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A Texas man reported missing as a teen in 2015 was only missing for 1 day, police say

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:42:59 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — The case of a Texas man who was reported missing as a teenager in 2015 and found alive last week at a church took an unexpected turn Thursday when police revealed it all was a hoax — the man was only gone for a day, but he and his mother maintained the ruse for eight years by using false names.Prosecutors did not file any charges against Janie Santana and her son, Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV, but the investigation is continuing, Houston police detectives said. They gave few other details about where they believe the case could lead.Santana’s family said they suspected Farias was not missing and blamed Santana for keeping him away from them all these years.“We’re upset that (authorities) are not going to do anything,” Pauline Sanchez Rodriguez, Farias’ aunt, said as she and other family members stood outside Houston police headquarters.Santana did not return a telephone call seeking comment Thursday.The announcement came a week after police said they found Farias after re...

Quebec only outlier on Ottawa health deal as Nunavut, Yukon and N.W.T. sign on

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:42:59 GMT

OTTAWA — All three territories signed on to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s health funding offer Thursday, leaving Quebec as the only holdout on the new accords.Trudeau presented his offer at a meeting with provincial and territorial premiers in Ottawa in February as local politicians, doctors, nurses and health advocates raised concerns about a national health-care crisis.The agreement would see the federal government shift $196 billion to the provinces and territories over the next 10 years in exchange for commitments to massively upgrade health-care data collection and digital medical records. The offer includes $17 billion in new spending over and above existing federal health transfers and $25 billion for agreements tailed to the specific needs of individual provinces. Following the meeting premiers signalled that they would agree, though the prime minister’s offer fell well short of what they had hoped for.The governments of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut...

Electricity being restored to Montreal after nearly 200K customers lost power

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:42:59 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec’s hydro utility was working to restore electricity to clients in Montreal after a problem with a transmission line knocked out power to nearly 200,000 customers on Thursday.Montréal—Trudeau International Airport said some of its operations were disrupted due to what it called a major electrical failure. By Thursday evening several flights were still listed as delayed or cancelled, but it was unclear whether those problems were caused by the blackout.By 5:30 p.m. Hydro-Québec said about 20,000 customers in Montreal were still without power.Spokesperson Caroline Des Rosiers said authorities were investigating what happened and weren’t ruling out high temperatures in southern Quebec as the cause.She said affected clients would have power back by early evening.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2023.The Canadian Press

Twitter threatens to sue Meta over Threads: report

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:42:59 GMT

Twitter is threatening to sue Meta, with the app’s legal team accusing the social media giant of “systemic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.”The letter penned by Twitter’s lawyer Alex Spiro, first shared by news outlet Semafor, says Meta hired Twitter employees with the express knowledge that the employees “continue to have access to Twitter’s trade secrets and other highly confidential information.”Spiro says they have obligations to Twitter, adding they have “highly confidential information” improperly retained documents and electronic devices from Twitter.“With that knowledge, Meta deliberately assigned these employees to develop, in a matter of months, Meta’s copycat ‘Threads’ app with the specific intent that they use Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property in order to accelerate the development of Meta’...

Toronto Star owner pausing ads on Facebook, Instagram over Meta’s vows to block news

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:42:59 GMT

TORONTO — The company that owns the Toronto Star is joining other Canadian media companies in pausing all advertising on Facebook and Instagram.The immediate pause is in response to Meta’s plan to block access to content from Canadian news outlets on its platforms, Torstar Corp. said in a press release Thursday evening. “We vigorously object to Meta’s unprecedented plans to block our content on its platforms in protest against the federal government’s Online News Act,” said Torstar CEO Neil Oliver in the press release. “By its action, Meta will be deliberately closing one of the main ways that Canadians currently access news. Such access is critical for the long-term health of our democracy.”It’s the latest such move by a media company in Canada as tech giants respond in protest to the Canadian government’s Online News Act, which seeks to make them pay news outlets for sharing their content. Media companies Quebecor Inc. and Coge...

