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The White House says it’s concerned Iran may provide ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:33:56 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House voiced concern Tuesday that Iran may provide Russia with ballistic missiles for use in its war against Ukraine, a development that likely would be disastrous for the Ukrainian people, a U.S. national security official said. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby noted that Iran already has been providing Russia with unmanned aerial vehicles or drones, guided aerial bombs and artillery ammunition, and may be preparing “to go a step further in its support for Russia.”Kirby highlighted a September meeting in which Iran hosted Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to show off a range of ballistic missile systems, sparking U.S. concern.“We are therefore concerned that Iran is considering providing Russia with ballistic missiles now for use in Ukraine,” Kirby told reporters during a conference call. “In return for that support, Russia has been offering Tehran unprecedented defense cooperation, including on missiles, electronics and air defense...

Toronto women charged in armed home invasion, firearm recovered

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:33:56 GMT

Two women are facing a combined 28 charges following an armed home invasion in the Church-Wellesley neighbourhood last week.Toronto police were called to the Charles Street East and Church Street area on Tuesday, Nov. 14. It’s alleged that the victim was inside her residence with a female acquaintance when they heard a knock on the door. The victim opened the door, and a woman known to the acquaintance forced her way inside.Police said the suspect and the acquaintance began searching the victim’s drawers for valuables, and when the victim attempted to intervene, one of the suspects took out a handgun. Related: 1 charged, other men wanted in violent Scarborough home invasion The two female suspects took some money from a drawer and fled the area. No injuries were reported.Investigators arrested both women on Monday, and at the time, officers recovered a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun. Police said a search warrant was executed, and items of evidentiary ...

Federal Reserve minutes: Officials saw inflation slowing but will monitor data to ensure progress

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:33:56 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials concluded earlier this month that inflation was steadily falling and agreed to closely monitor incoming data to ensure that the pace of price increases would continue slowing toward their 2% target, according to the minutes of their meeting released Tuesday.As a result, the policymakers decided to leave their key benchmark rate unchanged but to keep it elevated for an extended period. Speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell kept the door open for another rate hike, though most economists say they think the central bank is done raising rates.The officials agreed at the Oct. 31-Nov. 1 meeting that they would raise their key rate again if incoming economic data “indicated that progress” toward the 2% target “was insufficient,” the minutes said. That suggests that inflation would need to shift into a higher gear for the Fed to raise rates again. The central bank’s decision to keep its key short-term rate ...

Capitol rioter who berated a judge and insulted a prosecutor is sentenced to 3 months in jail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:33:56 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A New York massage therapist who joined the mob of Trump supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Tuesday to three months in jail, capping a case in which he skipped court hearings, profanely insulted a prosecutor and berated the judge who punished him.Frank Rocco Giustino pleaded guilty in February to a misdemeanor charge related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. But he was arrested last month after failing to appear in court for an earlier sentencing hearing. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg told Giustino that he seemed to have no remorse for his conduct on Jan. 6 or any respect for the court’s authority.“Your behavior from the moment of the (guilty) plea until sentencing has been about the worst of any January 6th defendant I’ve had,” the judge said.Giustino said he condemns the violence at the Capitol and didn’t intend to be disrespectful.“I just want to go home,” said Giustino, who will remain in custody for approximat...

Florida faces a second lawsuit over its effort to disband pro-Palestinian student groups

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:33:56 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A second federal lawsuit filed against Florida over its effort to disband pro-Palestinian student groups claims the state is either ignoring or doesn’t understand First Amendment rights to free speech.The Council on American-Islamic Relations is representing the University of South Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, claiming state university system Chancellor Ray Rodrigues’ order to disband the groups because of a statement made by a national group is unconstitutional.“Neither the state of Florida nor its state colleges and universities are enclaves immune from the requirements and protections of the First Amendment,” the suit filed Tuesday reads. “But once again events suggest that Defendants either don’t know that or reject it.”The American Civil Liberties Union filed a similar lawsuit last week representing a University of Florida chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.As Israel’s attacks on Gaza have intensified, some...

