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Quebec wildfires: Dangerously dry weather to persist in fire regions until Monday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:24 GMT

MONTREAL — Hot, dry weather conditions were forecasted to continue through the weekend in regions of Quebec threatened by forest fires, complicating work for firefighters, provincial officials said Thursday.The weather was making it harder to maintain control fires that had been contained, Julie Coupal, assistant general manager of the province’s wildfire prevention agency, told reporters in Quebec City. Since the start of the week, four fires that had been contained were out of control again, she added.“Of course, there’s the risk of new fires breaking out, which is also serious,” she said. “The large amount of smoke can make tanker plane operations difficult, that was the case for the last two days.”Katia Petit, a senior Quebec civil security official, said no communities or essential infrastructure were immediately threatened by flames, but she added that heavy smoke had prompted voluntary evacuations in some municipalities.In the northern Queb...

Pop star Kesha and producer Dr Luke settle longstanding legal battle over rape, defamation claims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Pop star Kesha and producer Dr. Luke have settled their nearly decadelong legal battle over her accusation that he drugged and raped her and his claim that she made it up and defamed him, they announced Thursday, with the singer saying that “only God knows what happened that night.”Dr. Luke, meanwhile, said he was “absolutely certain that nothing happened. I never drugged or assaulted her.”Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed as both she and he revealed on Instagram that they had agreed to “a resolution” of the case and to a statement from each of them. Messages seeking comment were sent to their attorneys. “I cannot recount everything that happened,” Kesha wrote, adding that she wishes “nothing but peace to all parties involved.” Dr. Luke, in turn, said he wished her well and wanted “to put this difficult matter behind me” after years of fighting to clear his name.The deal averts a trial that had been scheduled for this summer over allegations that becam...

India’s Modi meets the press at the White House – and takes rare questions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Narendra Modi did something very unusual on Thursday at the White House — he took questions from journalists.It’s a rare occurrence for the Indian prime minister who avoids unscripted moments and has presided over a steady decline in press freedom in his country. The news conference was more limited than the kind that U.S. presidents usually hold with foreign leaders, but even that wasn’t easy to arrange with Modi. Indian officials agreed to the event only the day before, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations. Administration officials told Modi’s advisers that taking questions from the media was a standard part of how White House state visits are conducted, the person said.An Indian reporter asked about addressing climate change, and an American reporter pressed Modi on human rights concerns— a particularly delicate topic as the United States seeks closer ties with India as a b...

RCMP release names of those killed in Carberry crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:24 GMT

RCMP in Dauphin Manitoba have released the names of the individuals who were killed in a fatal bus crash along the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry on June 15.“The word tragedy has been used a lot over the last week. But never has that word had as much meaning as it does when we look at these photographs,” said Supt. Jeff Asmundson, West District Commander, Manitoba RCMP.“There has been a cloud over this community since the collision occurred. We lost 16 people who were mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, whose decades of contributions helped make this community what it is. They were gone in an instant. And nine more remain in hospital with serious injuries being tended to by dedicated health care professionals,” he added.Along with the names, the RCMP released provided a note from the families. Names are as follows:Louis Bretecher, 81, Proud and beloved Husband, Father, and Pepere. He will forever be missed and always remembered by all who k...

In the effort to reopen I-95 in Philadelphia, crews get some help from a NASCAR fan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:24 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The race to reopen a stretch of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia is getting a boost from a truck-mounted jet dryer that’s normally used to keep moisture off the track at the Pocono Raceway.A vehicle-mounted, kerosene-fueled turbine arrived Thursday at the scene of the June 11 fire at an underpass. Both directions of the heavily traveled interstate have been closed, pinching off traffic on the East Coast’s main north-south highway.Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said this week he expects a temporary fix to be in place so traffic can resume in the coming days, but with rain in the forecast the NASCAR track’s fan is expected to help by getting the asphalt dry enough for lines to be painted.A PennDOT spokeswoman said the idea came from Transportation Secretary Mike Carroll, a former state lawmaker who represented a district near the racetrack in Long Pond, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Philadelphia. Carroll got in touch with a contact at the...

