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Unoccupied homes destroyed in large Richmond Hill fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

Multiple unoccupied homes have been destroyed following a significant fire in a Richmond Hill subdivision.First responders in York Region were called to the subdivision in the Bethesda Side Road and Leslie Street area around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.York Regional Police said the fire started in one of the homes under construction and then rapidly spread in the complex.As a result, four unoccupied homes caught fire inside what authorities called a new subdivision.Fire crews continued to tend to the flames. No injuries have been reported.

New York police officer indicted, accused of using stun gun 7 times on handcuffed man

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (AP) — A police sergeant in a New York City suburb has been indicted on federal civil rights charges, accused of using his stun gun multiple times on a handcuffed man in mental crisis who was being involuntarily taken for medical treatment, prosecutors announced Thursday.Sgt. Mario Stewart, a commander on the force in Mount Vernon, fired his Taser at the man seven times in two minutes, according to the indictment. He is charged with violating the person’s constitutional rights by using excessive force. “Stewart’s alleged conduct not only betrayed his duty as an officer to protect those under his charge but also violated the law,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.Kevin Conway, Stewart’s attorney, said his client was doing his duty and did not violate anyone’s rights or commit a crime.“He merely was discharging his duty in responding to a mental health call for an individual who was in an agitated mental and physical state,” Conway said.The sergeant and othe...

Crowd favourite Tommy Fleetwood shares British Open lead, McIlroy is among the survivors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

HOYLAKE, England (AP) — The British Open showed again Thursday that even after 163 years, golf’s oldest championship can still deliver a few surprises.It started with Christo Lamprecht, the South African amateur as tall as a flag stick and almost as thin, making three birdies over his last six holes and posting a 5-under 66 to become the first amateur in 12 years to share the 18-hole lead at the Open.Curiosity about the 22-year-old amateur turned to glee at the site of the local hero, Tommy Fleetwood, running off three straight birdies on the back nine at Royal Liverpool to join him atop the leaderboard. Emiliano Grillo of Argentina became the third to post 66 by holing a birdie putt from 50 feet on the last hole.Not to be overlooked was Jordan Spieth hitting a shank; Rory McIlroy missing a 3-foot putt; Justin Thomas going bunker-to-bunker-to-rough — each shot farther away from the flag than the previous one — in making a 9 on the 18th hole to post his highest round in a major...

The Gaslight Anthem were labeled ‘Bruce Springsteen copycats.’ Now the Boss is on their new single

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For years, a common critique of the beloved New Jersey rock band The Gaslight Anthem was to label them “Bruce Springsteen” copycats. Now they’ve released a song with the Boss.“History Books,” the title track from the band’s first album in nine years, is big-hearted freeway rock, made ascendent by frontman Brian Fallon and Springsteen’s tremulous harmonies.“There’s a definitely a little wink in there,” Fallon tells The Associated Press about the song and his band’s long-held comparisons to the Boss, which once escalated to the point where he wrote to his fans, “My name isn’t Bruce.”“Some people kind of wrote us off. It’s like ‘Now write this off,’” he says. “We’ve got the approval of the guy! What are you going to say? You can’t say anything!”If there is an intersection where Green Day, Social Distortion, and the Replacements’ various styles of melodic punk meets Springsteen, it is found in The Gasli...

Undue influence? Anonymous donations to World Health Organization’s new foundation raise concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

Nearly 40% of the money raised by the WHO Foundation in its first two years came from anonymous sources, worrying some that donors may be trying to influence the World Health Organization and its role in shaping global health policy with their gifts.The foundation, launched in 2020 to help raise private sector funds for the WHO, said it received $66 million in direct gifts through 2022, with $26 million coming from donors who chose not to be publicly named. Anil Soni, WHO Foundation CEO, told The Associated Press the foundation’s board, which includes a representative from the WHO, knows the donors’ identities and that the foundation will not accept a gift if there is a conflict of interest. “They want to be anonymous because they’re otherwise solicited or even targeted because they’re seen to be a source of wealth,” Soni said in an interview. “And I respect that.”The foundation, which is based in Switzerland, is not required to disclose its donors. Some global health practiti...

