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Oregon Republicans stay home ahead of abortion, guns votes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Republican state senators in Oregon didn’t show up to work on Wednesday, denying the Democrats who control the chamber a quorum and casting doubt on planned votes later this week on legislation pertaining to gun control, abortion rights and gender-affirming health care.The office of Democratic Senate President Rob Wagner said 10 Republican senators and the chamber’s lone independent were absent, and that four of the Republicans and the independent were absent without an excuse. The so-called walkout prevented the state Senate from having a quorum and holding its scheduled session. Senate Republicans said they were protesting over bill summaries not being written in plain language. They based their boycott on a 1979 state law that requires summaries of bills to be readable by those with an eighth or ninth-grade education, said GOP Senate minority leader Tim Knopp.Asked if the Republican boycott was due to the bills on gun control and abortion and gender...

Canada has nothing to fear from U.S. protectionist rhetoric, envoy to Ottawa insists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

WASHINGTON — Canada threw a “hissy fit” over President Joe Biden’s original plan to boost the sales of American-made electric vehicles, the U.S. envoy to Ottawa said Wednesday as he insisted that his country is not out to undermine its largest trading partner. The stated goal of David Cohen’s appearance at the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute in Washington, D.C., was to finally put to rest the persistent Canadian fear that’s conjured every time his boss utters the words “Buy American.” But his characterization of Canada’s months-long, ultimately successful bid to be carved in to Biden’s tax-credit scheme, which originally reserved the sweetest plums for union-built vehicles assembled in the U.S., is likely to raise some eyebrows.“Canada, using a technical term, threw a hissy fit,” Cohen said of the reaction, upon his arrival in Ottawa in December 2021, to Biden’s original suite of tax incentives.He said he...

Gordon Lightfoot funeral set for Sunday in hometown of Orillia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

Iconic Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot will be laid to rest in his hometown of Orillia, Ont., on Sunday, with the public invited to pay their respects to the music legend.Lightfoot died of natural causes Monday at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto at the age of 85.An obituary notice released on Wednesday states that he’s survived by his wife Kim Lightfoot, children Fred, Ingrid, Eric, Galen, Miles and Meredith, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The obituary called him a “national treasure” whose songs have become part of the “Canadian cultural fabric.”Funeral Details:Lightfoot will rest at the St. Paul’s United Church, 62 Peter St., N., Orillia.The public is invited to pay their respects at St. Paul’s United Church on Sunday, May 7, 2023 from 1 P.M. until 8 P.M.Messages of condolence are welcome and can be left at www.mundellfuneralhome.com. 

Mississippi governor touts tax cuts, teacher pay raise, jobs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

RICHLAND, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves told supporters at one of his first large-scale campaign events Wednesday that he has fulfilled promises to cut taxes, increase teacher pay and promote job development.The Republican said Mississippi, with 3 million residents, is competing against larger states partly because he did not impose heavy restrictions on businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.“I have a message to those governors in New York and California and Illinois,” Reeves said, mentioning three states led by Democrats. “Mississippi is coming to take your jobs. And we have no intention of ever giving them back.” His remark drew cheers from more than 200 supporters at a construction equipment dealership in the Jackson suburb of Richland. Reeves held a smaller campaign event Tuesday on the Gulf Coast, where he had a strong showing in the 2019 election.Reeves, 48, is seeking a second term as governor. He previously served two terms as lieutenant governor and two ...

Sex offender fatally shot 6, then killed self, official says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

OKMULGEE, Okla. — An Oklahoma sex offender shot six people in the head and then himself, an Oklahoma police chief Wednesday.Okmulgee Police Chief Joe Prentice said that the victims all sustained between one and three wounds to the head. He said that Jesse McFadden, 39, then shot himself.“The evidence is that Jesse McFadden murdered six people and then killed himself. Beyond that, I don’t know what his thought process was,” Prentice said. “I’m not going to express a theory because I follow the evidence, and I don’t have any evidence about what the motive was.”Earlier Wednesday, a woman whose daughter and three grandchildren were among the seven bodies found on a rural Oklahoma property said that sheriff’s investigators told her that her son-in-law, a convicted sex offender, shot all six victims in the head before killing himself.Janette Mayo said investigators with the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office told her Wednesday that McFadden, 39, shot and killed all the victims, ...

