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Parents described as ‘monsters’ in horrific abuse that killed 10-month-old in England

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:04 GMT

LONDON (AP) — An English couple who fought to get their baby son back from child services and then abused him so severely the 10-month-old was dead just over a month later were sentenced to life in prison for murder Friday in what a judge described as a case of “unimaginable cruelty.”Stephen Boden, 30, and Shannon Marsden, 22, showed no emotion as family members wept and a gasp sounded in the gallery when the sentence was handed down in Derby Crown Court. Finley Boden, who the judge said had been a lovely, happy, smiley baby, died on Christmas day 2020. The final weeks of his life were hell, based on his catalog of injuries: 57 bone fractures, 71 bruises, and burns on his hand, including one probably caused by a cigarette lighter.“They acted together to inflict all his injuries and then hide him away and allow him to die in such an awful way,” a relative wrote in a statement read by prosecutor Mary Prior. “I can only describe you both as monsters for what you have done.”The bo...

Suspect vehicle photo released in shooting at Vaughan recording studio; victim identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:04 GMT

Police in York Region identified the 23-year-old man killed in what they’re calling a targeted shooting outside a recording studio in Vaughan and released a photo of a suspect vehicle sought in the investigation.It happened in an industrial plaza on Creditstone Road, north of Highway 7, just before 4 a.m. on Wednesday.Officers located a man with a gunshot wound to the head, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Police identified him as Jayden Pitter of Brampton.A second man, 27, was found with gunshot wounds and rushed to hospital in life-threatening condition. He is listed in stable condition.Police are looking for two suspects who were wearing dark clothing and drove off in a dark-coloured, mid-size SUV.Police said several people were in the area when the shooting took place.“We know there are a number of people who saw and heard what took place,” said York Regional Police Insp. Clint Whitney on Wednesday. “We urge them to contact our investigators.”W...

Jully Black, Bret Hart among Canada’s Walk of Fame inductees who got their stars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:04 GMT

TORONTO — Movie star Keanu Reeves, singer Jully Black and retired professional wrestler Bret Hart were among the famous Canadians immortalized Friday on Canada’s Walk of Fame.The special ceremony for the new sidewalk stars also recognized actor Graham Greene, entrepreneur Ajay Virmani, singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn, track and field athlete Damian Warner and retired senator Lt.-Gen. Romeo Dallaire. Posthumous Walk of Fame stars were also unveiled for Canada’s “first lady of blues” Salome Bey, media mogul Allan Slaight and members of the team that discovered insulin a century ago: Frederick Banting, Charles Best, John Macleod and James Collip. Black, Hart, Virmani and Greene attended the afternoon ceremony in Toronto’s Entertainment District, cheered on by fans, family members and friends.Bey’s family members, along with descendants of Banting and Best, were also there. They are all inductees from the Walk of Fame’s class of 2020/2021.Canad...

Stepfather of murdered Delaware 3-year-old pleads guilty to child endangerment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:04 GMT

DOVER, Del. (AP) — The stepfather of a 3-year-old girl whose burned remains were found on a softball field several years ago has pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges, according to a plea agreement unsealed Friday by a Delaware judge.Brandon Haas, 41, pleaded guilty in March to one felony count and three misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child. None of the offenses carries mandatory prison time, although the felony count carries a maximum sentence of five years behind bars. Probation is the presumptive sentence for each of the four counts.The plea agreement was unsealed one day after Haas’ wife, Kristie Haas, pleaded guilty to murder by abuse or neglect in the 2019 death of her daughter Emma Grace Cole. Kristie Haas also pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.Kristie Haas, 31, is scheduled to be sentenced July 10, the date her trial was to begin. Sentencing for Brandon Haas, who has been cooperating with pro...

Olymel reducing hog production in Alberta and Saskatchewan, cutting about 80 jobs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:04 GMT

MONTREAL — Olymel says it is cutting about 80 jobs as it reduces its hog production in Western Canada.The company says it is closing five sow units in Alberta and one sow unit in Saskatchewan in a move that will reduce its western sow herd to 40,000 from 57,000.It says the barns will be wound down over the next several months and remain closed until market conditions improve.The company says the closures will result in a net reduction of about 200,000 market hogs annually to its Red Deer, Alta., slaughter plant from company owned farms. However, it says the impact will not be felt until 2024 at the earliest and will be subject to independent hog supply availability.The company says it will work with the affected staff to fill any vacant positions within its western hog operations or find work outside the company. “Over the past two years it is well documented that Olymel has experienced significant losses in the processing of fresh pork as a result of limited market access glo...

