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Hurricane Lee to weaken as it approaches Maritimes, but will still pack a punch

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:04:39 GMT

HALIFAX — Hurricane Lee is expected to lash parts of the Maritimes with strong winds and heavy rain this weekend, but the Canadian Hurricane Centre says much of its strength will be sapped by cooler sea-surface temperatures as it moves north.By early Tuesday afternoon, the Category 3 hurricane was about 900 kilometres south of Bermuda, churning out winds at 185 kilometres per hour. The slow-moving storm was forecast to make a turn to the north on Wednesday and then accelerate toward Canada.The hurricane centre in Halifax issued a statement Tuesday saying the approaching storm is expected to slow the progress of the front of an air mass, increasing the risk of heavy rain over the Maritimes on Thursday and Friday.“As of now, western Nova Scotia has the higher possibility of impacts, which is worth noting since that region wasn’t impacted by recent storms like Dorian (in 2019) and Fiona (in 2022),” the statement said, referring to powerful post-tropical storms that ma...

Serial killer and former police officer Anthony Sully dies on death row at a California prison

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:04:39 GMT

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) — A former California police officer turned serial killer who was on death row after being convicted of murdering six people in the 1980s has died of natural causes, authorities said. Anthony Sully, 79, died Friday at a medical facility outside the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, where he had been housed for decades, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.The Marin County Coroner’s Office will determine Sully’s official cause of death, the department said in a news release Monday.Sully was sentenced to death in June 1986 for the slayings of Kathryn Barrett, 24; Barbara Searcy, 22; Gloria Jean Fravel, 24; Brendan Oakden, 19; Michael Thomas, 24; and Phyllis Melendez, 20.The victims were beaten, stabbed and shot inside an electrical supply warehouse in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1983. Three of the bodies were found stuffed into barrels dumped at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, the San Jose Mercury News reported. Detect...

FBI investigates cybersecurity issue at MGM Resorts while casinos and hotels stay open across US

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:04:39 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Casino operator MGM Resorts International said Tuesday that resorts are open and an investigation is continuing after what it called a “cybersecurity issue” led to the shutdown of computer systems at company properties across the U.S.The FBI characterized the investigation as ongoing but Special Agent Mark Neria, spokesperson for the bureau in Las Vegas, said no additional information is available.Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts said the event started Sunday and that it shut down “certain systems” in efforts to protect data. It did not call it a cyberattack or specify which systems were affected. It said reservations and casino floors in Las Vegas and states including Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Ohio were affected.Late Monday, the company posted a statement saying that “resorts, including dining, entertainment and gaming are currently operational” and that “guests remain able to access their hotel rooms and our front de...

New TIFF documentary shines a light on boil water advisories across Indigenous communities

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:04:39 GMT

A documentary that sheds light on the unclean water crisis in Indigenous communities across the country is premiering this week in TIFF.The film, Boil Alert, directed by Stevie Salas and James Burns takes viewers on a journey with Layla Staats, an artist and activist from Six Nations of the Grand River.Six Nations is located around two hours away from where the Toronto Film Festival is, yet some of the community is still facing the struggle of unclean drinking water.The film follows Staats as she investigates these issues surrounding unsafe water in Indigenous communities across Turtle Island.“I’m so excited for the world to hear these stories, these voices, and I can’t wait for people to take It in, for people to understand and for it to change them, like it changed me,” Staats told CityNews in an interview.Throughout the documentary, Staats is also on a journey of reclaiming her identity as a Mohawk woman.“I grew up in an urban town and very disconnec...

New Mexico Democratic attorney general won’t defend suspension of right to publicly carry guns

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:04:39 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Some demonstrators defiantly carried holstered handguns on their hips in a Tuesday rally by gun-rights advocates, protesting Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s surprise order last week to suspend the right to carry firearms to address what she called an epidemic of gun violence.The rally unfolded on Albuquerque’s Civic Plaza shortly before New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced he cannot defend the governor’s public health order on firearms, exposing a divide between the state’s top-ranked elected Democrats. In his letter to Lujan Grisham, Torrez said that although he agrees a debate is needed on the impact of gun violence, it cannot be rebranded a public health emergency to justify a blanket 30-day prohibition against carrying firearms. He urged the governor to consider whether her time would be better spent on developing comprehensive legislation. “While I understand that frustration may have led you to undertake a unilateral approa...

