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Chiefs hopeful court will approve landmark child-welfare settlement this week

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:49 GMT

OTTAWA — First Nations chiefs and advocates are hopeful the Federal Court will approve a landmark child-welfare settlement this week.The court is hearing final arguments in Ottawa this week on a proposed settlement agreement that would be the biggest in Canadian history if it passes. The settlement includes $23 billion in compensation for more than 300,000 children and their families, and another $20 billion to reform the child welfare system.The Assembly of First Nations interim national chief, Joanna Bernard, says families have been waiting decades for this settlement.Cindy Blackstock, the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society that took Canada to task in 2007, says there are still a number of issues.Blackstock says First Nations children living on-reserve are still subject to inequitable access to health care, and Ottawa must do more to protect them.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2023.The Canadian Press<!– ...

World’s oldest dog ever, 31, dies in Portugal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:49 GMT

A 31-year-old dog in Portugal that had been ranked as the world’s oldest dog ever has died, his owner said Monday.The guard dog, called Bobi, died over the weekend in a veterinary hospital, Leonel Costa told The Associated Press.Bobi lived on a farm in the village of Conqueiros in Portugal with Costa and four cats. He was born on May 11, 1992, when his owner was just 8 years old.In an interview earlier this year, Costa told the Associated Press that Bobi’s secret to a long life was good food, fresh air and lots of love.“Bobi eats what we eat,” said Costa. What’s more, Bobi had never been put on a leash.Bobi, a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo Portuguese dog, poses for a photo with his owner Leonel Costa and his Guinness World Record certificates for the oldest dog at their home in Conqueiros, central Portugal, Saturday, May 20, 2023. Bobi’s owner said Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, that he passed away Saturday at 31 years and 165 days of age. (AP Photo/ Jorge...

Politicians condemn protest at Jewish-owned business as police monitor demonstrations

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:49 GMT

OTTAWA — Toronto police say they are aware of a demonstration that happened this weekend in front of a Jewish-owned business, but no one has filed a report with them. Footage shared on social media shows a group of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in front of a restaurant in Toronto, with some members of the crowd calling it a “Zionist café” and calling for a boycott.There has been widespread condemnation of the chant from political leaders including Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, who said in a statement that “targeting a business in this way is wrong.” University of Ottawa criminology professor Michael Kempa says it is ultimately up to police to decide what behaviour crosses a line into criminality when it comes to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Police services across Canada say they are dealing with heightened fears from both Jewish and Muslim groups since the Israel-Hamas war broke out more than two weeks ago. Many have increased their prese...

35 years later, Georgia authorities identify woman whose body was found in a dumpster

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:49 GMT

MILLEN, Ga. (AP) — A body found wrapped in plastic inside a Georgia dumpster 35 years ago has been identified as that of a South Korean woman, officials announced Monday. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said they used DNA analysis, paid for by donors, to determine that Chong Un Kim, 26, was the person whose body was discovered in rural Millen in February 1988.Kim died from asphyxiation, but it’s unclear whether someone killed her or who dumped her body. She was found wrapped with plastic and duct tape, inside a suitcase that had been placed in a trash bin. Investigators said Kim had been dead four to seven days when her body was found.Kim had moved to the United States in 1981, investigators said. She had lived for several years in Hinesville, which adjoins Fort Stewart and is 70 miles (110 kilometers) miles south of Millen.Investigators were unable to identify Kim for decades, despite the use of fingerprints, dental records and a forensic sketch. DNA found at the time could not...

Five youth, one adult taken to hospitals after school bus rolls over north of Calgary

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:49 GMT

DIDSBURY, Alta. — Six people have been transported to hospital after a collision involving a school bus in central Alberta.An RCMP officer from Didsbury, about 82 kilometres north of Calgary, came across the school bus rollover on Highway 2A at Township Road 320, police said Monday. “The bus contained numerous students,” they said in a news release. Emergency Medical Services said paramedics responded around 10:30 a.m. “A total of six individuals were transported to hospital,” spokesman Adam Loria said in an email.Two youths and an adult were taken to hospitals in Calgary, while three youths were taken to Didsbury Health Centre.Loria said all six were transported by ground ambulance with non-life-threatening injuries.Highway 2A is closed and no traffic can get through the area.Police said earlier they were responding Monday to multiple collisions in the area, including potentially 12 between Carstairs and Olds on Highway 2, due to poor road conditions.Alberta...

