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Justice Department creates database to track records of misconduct by federal law enforcement

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

The U.S. Justice Department has created a database to track records of misconduct by federal law enforcement officers that is aimed at preventing agencies from unknowingly hiring problem officers, officials said on Monday.The federal move is a step toward accountability amid growing calls to close loopholes that allow law enforcement officers to be rehired by other agencies after losing their jobs or resigning after misconduct allegations.But the database, which will only contain records for federal officers and not be open to the public, falls short of the national misconduct database called for by some police reform advocates.The National Law Enforcement Accountability Database currently includes only former and current Justice Department officers who have records of serious misconduct over the last seven years. It will be expanded to capture other federal law enforcement agencies such as the Secret Service and United States Park Police, a Justice Department official said.Attorney...

Death of 5-year-old boy prompts criticism of Chicago shelters for migrants

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

A 5-year-old boy living at a temporary shelter for migrants in Chicago died over the weekend after being transported to a hospital after suffering a medical emergency, the city’s mayor said Monday. The boy’s death on Sunday revived community organizers’ complaints about conditions at shelters and questions about how Chicago is responding to an influx of people unaccustomed to the city’s cold winters and with few local contacts. Chicago and other northern U.S. cities have struggled to find housing for tens of thousands of asylum-seekers who have been bused from Texas since the start of the year, with months of cold weather looming. Earlier this month, hundreds of asylum-seekers still awaited placement at airports and police stations in Chicago, some of them still camped on sidewalks outside precinct buildings. Although the city reports that police stations have been mostly cleared, massive shelters are not necessarily a safe alternative, said Annie Gomberg, a ...

Trial set for North Dakota’s pursuit of costs for policing Dakota Access pipeline protests

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A court fight over whether the federal government should cover North Dakota’s $38 million in costs of responding to the lengthy protests of the Dakota Access oil pipeline years ago near its controversial river crossing will continue as a judge said the case is “ripe and ready for trial.”The state filed the lawsuit in 2019, seeking $38 million. The lawsuit’s bench trial was scheduled earlier this month to begin Feb. 15, 2024, in Bismarck before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor, estimated to last 12-13 days.Traynor on Wednesday denied the federal government’s motion for summary judgment to dismiss the case, and granted the state’s motion to find that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “failed to follow its mandatory permitting procedures” for the protest activities on its land, among several rulings he made in his order.Thousands of people gathered to camp and demonstrate near the pipeline’s controversial Missouri River crossing upstream o...

Police investigating exchange at pro-Palestinian protest against Zara in Eaton Centre

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

Toronto police are investigating an exchange between a demonstrator and another person during a pro-Palestinian protest in front of fashion retailer Zara at a busy downtown mall.A video shared online appears to show a heated exchange between some protesters and someone else while the protest takes place at the Eaton Centre on Sunday.A few Toronto police officers can be seen standing nearby on the video. Last week, Zara, a Spanish fashion brand, pulled advertising images that, to some, appeared to reference Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.The images for a line of jackets included what the company called “unfinished sculptures in a sculptor’s studio.” However, some online critics said one image of a model holding a wrapped-up mannequin resembled someone holding a corpse. Other photos included a mannequin with missing limbs and a figure wrapped in fabric or plastic on the floor, according to news reports.The company apologized in a statement posted on Instagra...

Liberals don’t want to regulate speech with online harms bill, justice minister says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

OTTAWA — Federal Justice Minister Arif Virani says he hopes to avoid accusations the Liberal government is trying to regulate or curb speech with its planned bill to protect citizens from online harms.There is mounting pressure on the government to introduce the long-promised legislation following a sharp rise in antisemitism online since the latest Israel-Hamas war began in October.In 2022 the government sent its initial plans for the bill back to the drawing board following criticism and Virani tells The Canadian Press he hopes to bring the final bill forward next year.Today in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Virani says online hate can turn into real-life danger and condemned the “recent wave of hate against the Jewish community.”Over the weekend, the RCMP announced it had arrested and charged a teen in Ottawa with terrorism-related offences that allegedly targeted Jewish people and warn of a troubling trend in violent extremism among Canadian youth.More than ...

