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Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) union workers vote to strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:22 GMT

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) union workers have voted in “overwhelmingly in favour of” strike action.The Public Service Alliance of Canada says the vote on behalf of 35,000 workers represented by both the PSAC and Union of Taxation Employees comes just more than a week before a final round of negotiations with the employer.The union says workers have been without a contract for more than a year, even as the cost of living continues to rise. It claims the federal government continues to have “major concessions on the table,” adding the CRA has yet to “respond to the union’s wage proposals.”The strike action vote comes just weeks before the income tax filing deadline.“Tax season is here,” said Marc Brière, national president of the Union of Taxation Employees. “Going on strike is never our first choice. But securing a strong strike mandate now gives us the leverage we need to reach a fair and decent contract. And if we need to take job action t...

Man dies of carbon monoxide poisoning during power outage, Quebec police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:22 GMT

MONTREAL — Police say the third person to die in a vicious ice storm was a man in Saint-Joseph-Du-Lac, Que., who was running a generator in his garage.Insp. Jean Philippe Labbé says the man’s wife found him unconscious in the garage, and the 75-year-old died after being taken to hospital in Ste-Eustache.He says firefighters determined carbon monoxide levels in the garage were 20 times the norm.Earlier, Premier Francois Legault told reporters that a man in Ste-Eustache had died after bringing his barbecue indoors, but Labbé says that was a misunderstanding.Montreal’s health authority said dozens of people suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning after using outdoor appliances inside during the blackout caused by Wednesday’s ice storm.Officials say they received more than 60 reports of CO poisoning over the course of several hours today, while emergency rooms were at 200 per cent capacity.   Legault announced the latest death while touring Les Coteaux, Que., where ano...

Award-winning retired AP journalist Harold Olmos dead at 78

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:22 GMT

Award-winning Bolivian journalist Harold Olmos, whose gentlemanly manner belied a remarkable reportorial tenacity and who led Associated Press operations in Venezuela and Brazil after fleeing his coup-convulsed homeland more than four decades ago, has died at age 78.Olmos died Wednesday in the eastern lowlands city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, of a heart attack after a long illness, said his son, José Olmos. He said his father had struggled with diabetes.The journalist, a role model for younger colleagues with deep experience covering military challenges to democracy, had returned to his native country in 2006 after retiring from the AP. He launched a second career as a columnist, educator and author when Evo Morales, a leftist coca-growers’ union leader embraced by the country’s indigenous majority, began to dominate Bolivian politics.“He had very strong and public opinions,” his son said, particularly about what he considered to be an assault on press freedom by MoralesR...

Protected Iran critic speaks at sentence in plot against her

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — An Iranian opposition activist who U.S. authorities said was the target of two thwarted kidnapping or murder plots urged a federal judge in New York on Friday to hand a tough prison to a woman who unwittingly funded one of the planned attacks.Masih Alinejad, a onetime Iranian journalist, said her sense of safety has been shattered since authorities notified her in 2020 that she was being watched and that photographs were taken of her Brooklyn residence of 10 years. Since then, she has received U.S. government protection and has moved frequently between safe houses.“This crime left its mark. Every day when I go out in the street, I have to look over my shoulders. … I miss my tree-lined street and my neighbors who treated me as one of their own,” Alinejad told Judge Ronnie Abrams as she asked her to set an example by sending 48-year-old Niloufar Bahadorifar, of Irvine, California, to prison for as long as possible.Abrams did just that, announcing a four-year pris...

Study seeks to understand police recruiting and retention

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:22 GMT

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A police force and university in northern Virginia are teaming up for what they say will be a first-of-its-kind study that will seek over the next 20 years the assess the challenges police agencies face in recruitment and retention.Police departments across the country are reporting that they cannot hire officers fast enough to replace those retiring or resigning. An annual survey of nearly 200 agencies by the Police Executive Research Forum shows that resignations increased by 47 percent from 2019 to 2022.The Fairfax County Police Department, which is participating in the study announced Friday, is emblematic of the trend. Police Chief Kevin Davis said the police force is more than 200 officers short of the 1,484 officers it is authorized to employ, though he said a larger-than-normal academy class of 58 will soon fill some of the gap.Davis said at a press conference Friday that the study will help agencies like his understand what police need to do to attract t...

