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New fences, gate controls among international border upgrades since ‘Freedom Convoy’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:36 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian Border Services Agency is improving the perimeter fences, gate controls and road infrastructure at 11 border crossings between the United States and Canada following the “Freedom Convoy” protests blockaded several crossings last year.Protesters blocked ports of entry into Canada last year to oppose COVID-19 public health restrictions in solidarity with a massive demonstration that occupied the streets of downtown Ottawa for three weeks.Transport Canada estimated as much as $3.9 billion in trade activity was halted because of the blockades, which was one of the factors in the prime minister’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act.On Thursday, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the improvements at the border was one of the ways the government is responding to the recommendations of a federal inquiry into the use of the Act.The CBSA says other security measures installed at the border crossings include speed bumps, closed-circuit televi...

Spain legal panel opens case against suspended soccer chief over World Cup kiss

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:36 GMT

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish government legal panel is opening a case against suspended soccer chief Luis Rubiales for kissing a player on the lips without consent after Spain won the Women’s World Cup.Miquel Iceta, acting minister of culture and sport and the government’s sports council that is linked to the legal panel announced the move on Friday.Rubiales has come in for a storm of criticism and calls for his resignation for his behavior during and after the recent World Cup final in Sydney.FIFA has already suspended Rubiales for 90 days while it studies the case, so the Spanish decision will have little immediate effect. The FIFA suspension, which can be extended for 45 days more, bans Rubiales from his posts as president of the Spanish Football Federation and a vice president of UEFA.Spain is hoping to remove him independently of the FIFA processIceta said that while the government cannot directly suspend Rubiales, as was its intention, it will ask the legal panel to consider ...

France’s Macron says schools will be ‘intractable’ in enforcing ban on robes often worn by Muslims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:36 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French students won’t get past the door if they show up for school wearing long robes, President Emmanuel Macron made clear Friday, saying authorities would be “intractable” in enforcing a new rule when classes resume next week. French Education Minister Gabriel Attal announced at a news conference four days ago that robes worn mainly by Muslims, known as abayas for girls and women and khamis for boys and men, would be banned with the start of the new school year on Monday.Macron addressed the dress code for the first publicly after visiting a professional school in the Vaucluse region of southern France “We know there will be cases” of students testing the rule, the president said, including ones trying to “defy the republican system.” Macron said they would not be able to slip into class, stressing that “we will be intractable on the subject.”The education minister described girls and boys wearing the robes in junior high and high school as “an infringement on secular...

2 South Elgin High School students killed in crash identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:36 GMT

SOUTH ELGIN, Ill. — South Elgin High School students and staff are mourning the loss of two students killed in a car crash in Bartlett.Police said the crash happened just after 7 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of Route 25 and Keynon Road. Four girls were on their way to school in a Honda Civic, when they collided with a semi-truck.The truck ended up on its side and the Honda ended up in a corn field.Fire crews removed the roof of the passenger car to gain access to the girls inside the Honda Civic.On Friday the Kane County coroner released a statement identifying the victims as 16-year-old Tahlulay Henry and 17-year-old Kamorra Campbell.The two other girls, along with the truck driver, were injured.Two memorial sites have been created in honor of the two female victims; one at the scene of the crash and one at the high school.South Elgin students began their day Friday with a vigil, with all the students huddled together to remember their two classmates. 2 South Elgin HS stud...

Illinois considering change to obscure tax

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:36 GMT

(WTVO) — Illinois lawmakers are considering a change to an obscure tax.The "Estate Tax" kicks in when a resident gets an inheritance of more than $4 million. There are family farms across Illinois that fall into that category, but they sometimes cannot pay it without selling assets when it is due.That is because most of the money from farms either goes into the land or into the crops.Governor JB Pritzker did not say whether or not he would support raising the threshold to $12 million."It'll be important to consider around that what the effect on the state budget would be, what the effect on families would be, is that the right threshold to have for the estate tax in the state of Illinois, all of which I'll take into consideration," Pritzker said.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines"When you can't give that to your kids, that's a huge, huge difference," added State Senator Sally Turner. "So, I think we need to pay attention to that, and I appreciate Governor taking a look at it."...

