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Man pleads guilty to assisting in plot to kidnap Michigan governor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:19 GMT

BELLAIRE, Mich. (AP) — A man accused of assisting the leaders in a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor pleaded guilty Wednesday, the ninth conviction in state and federal courts since agents broke up an astonishing scheme by anti-government rebels in 2020.Shawn Fix said he provided material support for an act of terrorism, namely the strategy to snatch Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home in Antrim County. Prosecutors agreed to drop a weapon charge. Prosecutors have said they had evidence that Fix trained with a militia, the Wolverine Watchmen, for “politically motivated violence” and hosted a five-hour meeting at his Belleville home where there was much discussion about kidnapping Whitmer.Fix, 40, helped plot leader Adam Fox pinpoint the location of Whitmer’s second home, key information that was used for a 2020 ride to find the property in northern Michigan, prosecutors said in a court filing.Fix appeared in an Antrim County court, one of five people charged in that leg of th...

Security guards at London’s Heathrow Airport to escalate strikes over pay into busy summer months

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:19 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Security guards at London’s Heathrow Airport, Europe’s busiest, will escalate their strike action over pay into the busy summer months, the U.K.’s largest trade union said Wednesday.The Unite union said more than 2,000 of its members will walk out for 31 days from June 24 through to Aug. 27, a move that could wreak havoc for the millions of people going through Heathrow during the summer travel season. Security guards have already been striking in recent months, including during the Easter break and the coronation of King Charles III.“Unite is putting Heathrow on notice that strike action at the airport will continue until it makes a fair pay offer to its workers,” Unite general-secretary Sharon Graham said. “Make no mistake, our members will receive the union’s unflinching support in this dispute.”Security officers at Terminal 3, which is the base for many international carriers, including American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, will be joining ...

Greece seeks assistance from rival Turkey over migration spike along border river

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:19 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek officials have launched a series of high-level contacts with the newly elected government in Turkey in an effort to counter a surge in attempted crossings by migrants over a river that divides the two countries.Defense Minister Alkiviades Stephanis spoke on a call Wednesday with Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler, officials in Athens said, a day after the foreign ministers of the two countries also spoke. Guler and other members of the new Turkish government were appointed following the recent reelection victory of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.Patrols along the Evros River on the Greek side of the border have been intensified following a recent drop in the water level that makes migrant crossings easier.The two NATO members have a number of longstanding disputes, including sea boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean and efforts to curb illegal migration to the European Union.Greece in the past has accused Turkey of “instrumentalizing” migration to ...

Wildfire smoke expected to linger in GTA for remainder of week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:19 GMT

The smoke continues to linger across the GTA and it is even more pronounced today than earlier in the week. Bluer skies are not in the forecast until we get a change in the wind direction later this week.The smoky haze is still suspended in the atmosphere and is coming from the wildfires that continue to rage on in northern Ontario and in Quebec. A Special Air Quality Statement is in place for the Cities of Toronto and Hamilton along with areas well to the north. The gusty northerly and northeasterly winds are shipping the smoke into our area, which can impact everyone’s health, especially for those with respiratory sensitivities.The smoke may dissipate a little bit during Wednesday afternoon and evening but the smoke will return and be even more thick by the overnight hours of Thursday and last through most of the day. The smoke is still expected to be around for Friday but improvements may be on the way for the weekend with the winds shifting to the southeast, that essentially wil...

Bank of Canada raises key interest rate amid stubbornly high inflation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:19 GMT

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada announced a quarter-percentage point rate hike Wednesday, the first interest rate increase since January, as high inflation persists.Its key interest rate now sits at 4.75 per cent, the highest it’s been since 2001.“Based on the accumulation of evidence, governing council decided to increase the policy interest rate, reflecting our view that monetary policy was not sufficiently restrictive to bring supply and demand into balance and return inflation sustainably to the two per cent target,” the Bank of Canada said in a news release.It says excess demand in the economy appears to be more persistent than it had anticipated, citing a tight labour market, better-than-expected economic growth in the first quarter as well as “surprisingly strong” consumption growth.Inflation also came in hotter than expected in April, the central bank said, noting prices for a “broad range” of good and services rose might than anticipated.The decision to raise interest rates com...

