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Biden, Trudeau celebrate ‘inseparable’ US-Canada relations

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:16:41 GMT

OTTAWA, ONTARIO (AP) — President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday celebrated the close, “inseparable” U.S.-Canada relationship and declared their nations’ shared values have never been more important for a world facing both tumult and possibility.Biden, making his first visit to Canada as president, said the U.S. is lucky to have Canada as its neighbor as both countries grapple with the rapidly changing global economy, climate change, war in Europe and more.“Today our destinies are intertwined and they are inseparable,” the president said in a speech before the Canadian Parliament. “Not because of inevitability of geography, but because it’s a choice, the choice we made again and again.”“Two people, two countries, in my view sharing one heart.”On one often-difficult subject, immigration, Biden and Trudeau used the visit to announce an agreement aiming to stem the flow of asylum seekers at unofficial border crossings from the U.S. to Canada.The ...

Indigenous groups wary of Canada-U.S. pledge to ‘reduce, mitigate’ Kootenay pollution

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:16:41 GMT

WASHINGTON — Canada and the U.S. say they hope to reach a tentative deal by summer to “reduce and mitigate” the impact of toxic mining runoff in B.C. and the Pacific Northwest that has been leaching for years into a vital cross-border watershed. Any forthcoming agreement on pollution from B.C.’s Elk Valley would be in partnership with tribes and Indigenous Peoples from both countries, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden said Friday after meeting in Ottawa. But they made no mention of the biggest demand from conservationists and Indigenous leaders in both countries: a bilateral investigation by the International Joint Commission under the auspices of the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty. Such an investigation, known in treaty parlance as a joint reference, requires both countries to agree. The U.S. has long pledged its support for the idea, but Canada has been dragging its heels for years. Indigenous leaders in the U.S. fear Friday’s announcement ...

Georgia activist killed by troopers shot first, officers say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:16:41 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia authorities allege that state troopers in January fatally shot an environmental protester who had fired at authorities after a trooper shot pepper balls into the protester’s tent, according to incident reports obtained Friday by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.The newspaper obtained multiple Georgia Department of Public Safety use-of-force incident reports through an open records request. The records offer the most complete account yet of authorities’ version of the Jan. 18 killing of Manuel Paez Terán, who went by the name Tortuguita and used the pronoun they. Paez Terán was killed in DeKalb County’s South River Forest as officers tried to clear activists who were camping near the site of a planned police and training center that protesters derisively call “Cop City.”Protesters have questioned officials’ assertion that officers shot Paez Terán in self-defense after the 26-year-old shot a trooper. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation continues to e...

Parade disinvites Hawaii lawmaker after pride flag comments

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:16:41 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — The chair of a parade honoring a Native Hawaiian leader and prince said Friday a state lawmaker won’t be allowed to participate in the event after he questioned a middle school principal’s display of a pride flag supporting LGBTQ+ people.Kūhiō Lewis, the chairperson of the Prince Kūhiō Parade, said he notified Republican state Rep. Elijah Pierick of the decision in a letter. “The LGBTQ+ and mahu community is an essential part of the fabric of Hawaii that we all know and cherish,” Lewis said in a statement. In Hawaiian language and culture, “mahu” refers to someone with dual male and female spirit and a mixture of gender traits.The parade is scheduled to be held in Kapolei on Saturday.“Rep. Pierick’s commentary is hurtful, not aligned to the cultural values that we work to promote, and will serve as a distraction to honoring a true leader of Hawaii, Prince Kūhiō,” Lewis said. He said Pierick will be removed from the parade lineup. Lewis said he looked forw...

Rwanda frees Paul Rusesabagina of ‘Hotel Rwanda’ fame

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:16:41 GMT

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda’s government has commuted the 25-year sentence of Paul Rusesabagina, who inspired the film “Hotel Rwanda” for saving hundreds of countrymen from genocide but was convicted of terrorism offenses years later in a widely criticized trial.Government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told The Associated Press on Friday that the presidential order was issued after a request for clemency on behalf of Rusesabagina, a 68-year-old U.S. resident and Belgian citizen. Senior U.S. officials said Rusesabagina arrived late Friday at the home of the Qatari ambassador in the Rwandan capital of Kigali and was expected to leave the country in the coming days. Nineteen others also had their sentences commuted. Under Rwandan law, commutation doesn’t “extinguish” the conviction, Makolo added.“Rwanda notes the constructive role of the U.S. government in creating conditions for dialogue on this issue, as well as the facilitation provided by the state of Qatar,” she said. Presiden...

