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North Carolina’s 2024 election maps are racially biased, advocates say in lawsuit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:54:30 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina voting-rights advocates sued Tuesday to overturn all of the redistricting plans drawn by Republicans for the 2024 elections, saying legislative leaders unlawfully weakened the electoral influence of Black voters.The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, Common Cause and eight Black residents filed a lawsuit in federal court. They accused GOP legislative leaders of intentionally moving boundary lines for General Assembly and congressional districts this fall so that preferred candidates of Black voters lose to candidates backed by white voters. For decades, Black residents have overwhelmingly favored Democratic candidates.“The General Assembly targeted predominantly Black voting precincts with surgical precision throughout the state in drawing and enacting the 2023 Plans, at the expense of traditional redistricting criteria, to achieve preferred district lines that diminish Black voters’ ability to elect candidates of their choice at all levels of g...

Cause remains unclear for Arizona house fire that left 5 people dead including 3 young children

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:54:30 GMT

BULLHEAD CITY, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities continue to investigate the cause of a house fire in northwestern Arizona that left five people dead, including three young children.Bullhead City police said the fire broke out about 5 p.m. Saturday and it was extinguished in nine minutes, but there were no survivors. There also wasn’t an adult at the home at the time.The father of four of the victims told investigators that he was gone for about 2 1/2 hours Saturday afternoon to buy groceries and Christmas gifts.A 4-year-old girl and three boys — ages 2, 5 and 13 — who died were all siblings and lived at the home, according to police, who said the other victim was an 11-year-old boy who was a family relative and visiting at the time.The names of the dead were being withheld pending identification by the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s Office. Police said the five bodies were located in the same upstairs bedroom of the two-story duplex in a community near the Colorado River and the Nevada bo...

Pope’s approval of gay blessings could have impact where rights are restricted, LGBTQ+ advocates say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:54:30 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ authorization for Catholic priests to offer blessings to same-sex couples is in many ways a recognition of what has been going on in some European parishes for years. But Francis’ decision to officially spell out his approval could send a message of tolerance to places where gay rights are more restricted.From Uganda to the United States, laws that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people or even criminalize homosexuality have increased in recent years, leaving communities feeling under attack. Pastors in some conservative Christian denominations in general, and the Catholic Church in particular, have sometimes supported such measures as consistent with biblical teaching about homosexuality.The Vatican says gays should be treated with dignity and respect but says homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered.” Francis hasn’t changed that teaching, but he has spent much of his 10-year pontificate trying to show a more welcoming attitude to LGBTQ+ Catholics.The Vat...

Alberta to allow pot shops to sell cannabis at adult-only trade shows, festivals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:54:30 GMT

EDMONTON — Albertans will soon see pot shops selling cannabis at some festivals and trade shows.The province says it will begin allowing licensed cannabis retailers to operate temporary sales locations at adult-only events come Jan. 31.The change to Alberta’s cannabis regulations comes months after the country marked its five-year anniversary of recreational pot being legalized.Alberta has since been reviewing the pot market to determine what’s working, what needs to be improved and what’s redundant.In addition to loosening restrictions around cannabis sales at events, Alberta will allow pot retailers to keep their products in locked display cases when their stores are closed.That change also comes into effect at the end of January and will prevent stores from having to move all their products into a secured storage room at the close of every business day.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2023.The Canadian Press

Will the eruption of the volcano in Iceland affect flights and how serious is it?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:54:30 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Scientists anticipated the eruption of a volcano in southwestern Iceland for weeks, so when it happened on Monday night, it was no surprise. The region had been active for more than two years and thousands of small earthquakes rattled the area in recent weeks. Here is a look at what happened and what may be ahead: HOW THE ERUPTION UNFOLDED It started at about 10:20 p.m. local time on Monday north of Grindavik, a fishing town of 3,400 people on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The town is about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, in an area known broadly as Fagradalsfjall volcano.First there was a series of small earthquakes. Then lava that’s some 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,192 degrees Fahrenheit) began pouring out of a fissure about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) long. The Icelandic Meteorological Office estimated that hundreds of cubic meters of lava per second flowed out in the first two hours of the eruption, though the activity had signi...

