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Former Connecticut lawmaker gets 27 months in prison for stealing coronavirus aid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:12 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A former Connecticut state representative was sentenced to 27 months in prison on Wednesday for stealing more than $1.2 million from the city of West Haven — most of it in federal coronavirus-related aid — and using a good chunk of it to fuel his gambling addiction.“I stole that money. That is on me,” Michael DiMassa said as he apologized during his sentencing before Judge Omar Williams.“It’s hard to find the word to express how I feel. I feel ashamed, embarrassed, mortified,” the West Haven Democrat said.DiMassa, 32, had asked for leniency. He could have gotten more than four years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. He was ordered to report to prison on July 31 and remains free on bond.“Mr. DiMassa suffered from a debilitating gambling addiction at the time of the offense,” his lawyer, John Gulash, wrote in a court filing, “and his essentially unfettered access to a deep pool of federal funds and total lack of impulse control facilitated his preci...

Trudeau dismisses criticism of David Johnston, as MPs to vote on him to step down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:12 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has confidence in David Johnston, even as the House of Commons is about to vote in favour of a motion to push him out of his job. Trudeau named the former governor general a special rapporteur for foreign interference in March to look into allegations the Chinese government tried to meddle in the last two federal elections.Opposition parties decried the appointment because of Johnston’s family connections to the prime minister’s family and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.Trudeau brushed off those concerns, telling reporters that he views the matter as political parties wanting to score “partisan points.” “The fact of the matter is David Johnston has served this country in extraordinary capacities for decades,” Trudeau said Wednesday on his way into a meeting with his Liberal caucus. “He’s taken this incredibly seriously.”The Conservatives and Bloc Québécois is expected to vote ...

Amazon workers stage walkout over company’s climate impact, return-to-office mandate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:12 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — A group of corporate Amazon workers upset about the company’s environmental impact, recent layoffs and a return-to-office mandate is planning a walkout at the company’s Seattle headquarters Wednesday.The lunchtime protest comes a week after Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting and a month after a policy took effect requiring workers to return to the office three days per week.“We respect our employees’ rights to express their opinions,” the company said in a statement.As of Wednesday morning, more than 1,900 employees had pledged to walk out around the world, with about 900 in Seattle, according to Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, a climate change advocacy group founded by Amazon workers. While some plan to gather at the Amazon Spheres — a four-story structure in downtown Seattle that from the outside looks like three connected glass orbs — others will participate remotely.Some employees have complained that Amazon has been slow to address its im...

Developer to let Quebec rental board decide on case of holdout tenant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:12 GMT

MONTREAL — A major Montreal real estate developer says it will let Quebec’s housing tribunal determine the compensation for a tenant in a $400-a-month apartment whose case risks delaying a major construction project.Mondev senior partners Michael and David Owen say they’ve already made numerous offers to tenant Carla White, who has so far refused to leave her apartment so it can be demolished to make way for a 176-unit mixed-use building.A municipal committee decided earlier this month to approve the demolition of the building, on the condition that the developer demonstrate that the file has been settled with the holdout tenant.White, who was previously homeless, has said she doesn’t want to leave until she’s provided with an acceptable apartment on a long-term affordable lease, or enough compensation to ensure she won’t have to return to the streets.Michael Owen says the developers are sensitive to White’s situation but have already offered her ...

Police bust criminal network operating bawdy houses in Mississauga

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:12 GMT

Peel Regional Police say they’ve arrested four women accused of being part of a criminal network that exploited “victims of Chinese-descent” at bawdy houses in Mississauga.In a release Wednesday, police said Project Pacific was a collaborative investigation that led to the identification of 13 human trafficking survivors and several arrests, along with the seizure of cash, drugs and property.Police allege the network was operating several illegal bawdy houses in Mississauga where victims were taken advantage of due to their precarious financial situations.“These vulnerable individuals were being exploited and victimized as a result of their limited ability to monetarily sustain themselves,” police said in a release.On March 27 and April 5 police executed numerous search warrants resulting in the arrests of four women.Leung Ngai, 59, of Milton, Yuan Yuan Zhang, 39 of Markham, Yu-Hobley Lan, 63, of Mississauga and Kwai Lin Tso, 55, of Mississauga, are fac...