Jaguars associate strength coach Kevin Maxen comes out as gay in a first for US-based pro leagues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kevin Maxen, an associate strength coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has become the first male coach in a major U.S.-based professional league to come out as gay.Maxen spoke about his sexual orientation in an interview published Thursday by Outsports.“I don’t want to feel like I have to think about it anymore,” Maxen said. “I don’t want to feel like I have to lie about who I am seeing, or why I am living with someone else.“I want to be vocal in support of people living how they want to live, but I also want to just live and not feel fear about how people will react.”While Maxen’s announcement is a first for a male coach, NFL players have come out previously. Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St. Louis Rams selected him in 2014. In 2021, Carl Nassib, then with the Las Vegas Raiders, became the first active NFL player to come out publicly. Nassib played for Tampa Bay last season.A few female coaches in U.S.-ba...

Mom at centre of Amber Alert for two B.C. children may be travelling with others

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

SURREY, B.C. — Police say the woman alleged to have abducted her two children in British Columbia may also be travelling with two men, likely her father and boyfriend.Surrey RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Vanessa Munn says police have seen images from Merritt, B.C., on July 7 showing Verity Bolton with the two men along with her children, eight-year-old Aurora and 10-year-old Joshuah Bolton.Munn says police believe the two men are Verity Bolton’s father, 74-year-old Robert Bolton, and boyfriend Abraxas Glazov, 53.July 7 was the last time the children were seen, and police say their mother was spotted by closed-circuit TV emerging from a grocery store in Kamloops on July 15, two days before she was expected to give her children back to their father after a vacation.   The children live in Surrey with their father and were the subject of an Amber Alert on Wednesday, when police said they have concerns about both the mother’s mental health and the children’s well-being. RCMP s...

Chicago police search for 29-year-old man last seen in May

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are asking for help finding a missing man last seen near a medical facility in May in Edgewater.John Ovink is described as being about 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing about 196 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. MORE: Missing people in Chicagoland According to the Chicago Police Department, Ovink was last seen near a medical facility in the 5400 block of North Broadway Street.Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Area Three SVU detectives at 312-744-8266.

Texas judge could take "weeks" to weigh in on exceptions to state abortion laws

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — On the second day in court over a lawsuit regarding exceptions to Texas' near-total abortion ban, one doctor refuted other physicians' claims that the law is confusing, saying doctors who do not provide abortions when a patient has severe pregnancy complications are misunderstanding the law.The two-day hearing concluded Thursday, with mostly expert witnesses testifying on the second day in court. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed the lawsuit in March on behalf of 15 Texas women who said the law put their lives in danger. Attorneys called two out-of-state physicians as witnesses Thursday, who both said they found the language about exceptions in Texas' abortion law to be confusing. Current Texas abortion lawsOnce the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, Texas was one of 13 states where abortion bans were automatically instated. Texas’ trigger law prohibits all abortions except under limited circumstances, such as a “life-thre...

Colorado health insurers ask for 10% increase on individual marketplace next year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

People on Colorado’s individual health insurance market could see an average premium increase of 10% next year, though less for people on Colorado Option plans, if requested rate changes are approved.The state Division of Insurance and Gov. Jared Polis’ office announced the requested rate changes Thursday. The division will consider and decide on the requests in the fall, with a possibility they decline during regulators’ review process. Open enrollment begins in November.About 200,000 Coloradans are covered on the individual market, and about 28,000 of marketplace enrollees are on Colorado Option plans (though another 12,000 people are on those plans through other means). Most Coloradans are covered through employer-offered plans, Medicaid and Medicare.Health insurance companies are asking to increase premiums by an average of 11.1% for non-Colorado Option plans and 7.7% for Colorado Option plans. The exact increase varies from plan to plan. Officials did not have...