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Spain’s leader lauds mended relations with Catalonia. Separatists say it’s time to vote on secession

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited Barcelona on Thursday in an effort to show that his pledge to push through an amnesty for Catalonia’s separatists was paying dividends with the leaders of the politically restive region.After meeting with Catalan regional president, Pere Aragonès, in the medieval palace housing Catalonia’s government, the two emerged with a handful of deals that Sánchez said would “affect the daily lives of Catalans.”Sánchez has been harshly criticized by Spain’s conservative opposition for his decision to grant an amnesty that, once it is passed by Parliament next year, would sweep away the legal troubles of potentially hundreds of people involved in Catalonia’s unsuccessful 2017 independence bid.That amnesty deal was critical to Sánchez winning the parliamentary support of Catalan separatists parties that he needed to form a new government last month, following inconclusive national elections in July.Sánchez underscored on Thursd...

Philadelphia news helicopter crew filmed Christmas lights in New Jersey before fatal crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

The crew of a Philadelphia television news helicopter had filmed a Christmas lights display before crashing into the forest in southern New Jersey, an investigator said Thursday.Todd Gunther, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters near the crash site that WPVI’s Chopper 6 took off from Northeast Philadelphia Airport Tuesday night and “had flown over to report on some Christmas light activity, and then they were returning back to base when the accident occurred.”He did not specify the precise location the crew was filming, but the station previously reported the crew had been sent to a story assignment in Galloway Township, just outside Atlantic City.One of the main attractions in Galloway is Historic Smithville, a tourist attraction that in winter includes a lavish holiday light display with over 120 Christmas trees decorated with more than 50,000 lights on a lake.The federal agency, which investigates fatal accidents involving transporta...

Florida State to discuss future of athletics, affiliation with ACC at board meeting, AP source says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

Florida State announced it will hold a Board of Trustees meeting on Friday and a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press the future of the athletic department and its affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference will be discussed.The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school had not yet published an agenda for the meeting.Florida State leaders have made it known they are displeased with the school’s current situation in the Atlantic Coast Conference, where revenue distributions lag behind in the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten. That gap is likely to grow substantially in the near future as new media rights deals kick in for the SEC and Big Ten while the ACC is locked into a deal with ESPN that still has more than a decade left.Earlier this month, Florida State won the ACC football title game but became the first Power Five conference champion to finish with an undefeated record and still be left out of the College Football Playoff...

Man convicted of human trafficking after woman escapes, calls 911: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

An Ontario man was convicted and sentenced to prison time in a human trafficking case after a woman escaped her captor and contacted police in Markham, leading to a second victim being located.York Regional Police said an investigation was launched in Sept. 2023 after a victim escaped from her alleged trafficker’s residence on Pond Drive near Hwy. 7.Authorities identified the male suspect as Sherifdeen Tokumboh Fashola, and through the investigation, a second victim was located.On Nov. 20, Fashola was convicted of deriving material benefits from sexual services and was sentenced to 120 days in jail and probation for two years. On Jan. 3, 2024, police said the accused will return to court to face additional charges, including human trafficking, receiving material benefit, deriving material benefit and procuring, among other related offences.Fashola uses the aliases of Adam and Leo and is believed to have additional locations near the Ottawa area, police said.Officers have relea...

Toy retailer Mastermind to stop accepting gift cards after Christmas Eve

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

TORONTO — Mastermind says it will stop honouring gift cards after Christmas Eve.The distressed toy retailer says in court filings that gift cards won’t be accepted at its stores after Dec. 24.The filings made with Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice show the chain’s customers hold about $5.6 million in outstanding gift cards.However, Toronto-based Mastermind recently stopped selling and activating new cards.The company filed for creditor protection last month, citing increasing competition and disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, which have become too significant to overcome. It plans to close at least 18 of its 66 stores as part of the filing.In early December, a trio of retailer names including Joe Mimran banded together to buy the bulk of the company’s assets.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2023.The Canadian Press

