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Montreal police investigate major fire in unoccupied Old Montreal building

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:29:25 GMT

MONTREAL — Police say they’re investigating an overnight fire in an unoccupied building in Old Montreal.More than 150 firefighters fought the blaze which began around 8 p.m. on Friday. Montreal Police spokeswoman Const. Jeanne Drouin says the fire was brought under control this morning, but firefighters continued to spray water on the building to prevent flare-ups. Drouin says the cause of the fire remains unknown, but investigators from the arson squad were on the scene late this morning. Municipal tax records show the building was constructed in 1950, though the building’s facade dates from 1891.A 2022 real estate brochure shows the building was put on the market with an asking price of $10 million and touted as a redevelopment opportunity. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 28, 2023. The Canadian Press

Prosecutor refiles case accusing Missouri woman accused of killing her friend

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:29:25 GMT

TROY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri prosecutor has dropped and refiled the murder case against Pamela Hupp, a killing that inspired a TV miniseries.Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood charged Hupp with first-degree murder in July 2021, accusing her of killing her friend, Betsy Faria, a decade earlier. Faria’s husband, Russ, spent time in prison for the crime before his conviction was overturned.On Friday, Wood told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that his office decided to refile the case to petition for a closer venue. The original case had been moved on a change of venue to Springfield, about four hours away from Lincoln County.Wood hopes the move will ease the financial and travel burden on prosecutors, witnesses and Faria’s family.“It was too much to ask of witnesses and Besty Faria’s loved ones,” he said.Phone calls seeking comment Saturday from Hupp’s attorney were unanswered.Prosecutors allege Hupp fatally stabbed Faria in 2011 for the $150,000 life insurance policy...

Former NYC jail guards avoid prison time for 8-minute delay in helping inmate who attempted suicide

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:29:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Two former New York City jail guards have avoided prison time for what authorities called their failure to intervene in a teenage inmate’s suicide attempt for nearly eight minutes until it was too late to save him from serious brain damage in 2019.Daniel Fullerton and Mark Wilson received conditional discharges after pleading guilty to misdemeanor official misconduct in May and September, respectively, the Daily News reported Friday. They will not serve any time in jail if they stay out of trouble for a year.Fullerton, Wilson and two other officers were charged in connection with 18-year-old Nicholas Feliciano’s suicide attempt at the Rikers Island jail complex on Nov. 27, 2019. The other officers’ cases remain pending. Feliciano suffered permanent brain damage and needs long-term medical care.Prosecutors said jail guards were seen on surveillance video walking past Feliciano and taking no action for seven minutes and 51 seconds. An investigation re...

Relief tinged with sadness as Maine residents resume activities after shooting suspect found dead

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:29:25 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Sunshine and a sense of relief swept through central Maine on Saturday with word that a man who was on the loose for two days after authorities said he killed 18 people had been found dead.Residents of Lewiston and surrounding towns had been told to stay home since Wednesday night, when authorities say Robert Card opened fire at a bowling alley and then a bar in shootings that also wounded 13 others. His body was found Friday at a recycling center in nearby Lisbon. Released from lockdown, many residents headed outside to enjoy a warm autumn day.“We can now begin to pick up the pieces, begin the grieving process,” said Jim Howaniec, a Lewiston native who served as mayor in the early 1990s. “We were sort of in limbo there for 48 hours, which really isn’t that long of a time, but of course it seemed like 48 years while it was going on.”Melissa Brown said sheltering in place reminded her of living in Washington, D.C., when snipers killed 10 people over a three-wee...

Republican presidential candidates profess strong support for Israel as war enters new phase

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:29:25 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Republican presidential candidates professed their strong support for Israel on Saturday as they addressed an influential Republican Jewish group during a campaign stop that coincided with Israel’s stepped-up offensive in the war against Hamas and included the exit of a high-profile contender from the 2024 race.Former Vice President Mike Pence used his last speech as a candidate to emphasize his traditional Republican views of a robust U.S. foreign policy that contrasts with the “America First” positions taken by his old boss, former President Donald Trump, the current front-runner for the nomination. Pence did not mention Trump while announcing he would drop out of the race. But he called on Democratic President Joe Biden to unconditionally support Israel’s incursion into Gaza, which was launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that resulted in more than 1,000 deaths. Israel has targeted the Palestinian enclave with airstrikes and cut off power and ...

