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Maine governor tells residents to stay off the roads as some rivers continue rising after storm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:36 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A river that runs through Maine’s capital city has risen to levels not seen in decades in the aftermath of a heavy storm, and the state’s governor urged people in heavily impacted areas to avoid travel Wednesday.People across the northeastern U.S. were still mopping up after the major pre-Christmas storm dumped torrential rains and brought damaging winds from Pennsylvania to Maine, as some rivers in the region rose even higher. Some of the worst damage was in Vermont and Maine, where hundreds of thousands of people still lacked power.At least five people in East Coast states were killed in the storms. In Maine, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills planned to address the state while emergency managers tended to dozens of road closures.The Kennebec River, which runs through Augusta, and the Sandy, Swift, Carrabassett and Androscoggin rivers were all seeing higher water levels than typical, leading to damage and closures, the Maine Department of Transportation...

S&P/TSX composite up in late-morning trading as price of oil climbs higher

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:36 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in the energy stocks and battery metals helped Canada’s main stock index move higher in late-morning trading as the price of oil rose and U.S. stock markets also moved up.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 44.81 points at 20,884.44.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 31.07 points at 37,588.99. The S&P 500 index was up 2.75 points 4,771.12, while the Nasdaq composite was up 35.40 points at 15,038.62.The Canadian dollar traded for 75.08 cents US compared with 74.94 cents US on Tuesday.The February crude oil contract was up 97 cents at US$74.91 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was down a penny at US$2.49 per mmBTU.The February gold contract was down US$4.40 at US$2,047.70 an ounce and the March copper contract was up a penny at US$3.90 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) The Canadian Press

Wisconsin prosecutor appeals ruling that cleared way for abortions to resume in state

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:36 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Republican district attorney has appealed a court ruling that determined that an 1849 Wisconsin law does not ban consensual abortions, a decision that cleared the way for abortions to resume in the state.Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski on Tuesday appealed the ruling from a Dane County judge that said there is no state ban on abortions. The appeal was expected and the case is likely to ultimately be decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.Urmanski asked that the appeal be heard in the state’s Waukesha-based 2nd District Court of Appeals, where three of the four judges are conservative. Appeals are heard by three-judge panels.Any appeal of a ruling there would go to the state Supreme Court, where liberals hold a 4-3 majority. The most recently elected liberal justice, Janet Protasiewicz, campaigned as a supporter of abortion rights.The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision legalizing abo...

Congressman told to hand over hundreds of texts and emails to FBI in 2020 election probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:36 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge is ordering Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania to turn over more than 1,600 texts and emails to FBI agents investigating efforts to keep President Donald Trump in office after his 2020 election loss and illegally block the transfer of power to Democrat Joe Biden. The ruling, late Monday, came more than a year after Perry’s personal cellphone was seized by federal authorities. The decision, by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, is largely in line with an earlier finding by a federal judge that Perry appealed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.Boasberg, in a 12-page decision, said that, after viewing each record, he decided that Perry, a top Trump ally, can withhold 396 of the messages under the constitution’s speech and debate clause that protects the work of members of Congress.However, the other 1,659 records do not involve legislative acts and must be disclosed, Boasberg ruled. That includes efforts to inf...

Iran summons Germany’s ambassador over Berlin accusing Tehran in a plot to attack a synagogue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:36 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the German ambassador to Tehran on Wednesday in protest against a ruling that implicated the Islamic Republic in a plan to attack a synagogue in Germany last year, the state-run IRNA news agency said.The report said the ministry summoned German Ambassador Hans-Udo Muzel to deliver the protest after the Duesseldorf state court convicted a 36-year-old German-Iranian man of attempted arson and agreeing to commit arson and sentenced him to two years and nine months in prison.Judges found that the man threw an incendiary device at a school in the western city of Bochum in November 2022 because the neighboring synagogue appeared too well secured. The defendant denied planning to attack the synagogue. The school reportedly sustained had minor damage.The court found the defendant had been tasked with the attack by a former Hells Angels member who had gone to Iran, and that Iran was behind the latter man. The German judges establishe...

