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Timing of evidence disclosure raises ire of judge in ‘Freedom Convoy’ trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

OTTAWA — The judge presiding over the trial of “Freedom Convoy” organizers says she is seriously unhappy about the late disclosure of text message evidence to the defence.Justice Heather Perkins-McVey called a short recess to “settle” herself after defence lawyers told her they had received two heavy binders of evidence Thursday, three days after the trial began.The messages are from the cellphone belonging to Chris Barber, who is co-accused with Tamara Lich of mischief, counselling others to convince mischief and obstructing police.The charges relate to the role the two played organizing the convoy that blocked streets in downtown Ottawa for three weeks in the winter of 2022.Barber’s lawyer Diane Magas says she asked the Crown to whittle down tens of thousands her client’s text messages to just the ones expected to be entered into evidence.Crown lawyer Tim Radcliffe says that request only came just before the trial started and was fulfilled this ...

More ads coming as Conservatives plot path to make Poilievre the next prime minister

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

QUEBEC — Canadians should expect to see a lot more of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre in the coming months as the party uses its full war chest to reach out beyond its base.That’s essentially what Robert Staley, the Toronto lawyer named by Poilievre to lead the Conservative Fund, told delegates Friday at the party convention in Quebec City.“We will continue to spend on tour and we will continue to spend on advertising,” Staley said. “All of this is being done to influence voters, especially in key ridings to support the party and our leader in the next election.” More than 2,000 Conservatives are in Quebec City for the party’s convention, and will hear directly from Poilievre himself when he takes the stage Friday night.The mood at the convention is buoyant, following a number of polls that show the party with a considerable lead over the governing Liberals. While no election is imminent, the numbers are lifting the spirits of party members c...

U of T building evacuated after smoke fills auditorium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

A University of Toronto building was evacuated on Friday after reports of smoke emanating from a bag.Toronto Fire tells CityNews its crews responded to the Faculty of Education building at 371 Bloor St. W. near Huron Street after a battery inside a bag began to smoke inside the auditorium.Crews are now ventilating the building.No injuries have been reported.Police say Bloor Street is blocked between Huron and Spadina.More to come FIRE:Bloor St + Huron St11:53 a.m.– Reports of smoke inside a U of T Schools building– The building is evacuating– Police are on scene with @Toronto_Fire– Bloor is blocked from Huron to Spadina @TTCnotices#GO2099956^lb— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) September 8, 2023

‘Low-key’ King Charles focused on Indigenous reconciliation in first year on throne

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

MONTREAL — Chadwick Cowie says he’s feeling cautiously optimistic about King Charles III’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples in Canada after meeting the monarch at a July garden party in Scotland.Cowie, who was invited to attend as part of a delegation from the Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg — or Mississauga — Nation in Ontario, said that as 8,000 guests waited for the King’s attention, Charles spent 15 minutes of the two-hour event talking to the Indigenous group.“It was only 15 minutes we got with him, but it was the first 15 minutes that a political delegation from my nation has had with the Crown since 1860,” Cowie said.Cowie, who is also a political science professor at the University of Toronto, said discussion topics with the King included the Canadian wildfires and what’s happening in their communities. The short meeting, Cowie said, showed that Charles, who is marking his first year on the throne, has a “willingness to listen” to Indigenous people as th...

Music Review: Olivia Rodrigo rages against the machine and bad men with humor on ‘GUTS’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — On Friday, Olivia Rodrigo — the Grammy winner best known for her 2021 smash single “drivers license” — released her highly anticipated sophomore album, “GUTS.”It’s an apt title, because audacious she is: Across 12 tracks, Rodrigo builds off the life experiences of a pop superstar now in the throes of fame — and her early 20s — with an acute wisdom.From the bloodsucking piano ballad “vampire” to the cheeky backslide anthem “bad idea right?” (Rodrigo has kept the all-lowercase titles that styled her debut), “GUTS” is at times a pop-punk album unafraid of taking dynamic swings, and a diaristic bloodletting. But those lead singles hid greater moments: opener “all-american bitch,” inspired by a cast-off quote from a young hippie in Joan Didion’s “The White Album” essay collection, is pop-punk informed by Liz Phair or, like, the most obscure Rose Melberg record. Irony and anger are her swords: “I’m grateful all the time / I’m sexy and I’m kind / I’m pretty w...

