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Mexico rights agency: 4 soldiers killed unarmed men

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:07:16 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s governmental human rights agency said four soldiers opened fire without justification on a pickup truck in the border city of Nuevo Laredo last month, killing five men and wounding another. The case of the Feb. 26 shootings has been referred to civilian and military prosecutors. The National Human Rights Commission normally steps back when cases go to prosecution. But the commission took the unusual step late Tuesday of issuing a report stating that four of the 21 soldiers on patrol that morning opened fire. The report claimed those four soldiers fired a total of 117 shots at the pickup, with three soldiers saying they opened fire to support the first soldier who started shooting.The report said the soldiers had committed excessive use of force and violated the rights of the men. The soldiers in four patrol vehicles had followed the pickup in the pre-dawn hours based on just a “suspicion,” and did not follow proper procedure in engaging the vehicle, the r...

Brazil police foil gang plot targeting Carwash judge Moro

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:07:16 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Federal police raided locations in several states Wednesday to crack down on a gang accused of plotting assassinations and kidnappings of public officials including a former judge who presided over Brazil’s biggest corruption case.One of the suspects’ targets was Sen. Sérgio Moro, who as a judge presided over the Carwash bribery and money laundering investigation that began in 2014, Justice Minister Flávio Dino told reporters in Sao Paulo. The suspects had rented out houses near Moro’s home and office in Parana’s capital, Curitiba, and had erected walls to create rooms that could be used for stowing hostages, he said.Dino told reporters that authorities are investigating whether the criminals intended to kill or kidnap Moro. The operation was launched Wednesday because investigators determined the suspects were already setting up teams to execute their plans, he added.Moro said on Twitter he had been targeted for retaliation by one of Brazil’s most...

Shake Shack to come to Canada in 2024 with first location set for Toronto

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:07:16 GMT

TORONTO — Canadians with a hankering for Shake Shack’s juicy burgers and hand-spun milkshakes soon won’t have to cross the border to satisfy their cravings.Toronto-based private investment firms Osmington Inc. and Harlo Entertainment Inc. announced plans Wednesday to bring the U.S. fast food giant to Canada.Shake Shack’s Canadian debut will begin with a flagship location in Toronto set to open in 2024, the companies said, with plans for 35 locations across the country by 2035.The New York-based fast food brand that started out of a hotdog cart in Madison Square Park in 2001 and now has 440 locations worldwide has been eyeing Canada for “quite some time,” said the company’s chief global licensing officer, Michael Kark, in a statement.He promised the Canadian locations will feature a mix of Shake Shack classics including its burgers, chicken sandwiches, crinkle-cut fries, frozen custard, beer and wine, along with “bespoke Canada-exclusive item...

Canada needs 300,000 new rental units to avoid gap quadrupling by 2026: report

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:07:16 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s rental housing shortage will quadruple to 120,000 units by 2026 without a significant boost in stock, Royal Bank of Canada said in a report Wednesday.In order to reach the optimal vacancy rate of three per cent, the report suggested Canada would need to add 332,000 rental units over the next three years, which would mark an annual increase of 20 per cent compared with the 70,000 units built last year.The research analyzed vacancy rate data released in January by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).Canada’s vacancy rate fell to 1.9 per cent in 2022, its lowest point in 21 years, from 3.4 per cent in 2020 and 2021.Competition for units also drove the highest annual increase in rent growth on record, by 5.6 per cent for a two-bedroom unit.Canada’s rental housing stock grew by 2.4 per cent in 2022, led by Calgary at 7.4 per cent and Ottawa-Gatineau at 5.5 per cent, while Toronto and Montreal saw the smallest percentage increases at 2.1 per c...

AP sources: Trump probe grand jury not meeting for the day

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:07:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Manhattan grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump over hush money payments during his 2016 presidential campaign will not meet Wednesday despite that being one of the days each week when the panel ordinarily convenes, according to four people familiar with the matter.The grand jurors were told to be on standby for Thursday, another day when the panel has been meeting, three of the people said. The reason for the postponement was not immediately clear, but it would indicate that a vote on whether or not to indict Trump will be at least temporarily pushed back.The people who confirmed that the grand jury would not be meeting as scheduled were not authorized to discuss those details on the record and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.The development comes amid mounting signs that the grand jury, which is probing payments to silence a porn actor who says she had a sexual encounter with Trump, is nearing the completion of its work....