5 children die in boat accident while on school outing to Kenya amusement park

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:29:25 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Authorities say five children died Saturday in Kenya after a boat they were riding in at a popular amusement park capsized in the country’s western Uasin Gishu County.Police said the children were visiting Amazement Park with other students and teachers from the Arap Moi Primary School in Eldoret when they broke off from the group to take a boat ride on a man-made lake. They were preparing to take their exams for receiving the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education, according to police. The tests, typically taken by Kenyan eighth graders before they move on to secondary school, are set to start countrywide on Monday.Another student, who was to set to take a test that assesses sixth-gradeers, survived the incident and was rushed to a hospital, according to a police statement.Angry parents stormed the school demanding to know the whereabouts of their children after news of the capsizing reached them, the statement said. The Associated Press

Palestinian-Canadians worry for relatives as offensive in Gaza ramps up

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:29:25 GMT

MONTREAL — Moayed Salim says his father planned to come back to Canada from Gaza at the end of the month for the birth of Salim’s son.Instead, Salim says his father is stuck in the Palestinian Territory and the London, Ont. resident has no way to know if he’s alive or dead. Israel launched an expanded ground operation in the enclave on Saturday after knocking out communications and creating a near-blackout of information in the Gaza Strip with increased bombardment and artillery fire overnight.Mansour Shouman, a Canadian citizen who returned to Gaza three years ago, says it seems like the scale of the bombing has increased.Shouman, who is in the south of Gaza, says he worries about food and water shortages and notes many residents fled their homes without warm clothes as winter approaches. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday night that the war has entered a new stage as it seeks to eliminate Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities and reco...

Pence quits the presidential race after struggling to gain traction. ‘This is not my time,’ he says

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:29:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday dropped his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, ending his campaign for the White House after struggling to raise money and gain traction in the polls.“It’s become clear to me: This is not my time,” Pence said at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual gathering in Las Vegas. “So after much prayer and deliberation, I have decided to suspend my campaign for president effective today.”“We always knew this would be an uphill battle, but I have no regrets,” Pence went on to tell the friendly audience, which reacted with audible surprise to the announcement and gave him multiple standing ovations.Pence is the first major candidate to leave a race that has been dominated by his former boss-turned-rival, Donald Trump, and his struggles underscore just how much Trump has transformed the party. A former vice president would typically be seen as a formidable challenger in any primary, but Pence has struggled...

Armed group commits 2 strings of robberies in under 2 hours each on City's West Side

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:29:25 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department sent out a community alert Saturday to residents in the Lower West Side, New City and Brighton Park neighborhoods, warning them of an armed group who has gone on two separate strings of armed robberies in those areas over the past week.According to CPD, a group of three-to-four male offenders committed six armed robberies in the Lower West Side and New City in a little over an hour Tuesday morning, then committed nine more Saturday morning in under two hours that also included the Brighton Park area.Police said in each incident, the offenders exited a SUV, which could possibly be a red/maroon Ford Escape, grey Kia, or a black Lincoln Navigator, pulled out black handguns and took victims' property before fleeing the scene. Chicago man sentenced to 88 years after sexually assaulting woman at Oak Brook hotel Incident Times and Locations 1600 block of West 18th Street on Oct. 24, 2023 at 5:25 a.m. 2300 block of South Halsted Street on Oct. 24, 2...

Restaurant adds $50 surcharge 'for adults unable to parent'

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:29:25 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The internet is divided over a small detail at the bottom of a Georgia restaurant's menu that charges parents for their misbehaving children.Just below the gratuity disclaimer, the Toccoa Riverside Restaurant menu reads "Adult surcharge: For adults unable to parent $$$."A Florida mom, Lyndsey Landmann, who visited the restaurant with her family and four other families told TODAY.com, "I remember thinking, 'No way this is real.'"She said their table had 11 kids ranging from 3 to 8 years old. Landmann added that she was actually surprised at how well-behaved they were during their meal.But the owner disagreed. When the owner approached their table after dessert, he pointed to the menu where it mentions the surcharge. “At first I thought he was gonna compliment us and be like, ‘But you won’t be charged because your kids were so well-behaved,'" Landmann told TODAY.com.That wasn't the case.The owner informed Landmann the bill would have an additional $50 added due t...