Man pleads guilty to charges stemming from human remains trade tied to Harvard Medical School

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from the theft and sale of human body parts taken from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary.Jeremy Pauley, 41, of Thompson, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He now faces up to 15 years in prison, but it wasn’t known Friday if a sentencing date has been scheduled.Pauley admitted that he bought human remains from multiple people, knowing the remains were stolen, and also admitted to selling many of the stolen remains to others, including at least one person who also knew they had been stolen. Pauley was among seven people indicted in the case in June. Trials are still pending for the other defendants, including Cedric Lodge, 55, of Goffstown, New Hampshire, who is accused of stealing dissected portions of cadavers that were donated to the medical sc...

AP Election Brief | What to expect in Connecticut’s municipal primaries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in the small Connecticut town of Derby will decide Tuesday whether to unseat their three-term incumbent mayor in favor of a local official recently charged in federal court for his involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Meanwhile, Connecticut Democrats will choose mayoral nominees in three of the state’s four largest cities.In Derby, located about 10 miles west of New Haven, incumbent Republican Mayor Richard Dziekan faces a primary challenge from alderman Gino DiGiovanni, Jr., who was charged by federal prosecutors in August with illegally entering the U.S. Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.DiGiovanni, who was elected alderman 10 months after the attack, has acknowledged being at the Capitol that day but has denied any wrongdoing. He has the local Republican Party committee’s endorsement, which Dziekan did not seek. Dziekan was first elected mayor in 2017 after unseating Democratic incumbent Anita Dugatto in a rematch of their 2015 ...

US-backed Kurdish fighters say battles with tribesmen in eastern Syria that killed dozens have ended

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — A U.S.-backed Syrian force declared its operations in eastern Syria completed Friday after almost two weeks of fighting with local tribesmen left dozens of people dead. The Syrian Democratic Forces said the fighting ended with its recapture of areas in Deir el-Zour province that the Kurdish-led force had lost during the battles triggered by the militia’s arrest of a rival U.S.-backed commander. The clashes were among the worst in recent years in the region along the border with Iraq where hundreds of U.S. troops have been based since 2015 to help in the fight against the Islamic State group.Many feared the fighting between the rival Syrian militias that broke out on Aug. 27 would affect the efforts to combat IS. Earlier this week, the SDF took control of the areas it lost during the recent clashes. The SDF said the fighting left 25 of its fighters dead in addition to 29 members of rival groups and tribal gunmen. It said nine civilians were also killed and accused gover...

Germany pulled off the biggest upset of its basketball existence. Hardly anyone seemed to notice

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany pulled off the biggest upset of its basketball existence, and hardly anyone back home seemed to notice.The Germans held on to beat the United States 113-111 in the Basketball World Cup semifinals on Friday in Manila and reach the final for the first time, setting up a game against Serbia on Sunday for the title.But unlike the horn-honking and beer-drinking celebrations that normally accompany German wins in World Cup soccer, the streets of Berlin remained free of fanfare on Friday.The victory was the German national basketball team’s biggest success since winning the 1993 European title and arguably its most spectacular win ever as the team captained by Dennis Schröder defeated the tournament favorites for its first win over the United States.Perhaps the lack of local atmosphere had to do with the game not being shown on regular TV. In order to watch the game, Germans had to use a streaming service.Sunday’s game, however, will be shown on one of the natio...

Air Canada repays $589M in debt used to buy Airbus and Boeing aircraft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:57 GMT

MONTREAL — Air Canada says it has repaid about $589 million in debt that it used to buy aircraft.The company says it repaid a $462-million loan from Canada’s Export Development Corp. that it used to pay for the purchase of 14 Airbus A220-300 aircraft. The airline also repaid $127 million in a partial repayment of financings supported by the Export-Import Bank of the United States that was used to buy four Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Air Canada says one of its top priorities following the pandemic has been to reduce debt.It says the moves strengthen its balance sheet and provide it with more flexibility to make strategic investments.Air Canada reported a profit of $838 million in the quarter ended June 30 compared with a loss of $386 million in the same period a year earlier.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)The Canadian Press<!– Photo: 2023090812094-64fb469b969b7fbd32a5b7d7jpeg.jpg, Caption: Air Canada says...