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A look at some of the seven victims who perished in Old Montreal fire

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

Montreal police said seven people perished in a fire that swept through an Old Montreal building on the morning of March 16. Victims are from Ontario, Quebec and the United States. After discovering the final two bodies on Monday, police said they did not believe there were any other victims in the rubble.Here is a list of the victims who have been identified or reported missing.An Wu, 31, a neuroscientist doing post-doctoral work at the University of California San Diego, was in Montreal for a conference. She had decided to extend her stay for a night because she loved the city. The late Montrealer Leonard Cohen was her favourite singer and poet. A colleague described her as “creative, fearless, and forward-thinking, with a constant desire to learn.”Dania Zafar, 31, of Toronto, and Saniya Khan, 31, of Detroit, were childhood friends from Pakistan who were visiting Montreal for a brief one-day holiday. Zafar’s father, Zafar Mahmood, said the two were scheduled to r...

Police ID kids, all age 9, and adults in Nashville shooting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A woman wielding two “assault-style” rifles and a pistol killed three 9-year-old students and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville on Monday in the latest in a series of mass shootings in a country growing increasingly unnerved by bloodshed in schools.The suspect, who was killed by police, is believed to be a former student at The Covenant School in Nashville, where the shooting took place.The victims were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all 9 years old, and adults Cynthia Peak, 61; Katherine Koonce, 60; and Mike Hill, 61.The website of The Covenant School, a Presbyterian school founded in 2001, lists a Katherine Koonce as the head of the school. Her LinkedIn profile says she has led the school since July 2016.The attack at The Covenant School — which has about 200 students from preschool through sixth grade, as well as roughly 50 staff members — comes as communities around the nation are reeling from a s...

Disorganized foreign-aid reporting means Ottawa can’t track feminist outcomes: audit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

OTTAWA — Global Affairs Canada has no sense of whether development aid meant to help women and girls abroad is actually advancing gender equity, according to an audit tabled in Parliament on Monday morning.“The department was unable to show us how the money invested actually was improving the lives of women and girls,” auditor general Karen Hogan told reporters, citing “significant weaknesses” in record-keeping.Hogan found Ottawa does not track whether an annual $3.5 billion in bilateral aid is actually meeting the goals of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, and she noted that aid for Africa has been diverted to Ukraine.The audit found the department struggled to provide information on projects because of a lack of standardized record-keeping and forms not getting filled out.“Some of the required information had been stored on computers of staff who had since left the department, so officials were unable to find the required inform...

Canadian branch not included in sale of Silicon Valley Bank to First Citizens

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

TORONTO — A regulatory filing shows the Canadian branch of Silicon Valley Bank is not part in First Citizens’ purchase of most of the failed U.S. bank.The U.S. 8-K filing shows that the Canadian, German and Hong Kong branches of Silicon Valley Bank will instead be available as an option for First Citizens to purchase. Canada’s banking regulator moved to seize the Canadian assets of Silicon Valley Branch as the parent bank collapsed, then secured a winding-up order that’s designed in part to assist with a potential transition of the Canadian branch operations. The wind-up order granted by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice also provide the framework for a future liquidation if no other option is possible.  PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc., which has been appointed by the court to oversee the transition, didn’t respond to a request for comment on how the sale to First Citizens, announced late Sunday, might affect the Canadian branch.The Canadian branch of Silicon...

Canada extends, shrinks anti-ISIL ‘Operation Impact’ mission in the Middle East

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada is extending a scaled-down version of its military mission in Iraq and the Middle East for another two years.Defence Minister Anita Anand announced the extension Monday afternoon, before the mandate for the mission known as Operation Impact was set to expire on Friday. The latest extension comes more than eight years after Canada first deployed troops to the region in October 2014 as the Islamic State militant group threatened to take over Iraq and Syria.The mission has evolved numerous times over the years, previously including fighter jets, transport and surveillance aircraft, helicopters and military trainers and special forces troops.But it has also shrunk in size and prominence as concerns about ISIL have receded while other crises and threats such as Russia, China and the COVID-19 pandemic have emerged.Defence officials say the number of Canadian troops is being scaled back further, with the military planning to have around 150 troops in the region, which is ha...

