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Rain should help Quebec firefighting effort as more than 7,200 people still evacuated

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

MONTREAL — Rain in the forecast and the pending arrival of dozens of foreign firefighters raised hopes that Quebec’s more than 7,000 fire evacuees would be able to return home in the coming days, the province’s public security minister said Tuesday.François Bonnardel told reporters that rain showers and cooler temperatures were expected to move into northwestern Quebec, where powerful forest fires have threatened the towns of Lebel-sur-Quévillon and Normétal. The rain should provide some relief to firefighters over the next three or four days — and hopefully bring good news for displaced residents eager to return home, Bonnardel said.“People want a little hope,” he told reporters Tuesday in Montreal. “I’m going to try to give them some by telling them that with the weather forecasts for the next hours, we should be able to give you good news in the next 24, 48 hours.” He said there were slightly more than 7,200 evacuees as of Tuesday morning...

Air Canada pilots kickstart bargaining, hot on heels of WestJet crew wage gains

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

MONTREAL — Air Canada pilots have kickstarted the bargaining process with their employer in a move that comes days after their fellow union members at WestJet ratified a new collective agreement.Representing about 4,500 employees, the Air Line Pilots Association’s Air Canada contingent said it has provided a bargaining notice to company management, the first step toward hashing out a new deal.The decision comes two weeks after the pilots’ group invoked a clause to end its 10-year collective agreement a year early and launch negotiations for a new one.Key issues include a widening wage gap between Canadian pilots and their U.S. counterparts as well as job security and career progression, said Charlene Hudy, who heads the contingent.“The Air Canada pilots have not been in a meaningful negotiating position since 2014, and in these negotiations we are striving for a historic contract for our Air Canada pilots to address this growing disparity between the United States and Ca...

Blue Jays’ Belt to IL, Jansen activated ahead of pivotal series in Baltimore

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

The Toronto Blue Jays have placed first baseman Brandon Belt on the injured list with hamstring discomfort and activated catcher Danny Jansen in a flurry of moves on Tuesday.Belt left Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Twins with the injury, which was later confirmed to be a hamstring ailment.Belt tested out his injured hamstring on the field in Baltimore before the roster move was made. The 35-year-old has been one of Toronto’s hottest hitters of late, slashing .296/.406/.667 with two home runs and four RBIs in June.ROSTER MOVES: ????INF Brandon Belt (left hamstring inflammation) placed on 10-day IL, retroactive to June 11???? RHP Adam Cimber placed on Paternity List???? C Danny Jansen reinstated from 10-day IL and will be active tonight???? INF Ernie Clement and RHP Bowden Francis recalled… pic.twitter.com/cosDMRbwmb— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) June 13, 2023Jansen hasn’t played since May 24 after being placed on the IL with an injured groin. He’...

Improving transparency ‘not a priority’ for the Trudeau government: info watchdog

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal government’s key transparency provision has steadily eroded to the point where it no longer serves its intended purpose, says information commissioner Caroline Maynard.In her annual report to Parliament tabled Tuesday, Maynard said chronic issues continue to plague the access-to-information system, with no solutions in sight. For a $5 fee, Canadians can use the access law to request federal records, from briefing notes and reports to emails and invoices. However, requesters have long complained the system is clumsy, slow and full of loopholes that allow government agencies to refuse to release information. Maynard, an ombudsperson for users of the law, noted that despite calls for meaningful change, a federal review concluded with a report last December that outlined no firm commitments and proposed no legislative change. The commissioner, who took office five years ago, said money to bolster the system has evaporated, commitments to transparency have vani...

Report: Canada’s Atiba Hutchinson retiring from club, international football

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

Canada men’s soccer team captain Atiba Hutchinson is retiring from club football and will likely make his final international appearance at this month’s Nations League Finals, according to a report by Joshua Kloke of The Athletic.Hutchinson, 40, has made 104 appearances for his country, including at the World Cup in Qatar this past November where he was the oldest outfield player. The tournament marked just the second time the Canadian men had qualified for the event.The veteran midfielder, who was born in Brampton, Ont., has played in the Turkish league with Istanbul club Besiktas since 2013, but he made just five appearances this past season for the team, scoring once.His club career has seen him play in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands, in addition to Turkey and his time in Canada, for a total of 568 games.

