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Alberta NDP promises to axe proposed plan to quit CPP if it wins next election

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:59 GMT

EDMONTON — Alberta’s long road to quitting the Canada Pension Plan would run smack into the scheduled 2027 provincial election, with Opposition New Democrats promising to kill the idea if they win.Opposition finance critic Samir Kayande says an NDP government would cancel the plan at that late date as a last resort, regardless of whether Albertans vote in favour of ditching the CPP in a referendum.Kayande says Albertans have already made their voices heard that they don’t want Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party government touching Canada’s $575-billion retirement nest egg. “We’re not going to support the cancellation of the CPP,” Kayande told reporters Friday.“We don’t need a referendum. People have already spoken. They don’t like the idea.“If it is still alive in 2027 when we’re having the next election, I would absolutely love to fight an election on this issue.”Kayande’s comments come a day after Smith announced that her government will con...

Sabato De Sarno makes highly anticipated debut at Gucci under the gaze of Hollywood stars

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:59 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Sabato De Sarno wants people to fall in love anew with Gucci — his Gucci — calling his debut collection “Gucci Ancora,” Italian for “Gucci Again.”The title is a touching admission of the challenges facing Gucci’s new creative director, who joined the fashion powerhouse this summer from Valentino, where he worked for 14 years after stints at Prada and Dolce & Gabbana.The question is: can De Sarno do again what his predecessor Alessandro Michele was able to achieve by exciting the public to swarm to Gucci, pacing revenues at a sustained double-digit growth for French owner, Kering? Until the inevitable dip.De Sarno’s debut Friday, nine months after being hired in the wake of Michele’s surprise departure, was the most anticipated on the Milan Fashion Week calendar for next spring and summer womenswear.The fervor was enough to fill the front row with Hollywood A-listers including Julia Roberts and Ryan Gosling. Anti-fur protesters briefly infiltrated the runway, c...

Ibrahim Ali murder trial: Expert defends opinion dead girl was sexually assaulted

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:59 GMT

VANCOUVER — A lawyer for Ibrahim Ali at his B.C. murder trial has highlighted part of an expert witness’s report saying there’s “considerable overlap” between the type of injuries that can occur in consensual and non-consensual sex acts.Sexual assault expert Dr. Tracy Pickett previously testified that injuries suffered by a 13-year-old girl found dead in a Burnaby, B.C., park six years ago “strongly indicated” sexual assault.Pickett pushed back under cross-examination by Ben Lynskey in the B.C. Supreme Court, as the two had a lengthy exchange about what “considerable” actually means.Ali has pleaded not guilty to the girl’s first-degree murder.Lynskey has focused his cross-examination on the medicallimitations of assessing whether a sex act was consensual or non-consensual.Pickett, who specializes in emergency and clinical forensic medicine, says there are many topics in the medical field that cause controversy and overlap could b...

Colombia’s presidential office manipulates video of President Petro at UN to hype applause

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:59 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Colombian government manipulated a video to alter the applause received by President Gustavo Petro during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.The Associated Press reviewed the video and was able to verify that it was altered. The recording released by the presidential office incorporated applause for U.S. President Joe Biden, who spoke moments before Petro, making it appear the applause was directed at the Colombian leader.The manipulation was first reported by the Colombian website La Silla Vacía.The presidential office was asked for comment by AP but had not responded by late Friday afternoon.Although Petro did receive applause, the final clip of the video posted Thursday on the government’s YouTube channel does not correspond to what was broadcast in the U.N. video. It incorporates a different shot to the original broadcast and to what was broadcast in the media, making it seem that many more attendees applauded Petro at the end of...

‘Shell-shocked’: Mississauga man says 2 SUVs stolen from driveway in 2 weeks

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:59 GMT

As the auto theft crisis continues across the province, a Mississauga man is speaking out and demanding action from law enforcement after vehicles in his driveway were targeted and stolen twice in two weeks.Video obtained by CityNews shows the alleged criminals hard at work on the man’s brand-new SUV, a Cadillac Escalade. Homeowner Zain says it took the suspects roughly an hour to get the vehicle started before they drove away.“We just recently bought this car that we waited for about a year for, the Cadillac Escalade,” Zain said in an interview. “Within a week, we were in the process of getting a tag system or some sort of tracker installed on it, and it got stolen in the middle of the night.”Zain says he reported the incident to Peel Regional Police and received a rental car through his insurance. Two weeks later, criminals struck again, stealing the SUV rental; this time, it took them about 30 seconds.“They definitely look like professionals,&#...

