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Ecuador’s youngest elected president faces a practically impossible task

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:59 GMT

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador ‘s youngest elected and richest president on Monday faced the practically impossible task of reducing a terrifying, drug-driven crime wave within a greatly shortened 1.5 years in office. Daniel Noboa, 35, is the son of Ecuador’s richest man thanks to a global empire built on bananas — Ecuador’s main crop. His voters were, among other things, frightened by the escalation of drug violence over the past three years. Killings, kidnappings, robberies and other criminal activities have become part of everyday life, leaving Ecuadorians wondering when, not if, they will be victims. The spike in violence is tied to the trafficking of cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru. Mexican, Colombian and Balkan cartels have set down roots in Ecuador and operate with assistance from local criminal gangs.Presidential candidate and anti-corruption crusader Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated in August. Since then, other politicians and political leaders...

‘Bizarre’ that Canada lagging on sustainable aviation: Airbus Canada CEO

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:59 GMT

MONTREAL — Canada possesses the key factors to place it at the cutting edge of sustainable jet fuel — making it all the more “bizarre” that Canada lags behind the United States and Europe on the green-flying front, says Airbus Canada’s chief executive.Benoît Schultz said the country’s long history of resource development, renewable energy, agriculture and aircraft manufacturing should put it in the pilot’s seat on developments around sustainable aviation fuel, also known as SAF.“In a country like Canada, with the natural resources that it has, with the competences in the industry that it has, with the many players of the industry … it would be really bizarre in my view if we couldn’t make sense out of the sustainable aviation fuel roadmap,” Schultz said in a video chat from Toronto.However, Canada has yet to commercially produce a drop of the stuff, often derived from used cooking oils or organic waste.Meanwhile, the U.S. has emb...

Experts weigh impact from Supreme Court ruling on other federal environmental moves

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:59 GMT

Many legal experts say a Supreme Court ruling that found much of Ottawa’s environmental assessment law unconstitutional will have no impact on other federal moves, such as clean electricity regulations or oilsands emissions caps. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and other political leaders have said Friday’s decision means Ottawa has no right to regulate the greenhouse-gas emissions from power generation or oilsands mining. Those moves, however, are based on the federal government’s power over criminal law.University of Ottawa law professor Stewart Elgie points out even the provinces acknowledge that Ottawa could use that power to rein in climate change-causing gases.But Brett Carlson, a lawyer who has worked on those issues and argued against the environmental assessment bill, says those legal precedents could be open to question if the Liberal government uses them to justify other measures. Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has said the legislation the...

Police in Belgium say 2 people have been killed in a shooting in Brussels

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:59 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Two people were killed in a shooting late Monday in central Brussels, Belgian police said. Media reports aired amateur videos showing a man shooting several times near a station using a large weapon, and Belgian broadcasters said the two victims were Swedes. The Swedish national team was scheduled to play Belgium at Heysel Stadium later in the evening, some 3 miles (5 kilometers) away. Police spokeswoman Ilse Vande Keere said officers arrived soon at the scene, and sealed off the immediate neighborhood. She declined to elaborate on the circumstances of the shooting. The shooting came at a time of increased vigilance linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that has heightened tension in several European nations. The Associated Press

Exonerated in 2022, men sue New Orleans over prosecution in which killer cop Len Davis played a role

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:59 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Two men whose convictions in a 1994 New Orleans murder were tossed decades later — in part because a notoriously corrupt killer cop was involved in the investigation — sued the city, the district attorney’s office and several former police officers Monday.Kunta Gable and Sidney Hill (also known as Leroy Sidney Nelson), say in their federal lawsuit they were framed by former police officer Len Davis, who now faces a federal death sentence, and Davis’ accomplice, former officer Sammie Williams. Gable and Hill seek an unspecified amount in damages in the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court. Both men were locked up for nearly three decades before current District Attorney Jason Williams joined defense lawyers in 2022 to seek their release. Key to that decision was the involvement of Davis. Davis was convicted on federal charges in the 1990s for, while serving as a police officer, having masterminded a drug protection ring involving several other officers ...

