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Ticker: Frustration grows over wait on OxyContin maker’s settlement

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:47 GMT

More than a year after the maker of OxyContin reached a tentative settlement over the toll of opioids, the money isn’t flowing yet.That’s because a federal court is still considering whether it’s lawful to give members of the Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma protection from civil lawsuits in exchange for their contribution to the settlement: the company itself and up to $6 billion in cash. Lawyers on multiple sides of the case have asked the court to issue an opinion — or at least a timeline.NYC transit agency stops Twitter service alertsThe transit authority that runs subways, commuter trains and buses in New York City is giving up on a system that sent automated alerts about service disruptions through Twitter, a platform the Metropolitan Transportation Authority decided to stop using on Tuesday.MTA officials say they balked at Twitter’s recent decision to start charging for certain functions. The authority also was concerned with technical problems tha...

Bruins notebook: B’s confident about Game 7 clash against Panthers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:47 GMT

BEDFORD – The Boston Bruins sounded overly excited about an opportunity they wanted to avoid.The Florida Panthers forced a deciding Game 7 in their opening round Stanley Cup playoff series with a 7-5 victory over the Bruins on Friday night at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla. The Bruins and Panthers take the ice for the final time on Sunday night (6:30) at the TD Garden.The only benefit the Bruins got from winning the Presidents Trophy while setting NHL single season records for wins (65) and points (135) is the “opportunity” to host Game 7 in a series they once led 3-1.“Opportunity, that’s the word that comes to my mind,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery following the team’s arrival on Saturday afternoon at Hanscom Field.“You are playing a Game 7 at home. We had the regular season we had. That is over and done with but it got us this Game 7 in front of our great fans. It’s an opportunity to go and seize the moment.”Bruins team captain Patrice Bergeron will be playing in the 14th Game...

Bernie Sanders praises shop workers, Ben and Jerry’s on union effort

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:47 GMT

Workers seeking to unionize at a Ben & Jerry’s retail shop in Burlington, Vermont, the city where the ice cream brand was founded, announced Friday that the company has signed the fair election principles.U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent who has been a vocal supporter of Starbucks labor organizers, congratulated the Ben & Jerry’s workers at a press conference in his home city.“I’m very proud of the work that these workers have done in coming together to form a union and I’m very proud that we have here in Vermont a company like Ben & Jerry’s that has long stood for progressive principles, today saying they’re willing to sit down and negotiate a good contract with their workers,” Sanders said.Ben & Jerry’s said last week that it supported a plan to unionize by about 40 workers at the retail shop in downtown Burlington.It said in a statement that it shares “the goal of advancing justice, both inside and outside our company.” The ice cream manufacturer wa...

Boy, 16, arrested in Toronto for shooting death in Sudbury

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:47 GMT

Toronto police have arrested a 16-year-old wanted in connection with a fatal shooting in Sudbury. The Greater Sudbury Police Service issued a bulletin Friday and released images of a suspect wanted in the April 21 shooting at Overtime Sports Bar that took the life of a 22-year-old man.Investigators believed the teen was likely in southern Ontario and were granted permission to use his image even though he was under the age of 18 through a provision in the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Toronto police took the teen into custody around 7:30 a.m. Saturday. He appeared in court and was charged with a number of offences including murder.

California man gets 4 1/2 years for role in US Capitol riot

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Southern California man who assaulted police with pepper spray during the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison, federal authorities announced.Jeffrey Scott Brown, 56, of Santa Ana received a sentence of 54 months in federal prison for felony and misdemeanor charges related to the mob attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a Friday press statement.More than 1,000 individuals have been arrested, including more than 320 people who have been charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, the DOJ said. Trump supporters that day tried to stop Congress from certifying presidential election results for Joe Biden, a Democrat, over Trump, a Republican. Brown and two co-defendants were found guilty at trial in December. Peter J. Schwartz of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, is scheduled to be sentenced in May. It was not clear why Markus Maly of Fincastle, Virginia, was not s...

