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Supreme Court upholds publication bans on details of trials before jury selection

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:41 GMT

OTTAWA — In order to protect the fairness of the justice system, journalists cannot broadcast or publish portions of a criminal trial that take place before a jury is constituted, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Friday.In a 7-0 decision, Canada’s highest court upheld lower court decisions that said those trial details can be made public only after jurors begin deliberating or are dismissed.“Publication of information that comes out at pretrial conferences may very well be prejudicial to the fair trial interests of the accused,” Chief Justice Richard Wagner wrote on behalf of the unanimous seven-judge panel.At issue were two cases in which judges imposed publication bans on proceedings that took place before juries were impanelled, leading media companies to appeal those bans directly to the Supreme Court.One case was heard in Quebec and involved Frédérick Silva, a hit man turned police informant who was charged with four counts of murder and one count of attempte...

Stock market today: Wall Street finds things to like in nuanced jobs report and swings to gains

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is climbing in a whipsaw Friday after looking deeper into the nuances of a surprisingly strong report on the U.S. job market. The S&P 500 was up 0.9% in midday trading after erasing an earlier drop of 0.9%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 255 points, or 0.8%, as of 12:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite flipped to a gain of 1.2%. Stocks initially tumbled after a report showed U.S. employers added nearly twice as many jobs last month as economists expected. The strength raised worries that a too-hot job market could keep upward pressure on inflation, which in turn could force the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher than investors want. Treasury yields leaped following the release of the report, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury again soared to its highest level since 2007. It was at 4.78%, up from 4.72% late Thursday. Wall Street hates high interest rates because they knock down prices for all kinds of investments. And ...

$1.4 billion Powerball prize is a combination of interest rates, sales, math – and luck

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:41 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — At $1.4 billion, the Powerball jackpot on the line Saturday night is the world’s fifth-largest lottery prize, due to higher interest rates, long odds, fewer ticket sales per drawing and, of course, luck.A combination of all those factors means that unless there is a winner soon, the jackpot could top the record lottery prize of $2.04 billion won last November by a Powerball player in California.HOW DID WE GET HERE?Someone last won the Powerball jackpot July 19, and since then it has grown three times a week, with each drawing on Mondays, Wednesday and Saturdays without a winner. It started at $21 million on July 22 and after 33 straight drawings in which no one matched all six numbers drawn, it has reached $1.4 billion for Saturday night’s drawing.MATH AND LUCKThat winless streak shouldn’t be a surprise because it shows the game is operating as it was designed. The immense jackpot odds of 1 in 292.2 million are intended to make winning rare so the grand prize...

Maxwell is readying an album with teenage-era songs but first ‘NIGHT’ must fall

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Maxwell has been celebrated and admired for forging his own path and going against the popular music grain ever since he set the R&B world on fire with his 1996 debut album, “Urban Hang Suite.” And while fans are awaiting the release of his upcoming studio album, “blacksummers’NIGHT,” Maxwell revealed he’s working on a follow-up project that will include songs from his teenage years.“I just have to finish the (“blacksummers’night”) trilogy part, and then we’re going to move into some stuff that happened before I was even 17,” said the “OFF” singer. “(It will also include) lots of songs from the 90s that never got on the albums…it’s a different time — I’m so grateful.” (The other albums in the trilogy are BLACKsummers’night and BlackSUMMERS’night.)But “blacksummersNIGHT” is up next, and it will be his first album since 2016. (He didn’t give a release date.) Though hesitant to give details about the album that will follow it, the excitement ...

18 migrants killed, and 27 injured in a bus crash in southern Mexico

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:41 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — At least 18 migrants, mostly from Venezuela and Haiti, died early Friday in a bus crash in southern Mexico, authorities said.Prosecutors in the southern state of Oaxaca said the dead include two women and three children, and that 27 people were injured. There was no immediate information on their condition.Photos distributed by Oaxaca state police showed the bus rolled over onto its side on a curvy section of highway. The cause of the crash is under investigation. State police said a total of 55 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, were aboard the vehicle.It was the latest in a series of migrant deaths in Mexico amid a surge in migrants traveling toward the U.S. border. Because migration agents often raid regular buses, migrants and smugglers often seek out risky forms of transportation, like unregulated buses, trains or freight trucks.Last week, 10 Cuban migrants died and 17 others were seriously injured after a freight truck they were riding in crashed on a highway ...

