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In the news today: Israeli troops launch brief ground raid into Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:40 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Israeli troops launch brief ground raid into Gaza ahead of expected wider incursionIsraeli troops and tanks launched a brief ground raid into northern Gaza overnight into Thursday, the military said, striking several militant targets in order to “prepare the battlefield” ahead of a widely expected ground invasion after more than two weeks of devastating air raids.The raid came after the U.N. warned it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the territory, which has also been under a complete siege since Hamas’ bloody rampage across southern Israel ignited the war earlier this month.The war is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Health Ministry said Wednesday that at least 6,546 Palestinians have been killed and 17,439 others wounded following Hamas’ sur...

Stock market today: World shares slide after Wall St rout driven by high yields, mixed earnings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:40 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares skidded Thursday in Europe and Asia after Wall Street tumbled as bond yields tightened their chokehold. Germany’s DAX fell 1.1% to 14,722.60 and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.8% to 6,860.72. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 7,361.04. The future for the S&P 500 dropped 0.7% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%. On Wednesday, On Wednesday, the S&P 500 tumbled 1.4%, back back to where it was in May. Some of the heaviest losses hit Big Tech stocks, which dragged the Nasdaq composite to its second-worst drop of the year. It gave up 2.4%. The Dow industrials fell 0.3%.The yield on the 10-year Treasury has nudged back up toward 5%. It was at 4.95% early Thursday after dipping to 4.82% late Tuesday. In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 sank 2.1% to 30,601.78 and the Kospi in Seoul declined 2.7% to 2,309.14. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.8% to 16,942.93, while the Shanghai Composite index bounced back from early losses, ga...

Alanis Morissette on the rules she set for ‘Jagged Little Pill’ to become a musical

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:40 GMT

TORONTO — It’s been almost three decades since her seminal album “Jagged Little Pill” and Alanis Morissette still finds the words she jotted down as a teenager deeply relatable.Now 49 years old, the Ottawa native considers herself “fortunate” that she can perform “You Oughta Know,” “Ironic” and most of the album’s other songs with a conviction similar to that of her youth.“They’re basically value systems,” she explained in a recent phone interview from her northern California home.“And fortunately these values, on my part, have been unwavering.”Morissette has spent ample time reflecting on “Jagged Little Pill” in recent years, discussing and dissecting how “Hand in My Pocket,” “Right Through You” and “You Learn” became anthems for a generation of independent young women.Anniversaries passed, an HBO documentary on the legacy of “Jagged Little Pill” was m...

Defence to argue for more information in ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers’ trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:40 GMT

OTTAWA — The criminal trial of two “Freedom Convoy” organizers is expected to resume with legal sparring between the defence and Ottawa police in an attempt to gain access to internal police communications. The trial was stalled last week when the lawyers for Tamara Lich and Chris Barber asked for internal emails about the evidence that police disclosed in the case.The defence teams received heavily redacted copies of the emails, the details of which the Ottawa Police Service says are protected by solicitor-client privilege. The defence also wants to see what the police IT team told officers about a software upgrade for their cellphones, which appears to have wiped the data from the phones of at least two officers shortly after the protest ended.So far, they have received only a completely blacked-out document about the software upgrade, which may have deleted messages between Barber and police liaison officer Const. Nicole Bach.Lich and Barber are accused of mischief an...

Montreal’s social intervention squad contends with rising need, lack of shelter space

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:40 GMT

MONTREAL — Equipped with a case of naloxone and a backpack of warm socks, two members of Montreal’s social intervention team peer around the side of a dumpster behind a downtown McDonald’s, looking to see if someone needs their help. Wolf and Rosalie — who can only be identified by their first names at the insistence of their employer due to the sensitive nature of their work — are members of the city’s mobile mediation and social intervention team, or EMMIS. The team was created in 2021 to respond to situations involving vulnerable clientele such as those who are homeless, intoxicated or in crisis in public areas, often as an alternative to calling police. The squad now has 32 members patrolling four boroughs, and the city hopes to expand it.However, as the need for their services grows, members of the team say it’s getting harder to fulfil a key part of their mandate — helping people find space in a shelter or get specialized health care. Often there aren’t any places ...