Unions holds rally in Iqaluit as housing authority strike nears 70-day mark

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:04 GMT

IQALUIT, Nunavut — Northern unions are calling on the federal government to stop the use of replacement workers as a strike by unionized staff with the Iqaluit Housing Authority nears the 70-day mark.The Nunavut Employees Union and delegates of the Public Service Alliance of Canada North rallied in support of the 13 striking workers in Iqaluit, where a union convention is being held. They called on federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Reagan, who has promised to introduce legislation barring replacement workers, to intervene as the housing authority has hired them during the labour dispute.The Iqaluit Housing Authority recently issued a new proposal and ended its worker lockout in hopes of ending the dispute.That includes a 7.25 per cent increase over five years and a lump-sum payment of 3.5 per cent on ratification.The union has rejected the offer saying the wages do not keep pace with inflation and the high cost of living in the North, and the proposal includes reductions to mat...

ESSAY: A mega-fan’s appreciation for Tina Turner’s limitless energy and lessons of survival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:04 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — When Tina Turner died at age 83, I found myself drifting back to the fourth grade, to the day I truly discovered her voice. I was on Thanksgiving break — bored — when I decided to rummage through my parents’ old cassette tapes in search of entertainment.What I found was astonishing: an album called “Private Dancer.”“I look up to the stars with my perfect memory. I look through it all and my future’s no shock to me.”“Who was this magnificent woman?” I thought as the lyrics of the song “I Might Have Been Queen (Soul Survivor),” flowed through the headphones of my Walkman. “What had she been through?”I quickly consulted an expert on the matter: my mom, who as a teenager in the ’60s, had been listening to Tina since she first made hits with her then-husband Ike. Mom, like Tina, didn’t sugarcoat the superstar’s history: Off-stage, Ike was beating her. It was something she herself — and most others — didn’t know when she and Dad first went to see her ...

9-year-old boy killed in shooting in Matteson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:04 GMT

MATTESON, Ill. — Officials in suburban Matteson are investigating after a 9-year-old boy was killed Thursday. Police said officers responded to a 911 call around 6 p.m. Thursday in the 800 block of Campus Avenue. The caller said her 9-year-old grandson Omuiri Jones-Brown had been shot.First responders arrived on scene and began life-savings measures on the boy. He was taken to the hospital where he died from a gunshot wound to the abdomen, according to police.Police said a 20-year-old was also shot in the incident and suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.Officials say a preliminary investigation suggests the shooting occurred during an altercation between two people at a home.Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Matteson Police at 708-503-3130. No other information has been provided at this time.

Boating safety tips this Memorial Day weekend in Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:04 GMT

CHICAGO — As the holiday weekend approaches and the weather gets warmer, locals are sure to take to the water by boat this summer. But the fun activity is drawing a warning from city officials, however.As National Safe Boating Week leads to the holiday weekend, Illinois Conservation Police are reminding boaters not to operate a boat while under the influence and stressing the importance of life jackets. Chicago’s new leaders’ Memorial Day weekend public safety plan Officials also urge everyone to wear a life jacket, whether on a motorboat, kayak, or paddleboard, adding that the gear saves lives. Last year, more than 50 boating accidents were reported on Illinois waters, resulting in the deaths of six people. Four of them were not wearing life jackets or vests. According to state officials, the accidents involved a reckless motorboat colliding with another boat.Dave Coxhead, a lead captain with Freedom Boat Club, teaches the training course members must take but says even the ...

MedWatch Daily Digest: DEA revokes license of drug distributor — and more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:04 GMT

For Friday, May 26, WGN’s Medical Reporter Dina Bair has the latest on new information, including the following: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch DEA revokes license of drug distributorOne of the country's largest pharmaceutical distributors has been stripped of its license to sell addictive painkillers. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration determined that Morris & Dickson Company failed to flag thousands of suspicious orders at the height of the opioid crisis. The DEA claims the company failed to accept responsibility for shipping 12,000 unusually large orders of opioids to pharmacies and hospitals between 2014 and 2018. During that time, it's alleged the company filed just three suspicious order reports. The DEA's order threatens to put the Louisiana-based distributor out of business. But it takes effect in 90 days, which will allow more time to negotiate a settlement. Young adult colorectal cancer rate rises An increase in colorectal cancer in younger adults is c...