Raptors file motion to dismiss Knicks ‘baseless’ lawsuit

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:59 GMT

The Toronto Raptors have filed a motion to dismiss a New York Knicks lawsuit against them, which alleges the Raptors conspired to steal thousands of videos and other scouting secrets over the summer.The Raptors’ filing was made in a New York court on Monday. The Raptors call for the civil suit to be dismissed and want claims moved to arbitration.“This baseless lawsuit is a public relations stunt by the Knicks,” a lawyer for Raptors owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment writes in the team’s response.“It has no business wasting judicial resources given the all-encompassing arbitration clause in the parties’ governing agreement.”The Raptors say that the NBA, not the legal system, should be resolving this kind of conflict.“The Knicks agreed that the NBA Commissioner has exclusive, full, complete, final and binding authority to adjudicate disputes like this between member clubs,” the Raptors write. “That agreement recognizes the N...

Pepper X marks the spot as South Carolina pepper expert scorches his own Guinness Book heat record

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:59 GMT

FORT MILL, S.C. (AP) — Ed Currie, the South Carolina hot pepper expert who crossbred and grew the Carolina Reaper that’s hotter than most pepper sprays police use to subdue unruly criminals, has broken his own world record with a pepper that’s three times hotter.Pepper X was publicly named the hottest pepper in the world on Oct. 9 by the Guinness Book of World Records, beating out the Reaper in Currie’s decade-long hunt to perfect a pepper that he says provides “immediate, brutal heat.”Currie said when he first tried Pepper X, it did more than warm his heart.“I was feeling the heat for three-and-a-half hours. Then the cramps came,” said Currie, one of only five people so far to eat a entire Pepper X. “Those cramps are horrible. I was laid out flat on a marble wall for approximately an hour in the rain, groaning in pain.”Heat in peppers is measured in Scoville Heat Units. Zero is bland, and a regular jalapeno pepper registers about 5,000 units. A habanero, the record-holder about 25 ...

Lawyers and judge hash out juror questions for Powell and Chesebro trial in Georgia election case

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:59 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Defense attorneys and prosecutors sparred Monday over questions for potential jurors who have to report later this week for the trial of Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, who are accused along with former President Donald Trump and others of illegally trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.Lawyers for Powell and Chesebro met with prosecutors and the judge overseeing the case to hash out what will be asked on a lengthy questionnaire when the first group of 450 prospective jurors arrives at the courthouse on Friday. Whether that should include questions about their opinions about potential witnesses, the other defendants and issues that go to the heart of the case dominated that discussion.Powell and Chesebro were indicted in Fulton County in August along with Trump and 16 others, accused of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally try to keep Trump, the Republican incumbent, in the White House even though he had lost the presidential election to D...

Bears update Justin Fields' status after thumb injury

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:59 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — It looks like the Bears will not have their starting quarterback for at least this upcoming week.But head coach Matt Eberflus didn't have a long-term outlook for Justin Fields after his injury on Sunday afternoon. The third-year signal caller's dislocated thumb has made him "doubtful" for Sunday's game against the Raiders at Soldier Field and there is "no timetable" as of Monday for a return. Eberflus wouldn't rule out Fields playing Sunday, yet wouldn't rule out a long-term absence either.This came after Fields underwent an MRI on Monday after an X-ray showed no breaks at Soldier Field on Sunday."It's really going to come down to grip strength," said Eberflus about Fields' status for Sunday along with future weeks as the Bears wait for swelling around the thumb to go down.Fields was injured on the first drive of the second half of the 19-13 loss to the Vikings, leaving the game after being sacked on third down. He was replaced by rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent,...

Texas considers banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:14:59 GMT

Editor's note: The above video shows KXAN Live's top morning headlines for Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- State lawmakers on Monday considered legislation that would prohibit private employers from requiring their employees to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, making progress toward Gov. Abbott's call to "protect the freedom of Texans" while inviting criticism from business groups.Senate Bill 7 would subject employers to a $10,000 fine if they take "adverse action" against an employee, contractor, or applicant who refuses to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The bill passed the Senate last week and was left pending in the House Committee on State Affairs Monday. Texas Senate gives final approval to ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates for private employers "No Texan should lose their right to work. No Texan should be fired because of their refusal for whatever reason -- religious, medical, reason of conscience -- to get the vaccine," the bill's sponsor Jeff Leach, R-Plano, said. "What...