US sanction officials plan missions to clamp down on Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top sanctions officials from the U.S. Treasury Department plan special international trips this month to pressure firms and countries still doing business with Russia to cut off financial ties because of the war on Ukraine. The message is that those working with Russia’s government must decide:1. Continue to provide Moscow with material support or2. Keep doing business with countries that represent 50 percent of the global economy.Those are the choices to be laid out, senior Treasury officials told reporters on a call Friday. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the travel plans. Treasury officials Liz Rosenberg and Brian Nelson — specialists in sanctions and terrorist financing — will travel to Europe this month to meet with leaders of financial institutions in Switzerland, Italy and Germany. They plan to share intelligence on potential sanctions evaders and to warn of the potential penalties for failure to comply with international sanctions.Rosenb...

Best seasons in Chicago Fire history

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:22 GMT

Started in 1996, Major League Soccer is among the youngest professional sports leagues in North America. However, the league has expanded rapidly since kicking off with 10 teams nearly 27 years ago.The latest expansion enabled MLS to triple its initial size by its 28th season—St. Louis City became the 29th MLS club by opening its league account against Austin FC on February 25. By comparison, the NFL took 76 seasons to reach 29 teams. The NHL took 84 seasons and the NBA took 50. MLB, meanwhile, didn't reach 29 teams until 1998, 122 years after the formation of the National League and 97 after the American League. Those leagues grew at a snail's pace compared to MLS.With MLS reaching the 29-team mark, and because the league is solidly in the later years of its "young adult" phase, there's plenty of ways to dig into the data that chronicles the league's lore. One angle is to look into the best seasons in each franchise's history. Luckily, there's now just enough data to make...

Can I die from drinking too much water?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:22 GMT

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Water is necessary to stay alive, but too much of it can have the opposite effect.There are many names for water intoxication, according to Healthline. These include hyperhydration, water toxemia and water poisoning. No matter what name a person puts on it, it comes out to the same result.There is not a set amount of water that leads to this intoxication, as it depends on a person's age and health. For example, a healthy adult's kidneys can flush about 20-28 liters of water per day. However, their body can only get rid of about 1 liter per hour. Most popular searches about Illinois Doctors recommend to not drink more than 1 liter per hour, as the body will not have time to flush the access water. If a person drinks more than this, it can lead to a fluid buildup in the body. The blood's sodium concentration becomes very low when this happens.This causes all of the body's cells begin to swell, which includes brain cells. If these swell too much, it can lead t...

A Missouri barbecue spot shows up in 'Ted Lasso' episodes: This is why

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:22 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — A barbecue restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, is getting a lot of love on "Ted Lasso" — thanks to one of the show's stars.Jason Sudeikis, who plays the titular Ted Lasso in the hit Apple TV+ series, grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, eating Kansas City-style barbecue.Now, he's subtlety letting the rest of the world know about one of his favorite Kansas City spots. 78-year-old woman accused of bank robbery in Missouri Sudeikis is dropping pictures of Arthur Bryant's Barbecue into certain episodes of the show. The last two episodes show pictures of the restaurant as the background on Lasso's laptop."Beyond honored to be Ted Lasso’s laptop background, as seen in the newest episode. Believe in BBQ," Arthur Bryant's Barbecue tweeted last week.The tweet was followed up with a request from the restaurant when the building showed up again."Second week in a row we make an appearance on @TedLasso. Please never change your laptop background, Ted. Believe in BBQ. @j...

Can I legally grow tobacco in Illinois?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:22 GMT

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The use of tobacco has become less popular in recent years, but many adults still partake in smoking the plant.With prices being as high as they are, many smokers in Illinois might be wondering if they can save some money and grow the plant at home.Growing tobacco is legal in Illinois, according to the Daily Journal, but only for personal consumption. Selling the plant without a license can lead to stiff penalties. There are also no federal laws on the amount of tobacco that a resident can grow, so they can grow as much as they choose. Can I bring weed purchased in Illinois to other states? Earwigs, also known as "pincher bugs," reportedly love to munch on tobacco leaves. If a resident is wanting to grow their own plants, it is important to have a plan to either keep the bugs from eating the leaves or deal with them once they do.While growing tobacco is legal at the state level, local laws can prevent residents from growing the plant. They might need to get...