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Speakers Corner: Downtown No Frills location staying put for now

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:11 GMT

As residents in a downtown neighbourhood worried about losing an affordable grocery store to a new development, the company behind the project says there is no cause for concern just yet.Last summer, Toronto City Council approved a major redevelopment plan at Front Street East and Princess Street where a No Frills currently sits.The plan includes a 37-storey residential building at the southeast corner of the intersection with a 28-storey office building mid-block along Front. Retail and public space will also be included. At the moment, however, there are no permits to demolish any building so it remains unclear when all this could happen.“Currently, we don’t know when the No Frills will be closing, but we do understand that the new development has the intention to create a new retail space for a grocery store,” said a representative for the ward’s city councillor Chris Moise. “It will be smaller in size, but it recognizes that the existing No Frills is not necessarily effici...

Georgia prosecutor fights back against Trump attempt to remove her from election probe

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:11 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutor who’s investigating whether Donald Trump and his allies broke any laws as they tried to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state fought back Monday against the former president’s attempt to remove her from the case and exclude certain evidence.Trump’s Georgia legal team in March asked the court to toss out the report of a special grand jury that had been seated in the case and to prevent prosecutors from using any evidence or testimony stemming from the panel’s investigation. They also asked that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office be barred from continuing to investigate or prosecute the case.Willis responded in a filing Monday that the Trump’s motion is “procedurally flawed” and advances “arguments that lack merit.”For more than two years now, Willis has been investigating the actions Trump and others took in the wake of the 2020 election. She took the unusual step last year of asking for a sp...

Pence allies launching super PAC to back former vice president’s expected 2024 candidacy

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Allies of former Vice President Mike Pence are launching a new super PAC to support his expected candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.“Committed to America,” the Pence-sanctioned group, will be publicly launching Tuesday, according to people familiar with the project, who spoke on condition of anonymity to share details of the planning and strategy. “The country’s at real crossroads and the Republican Party needs a strong conservative candidate who can win,” said Scott Reed, the longtime GOP consultant, who will co-chair the group. “Pence has the experience, the unparalleled character, communication skills and the conservative credentials to win both the nomination and a general election.”The launch is the latest sign that Pence is moving ahead with his expected bid for the GOP nomination — a move that would put him in direct contention with his former boss, former President Donald Trump. Pence has said he will announce his plans “well before lat...

Argentine tourist killed in Mexico machete attack

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:11 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A tourist from Argentina who was seriously wounded in a May 12 machete attack in Mexico died on Monday, officials said. Prosecutors in the Pacific coast state of Oaxaca said the tourist — whose name was not released — died of his injuries at a hospital in Mexico City. However, the Tala Rugby Club based in Cordoba, Argentina wrote in its social media accounts Monday that one of their players, Benjamín Gamond, had died. A group of three Argentines were attacked by a Mexican man with a machete May 12 in the hamlet of La Isla, at the mouth of the Laguna de Chacahua, on the Pacific coast. The other two tourists were also wounded in the attack, but their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. Local residents subdued the attacker and turned him over to police. Prosecutors said the suspect is in custody and now faces homicide charges.There was no immediate information on a possible motive in the attack.The Associated Press

Colombian rebel leader says peace talks are ‘on pause’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:11 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian rebel leader Pablo Beltran said on Tuesday that peace talks between his National Liberation Army and the government have been put “on pause” due to remarks made last week by President Gustavo Petro.Petro questioned whether members of the rebel group’s delegation in Cuba could effectively control the actions of their own commanders on the battlefield. He also said the younger leaders of the group, known as the ELN, were motivated not by political goals, but by drug trafficking profits.In an interview published on Youtube by the ELN’s communication team, Beltran said that delegations from both sides would have to meet to “examine” the comments by Colombia’s president before issues like a ceasefire and rural development schemes can continue to be discussed. The negotiations began in November and have failed to produce any major breakthroughs so far.The ELN was recognized as “an armed rebel group” by Colombia’s government during the last rou...

