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Ousted Texas bishop rallies outside US bishops meeting as his peers reinforce Catholic voter values

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:40 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Soon after U.S. bishops inside a Baltimore hotel approved materials on how Catholics should vote in 2024 elections, their recently ousted colleague and dozens of his supporters rallied outside the annual fall business meeting.Bishop Joseph Strickland, a conservative cleric recently removed by Pope Francis as head of the diocese of Tyler, Texas, following his increasingly severe criticisms of the pontiff, prayed the rosary with dozens of supporters along the waterfront.Inside their conference room, the bishops approved a document that didn’t say who Catholics should vote for, but rather how they should rely on the church’s teachings, like its anti-abortion and pro-immigrant stances, when making their ballot choices.The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the top Catholic clergy body in America, approved supplements on Wednesday to its voter guide, which is known as “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.”The materials, which include bulletin inserts and a vid...

‘It’s not enough’: Drivers call out plan to widen busy roadway on Toronto-Pickering border

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:40 GMT

Like thousands of other drivers everyday, Steve Garvin spends a lot of his time using Steeles Avenue East to get to and from work.He sums up the experience in two words: “It’s brutal.”It’s a statement echoed by other drivers tasked with using the increasingly busy roadway, which connects East Scarborough in Toronto to Durham Region.“We have a lot of people moving to Pickering and we have a lot of people coming from Toronto who work in Pickering,” says Pickering Coun. David Pickles, Ward 3. “Steeles Avenue is a critical link between the two regions.”At issue is the portion of the roadway — more than five kilometers — that has just two lanes between Tapscott Road and the Pickering line.“It’s four lanes up until those points but as soon as it goes down to two lanes, it’s chaos,” says Garvin. “The traffic just bottlenecks and backs up, especially if other drivers have to make a turn, you can’t pass them.”City of Toronto has plans to widen roadIn...

Another victim of Maine mass shooting discharged from hospital as panel prepares to convene

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:40 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Medical staff lined the hallways this week as another victim of last month’s Lewiston mass shooting was released from Central Maine Medical Center, leaving only two of the wounded in the hospital.Doctors, nurses and team members paid silent tribute to the patient, who was not identified, after a two-and-a-half week stay in the hospital in Lewiston, the city where 18 people were killed and 13 others injured on Oct. 25 in the deadliest shooting in state history.The hospital staff “wanted to acknowledge this milestone, while at the same time remain mindful that this patient, and many of us, have a long road ahead,” said Kris Chaisson, chief nursing officer.The patient’s departure Monday leaves two patients, both in stable condition, at Central Maine Medical Center, an official said. Most of the injured were taken to Central Maine Medical Center, while one each went to other hospitals in Lewiston, Portland and Boston. The others have been discharged, i...

Appeals court frees attorney from having to join, pay dues to Louisiana bar association, for now

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:40 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Louisiana lawyer who objected to the state bar association’s public statements on several issues including health tips and LGBTQ rights can no longer be forced to join or pay dues to the association, a federal appeals court has ruled.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order, dated Monday, blocks the Louisiana State Bar Association from forcing attorney Randy Boudreaux to join the LSBA or pay its dues, at least for now. The ruling sends the case back to a federal district judge for further action. It appears to leave open the possibility that mandatory membership and dues could be imposed on Boudreaux, if the LSBA no longer takes public positions deemed “non-germane” to the regulation of the legal profession.Boudreaux’s is one of more than two dozen cases playing out around the country challenging state requirements that attorneys join and pay dues to state bar associations. Organizations including the Goldwater Institute and, in Louisiana, the Pel...

Supplies alone won’t save Gaza hospital patients and evacuation remains perilous, experts say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:40 GMT

LONDON (AP) — As concerns grow for patients stranded inside Gaza’s biggest hospital, experts warned that transporting vulnerable people, including babies, is a perilous proposition under even the best circumstances.On Tuesday, Palestinian authorities proposed a supervised evacuation of Shifa Hospital, a sprawling complex that runs several city blocks in the heart of Gaza City. Hours later, Israeli forces raided the facility — further complicating the picture.Dr. Irwin Redlener of Columbia University in New York said that moving newborns and premature babies with health problems is fraught but possible with trained personnel, proper equipment and a transportation plan.“Babies in incubators have complex health needs and there needs to be temperature control, hydration, medication for infections and breathing support,” said Redlener, a pediatrician and disaster response expert, who spoke before the raid.Redlener said that when hospitals in New York were evacuated due to Superstorm Sand...

