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Is broadband essential, like water or electricity? New net neutrality effort makes the case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:47 GMT

Landmark net neutrality rules rescinded under former President Donald Trump could return under a new push by U.S. Federal Communications Commission chair Jessica Rosenworcel. The rules would reclassify broadband access as an essential service on par with other utilities like water or power.“For everyone, everywhere, to enjoy the full benefits of the internet age, internet access should be more than just accessible and affordable,” Rosenworcel said at an event at the National Press Club. “The internet needs to be open.”The proposed rules would return fixed and mobile broadband service to its status as an essential telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act. It would also prohibit Internet service providers from blocking or throttling lawful Internet traffic and from selling “fast lanes” that prioritize some traffic over others in exchange for payment.The move comes after Democrats took majority control of the five-member FCC on Monday for the first time since...

Target to close 9 stores including 3 in San Francisco, citing theft that threatens workers, shoppers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Target will close nine stores in four states, including one in East Harlem, New York and three in San Francisco, saying that theft and organized retail crime have threatened the safety of its workers and customers.The closings, which will be effective Oct. 21, also include three stores in Portland, Oregon, and two in Seattle. Target said that it still will have a combined 150 stores open in the markets where the closures are taking place. Target will offer affected workers the opportunity to transfer to other stores.Target described the decision as “difficult.” “We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all,” Target said in a statement on Tuesday.Before making the decision, Target said it had invested heavily in strategies to prevent and stop theft such as adding more security team workers, using third-party guard services and installing theft det...

Man jailed while awaiting trial for fatal Apple store crash because monitoring bracelet not charged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:47 GMT

BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) — A judge revoked bail Tuesday for a man who was confined at home while awaiting trial for driving his SUV into a Massachusetts Apple store, killing a man and injuring nearly two dozen others, officials said.Bradley Rein, 54, of Hingham, was ordered to jail for 60 days after police went to his home several times over the weekend because his GPS monitoring bracelet was not working, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced Tuesday. Rein was accused of failing to charge the monitoring device, Cruz said.His attorney suggested that revoking Rein’s bail was an overreaction. “It is unfortunate that the court’s penalty was disproportionate to my client’s failure to keep the monitoring device fully charged,” defense lawyer Joan Fund wrote in an email to The Associated Press.Rein pleaded not guilty after being indicted on an upgraded murder charge last year. He was allowed to remain free on the $100,000 bail he posted after his district court arra...

Mandela’s granddaughter Zoleka dies at 43. Her life was full of tragedy but she embraced his legacy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:47 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Zoleka Mandela, a granddaughter of Nelson Mandela and whose life was tangled up in addiction, a suicide attempt, a battle with cancer and the tragedy of losing two young children before she came back from the shadows to embrace his legacy, has died. She was 43.Her death on Monday was announced by the Mandela family in a statement on Tuesday. The breast cancer she had fought for years had been in remission. But she was later diagnosed with cancer in her liver and lungs and it had metastasized and spread, her family said.The Nelson Mandela Foundation, which promotes the legacy of the South African statesman who died in 2013, said it mourned Zoleka Mandela’s death and offered its condolences to her family. It said she was a “beloved grandchild” to Nelson Mandela and praised her work raising awareness for cancer and her role as an inspiration to those affected by the disease and to those who had lost children.She set up foundations to help peop...

2 dead, 4 hurt in helicopter crash near Prince George, B.C.: safety board

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:47 GMT

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. — Two people are dead and four more are injured after a helicopter crash east of Prince George, B.C., on Tuesday.RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Cooper said in a statement that the crash occurred just before 7:45 a.m., when a privately-owned helicopter went down off Highway 16 near the Purden Ski Village, a mountain resort about a 45-minute drive from Prince George. “There was a total of six people on board the aircraft at the time of the incident; regrettably, two of the individuals did not survive the crash,” Cooper said in statement. “Our Victim Services unit is currently working with the families of the deceased, providing ongoing support.”Cooper said the helicopter had been chartered to fly in the area.The Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday it was sending its people to the scene to take over the investigation. Liam MacDonald, a safety board spokesman, said investigators will assess the crash site where the commercially registered Bell 206L helicop...

