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Concord officials look to cover up Massachusetts historic signs due to their ‘offensive’ nature

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

Concord officials are looking to cover up signs that have stood in town for nearly a century because they say the plaques have lost their appeal and are offensive to Indigenous people.In 1930, the Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission distributed three markers to the town as part of an initiative recognizing the 300th anniversary of the original colony’s founding.The Select Board this week voted to cover up the signs, a step that officials say was needed to create a more respectful community for all.The signs convey what life was like close to four centuries ago when settlers founded the town in 1635. But officials say the markers don’t accurately represent the history nor the people who live and visit Concord today.Officials had yet to cover the signs as of Wednesday. The markers highlight an oak tree that settlers bought from Indians for the town’s incorporation, the site of an Indian fishing weir and a slope where settlers built their first dwellings.Donna McIntosh, th...

$242 million upgrade planned at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A $242 million overhaul will modernize the main terminal concourses and gate areas at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, officials said.The project announced Thursday by the Metropolitan Airports Commission an Delta Airlines, the airport’s dominant carrier, is expected to be completed by late 2025, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.Metropolitan Airports Commission CEO Brian Ryks said the goal is to create “an exceptional airport experience for the millions of passengers who travel through” the airport annually.The plan calls for a unified design for the concourses and about 75 Delta gates, with new flooring, wall finishes and brighter LED lighting. Technology upgrades will improve flight and gate information screens. More power outlets will be added at gate seating.The MAC is investing $182.5 million in the project, with Delta contributing $60 million. No taxpayer funds will be used.Most of the work will occur at night so little disruption is ex...

Man, 19, charged in Toronto home invasions, value of damages and stolen property worth $1.3M

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

Toronto police have charged a 19-year-old in a series of early-morning home invasions, with investigators alleging the total value of damages and property taken was over $1 million.Investigators said the accused and another suspect hit four straight homes starting on September 11, 2023. In the first incident, police were called to a residence in the Bayview Avenue and Eglinton Avenue area, where the accused and another unknown suspect threw a rock through the glass of the front door and entered the residence. The pair allegedly entered and confronted the resident, demanding car keys.Police said they dragged the victim to their bedroom and forcibly took the keys. They then fled in the victim’s car.On September 12 and 13, the accused and a suspect attended separate residences in the Bathurst Street and Highway 401 area and Bayview Avenue and Eglinton Avenue East. On both occasions, police said the pair threw a rock through a front door glass window, entered the homes, stole car ...

Wisconsin judge orders former chief justice to turn over records related to impeachment advice

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge on Friday ordered the former chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to produce records related to her work advising the Republican Assembly speaker on whether to impeach a current justice.Former Chief Justice Patience Roggensack was one of three former Supreme Court justices asked by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to give him advice on pursuing impeachment. Vos has floated impeachment against liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz based on how she rules on a pending redistricting lawsuit Democrats hope will result in new legislative electoral maps.The liberal watchdog group American Oversight filed a lawsuit seeking records from Vos and the three former justices. Vos and two of the former justices, David Prosser and Jon Wilcox, turned over records. That included an email from Prosser to Vos advising against impeachment. Vos turned over more than 21,000 pages of documents last week, American Oversight attorney Ben Sparks said at a Friday hearing.W...

Toronto Public Library says sensitive data may have been exposed in cybersecurity incident

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

The Toronto Public Library (TPL) says sensitive data may have been “exposed” as a result of a cybersecurity incident that knocked down its website two weeks ago.TPL says they have filed a report with Toronto police and a further investigation needs to be done before they can determine the individuals affected and “the extent of the exposure.”“We continue to actively collaborate with third-party experts to assess the scope of the exposure and individuals impacted,” reads a Friday statement from TPL. “We anticipate the investigation will take some time to complete.”The library was able to confirm the incident was a ransomware attack earlier this week. The attack shut down the public computers and printing services at all branches, as well as the library’s website, “your account” service, tpl:map passes and digital collections.“We understand how much the public relies on our services, and fully acknowledge and share the frustration ...

