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‘Unacceptable’: Group says government ignored process in awarding Afghan monument

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:02 GMT

OTTAWA — An architectural group that was chosen by a jury to build a monument to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan says the government’s decision to award the contract to a different group is outrageous and anti-democratic.Veterans Affairs Canada announced the approximately $3-million commission in June, awarding it to a team led by Indigenous artist Adrian Stimson.“This is so anti-democratic,” said Renée Daoust, a spokesperson for Team Daoust, which placed first in the competition. “They’re not respecting their own procurement rules that they have set up, and to us that’s really unacceptable,” she said The team included the firm Daoust Lestage Lizotte Stecker, artist Luca Fortin and former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour, who acted as an adviser on the mission in Afghanistan.Daoust said they learned they won the competition just a couple of hours before Veterans Affairs Canada held a press conference on June 19 — and then they were ...

Man encouraged by chatbot to kill Queen Elizabeth II sentenced to 9 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:02 GMT

A Star Wars fanatic who was encouraged by a chatbot “girlfriend” to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison for taking his plot to Windsor Castle, where he scaled the walls and was caught with a loaded crossbow nearly two years ago.“I’m here to kill the queen,” Jaswant Singh Chail, wearing a metal mask inspired by the dark force in the science fiction and fantasy franchise, declared on Christmas Day in 2021 when a police officer on the grounds of the castle asked, “Can I help, mate?”As a Sikh Indian, Chail wanted to kill the monarch to avenge the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre when British troops opened fire on thousands of Indians gathered in Amritsar and killed hundreds, a judge said in reciting the facts of the crime.Chail said the assassination was his life’s mission, something he’d thought about since adolescence, but had only shared with Sarai, the artificial intelligence-generated “girlfriend” he created on Replika, whic...

FBI releases video of armored car robbery attempt near south suburban Walmart

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:02 GMT

COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. — The FBI has released video and surveillance images of a shootout outside a south suburban Walmart earlier this week. The gunfire exchange occurred during an attempted armored truck robbery in Country Club Hills. The shootout involved armored vehicle personnel, Walmart security personnel and unknown offenders, according to County Club Hills police.Video shows a sedan approaching at a high rate of speed as armored guards conduct a money transfer in front of Walmart in the 4000 block of 167th Street. The male suspects fired upon the guards, who returned fire. A security guard from within the store also began firing at the suspects. Though nothing from the truck was taken, the male suspects escaped by taking a nearby vehicle by force. FBI Special Agent Siobhan Johnson told WGN News on Monday that the carjacking victim did not appear injured. One of the attempted robbery suspects may have been wounded, she added. Read more:...

2023 on track to be hottest year on record, data indicate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:02 GMT

(The Hill) -- This year is on track to be the hottest on record, following a summer of record-breaking temperatures and a particularly warm September, according to the European climate agency. Last month saw "unprecedented" temperatures, pushing 2023 on its way to becoming the warmest year by an estimated 1.4 degrees Celsius, or 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial average temperatures, according to Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The data come as a warning sign, with Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto calling it a "death sentence." “This is not a fancy weather statistic,” Otto said in an email to The Associated Press. “It’s a death sentence for people and ecosystems. It destroys assets, infrastructure, harvest.”Copernicus confirmed that last month was the warmest September on record, with an average temperature of 16.38 degrees Celsius, 61.48 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking the old record set...

Will Adnan Syed be sent back to prison? Maryland Supreme Court weighs victims' rights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:02 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The Maryland Supreme Court on Thursday scrutinized a hearing last year that vacated Adnan Syed's murder conviction and released him after 23 years behind bars, as the victim's family says they weren't given adequate opportunity to take part in the proceeding.Chronicled in the hit podcast "Serial," the case has been fraught with legal twists and divided court rulings for decades. The oral arguments that took place in Annapolis before Maryland's highest court were no exception.Among the issues discussed were whether Syed's 2000 murder conviction should remain reinstated after a recent appellate court decision, and the extent to which Maryland crime victims have a right to participate in hearings on whether to vacate a conviction. Ultimately, Syed's freedom hangs in the balance. Adnan Syed murder conviction reinstated The panel of seven justices will release their ruling in the coming weeks or months.Outside the courthouse after the hearing, Syed said he was loo...