U.S. imposes more Russian oil price cap sanctions and issues new compliance rules for shippers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:36 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. imposed new sanctions on alleged violators of a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil and tightened compliance rules for insurance firms and shippers, Wednesday.Firms across the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong were identified for economic sanctions, including UAE-based Sun Ship Management D Ltd., which Russian state-owned fleet operator Joint Stock Company Sovcomflot owns. Also sanctioned were Hong Kong-based Covart Energy, which has increased its share of the trade of Russian oil since the price cap policy was implemented, and Hong Kong-based Bellatrix Energy.Firm administrators were not available for comment to The Associated Press. The sanctions, which follow others imposed this year on shippers of Russian oil priced above the cap, block their access to their U.S.-owned property and prevent U.S. individuals and firms from doing business with the groups.The price cap coalition also announced Wednesday that it will soon require service providers, inc...

Quebec labour unions threaten unlimited strike in new year if no deal is reac

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:36 GMT

MONTREAL — Four Quebec public sector unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers say they will launch an unlimited strike early in the new year if they don’t reach a deal with the government.The four unions, which are negotiating together and calling themselves the “common front,” say it’s still possible to settle before the end of 2023 but add that negotiations need to intensify for that to happen.Common front leaders told reporters today they have not set a date for an unlimited general strike in 2024.The unions, which represent 420,000 public sector workers, including teachers, education support staff and lab technicians, have held three strikes, most recently from Dec. 8 through Dec. 14.A teachers union with the common front dismissed a government offer presented Tuesday, while an unaffiliated teachers union that has been on unlimited general strike for four weeks said it was studying the offer.The provincial government has said it hopes to reach...

Italian prosecutor acknowledges stalking threat against murdered woman may have been underestimated

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:36 GMT

MILAN (AP) — An Italian prosecutor on Wednesday acknowledged that a stalking threat to a 26-year-old pregnant woman found stabbed to death in her home may have been underestimated by authorities who failed to take action against a former lover now suspected of killing her.Prosecutor Marco Martani told reporters that the victim, Vanessa Ballan, had filed a complaint against the suspect, Bujar Fandaj, on Oct. 26, after he had climbed a gate attempting to get into the home she shares with her companion and 4-year-old son, as well as a series of other aggressions.Authorities searched the man’s house the next day, after which “there were no longer episodes of harassment, of getting close, of threats,” Martani was quoted by Corriere della Sera as saying. “The case was labeled not urgent, which unfortunately has turned out to be unfounded.”He said that authorities lacked the necessary indications to take further action. “The only measure that could have stopped the aggression would have be...

Live updates | Talks on Gaza cease-fire and freeing more hostages as Hamas leader is in Egypt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:36 GMT

The top leader of Hamas was in Egypt for talks Wednesday on halting the war in Gaza and securing the release of at least some of the estimated 129 Israeli captives held by Palestinian militants.At the U.N. Security Council, diplomats are negotiating for the third day on a resolution to pause the fighting and allow desperately needed humanitarian aid deliveries.In Yemen, rebels backed by Iran have threatened to target American warships operating near its waters, a day after Washington announced a new international coalition to protect commercial vessels sailing through the Red Sea. The Houthi rebels have threatened to prevent any ship heading to Israeli ports from passing through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea until food and medicine can enter Gaza freely.Nearly 20,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel declared war on Hamas, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Thousands more lie buried under the rubble of...

Brampton man caught with over 50 kg of cocaine at Ontario border crossing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:36 GMT

A man from Brampton is facing drug-related charges after he allegedly attempted to transport over 50 kilograms of suspected cocaine through Ontario’s Blue Water Bridge port of entry.In a joint news release from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), officers said on Dec. 4, a commercial truck entered Canada at the Blue Water Bridge port of entry in Point Edward, Ont., and was referred for a secondary examination.It’s alleged that during the inspection, CBSA officers discovered boxes containing 52 kg of suspected cocaine. Those narcotics were seized at the border crossing.On Wednesday, the CBSA and RCMP identified 27-year-old Manpreet Singh of Brampton as the accused. He’s facing several charges, including the importation of cocaine under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. Related: $7M worth of drugs seized, 150 charges laid in months-long d...