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EU says Ukraine is making progress with reforms and on track to membership talks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:05 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union said Thursday that Ukraine, even amid war and relentless attacks from Russia, was staying the course towards opening membership talks with the bloc and lauded it for reforms in several sectors.Ukraine sees EU membership as an essential part of its Western-oriented future. For over a year it has worked on paving the way to opening talks and the 27-nation bloc issued some badly needed words of encouragement, although it said work remains to be done. In an interim report addressing only part of the changes the nation needs to make to start talks, EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said Kyiv had “completed” two of seven steps, on judicial governance and media freedom and that “good progress had been made on constitutional court reform.But he added that only “some progress” had been made on tackling corruption, money laundering and the system of oligarchs, and on dealing with minority groups it still needed to address recommendations from...

Baby Shark bath toy recalled by Health Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:05 GMT

Health Canada has recalled a Baby Shark bath toy over concerns children may cut themselves while playing with them. Officials say the hard plastic fin on the Zuru Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Bath toy may cause a laceration if a child falls on the toy.The plastic battery-operated toy looks like a small shark and comes in three colours – yellow, blue and pink. When placed in water it swims and sings a song. “Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled product and dispose of the product appropriately,” Health Canada said in a recall notice issued Thursday. The company says more than 133,000 toys have been sold in Canada from May 2019 to April 2023. The model number is 25282. As of June 7, 2023, the company has received no reports of injuries or lacerations in Canada.

Sinema cites bill targeting leaders of failed banks after criticism of her Wall Street ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:05 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the Democratic defector turned independent who’s been criticized as too closely aligned with Wall Street interests, took credit Thursday for helping broker legislation that would target executives of failed banks.Sinema, who has not said whether she will seek a second-term in 2024, cited the bill approved this week by the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee as an example of the bipartisan dealmaking she says is often lacking from Congress. Her steadfast support for across-the-aisle negotiations fueled her divorce from the Democratic Party last year and is complicating her potential path toward reelection in one of the most closely watched Senate campaigns.Sinema described her role to The Associated Press in facilitating a deal between the committee chairman, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and the top Republican, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.“My job was helping them understand the differences between them and helping ...

Cannabis company Canopy Growth reports $648 million net loss in fourth quarter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:05 GMT

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. — Canopy Growth Corp. says its net loss grew in its most recent quarter as the company continued with an overhaul of its business.The Smiths Falls, Ont. cannabis company says its fourth quarter net loss amounted to $648 million, $59 million more than the loss it incurred a year earlier.It attributed much of the loss to $164 million in asset impairment and restructuring costs, but says those costs were partially offset by improved gross margins.The company’s net revenue for the period ended March 31 totalled $88 million, 14 per cent lower than the revenue reported a year prior.Canopy’s adjusted loss for the quarter was $96 million, a $36 million improvement from its negative adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization a year earlier. The earnings come as Canopy has been consolidating its cultivation across several facilities and after it revealed in February that it will cut 800 staff.This report by The Canadian Press was fi...

GOP releases whistleblower testimonies from ex-IRS agents in Hunter Biden case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:05 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans released testimony Thursday from two IRS whistleblowers who allege that the Justice Department interfered with their yearslong investigation into President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter — a charge the department swiftly denied.The House Ways and Means Committee, led by Republican Rep. Jason Smith, voted to publicly disclose congressional testimony from two former IRS agents who worked on the federal investigation into the younger Biden’s taxes and foreign business dealings. “Whistleblowers describe how the Biden Justice Department intervened and overstepped in a campaign to protect the son of Joe Biden by delaying, divulging and denying an ongoing investigation into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax crimes,” Smith, R-Mo., told reporters. The testimony from the two individuals — Greg Shapley and an unidentified IRS agent — detailed what they called a pattern of “slow-walking investigative steps” and delaying enforcement actions months before elections. Bu...

