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Gulf oil lease sale postponed by court amid litigation over endangered whale protections

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:21 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A sale of federal Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases that had been scheduled for Nov. 8 was delayed Thursday by a federal appeals court, pending court arguments that focus on protections for an endangered whale species. The Biden administration announced the sale in March and originally scheduled it for Sept. 27. But, in August, the administration reduced the the area available for leases from 73 million acres (30 million hectares) to 67 million acres (27 million hectares), as part of a plan to protect the endangered Rice’s whale. The changes from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, also included new speed limits and new requirements for personnel on industry vessels in some of the areas to be leased. Oil and gas companies sued, resulting in a Lake Charles-based federal judge’s order throwing out the changes. The administration appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The appeals court initially set the sale for Nov....

City hoping to move forward with Waterfront East LRT plans without Union Station tunnel design

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:21 GMT

As development continues along the Waterfront East, the push to get transit built in the area has intensified. The City of Toronto is slowly moving plans forward but has left one key portion left behind.The updated construction cost for the Waterfront East LRT is $2.57 billion over 10 years, but only 30 per cent of design has been mapped out. City planners are looking for an additional $63 million to further it along to 60 per cent designed, but in phases.“[For the] tunnel connecting Union Station to Queens Quay. They’ve suggested not to further that design and my understanding from reading the report is that engineers are suggesting that that project [is] the most complex and the most expensive,” said Tim Kocur, executive director of the Waterfront BIA.A statement from Toronto’s Transit Expansion Division said, “Balancing the City’s current financial pressures with City Council’s direction to expedite Waterfront East LRT construction, the&nbs...

Ontario NDP leader under fire for removal of rookie legislator

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:21 GMT

The Ontario NDP is facing division among its ranks after party leader Marit Stiles booted a rookie legislator out of caucus, dousing one political firestorm, but in turn sparking another.Earlier this week Stiles kicked Sarah Jama out of caucus after a series of events that began with a statement on the Israel-Hamas war that failed to mention or condemn the attack on Israeli civilians, though the ouster ultimately came after a series of moves from Jama that either publicly defied Stiles or caught her unaware.There’s no road back to caucus at the moment for Jama, Stiles said Thursday.“The member put us in a very untenable position and I had to make a very difficult decision and I know that there’s going to be some hurt out there and we have a lot of conversations to have and I’m listening,” she said.NDP legislator Jill Andrew defended Jama, saying she did not support kicking her out of caucus and questioning Stiles’ statement on the matter.“Th...

Man accused of drunken driving can sue Michigan police officer who misread a breath test

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:21 GMT

A man from Japan wrongly accused of drunken driving can sue a Michigan police officer who grossly misread a breath test and conceded during the stop that she had “no idea” what she was doing, a federal appeals court said Thursday.The man blew a 0.02 on the breath test, but it was mistakenly read by the Fowlerville officer as 0.22 — nearly three times over the state’s blood-alcohol limit for driving.A blood draw subsequently revealed a blood-alcohol level of 0.01. Charges of driving while intoxicated were dropped days later in 2020 when the lab results came in. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the man’s lawsuit, alleging a violation of constitutional rights, can proceed against Officer Caitlyn Peca.The man, a 37-year-old native of Yonago, Japan, was in the U.S. on a work visa.“It would be evident to a reasonable officer that (the man) was, quite apparently, sober,” Judge Jane Stranch said in a 3-0 opinion. “So a reasonable jury could conclude that (the) arrest was not...

Federal justice minister orders review of Quebec man’s 2002 sex assault conviction

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:21 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal justice minister has ordered the Quebec Court of Appeal to review the conviction of a man found guilty of sexual assault more than two decades ago.Justice Minister Arif Virani says in a statement there is “a reasonable basis to conclude that a miscarriage of justice likely occurred,” based on new information not available during the Quebec man’s trial or his appeal.The man is identified only by the initials M.R. because the case involved the alleged sexual assault of a minor under his care.Virani says that following an extensive review, he has referred the case to the Quebec Court of Appeal to hear a new appeal according to conviction review provisions in the Criminal Code.In February 2002, M.R. was convicted in provincial court in Quebec City of sexually assaulting a minor between 1998 and 2000 and was sentenced to two years less a day.The Quebec Court of Appeal dismissed M.R.’s appeal on Sept. 1, 2004, and in April 2005, he was denied l...

