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A crane operator has rescued a man from a burning high-rise in England

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A crane operator played down tributes paid to him on Thursday after he lifted a man to safety from a burning high-rise building in England. Video from the scene in the town of Reading in southern England showed a man being rescued by a crane cage from the roof of a building under construction as thick plumes of dark smoke and flames billowed around him. A crowd that had gathered near the building broke out in applause as the man was lifted in the air and then lowered to the ground.Crane operator Glen Edwards, 65, described the situation as a “close call” because of windy conditions. “I was no more than 20 meters up in the air and I looked out my left-hand window and saw a guy standing on the corner of the building,” said Edwards, who had been working at the site before the blaze broke out.“I’d only just seen him and someone said ‘can you get the cage on,’ so that was it, I got the cage on and got it over to him the best I could,” he added.He said he tried to posi...

Defence chief, minister to meet House committee about military capacity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

OTTAWA — The defence minister and Canada’s top soldier are set to speak to a House of Commons committee later today about the rising number of domestic military operations and the challenges that poses for the Canadian Armed Forces. A recent Defence Department report says the response to this year’s record wildfires and other natural disasters put a strain on the military’s operational readiness.Gen. Wayne Eyre, the chief of the defence staff, has said the federal government needs to call in the troops less often and return to the practice of making them a last resort.But Defence Minister Bill Blair has made it clear he believes the military’s mandate includes responding to natural disasters in Canada. The department’s latest results report says efforts to respond to natural disasters and support Ukraine are compounding long-standing personnel shortfalls and equipment issues in the Armed Forces.The House defence committee is also expected hear from Emer...

French military to contribute 15,000 soldiers to massive security operation for Paris Olympics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s military is planning to contribute 15,000 soldiers to the massive security operation for next year’s Paris Olympics, an army general involved in the preparations said Thursday.The bulk of the military force — nearly 10,000 troops — will be deployed in the Paris region, where most Olympic events will be concentrated, said Gen. Christophe Abad, the military governor of Paris who serves as military adviser to the French capital’s police chief.Military forces will also be employed for the games as far as 15,000 kilometers (nearly 10,000 miles) away in Tahiti, where navy vessels will safeguard the venue there for Olympic surfing.In Paris, a temporary military camp for 5,000 troops will be set up in a park in the southeast of the capital, putting the force close to the city’s Olympic sites, Abad said.The security operation for the July 26 to Aug. 11 Olympics, and Paralympic Games that follow, is unprecedented in scale for France. Tens of thousands o...

Body camera footage shows man shot by Tennessee officer charge forward with 2 knives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — A police officer shot and killed a man who tried to rob an armored car employee in Tennessee and then charged at the officer with two knives, authorities said.Murfreesboro Police on Thursday released body camera footage of the shooting the day before, blurring out the face of Steven James Murphy and stopping the video just before he was shot.Police were called after Murphy, 44, tried to rob a worker refilling cash in an ATM around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, Murfreesboro Police spokesman Larry Flowers said at a news conference.The worker pulled a gun on Murphy, who then ran inside a nearby deli, Flowers said.The body camera footage shows officer Adam Claiborne opening the door of the deli and say “hey” at Murphy, who is behind the counter. Murphy then turns and charges at the officer with knives in both hands above his head.Claiborne yells at Murphy to drop the knives before firing several times. Murphy died at the hospital a short time later, Flowers said.The of...

11 charged in hate-motivated investigation after vandalism at Toronto Indigo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Toronto police have charged 11 people in a hate-motivated mischief investigation after the Indigo store at Bay Street and Bloor Street West was vandalized with red paint and posters two weeks ago.It’s alleged that a group of suspects approached the bookstore at the corner of Bay Street and Bloor Street West and proceeded to glue posters to the doors and windows of the business.Police said the suspects then poured red paint on the windows and sidewalk. No injuries were reported.On the day of the incident, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) said the Indigo was found “vandalized with red paint and posters plastered on its front windows wrongfully accusing its Jewish founder and CEO, Heather Reisman, of ‘Funding Genocide.'”On Nov. 14, police charged 41-year-old Nisha Toomey of Toronto with mischief over $5,000. She’s expected to appear in court on Jan. 8, 2024. Various search warrants were executed by members of Toronto’s hate crime unit at res...