Little Rock Police: 2 dead, 5 wounded in late-night shooting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Two people died and five more were wounded in a shooting in Little Rock, police said.Little Rock Police Chief Heath Helton told reporters that officers responded to a shooting around 9:25 p.m. Sunday. Police said 20-year old Malachi Carey died at the scene and that 20-year-old Jailene Washington died at a local hospital. One of the five who were wounded remained in the hospital in serious condition Monday afternoon.Helton said a large number of cars had gathered at the location where the shootings occurred. He said police are interviewing witnesses and serving search warrants but did not say how many suspects police are trying to find.The shooting did not appear to be related to an earlier reported shooting in which a woman said she may have been grazed by a bullet when someone shot at her car, Helton said. Both shootings took place southwest of downtown Little Rock.The Associated Press

MedWatch Daily Digest: How excessive marijuana use impacts fertility – and more

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

For Monday, March 27, WGN’s Dina Bair has the latest on new medical information, including: More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch After researchers found that excessive marijuana use dampens male fertility, a new study shows how ending THC use may reverse the impactResearchers have found a large increase in crash fatalities where recreational cannabis dispensaries were readily available compared to states where only medical marijuana was legalWhy routine check-ups before an operation may not be necessary

'Play for Opening Day' kicks off baseball season at Wrigley Field

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

CHICAGO — Opening day for the Chicago Cubs is just days away and Monday some fortunate fans had the chance to take the field.Coined the 'Play for Opening Day' event, Cubs fans gathered at Wrigley Field for the chance to win prizes and the opportunity to show off their abilities with a bat. "I think its been a long winter and we're ready for it to be over and warm up and to get back out to baseball at Wrigley Field," said Cubs Senior Vice President of Ticketing, Cale Vennum. "So we wanted to raise some awareness that the season is starting and have some fun while we do it." New burgers, beer bats, trophy room: See what’s new at Wrigley Field in 2023 Fans who arrived at the event by noon were given a scratch off card, and if they were lucky enough to be one of 50 who had a winning ticket, they got the opportunity to take three swings and hit one of several targets for a variety of prizes, which included a sizable cash prize to the first fan who could hit the stack of Budweiser cases...

Illinois Red Cross volunteers prepare to head south, aide in Mississippi, Alabama tornado relief

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

(AP) — With at least 25 people dead in Mississippi, tornadoes that ravaged parts of the Deep South overnight were the deadliest in the state in more than a decade, according to National Weather Service records.By comparison, 31 people died in Mississippi in April 2011 during tornadoes that tore through several states, mostly in the southeastern U.S., weather service meteorologist Chris Outler said Saturday. Alabama was hit hardest during that so-called “super outbreak” of hundreds of twisters that killed more than 320 people and caused an estimated $12 billion in damage.Just a month later, another deadly twister ripped through Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people. Outler, in Las Vegas, called 2011 “the headline year for tornadoes for the last 20 years or so."The sheriff's office in Morgan County, Alabama, reported one storm-related death on Saturday, bringing the overall total during overnight storms to at least 26. Family seeks tips after woman with disabilities goes mi...

FAA nominee drops out after Republicans question qualifications

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – The Federal Aviation Administration has gone nearly a year without a Senate-confirmed administrator. Now, the president's nominee has dropped out after staunch opposition from senators who said he was unqualified.Over the weekend, Phil Washington withdrew as the Biden nominee for administrator of the FAA as Republicans, like Senator Ted Cruz, campaigned against Washington’s nomination -- saying Washington lacked the necessary experience to lead the FAA.“I think every member of this committee knows that Mr. Washington is not qualified for the position,” Sen. Cruz said.During a hearing, Washington said he has not served as a military pilot, commercial airline pilot or an air traffic controller when asked by Cruz.Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) further questioned the nominee on “the six types of special use airspace that protect this national security that appear on FAA charts,” to which Washington said he could not answer the question.Without the needed support, Sen. Maria...