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Man accused of bringing guns to Wisconsin Capitol now free on signature bond, can’t possess weapons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:22 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A man accused of bringing guns to the Wisconsin state Capitol building and demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers can go free on a signature bond but can’t come near the governor or his family until his case is resolved, a court commissioner ordered Thursday.Joshua Pleasnick, 43, of Madison, made his initial court appearance Thursday morning on a misdemeanor charge of openly carrying a gun in a public building. Online court records show that Dane County Court Commissioner Scott McAndrew entered a not guilty plea on Pleasnick’s behalf and set a signature bond for him. Under the terms of the bond he would have to pay $500 if he misses a court date or doesn’t follow the conditions of his release.McAndrew barred Pleasnick from possessing any type of dangerous weapon and banned him from the Capitol Square, the plaza that surrounds the Capitol building. He also banned Pleasnick from being on the road in front of the governor’s mansion in Maple Bluff,...

A City-run program could help you pay rent. Are you eligible?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:22 GMT

If a tenant is behind on rent a landlord can move to evict them, but a long-standing City of Toronto funded support program — the Toronto Rent Bank — can help ensure tenants stay housed.Founded in 1998, the Rent Bank was initially established as a response to a marked increase in the number of women and children using homeless shelters in the city.“So the city at the time wanted to come up with a cost effective way to prevent homelessness and stabilize tenancies for women and children,” explains Gladys Wong, executive director of the Neighbourhood Information Post (NIP) — the lead agency administering the program.The Rent Bank, run in conjunction with eight other social service agencies across the city, provides tenants with financial help to pay their rent and has expanded its reach over the years to include any low-income tenants living in Toronto. The threshold for “low-income” is based on the size of the household:Family SizeMaximum hous...

120 Toronto hybrid-converted ambulances pulled off road as precaution after failures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:22 GMT

After two Toronto Paramedic Services ambulances retrofitted with hybrid-electric drivelines failed while moving at “highway speeds,” the municipality pulled 120 vehicles off the road as a safety precaution.In response to questions by CityNews, officials confirmed a patient was onboard one of the two ambulances at the time. However, a spokesperson noted no one was injured during the incident.A July 2023 memo obtained by CityNews said the first driveline failure happened in July 2022 and the second happened a year later. Both vehicles were determined to be inoperable. The memo said paramedic fleet technicians would disconnect the hybrid system on modified ambulances as an interim suggestion.However, an internal update issued in mid-September, said forensic engineers were brought in to inspect the retrofitted hybrid driveline systems. Drivelines bring the power to the axels and wheels from the engine and transmission.“While we await further findings from the forensic ...

Dutch court convicts man who projected antisemitic message on Anne Frank museum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:22 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A court in Amsterdam sentenced a Polish-Canadian national to two months in prison on Thursday for projecting a message alluding to an antisemitic conspiracy theory onto the Anne Frank House museum.Robert Wilson was charged with insulting a group and inciting discrimination for using a laser projector in February to display the words “Ann (sic) Frank invented the ballpoint pen” on the side of the canal house where the Jewish teenager hid with her family during the Holocaust. The text refers to a debunked claim that Frank’s famed diary is a forgery. “Given the great symbolic significance of Anne Frank’s diary for the commemoration of the persecution of the Jews, this statement can be regarded as a form of Holocaust denial,” the court wrote in its decision. Having already spent more than two months in pre-trial detention, Wilson has already served his sentence. He was not in the courtroom for the verdict. The judges ruled that Wilson had projected the scro...

Auditor general calls for online application portal for refugees amid severe backlogs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:22 GMT

Refugees are being left behind by Canada’s oversized immigration backlogs, and the federal auditor general is calling on the government to immediately create a way for them to apply online.A report from Auditor General Karen Hogan released on Thursday suggests that while processing times improved for most permanent residency programs in 2022, they remained long for refugee and humanitarian programs.Some applicants had waited almost three years for a decision, and as of the end of last year, 99,000 refugee applications were still waiting to be processed.“Many applicants will wait years for a decision in the current processing environment,” Hogan said in her report.She said refugees would benefit from a secure online application process that was recently introduced for other immigration streams and is calling for it to be created “without further delay.”The government had already planned to make online applications available to refugee claimants and hopes...