Guatemala’s highest court says prosecutors can suspend president-elect’s party

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:41 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala’s highest court has upheld a move by prosecutors to suspend the political party of President-elect Bernardo Arévalo over alleged voter and registration fraud, a move the incoming leader denounces as a “coup.” Arévalo and electoral authorities had challenged the suspension in late August, arguing that the allegations of voter or registration fraud are criminal charges and that by suspending the party the prosecutors were intruding on electoral issues.The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that even though the case involves criminal accusations, prosecutors can impose measures that have electoral effects. Without his Seed Movement party, Arévalo may be hamstrung after he takes office Jan. 14. Arévalo says politically motivated prosecutors are carrying out a “coup” and are trying to overturn his victory in August elections. Prosecutors say some of the signatures used to register Arévalo’s party may have been false.Thousands of people blocked highw...

Security questions swirl at the Wisconsin Capitol after armed man sought governor twice in one day

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:41 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s Capitol building is one of the most open in the country, which made it easy for a man to walk inside with a loaded handgun this week in search of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. The man was arrested for illegally openly carrying a weapon, but after posting bail, he returned outside the Capitol that same night with an AK-style semi-automatic rifle. He was placed in protective custody. As of Friday, no charges had been filed.The episode is once again putting a spotlight on security at the state Capitol, a building that has its own police force but is not protected by metal detectors, screening checkpoints or X-rays. Anyone can walk in off the street between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the week and go straight to the offices of state lawmakers and others. While concealed weapons are allowed in the building, firearms cannot be openly carried. An Evers administration spokesperson said the man’s handgun was in a holster.The governor’s office is ...

Police bodycam video shows arrest of suspect in 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:41 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Newly released police body camera video shows officers arresting Duane “Keffe D” Davis on suspicion of murder in the 1996 shooting of Tupac Shakur off the Las Vegas Strip.Davis, 60, was walking near his home in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson on Sept. 29 when Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers approached at dawn and called out to Davis, who was on the other side of the street.“Hey Keffe, Metro Police. Come over here,” the officer said.Davis, holding a water bottle, cooperated and was handcuffed. Comments between Davis and the officers mostly focused on his request for water.While being driven on a freeway, Davis does not appear in the video but is heard asking an officer if he was followed the previous night. The officer said no. Davis asked, “So why you all didn’t bring the media?” The officer asked why they would bring media and Davis replied, “That’s what you all do.”Later, while parked and with neither Davis nor officers visible on c...

Early work to begin on project to divert trains from downtown Lac-Mégantic

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:41 GMT

LAC-MÉGANTIC, Que. — Federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez says two important agreements have been signed for the project to divert trains from downtown Lac-Mégantic, Que., part of which was destroyed in a 2013 derailment.Residents on July 6 marked the 10th anniversary of the rail disaster, when a runaway train carrying crude oil barrelled into the heart of the city and exploded, killing 47 people.Rodriguez says two deals have been signed to launch the first call for tenders: one between Ottawa and the City of Lac-Mégantic, and another between the federal government and the Central Maine & Quebec Railway Inc.In 2018, Ottawa and Quebec announced joint funding for 12.5-kilometre rail bypass to divert trains carrying dangerous goods away from the heart of the city of about 6,000 residents located roughly 200 kilometres east of Montreal.Rodriguez told reporters in Lac-Mégantic today that the deal with the city allows it to begin preparatory work, while the agreement with the ra...

Man, 77, charged with murder in North York double-stabbing

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:41 GMT

A 77-year-old man is facing a murder charge following a double-stabbing at a North York apartment on Thursday.Police were called to 10 Wilmington Ave., north of Sheppard Avenue West, around 11:15 a.m. for reports someone had been stabbed.When they arrived they found a man and a woman in their 50s suffering from stab wounds. The man’s injuries were life-threatening and he was pronounced dead. He has been identified as 53-year-old Enrique Vinluan.The woman, believed to be his wife, suffered non-life threatening injuries.Victorio Adriatico, 77, was arrested at the scene and has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.Police have not indicated if there is a relationship between the Adriatico and the victims.