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Muslim charity alleges systemic bias in bid to halt revenue agency’s ‘tainted’ audit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:10:41 GMT

OTTAWA — A grassroots Muslim charity is pointing to internal Canada Revenue Agency documents in a bid to persuade an Ontario court that a long-running federal audit is fundamentally tainted by systemic bias and Islamophobia.The Muslim Association of Canada wants the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to halt the revenue agency’s audit of the association on the grounds it violates Charter of Rights guarantees of equality and freedom of religion, expression and association.Lawyers for the registered charity plan to argue at a hearing Tuesday that the audit, which began in 2015, discriminates against Muslims.The federal government is asking that the case be dismissed, saying the revenue agency’s selection of the association for an audit and the subsequent examination do not infringe Charter rights.The association, which promotes community service, education and youth empowerment, says over 150,000 Canadians use its mosques, schools and community centres each year. The court ...

University facing class-action over COVID campus lockdown

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:10:41 GMT

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A federal judge has granted class-action status in a lawsuit in which current and former students of the University of Delaware claim the school breached contractual obligations and unjustly enriched itself by halting in-person classes and shutting down the campus in 2020 because of the coronavirus epidemic.Overruling several objections by attorneys for the university, Judge Stephanos Bibas said Friday that the lawsuit can proceed as a class action on behalf of thousands of students who were enrolled as undergraduates in the spring semester of 2020 and paid tuition.The ruling came just days before a scheduled hearing this week on the university’s request for the judge to grant summary judgment in its favor. That hearing has been postponed indefinitely.In his ruling, Bibas rejected UD’s argument that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue. The university also argued unsuccessfully that it is impossible to know who actually paid tuition because some stude...

Spectator dies of ‘cardiac event’ after school game brawl

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:10:41 GMT

ALBURGH, Vt. (AP) — An autopsy has determined that a 60-year-old spectator who died after being involved in a brawl at a Vermont middle school basketball game in late January died of an acute cardiac event, state police said. The investigation is ongoing, and police are working with county prosecutors to review the case and any potential charges for people involved in the fight, state police said Friday. Russell Giroux, of Alburgh, died Jan. 31 at Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans over two hours after he was involved in the altercation among multiple spectators during a seventh- and eighth-grade boys basketball game between Alburgh Community Education Center and St. Albans City School, police said. The medical examiner determined that the cause of death was an “acute cardiac event following altercation in an individual with coronary artery atherosclerosis,” state police said. The manner of death will be listed as undetermined, police said.The fight had ended before troopers ...

1st moon crew in 50 years includes woman, Black astronaut

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:10:41 GMT

NASA on Monday named the four astronauts who will fly around the moon late next year, including the first woman and the first African American assigned to a lunar mission.The first moon crew in 50 years — three Americans and one Canadian — was introduced during a ceremony in Houston, home to the nation’s astronauts as well as Mission Control. “This is humanity’s crew,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.The four astronauts will be the first to fly NASA’s Orion capsule, launching atop a Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center no earlier than late 2024. They will not land or even go into lunar orbit, but rather fly around the moon and head straight back to Earth, a prelude to a lunar landing by two others a year later.The mission’s commander, Reid Wiseman, will be joined by Victor Glover, an African American naval aviator; Christina Koch, who holds the world record for the longest spaceflight by a woman; and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen, a former ...

Egyptian asylum seekers decry ‘Islamophobia’ by Canada’s border agency

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:10:41 GMT

VANCOUVER — Attia Elserfy was expecting a second lease on life when he escaped Egypt with his family, landing in Vancouver in October 2018.But the Elserfys say their lives are in limbo because the Canada Border Services Agency challenged both Attia and his wife’s admissibility as refugees over their ties to a political party outlawed by the Egyptian government.The Elserfys took part in a hearing in November 2021, but have not heard from immigration officials since, unable to work, they have had to resort to welfare after the Egyptian government froze their assets.“It’s making me feel crazy, because it’s not the democratic Canada that I expected,” Elserfy said in an interview through an Arabic interpreter. “It makes me feel like I’m still living under the authoritarian regime that I escaped from.”Elserfy and other Egyptian asylum seekers spoke Monday alongside New Democrat MP Don Davies at his constituency office in Vancouver, decrying ...