Massachusetts city gets more than 9 inches of rain, flooding homes and jeopardizing a dam

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:04:39 GMT

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — Heavy rainfall flooded parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with two communities declaring a state of emergency as water poured into homes, creating moats around their foundations and leading to boat rescues of residents. Concern about a dam listed in poor condition led to more evacuations.Weather officials described the rainfall as a “200-year event.”More storms were in the forecast for Wednesday, and although it was still early, winds and flooding from Hurricane Lee were expected to affect Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts, southeastern New Hampshire and central and coastal Maine during the weekend, forecasters said.Up to 300 people were evacuated by Tuesday morning in Leominster, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Boston, Mayor Dean Mazzarella said. That included residents of a high-rise apartment building and a nursing home. All schools were closed and two shelters were opened.Mazzarella said the city has not seen such widespread dam...

Missouri clinics halt transgender care for minors in wake of new state law

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:04:39 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — At least two Missouri health care centers stopped prescribing puberty blockers and hormones to minors for the purpose of gender transition, citing a new state law that the clinic says “creates unsustainable liability” for health care workers.Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital on Monday announced it stopped providing those services, and a spokesman said University of Missouri Health Care stopped treatments for minors Aug. 28. The new Missouri law, which took effect Aug. 28, outlawed puberty blockers, hormones and gender-affirming surgery for minors. But there are exceptions for youth who were already taking those medications before the law kicked in, allowing them to continue receiving that health care. Both Washington University and University of Missouri said physicians there are referring current patients to other providers. Washington University will continue to provide education and mental health support for minors, a...

Ex-NFL Media journalist sues the league, alleging long-standing institutional discrimination

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:04:39 GMT

A former NFL Media journalist is accusing the league of refusing to address what he calls long-standing institutional discrimination and said his contract was not renewed because he repeatedly voiced concerns regarding equity and racial injustice.In making his allegations in a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in New York City, Jim Trotter also cited Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula as making racially insensitive comments. Trotter said the concerns he raised with league executives, including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, regarding those comments and the lack of diversity among NFL Media employees fell on deaf ears.“The NFL has claimed it wants to be held accountable regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. I tried to do so, and it cost me my job,” Trotter said in a statement released by his law firm, Wigdor. “I’m filing this lawsuit because I can’t complain about things that are wrong if I’m unwilling to fi...

Aaron Rodgers' first season with the Jets is over

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:04:39 GMT

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The worst-case scenario for Aaron Rodgers has come to pass after being forced to leave his first game with the Jets after just a handful of plays. Per Jets head coach Robert Saleh, the quarterback suffered a complete tear of his left Achilles tendon in the first quarter of New York's 22-16 overtime win over the Bills on Monday night at Met Life Stadium.The 39-year-old Rodgers will miss the remainder of the 2023 season, which was his first in New York. Aaron Rodgers injures his left Achilles tendon in his first series for the Jets The news wasn't a surprise to many since Saleh indicated that the team was ready for bad news concerning the quarterback's Achilles injury after the game on Monday.On X on Tuesday morning, the Jets wrote, "Not the way any of us wanted it to go, but we know the commitment you've made to this team will continue to impact us moving forward. Get well soon, @AaronRodgers12."Rodgers, who joined the Jets after 18 seasons with the Packers, s...

Apple unveils new iPhones with faster chips, better cameras, new charging ports

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:04:39 GMT

CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple on Tuesday unveiled its next generation of iPhones — a line-up that will boast better cameras, faster processors, a new charging system and a price hike for the fanciest model.The showcase at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., comes as the company tries to reverse a mild slump that has seen its sales drop from last year in three consecutive quarters. The malaise is a key reason Apple's stock price has dipped by nearly 10% since mid-July, dropping the company's market value below the $3 trillion threshold it reached for the first time earlier this summer.Investors apparently were not impressed with what Apple rolled out Tuesday. The company's shares were down by nearly 2% during afternoon trading.As has been the case with Apple and other smartphone makers, the four types of iPhone 15 models aren't making any major leaps in technology. But Apple added enough new bells and whistles to the top-of-the-line model — the iPhone 15 Pro Max — to boost it...