‘I haven’t said I would be resigning’ over carbon pricing, Guilbeault tells Senate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

OTTAWA — Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says he has not promised to resign if there are any further carve-outs from the carbon price.Guilbeault made the comment in the Senate on Wednesday, responding to a question from Conservative Sen. Don Plett asking if the minister would resign should a bill exempting some farm fuels from carbon pricing become law.Earlier this month, Guilbeault had said there would be no further carbon price exemptions as long as he was the environment minister.But the Senate is on the verge of passing a Conservative private member’s bill that would extend exemptions for at least eight years to propane and natural gas farmers use to heat buildings and dry grain.Conservatives argue that if the bill passes, Guilbeault should resign, but he says he never promised to do that and he notes that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also pledged there will be no more carve-outs.The Tories are also accusing the federal government of a conspiracy with some sena...

5 killed, including 2 police officers, in an ambush in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — At least two police officers and three civilians were shot dead in an ambush in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, authorities said Thursday.The ambush took place Wednesday afternoon near a bird sanctuary in the Mixteca region, the latest in an escalating dispute between two local towns.Investigative police officers and local officials were visiting the township of San Miguel El Grande to resolve the latest territorial conflict when they were attacked by an armed group.Two police officers were killed, along with two local officials and a civilian. Two more police officers were also injured.In response to the attack more than 100 members of the military, National Guard and state security office were sent to reinforce the area Thursday. The office of Oaxaca’s attorney general has opened an investigation.Locals from the town of Llano de Guadalupe, have been feuding with San Miguel El Grande, 14 miles (22 kilometers) south for months now. In September, four people ...

Prosecutors ask to effectively close case against top Italian, WHO officials over COVID-19 response

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

ROME (AP) — Rome prosecutors asked a judge Thursday to effectively close an investigation into Italian and U.N. health officials over Italy’s 2020 Covid-19 response without charges, on the grounds that no crimes were committed, a lawyer said.Rome prosecutors Claudia Terracina and Paolo Ielo asked to archive the investigation that had grabbed headlines given Italy’s huge toll as t he first epicenter of the pandemic in Europe. While the judge can override the request, such a decision is highly unlikely.Already prosecutors had closed their case without filing charges against three of Italy’s past health ministers. On Thursday, they asked a judge to archive the case against nine other officials, including a former top official at the World Health Organization, Dr. Ranieri Guerra, said his lawyer Roberto De Vita.The investigation initially focused on whether delayed lockdowns in the hard-hit northern city of Bergamo contributed to the toll, but expanded to include whether Italy’s overall...

Blackhawks' Taylor Hall is expected to miss rest of the season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Blackhawks forward Taylor Hall will have right knee surgery, likely sidelining the 2018 NHL MVP for the rest of the season.The team placed Hall and forward Andreas Athanasiou on injured reserve on Thursday. The move with Athanasiou, who has a groin injury, was made retroactive to Nov. 9. Forwards Joey Anderson and Cole Guttman were recalled from Rockford of the American Hockey League.Last-place Chicago has dropped five in a row heading into Friday's matchup against visiting Toronto.The 32-year-old Hall, who was selected by Edmonton with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft, was acquired in a trade with Boston right before Chicago took Connor Bedard with top pick in this year's draft.Hall was brought in to help provide some leadership and scoring alongside Bedard, but he was hampered by a left shoulder injury at the start of the season.Hall's knee injury occurred when he was hit by Tampa Bay's Michael Eyssimont on Nov. 9. He returned last we...

Retailers ready to kick off Black Friday just as shoppers pull back on spending

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:21 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers are kicking off the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season on Friday with a bevy of discounts and other enticements. But executives are growing concerned with a spending slowdown that could temper sales on the day after Thanksgiving as well as throughout the holidays.Shoppers, powered by a solid job market and steady wage growth, had demonstrated a resilience that confounded economists and ran counter to sour sentiments expressed in opinion polls. Such spending, while cautious, came despite higher prices in the grocery aisle and higher borrowing costs.But consumers are now coming under more pressure from dwindling savings, increased credit card debt and still stubborn inflation. In fact, shoppers cut their buying in October, ending six straight months of gains. Shoppers have gotten some relief from easing inflation, but many goods and services like meat and rent are still far higher than they were just three years ago.The latest quarterly results f...