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Israeli parliament gives initial OK to measure limiting the Supreme Court’s oversight powers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:22 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s parliamentary coalition gave initial approval early Tuesday to a contentious bill to limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers, pressing forward with a judicial overhaul plan that has polarized Israel. The legislation is one of several bills proposed by Netanyahu’s ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies. The plan has provoked months of sustained protests by opponents who say it is pushing the country toward authoritarian rule. Mass protests were expected later Tuesday in response to the vote.Lawmakers held the first of three readings of a bill that would curb the high court’s ability to scrutinize the “reasonability” of decisions made by elected officials. That standard was implemented by the Supreme Court earlier this year to strike down the appointment of a Netanyahu ally as interior minister because of a past conviction for bribery and a 2021 plea deal for tax evasion.Critics say removing that stand...

Cineplex box office revenues near pre-COVID levels ahead of Barbie, Oppenheimer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:22 GMT

TORONTO — Cineplex says box office revenues in June were $56 million, amounting to 98 per cent of box office revenues from the similar period in 2019.President and CEO Ellis Jacob says in a press release that the second quarter marks the first post-pandemic period where the industry saw improved film supply. He says the company is confident as it awaits an exciting schedule of releases for July, including “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer” and the next “Mission: Impossible” film.The movie theatre company says combined box office and theatre food service revenues exceeded June 2019 results. For the second quarter, box office revenues were around 87 per cent of the same period in 2019, and combined revenues were 92 per cent of those four years ago. The company’s first-quarter earnings released in May saw its loss narrow to $30.2 million as it continues to recover from pandemic shutdowns. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2023...

Homicide suspect who fled a Northern California hospital is captured a day after his escape

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:22 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A homicide suspect who fled a Northern California hospital while in custody and under guard over the weekend was recaptured Monday near a residential neighborhood after a barking dog alerted deputies to his hiding spot in heavy brush, authorities said. Eric Abril was caught around 12:20 p.m. in a green space near homes in Roseville, a few miles from the hospital he ran away from before dawn Sunday, said Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo. Deputies had combed the area all day after receiving a tip about a possible sighting. A resident walking nearby said his dog had become focused on something in the bushes, the sheriff said. “The dog started barking. He saw somebody moving in that greenbelt area and, in fact, it was Abril. Law enforcement in the area descended quickly and Abril was safely taken into custody,” Woo said. Abril, 35, was wearing only jail-issued boxer shorts and a belly chain that he had on when he escaped custody from Sutter Roseville Medical Cen...

Man accused of shooting at 6 from scooter in NYC is arraigned on murder, other charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A man accused of killing an 86-year-old and injuring three other people in a series of apparently random shootings while riding a scooter in New York City was arraigned Monday on charges including murder and attempted murder, prosecutors said.Thomas Abreu, 25, was arraigned in a hospital in five shootings that occurred in Queens over about 10 minutes late Saturday morning, a spokesperson for Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. An additional person was shot and injured in Brooklyn.“The streets of two boroughs were turned into scenes of terror as this defendant allegedly rode his scooter, shooting indiscriminately at pedestrians and others,” Katz said in a statement. Police have said they are not sure what the motive for the attack was.Abreu did not enter a plea. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney.Witnesses identified Abreu as the gunman who shot Hamod Saeidi, 86, just before 11:30 a.m., prosecutors said. Family members said Saeidi, who ...

Premiers meeting in Winnipeg starts with discussion with Indigenous leaders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:22 GMT

WINNIPEG — Canada’s premiers discussed housing, child welfare and other topics while meeting with Indigenous leaders in Winnipeg.Manitoba’s Heather Stefanson, host of the meeting, says it was an opportunity to discuss reconciliation and solutions to challenges being faced across the country.David Chartrand, head of the Manitoba Métis Federation, says the premiers listened as ideas were discussed on ways to build more affordable housing.Carol McBride, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, says she hopes the meeting is just the start of more meaningful conversations to come.The meeting with Indigenous leaders came before a two-day gathering where the premiers will talk among themselves about health care, economic development and other issues.They’re discussing how to use $46 billion in new health funding that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered in February, which Stefanson says is welcome but amounts to roughly two per cent of health care bud...

