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Floatplane that crashed in N.W.T. was chartered to help with winter roads, TSB says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:26 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — A preliminary report by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada says a plane that crashed in the Northwest Territories this week was chartered to help with winter road construction in the area. The plane carrying 10 people crashed Wednesday near the Diavik Diamond Mine, about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. Everyone on board survived the crash. The TSB report says the Twin Otter, a small floatplane, was travelling from Margaret Lake to Lac De Gras in the territory, but crashed as it was attempting to land on the lake.TSB spokesman Hugo Fontaine says an investigation is to begin today, starting with video interviews with the passengers.He says the TSB will be present at the crash site to investigate sometime next week.A Royal Canadian Air Force CC-130H Hercules search-and-rescue aircraft was dispatched to the site from 17 Wing Winnipeg, and dropped search-and-rescue personnel by parachute Wednesday night.Air Force spokesman David Lavallee says the passengers,...

CP NewsAlert: B.C. court blocks new law against public drug use

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:26 GMT

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia Supreme Court has blocked new provincial laws against public consumption of illegal substances.The ruling in favour of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association imposes a temporary injunction until March 31, with the judge saying “irreparable harm will be caused” if the laws come into force.The Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act was passed by the legislature in November, allowing fines and imprisonment for people who refuse to comply with police orders not to consume drugs in certain public places.More coming.The Canadian Press

Powerful Pacific swell brings threat of more dangerous surf to California

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:26 GMT

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — Bulldozers built giant sand berms Friday to protect beachfront homes in one of California’s coastal cities hit hard this week by extraordinary waves generated by powerful swells from Pacific storms.Dozens of people watched construction of the emergency barriers in the Pierpont area of the city of Ventura, where a rogue wave on Thursday smacked spectators and vehicles as it overran the beach and flowed into a neighborhood.“We have had water down the lane once before but never like this,” said Karris Kutivan, a 9-year resident of the scenic shoreline city about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of Los Angeles. “What it has taught me is I want to live by the beach, not on the beach,” Kutivan said.Eight people were taken to hospitals for treatment of injuries after the Pierpont incident, according to Ventura County authorities, who closed beaches, piers and harbors through Dec. 31. Similar waves overran beaches elsewhere Thursday on the California coast, fl...

1 injured in 2-alarm high rise fire in Scarborough

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:26 GMT

Toronto fire have rescued one person from a two-alarm high rise fire in Scarborough.Crews were called to 30 Thunder Grove in the area of Finch Avenue and McCowan Road for a two-alarm residential high-rise fire on the 10th floor.One person was rescued from a unit and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. No other residents were displaced and the fire has since been extinguished.There’s no word on the cause on the fire at this point.

Burundi’s president claims Rwanda is backing rebels fighting against his country

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:26 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Burundi’s president on Friday accused Rwanda of funding and training rebels behind an attack last week on the village of Gatumba, close to Burundi’s border with Congo, that killed at least 20 people.A Burundian armed rebel group known as RED-Tabara and based in South Kivu, eastern Congo, took responsibility for the attack in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The group, which denied having targeted civilians, claimed to have killed nine soldiers and a police officer.Burundian authorities consider RED-Tabara a terrorist movement. The group first appeared in 2011 and has been accused of a string of attacks in Burundi since 2015.In a national radio broadcast, President Evariste Ndayishimiye claimed the RED-Tabara “are fed, sheltered, hosted and maintained in terms of logistics and financial means by … Rwanda.” Ndayishimiye said Burundi has been unsuccessfully negotiating with Rwanda for two years, seeking the extradition of the rebels. “As long as they have a co...