Mirvish Productions to mount open-ended run of ‘The Lion King’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:33:56 GMT

TORONTO — Simba is coming back to Toronto, and he intends to stay a while.Mirvish Productions says “The Lion King” will begin an open-ended run at the Princess of Wales Theatre in a year’s time.It’s a full-circle moment for the company, which last ran a so-called “sit-down” production of the award-winning Disney show from 2000 to 2004.The musical is a stage adaptation of the 1994 Disney animated film about Simba, a young lion cast out from his land when his father is killed.Touring productions of “The Lion King” have visited Toronto in the intervening years, most recently in 2019, but producer David Mirvish says doing a second sit-down production of the same show is unheard of in North America. He says the show’s unflagging popularity makes it a good candidate for a long run in the city, starting Nov. 2, 2024. Mirvish says he hopes “The Lion King” stays around for at least a couple of years, though the company’s...

New Jersey banning sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:33:56 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey will prohibit the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 as part of an effort to improve air quality and reduce planet-warming pollutants, officials announced Tuesday.A rule that will take effect Jan. 1 commits the state to an eventual move toward zero-emission vehicles, the state Department of Environmental Protection said in a news release.It is one of a growing number of states to do so, including California, Vermont, New York, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, Virginia, Rhode Island, Maryland and Connecticut, according to Coltura, a Seattle-based nonprofit advocating for an end to gasoline vehicle use.New Jersey will start limiting the amount of new gasoline-powered cars that can be sold in the state starting in 2027, eventually reaching zero in 2035.The move does not prohibit ownership or use of gasoline-powered cars, not does it force consumers to buy electric vehicles, the DEP said. It will not prohibit the sale of used cars powered by ...

In wake of Voting Rights Act ruling, North Dakota to appeal decision that protected tribes’ rights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:33:56 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A day after a federal appeals court dealt a significant blow to the Voting Rights Act, North Dakota’s top election official announced Tuesday that he wants the court to review a judge’s recent ruling that protected two Native American tribes’ voting rights.Voting rights groups had hailed U.S. District Chief Judge Peter Welte’s ruling Friday that the tribes’ voting rights were unlawfully diluted by a 2021 legislative redistricting map.But, in an unrelated lawsuit Monday, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that private individuals and groups such as the NAACP do not have the ability to sue under a key section of the Voting Rights Act.In announcing his intention to appeal Welte’s ruling, Republican Secretary of State Michael Howe specifically cited Monday’s 2-1 ruling by the appeals court panel, which is based in St. Louis and has jurisdiction over seven states, including North Dakota. It is unclear whether the same pan...

Missouri Supreme Court deals a blow to secretary of state’s ballot language on abortion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:33:56 GMT

The Missouri Supreme Court has turned away an appeal about how to word a ballot question on access to abortion in the state. Missouri lawmakers have already banned abortion except in cases of medical emergency, but proponents of broader access to the procedure are seeking to put a question about it directly before voters next year. In all seven states where abortion has been on the ballot since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year, voters have either supported protecting abortion rights or rejected attempts to erode them.In Missouri, officials and advocates on both sides are grappling with how to word the question that could go on the ballot. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has proposed asking voters whether they are in favor of allowing “dangerous and unregulated abortions until live birth.” A state appeals court in October said the wording was politically partisan. Ashcroft appealed the decision, but on Monday the Missouri Supreme Court declined to hear his arg...

Here’s how October’s inflation data could affect mortgage renewals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:33:56 GMT

TORONTO — October’s inflation rate fell to 3.1 per cent on a year-to-year basis — down from 3.8 per cent in September — mainly driven by lower gasoline prices, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday.Despite the slowdown, the agency said the largest contributors to inflation continued to be mortgage interest costs and rent.Mortgage interest costs were up 30.5 per cent compared with a year ago as the Bank of Canada’s benchmark interest rate sits at five per cent. Here are some common questions about inflation and mortgage renewals.How could the latest inflation data affect my mortgage renewal?While the rate of inflation and mortgage rates are correlated, James Laird, co-CEO of rate comparison website Ratehub.ca, said the latest inflation report is unlikely to have any immediate effect on existing mortgage rates. “We still need to watch next month and the month after that to see how inflation is trending back to that two-per-cent level,” he said.However, with the...