Alberta Premier Smith questions election role of Opposition leader Notley’s husband

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:47 GMT

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is raising questions about Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley’s husband and his role in the upcoming provincial election campaign.Notley’s husband, Lou Arab, is a communications official for the Canadian Union of Public Employees and sits on the governing board of Notley’s NDP.In a statement from her United Conservative party, Smith says she wants to know if it’s legal for CUPE to spend money on attack ads against the UCP given Notley’s relationship to Arab.The statement didn’t specify what law Smith believes is being violated.The NDP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Smith made the statement in response to a story in The Globe and Mail that reported Smith attended the wedding last month of David Parker, the head of a third-party advertiser called Take Back Alberta.Take Back Alberta is a growing force within Smith’s UCP, delivering blocs of members to party events to elect constituency board members, candidates and, to da...

Flood concerns rise as Mississippi River crests in Iowa city

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:47 GMT

DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) — The surging Mississippi River was cresting in Iowa on Saturday as melting snow from Minnesota and Wisconsin continues to push up river levels, the National Weather Service said.The weather service said the river was cresting between 23 and 24.3 feet (7 and 7.4 meters) in Dubuque, a city on the Mississippi about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east of Des Moines. The river was expected to crest at 21.9 feet (6.7 meters) in Bellevue, Iowa, on Saturday night.The river is not expected to see many record crests in the next week, but the weather service said Saturday’s levels would come close to 1993 and 2001 records between 23.9 and 25.4 feet (7.3 and 7.7 meters) as the river moves down its 2,300-mile (3,700-kilometer) length before reaching the Gulf of Mexico. Dubuque has closed its floodgates for only the third time ever in response to flooding. Further south in the Quad Cities — five adjoining cities along the river in Iowa and Illinois — the river is expected to...

‘Only in Newfoundland’: Dildo, N.L., man captures phallic iceberg in Conception Bay

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:47 GMT

A Dildo, N.L., man’s photo of a phallic iceberg in Newfoundland’s Conception Bay is getting laughs across the globe.Ken Pretty says he could tell from the shore that the stately iceberg drifting off the coast of Harbour Grace, N.L., on Thursday had a distinctive anatomical quality.But he said that it wasn’t until he flew his drone out for a closer look that he realized just how lifelike the berg’s features really were.Pretty’s pictures of the iceberg – which has since been named the “dickie berg” – have now been shared more than 5,300 times and attracted news coverage in Australia.He acknowledged in an interview that the iceberg’s location in Conception Bay, along with his hometown’s name, make the situation even funnier, adding: “Only in Newfoundland.”Pretty says people have been asking him to make “dickie berg” t-shirts and to sell prints of his now-famous photo.

Mexico’s ruling party sweeps mine reform, other bills to law

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:47 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s Senate has approved a wide-ranging reform of laws governing the mining industry, including a requirement that companies pay 5% of profits to local communities. The mining bill was among 18 pieces of legislation, some controversial, that were passed in a frenzied rush late Friday and early Saturday. The bills were approved with little or no debate, based on votes by only senators from Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party and its allies. The opposition occupied the Senate’s normal headquarters to protest a lack of debate, so the Morena senators and allies met in an alternative chamber. The new mining law reduces the maximum length of concessions from 50 to 30 years, and punishes speculation by allowing authorities to cancel concessions if no work is done on them within two years.The mining industry, much of it foreign and in a considerable amount Canadian, has drawn complaints because of ecological damage, speculation and the fact that communities aro...

Vikings use fifth-round pick on BYU quarterback Jaren Hall

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:47 GMT

The Vikings used their fifth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to take Brigham Young quarterback Jaren Hall, who led the Cougars to an 18-8 mark as a starter the past two seasons but is, by NFL standards, not a typical passer.At 6-feet, 207 pounds, he’s built more like an NFL running back than NFL quarterback, and he rushed for 700 yards in 22 games at BYU. But he also has been a tremendous passer.“I think I’m at my best when I’m doing both,” Hall said.Last season, Hall threw for 3,171 yards and 31 touchdowns against just six interceptions. In two seasons running the Cougars’ offense, he completed 65 percent of his passes for 6,174 yards, 52 touchdowns and 11 picks.His size clearly wasn’t an issue in college, but in the NFL, most everyone playing offensive or defensive line is bigger.“You’re never going to see over them; it’s impossible,” Hallsaid Saturday. “So, you’ve really got to be good at seeing through and anticipating space. That’s something I’ll continue to get better at at the nex...