Five officers fired at homicide suspect during deadly chase through Las Vegas, police say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:26 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Officers from two Nevada law enforcement agencies opened fire during a pre-dawn chase through Las Vegas as they tried to stop a man who fatally shot his mother, then stole a police cruiser and carjacked bystanders at gunpoint while trying to evade police, authorities said Friday. The rampage two days after Christmas left three people dead: The suspect, his mother and a bystander who was on his way to work when he pulled over for the emergency vehicles pursuing the suspect. Jerry Lopez, a 39-year-old father of seven, unknowingly entered the suspect’s path and was killed.Authorities haven’t yet identified the suspect, his mother or a motive. But on Friday they said a total of five officers fired their weapons during the chase through the suburbs of Las Vegas.They were Las Vegas police officers Jacob Mekeel and Timothy Brooks. Nevada State Police troopers Martin Moran, Danny Kincaid and Luis Villanueva also opened fire on the suspect, authorities said.Accor...

Quebec public sector strikes could inspire others, as workers grow more combative

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:26 GMT

MONTREAL — A labour policy expert says an eventual successful resolution of Quebec’s massive public sector strikes could serve as an inspiration to other labour unions in the province and elsewhere. McGill associate sociology professor Barry Eidlin says the Quebec strikes are part of a broader North American trend in which workers have become increasingly willing to fight to reverse decades of declining work standards.Two separate union groups announced Thursday they had made major progress toward ending the labour conflict that has closed hundreds of schools, delayed surgeries and brought nearly half a million workers to the streets since November.Teachers union FAE said it had reached a deal in principle with the government and would end its unlimited strike, while an alliance of four unions representing 420,000 education, health-care and social service workers said it had reached a tentative deal on salaries.Eidlin says several steps remain before the labour conflict can be...

Passport processing times drop to normal levels just in time for 2024 travel

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:26 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) - Just in time for your 2024 travel plans, the State Department says passport processing times are back to normal. This comes after months of stressful delays that ruined international trips for tons of summer travelers.A surge of post-pandemic travel led to record requests for passports this year and the U.S. State Department struggled to handle the demand. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) says his office was overwhelmed with complaints from frustrated travelers whose plans were snarled by costly passport delays. Some wait times for passports were as long as three months. "It was chaos," Warner said. But now, the State Department says it's back on schedule and routing passport processing takes just 6 to 8 weeks. "The State Department has really worked diligently. They worked a lot of overtime hours to catch up. They processed over like 24 million passports," AAA Senior VP of travel Paula Twidale said. Twidale says that's significant as inter...

Kaitlin Armstrong claims pregnancy 'during or near' time of murder arrest

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:26 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Kaitlin Armstrong, the woman found guilty of first-degree murder this year in the death of star professional cyclist Moriah Wilson, claims she was pregnant at or near the time she was arrested for the killing, according to a recent court filing.The admission of Armstrong’s pregnancy is included in a lengthy motion for a new trial filed in Travis County on Dec. 15. Armstrong was sentenced to 90 years in prison on Nov. 17.Armstrong says there is new evidence that was not available at the time of trial, according to the motion. She also alleges she received ineffective assistance of counsel in the punishment phase of the trial by not conducting a “proper mitigation (or sentencing) investigation” and not contacting “favorable witnesses who were available and willing to testify in support of Armstrong,” according to the motion. RELATED | Slain cyclist Moriah Wilson, 25, ‘exceptional in every way’ The motion includes favorable affidavits for Armstrong by relatives and p...

How culture has helped Kevin O’Connell lead the Vikings through the storm

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 14:15:26 GMT

It’s a buzzword that has become synonymous with the Vikings since head coach Kevin O’Connell was hired on Feb. 16, 2022. He talked at length about “culture” in his introductory press conference, and fittingly, everything the Vikings have done since then has been rooted in that abstract concept.It was undeniable when O’Connell took over and the Vikings transformed from a joyless group under former head coach Mike Zimmer into a joyful group that played for each other and finished last season 13-4 in the process. The postgame speeches in the locker room routinely went viral on social media. You started to feel a tangible shift as the results started to pour in on a weekly basis.Then came the hard part.As important as last season was for the Vikings as they adjusted to change, this season has provided a true test of the values O’Connell worked so hard to instill from the top down. It’s easy to preach “culture” dirng the good times. I...