Stratford man accused of threatening driver, smashing vehicle window in Durham Region

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:07:16 GMT

Police in Durham Region arrested a 31-year-old man accused in a violent road rage incident that started on Highway 401 in Whitby and ended up off the highway in Oshawa.Police say on Saturday a driver was travelling east on the 401 near Thickson Road when he saw a person in a vehicle behind him becoming “increasingly agitated” and believes the suspect threw an object at his vehicle.The victim followed the suspect off the highway, continuing east to Bloor Street West and Park Road South in Oshawa, where they both stopped.According to investigators, the suspect then walked up to the other vehicle, pointed an imitation firearm at the man and started to smash the driver side window and mirror of the vehicle.The man managed to get away from the suspect who then fled the area.Police haven’t said if the man was injured during the confrontation.Investigators managed to track down the suspect to a residence in Statford where he was arrested. While searching his home and vehi...

Activist investor wants Parkland to sell or spin off Burnaby refinery

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:07:16 GMT

CALGARY — A U.S. activist investor has set its sights on Calgary-based Parkland Corp., urging the fuel retailer to consider selling or spinning off its Burnaby refinery.New York-based Engine Capital LP., which owns about a two per cent stake in Parkland, sent a letter to the company’s board on Wednesday. In the letter, Engine criticized Parkland for being “unable to translate its advantaged strategic position and quality assets into adequate returns for shareholders,” and said the company could achieve better performance by becoming a pure play fuel and convenience retailer and getting rid of non-core assets.“We are particularly troubled by Parkland’s staggering underperformance compared to Canadian convenience retailer champion, Alimentation Couche-Tard,” Engine managing partner Arnaud Ajdler and partner Brad Favreau wrote, adding the investment fund proposes Parkland sell or spin off its Burnaby, B.C. refinery as well as its heating oil and propane di...

Murdaugh trial gives unsolved death investigation a boost

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:07:16 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A mother whose son was found dead in the middle of a South Carolina road eight years ago is opening a private investigation into his death after raising almost $90,000 amid the publicity surround the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh.There is no current evidence linking Stephen Smith’s death to the Murdaugh family, the lawyers for the mother say. State investigators, who are also looking into Smith’s death, have also remained tight-lipped about taking over the case around the same time police said Murdaugh killed his wife and son. He is serving a life sentence for those killings.But the lack of evidence hasn’t stopped speculation. And that attention in turn helped Sandy Smith raise in less than two weeks more than $87,000 through Go Fund Me. Her goal was $15,000 — enough to pay to exhume her son’s body and have a private autopsy.“It’s important to me because I love my son and since I couldn’t protect him, I’m going to fight for him,” S...

2 Chicago officers injured in crash after driver runs red light on Far North Side

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:07:16 GMT

CHICAGO — Two Chicago officers were injured after a driver ran a red light and crashed into their police vehicle, according to authorities.The crash happened just before 2 a.m. Wednesday in the 6800 block of North Sheridan on the city's Far North Side.According to police, two officers were transported to an area hospital after their vehicle was struck in the intersection by a car that failed to stop at the red light.Three people were taken into custody, including a female juvenile that was transported to St. Francis Hospital in an unknown condition, police say. 78-year-old woman killed, 5 family members injured in North Side car crash No other injuries were reported. Police said the vehicle that struck the officers may have been stolen.

Celebrating 75 years of WGN-TV with Paul & Pat

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:07:16 GMT

WGN's Morning News has been the most watched morning program for more than a dozen years. Partially for its extensive news coverage but also for the laughs that gets us up and rolling in the morning. As we continue to celebrate 75 years on the air, Paul Konrad and Pat Tomasulo are joining us this morning.Daytime Chicago airs weekdays on WGN from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.