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Canadian poet Rupi Kaur declines White House invitation over Gaza

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:26 GMT

TORONTO — Canadian poet Rupi Kaur says she’s turned down an invitation from U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration because she opposes his government’s response to the Israel-Gaza war.Kaur says in an Instagram post that the administration invited her to Vice-President Kamala Harris’s Diwali celebration. She writes that she won’t attend because the U.S. government is funding Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.Kaur says she can’t accept an invitation from “an institution that supports the collective punishment of a trapped civilian population.”More than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry there.The war broke out after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel last month, leaving upwards of 1,400 people dead.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2023.The Canadian Press<!– Photo: 20231106161116-6549583542...

Feds put $5M toward security for community groups who fear hate-motivated crimes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:26 GMT

OTTAWA — Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc says the government is spending $5 million on private security and other safety measures for community groups worried about an increase in hate-fuelled violence. LeBlanc says the added funding is a response to mounting concerns MPs have been hearing from constituents who say they fear for their safety as a result of recent international events.He offered no other specifics, but the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has sparked protests across Canada — and fear in both Jewish and Muslim communities. The funding, which has been added to an existing security infrastructure program, will allow community organizations apply for things like temporary private security services. The eligibility rules have also been expanded to allow access for daycare facilities, community centres and office buildings used by vulnerable communities. In the meantime, LeBlanc says he’s working with police and the security intelligence service to ensure ...

Protesters calling for Gaza cease-fire block road at Tacoma port while military cargo ship docks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:26 GMT

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters calling for a cease-fire in Gaza blocked traffic Monday at the Port of Tacoma, where a military supply ship had recently arrived.Organizers said they opposed the Israel-Hamas war and targeted the vessel — the Cape Orlando — based on confidential information that it was to be loaded with weapons bound for Israel.Those claims could not immediately be corroborated. In an emailed statement, Air Force Lt. Col. Bryon J. McGarry, a spokesperson for the Department of Defense, confirmed that the vessel is under the control of the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command and is supporting the movement of U.S. military cargo.“Due to operations security, DoD does not provide transit or movement details or information regarding the cargo embarked on vessels of this kind,” McGarry said.The Cape Orlando drew similar protests in Oakland, California, where it docked on Friday before it sailed to Tacoma. About 300 protesters delayed its departur...

Dozens indicted on Georgia racketeering charges related to ‘Stop Cop City’ movement appear in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:26 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Nearly five dozen people indicted on racketeering charges related to protests against a planned police and firefighter training facility near Atlanta appeared in court on Monday as their supporters rallied outside the courthouse.Protests against the proposed training center — dubbed “Cop City by opponents — have been going on for more than two years. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr obtained a sweeping indictment in August, using the state’s anti-racketeering law to target the protesters and characterizing them as ”militant anarchists.”Demonstrators and civil rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have condemned the indictment and accused Carr, a Republican, of levying heavy-handed charges to try to silence a movement that has galvanized environmentalists and anti-police protesters across the country.All 61 people indicted were scheduled to be arraigned Monday, that is to have the charges against them formally read in court....

Woman arrested after driving car into Indianapolis building she thought was `Israel school’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:26 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A woman who allegedly drove her car into a building in Indianapolis after watching coverage of the Israel-Hamas war told officers she believed the building was an “Israel school,” according to police and court records.One adult as well as four children — ages 7 months, 1, 2 and 3 years — were inside the Israelite School of Universal and Practical Knowledge at the time of late Friday’s crash, but no one was injured, police said.The 34-year-old woman was arrested at the scene and was being held Monday at the Marion County Jail on a preliminary charge of criminal recklessness in Friday’s crash. She had not been formally charged as of Monday afternoon, said Michael Leffler, a spokesperson for the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.The woman “told one officer she has been watching the news and couldn’t breathe anymore. She referenced her people back in Palestine,” according to a news release from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, which ...

