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Florida man pleads not guilty after Canada-U.S. human smuggling tragedy in Manitoba

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:52 GMT

DULUTH, Minn. — A Florida man has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges after the frozen bodies of a family of four migrants were found near the Canada-U.S. border last year. Steve Shand, 48, entered the plea today via videoconference as part of his long-delayed arraignment in Duluth, Minn. Shand faces one count each of bringing people into the U.S. illegally and of transporting them inside the country. He was arrested in January 2022 in a remote area of northern Minnesota, where border agents encountered him with two Indian nationals in a rented passenger van. Just over the border, near Emerson, Man., RCMP officers discovered the bodies of four people authorities believe froze to death while trying to slip into the U.S. undetected.Three others in India are facing charges in the deaths of Jagdish Patel, 39, wife Vaishaliben, 37, daughter Vihangi, 11, and three-year-old son Dharmik.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2023.The Canadian Press

Jill Biden to promote women, youth on trip to Mideast, North Africa, Europe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden will promote empowerment for women and young people — and attend a Jordanian royal wedding — during an upcoming trip to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. The first lady was scheduled to depart Wednesday on a six-day trip that will take her to Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Portugal. Her office shared some details first with The Associated Press.It will be Biden’s first Middle East visit as first lady. She traveled to Namibia and Kenya in February.“The first lady believes that supporting youth across the world is critical to our common future, with education, health, and empowerment at the heart of it,” said Vanessa Valdivia, her spokesperson.“With her visit to the Middle East and North Africa, the first lady will continue to build on her work to empower young people, and reaffirm our commitment to strengthen our partnerships and advance our shared priorities in the region,” Valdivia said in an email. In Amman, the capital of Jordan, Biden will ...

Russia says its border regions attacked; Moscow’s forces hit clinic in central Ukrainian city

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:52 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine came under attack Friday from Ukrainian artillery fire, mortar shells and drones, authorities said, hours after two drones struck a Russian city in an area next to the annexed Crimea Peninsula.Moscow’s forces, meanwhile, struck a building containing psychology and veterinary clinics in the city of Dnipro, in central Ukraine, killing two people and wounding 30, including two children, Ukrainian officials said.Video released by regional Gov. Serhiy Lysak showed fire engulfing the three-story building that appeared almost destroyed, with only parts of a wall standing, as firefighters battled the flames.A Russian S-300 missile hit a dam in the Karlivka district of Donetsk province in eastern Ukraine, threatening nearby settlements with flooding.The town of Graivoron in Russia’s Belgorod region, about 7 kilometers (more than 4 miles) from the Ukrainian border, came under fire for several hours, damaging four h...

Judge halts South Carolina’s new stricter abortion law until state Supreme Court review

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:52 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A judge on Friday put a temporary halt to South Carolina’s new law banning most abortions around six weeks of pregnancy until the state Supreme Court can review the measure.The ruling by Judge Clifton Newman came just about 24 hours after Gov. Henry McMaster signed the bill. The decision means South Carolina reverts back to a ban at about 20 weeks after fertilization.“The status quo should be maintained until the Supreme Court reviews its decision,” Newman said. “It’s going to end up there.”The law passed Tuesday by the General Assembly is similar to a ban on abortion once cardiac activity can be detected that lawmakers passed in 2021.The state Supreme Court decided in a 3-2 ruling that the 2021 law violated the state constitution’s right to privacy. Legislative leaders said the new law makes technical tweaks that should sway at least one justice to change his mind and the author of the January ruling has since retired.The law took effect as soon as...

Technology and base metal stocks help lift S&P/TSX composite, U.S. markets also up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:52 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in the technology and base metal sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain more than 100 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also higher on the final day of the trading week.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 117.83 points at 19,891.91.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 248.37 points at 33,013.02. The S&P 500 index was up 39.50 points at 4,190.78, while the Nasdaq composite was up 206.48 points at 12,904.57.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.36 cents US compared with 73.38 cents US on Thursday.The July crude contract was up 62 cents at US$72.45 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down nine cents at US$2.39 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was down US$2.30 at US$1,941.40 an ounce and the July copper contract was up eight cents at US$3.67 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Kosovo Serbs clash with police, try to block recently-elected commune heads

