canada’s main stock index lower in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were higher to start the week.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 32.10 points at 19,792.75.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 34.37 points at 34,095.69. The S&P 500 index was up 6.88 points at 4,365.22, while the Nasdaq composite was up 47.89 points at 13,526.17.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.11 cents US compared with 73.08 cents US on Friday.The December crude oil contract was up US$1.03 at US$81.54 per barrel and the December natural gas contract was down 23 cents at US$3.29 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down US$10.00 at US$1,989.20 an ounce and the December copper contract was up three cents at US$3.71 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) The Canadian Press

Baltimore Catholic church to close after longtime pastor suspended over sexual harassment settlement

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:18 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Archdiocese of Baltimore will close one of the city’s Catholic churches after its longtime pastor was recently suspended from ministry because he admitted to making a payment several years ago to settle sexual harassment allegations.Last month, Father Paschal Morlino was dismissed from his position at St. Benedict Church in southwest Baltimore, where he served for nearly 40 years and became known for his efforts to help residents of poor neighborhoods surrounding the church.Few details about the 2018 complaint against Morlino have been released. Church officials have said they regarded “alleged sexual harassment of an adult man.” The complainant died in 2020 and a lawyer representing him in the case has declined to comment citing a non-disclosure agreement.St. Benedict is owned and operated by Saint Vincent Archabbey in Pennsylvania, the oldest Benedictine monastery in the country. In a joint statement with the archdiocese on Saturday, monastery leaders said the...