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Israeli parliament takes first major step in Netanyahu’s contentious overhaul, deepening divisions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:21:57 GMT

By JOSEF FEDERMAN (Associated Press)JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s parliament on Monday approved the first major law in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious plan to overhaul the country’s justice system, triggering a new burst of mass protests and drawing accusations that he was pushing the country toward authoritarian rule.The vote, passed unanimously by Netanyahu’s ruling coalition after the opposition stormed out of the hall, deepened the fissures that have tested the delicate social ties that bind the country, rattled the cohesion of its powerful military and repeatedly drew concern from Israel’s closest ally, the United States. It came just hours following Netanyahu’s release from a hospital.As Netanyahu’s allies celebrated their victory and vowed to press ahead with more changes, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and opponents said they would challenge the new law in the Supreme Court....

Model Irina Shayk is Tom Brady’s new flame: report [+Irina Shayk gallery]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:21:57 GMT

Tom Brady seems to be Shayk-ing it up following his divorce from Gisele Bündchen. The former NFL quarterback reportedly hosted model Irina Shayk for a sleepover over the weekend.Paparazzi spotted Brady picking up Shayk at Los Angeles’ Hotel Bel-Air afternoon and taking her to his place on Friday afternoon, and sources tell TMZ she didn’t leave his digs until around 9:30 on Saturday morning, when Brady drove her back to the hotel.And that wasn’t the end of their time together this weekend: Brady retrieved Shayk from the hotel on Saturday afternoon and drove her back to his place again, TMZ adds, and photographers captured video of him stroking her face.Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion who retired from the NFL this February, announced in October 2022 that he and Bündchen had finalized their divorce after 13 years of marriage. The former couple has two children together: Benjamin, 13, and Vivian, 10. (Brady also has a son, Jack, 15, with “Blue Bloods” star Bridget Moynihan.)“We ...

RCMP say body found of one missing in N.S. floods, as well as remains of another

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:21:57 GMT

HALIFAX — RCMP in Nova Scotia said Monday they had found the body of a missing man and what they believe are remains of a second person swept away in massive flooding that hit the province on the weekend.Police said they recovered the body of a 52-year-old man from Windsor, N.S., in a search area northwest of Halifax, while the second person’s remains were found on shore in a tidal area in the neighbouring county.Four people, including two children, were reported missing on Saturday when the two vehicles they were travelling in were submerged in the regional municipality of West Hants.Sgt. Rob Frizzell said police are working with the medical examiner to identify the remains, but investigators have reason to believe they belong to one of the other three people missing. There have been no other reports of missing people from the flooding, he said.A series of thunderstorms that began on Friday and stretched into the following day dumped up to 250 millimetres of rain on several p...

Minivan strikes building, leaving roof sagging and turning much of its facade to pile of bricks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:21:57 GMT

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — A minivan crashed into a building overnight in Wisconsin, toppling much of its brick facade and leaving much of its roof sagging precariously, police said Monday.Officers called to an area near downtown Green Bay late Sunday found the damaged minivan outside the building, the facade mostly a pile of bricks on the ground and exposed beams jutting from the partly crumpled roof.The minivan’s driver, a 29-year-old Green Bay woman, suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police said she was taken into custody along with her passenger, a 27-year-old Oneida man, the Green Bay Press Gazette reported.Green Bay police said the van bounced off the building and spun around and did not penetrate it as the facade fell to the sidewalk below.James Brick, owner of the Main Street Commons building, said the car hit a “perfect spot” on one side of the building that made the facade and part of the roof collapse.“We are hypothesizing demolishing that part of the building to ...

Indoor farming company backed by Martha Stewart files for bankruptcy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:21:57 GMT

MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) — AppHarvest, a Kentucky-based indoor farming company that was backed by Martha Stewart when it began shipping tomatoes in early 2021, has filed for bankruptcy, officials announced on Monday.The Chapter 11 filing on Sunday came following several months of financial difficulties, including the potential foreclosure of its greenhouse in Richmond and concerns about cash flow, news outlets reported. In addition, AppHarvest Founder Jonathan Webb was replaced earlier this month as chief executive officer and chairman of the board.The company said in a statement that it is looking to restructure while business operations continue at its four farms.“The AppHarvest board of directors and executive leadership evaluated several strategic alternatives to maximize value for all stakeholders prior to the Chapter 11 filing,” said AppHarvest CEO Tony Martin. “The Chapter 11 filing provides protection while we work to transition operation of our strategic plan, Project New Leaf, w...