3 charged in Richmond Hill armed carjacking

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

York police and Provincial Carjacking Task Force (PCJTF) investigators have charged three suspects and recovered a stolen vehicle following a carjacking in Richmond Hill.On Saturday at approximately 1 a.m., a carjacking occurred at a residence in the area of Weldrick Road East and Strathearn Avenue. Two suspects confronted the victim as he drove into the garage of his home, while a third suspect waited in a separate vehicle. The suspects demanded the victim’s cell phone and keys to his BMW X6 while threatening him with a knife, then left the area speeding in both vehicles.The PCJTF was notified and an investigation began, and on Sunday the suspects were observed operating the stolenBMW X6 in tandem with a Tesla. The driver of the Tesla was arrested and found with a large amount of cash and multiple car keys, including a key for the stolen BMW X6. During the arrest of the other suspects, one intentionally drove towards an investigator. There were no injuries.Wahidullah Wahidullah, 22...

Hungary asks EU to take action against Bulgaria’s transit tax on Russian gas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary has asked the European Union’s executive to open a legal procedure against Bulgaria over a tax it recently imposed on Russian natural gas passing through its territory, a government minister said on Friday. Bulgaria believes the tax, which it levied in October, will reduce the privileged position of Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom in southeastern Europe and deter Russian influence in the region. But the tax has angered Bulgaria’s neighbor Serbia, as well as fellow EU member Hungary, which are heavily dependent on Russian gas coming mostly via Turkey and Bulgaria through the TurkStream pipeline. In a Facebook video, Hungary’s minister for EU affairs, Janos Boka, said he had sent a letter to the European Commission urging it to launch an infringement procedure against Bulgaria, the first potential step the bloc can use to ensure its laws are upheld by member states. Boka complained that Bulgaria had imposed the tax without...

Tesla faces strikes in Sweden unless it signs a collective bargaining agreement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Pressure is growing on Tesla in Sweden, where a trade union is demanding that the Texas-based automaker sign a collective bargaining agreement, which most employees in the Scandinavian country have.Tesla has no manufacturing plant in Sweden, but 130 members of the powerful metalworkers’ union IF Metall walked out on Oct. 27 at seven workshops across the country where its popular electric cars are serviced.Other trade unions joined in solidarity, including dockworkers at Sweden’s four largest ports who decided Tuesday to stop the delivery of Tesla vehicles to increase pressure on the automaker to accept the metal workers’ demands.On Friday, the Painters’ Union said 53 painting companies would not do any work on Tesla vehicles in sympathy with IF Metall. If there is no agreement with Tesla by Tuesday, “a total of 109 companies may be prevented from handling and painting Tesla cars,” it said in a statement. Another major trade union, the Swedish Union for Service and C...

Blinken urges Indian counterparts to co-operate with Canada on Nijjar murder probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

WASHINGTON — The U.S. secretary of state is once again urging India to help Canada advance its investigation into the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Antony Blinken says it’s very important for India to co-operate so that the investigation can continue to move forward. Blinken made the comments today after meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior Indian officials in New Delhi. He says India and Canada are two close friends and partners of the U.S. and wants to see the dispute resolved as soon as possible. Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh activist long denounced by India as an extremist, was shot and killed in June outside a gurdwara in Surrey, B.C. In September, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shocked the House of Commons with what he called “credible allegations” that agents of India’s government were involved.“These are two of our closest friends and partners, and of course we want to see them resolving any differences or disputes that they h...

‘From the river to the sea’: Why a 6-word phrase sparks fury and passion over the Israel-Hamas war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:14:11 GMT

The Jordan River is a winding, 200-plus-mile run on the eastern flank of Israel and the occupied West Bank. The sea is the glittering Mediterranean to its west.But a phrase about the space in between, “from the river to the sea,” has become a battle cry with new power to roil Jews and pro-Palestinian activists in the aftermath of Hamas’ deadly rampage across southern Israel Oct. 7 and Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip. “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” pro-Palestinian activists from London to Rome and Washington chanted in the volatile aftermath of Israel’s bloodiest day. Adopting or defending it can be costly for public figures, such as U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who was censured by the House on Tuesday.But like so much of the Mideast conflict, what the phrase means depends on who is telling the story — and which audience is hearing it.Many Palestinian activists say it’s a call for peace and equality after 75 years of Israel...