FCC adopts rules to eliminate ‘digital discrimination’ for communities with poor internet access

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Communications Commission has enacted new rules intended to eliminate discrimination in access to internet services, a move which regulators are calling the first major U.S. digital civil rights policy.The rules package, which the commission ratified on Wednesday, would empower the agency to review and investigate instances of discrimination by broadband providers to different communities based on income, race, ethnicity and other protected classes. The order also provides a framework for the FCC to crack down a range of digital inequities including the disparities in the investment of services for different neighborhoods, as well as the “digital divide,” a term experts use to describe the complete lack of internet access many communities experience due to regional or socioeconomic inequality. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that Congress required the agency to adopt rules addressing digital discrimination, through bipartisan infrastructure legi...

More competition needed in grocery to help stabilize food prices: Freeland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:40 GMT

MASCOUCHE, Que. — Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says more competition is needed in Canada’s grocery sector as consumers grapple with the rising cost of living. Speaking at a press conference in Mascouche, Quebec, Freeland said major changes are needed to Canadian competition law in order to help stabilize prices. Her comments came after two of the country’s major grocers reported higher profits and sales in the most recent quarter.As Canadians increasingly look to save money, Loblaw and Metro said they’ve been converting stores to discount banners and are seeing higher sales growth in private-label brands. This fall, the federal government called upon the major grocers to stabilize food prices, and last month, Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne announced that Loblaw, Metro, Empire, Walmart and Costco had presented their plans, which included discounts and price freezes.The industry is also nearing the completion of a grocery code of conduct meant to provide guideline...

Anti-vax soldier came close to mutiny, should face severe punishment: court martial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:40 GMT

NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C. — The prosecution at a military court martial says a former soldier who served in Afghanistan and Croatia should face severe punishment for using his military rank and uniform to publicly challenge the Canadian Armed Forces’ COVID-19 vaccine mandates.Prosecutor Major Ben Richard told the court martial in New Westminster, B.C., that reservist Warrant Officer James Topp came close to mutiny when he wore a military uniform while posting two videos to social media criticizing the vaccine mandates.Richard says Topp’s actions could have spurred protests similar to the storming of the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Topp, who refused to be vaccinated, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline in relation to the videos he posted criticizing the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for military personnel. He faces a maximum punishment of dismissal with disgrace, but his lawyer, Phillip Millar, says his clie...

Colorado hearing into whether Trump can remain on the state’s primary ballot wraps up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:40 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado judge on Wednesday will hear closing arguments on whether former President Donald Trump is barred from the ballot by a provision of the U.S. Constitution that forbids those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.District Judge Sarah B. Wallace will have 48 hours to rule after the end of arguments Wednesday afternoon, though that deadline can be extended. She held a weeklong hearing that concluded earlier this month on whether the Civil War-era provision disqualifies Trump given his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.Wednesday’s hearing comes on the heels of two losses for advocates who are trying to remove Trump from the ballot under Section Three of the 14th Amendment, which bars from office those who swore an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against it. The measure has only been used a handful of times since the period after the Civil War, when it was intended to stop former Confeder...

City Council overwhelmingly approves Mayor Brandon Johnson's budget

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:40 GMT

CHICAGO — Members of the City Council set aside their differences and approved Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first budget with overwhelming support.The spending plan passed with 41 yes votes and eight no votes. The tax levy passed 40-9. Decreasing number of migrants arriving in Chicago, but shelters still remain in question The more than $16.7 billion budget closes a $538 million deficit while holding the line on property taxes.To win over last-minute holdouts, the Johnson administration added sweeteners.Among them was a new office dedicated to helping people returning from jail or prison, funding for alderpeople to hire one new ward staffer and a recent agreement to boost pay and pension benefits to police officers.The budget also contains a modest $150 million to support migrants, funds to combat homelessness, money to open shuttered mental health clinics and support for a non-police response to mental health emergencies."This is an investment in our city," said Ald. Walter Burnett (2...