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Ontario Green Party leader calls for public inquiry into Greenbelt land removals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:07 GMT

Ontario Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner is calling for a full, independent public inquiry into Greenbelt land removals. A report this month from the auditor general found that developers who owned 15 sites of land that the Progressive Conservative government removed from the protected Greenbelt area last year now stand to see those properties rise in value by $8.3 billion.The auditor general found that developers who had access to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark’s chief of staff wound up with 92 per cent of the land that was removed from the Greenbelt for housing. RELATED: Chief of Staff for Ontario Housing Minister resigns amid Greenbelt controversySchreiner says the report answered some questions, but raised even more and that’s why a full public inquiry is needed.He says Ontarians deserve to know how “wealthy insiders could hand over an envelope that led to government policy decisions with windfall profits of $8.3 billion going to a handf...

Renewables pause in Alberta affecting 118 projects worth $33 billion, think tank says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:07 GMT

A clean energy think tank says Alberta’s pause on approvals for new renewable energy projects is affecting 118 projects worth $33 billion.The Pembina Institute says those projects would create enough jobs to keep 24,000 people working for a year.It says those projects represent what could be $263 million in local taxes and leases for landowners in 27  municipalities.Earlier this month, the province’s United Conservative government said it would pause all renewable energy approvals until February as it considers issues such as land use and reclamation.The utilities regulator said Wednesday it is to continue to examine projects, but won’t issue any new approvals.The move has stunned Alberta’s booming renewables industry, with several companies with projects in the works saying the uncertainty is causing them to look elsewhere.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2003.The Canadian Press

Scores of Trump supporters show support outside Georgia jail ahead of his expected surrender

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:07 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Hours before former President Donald Trump was expected to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail on charges related to his efforts to remain in power after his 2020 election loss, dozens of his supporters had already gathered Thursday morning outside the facility. And the crowd grew steadily as the day progressed. It will be the fourth time this year that Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, is booked on criminal charges. But unlike his previous arrests, which happened in courthouses just before initial appearances before a judge, this time he will be turning himself in at a notoriously troubled jail. Also different from his previous surrenders: authorities are expected to take a booking photo of the former president.Trump and 18 others were indicted last week, accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of participating in a sprawling scheme to undermine the will of Georgia voters who had narrowly rejected the Repu...

Ukraine seeks Canada’s help in selling peace plan to skeptical states, more demining

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:07 GMT

OTTAWA — Ukraine is calling on Canada to help it sell a peace plan with Russia to developing countries who have taken a neutral stance on Moscow’s invasion.Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba wants Canada to use its “diplomatic muscle” to encourage countries beyond Europe and its allies to support a peace plan.In a video presented at a closed-door meeting of foreign ambassadors, to which The Canadian Press was invited, Kuleba also asks Ottawa to increase its anti-mining support.In addition, Kuleba seeks “a multi-year military support program” from Ottawa, one month after Canada and other G7 countries offered Ukraine a set of security guarantees.Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly convened the meeting, and told foreign diplomats that Moscow’s demand for a ceasefire will only allow Russia to invade the country again.Joly says every country has a stake in maintaining the United Nations charter and ending Russia’s w...

Zimbabwe police arrest 41 election monitors as votes are counted after widespread delays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:07 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe police said they arrested 41 workers for poll monitoring groups and seized the computers and other equipment they were using to tabulate the results of vote counting Thursday in the southern African nation’s widely delayed presidential election.Those arrested were working with two accredited monitoring organizations — the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network and the Election Resource Center — which deployed over 7,500 observers nationwide. Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi accused them of being involved in “subversive and criminal activities” as part of an opposition plan to fabricate the results.“These figures were being supplied by some observers and political party agents,” Nyathi said. The arrests, made during raids on various locations including a hotel, were criticized by the group Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, which said the workers were carrying out their mandate as accredited election observers.Zimbabwe’s long history of d...

