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Toronto police arrest 42 people, over 400 charges laid in cross-border investigation with U.S.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:21:21 GMT

Toronto police have revealed the results of a major cross-border firearms investigation with the help of American authorities that led to 42 arrests and over 400 firearm-related charges laid.Toronto police announced the charges on Tuesday, stemming from a year-long cross-border investigation called Project Moneypenny. Illegal narcotics, cash, and 173 firearms were seized in Canada and the United States.Canadian authorities said most of the firearms seized from Project Moneypenny and Project Zorro, a firearm initiative in York Region, came from the United States. Toronto police also noted that during the phases of both projects, undercover officers purchased quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and 25 firearms from identified people.In addition to collaborating with U.S. authorities, officers in Toronto worked closely with police in Durham, York, OPP and The Canada Border Services Agency. It’s alleged that several assailants were involved in illicit firearms sales in Toronto and acr...

AP source: Democrats pick Chicago to host 2024 convention

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:21:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats have chosen Chicago to host their 2024 national convention, trying to keep the party’s momentum going after last fall’s midterm election success in the critical Midwest. The decision, confirmed by a Democratic official who spoke on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity before an official announcement, comes after President Joe Biden chose Chicago over finalists that also included Atlanta and New York.Chicago is solidly Democratic, as is Illinois. But holding the party’s presidential nominating gathering in such a pro-union city again demonstrates Biden’s commitment to organized labor — which will be critical to his bid to win a second term in the White House.The move also could counter Republicans, who last summer decided to hold their 2024 convention in Milwaukee in another critical Midwestern battleground state, Wisconsin.The 2020 Democratic convention was supposed to be held in Milwaukee but unfolded virtually because of the coronavirus pan...

GOP’s Moreno joins race to unseat Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:21:21 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Wealthy Cleveland business owner Bernie Moreno has joined the race to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, becoming the second Republican candidate to challenge the three-term incumbent.The 56-year-old auto dealer and technology executive filed his paperwork Monday. Moreno also ran last year for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat but later dropped out of the crowded GOP primary.Brown, a staple of Ohio politics since the 1970s, is one of just three Democratic senators up for reelection next year in a state won by former President Donald Trump. Republicans are eyeing the seat as one of their top opportunities for a pickup in 2024.Already challenging Brown is Republican state Sen. Matt Dolan, whose family owns baseball’s Cleveland Guardians. He also ran last year for the seat vacated by Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, but lost the GOP nomination to JD Vance, who went on to win the general election.Trump’s sway played heavily in las...

Sheriff Mark Lamb files papers to run for Senate in Arizona

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:21:21 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb has filed federal paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate in Arizona, becoming the first Republican to jump into a high-profile race for the seat now held by independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Lamb, who filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday, has built a profile in Arizona and beyond as a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump and an advocate for cracking down on illegal immigration and drug smuggling. While Pinal County is not on the U.S.-Mexico border, it has a number of active drug and human smuggling routes through remote desert terrain.The Arizona race is a top target for Republicans looking to take control of the Senate, which Democrats control 51-49, including Sinema and two other independents who generally vote with Democrats. The 2024 Senate map heavily favors the GOP, with Democratic-held seats up for grabs in three states Trump won. Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in December after her relationship w...

Hungary forces new energy deals with Russia amid Ukraine war

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:21:21 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary signed new agreements Tuesday to ensure its continued access to Russian energy, a sign of the country’s continuing diplomatic and trade ties with Moscow that have confounded some European leaders amid the war in Ukraine.Speaking at a news briefing in Moscow, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Russian state energy company Gazprom had agreed to allow Hungary, if needed, to import quantities of natural gas beyond the amounts agreed to in a long-term contract that was amended last year. The price of the gas, which would reach Hungary through the Turkstream pipeline, would be capped at 150 euros ($163) per cubic meter, Szijjarto said, part of an agreement that will allow Hungary to pay down gas purchases on a deferred basis if market prices go above that level. Szijjarto’s trip to Russia’s capital was unusual for an official from a European Union country. Most members of the 27-nation bloc have distanced themselves from Russ...