Hamilton transit workers give strike notice for early Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:26 GMT

The union representing more than 900 Hamilton Street Railway (HSR) drivers, mechanics and other workers has given a Thursday strike deadline after rejecting the City of Hamilton’s latest contract offer.“Our members were infuriated with the latest proposal as it falls short of inflationary pressures and the cost of living,” a news release issued by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107 president Eric Tuck late Sunday.The statement said members voted 94 per cent against the City’s offer, which was described as a “final” one by municipal officials. If a strike occurs, it would begin at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.The union’s statement said a proposed 3.2-per-cent wage increase doesn’t “address the shortfalls” facing members, arguing non-union staff saw double-digit boosts. It also pointed to higher wages being paid at nearby transit agencies such as MiWay in Mississauga and Brampton Transit.“Our expertise and skills are in dema...

Stamp of Mona Parsons, jailed by Nazis for aiding aircrews, unveiled in Nova Scotia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:26 GMT

WOLFVILLE, N.S. — A Canadian woman who was jailed in Nazi Germany for helping Allied aircrews escape the occupied Netherlands is being honoured on a postage stamp.The Remembrance Day stamp showing a photo of Mona Parsons was unveiled Monday during a ceremony in Wolfville, N.S., where Parsons grew up.The stamp also shows an image of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, whose troops Parsons met after she had escaped from a German prison in 1945 and walked 125 kilometres to the Dutch border.Born in 1901 in the Annapolis Valley, Parsons had been living in the Netherlands with her Dutch husband before the war. When the Nazi occupation began in May 1940, the couple assisted the Dutch resistance by hiding Allied airmen whose planes had been shot down, and their home served as a stopping point in the resistance network. However, in 1941, an informer betrayed the couple to the Nazis, who arrested them. A news release from Canada Post says Parsons was sentenced to death by firing squad. She app...

Canadian man whose family remains in Gaza pleads government to help 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:26 GMT

It’s been a rollercoaster for the Canadians stuck in Gaza as they continue to waiting for that window to exit the war zone, and families are overwhelmed with fear, telling CityNews every minute that passes is a matter of life and death for their loved ones. Nael Alhalees calls it a living hell, knowing his wife, two children and their extended family are trapped under a rain of air strikes, struggling for food and water. Their only chance at reaching safety is the hands of the Canadian government“I don’t know if words can describe the atrocity the disastrous that the Palestinian people are facing,” Alhalees said. “My daughter, she said, ‘We are in total starvation.’ My daughter, Layan, tells me, … [They] only eat one meal a day.”Alhalees’ family lives in the Gaza strip while he splits his time between Ontario and the Middle East for business reasons. He was at their home here in Burlington when the war began.&n...

Starbucks increases US hourly wages and adds other benefits for non-union workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:26 GMT

Starbucks is increasing pay and benefits for most of its U.S. hourly workers after ending its fiscal year with record sales.But the company said Monday that unionized workers won’t be eligible for some of those perks, a sign of the continuing tension between the Seattle coffee giant and the union trying to organize its U.S. stores.At least 366 U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since 2021, according to the National Labor Relations Board. But Starbucks and the Workers United union have yet to reach a labor agreement at any of those stores. Starbucks has 9,600 company-operated stores in the U.S.Starbucks said Monday it will increase wages — which currently average $17.50 per hour — starting Jan. 1. Employees at both union and non-union stores who have worked four years or less will get raises of 3% or 4% depending on years of service. Employees who have worked five years or more will be eligible for a 5% increase, but since that’s a new benefit, it must be negoti...

Trump testimony wraps in New York civil fraud case: Recap

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:26 GMT

Former President Trump clashed frequently with the judge overseeing his New York fraud trial as the former president spent hours on the witness stand in Manhattan on Monday.Trump's highly anticipated testimony grew chaotic, with the judge asking Trump's attorney to take control of his client. The former president also ticked off his political grievances from the witness stand, to which the judge responded that the court hearing was "not a political rally."The trial puts Trump's long storied career as a real estate mogul and business executive in major jeopardy. At stake are Trump's business licenses and the potential for him to lose control of some of his most famed properties. Follow below for live updates from The Hill's Ella Lee in New York.