Drive a Honda or Acura? Over 2.5 million cars are under recall due to fuel pump defect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Honda Motor’s American arm is recalling more than 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S. due to a fuel pump defect that can increase risks of engine failure or stalling while driving.According to documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the fuel pump impeller used for in 2017-2020 Acura and Honda vehicles was improperly molded. This results in low-density impellers, which “can deform and interfere with the fuel pump body” over time, regulators said, leading to an inoperative fuel pump.If the fuel pump module doesn’t work, the car’s engine may not start or can stall while driving, the NHTSA said, increasing crash and injury risks. Honda says it has not received any crash or injury reports related to this recall to date.The automaker said Thursday that it will replace fuel pumps for all vehicles impacted by the recall at no cost in separate phases, with the first batch of owner notification letters going out in February.“Co...

Myanmar’s military should be investigated for war crimes, Amnesty International says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The human rights group Amnesty International on Thursday accused the Myanmar military of indiscriminate killings, detaining civilians, and using air-dropped cluster munitions in response to an insurgency in the northeast and west, and demanded an investigation into war crimes. Fighting has been raging in the northern part of Shan state since the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, calling themselves the Three Brotherhood Alliance, launched a coordinated offensive on Oct. 27. A little more than two weeks later, the Arakan Army also attacked outposts in its home state of Rakhine in the west.The offensive of the well-trained and well-armed ethnic militias has been seen as a significant challenge for the army, which has struggled to contain a nationwide uprising by members of the People’s Defense Forces, a pro-democracy armed group established after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung Sa...

Cyprus minister says his nation leads EU in repatriations and migrant arrivals are down sharply

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus is the first European Union member country to repatriate more migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected than have arrived in a single year, the east Mediterranean island nation’s interior minister said Thursday.Constantinos Ioannou told the state broadcaster that over 11,000 migrants have been repatriated so far this year, more than double the number from 2022. That ranks Cyprus 4th in repatriations among all EU states in absolute numbers. About two-thirds of those repatriations were voluntary.But Ioannou said a deal EU leaders reached on Wednesday on new rules to control migration falls short of Cyprus’ demand for compulsory relocation of migrants from front-line states under strain from increased arrivals, to other bloc members.He said on the upside, the deal foresees that EU members refusing to take in migrants from a front-line state must pay that country 20,000 euros ($22,000) for each migrant.Ioannou said the Cypriot government’s...

Time to replace your car? How to tell when repair bills are no longer worth it

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

TORONTO — Deciding whether to fix your aging car again or trade it in for a new one can be a tough calculation at the best of times, let alone when financing costs have significantly jumped and car prices have soared.Whether to repair or replace your car comes down to balancing the cost and utility of the vehicle, according to Ben Mayhew, a financial planner and founder of Aergo Financial Planning in Halifax.“But when you’re in an environment where used car prices and new car prices are significantly higher, we need to go deeper on looking at that balance,” he said. He suggested finding a trustworthy mechanic who can help determine if an expensive repair could help defer acar purchase. Whether to head to the garage also depends on the health of the other parts of the car. If it’s a big one-time cost and you’re extending the car’s use to the very end of its life, it could give the owner more time to save toward a vehicle purchase in the future, May...

Security guard fatally shot in Chatham ID'd; suspects sought

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

CHICAGO — The security guard who was fatally shot at a Chatham shopping center has been identified.The medical examiner has identifed him as 53-year-old Edward F. Creamer of Calumet City.Officers responded around 1 p.m. Wednesday to the 700 block of East 87th Street on the report of a shooting in the city's Chatham neighborhood. Police said Creamer was involved in a verbal altercation with three males and a female. A source told WGN News he was working as a security guard at DTLR, a shoe store.One of the male suspects shot the security guard three times during the incident. Creamer was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, where he later died. Security guard shot, killed in Chatham Police continue their search for four suspects wanted in the shooting. The group reportedly fled the scene in a gray sedan, according to police.It is unknown at this time what led to the altercation between Creamer and the suspects.