Canadian charities struggle with staff burnout, revenue, escalating demand: report

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:21:21 GMT

TORONTO — A survey of nearly 3,000 Canadian charities finds more than half said they couldn’t meet demand for help, while nearly a third reported a significant drop in revenue.The sixth edition of the Giving Report points to “severe challenges” in the charitable sector, driven by “unprecedented growth in demand … compounded with inflation and revenue shortfalls.”The online Nanos poll, commissioned by the donation platform CanadaHelps, surveyed 2,948 charity professionals representing 2,860 charities between Nov. 14 and 22, 2022.“This year’s report makes it abundantly clear that many Canadian charities are beginning to buckle under the strain of increased demand for services and stalled revenues, and we are now at a point where the majority of charities cannot meet demand,” Duke Chang, president and CEO of CanadaHelps, said Tuesday in a release.The report found 57 per cent of respondents said they could not keep up with increasing need for help, 40 per cent reported higher leve...

Virginia Rep. Jennifer Wexton reveals Parkinson’s diagnosis

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:21:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia announced Tuesday she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease but vowed to continue her work in Congress, saying, “I’m not going to let Parkinson’s stop me from being me.”Wexton, serving her third term from a competitive district in Northern Virginia suburbs near Washington, revealed the diagnosis on World Parkinson’s Day. She said in a video that she hopes to be a voice for those coping with the disease and to fight in Congress to devote greater resources toward the search for a cure.The illness has primarily affected her speech and how her mouth moves, Wexton said. She speaks more quickly now, and the disease has affected how she walks and keeps her balance.“What Parkinson’s is not is an untreatable disease, a cognitive impairment, or a death sentence. So please, you are welcome to empathize, but don’t feel sorry for me,” Wexton said.Wexton, a former state senator and prosecutor, said she fee...

Airstrikes on Myanmar village feared to have killed 100

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:21:21 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Airstrikes by Myanmar’s military on Tuesday killed as many as 100 people, including many children, who were attending a ceremony held by opponents of army rule, said a witness, a member of a local pro-democracy group and independent media.The military is increasingly using airstrikes to counter a widespread armed struggle against its rule, which began in February 2021 when it seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 3,000 civilians are estimated to have been killed since then by security forces.A witness told The Associated Press that a fighter jet dropped bombs directly into a crowd of people who were gathering at 8 a.m. for the opening of a local office of the country’s opposition movement outside Pazigyi village in Sagaing region’s Kanbalu township. The area is about 110 kilometers (70 miles) north of Mandalay, the country’s second largest city. About half an hour later, a helicopter appeared and fired at the site, said the witness, w...

‘Ask a lot of questions’ before deciding what to do with your tax refund: experts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:21:21 GMT

When Julian Shenoy receives his tax refund this year, he plans to set aside some of it for investments and the rest for travel. “With the pandemic and such, everything was closed over the last three years, so most likely (I’ll put) more of a proportion of it toward leisure — maybe 50 per cent of it toward investing and 50 per cent toward a holiday,” Shenoy said in a phone interview.The millennial based in Toronto said he’s “pretty lucky” not to have accumulated as much debt as many others have in his age group, which is why he plans to spend his tax refund this way.“It’s a little different for me to have more disposable income, but I think if you have more expenses, it might be difficult,” Shenoy added. With tax season upon us, experts say it’s best to take a hard look at your finances before deciding what to do with your tax refund — and they emphasize there is no one-size-fits-all approach for everyone to take. “There isn’t a cookie-cutter solution. Everybody’s d...

1st woman to lead UK communications intelligence agency GCHQ

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:21:21 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Anne Keast-Butler, who has spent 30 years working in national security for Britain, was named Tuesday as the first woman to head the U.K.’s communications intelligence agency.Keast-Butler, currently deputy director general at MI5, the domestic intelligence agency, will head the Government Communications Headquarters — better known as GCHQ. Her appointment comes as intelligence agencies focus on threats from Russia and China.“Anne Keast-Butler has an impressive track record working at the heart of the U.K.’s national security network; helping to counter threats posed by terrorists, cyber-criminals and malign foreign powers,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in announcing her appointment.In her current post, Keast-Butler has been responsible for operational, investigative and protective security work that included preparing for and responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Keast-Butler will start her new job in May, replacing Jeremy Fleming, who announced in ...