Gunman opens fire on city of Buffalo vehicle, killing one employee and wounding two others

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:21 GMT

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A city of Buffalo employee was killed and two others were wounded Thursday when the city pickup truck they were in was struck multiple times by gunfire from a passing vehicle, state police said. The shooting in the southbound lanes of Interstate 190 just north of downtown Buffalo was reported at 11:20 a.m. State police were searching for a dark-colored Jeep Grand Cherokee believed involved in the shooting and asked other motorists who might have been traveling on the busy highway at the time to come forward with dashcam video. “We have several leads that we are working on, but currently we do not have a motive for the shooting,” state police Maj. Eugene Staniszewski said at a news conference. “This is believed to be an isolated incident and we have no information that there is a threat ongoing to the community at this time.”The victims were employees of the Buffalo Sewer Authority and had just finished a job when they were shot as they drove back to the Sewer Au...

National Air Races get bids for new home in California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:21 GMT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Leaders of the National Championship Air Races held in Reno since 1964 plan visits later this year to six Western cities that have submitted bids to host the annual competition beginning in 2025 in California, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado or Wyoming.Organizers of the event announced early this year that the races held last month would be the last in Reno because of a variety of factors, including rising insurance costs and encroachment of housing around Reno-Stead Airport where the races have been held for more than a half-century.Three of the cities that have submitted proposals to become the competition’s new home are in states neighboring Nevada — Wendover, Utah, on the Nevada line along Interstate 80; Thermal, California, southeast of Palm Springs; and Buckeye, Arizona, on the western edge of Phoenix.The others are Roswell, New Mexico; Pueblo, Colorado; and Casper, Wyoming.Fred Telling, CEO and chairman of the board for the Reno Air Racing Associat...

Heather Reisman marks Indigo comeback with new store following leadership turmoil

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:21 GMT

TORONTO — Strolling between rows of books and a seemingly endless array of other wares at Indigo Books and Music Inc.’s newest store in Toronto’s The Well building on Thursday, Heather Reisman is in her element.She admires art from local customers that hangs atop the store’s stationary section, toggles a jukebox to play Bette Midler’s 1990 hit “From a Distance” and fantasizes about dedicating space in the kids’ section for arts and crafts.“We’re going to get a big tarp and put it over this,” she said, motioning staff toward a giant wood table during a media tour the day before the location is set to open.“So kids can paint and do stuff on here … That’s what I do at home.”Having operated 171 stores in her company’s 27 years in business, the jaunt around the Well location may seem unremarkable but for Reisman, it’s the first stage of a comeback — for herself and her beloved empire.It wasn’t long ago that Reisman gave up...

Motorized smash-and-grab thieves target another high-end Chicago sneaker store

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:21 GMT

CHICAGO — For the third consecutive day, smash-and-grab thieves have targeted a high-end shoe store in Chicago.While the suspects failed to penetrate the Boneyard Chicago Shoe Store in the 1100 block of N. Ashland Ave., significant damage was caused before the culprits abandoned their destructive effort."No one’s helping us. The police can’t catch these guys. They come after the fact," said frustrated Boneyard Chicago Shoe Store owner Jacob, who did not wish to reveal his last name. ‘Takes your dream away’: Over $100K worth of merchandise stolen after SUV crashes into shoe store Video showed the assailants in a stolen Jeep using the automobile as a battering ram just after 4 a.m. Thursday. A security guard protecting the sneaker resale shop was seen quickly retreating after the would-be robbers flashed a gun."I don’t expect there to be a gunfight right here," Jacob said. "It’s just a deterrent that obviously failed."According to the business owner, dating back to 2020, it's the t...

How AI is helping detect breast cancer

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:21 GMT

Artificial intelligence is penetrating our lives and now doctors say it can help save our lives. AI and breast imaging are helping doctors better detect cancer.For even the highly trained eye, it’s difficult to spot the suspicious lesion on some mammograms. But artificial intelligence can.Think of it as another set of eyes scrolling through thousands of images, just like radiologists do. For nearly a decade, NorthShore University HealthSystems radiologist Dr Georgia Spear has been using computer-aided detection – a form of artificial intelligence — in the reading room, particularly for women with dense breast tissue.  Breast cancer clinic at Northwestern helping Hispanic women with diagnosis, treatment and support “If a woman has more white on her mammogram, her tissue is more dense and cancer appears as white as well,” she said.That’s where the technology is making the biggest impact. In breast imaging, the machine-learning platform is fed thousands of images and taught to i...