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Putting a floating barrier in the Rio Grande to stop migrants is new. The idea isn’t.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:54 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — In the final months of the Trump administration, a new plan to seal off the United States’ southern border started gaining steam: a floating water barrier to discourage migrants from trying to cross from Mexico. The idea never materialized. But three years later, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has put it into action. The state installed a floating barrier of bright orange, wrecking ball-sized buoys on the Rio Grande this month, stretching roughly the length of three soccer fields. It is an untested strategy of deterring migrants along the U.S. border that is already fortified in wide sections by high steel fencing and razor wire. The rollout of the buoys on the Rio Grande has thrust Texas into a new standoff with the Biden administration over immigration on the state’s 1,200-mile (1,930-kilometer) border with Mexico. The Justice Department has asked a federal court to order Texas to remove the buoys, saying the water barrier poses humanitarian and...

Feds warn Alberta clinic will violate medicare by charging for faster doctor access

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:54 GMT

Health Canada says a Calgary medical clinic that soon plans to charge its patients a fee to gain faster access to a family doctor would be breaching medicare laws.The federal agency says Alberta risks losing federal transfer health payments if it doesn’t do something about it.“Canadians should have access to primary health-care services based on medical need and not on their ability, or willingness, to pay,” Health Canada said in a statement Tuesday.“The Government of Canada does not support a two-tiered health-care system where patients may choose, or be required, to pay membership fees to access insured primary care services at clinics, or to gain expedited access to those services.”The issue surrounds the Marda Loop Medical Clinic, which has told its patients that starting next week, it will still see patients for free one day a week. The other four days will be dedicated to patients who pay annual membership fees such as $2,200 for an individual and $4,800 for a family.For that ...

Port strike will take two months for recovery, CN says, as wildfires dent earnings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:54 GMT

MONTREAL — Canada’s largest railway said the B.C. port strike will take two months to recover from, adding to the headaches of a company that lowered its earnings forecast amid falling profits brought on by a sluggish economy and a slew of natural disasters.Canadian National Railway Co. said Tuesday it now expects flat to slightly negative adjusted diluted earnings in 2023, instead of the mid-single-digit growth it predicted three months ago.Lower consumer demand as well as disruptions caused by wildfires reduced freight service over the second quarter, especially for containers and lumber products, CN said.“The heat and the wildfires in parts of both Eastern and Western Canada over the last few months have impacted our operations and the operations of some of our customers, and that’s had a temporary impact on volume. And we’ve seen more generally a softer volume market economically, particularly in some of our commodities segments,” chief executive Tr...

Trial date set for Canadian anti-crime researcher detained in Algeria since February

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:54 GMT

MONTREAL — A Canadian researcher who has been detained in Algeria since February on charges that he published secret information and accepted money to commit offences against public order will stand trial next month.Raouf Farrah’s trial has been set for Aug. 8 in the eastern Algerian city of Constantine, his lawyer Kouceila Zerguine said Tuesday, adding that his client is innocent.“He didn’t commit the two crimes that he has been charged with,” Zerguine said during an interview from Algeria. “During the inquiry, we submitted all the material evidence that refutes the charges.”Farrah’s 67-year-old father, Sebti Farrah, a Montreal-area resident, was arrested with his son while they were visiting relatives in Algeria and is scheduled to stand trial at the same time. Released on bail in mid-April after his health deteriorated, the father is also charged with receiving funds to commit offences against public order.Zerguine said the younger Farrah...

Man behind Mississauga mosque attack sentenced to 8 years in prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:54 GMT

A man accused of attacking several people inside a Mississauga mosque last year has been sentenced to eight years in prison.Mohammed Moiz Omar, 24, of Mississauga, pleaded guilty to three of seven charges last week, including administering a noxious substance and assault with a weapon. Investigators later upgraded the charges, saying the offences Omar is charged with constitute terrorist activity under the criminal code.The Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) ruled that Omar’s sentencing “is significantly higher than sentences usually received for the substantive offences because of the terrorism component.”“This was a targeted attack on all the congregants of the Islamic Centre. The worshippers present at the time and on some of the values held dear by Canadians. Those values include freedom to gather and pray and freedom of religion,” said federal prosecutor Sarah Shaikh.“The sentence reflects the seriousness of the offence and society&#...