Twitter threatens legal action against Meta over Threads: report

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:42:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter has threatened legal action against Meta over its new, text-based app called Threads, according to a letter obtained by Semafor.In a Wednesday letter addressed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Alex Spiro, an attorney representing Twitter, accused Meta of unlawfully using Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property by hiring former Twitter employees to create a “copycat” app.Since launching Threads Wednesday night, Meta’s new app has collected tens of millions of sign ups. The app, which was created by the company’s Instagram team, arrives at a time when many are looking for Twitter alternatives to escape Elon Musk’s raucous oversight of the platform since acquiring it last year for $44 billion.Meta spokesperson Andy Stone responded to the report of Spiro’s letter on Threads Thursday afternoon, writing, “no one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee — that’s just not a thing.”In the letter, which Semafor fi...

Judge orders arrest of gun training center owner in Vermont

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:42:59 GMT

A judge on Thursday ordered the owner of a controversial firearms training center in Vermont arrested until he proves that parts of the 30-acre facility have been removed or demolished.The property, known as Slate Ridge, includes multiple buildings and two firing ranges on land about the size of 30 football fields (12 hectares). Fueled by complaints from neighbors, the town of Pawlet has attempted unsuccessfully for several years to get the facility owner Daniel Banyai to remove structures he built without a permit. The order from the Vermont Environmental Court is the latest attempt to hold Banyai accountable, after he accrued more than $100,000 in fines so far this year. The arrest, which can be carried out by a constable or county sheriff, must happen in the next 60 days.Banyai could not be reached for comment, and his lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment. A lawyer for Pawlet would not comment on the order.Slate Ridge neighbors have long complained about the gu...

The UN chief issues a rare condemnation of excessive force by Israel in its Jenin raid

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:42:59 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — In a rare condemnation of Israel, the U.N. chief on Thursday denounced the country’s excessive use of force in its largest military operation in two decades targeting a refugee camp in the West Bank.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, clearly angered by the impact of the Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp, said the operation had left over 100 civilians injured, forced thousands to flee, damaged schools and hospitals and disrupted water and electricity networks. He also criticized Israel for preventing the injured from getting medical care and humanitarian workers from reaching everyone in need.“I strongly condemn all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror,” Guterres told reporters.Asked whether this condemnation applied to Israel, he replied: “It applies to all use of excessive force, and obviously in this situation, there was an excessive force used by Israeli forces.”The U.N. chief again called on Israel “to abide by its...

Union says B.C. port employers want government to do ‘dirty work’ to end strike

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:42:59 GMT

VANCOUVER — The president of the union representing striking British Columbia port workers said employers are waiting for the federal government to do their “dirty work” instead of negotiating an end to the workers’ six-day strike. Officials with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada also said the association representing port employers is more interested in a “dirty tricks campaign,” than resuming talks that stalled on Monday.Hundreds of port workers and supporters attended a solidarity rally in Vancouver Thursday morning, chanting in unison and waving placards and union flags.Rob Ashton, president of the union, told the rally that “the employer walked away from the table three times.”“They don’t want to negotiate with us. They don’t want to do the right thing for the workers of the longshore division that put their lives on the line during the COVID pandemic,” he said.“They’re trying to ...

Cameraman injured at Yankee Stadium by wild throw has a broken eye socket

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:42:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A cameraman hit in the head by an errant throw Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium has a broken eye socket and is home resting, the YES Network said in a statement Thursday.Positioned right next to the New York Yankees’ dugout on the first-base side, Pete Stendel of YES Network was struck by a hurried throw from Baltimore Orioles rookie shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who fired high to first as he tried to complete a double play in the fifth inning.Stendel was taken to the hospital, and YES said late Wednesday he was conscious and undergoing tests. The network provided an update Thursday saying he has an orbital fracture and had been released.“Every time that a ball goes over the first baseman or even a foul ball from the hitter, you don’t want to see it going towards a fan. It just happened to be in the wrong spot, and I hope he’s doing all right,” Henderson said following his team’s 6-3 victory. “My prayers go out to him. I’m just thankful for the guys that rushed ...