Powder, threat sent to Manhattan DA investigating Trump

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:16:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A powdery substance was found Friday with a threatening letter in a mailroom at the offices of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the latest security scare as the prosecutor weighs a potential historic indictment of former President Donald Trump, authorities said.New York City police and environmental protection officials isolated and removed the suspicious letter, and testing “determined there was no dangerous substance,” Bragg spokesperson Danielle Filson said. The substance was sent to a city lab for further examination, police said.“Alvin, I am going to kill you,” the letter said, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about an ongoing investigation and did so on condition of anonymity.The discovery, in the same building where a grand jury is expected to resume work Monday, came amid increasingly hostile rhetoric from Trump, a Republican who is holding the first rally of his 2024 presidential campaign...

Allow unvaccinated Canadians to cross U.S. border, Poilievre asks President Joe Biden

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:16:41 GMT

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Friday he asked President Joe Biden to remove the U.S. government’s requirement that Canadians be vaccinated for COVID-19 before crossing the border.He told reporters after their meeting that American citizens are no longer required to have their shots and Canada allows unvaccinated Americans to visit. “There are millions of good, decent, honourable people who, through a personal medical decision, are discriminated against at the border,” Poilievre said. “I encouraged the president to lift those restrictions to allow them freedom of mobility.”Poilievre won the leadership of his party a little more than six months ago by mounting a vocal opposition to COVID-19 health restrictions, including mask and vaccine mandates, but he has since focused his message on cost-of-living issues. He met with Biden on Parliament Hill Friday during the president’s 27-hour visit to the Canadian capital, and later share...

2 face charges in death of Alaska man after online post

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:16:41 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Two southeast Alaska men face charges in the beating death of a man who was attacked because of a social media post, according to an investigator’s affidavit.Moses S. Blanchard, 22, and Blaise A. Dilts, 21, of Klawock, face charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and burglary in the death of 80-year-old Lincoln Peratrovich, according to the state’s online court records system. An attorney listed for Dilts did not return a message seeking comment. An attorney was not listed online for Blanchard.The investigation was being conducted by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, which falls under the Alaska State Troopers. The city of Klawock on Prince of Wales Island has a police department but its lone officer died in January, the Ketchikan Daily News reported.An affidavit by Adam Hawkins, a bureau investigator, said troopers on Monday evening received a complaint that a man, later identified as Peratrovich, whistled and catcalled at a minor and follo...

Trudeau says he accepts MP’s choice to leave Liberal caucus amid meddling allegations

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:16:41 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he accepts Han Dong’s decision to leave the Liberal caucus after an allegation he spoke to a Chinese diplomat about delaying the release of two Canadians.Trudeau sidestepped a question Friday about whether he believes the allegation, saying only that Canadians should watch Dong’s “strong” speech for themselves.He said at a news conference alongside U.S. President Joe Biden, who is visiting Ottawa, that he fully accepts Dong left the Liberal caucus “to vigorously contest these allegations.” Dong, a Toronto MP, announced he would sit as an Independent on Wednesday night, telling the House of Commons that he would defend himself against “absolutely untrue claims” regarding his alleged involvement in Chinese interference.Global News published a report that night, citing unnamed security sources who alleged that Dong spoke about Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who at that time had been detained...

Book thief in plot that duped famous authors avoids prison

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:16:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — It was the stuff of novels: For years, a con artist plagued the publishing industry, impersonating editors and agents to pull off hundreds of literary heists. But the manuscripts obtained from high-profile authors were never resold or leaked, rendering the thefts all the more perplexing.The Thursday sentencing of Filippo Bernardini in Manhattan federal court brought the saga to an end and, with it, finally some answers. After pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud in January, Bernardini was sentenced to time served, avoiding prison on a felony charge that carried up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of at least a year.Bernardini, now 30, impersonated hundreds of people over the course of the scheme that began around August 2016 and obtained more than a thousand manuscripts, including from high-profile authors like Margaret Atwood and Ethan Hawke, authorities have said.In an emotional, four-page letter to Judge Colleen McMahon submitted e...