Judge vacates desertion conviction for former US soldier captured in Afghanistan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:54 GMT

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday vacated the military conviction of Bowe Bergdahl, a former U.S. Army soldier who pleaded guilty to desertion after he left his post and was captured in Afghanistan and tortured by the Taliban.The ruling from U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington says that military judge Jeffrey Nance, who presided over the court-martial, failed to disclose that he had applied to the executive branch for a job as an immigration judge, creating a potential conflict of interest.Walton noted that former President Donald Trump had strongly criticized Bergdahl during the 2016 presidential campaign. Bergdahl’s lawyers argued that Trump’s comments placed undue command influence on Nance.Walton rejected the specific argument surrounding undue command influence, but he said a reasonable person could question the judge’s impartiality under the circumstances. Bergdahl was charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy after...

Prosecutors charge woman who drove into Green Bay building with reckless driving

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:54 GMT

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors filed charges Tuesday against the driver of a minivan that crashed into a building in Wisconsin, toppling much of its brick facade and leaving much of its roof sagging precariously.The Brown County District Attorney’s office charged the 29-year-old Green Bay woman with reckless driving, bail jumping and knowingly operating a motor vehicle while suspended.The woman told police the crash was caused by another vehicle cutting her off.Police said the crash Sunday night left the woman and a 27-year-old Oneida man riding in her vehicle with non-life-threatening injuries.The Main Street Commons building struck by the woman has been condemned and remains closed until further notice.Green Bay police said the minivan bounced off the building and spun around and did not penetrate it as the facade fell to the sidewalk below.James Brick, owner of the building, said the car hit a “perfect spot” on one side of the building that made the facade and part of the roo...

First panda born in France says goodbye and heads to China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:54 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Ensconced in a glass cage lined with bamboo shoots, the first panda ever born in France bid ‘’adieu’’ to the French zoo where it grew up and set off Tuesday for its new home in China.Named Yuan Meng, the 120-kilogram (264-pound) panda peered out of the cage as staff at the Beauval Zoo south of Paris paid an emotional farewell. Its name means ‘’the realization of a wish” or “accomplishment of a dream.”A crowd of well-wishers waved goodbye as the trailer pulling the cage rolled out of the zoo, the words “Bon Voyage Yuan Meng’’ painted on its sides.Yuan Meng was born in 2017 to parents at Beauval on a 10-year loan from China. The mother later gave birth to twin pandas. All the offspring are meant to be eventually be sent to China.Yuan Meng’s departure was initially delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the trip was long planned, Beauval Zoo director Rodolphe Delord described the day as “heartbreaking.”Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and so...

A man tried to sail from California to Mexico. He was rescued, but abandoned boat drifted to Hawaii

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:54 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — A boat that washed ashore in Hawaii last week has been identified as belonging to a California mariner who ran into trouble while sailing from San Diego to Guadalupe, Mexico, seven months ago. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed the owner of the boat sent a distress call on Dec. 12, 2022, KHON-TV reported. He was rescued and his boat was left behind.After drifting thousands of miles, the boat found its way Friday to Punaluu on Oahu’s windward coast, where it’s been laying on its side on white sand and rocks. The 24-foot boat, which has a California sticker, has been stripped of its anchor, engine and much of its insides.The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said the boat isn’t leaking any fuel or oil. The agency contacted the boat’s owner, who told the state he has no way to remove the vessel. The Coast Guard said their priority during a rescue is human life and it’s protocol to leave vessels behind. Owners, however, are liable for the boat...

Man suspected of shooting and injuring Dallas-area doctor was then shot and injured by police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:54 GMT

CEDAR HILL, Texas (AP) — A man suspected of shooting and injuring a doctor at a Dallas-area medical building was shot and injured Tuesday by police officers after his vehicle was involved in crash with another vehicle and officers could see he had a long gun, police said.Police in Cedar Hill, located just southwest of Dallas, said that officers were dispatched at 12:17 p.m. to Methodist Family Health Center after getting a call about a person with a gun in the building. A minute later, the dispatcher heard a gunshot.The first officer arrived at 12:21 p.m. and saw a doctor on the ground in front of the building with a gunshot wound, police said. Police said that another officer saw a man with a long gun leaving the scene, police said. Police said that the officer then relayed the suspect’s vehicle information to other officers. At 12:22 p.m., the suspect’s vehicle was involved in a crash just down the road.Police said that after the crash, the suspect still had the long g...