Bad financial advice comes in many forms. Knowing how to spot it can save you money

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:54:30 GMT

Whether it came from a family member, social media influencer or certified professional, if you’re a millennial or gen Z who’s been burned by bad financial advice in the past year, you can take some solace in knowing you’re not alone.When it comes to the kind of bad advice young people seem to be particularly susceptible to, advice-only certified financial planner Jason Heath has noticed an uptick in three major areas — real estate, self-directed investing and education.“I think a lot of young people especially take this ‘fear of missing out approach’ when it comes to their money, which might drive them to buy property they can’t afford because people tell them (the price is) always going up,” he said.“Or, they might have tried to get into the day trading thing during the pandemic, going all-in on a few stocks instead of holding a bunch of different investments so that they weren’t overly exposed to risk.”Nearly 70 per cent of readers recently surveyed by financial lifestyle m...

The Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year: from 1946 to 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:54:30 GMT

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is The Canadian Press 2023 Newsmaker of the Year. Here is a list of who has had the title in the past, as chosen in an annual survey of senior editors in newsrooms across Canada:2023: Pierre Poilievre, politician2022: “Freedom Convoy” protesters2021: The children who did not come home from residential schools2020: Front-line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic2019: Jody Wilson-Raybould, politician2018: Humboldt Broncos hockey team2017: Gord Downie, musician2016: Gord Downie, musician2015: Justin Trudeau, politician2014: Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, slain soldiers2013: Rob Ford, politician2012: Luka Rocco Magnotta, convicted murderer2011: Jack Layton, politician2010: Russell Williams, convicted murderer2009: Stephen Harper, politician2008: Stephen Harper, politician2007: The Mounties2006: The Canadian soldier2005: John Gomery, Quebec judge2004: Paul Martin, politician2003: Paul Martin, politician20...

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre voted CP’s 2023 Newsmaker of the Year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:54:30 GMT

OTTAWA — An anxious electorate, a new look and a bite out of Liberal polling numbers have all boosted the profile of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who was picked by editors across the country as The Canadian Press 2023 Newsmaker of the Year.“He changed the political conversation, and boy did he reap the benefits,” Rob Roberts, editor-in-chief at the National Post, wrote in his response to the survey.“He’s the clear favourite to be the next prime minister.”There were 97 votes cast in the annual survey by The Canadian Press, with about 26 per cent of participants from various media outlets across the country choosing Poilievre as this year’s newsmaker.Newly elected Manitoba NDP Premier Wab Kinew, who is the first provincial premier in Canada to be from a First Nation, tied for second place with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at 14 per cent of the vote.Poilievre, 44, was elected leader with a whopping first-ballot victory in September 2022, un...

Cyprus says a joint operation with Mossad has foiled a suspected Iranian plot to kill Israelis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:54:30 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus has disrupted an alleged Iranian plot to target Israeli businessmen with the arrest of two Iranian asylum-seekers who were in contact with another Iranian associated with the Revolutionary Guard, a Cypriot official said Tuesday.The official told The Associated Press the two Iranian men have been in police custody since Nov. 3 and procedures were underway to deport them.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he’s not allowed to speak publicly about national security matters, said the suspects’ detention was the culmination of a joint operation with Israel’s Mossad security service.Cypriot security services had been surveilling the two Iranian men for several weeks and detained them just before what authorities believe would have been the arrival of a squad to carry out killings, the official said. The targeted individuals were primarily Israeli businessmen, the official said.Cypriot authorities said the suspects’ Iranian handler moved ...

Several stolen high-end vehicles found in shipping containers in Vaughan, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:54:30 GMT

Police are trying to identify suspects after allegedly stolen high-end vehicles were found in shipping containers in Vaughan.York Regional Police officers were called to a private property in the area of Keele and Malloy Streets near King Vaughan Road on Dec. 15.Police say they were alerted by a vehicle-tracking company that traced two stolen vehicles to the address.When police arrived, they found several shipping containers on the property.“A search warrant was executed and investigators located 15 high-end vehicles, including the two that were initially tracked to that location,” police said in a release.Police also say 14 of the vehicles were placed in shipping containers ready to be transported.Investigators believe the vehicles were allegedly stolen between Dec. 11 and Dec. 13 in Toronto, York Region and Peel Region.The investigation is ongoing and police are working to contact the owners.