Biden urges striking auto workers to “stick with it” in picket line visit unparalleled in history

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:47 GMT

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — President Joe Biden grabbed a bullhorn on the picket line Tuesday and urged striking auto workers to “stick with it” in an unparalleled show of support for organized labor by a modern president.Donning a union ballcap and exchanging fist bumps, Biden told United Auto Workers strikers that “you deserve the significant raise you need” as he stopped in the Detroit area just a day ahead of a planned visit by former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in next year’s election. “No deal, no wheels!” workers chanted as Biden arrived at a General Motors parts distribution warehouse, one of several facilities that has been targeted in a widening strike now in its 12th day. “No pay, no parts!”Despite concerns that a prolonged strike could undermine the economy, particularly in the crucial battleground state of Michigan, the Democratic president encouraged workers to keep fighting for better wages at a time when car compan...

Feds unlock another $20 billion for low-cost rental construction financing: Freeland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:47 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government is unlocking another $20 billion in low-cost financing for the construction of rental housing across Canada, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Tuesday.The Canada Mortgage Bonds program, which raises funds for residential mortgage financing, had an annual limit of $40 billion.The limit is being increased to $60 billion, with the additional funds aimed at increasing rental construction specifically. This includes apartment buildings, student housing and senior residences.The federal governmentsays the new funding will boost rental construction by 30,000 units annually.“There is no fiscal impact for the government of Canada as a result of this measure. This is fiscally responsible policy using policy tools at our disposal,” Freeland told reporters Tuesday in Ottawa.“This is a further measure in our broader and continuing campaign to build more homes for Canadians faster.”Freeland says the program allows developers to ac...

Amazon’s checkout-free stores are coming to Toronto and Calgary sports arenas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:47 GMT

Toronto and Calgary sports fans will soon be able to skip the lineup when purchasing snacks before or during games.Scotiabank Arena in Toronto and Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary are spending the fall rolling out Amazon Web Services (AWS) technology allowing some of the venues’ stores to offer fans checkout-free shopping — and the Seattle-based e-commerce giant says this is just the beginning.“You will be seeing more of this in Canada, not only in stadiums, but in all sorts of other environments as well,” said Jon Jenkins, vice-president of Just Walk Out at AWS.“We never release timelines…but it’ll be coming very soon.”The Just Walk Out technology requires fans to scan a credit or debit card to gain entry to a store kitted out with overhead cameras and sensors that will use computer vision, machine learning and generative artificial intelligence to track what they pick up and return to shelves, building a virtual tab for each customer. When...

Anti-abortion groups demand liberal Wisconsin prosecutors charge abortion providers despite ruling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:47 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A coalition of anti-abortion organizations on Tuesday demanded that prosecutors in Wisconsin’s two largest counties bring charges against abortion providers who have resumed practicing following a court ruling that consensual abortions are legal in the state.Wisconsin Right to Life, Wisconsin Family Action and Pro-Life Wisconsin held a news conference in the state Capitol to call for Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm to prosecute abortion providers in their counties. Ozanne and Chisholm, both Democrats, announced last year that they would permit abortions in their counties despite a 174-year-old state law that conservatives argue bans the procedure. Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper ruled this summer that consensual abortions are legal. Galvanized by the ruling, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin last week resumed abortions at clinics in Madison and Milwaukee after ceasing procedures last ...

Police identify three fishers who died after their boat sank off northeastern Quebec

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:47 GMT

BLANC-SABLON, Que. — Quebec provincial police have identified the three fishers who died after their boat sank off of Quebec’s Lower North Shore early Monday morning.Provincial police spokesman Sgt. Hugues Beaulieu says the three men were Yves Jones, 65, Dean Lavallée, 53, and Damon Etheridge, 36, all from Blanc Sablon, Que., about 1,300 kilometres northeast of Montreal.He says the two men and one woman rescued after the Silver Condor sank are expected to survive. Lt.-Cmdr. Len Hickey of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax says an Armed Forces rescue helicopter recovered five of those aboard the boat, while the sixth was recovered by a Coast Guard vessel.He says the Silver Condor had already sunk by the time rescuers arrived — nearly four hours after a distress signal was received at around 2:30 a.m.The Transportation Safety Board said it has been notified of the fatal sinking but has not decided whether a formal investigation will be opened.This report by The Cana...