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:52 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Small groups of ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo on Friday clashed with police while trying to block the entrance of municipal buildings to prevent recently-elected officials from entering them, according to local media.Police fired tear gas and several cars were set ablaze. In response to the clashes, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in a written statement carried on state-run RTS television that he put the army on a “higher state of alert.” Vucic also said that he ordered an “urgent” movement of Serbian troops to the border with Kosovo. Vucic will attend a rally in support of him in Belgrade after two mass shootings earlier this month that killed 18 people and left 20 others wounded.The media reports also said that because of “violence” against Kosovo Serbs, Vucic demanded that NATO-led troops stationed in Kosovo protect them from the Kosovo police.Kosovo police acknowledged their increased presence in the north “to assist mayors of the northern commu...

World Bank approves $300 million financing to help poor people in Lebanon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:52 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The World Bank approved a $300 million additional financing to Lebanon’s poor, providing cash payments to help families struggling through the country’s historic economic meltdown, the institution said in a statement Friday. The new financing comes two years after the World Bank approved a $246 million loan to Lebanon to provide emergency cash assistance to hundreds of thousands in the tiny Mediterranean nation of 6 million people. Lebanon is in the throes of the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history. The meltdown, rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by Lebanon’s ruling class, began in October 2019 and has left more than three quarters of Lebanon’s population in poverty. “The additional financing will enable the government of Lebanon to continue to respond to the growing needs of poor and vulnerable households suffering under the severe economic and financial crisis,” said Jean-Christophe Carret, World Bank’s director...

Police search for Chicago man after 60-year-old disabled man battered at traffic light in NW Indiana

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:52 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are searching for man after a 60-year-old disabled man was battered after trying to intervene in a disturbance at a traffic light in Northwest Indiana, police say. According to Munster Police Department, Dominique W. Jones from Chicago is facing felony charges of aggravated battery resulting in serious bodily injury. He has not been recovered by police yet. 13-year-old boy shot on NW Side Police said that they responded to a disturbance in the 7900 block of Calumet Avenue and found the 60-year-old man with disabilities, battered. Reports say the 60-year-old man attempted to intervene in a disturbance between a man and a woman at a traffic light near the 7949 block of Calumet Avenue. The offender was seen punching the man and stomping on him until to where he appeared to go unconscious. If any information is recovered on the incident, call police or detective Tim Nosich at (219)- 836-6658.

Shark attack: American tourist 'severely injured' while snorkeling in Turks and Caicos

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:52 GMT

(WTNH) – A Connecticut woman is in serious condition after she was bitten by a shark while snorkeling in Turks and Caicos, authorities said. Authorities in the Royal Turks and Caicos said the woman and her friend were on a private snorkeling trip around 3 p.m. local time Wednesday when the woman was attacked by the shark.The woman was "severely injured" in the attack, the local Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) said. An employee at a nearby resort who contacted police after the incident claimed the woman "had her leg bitten off by a shark," according to a news release from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. Authorities, however, have not confirmed the extent of the victim's injuries. ‘Aggressive’ shark attack in Hawaii leaves surfer in serious condition The DECR said the women were at the Bone Yard dive site in Princess Alexandra National Park, a marine-protected area in the islands, on Wednesday afternoon. The two friends were the only people in...

A sequel you've never seen almost sank the original 'Little Mermaid'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:52 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Disney's latest live-action remake is set to make a splash in theaters this weekend — the much-anticipated "The Little Mermaid." But the new film, which stars R&B music star Halle Bailey as Princess Ariel, has some big (water) shoes to fill. The original 1989 film ranks among Disney's most beloved films and has gone on to get its own animated TV prequel series, two direct-to-video sequels and a hit Broadway musical. But did you know the movie — credited with jumpstarting the Disney Renaissance — was not an immediate hit among creators when it was pitched as a potential new Disney film? Iconic ‘Brady Bunch’ house heads to market after major renovations from HGTV And it's all because of Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah.Back in 1984, Hanks and Hannah teamed up for the mermaid-human romantic comedy "Splash," directed by Ron Howard. Produced by Touchstone Pictures, Disney's now-defunct adult-targeted films division, the film was a massive hit and took home nearly $70 million...