'Half of them don't even know football': Bears' Justin Jones has no love for Packers fans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — He was the first player to take to the podium at the Chicago Bears' mandatory mini-camp in 2023 and he made two things very clear to the reporters in attendance. First, Justin Jones is very confident in his team's chances to compete after a 3-14 season in 2022. The defensive tackle also isn't a fan of those who root for the Bears' biggest rival.Both topics came up when Jones was asked about his impressions of the NFC North in his first season in the division last year, and how it changes with Aaron Rodgers gone. That's when he took aim at Packers fans, remembering the Week 2 loss at Lambeau Field in 2022."I wish he played one more year with Green Bay, honestly," said Jones in response to the question on the division and Rodgers' departure. "We went up there and we played a pretty good game, but they got away from us at the end, obviously, and they won. But their fans are really (expletive). Yeah, I wanted to go back up there and I wanted to play them and I wante...

Suburban man charged after accidentally shooting himself while dreaming

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

LAKE BARRINGTON, Ill. — A Lake Barrington man with a revoked FOID card accidentally shot himself while dreaming, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.Deputies said they responded to a report of a person with a gunshot wound around 9:50 p.m. on April 10 in the 100 block of shoreline Road. When deputies arrived at the home, they found 62-year-old Mark Dicara with a gunshot wound to the leg.Deputies applied a tourniquet to Dicara’s leg, as he was losing a significant amount of blood.Further investigation revealed Dicara had a dream that someone was breaking into his home. In his dream, he retrieved his .357 magnum revolver and shot at who he believed was the intruder.When he fired, he shot himself instead and apparently woke up from the dream.Dicara was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for his wounds and later released.It was also confirmed there was not a burglary attempt at Dicara's residence. 5 injured after school bus overturns on Dan Ryan Expressway Deputi...

Save Street Ball: How an organization commits to restoring basketball courts in Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

CHICAGO — An organization in Chicago is working to try to restore basketball courts in a number of neighborhoods throughout the city. It's a problem that Jahmal Cole saw first-hand. "I stopped at Columbus Park, Cole Park, Seward Park, you name it, every weekend I go to a different park," said the co-founder of "My Block, My Hood, My City," an organization that empowers youth in Chicago. "What I'm noticing is that I'm starting to see rims that are taken off of backboards and also anti-theft steering wheel locks that are being placed on hoops to prevent kids from shooting. "There's a widespread belief in Chicago that by taking basketball rims down, it makes your neighborhood safer. There's no evidence, there's no correlation between basketball and violence."Cole and "My Block, My Hood, My City" is trying to reverse that trend with their "Save Street Ball" initiative this summer. The organization is gathering donations on its website to raise $100,000 to help restore those courts that ...

Pfizer warns FDA of shrinking penicillin supply

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

(The Hill) - The ongoing drug shortages impacting the U.S. are now threatening to exhaust two commonly used forms of penicillin, Pfizer said in a warning to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday.Pfizer alerted the FDA that there is "a limited supply and impending stock out" of Bicillin L-A and Bicillin C-R, two of its injectable penicillin products.Bicillin L-A is used to treat strep infections in the throat, nose or skin; syphilis or syphilis-like infections; and also to prevent problems stemming from strep. Bicillin C-R is also used to treat strep infections in the throat, nose, skin or soft tissues as well as scarlet fever, pneumonia and ear infections. El Niño could mean the hottest year on record, meteorologists warn Bicillin injections are colloquially referred to as the "peanut butter shot" in the military due to the color of the drug. The injection is widely known as being particularly painful. Neither of these drugs are available in lower-cost generic forms.Pfi...

WATCH: Florida police officer drives off after he's stopped for speeding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — An argumentative Orlando police officer was fired after authorities said he fled from a traffic stop in his police cruiser.Seminole County deputies say Officer Alexander Shaouni was on his way to work at the Orlando Police Department around 12:15 p.m. on June 6 when he was caught going 80 mph in a 45 mph zone. Deputies said they had to drive over 90 mph just to catch up with Shaouni as he blew past them.After several failed attempts to stop the officer, deputies pulled alongside Shaouni's cruiser and ordered him to pull over through the passenger-side window. Virginia 1st-grade teacher who was shot by student was fired, attorney says "What? I am going into work, my man," Shaouni can be heard shouting in a body camera video released by the sheriff's office. "Why are you trying to pull me over as I am going into work?""Because you are going 80 in a 45," one deputy responds. "Let me see your driver's license.""No," Shaouni fires back before climbing back into his...