House Speaker turmoil imperils future Ukraine funding 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:02 GMT

The ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as Speaker is throwing the future of U.S. aid for Ukraine in the air.The assistance had already faced a tough path to passage, as more Republicans have come out in opposition to additional aid. But as the race to replace McCarthy heats up, the road ahead has only become rockier. “It was clearly a challenge before, but we were going to get it done,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Wednesday. “It really depends on exactly what emerges from this next round for Speaker.”While no clear front-runner has emerged in the Speakership race yet, buzz has been building around candidates to fill the empty chair — and their position on further aid to Ukraine.Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), who heads the biggest conservative caucus in the House and is a possible contender, wouldn’t commit to bringing aid for Ukraine to the floor if elected Speaker, in remarks to reporters Wednesday.“I think that the...

Austin Energy to use 360-cameras, artificial intelligence for wildfire detection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:02 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council approved a contract between an artificial intelligence company and Austin Energy Thursday to better protect the community against wildfire. Pano AI, a company out of San Francisco, will use both cameras and artificial intelligence to detect fires earlier, notify emergency crews so they can get there sooner, and protect crews from possible downed power lines. The company uses 360-cameras, which will be put at high points such as cell towers throughout Austin Energy's coverage area, which includes Travis County and parts of surrounding counties, to detect smoke and alert authorities. Austin Energy says it worked with the Austin Fire Department to get the program to Austin and that it will help alert fire crews earlier, especially in more rural parts of Travis County. "We can also monitor and see where it [a fire] is in relation to our infrastructure, and so if we do have something going towards our infrastructure we might be able to shut off the po...

Sheriff: Hays County 15-year-old dies from suspected fentanyl poisoning

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:02 GMT

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Hays County Sheriff’s Office said a 15-year-old died from a suspected fentanyl poisoning Monday. Hays County Deputy Anthony Hipolito said the sheriff's office got a call about a juvenile possibly deceased. When they arrived with EMS, they found the teen dead.Deputy Hipolito said it is a suspected fentanyl poisoning, but they are still waiting to get the toxicology report back. "If it does turn out to be a fentanyl poisoning that resulted in death, that investigation will be worked backward, essentially to try to figure out where this juvenile got the suspected fentanyl from," said Hipolito.It's a tragedy the community is seeing time and time again. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Sheriff: Hays CISD student dies from fentanyl overdose days into 2023 The loss of six studentsIn May, Hays CISD said in an email to parents that six students have died due to suspected fentanyl overdoses since summer 2022.Last school year, the district launched its fighting fe...

Pease Park Conservancy welcomes new CEO

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:02 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- New leadership is at the helm of the Pease Park Conservancy, the nonprofit organization announced Thursday.Nicole Netherton joined the organization as its CEO. The nonprofit "restores, enhances, and maintains Pease Park in partnership with the City of Austin," as described in the announcement.Netherton's prior experience includes work in nonprofit management for environmental conservation organizations. Her most recent role was her five years of service as executive director for Travis Audubon, per the release.“I am excited to be a steward of a place that is so important to Austin’s past, present, and future, both for people and for nature," Netherton said in the release. "Caring for green space in our cities affects our health and wellbeing and we owe it to ourselves and to Mother Nature to protect these spaces. We have to balance the needs of the people who love the Park and the needs of the ecosystem so that both can thrive.”Most recently, the Pease Park Conserva...

MSP Customs seizes giraffe droppings from Iowa woman who wanted to make a necklace

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:02 GMT

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say they seized giraffe droppings at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport from an Iowa woman who explained she planned to use them to make a necklace.The woman flew into the airport from Kenya on Sept. 29 and offered up to customs officers that she had giraffe feces, which were then found in a small box.“The passenger declared giraffe feces and stated she had obtained the droppings in Kenya and planned to make a necklace,” the agency said in a Thursday statement.The woman also told customs agriculture agents that she had made a necklace out of moose feces at her home in Iowa.Importing animal feces to the U.S. is only allowed with a USDA Veterinary Services permit, which is meant to prevent diseases.“There is a real danger with bringing fecal matter into the U.S.,” LaFonda Sutton-Burke, director of operation for CBP’s Chicago field office, said in the statement. “If this person had entered the U.S. and had not declared these it...