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No evidence to support conspiracy between ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers: defence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

OTTAWA — Tamara Lich’s defence team says there’s no evidence to support that she and a fellow “Freedom Convoy” organizer should be viewed as co-conspirators in court, because their actions were not illegal. The Crown finished its case against Lich and Chris Barber on Monday.The two are co-accused of mischief and intimidation, among other charges connected to the massive protest against COVID-19 restrictions that gridlocked downtown Ottawa for weeks in 2022.The Crown hopes to prove that the two worked so closely together that evidence against one of them should apply to the other.In a court filing, Lich’s lawyers say the Crown’s application should be dismissed because the Crown has not proven that Lich and Barber agreed to protest COVID-19 mandates by illegal means. The trial is expected to resume next week.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2023.Laura Osman, The Canadian Press

New Philanthropy Roundtable CEO Christie Herrera ready to fight for donor privacy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Christie Herrera says, as the new president and CEO of Philanthropy Roundtable, she plans to fight for the principles the advocacy organization has always prized. But Herrera, who was officially promoted in mid-October, recognizes that battle is getting tougher and more complicated than ever.“The Roundtable is going to be who we’ve always been — and that’s a home for donors who share our values,” she said. “We will continue to be passionate about philanthropy, about values-based giving, about philanthropic freedom, and about philanthropic excellence – the nuts and bolts of giving that I feel the philanthropic sector has gotten away with some of the social issues they’re taking up.”Challenges to the Roundtable’s values abound, however – even from fellow conservatives. The House Ways and Means Committee, led by Republican Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, is looking into the political activities of tax-exempt organizations and wrote that “Congress may need to consider clos...

S&P/TSX composite edges higher despite lower oil prices, U.S. stock markets also up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index edged higher in late-morning trading as gains led by technology and utility stocks were partially offset by losses in the energy sector as the price of oil moved lower.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 19.37 points at 20,129.34.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 135.01 points at 35,223.30. The S&P 500 index was up 15.84 points at 4,554.03, while the Nasdaq composite was up 66.90 points at 14,266.88.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.76 cents US compared with 73.00 cents US on Tuesday.The January crude oil contract was down US$3.33 at US$74.44 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was down three cents at US$2.97 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down US$5.40 at US$1,996.20 an ounce and the December copper contract was down seven cents at US$3.74 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)The Canadian Press

Taco Bell to unveil 1-carat diamonds made from taco shells in Toronto

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

In an event sure to shell out curiosity, without spilling the beans, Taco Bell Canada has announced what it calls its biggest crown jewel yet: four 1-carat diamonds made from taco shells. A spokesperson for the fast-food chain says the taco shell diamonds have been lab-grown in a process that took more than 12 months at a “top-secret, undisclosed location… serving as an ode to the perfectly imperfect nature of tacos.”Taco Bell will host a pop-up event at 1132 Queen St. W. in Toronto on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2. Members of the public are invited to attend and witness the lab-grown taco shell diamonds in person. “Taco Bell is all about celebrating life’s messy moments and embracing what it means to be imperfect,” said Devon Lawrence, Marketing Director, Taco Bell Canada. Canadians can enter to win a pair of dazzling taco diamonds for themselves and a friend. (CNW Group/Taco Bell Canada)“The idea that even something as beautiful as diamonds has imperf...

Charleston, South Carolina, elects its first Republican mayor since Reconstruction Era

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The historic South Carolina city of Charleston has elected its first Republican mayor since the Reconstruction Era.William Cogswell, formerly a Republican state lawmaker, defeated incumbent Democratic Mayor John Tecklenburg by about 2 percentage points in Tuesday’s runoff, according to the South Carolina Election Commission. Results posted online by the commission showed a 569-vote margin separating the the two candidates.Cogswell, 48, had secured the most votes in the Nov. 7 general election but not a majority, meaning that he and Tecklenburg headed to Tuesday’s runoff.Charleston’s municipal elections are technically nonpartisan. But Tecklenburg is a well-known figure in the state’s Democratic politics, endorsing Joe Biden in South Carolina’s pivotal 2020 presidential primary.Cogswell, who served three terms as a Republican in the state House and describes himself as a moderate, earned endorsements from others within South Carolin...