Winter cold snap in B.C. cut 2023 grape crop by up to 56 per cent: growers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:24 GMT

KELOWNA, B.C. — Wine growers in British Columbia are calculating their losses from a bitter cold snap in the province last winter that has devastated vineyards. Industry representatives are at a Kelowna winery today outlining the affect on vineyards, harvests, revenues and jobs after December’s freeze that saw temperatures in the Okanagan dip to minus 30 C.Wine Growers B.C. president Miles Prodan says in a statement that the “climate-change related” cold snap had the potential to cut this year’s grape and wine production by between 39 and 56 per cent, with direct revenue losses of up to $145 million.He cites a grower’s survey that says the impact of the freeze could result in the loss of 381 jobs, representing a 20 per cent reduction in the industry’s workforce. Prodan says the survey found that 45 per cent of the Okanagan region’s planted grape crop suffered long-term damage, and 22 per cent of vines needed to be replaced.He says the grape ...

Biden promotes human rights as Modi says ‘absolutely no space for discrimination’ during state visit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden emphasized the power of democracies on Thursday as he hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House, boasting of the collaborations between the two nations on “nearly every human endeavor” while stressing that universal human rights remain vital to the success of both the U.S. and India. In a news conference Thursday, Biden called the relationship between the U.S. and India “among the most consequential in the world, that is stronger, closer and more dynamic than at any time in history.” He underscored how two of the world’s most powerful democracies were cooperating on issues such as the climate, health care and space, saying that the U.S-India economic relationship was “booming.” “On the issues that matter most that will define the future, our nations look to one another including on critical regional and global issues,” Biden said in his opening remarks. But standing alongside Modi, who has come under criticism from huma...

Manitoba RCMP release names of 16 seniors killed in bus crash with transport truck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:24 GMT

DAUPHIN, Man. — Manitoba RCMP have released the names of 16 seniors who died after their minibus was struck by a semi-truck west of Winnipeg.One by one, officers and family members placed giant photos of the victims, who ranged in age from 68 to 88, at the front of a news conference.The bus had been taking the group from Dauphin and the surrounding area on a trip to a casino on June 15, when it crashed with the truck near the town of Carberry.Police have said dashcam footage shows the bus was crossing the Trans-Canada Highway when it went into the path of the truck.Fifteen people on the bus died that day and a woman who was injured died in hospital Tuesday.Health officials have said nine others are in hospital, with four still in critical condition.Community members in Dauphin are to hold a vigil to mourn the victims.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2022.The Canadian Press

Microsoft, regulators tangle in court over fate of $69 billion deal that could reshape video gaming

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:24 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Federal regulators on Thursday launched a legal attack on Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion takeover of video game maker Activision Blizzard by depicting it as an anticompetitive weapon while Microsoft hailed the deal as a way to make popular games such as Call of Duty more widely available at cheaper prices.Those were the dramatically contrasting pictures drawn by lawyers arguing before U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley on the first of five days of scheduled hearings in San Francisco that are likely to make or break what would be the most expensive acquisition in technology history. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is trying to persuade Corley to issue an order that would prevent the takeover from being consummated before a more extensive administrative trial begins August 2 in Washington. Meanwhile Microsoft is fighting to close the deal ahead of a July 18 deadline that would require paying a $3 billion breakup fee to Activision.Microsoft struc...

May home sales rise with near record-few on the market and biggest annual price drop since 2011

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:24 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes edged higher in May and the national median sale price posted its biggest annual drop in more than a decade, as a near all-time low supply of available properties constrained the housing market.Existing home sales rose 0.2% last month from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.3 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That’s slightly above what economists were expecting, according to FactSet.Sales sank 20.4% compared with May last year. That marks 10 consecutive months of annual sales declines of 20% or more. The annual drop was steepest in markets across the West and Northeast, where sales slumped more than 25%. The national median home price fell 3.1% from May last year to $396,100, the NAR said. The year-over-year decline is the biggest since December 2011, when the housing market was still on the mend following the mid-2000s housing bust.The latest housing market figures are more evidence t...