GOP subpoenas FBI for Biden records; WH denounces ‘innuendo’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top House Republican subpoenaed FBI Director Chris Wray on Wednesday for what he claimed are bureau records related to President Joe Biden and his family, basing the demand on newly surfaced allegations he said an unnamed whistleblower made to Congress.The White House said it was the latest example in the yearslong series of “unfounded, unproven” political attacks against Biden by Republicans ”floating anonymous innuendo.”Kentucky Rep. James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee and Accountability, is seeking a specific FBI form from June 2020 that is a report of conversations or interactions with a confidential source. Comer, in a letter to Wray with Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, said that “it has come to our attention” that the bureau has such a document that “describes an alleged criminal scheme” involving Biden and a foreign national “relating to the exchange of money for policy decisions” when Biden was vice president and includes ...

Gildan sees sales decline in first quarter, affirms full-year outlook

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

MONTREAL — Gildan Activewear Inc. says it earned US$97.6 million in the first quarter of 2023, down 33.3 per cent from US$146.4 million a year earlier. The Montreal-based company, which reports in U.S. dollars, says net sales for the quarter ended April 2 were US$702.9 million, down 9.3 per cent from US$774.9 million in the first quarter of 2022. Diluted earnings per share were 54 cents U.S., down 29.9 per cent from 77 cents a year earlier. Gildan president and CEO Glenn Chamandy said in a press release that the company met its sales expectations for the quarter.He said the company remains comfortable with its full-year outlook despite an uncertain economic environment. Gildan says the decline in sales reflects anticipated demand headwinds as well as strong comparative periods in 2022. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GIL)The Canadian Press

'ComEd Four' to appeal federal bribery conviction

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

CHICAGO -- Lawyers for the "ComEd Four" are expected to appeal Tuesday's conviction after being found guilty in the federal bribery trial.Federal jurors on Tuesday convicted all four defendants of bribery conspiracy at their trial in Chicago that provided an inside look at pay-to-play politics in Illinois that prosecutors said involved the state’s largest electric utility and, at the time, one of its most powerful politicians. Teamsters oust suburban board after more than $1M in questionable expenses During a month and a half of testimony, prosecutors sought to prove two former ComEd executives, a former utility consultant and a longtime government insider arranged contracts, jobs and money for associates of then-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan — once one of the nation’s most powerful legislators — to ensure proposed bills boosting ComEd profits became law.Madigan, 81, has been indicted in the case, though his own trial is scheduled for next year. He was...

Senate marks May 3 as Illinois Bacon Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) -- The Illinois General Assembly has ba-con-sidered a measure that would honor Illinois's pig farmers. A resolution advocated by the Illinois Pork Producers Association has officially designated May 3 as Illinois Bacon Day. The pork industry supports more than 57,000 jobs across the state. Olive Garden owner buys Ruth’s Chris Steak House for about $715 million "The hardworking hog farmers who raise this high-quality product deserves our support," Sen. Tom Bennett (R-Gibson City) said. "Whether it's plain or applewood-smoked, where the store-bought or artisan-made, bacon is a meat for any meal."Illinois is the fourth largest pork producing state in the U.S. and contributes an estimated $13.8 billion to the economy. Pig farmers in Illinois produce approximately 6 billion slices of bacon each year. These are the best restaurants for breakfast in Chicago, according to Tripadvisor "It is the best day in Illinois," Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Mahomet) said. "Republi...

When was the last time Central Illinois had a dust storm?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:11 GMT

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) -- Central Illinois experienced a weather phenomenon rare for the region: a dust storm. After a dust cloud caused dozens of cars on I-55 to crash Monday morning, the National Weather Service issued a blowing dust warning for Sangamon, Christian, and Shelby Counties. At least six people died in the crash, and more than 30 people were hospitalized. I-55 was closed until Tuesday morning, as crews were still clearing cars from the interstate. A dust storm warning was issued Tuesday afternoon. 72-car crash caused by dust cloud kills 7, closes I-55 for miles In order for the NWS to issue a dust storm warning, visibility must be lower than half a mile due to winds stronger than 30 mph picking up dirt or dust. They are most common in the southwestern United States. While this is the first time east of the Mississippi River the National Weather Service has issued a Dust Storm Warning, it isn't the first severe dust storm in the area. Three previous dust st...