South Korea and Japan use G-7 to push improvement in ties long marked by animosity

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:11 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Amid the high-level efforts to deal with a raft of global emergencies, this weekend’s Group of 7 summit of rich democracies will also see an unusual diplomatic reconciliation as the leaders of Japan and South Korea look to continue mending ties that have been marked for years by animosity and bickering.At first glance the two neighbors would seem to be natural partners. They are powerful, advanced democracies and staunch U.S. allies in a region beset with autocratic threats. The continuing fallout, however, from centuries of complicated, acrimonious history, culminating in the brutal 1910-1945 Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula, has resulted in more wariness than friendship. A big part of the sudden recent shift in tone is a shared focus on China’s growing aggressiveness, t he threat of North Korea’s fast-improving arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles — and deep worry about how Russia’s war in Ukraine is influencing both issues. Some di...

APD's AI bot getting non-emergency reports into system faster

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:11 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department's new artificial intelligence-powered non-emergency reporting system is getting people's reports ingested into the system more quickly than the old portal, according to Lt. Sheldon Askew."Currently, we're looking at a 3-5 day turnaround from a reporting party dropping a report into the system, and that report getting assigned to a detective," he said, adding that this process is what held things up the most with the old system. PREVIOUS: APD launches new AI non-emergency reporting system, says program will reduce wait times We asked if this is in fact resulting in the desired reduced wait times, but the department could not say that for certain at this point."I can't speak to how quickly they're being contacted back," said Askew. "The reporting parties by the detective, that is. Simply because I don't know what their queues look like."In October 2021, police asked the public to submit nonviolent, not-in-progress crimes through 311 or i...

Royce Lewis takes next step forward in rehab assignment

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:11 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Royce Lewis’s stay with the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge was brief, but there was plenty for the Twins to like over the weekend.The top prospect finished his two games with a pair of hits, including a double, played a game at both short and third and even stole a couple of bases, a sign that his twice-repaired right knee is feeling good.“When we send him on a rehab assignment, we send him with the understanding that he needs to play baseball and be who he is,” head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta said. “I’m not a big fan of sending guys on rehab assignments with restrictions and holding them back. I want them to be able to play baseball the way they want.”And Lewis, who will now move from Double-A Wichita to Triple-A St. Paul, did just that. Lewis will now remain with the Saints for an extended period of time as he continues to get at-bats. The 23-year-old, who is rehabbing from his second anterior cruciate ligament surgery, is not eligible to come off of the inju...

Albany community honors barber after tragic barbershop shooting

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:11 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — On Monday, community members gathered to honor and remember a local barber killed Saturday afternoon after a gunman opened fire into Village Barber and Beauty on 221 Second Ave. in Albany. Rev. Reginald Graham is the Owner and Operator of the shop, and he said there were about 10 people in the shop.“We had customers …barbers all on duty. There were four of us working and cutting hair, having a normal day. And all of a sudden, we heard shots,” he said. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! That’s when everyone went on the ground and tried to leave the barbershop.“And we literally had to crawl to the back of the barber shop-we were trying to get out of there. Because the shots just wouldn’t stop coming,” Rev. Graham said.Three people were shot, including a child…but 47-year-old Tyrone Staley did not make it. Rev. Graham said they were waiting for the ambulance, but there was nothing more anyone could do…“So ...

Pittsfield PD searching for missing woman

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:27:11 GMT

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (NEWS10) -- Pittsfield police are seeking the public's help in locating a missing woman. Tara Cremin was last seen around 5:30 p.m. Monday in the area of Sadler Avenue. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Cremin is 25-years old. She is around 5'6" tall and about 200 lbs. She has short brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a long, black SpongeBob shirt, grey shirts, and wearing eyeglasses.Police said Cremin has mental health issues and may become aggressive or flee if approached. If she is seen, police ask that she not be approached but rather call the police department at (413) 448-9700.