Greek anti-terror squad investigates after a bomb was defused near riot police headquarters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s antiterrorism squad is investigating after the national riot police headquarters was targeted Monday with a bomb that was defused before it could explode, as police union members protested increasing violence against officers in the force.Authorities had been alerted after an anonymous caller warned a newspaper that the bomb would explode in 45 minutes and described where it had been planted. That gave bomb disposal experts time to find and defuse the device.The bomb had been left in a copse near the riot police headquarters outside the city center and close to a university campus, police said. There was no claim of responsibility. Such bomb attacks have long been associated with domestic far-left militants.Many in Greece accuse riot police of brutality against demonstrators during the myriad protests held by leftwing groups or students who often attack police, sparking widespread clashes. Violence is also common during sports events, where fans ...

Lucasfilm, APTN join plans for Ojibwe version of ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

The galaxy of “Star Wars” is expanding once again as plans take shape to translate the original 1977 Hollywood hit into the Ojibwe language.Lucasfilm, the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council and the University of Manitoba say they’ve reached an agreement to record a dubbed Ojibwe version of “Star Wars: A New Hope.”The first film in George Lucas’ popular sci-fi series introduces many of the beloved characters, including Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca.It’s only the second time the original “Star Wars” has been officially translated into an Indigenous language.Producers say Ojibwe was chosen because it is the most spoken Indigenous language in Manitoba, Ontario and Minnesota, with about 320,000 speakers across Canada and the United States.They anticipate the “Star Wars” translation will happen next year with plans for a premiere in Winnipeg, theatrical screenings acros...

Canada joins EU, Britain, others decrying ‘extremist settlers’ violence in West Bank

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada is one of 14 countries that issued a statement of concern over violence in the West Bank, calling on Israel to do more to stop “extremist settler” violence against Palestinians.The United Nations says violence in the Israel-occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank has risen at an unprecedented rate since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants prompted Israel to bombard the Gaza Strip.Armed groups living in Israeli settlements, deemed illegal under international law, have attacked Palestinians hundreds of times and forced more than 1,200 to leave their homes.Canada joined the European Union and 13 countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and France, in issuing a statement on Friday saying that Israel’s lack of action to protect Palestinians and “prosecute extremist settlers” has created “an environment of near-complete impunity.”Israel’s embassy in Ottawa was not immediately available for comment on Monday...

Step by step, Francis has made the Catholic church a more welcoming place for LGBTQ people

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

The Catholic church, in its doctrine, still rejects same-sex marriage and condemns any sexual relations between gay or lesbian partners as “intrinsically disordered.” Yet Pope Francis, during his nearly 11-year papacy, has done far more than any previous pope to make the church a more welcoming place for LGBTQ+ people.It became clear early in Francis’ papacy that he was going to articulate a gentler, more tolerant approach. The initial high-profile moment came in 2013 — during the first broadcast news conference of his papacy — with his memorable “Who am I to judge” comment when he was asked about a purportedly gay priest.Signals of this approach had come earlier. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he had favored granting legal protections to same-sex couples as an alternative to endorsing gay marriage, which Catholic doctrine forbids. The Vatican confirmed in 2020 that this was indeed the pope’s belief.Some recent highlights:In January 2023, Francis assailed the laws on the books in ma...

UN Security Council to vote on resolution urging cessation of hostilities in Gaza to deliver aid

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:50 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council scheduled a vote late Monday on an Arab-sponsored resolution calling for an urgent cessation of hostilities in Gaza to allow unhindered access to deliver humanitarian aid to the massive number of civilians in need of food, water, medicine and other essentials.But diplomats said the text is still being negotiated to try to get the United States, Israel’s closest ally, to abstain rather than veto the resolution, making it likely the 5 p.m. vote at the United Nations could be delayed. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because discussions have been private.The U.S. vetoed a Security Council resolution on Dec. 8 that was backed by almost all council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The 193-member General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a similar resolution on Dec. 12 by a vote of 153-10, with 23 abstentions.The importance of a Security Council resolution is that it is l...