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B.C. posts $704-million budget surplus after multi-billion-dollar swings in forecasts

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:15:33 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia finished last fiscal year $700 million in the black, after forecasts swung between multi-billion-dollar deficits and surpluses.Finance Minister Katrine Conroy said despite global uncertainty and inflation the province’s bottom line showed a surplus due to economic and job growth and increased revenue from income taxes and natural resources.She acknowledged the government’s forecasts for 2022-2023 had been on an up-and-down ride for the past two years. A $5.5-billion deficit was predicted in February last year, before that was revised to a surplus of almost $6 billion, then downgraded to a $3.6-billion surplus.The final audited public accounts for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2023, released Wednesday, show a surplus of $704 million.Conroy had forecast three years of consecutive deficits last March, with the current 2023-2024 budget projected to bring a deficit of $4.2 billion.The minister said the government’s most recent financia...

Residents of West Kelowna, B.C., offered bus visits to their homes destroyed by fire

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:15:33 GMT

People whose homes were destroyed by the wildfire in and around West Kelowna, B.C., are being contacted to schedule escorted bus visits to view the damage.Only people whose properties are completely destroyed or damaged to the point they’re uninhabitable will be invited to participate at this time, the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre said in a statement on Wednesday.The process is aimed at ensuring people who have lost their homes “have the privacy, time and space to be the first to see their properties,” it said.Bus visits are being offered before officials lift any further evacuation orders in neighbourhoods ravaged by wildfire nearly two weeks ago, the centre added.People must remain on the bus during their visit, and not all properties will be visible from the bus, such as those with a long driveway, the statement noted.Regional staff, as well as RCMP and mental health professionals, will be present during visits to offer support to property owners...

Legacy of Native American boarding schools comes into view through a new interactive map

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:15:33 GMT

A group focused on shedding more light on the trouble legacy of boarding schools where Indigenous children were stripped of their culture and language as part of assimilation efforts released a new interactive map that includes dozens of additional schools in the U.S. and Canada. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition already had what was considered the most extensive list of boarding schools. The total now stands at 523 schools, with each dot on the map providing some brief details about the school.The Minnesota-based group has spent years building its inventory of data, with efforts being bolstered in recent years by the U.S. Interior Department. The federal agency released its own list of more than 400 schools last year as part of an ongoing investigation meant to recognize the multigenerational trauma that resulted from boarding school policies.The coalition’s latest research identified an additional 115 schools, with the majority being operated wit...

Guatemala’s Congress refuses to recognize president-elect’s party

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:15:33 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala’s Congress, which is controlled in its majority by the governing party, on Wednesday refused to recognize the seven lawmakers from the Seed Movement party of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo, following the suspension of his party earlier this week.Lawmakers declared their Seed Movement colleagues independents in the latest move against the party since Arévalo’s landslide win Aug. 20. Prosecutors have accused the Seed Movement of wrongdoing in gathering signatures for the party’s registration years earlier. The case was announced in July after Arévalo won a surprise place in the presidential runoff against former first lady Sandra Torres.Anti-corruption prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche officially advised the Congress of the party’s suspension despite pending court appeals. The U.S. government has sanctioned Curruchiche for allegedly obstructing corruption investigations.Wednesday was the Congress’ first session after a two-month recess. Arévalo is among t...

University of North Carolina students rally for gun safety after fatal shooting of faculty member

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:15:33 GMT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — A shooting that left a faculty member dead and frightened students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has galvanized gun safety advocates and local Democrats, who rallied the grieving campus community Wednesday to fight for stricter state gun laws.About 600 students held protest signs on a large lawn in the heart of campus and bowed their heads during a moment of silence as the iconic campus Bell Tower rang in honor of the deceased associate professor, Zijie Yan.Yan, who led a research group in the Department of Applied Physical Sciences, was fatally shot Monday by one of his graduate students inside a science lab building at the state’s flagship public university, authorities said. Students who spoke at the rally described hours of terror and confusion during a lockdown and police manhunt that resulted in the arrest of Tailei Qi, 34, who has been charged with first-degree murder and having a gun on educational property. Qi briefly appeared T...