Mayor of coastal Oregon city resigns over posts in police Facebook group

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:22 GMT

NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) — The mayor of a city on the Oregon coast has apologized and resigned over offensive content he posted in a private Facebook group for current and retired police officers. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that Newport Mayor Dean Sawyer apologized and resigned Monday morning, three days after the media outlet revealed that since 2016, Sawyer had been sharing memes and posts denigrating women, immigrants, non-English speakers and the LGBTQ+ community in the Facebook group with 39,000 members. His posts in recent weeks specifically targeted transgender community, OPB reported.A local LGBTQ+ pride group held a demonstration over the weekend at City Hall, with more than 100 people demanding that Sawyer leave office. Five of his six colleagues on the Newport City Council attended the protest and appeared ready to ask for his resignation at a special meeting scheduled for Monday. The police chief in the central coast city of about 10,000 and the Lincoln County sheriff...

Kennedy Road BIA launches pilot project to hire local at Scarborough small businesses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:22 GMT

Small business owners say it’s more important than ever to buy local coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and as we deal with inflation, but in Scarborough the Kennedy Road Business Improvement Area has launched a local hiring pilot project and it’s one organizers say is a win-win solution.BIA staff created a portal through its website called Kennedy Connect for high school students and local youth. Selvin Sanderson, the community outreach and social media manager for the BIA, said potential participants can upload their resumes and accessing resources to help them boost their cover letters and resumes if needed.Once resumes and applications are uploaded, he said participating BIA business owners can log into the portal to post updating job listings and review applications.“The community provides a lot of assistance for these businesses, so why not a give back to the community and they’ll always reciprocate by coming to the business,” Sanderson said.“I believe...

UN debates deep sea mining as countries and companies now allowed to seek provisional licenses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:22 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A U.N. agency tasked with regulating the deep sea is debating whether to open the Earth’s watery depths to countries and companies that as of Monday were allowed to start applying for provisional mining licenses.The International Seabed Authority, based in Jamaica, launched a two-week conference on the issue Monday, a day after it missed a deadline to approve a set of rules and regulations to govern deep sea mining in international waters.“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” said Juan José González, the authority’s council president.The authority has issued more than 30 exploration licenses but no provisional licenses — so far.The debate on whether to allow companies to extract precious metals from the deep sea that are used in electric car batteries and other green technology comes as more than a dozen countries call for a ban or moratorium given environmental concerns.Scientists have said that minerals in the deep sea take millions of years to form, an...

North Korean leader’s powerful sister says warplanes repelled US spy plane

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:22 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un alleged on Monday that the country’s warplanes repelled a U.S. spy plane that flew over its exclusive economic zone and warned of “shocking” consequences if the U.S. continues reconnaissance activities in the area.After South Korea’s military criticized Kim Yo Jong for issuing threats against “normal” flights over open seas, Kim issued another statement early Tuesday reasserting that intensifying U.S. reconnaissance activities were encroaching on the North’s sovereignty and that the U.S. forces would “experience a very critical flight” if they continue with their illegal intrusions. Kim, one of her brother’s top foreign policy officials, claimed that U.S. reconnaissance aircraft reached into the North’s eastern exclusive economic zone eight different times on Monday. Kim’s initial statement claiming that the North scrambled warplanes to chase away a U.S. spy plane was published b...

Q&A: Steven Soderbergh goes ‘Full Circle’, talks DVDs, Danny Ocean and ‘Out of Sight’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:22 GMT

Tuning in to Steven Soderbergh’s new MAX series “Full Circle,” you may want to put your phone or tablet down and have the time to focus. This is not a show you can have on in the background.Debuting Thursday, “Full Circle” features a large ensemble including Claire Danes, Dennis Quaid, Jharrel Jerome and Zazie Beetz. It’s a story about the fallout from a botched kidnapping — planned out of revenge — and the secrets that caused it. “It makes one demand on the viewer, which is that you pay attention,” said Soderbergh. It’s a story with “a lot going on, especially in the first two episodes but it’s going to land you in a very different place than where you started.“We were constantly working on the script up until we were shooting. We were working on the script as we were shooting. We worked on the script after we stopped shooting and then did some more shooting.”The situation required the actors to adapt to changes and be fluid, which Soderbergh says the cast c...