Guatemalans protest interference by court, prosecutors in August’s second-round election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:21:57 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Hundreds of Guatemalans demonstrated Monday to protest interference by courts and prosecutors against a progressive candidate’s participation in August’s second-round presidential election. The government’s actions against Bernardo Arévalo have included suspending his Seed Movement party and raiding the country’s election tribunal offices after it certified first-round election results that put Arévalo into the Aug. 20 runoff against conservative former first lady Sandra Torres. Under Guatemalan law, authorities cannot suspend a political party during an election campaign. U.S. officials have called the actions a threat to the Guatemala’s democracy.On Monday, civic groups marched in Guatemala City with placards demanding free elections and an end to the harassment. Demonstrator Sergio Morataya said President Alejandro Giammattei and the attorney general were “interfering in the electoral process.”Last week, agents and police raided the offices of Arévalo&...

Hamilton police to offer $20K reward to locate remains of missing woman

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:21:57 GMT

Hamilton police are preparing to offer a $20,000 reward to the public to locate the remains of a missing woman investigators believe was murdered after she disappeared under mysterious circumstances last year.“The Investigative team of the Hamilton Police Homicide Unit is respectfully requesting approval for a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the individual(s) responsible for the murder of Emily Bailey,” a recommendation report authorized by police chief Frank Bergen reads.Emily Bailey, a mother of two young daughters, was reported missing on Jan. 10, 2022, after her friends and family could not locate her.Investigators said Bailey, who was 23 years old when she went missing, attended a New Year’s Eve party with her boyfriend at a residence at Weir Street North in Hamilton before leaving an acquaintance’s house the next day.She has not been seen or heard from since then, and no suspects have been publicly connected to her disappearance ...

Monitoring group says thousands of Wagner mercenaries have arrived in Belarus since failed uprising

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:21:57 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Thousands of Russia-linked Wagner group mercenaries have arrived in Belarus since the group’s short-lived rebellion, a military monitoring group said Monday.Between 3,450 and 3,650 soldiers have traveled to a camp close to Asipovichy, a town 230 kilometers (140 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, according to Belaruski Hajun, an activist group that tracks troop movements within the country.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko welcomed Wagner forces into the country after brokering a deal between the Kremlin and mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin last month, ending the group’s failed revolt against Russian military leaders.The Wagner chief called the mutiny a “march of justice” to oust the top military leaders. The mercenaries faced little resistance and downed at least six military helicopters and a command post aircraft, killing a number of Russian troops. The revolt posed the most serious threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his 23-year r...

Your landlord is selling your rental home. Now what?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:21:57 GMT

Tenants in Ontario are afforded numerous protections under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) and the law may provide more safeguards than many realize.Chief among those rights is that a tenant cannot be evicted by a landlord – only the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) has the authority to order an eviction in Ontario.One of the common scenarios where a landlord may want to evict a tenant is to sell the home.“The very first and most important point is you don’t actually have to leave,” explains tenant lawyer Dania Majid from the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario. “You can wait and have a hearing before the landlord and tenant board and have the board ultimately decide that matter.”Majid says that when a tenanted property is purchased, that new owner assumes and takes over all existing leases.“[The purchaser] becomes the new landlord and the relationship will then continue with the new landlord. [The new landlord also assumes] all the right...

West Nile found in Kane County mosquitos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:21:57 GMT

KANE COUNTY, Ill. — West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitos in Kane County, officials said Monday.According to a release from the Kane County Health Department, the sample was taken the week of July 17 from a mosquito surveillance trap in Batavia. It was the first sample to test positive in Kane County this year.No human cases of West Nile have been reported in Illinois so far this year. Related: Mosquitoes test positive for West Nile virus in DuPage County The Department of Health says the best way to prevent West Nile is to reduce the number of mosquitos around the home and avoid mosquito bites.Other tips include:• Avoid being outdoors when mosquitoes are most active, especially between dusk and dawn. Use prevention methods whenever mosquitoes are present.• When outdoors, wear shoes and socks, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and apply insectrepellent that includes DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus according to label instructions.Consult a physician before us...