Anti-discrimination efforts falling short in the public service: auditor general

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:22 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal auditor general says Canada’s efforts to combat racism and discrimination in major departments and agencies are falling short.Auditor General Karen Hogan found in a report released today that bureaucrats are failing to use data to understand how racialized employees are feeling, and this results in “missed opportunities” for change. The office examined the Department of Justice, Public Safety Canada, the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency, Correctional Service Canada and the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which account for about one-fifth of federal workers.All of those organizations have established equity, diversity and inclusion action plans, but Hogan says bureaucrats have no way to know whether they are working, and there is no comprehensive reporting on outcomes. The audit found that accountability for behavioural and cultural change was also “limited and not effectively measured.” About one-fifth of employees in t...

Five things to know about the auditor general’s reports on the federal public service

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:22 GMT

OTTAWA — A new round of reports from auditor general is once again revealing gaps and delays across the federal public service, including on access to antimicrobial drugs, the processing of immigration applications and discrimination in the public service.Auditor General Karen Hogan’s audits also look at the public service’s efforts to modernize its information technology systems and the way that benefits such as employment insurance are delivered.Here are five things to know from the reports.Canadians lack access to new antibiotics of last resortAs the growing threat of resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs continues to grow, the auditor found the government’s efforts to address to the problem were inadequate.Hogan said the government’s plan to address antimicrobial resistance doesn’t include any measurable goals or timelines, and it hasn’t done enough to secure new antibiotics that are available in other countries.The auditor f...

Slovakia’s president rejects appointment of climate change skeptic as environment minister

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:22 GMT

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s president announced Thursday that she is postponing the appointment of a new Cabinet following last month’s parliamentary election because she cannot accept the nomination of a climate change skeptic as environment minister.Liberal President Zuzana Caputova said Rudolf Huliak, who was nominated by the ultranationalist and pro-Russian Slovak National Party, could not ensure the proper functioning of the ministry because he opposes the government’s long-term environmental policies and Slovakia’s international obligations.“A candidate who has not recognized the scientific consensus on climate change and asserts no real climate crisis exists cannot be in charge and represent a ministry whose main role is the protection of nature, landscape and the Earth’s climate system,” Caputova said in a statement.She also mentioned Huliak’s advocacy of violence against environmentalists as a reason not to swear him in. Huliak, the mayor of the town ...

Japan and Australia agree to further step up defense cooperation under 2-month-old security pact

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:22 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan and Australia agreed Thursday to further expand defense ties, including with joint military exercises, under their upgraded security pact that took effect two months ago amid mutual concern about China’s growing influence in the region. The two countries have rapidly developed close defense ties in recent years, and Japan considers Australia as a semi-ally, its closest security partner after the United States, its only treaty ally. Japan’s Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, also agreed during talks in Tokyo to step up their three-way military cooperation with the United States, the Japanese Defense Ministry said in a statement. Kihara and Marles said that deepening their operational cooperation and joint exercises, and enhancing interoperability, were important steps in increasing their bilateral defense ties. The two ministers confirmed that there was continiung progress in those areas under their Reciprocal...

Sidney Powell pleads guilty in case over efforts to overturn Trump’s Georgia loss and gets probation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:22 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Lawyer Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to reduced charges Thursday over efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election in Georgia, becoming the second defendant in the sprawling case to reach a deal with prosecutors.Powell, who was charged alongside Trump and 17 others with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law, entered the plea just a day before jury selection was set to start in her trial. She pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors accusing her of conspiring to intentionally interfere with the performance of election duties.As part of the deal, she will serve six years of probation, will be fined $6,000 and will have to write an apology letter to Georgia and its residents. She also agreed to testify truthfully against her co-defendants at future trials.Powell, 68, was initially charged with racketeering and six other counts as part of a wide-ranging scheme to keep the Republican president in power after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden. P...