Prince Harry to tabloid newspaper’s lawyer: ‘Nobody wants to be phone hacked’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:19 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry entered a London courtroom on a mission to prove that the publisher of the Daily Mirror tabloid had hacked his phone and unlawfully snooped on his life. He left the witness box Wednesday having shown that he was highly suspicious of how Mirror Group Newspapers obtained information for stories about him, but without offering phone records or much other evidence to support his hacking claim.“I believe that phone hacking was at an industrial scale across at least three of the papers at the time,” the Duke of Sussex asserted in his second day of testimony in London’s High Court. “That is beyond any doubt.”Phone hacking is central to his case against Mirror Group and two related lawsuits against other British tabloid publishers that he claims invaded his privacy by eavesdropping on emails and using other illegal methods to report on the smallest details of his life, causing him great emotional turmoil.Harry is the first senior member of the royal family t...

High school graduate, father killed in shooting after Virginia graduation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:19 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — An 18-year-old student who had just received his diploma at his high school graduation and his father were killed when a gunman opened fire as hundreds of people gathered in a park after the graduation ceremony in downtown Richmond, Virginia.Five other people were wounded Tuesday in the shooting, which sent hundreds fleeing in panic outside the state capital’s city-owned Altria Theater after the graduation ceremony for Huguenot High School.Tameeka Jackson-Smith told The Associated Press her son, Shawn Jackson, 18, and his father, Renzo Smith, 36, died in the shooting. She said her and Smith’s 9-year-old daughter was hit by a car in the chaos that erupted afterward. The girl was treated for leg injuries and released from the hospital, Jackson-Smith said.Jackson-Smith said the family had watched the graduation, then got separated in a large crowd after they walked outside. “He was so happy — oh my God — because he got to graduate. He worked hard.”She said she was ...

The text of the Bank of Canada’s latest interest rate decision

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:19 GMT

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate target by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75 per cent on Wednesday. Here is the text of the central bank’s rate announcement:The Bank of Canada today increased its target for the overnight rate to 4.75 per cent, with the Bank Rate at five per cent and the deposit rate at 4.75 per cent. The Bank is also continuing its policy of quantitative tightening.Globally, consumer price inflation is coming down, largely reflecting lower energy prices compared to a year ago, but underlying inflation remains stubbornly high. While economic growth around the world is softening in the face of higher interest rates, major central banks are signalling that interest rates may have to rise further to restore price stability. In the United States, the economy is slowing, although consumer spending remains surprisingly resilient and the labour market is still tight. Economic growth has essentially stalled in Europe but upward pressure on...

Pope Francis to be hospitalized for several days following intestinal surgery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:19 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was admitted to the hospital for surgery Wednesday to repair a hernia in his intestine, the latest malady to befall the 86-year-old pontiff who had part of his colon removed two years ago.Francis was expected to be put under general anesthesia for the open abdominal surgery and remain at Rome's Gemelli hospital for several days, the Vatican said.While hernia operations are rarely performed on an emergency basis, the procedure appeared somewhat urgent, scheduled just a day after Francis went to the hospital for tests. The pontiff's doctors no doubt also wanted to give him ample time for recovery ahead of a busy travel schedule later this summer.The pope was suffering from a “painful and worsening” hernia that formed over a previous scar, presumably from his 2021 colon surgery. Experts said the formation of the hernia, called a laparocele, is a known complication from intestinal surgery. But a portion of his intestine has apparently now bulged through the area...

HAAM Battle of the Bands benefiting Austin musicians

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians will host the Corporate Battle of the Bands tonight within ACL Live at the Moody Theater.This annual event gives professionals a chance to perform in front of a live audience on a historic stage for a good cause.In 2022, the Battle of the Bands raised more than $227,000 and drew in a crowd of more than 1,200 attendees. RELATED: HAAM Battle of the Bands raises record-breaking amount HAAM is a local nonprofit providing access to affordable healthcare for Austin’s low-income, working musicians.“We are excited to continue this exciting tradition in Austin,” HAAM CEO Paul Scott said. “It’s amazing to have the support of some of the most influential businesses here in Austin. Without their support, the quality of life for our musicians would be in much worse dire straits.” This year, six Austin-based businesses will pull their musically gifted employees together to compete. Some of the businesses par...