Major drink brands launch more non-alcoholic drinks as “sober curious” trend grows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:40 GMT

As interest in non-alcoholic drinks grows, major alcohol brands are making moves with sober versions of well-known products like Guinness and Tanqueray gin. Experts say it’s a sign there’s still plenty of room for growth in the industry. “If I was running an alcoholic beverage company … this is not a space that I would ignore,” said Joel Gregoire, associate director for food and drink at market research company Mintel. Surveys in the U.S. and Canada show consumers, especially younger generations, are increasingly cutting back on alcohol consumption. With demand on the rise, the market is expected to keep growing. While Mintel research shows around 15 per cent of Canadians 20 and older don’t drink at all, there’s another, likely much larger group of consumers that aren’t cutting out alcohol entirely, but cutting back — known as the “sober curious,” said Gregoire. “When you’re trying to grow your brand with younger consumers, who are the...

Search for answers underway in Sault Ste. Marie shooting rampage that left five dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:40 GMT

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Investigators are working to piece together what led a man to kill four people – including three children – before turning a gun on himself in the northern Ontario city of Sault Ste. Marie. Police have called what happened a case of intimate partner violence and have not released the identities of those involved. Chief Hugh Stevenson has said police got a domestic violence call from one of two homes involved in the gunman’s rampage a day before the shootings took place. Stevenson has not released further details but has said the shooter was involved in intimate partner investigations in the past. Police have said the shooter first broke into a home on Monday night and killed a 41-year-old woman before heading to a second home and killing three children – aged six, seven and 12 – and shooting another woman, aged 45, who survived.   The 44-year-old shooter was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot.Residents in Sault Ste. Marie have said they are devasta...

Pakistan sets up deportation centers to hold migrants who are in the country illegally

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:40 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan is setting up deportation centers for migrants who are in the country illegally, including an estimated 1.7 million Afghans, officials said Thursday. Anyone found staying in the country without authorization from next Wednesday will be arrested and sent to one of centers. The move is the latest development in a Pakistani government crackdown to expel foreigners without registration or documents.Jan Achakzai, a spokesman for the government in southwestern Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, said three deportation centers were being set up there. One will be in Quetta, the provincial capital.Azam Khan, the caretaker chief minister for northwest Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said the region also would have three deportation centers. More than 60,000 Afghans have returned home since the crackdown was announced, he said. Migrants who are living in the country illegally should leave before a Tuesday deadline to avoid arrest, he said. Pakistan&#...

Flash flood risk Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:40 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- While many of us stay dry, we're continuing to watch an area of heavy rain moving through the Hill Country.That widespread rain will slowly move eastward bringing a level 3 out of 4 flash flooding risk to the Hill Country and northwest Austin Metro overnight and into early Thursday. If you're driving overnight, be extra careful and "turn around, don't drown" if you encounter a flooded road. While 1-3 inches of rain will be widespread west of I-35 Wednesday night, localized 4-6"+ rainfall amounts could cause problems.Flash Flood Threat Wednesday night (WPC)NEW: The National Weather Service has expanded the timing and area of the Flood Watch to include ALL of the Austin Metro Counties. The Flood Watch now continues into early Thursday afternoon.Flood Watch until 1 p.m. ThursdayThe rain will continue its eastward movement and approach I-35 during the Thursday morning commute before moving into our eastern counties by late morning. Live, updated rain totals During the...

Taylor ISD names finalist for superintendent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:15:40 GMT

TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) -– The Taylor Independent School District Board of Trustees named their lone finalist for superintendent on Tuesday night.Dr. Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen will start Nov. 13, the district announced. She was Chief of Schools at New Braunfels ISD, Deputy Academic Officer at Hays CISD and a teacher, assistant principal and principal in Del Valle ISD. “We believe Dr. Garcia-Edwardsen’s strong instructional leadership and high expectations will help every student achieve their unique potential. We are excited for the future of our district and community,” Taylor ISD President Marco Ortiz said in the district statement. Dr. Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen (Courtesy: Taylor ISD) “I am truly thrilled and profoundly thankful for the opportunity to serve the Taylor ISD community. Our family is enthusiastic about growing alongside Taylor as we embark on growth and development in the area,” said Garcia-Edwardsen in the statement.The district said it chose Garcia-Edwardsen from a na...