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Who’s running for president? See a rundown of the 2024 candidates

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:21:06 GMT

By MEG KINNARD (Associated Press)With roughly a year and a half until the 2024 presidential contest, the field of candidates is largely set.Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have dominated the early Republican race as the other candidates look for an opening to take them on. President Joe Biden faces a couple of Democratic challengers but is expected to secure his party’s nomination.Here’s a look at the candidates competing for the Republican and Democratic nominations:REPUBLICAN PRIMARY FIELD DONALD TRUMP The former president announced his third campaign for the White House on Nov. 15 at his Mar-a-Lago resort, forcing the party to again decide whether to embrace a candidate whose refusal to accept defeat in 2020 sparked the U.S. Capitol attack and still dominates his speeches.The GOP front-runner remains hugely popular in the Republican Party, despite making history as the first president to be impeached ...

Nathan Carman dies awaiting trial for his mother’s 2016 death off New England coast

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:21:06 GMT

By LISA RATHKE and DAVE COLLINS (Associated Press)The man charged with killing his mother at sea during a 2016 fishing trip off the coast of New England has died awaiting trial, federal authorities in Vermont said Thursday. Nathan Carman, 29, of Vernon, Vermont, was scheduled to face trial in October in what prosecutors said was a scheme to inherit millions of dollars. He had pleaded not guilty last year to fraud and first-degree murder in the death of his mother, Linda Carman of Middletown, Connecticut. The cause of Nathan Carman’s death was not immediately clear. One of his lawyers, Martin Minnella, said he was told about Carman’s death Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Service.“We had spoken to him yesterday. He was in good spirits,” Minnella said. “We were meeting with some experts today over Zoom at 12 o’çlock. We were prepared to start picking a jury on Oct. 10 and we were confident we were going to win. It’s just a tragedy, a tragedy...

Hot summer ahead: California weather predictions heat up in new NOAA forecast

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:21:06 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – An already sweltering summer forecast just got even steamier. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a new long-range weather outlook Thursday that favors above-average temperatures for basically the entire United States. Between July and September, all but a few states have between a 33% and 70% chance of a hotter-than-normal summer. The highest chance for heat is in Arizona — which is already hot on even a normal summer day. The average high in Phoenix in July is 106 degrees. El Niño officially arrives early: What it means for 2023 weather The entire East Coast, from Maine down to Florida, the Gulf Coast, the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest is "likely" to see an above-normal summer, according to the forecast. NOAA gives about half of U.S. states a 50% to 60% chance of extra-hot weather over the next three months. Things are a bit better in California and the Midwest, but those regions are also still more likely to see a hot summer tha...

Four charged in $2M drug investigation in Scarborough

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:21:06 GMT

Toronto police have charged four people in connection with a drug investigation after a vehicle stop in Scarborough.On June 4 officers responded to a call about a suspected impaired driver in the Morningside Avenue and Ellesmere Road area where they allegedly found a vehicle stopped in the middle of the road with an unconscious male in the driver’s seat.A quantity of drugs and money were in the vehicle along with a laptop, a machine to cut identification cards and counterfeit Ontario Ministry of Transportation items.Stephen Sampson, 32, of Toronto, was charged with impaired driving, failure or refusal to provide a sample, almost 70 drug-related charges, and possession of proceeds of crime over $5,000.Investigators obtained search warrants for Sampson’s residence in the Lawrence Avenue East and Beechgrove Drive area where cash, drug paraphernalia, equipment to make fake prescription bottle labels and a number of drugs with an approximate street value of up to $2,000,000 w...

Stock market today: Wall Street gains ground to extend winning streak

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:21:06 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street turned solidly higher Thursday following a weak start as a messy mix of economic reports yielded no clear sign about where the economy and inflation are heading.The S&P 500 was 0.9% higher in afternoon trading, coming off its highest level since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 377 points, or 1.1%, at 34,357, as of 1:33 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% higher.Homebuilder Lennar helped lead the S&P 500 with a gain of 3.6% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. It also gave a stronger-than-expected forecast for upcoming deliveries, saying customers are accepting the “new normal” of higher interest rates. Kroger, meanwhile, sank to one of the market’s sharper losses after reporting slightly weaker revenue for the latest quarter than expected. It fell 2.9% despite also reporting stronger profit than expected and reaffirming many of its financial forecasts for the year....

