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Who is Anthony Rota, the Speaker of the House of Commons who is stepping down?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

OTTAWA — Anthony Rota has been jokingly dragged to the Speaker’s chair by the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition twice, in what is a long-standing parliamentary tradition.The second time, in 2021, MPs thanked him for his fairness and leadership in the House of Commons during the COVID-19 global pandemic — and for how he managed all the unprecedented challenges that upended how Parliament normally operates. On Tuesday, about two years later, Rota delivered his resignation, effective at the end of the day on Wednesday.Until Friday afternoon, the Speaker was considered a highly respected Speaker on both sides of the political aisle. But on that day, he invited a Ukrainian veteran who fought for the Nazis to the House of Commons to witness a speech by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and lauded the man as a Canadian and Ukrainian hero.Rota apologized to the House on Monday amid international criticism over the incident. “I don’t think I̵...

Less-redacted report on Maryland church abuse still redacts names of church leaders

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Maryland’s attorney general released some previously redacted names in its staggering report on child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore on Tuesday, but the names of five Catholic church leaders remained redacted amid ongoing appeals, prompting criticism of the church by victims’ advocates.While the names of the high-ranking church leaders already have been reported by local media, the director of the Maryland chapter of Survivors of those Abused by Priests said he was disappointed, but not surprised that resistance continues to fight against transparency and accountability, despite what church leaders say. “Once again, it just shows that the Church is not doing what they say they’re doing,” said David Lorenz, the leader of SNAP’s Maryland chapter. “They’re just not. They’re not being open and transparent, and they should be, and they claim to be.” Lorenz said he questioned whether the names in the report would ever be made publi...

Suspect, aged 13, charged with calling in bomb threat to Hamilton school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

Hamilton police say a 13-year-old child has been arrested after allegedly calling a school and making a bomb threat. Police say the teen called Mount Albion Elementary School on September 26. “The call was traced back from the school to a local address, where a youth admitted making the threat,” police said in a release.Hamilton police said bomb threats have been an ongoing issue, with 16 incidents across the city since September 21, 2023.

Defendant in Michigan fake elector case seeks dismissal of charges over attorney general’s comments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — One of 16 Michigan Republicans accused of taking part in a fake elector scheme filed a motion Tuesday asking a judge to dismiss charges after the state attorney general said the group had been “brainwashed” and truly believed that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 election.All 16 are facing eight criminal charges, including forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery, that were first announced in July by state Attorney General Dana Nessel. Investigators allege that they met following the 2020 election and signed a document falsely stating they were Michigan’s “duly elected and qualified electors.”President Joe Biden won the state by nearly 155,000 votes, a result that was confirmed by a GOP-led state Senate investigation in 2021. Michigan is one of seven states where false Electoral College certificates were submitted declaring Trump the winner, despite confirmed results showing he had lost.On Sept. 18, Nessel, a Democrat, told a liberal gr...

Delaware trooper facing felony charges involving assaults on teens after doorbell prank at his house

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware State Trooper is facing several felony charges involving a brutal assault on a teenager who targeted the trooper’s house in a prank.An indictment issued Monday against Trooper Dempsey R. Walters, 29, includes the first use by prosecutors of a new felony deprivation of civil rights law that was passed in Delaware last year.Walters, who has been suspended without pay, also is charged with felony assault, two counts of misdemeanor assault and two counts of official misconduct. He turned himself in Tuesday afternoon and was released from custody after posting bail in the amount of $29,000. An attorney representing Walters did not immediately return a telephone message Tuesday afternoon. The court docket indicates that Walters waived reading of the indictment and pleaded not guilty.According to authorities, Walters, who has been a trooper for more than six years, was off duty and returning to his Lancaster Village residence in Elsmere on Aug. 17 when he enco...