Equinor postponing Bay du Nord oil project off Newfoundland for up to three years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:12 GMT

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Equinor is pausing its plans to develop a controversial $16-billion oil project off Newfoundland’s east coast.The Norwegian energy giant announced Wednesday that it was postponing its plans for the Bay du Nord oil project for up to three years. The project has seen significant cost increases in recent months, mostly due to volatile market conditions, the company said in a news release.Trond Bokn, Equinor’s senior vice-president of project development, said the company will reassess the project to see if “further optimizations” can be made.“Bay du Nord is an important project for Equinor,” he said in a news release.The Bay du Nord comprises five different discovery areas that are said to hold a total of 979 million barrels of recoverable oil, according to estimates in February from Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil regulator. The development would open the province’s fifth offshore oilfield and be its first deep-wate...

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin sends 100 National Guard soldiers to US-Mexican border

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:12 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin is joining the list of Republican governors sending soldiers or other state law enforcement officers to the U.S. border with Mexico.Youngkin announced Wednesday that in response to a request from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott he had signed an executive order directing the deployment of 100 Virginia National Guard soldiers and 21 support personnel. “The ongoing border crisis facing our nation has turned every state into a border state,” Youngkin said in a statement. “As leadership solutions at the federal level fall short, states are answering the call to secure our southern border, reduce the flow of fentanyl, combat human trafficking and address the humanitarian crisis.”Youngkin’s order said the soldiers will answer to a military commander during the 30-day deployment, not any local civilian authorities, and “will be equipped with weapons, ammunition, body armor, protective masks, and night vision and other support devices.”The go...

Scattered showers, storms possible

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:12 GMT

CHICAGO — Scattered storms are possible Wednesday.Daytime heating will drive the precipitation development meaning the most widespread rains will occur in the warmer hours of the day from late morning in to afternoon. But areal coverage of the showers and thunderstorms appears likely to impact perhaps 20 to 30% of the metro area. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Before the rain arrives, there will be stronger sunshine, compared to recent days, meaning you can suffer a sunburn quickly this afternoon.Showers and storms start to bubble up around noon south of I-80. Rain showers will start in the metro area around 2 p.m.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog But once the sun sets, daytime heating goes away and takes with it the chance for rain.It will return again on Thursday though, likely in the afternoon hours. Friday will be quieter weather-wise.

City leaders approve $50M aid for migrant care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:12 GMT

CHICAGO — BREAKING NEWS: City leaders approved a $50 million proposal Wednesday to help with the growing costs of Chicago's migrant crisis.The vote was 34 "yes" and 13 "no." After passionate debate and loud outbursts by demonstrators, Chicago City Council approves using $51 million to help influx of migrants coming to city. pic.twitter.com/6zh4fEhGZG— Tahman Bradley (@tahmanbradley) May 31, 2023More than 8,000 migrants have been bussed to Chicago from Texas since August.Around 800 migrants are sleeping in police stations across the city.The $51 million is money the city received from opioid and vapor court settlements. One alderperson said it would only last about two months. 6 teens arrested after fight outside Six Flags Great America Last week, protestors packed the hallways outside the council chamber and their chants could be heard inside. Many demonstrating said the city should not be prioritizing migrants when so many communities have dealt with decades of disinvestme...

Arrest made in killing of New Jersey Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:12 GMT

SAYREVILLE, N.J. (WPIX) — A man has been arrested in connection to the February shooting death of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, officials said Tuesday.Rashid Ali Bynum, 28, was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, and second-degree possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.Bynum, who is from Virginia, was taken into custody without incident outside a residence in Chesapeake City, authorities said. He is awaiting extradition from Virginia to New Jersey. Man wanted in connection to deaths of girlfriend and ex-wife in NY: police Dwumfour, 30, was found with multiple gunshot wounds inside her vehicle outside her home in a townhouse complex in Sayreville, New Jersey, on the evening of Feb. 1, according to authorities.Investigators linked Bynum to Dwumfour's killing using surveillance video, witness reports, cellphone data, internet searc...