Local Chicagoans on-hand to witness historic 'Office of Gun Violence Prevention' announcement

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:59 GMT

CHICAGO — President Joe Biden announced a first of it's kind initiative Friday. The announcement was centered around addressing gun violence in American cities, and Chicago political figures — along with some of the City's youngest leaders in the movement to combat it — were on-hand to see it unveiled."Created by executive order, I intend to send a clear message about how important this issue is to me and to the country," Biden said during a ceremony at the White House's Rose Garden Friday.Biden's executive order launched the first ever 'White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention,' which is set to be headed by Vice President Kamala Harris. The mission of the new office will be to coordinate efforts across the federal government and to offer help and guidance to states struggling with increasing gun violence.The office' establishment comes a little more than a year after Biden signed the bi-partisan 'Safer Communities Act' into law, representing the most sweeping gun violence legi...

Las Vegas teen accused of hitting, killing cyclist: 'I'll be out in 30 days, I'll bet you'

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:59 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The teenager who police say intentionally struck and killed a retired police chief in Las Vegas said he would get a "slap on the wrist" after he was taken into custody, investigators with Nexstar's 8newsnow.com have learned.Jesus Ayala, 17 at the time, appeared to show no remorse while being taken into custody. Ayala, now 18, faces 18 counts — including murder — and has a lengthy criminal history in the juvenile system. Las Vegas teens accused of killing bicyclist crashed stolen cars, attempted 2nd murder in 2-hour crime spree: sources Ayala made comments to police after he was taken into custody:"You think this juvenile [expletive] is gonna do some [expletive]? I'll be out in 30 days, I'll bet you.""It's just ah, [expletive] ah, hit-and-run — slap on the wrist."Jesus Ayala, 17 at the time of the incident, appeared to show no remorse while being taken into custody. (KLAS)Officers had not yet mentioned a hit-and-run to Ayala at that point in their conversati...

Battle of the Lakes takes center stage, Lake Travis and Westlake clash in top 10 tilt

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — It's one of the most anticipated games on the high school slate in Texas, and this year it's a showdown with two of the Lone Star State's top 10 teams.Westlake and Lake Travis face off in the Battle of the Lakes at 7:30 p.m. from Cavalier Stadium, and whoever comes out on the short end of it will do so for the first time this season. Westlake enters the game No. 4 in the Dave Campbell's Texas Football/Associated Press Class 6A Top 25 and Lake Travis is No. 8.REPORT YOUR SCORE: We'd love to post your team's score on our website, but we need your help to do it. Email the score of your game to [email protected] and we'll get it on our websiteThe Chaparrals (3-0, 1-0 District 26) have had two weeks to prepare for the game with a bye last week while the Cavaliers (4-0, 2-0) dispatched Akins 37-0 in district play.The Cavs last won the Battle of the Lakes in 2019 by one point, 26-25. The game wasn't played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Westlake has picked up the la...

Austin City Council approves funding to improve APD Sex Crimes Unit

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin City Council members approved several items Thursday as part of a considerable effort to improve the Austin Police Department’s handling of sexual assault cases following years of issues. In 2016, an audit showed that APD lab technicians weren’t using proper techniques when calculating the odds of DNA results, potentially botching thousands of cases. Further, the audit found that evidence had been contaminated in at least one case and that lab technicians were using expired materials. The DNA lab closed in 2017. Later, a group of women filed a lawsuit against the City of Austin, alleging improper handling of sexual assault investigations. In Jan. 2022, the plaintiffs were awarded  $825,000 and an additional $50,000 to their attorneys.Then, in 2022, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) conducted an independent review of the department, making over 100 recommendations for improvement for the APD Sex Crimes Unit.“We're looking at making syste...

Rain storms headed to Metro this weekend as “extreme drought” reported for area

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:25:59 GMT

A slow-moving wet-weather system is expected to bring cooler temperatures, much-needed rain and possible thunderstorms to the Twin Cities this weekend, according to the National Weather Service.The expected rainfall Saturday and Sunday would be welcome after this week’s report in the U.S. Drought Monitor indicated that much of the metro area is facing “extreme drought” conditions for the first time this year. The Twin Cities are facing an annual precipitation deficit of 7.65 inches as of Friday.Showers and thunderstorms are likely Saturday, with a low of 55 and a high of 80. On Sunday, rain chances continue into the evening. Temperatures cool, with a low of 50 and a high of 70.The rain is expected to move out of the region by Monday.Although it may be a wet weekend, fall colors are beginning to pop in Minnesota.According to an updated fall color report from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, foliage is changing a bit faster than  last year so don’...