2 Israeli women held hostage in Gaza released by Hamas

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:49 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas released two elderly Israeli women held hostage in Gaza on Monday, as the United States expressed increasing concern that the escalating Israel-Hamas war will spark a wider conflict in the region, including attacks on American troops.The death toll in Gaza was rising rapidly as Israel ramped up airstrikes, flattening residential buildings in what it says was preparation for an eventual ground assault. The United States advised Israel to delay an expected ground invasion to allow time to negotiate the release of more hostages.A third small aid convoy from Egypt entered Gaza, where the population of 2.3 million has been running out of food, water and medicine under Israel’s two-week seal. With Israel still barring entry of fuel, the U.N. said its distribution of aid would grind to a halt within days when it can no longer fuel its trucks. Gaza hospitals are struggling to keep generators running to power life-saving medical equipment and incubators for pre...

Remains of WWII soldier from Winnetka to be buried Friday

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:49 GMT

MILWAUKEE, Wisc. — The remains of a suburban U.S. Army soldier who was killed during a World War II battle will be buried on Friday.Pfc. John Gordon, a Winnetka native, was killed in action during the Battle of Reipertswiller in France in January 1945. He was just 32 years old.That day, his company, Company G, was subjected to a German counterattack after it had been cut off from allied forces the day before. By Jan. 20, all of the men from Company G had been killed or captured — and American forces were unable to recover Gordon’s body.Last summer, Gordon's remains were accounted for. Suburban rescue in ‘dire’ need of new van to save animals from being euthanized His remains will be buried Friday at Wood National Cemetery in Milwaukee.

The 50 'rattiest cities' in the US, as ranked by Orkin

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:49 GMT

(KTLA/NEXSTAR) – It's their world. We just live in it.Orkin has released its 2023 list of the “rattiest cities” in the U.S., which ranks 50 of the nation’s busiest metro regions by “the number of new rodent treatments” performed over a period of 12 months. Specifically, Orkin studied new rodent treatments executed between Sept. 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2023, at both residential and commercial properties.Perhaps not surprisingly, Chicago was ranked as the No. 1 "rattiest" city for a ninth consecutive year.SEE ALSO: Chicago’s ‘Rat’ Rage GrowsRounding out the top five "rattiest" cities were Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. and San Francisco — the usual suspects, as Orkin's previous reports have suggested.A complete list of the 50 "rattiest" cities can be found below, with plus (+) or minus (-) symbols indicating their change over last year’s list:ChicagoLos Angeles (+1)New York (-1)Washington, D.C. San FranciscoPhiladelphiaBaltimoreDenverDetroit (+1)Cleveland-Akron (-1)Minneapolis-S...

Teresa Weatherspoon's hire continues building of the 2024 Chicago Sky

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:49 GMT

Subria Whitaker of Grow The Game joins "9 Good Minutes" on WGN News Now to talk about the Chicago Sky's upcoming offseason & the hire of Teresa Weatherspoon.CHICAGO — Once again, the Chicago Sky are starting a new era of their franchise in 2024.Last year, the team was moving on from Courtney Vandersloot, Candace Parker, Allie Quigley, Emma Meesseman, and Azura Stevens in a major reshaping of their roster around All-Star Kahleah Copper.Now the team is replacing head coach and general manager James Wade, who made a number of deals to reshape the roster for 2023. This time the job will be split, with Basketball Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon taking the head coaching position with a general manager still to be hired. She'll be introduced at a news conference on Tuesday morning at Wintrust Arena. Yet this is just the start of getting the Sky back to the championship level they were at just a year ago before the high-profile departures. The team has Copper on a new two-year deal w...

2 women held hostage released by Hamas, International Committee of the Red Cross confirms

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:04:49 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas released two elderly Israeli women held hostage in Gaza on Monday, as the United States expressed increasing concern that the escalating Israel-Hamas war will spark a wider conflict in the region, including attacks on American troops.The death toll in Gaza was rising rapidly as Israel ramped up airstrikes, flattening residential buildings in what it says was preparation for an eventual ground assault. The United States advised Israel to delay an expected ground invasion to allow time to negotiate the release of more hostages..A third small aid convoy from Egypt entered Gaza, where the population of 2.3 million has been running out of food, water and medicine under Israel’s two-week seal. With Israel still barring entry of fuel, the U.N. said its distribution of aid would grind to a halt within days when it can no longer fuel its trucks. Gaza hospitals are struggling to keep generators running to power life-saving medical equipment and incubators f...