Review: War is good as 50th anniversary of ‘The World Is a Ghetto’ shines in premium box set

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

A remastered and well-presented five LP box set of War’s best-selling album “The World Is a Ghetto” recaptures that slice of time when multicultural rock reached its first peak.War dependably delivered a fusion of rock and Latin rhythms in the early ’70s, coming out of the age of musical psychedelia. The Southern California band — originally called Eric Burdon and War — gave us music for the working class, with lyrics bemoaning political infighting and frequently urging social harmony.The band, initially formed to back Burdon as he plotted his next musical endeavor after the Animals, took on a life of its own and was spurred into success by a fan base that crossed cultural boundaries.“The Cisco Kid” sounds clean and defined as rendered on the 50th anniversary remaster on gorgeous gold colored vinyl. The instrumentals are nicely separated for this side one song on Billboard’s best-selling album of 1973.The stabs of keyboard work from founding member Lonnie Jordan are a mainstay...

Palestinian flag displayed by fans of Scottish club Celtic at Champions League game draws UEFA fine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — The display of a liberation flag in a mass of hundreds of Palestinian flags at a Champions League game by fans of Scottish club Celtic cost the team a fine of 17,500 euros ($19,000), UEFA said Wednesday.The fans of the Scottish champions have long publicly supported the Palestinian cause and defied requests from the club not to do so on Oct. 25 when the team hosted Atletico Madrid.UEFA charged Celtic for a “provocative message of an offensive nature” inside the stadium for the red and white flag of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.Celtic was fined 20,000 euros ($21,700) by UEFA for the same charge at its previous Champions League home game against Italian club Lazio on Oct. 4. At that time, Celtic fans showed an anti-fascist display with an image of Benito Mussolini, the World War II-era Italian dictator, and a slogan using an expletive.Also Wednesday, UEFA added fines totaling 11,500 euros ($12,500) for fans lighting fireworks and blocking ...

Man accused of attempted murder of wife found with directions to Cal Sag bridge, garbage bags

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

WESTMONT, Ill. — A man was found with directions to a bridge over the Cal Sag channel and garbage bags after allegedly attacking his estranged wife on Sunday morning.On Sunday just after 4:55 a.m., Westmont police responded to a 911 call of a woman screaming in the 300 block of West Naperville Road.Officers at the scene found a woman holding a knife and Marco Renegado Evidente, 35, of Aurora, in a grassy area near a parking lot.Following an investigation, authorities believe Renegado Evidente was allegedly stalking his wife and ran up to her car as she was leaving work.He allegedly jumped on top of her and put a towel doused in apparent chemicals into her mouth.A struggle then ensued and the woman's head was slammed into the pavement with a knife being held to her throat, police said.The woman was able to get the knife away from Renegado Evidente.Officers said they found of an assortment of items in his backpack at the scene.A twenty-pound dumbbell, three large garbage bags, multipl...

How many calories are in the average Thanksgiving meal?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Each year Americans collectively consume around three billion calories and that's from turkey alone.But the average number of calories consumed from the full Thanksgiving meal? Between 3,100 and 4,500.The WGN Morning News team also discuss hot pink for hunters, Indonesian pyramids, and the Lonely Island. Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

What does the El Niño weather pattern mean for winter?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:54:25 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) -- As the 2023 hurricane season enters its final stretch, the El Niño weather pattern has shown up in full force. El Niño is one of the two phases in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon. During this stage, trade winds weaken, causing warm Pacific Ocean water to move toward the Americas, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This climate pattern had a big impact on the 2023 hurricane season. With 19 named storms, the season was considered active, but thanks to the El Niño, few Atlantic cyclones ended up reaching the mainland U.S. "It really shows how different the weather pattern was this year with El Niño bringing warmer than normal sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic, and how that really played out to be fish storm, after fish storm, after fish storm," WFLA meteorologist Rebecca Barry said. Barry said the storms helped to cool down the abnormally warm Atlantic ocean, but not so much the reco...