Quebec wildfires: Northern city Lebel-sur-Quévillon evacuated for second time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:05 GMT

MONTREAL — The northern Quebec city of Lebel-sur-Quévillon has been ordered to evacuate for the second time in less than three weeks as the community once again faces the threat of a forest fire.One of two routes connecting the community to the rest of the province has been blocked by fire, Mayor Guy Lafrenière said in a video message Thursday.“Unfortunately, we are forced to leave,” he said. “It will absolutely, absolutely, take rain for us to return home.”Hot, dry weather conditions were forecasted to persist through the weekend.Lafrenière said everyone had to leave before 6:30 p.m., and implored people ready to leave immediately to do so, to avoid traffic congestion on the evacuation route.Only firefighters and people providing essential services to those crews would be allowed to stay, he said. Residents of the city of about 2,000 people had been forced from their homes for two weeks because of fires and had only been allowed to return Sunday. Evacuees we...

Body recovered from Lake Michigan near where woman went missing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:05 GMT

CHICAGO — A body has been recovered from Lake Michigan near Foster Avenue Beach, where a woman went missing Wednesday evening.Around 9:40 a.m. Thursday, police discovered the body of a woman not too far from the beach area. Police have not confirmed that the body is the missing swimmer. Son of victim speaks out after driver in hit-and-run crash near Guaranteed Rate Field charged The Cook County Medical Examiner's Officer identified the woman as Amy Kelts, 20, of Aurora.Police said the teen was swimming at the beach around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. Witnesses said she was last seen struggling to swim to the shore, before submerging under the water. The Chicago Fire Department’s dive team searched the area Wednesday night and resumed their search around 9 a.m. Thursday.Dave Benjamin, the co-founder of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, said waves were anywhere from 1 to 2 feet Wednesday night.Tragically, Benjamin said there have been 10 drownings this year in Lake Michigan. Five of tho...

Memes, jokes about Titan submersible draw criticism over insensitivity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:05 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Since news of the ill-fated Titan submersible voyage broke, the incident — which ultimately killed all five people aboard — has seemingly united many who found humor in the situation, or else, unity among those who expressed disgust at jokes about such a gruesome death for those aboard, including a 19-year-old. The pilot and 4 passengers of the Titan submersible are dead, US Coast Guard says Through Wednesday and into Thursday, the OceanGate incident dominated social media site trends. Among many of these posts were memes about the perceived ignorance of boarding such a voyage to begin with. A Reddit thread in /NoStupidQuestions posed the question many on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook may have been wondering: How are so many people comfortable making jokes about the Titanic submarine?One main reason given for the perceived glee or dismissiveness with which the incident has been met with is summed up in a German word: "schadenfreude." As defined by Merria...

GOP members push to impeach President Biden; Democrats call it a waste of time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:05 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) introduced a resolution to impeach President Joe Biden Thursday and wanted an immediate vote, but House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) negotiated a deal with her that slows down the process.Her reason to seek Biden's impeachment?"Allowing an invasion to take place across our southern border that has compromised the safety and security of the American people," Boebert said.She said the deal would give time to build "a body of evidence at the committee level."Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said he supports the resolution."How many more Americans need to suffer because this President refuses to follow the laws of the United States that he raised his hand and swore an oath to defend," Roy said.But House Democrats say it's clear the Republican effort is just a waste of time."Let's get real here, nothing about this is serious," said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.).McGovern said the GOP is ignoring the real issues Americans care about."This bod...

See where Metra is adding extra trains for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:05 GMT

CHICAGO — Spectators heading to the first NASCAR race ever held in downtown Chicago will have a few extra train options to get there. On Thursday Metra announced an expanded schedule for the Chicago Street Race that will be held Saturday, July 1, and Sunday, July 2 on a 2.2-mile course around Grant Park.Two lines will see expanded service for the event: BNSF to Aurora and Rock Island Line toward Joliet. Here are the additions to those schedules on those lines. A Guide to NASCAR’s Chicago Street Race BNSF (Saturday and Sunday)Inbound9504 – Departs Aurora 7:10 a.m., makes all stops to Downers Grove and then expresses to Chicago Union Station9506 – Departs Aurora 8:10 a.m., makes all stops to Downers Grove and then expresses to Chicago Union Station9512 – Departs Aurora 10:15 a.m., makes all stops to Downers Grove and then expresses to Chicago Union StationOutbound:9523 – Departs Chicago Union Station at 6:35 p.m., expresses to Downers Grove and then makes all st...