Two dead in Caledon crash

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:15:33 GMT

Two people are dead following a serious crash in Caledon. Provincial police were called to the scene of a collision on Airport Road just north of Charleston Side Road around 4 p.m. Wednesday.Images provided by Chopper 680 show two vehicles heavily damaged in the crash, a black van and a silver SUV which ended up in the ditch.“Both drivers and sole occupants have been pronounced deceased at the scene,” Caledon OPP said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Police say road closures will remain in place in the area for several hours as they continue to investigate.

Memphis plant that uses potentially hazardous chemical will close, company says

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:15:33 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A medical equipment sterilizing plant that uses a chemical whose emissions could lead to cancer and other health risks says it plans to close its Tennessee location by next spring, according to a letter sent by the company to U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen.In the July letter, lawyers for Sterilization Services of Tennessee told the congressman that the company has dealt with issues relating to a lease extension for its Memphis plant and the facility will be closed by April 30. The Environmental Protection Agency has said the plant has used ethylene oxide to sterilize medical equipment and materials. The facility has operated since 1976. The county health department’s air program has permitted the facility since 1985.Ethylene oxide is used to clean catheters, syringes, pacemakers, plastic surgical gowns and other items.While short-term or infrequent exposure to ethylene oxide does not appear to pose a health risk, the EPA said long-term or lifetime exposure to the colorl...

Russia’s actions at U.N. terminate Mali sanctions and panel of experts reporting, recently on Wagner

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:15:33 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Mali’s military junta succeeded in kicking out the U.N. peacekeeping force, and on Wednesday its Russian allies scored yet another victory against the U.N.: They were able to terminate all U.N. sanctions on Malians and abolish a panel of experts which has been critical of activities of Russia’s Wagner Group in the West African nation.The travel ban and asset freeze, currently affecting eight Malians on the U.N. blacklist for threatening peace efforts, and the mandate of the panel of experts monitoring the implementation of sanctions were up for renewal in the U.N. Security Council.A French and United Arab Emirates-drafted resolution that would have extended the sanctions regime until Aug. 31, 2024 and the mandate of the U.N. panel of experts monitoring sanctions until Sept. 30, 2024 was put to a vote first. It got 13 “yes” votes in the 15-member council but was vetoed by Russia. China abstained.A rival Russian resolution that would have extended sanctions “for ...

Former deputy in Massachusetts indicted for allegedly threatening to blow up courthouse

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:15:33 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A former sheriff’s deputy in Massachusetts was indicted Wednesday for allegedly threatening to blow up a courthouse and kill law enforcement officers. Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said a federal grand jury indicted Joshua Ford, 42, of Kingston, Massachusetts, on three counts of interstate transmission of a threatening communication. If convicted, Ford could be sentenced up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 on each charge. Ford, who is currently being held in state custody, is accused of sending a dozen emails to around 140 people, most of them Massachusetts law enforcement officers, in which he calls for their help in burning down the Plymouth County Courthouse, breaking the arms and legs of every court officer and killing court security officers.Ford also allegedly calls on law enforcement officers to come to the courthouse with gasoline, explosives, weapons and SWAT teams on March 14. Ford was arrested on Marc...

West Point time capsule that appeared to contain nothing more than silt yields centuries-old coins

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 08:15:33 GMT

A nearly 200-year-old West Point time capsule that appeared to yield little more than dust when it was opened during a disappointing livestream contained hidden treasure after all, the U.S. Military Academy said Wednesday. It was just more hidden than expected.The lead box believed to have been placed by cadets in the base of a monument actually contained six silver American coins dating from 1795 to 1828 and a commemorative medal, West Point said in a news release. All were discovered in the sediment of the box, which at Monday’s ceremonial opening at the New York academy appeared to be its only contents.“When I first found these, I thought, man, you know, it would have been great to have found these on stage,” said West Point archeologist Paul Hudson, who after the event, took the box back to his lab and began carefully sifting through the silt with a small wooden pick and brush.“Before long, lo and behold, there’s the edge of a coin sticking out,” he recounted by phon...