Crescent Point Energy signs deal to sell assets in North Dakota for $675M in cash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:07 GMT

CALGARY — Crescent Point Energy Corp. has signed a deal to sell its North Dakota assets to a private operator for about $675 million in cash.The company says the assets had gross production of about 23,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter of this year.However, it says its production in North Dakota is expected to decrease to 18,000 boe/d by 2027 and decline further in future years.Crescent Point also lowered its 2023 annual average production guidance to a range of 156,000 to 161,000 boe/d, a reduction of approximately 4,500 boe/d in comparison with the midpoint of its prior guidance range. It says the revised forecast includes the impact associated with the sale, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.The company also cut its development capital expenditures guidance for the year by about $100 million, to a range of $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion, partly reflecting the sa...

Loss of Antarctic ice hurting survival of emperor penguin chicks, study says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:07 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The loss of ice in one region of Antarctica last year likely resulted in none of the emperor penguin chicks surviving in four colonies, researchers reported Thursday. Emperor penguins hatch their eggs and raise their chicks on the ice that forms around the continent each Antarctic winter and melts in the summer months.Researchers used satellite imagery to look at breeding colonies in a region near Antarctica’s Bellingshausen Sea. The images showed no ice was left there in December during the Southern Hemisphere’s summer, as had occurred in 2021. Researchers said it is likely that no chicks survived in four of the five breeding colonies they examined. Penguin chicks don’t develop their adult waterproof feathers until close to the time they usually fledge, in late December or January, scientists say. “If the sea ice breaks up under them, the young chicks will drown or freeze to death,” said Peter Fretwell, a researcher at the British Antarctic Survey and ...

Don't miss the deadline to claim a Facebook privacy settlement payment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:07 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Don't procrastinate any longer – if you haven't submitted a claim for a piece of the massive Facebook lawsuit settlement, the hours to do so are numbered. The deadline to file a claim is on Friday, Aug. 25, 2023. If you file a claim by mail, it has to be postmarked by that date. If you file it online, it needs to be done by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time the night of Aug. 25. Facebook’s $725M settlement is huge, but how much will you actually get? Millions of Americans qualify – why put it off any longer? Here's what you need to know about getting your payment. What is the lawsuit about?Facebook parent company Meta recently agreed to pay a $725 million sum to settle claims it allowed people’s personal data to be shared with third parties. The most famous third party to get access was Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm that supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Meta agreed to the payout, but denies any wrongdoing. When will Facebook settleme...

Girl, 12, missing in Algonquin, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:07 GMT

ALGONQUIN, Ill. — Police in Algonquin and Westfield Community School officials are seeking the public's help locating a missing 12-year-old girl last seen on Wednesday.Mackenzie MartinezAccording to police, Mackenzie Martinez, also known by Kenzie, was last seen in the 2100 block of Sleepy Hollow Road in Algonquin during the afternoon hour of Aug. 23. Mackenzie is described as 5-foot-7 inches, with green eyes, brown hair with blonde highlights, and a light skin complexion.Mackenzie is a student at Westfield Community School of District 300. In a letter sent to parents and guardians on Thursday, District 300 and Westfield say they are actively collaborating with the Algonquin Police Department as they conduct their ongoing investigation.Authorities add that the probe to locate Mackenzie has not led them to believe there is a threat to the public.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesAnyone with information is asked to email [email protected] or call the Algonquin Police Depa...

Indiana man driving Power Wheels Jeep charged with OWI

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:07 GMT

VINCENNES, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) – An Indiana man accused of driving a Power Wheels Jeep while impaired was arrested Wednesday night. The driver, identified as 51-year-old John McKee of Vincennes, was stopped by a trooper who was patrolling a street in Knox County, according to Indiana State Police.The trooper made the stop after seeing someone driving a Power Wheels Jeep with no lights or reflectors, remarking that he "was difficult to see," the ISP wrote in a news release.John McKee was arrested after driving a Power Wheels vehicle while impaired, according to Indiana State Police. (Indiana State Police)The ISP trooper also noted that said Mckee showed "signs of impairment and failed field sobriety tests."It was later confirmed at a local hospital that McKee was under the influence of methamphetamine and marijuana, authorities said. He was arrested and taken to the Knox County jail on a felony charge of operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) with a prior conviction. According to t...