'Beyond frightful': 2 men injured in suburban Metra stairway collapse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:36 GMT

UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. — Two men are thankful their injuries weren't catastrophic after a stairway at a suburban Metra station collapsed last week.Like a usual Wednesday afternoon, David Knuth was commuting from his job downtown to get home via a Metra train. He disembarked at the University Park station and began his journey to the parking lot.What happened next is something Knuth can't get out of his mind as he deals with lacerations, deep bruising and mental scars. The stairway collapsed with Knuth and four others on it — leaving him on top of the rubble."It gave out, it collapsed and I was right smack in the middle," Knuth said. "I fell on top of debris and six or eight stairs seemed to rot out."Despite the injuries, Knuth refused to be transported by authorities because he "just wanted to get out of there.""When I landed, I scooted off the pile and couldn't believe what just happened," Knuth said. "A bunch of people rushed up on me and I heard sirens pretty quickly."Paul Johnson...

'Are you going to shoot me?' Woman asks before Ohio police fatally shoot her

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:36 GMT

WESTERVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) — Footage from body-worn camera shows a pregnant woman asking police, "What, are you going to shoot me?" seconds before an Ohio officer fatally shot her outside a grocery store.Blendon Township released body camera footage Friday from two police officers that showed the brief encounter with, and shooting of, Ta'Kiya Young, 21, who died later after being taken to St. Ann's Hospital.Young died August 24 after one of two responding officers shot her through the front windshield of a car, outside a Kroger whose employees claimed Young and others were stealing alcohol. The police department has declined to identify the two officers who approached Young's car that evening, citing victims' rights legislation called Marsy's Law. Where’s my Facebook settlement check? Why payments haven’t arrived – and when they might The body camera footage was redacted to shield the officers' identities but showed that in the last moments of her life, Young asked the officer stand...

Alaska Board of Education votes to ban transgender girls from high school sports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:36 GMT

(The Hill) – Alaska’s state Board of Education voted Thursday to approve a proposal to ban transgender girls from competing on girls’ high school sports teams, advancing one of Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s policy priorities that was thwarted by the state legislature earlier this year.The proposal, which board members argued during a special meeting Thursday is necessary to ensure fairness for cisgender female athletes, states that “if a separate high school athletics team is established for female students, participation shall be limited to females who were assigned female at birth.”The new regulation, if given final approval by Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor (R), would apply to schools and districts that join the Alaska State Activities Association (ASAA), the state’s regulating body for high school sports.Current ASAA guidelines allow member schools to decide for themselves whether transgender athletes should be permitted to play on sports teams that do not match thei...

Schumer speaks on soldiers' remains in Lake George

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:36 GMT

LAKE GEORGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Battlefield Park has a history that lives up to its name. In 2019, some of that history was dug up during a routine construction dig. This week, United States Senator Charles Schumer came to the lake to talk about what was found four years ago. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! On Monday, Schumer visited Battlefield Park to voice his commitment to ongoing efforts to return the remains of more than 40 Continental soldiers to Lake George. Since their uncovering in 2019, support has grown to have the remains buried there, requiring cooperation from the U.S. Army.“In my recent visit to Lake George Battlefield Park, I was impressed by the devotion of local leaders to preserving and promoting the significance that this region has had on the birth of America, and of course, the spectacular beauty of the grounds," said Schumer. "I am proud to support the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance and local officials’ effor...

Farmington man arrested on child pornography charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:52:36 GMT

FARMINGTON, Mo -- In Farmington, Missouri, a man has been arrested for possession of child pornography. On August 31, 2023, the St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged Kaleb L. Curtis, aged 23, with three counts of possession of child pornography, resulting in a warrant for his arrest.  Curtis voluntarily turned himself in to the St. Francois County Sheriff on the same day, and he has since posted a $50,000 bond. The investigation started in August 2022, when investigators received a cybertip indicating that a social media user had uploaded a video identified as child pornography.   License plate reader leads to arrests in stolen identity ring Curtis was identified as a suspect. After further investigations and interviews, the Missouri Digital Forensics Center checked Curtis' cellphone and desktop computer under a St. Francois County search warrant. This check uncovered several images of child pornography on Curtis’ cellphone.