International court prosecutor to probe crimes in eastern Congo following government request

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:21:06 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Thursday he is opening a preliminary probe in Congo after the African nation asked him to investigate alleged crimes in its North Kivu province since January last year.The request marks the second time Congolese authorities have sought an investigation by the global war crimes court. Congo, a member state of the court, first requested a probe in 2004 into crimes since 2002. That led to three convictions of rebel leaders involved in the long-running armed conflict in the mineralrich nation.Prosecutor Karim Khan said that Congo’s new request — known at the court as a referral — asks prosecutors to “investigate particular armed forces and groups” allegedly responsible for crimes in the eastern province of North Kivu.Conflict has been simmering for decades in eastern Congo, where more than 120 armed groups are fighting. Most are vying for land and control of mines with valuable minerals, wh...

CP NewsAlert: Wildfire evacuation order lifted for Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:21:06 GMT

An evacuation order has been lifted for the community of Tumbler Ridge, B.C., nine days after more than 2,000 residents were forced out by an encroaching wildfire. More comingThe Canadian Press

Nova Scotia man who served 16 years after wrongful conviction dead at 67, lawyer says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:21:06 GMT

HALIFAX — A lawyer for Glen Assoun, the Nova Scotia man who served 16 years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend, confirmed today that his longtime client has died.Sean MacDonald says Assoun, 67, died suddenly Wednesday night while he was at a restaurant in Dartmouth, N.S.Assoun was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in September 1999 for the stabbing death of Brenda Lee Anne Way in Dartmouth — a crime that has yet to be solved.One of Assoun’s lawyers began reviewing the case, and he persuaded the Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted to take it on in 2010.In 2014, the federal Justice Department said a preliminary assessment determined there could have been a miscarriage of justice, and an in-depth investigation was ordered before Assoun was released from prison with conditions in November 2014.In March 2019, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court dismissed Assoun’s conviction, and he later agr...

Record revenue and attendance has business booming again for the American Hockey League

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:21:06 GMT

More than 10,000 fans filled the Hershey Bears’ home arena on Tuesday night to watch the oldest American Hockey League franchise take on the newest, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, in the Calder Cup Finals.It was the third consecutive game in the AHL championship series to be sold out and pushed total playoff attendance for the NHL’s top developmental league above half a million fans. That’s a record for the nearly 90-year-old league that also set a new high water mark for revenue, which president and CEO Scott Howson estimates is 15% to 20% above pre-pandemic levels.Three years after canceling the playoffs and two years after gutting through a shortened season with almost no fans in arenas and a few teams opting out of playing entirely, business is finally booming again for the AHL.“We’ve just recovered so quickly,” Howson told The Associated Press this week. “It’s a testament to our product. It’s a testament to our markets. It’s a testament to what our teams are ...

Man indicted in chokehold death of New York subway rider Jordan Neely, prosecutor confirms

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:21:06 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A grand jury has indicted a man who put an agitated New York City subway rider in a fatal chokehold, prosecutors confirmed Thursday.Daniel Penny was initially charged with manslaughter last month in the May 1 death of Jordan Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator who struggled in recent years with homelessness and mental illness.A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed the grand jury voted to indict, a day after the news was widely reported. The specific charges will be unveiled during Penny’s arraignment on June 28th. He had initially been charged with manslaughter in the second degree, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, but a grand jury’s approval of charges was needed for the case to continue.Neely was shouting at passengers and begging for money when Penny, a former U.S. Marine, pinned him to the floor of the moving subway car with the help of two other riders. Penny then held Neely in a chokehold...