Spending in Wisconsin Supreme Court race tops $42 million

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:10:41 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Spending on the high stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court race has topped $42 million, nearly triple the previous national record for a court race, with the Democratic-backed candidate having a roughly $6 million advantage, according to a report released on Monday just before polls opened.The winner in Tuesday’s election between Democratic-backed Janet Protasiewicz and Republican-backed Dan Kelly will determine majority control of the court, with issues like abortion access, redistricting and more than a decade of Republican priorities, hanging in the balance.The court has been under conservative control for 15 years, helping to enshrine priorities of the GOP-controlled Legislature and former Gov. Scott Walker. Liberals have cast the race as a defining moment for their side to exert power and potentially overturn the state’s 1849 abortion ban law and redraw maps created by Republicans that have led to them increasing their control of the Legislature.The wi...

Drug dealer gets life for killing 9-year-old Liverpool girl

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:10:41 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A drug dealer who killed a 9-year-old Liverpool girl when he tried to gun down a rival was sentenced to life in prison Monday for murder during an emotional hearing he refused to attend.Thomas Cashman, 34, who declined to appear in Manchester Crown Court because he said the proceedings were “turning into a circus,” was convicted of murder in the Aug. 22 death of Olivia Pratt-Korbel. At the time, the child’s mother had tried to prevent Cashman’s intended target from barging into their home. Cashman was trying to kill Joseph Nee over a drug debt when he opened fire on a street in Liverpool. Nee ran from the gunman and tried to force his way into Cheryl Korbel’s home. Cashman continued to fire as Korbel blocked the door and one bullet passed through her wrist and struck her youngest child in the chest.Because of her own injury, the mother was helpless to aid her dying daughter.“My worst nightmare was being separated from her when she needed me the most,”...

Chicago State University faculty on strike

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:10:41 GMT

CHICAGO — More than 160 Chicago State University staff and faculty are on strike Monday after contract talks broke down over the weekend.University Professionals of Illinois union members are demanding higher pay and a more reasonable work load. The union has been bargaining with the university since June.The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Chicago State employs some of Illinois' lowest-paid public university professors. What to know about the 2023 White Sox home opener Chicago State says it's committed to negotiations, but classes will be held Monday if there's a strike.

CTA to host career event in honor of 'Second Chance' Month

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:10:41 GMT

CHICAGO — The CTA is hoping to provide career opportunities to those with difficulties re-entering the work force during 'Second Chance' Month. Chicago Transit Authority is expected to host an in-person hiring event Sunday for their Second Chance program (SCP), an initiative that helps Chicago residents with career paths and valuable job skills. The CTA stated that SCP has served over 1,700 Chicago residents who were involved in the justice system or individuals who have been barred from employment opportunities. North DuSable Lake Shore Drive resurfacing project to begin in April “The pandemic impacted every aspect of our lives, but one group that has been hit particularly hard are those who can benefit from initiatives like CTA’s Second Chance Program, which is seeking applicants looking for a fresh start,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, JrAttendees will learn more about the program, complete a CTA application and learn more about the pre-employment process.Attendees must ...

How A.J. Pierzynski is raising money through social media ahead of White Sox home opener

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:10:41 GMT

CHICAGO — One of the most beloved players on the last team to win a World Series championship for the club is back for the home opener.A.J. Pierzynski, the catcher for the 2005 White Sox, is throwing out the first pitch for the game against the Giants on Monday at Guaranteed Rate Field, the first of 81 in 2023 for the team. As he takes the mound, he does so as part of a fundraiser that concerns his social media accounts. Pierzynski will donate $1 for every follower that he gets on his Twitter and Instagram account from late March through the April 3 home opener to White Sox charities. The former catcher will donate up to $25,000 to the organization as part of the effort.You can find Pierzynski on Twitter @aj_pierzynskiFT and on Instagram @aj_pierzynski_ft.A 19-year MLB veteran, the catcher joined the White Sox before the 2005 season and would play eight years for the club. He was a 2006 MLB All-Star and helped the team to the World Series championship in his first year then the AL C...