Nygard lured victims to bedroom suite at Toronto headquarters, Crown alleges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

Warning: This story contains graphic content some readers might find offensive. Discretion is advised.Former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard leveraged his wealth, assets and status over several years to lure young women and girls to a top-floor bedroom suite at his company’s Toronto headquarters where he forced himself on them, Crown lawyers alleged Tuesday as arguments at his sexual assault trial got underway.Nygard invited all five complainants in the case — whose identities are protected by a publication ban — to visit his custom-built office building under pretences ranging from tours to job interviews, with all the encounters ending in the bedroom suite, the Crown said. There, he sexually assaulted them at different times, sometimes trapping or intoxicating them, the Crown alleged in opening arguments.“Five women, it took them years to come forward. 1 Niagara St., a custom-design office building with huge letters on the front: Nygard. The Toronto headquarters of...

Peter Nygard lured victims to bedroom suite at Toronto headquarters, Crown alleges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

TORONTO — Note: This story contains graphic content. Former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard leveraged his wealth, assets and status over several years to lure young women and girls to a top-floor bedroom suite at his company’s Toronto headquarters where he forced himself on them, Crown lawyers alleged Tuesday as arguments at his sexual assault trial got underway. Nygard invited all five complainants in the case — whose identities are protected by a publication ban — to visit his custom-built office building under pretences ranging from tours to job interviews, with all the encounters ending in the bedroom suite, the Crown said. There, he sexually assaulted them at different times, sometimes trapping or intoxicating them, the Crown alleged in opening arguments. “Five women, it took them years to come forward. 1 Niagara St., a custom-design office building with huge letters on the front: Nygard. The Toronto headquarters of a fashion empire,” assistant Crown attor...

Police identify three fishermen who died after boat sank off northeastern Quebec

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

BLANC-SABLON, Que. — Quebec provincial police have identified the three fishermen who died after their boat sank off of Quebec’s Lower North Shore early Monday morning.Provincial police spokesman Sgt. Hugues Beaulieu said the three men were Yves Jones, 65, Dean Lavallée, 53, and Damon Etheridge, 36, all from Blanc Sablon, Que., about 1,300 kilometres northeast of Montreal.He said the two men and one woman rescued after the Silver Condor sank are expected to survive. Beaulieu said police are no longer investigating the incident, adding that “it’s bad weather that caused the sinking.”The deaths have rocked the community of around 1,100 people on Quebec’s eastern border with Labrador. “The people of the Lower North Shore have been dealt a devastating loss,” I&S Seafoods, a seafood wholesaler in nearby Rivière-Saint-Paul, Que., posted on its company Facebook page. “Our fishing community mourns the loss of the Silver Condor, its captain...

Louisiana’s struggle with influx of salt water prompts a request for Biden to declare an emergency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A mass inflow of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico creeping up the drought-stricken Mississippi River is threatening drinking water supplies in Louisiana, prompting Gov. John Bel Edwards to ask President Joe Biden for federal help. Edwards sent a letter Monday evening saying the issue “is of such severity and magnitude” that state and local authorities can no longer manage it on their own. Federal assistance is “necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health and safety or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster,” Edwards wrote.If Biden approves the request to declare an emergency, it would help Louisiana secure federal money and logistical assistance from partners such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.For the second year in a row, salt water from the Gulf of Mexico has moved further up the Mississippi to threaten drinking water in communities that rely on the river for fresh water, including New Orleans. Typically, the riv...

Revised report on Maryland church sex abuse leaves 5 church leaders’ names still redacted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Maryland’s attorney general released some previously redacted names in its staggering report on child sex abuse in the Archdiocese of Baltimore on Tuesday, but the names of five Catholic Church leaders remained redacted amid ongoing appeals, prompting criticism of the church by victims’ advocates.While the names of the high-ranking church leaders already have been reported by local media, the Maryland director of Survivors of those Abused by Priests said he was disappointed, but not surprised that resistance continues against transparency and accountability.“Once again, it just shows that the church is not doing what they say they’re doing,” said David Lorenz. “They’re just not. They’re not being open and transparent, and they should be, and they claim to be.” Lorenz said he questioned whether the names in the report would ever be made public.“I don’t have a ton of confidence, because the church is extremely powerful and extremely wealthy and they are paying for the...