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Citizenship oath at the click of a mouse would cheapen tradition: Tory critic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:51 GMT

OTTAWA — The Conservative immigration critic says a proposal to allow people to become a Canadian citizen with the click of a mouse “cheapens” an otherwise special moment for newcomers. “Citizenship by click is not citizenship,” said Calgary MP Tom Kmiec. “They’re really cheapening citizenship purely for political motivation, to reduce their backlogs.”The federal government is seeking feedback on a plan to let people take the Oath of Citizenship online, rather than attend an officiated ceremony. Immigration Minister Sean Fraser first floated the idea in January 2022 as a way to speed up processing times, which would have someone “self-administer a digital oath by signed attestation, and celebrate their citizenship at a later date.”Yet the proposal published in the Canada Gazette late last month would instead allow someone to skip the ceremony entirely.Fraser did not specify why the proposal had changed, nor who came up with the i...

African land snails found in luggage at Michigan airport

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:51 GMT

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — Six giant African land snails have been found in the luggage of a traveler who flew to Michigan from the west African country of Ghana.The mollusks, which can carry diseases that affect humans, were discovered and seized March 9 during an agriculture inspection at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Friday.The man transporting the snails is a resident of Ghana and said they were to be eaten. He was released without further actions.“It is not uncommon for travelers to bring food items from their native countries, which underscores the importance of the inspection process upon arrival to U.S. ports of entry,” Customs and Border Protection spokesman Steven Bansbach said. “This allows CBP officers and agriculture specialists the opportunity to determine whether these goods are permissible or not, while mitigating the potential for public health or environmental issues.”Giant African land snails are prohibited in Michigan...

Haiti PM turns to military for help in fighting gangs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:51 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Prime Minister Ariel Henry signaled Friday that he wants to mobilize Haiti’s military to help the National Police fight the country’s increasingly powerful gangs.Henry said during an appearance at the Armed Forces headquarters that he intends to mobilize all of the country’s security forces in the fight against gang violence. His comments come as Haiti and some U.N. officials continue to press the international community to deploy foreign armed troops to help quell the widespread violenceJean Robenson Servilius, who works in the press office for Haiti’s Defense Ministry, confirmed to The Associated Press that officials are working on plans to activate the military. He said the Armed Forces currently have some 2,000 soldiers and that more are being recruited, adding that they’ve been trained by experts in Argentina, Mexico and Colombia.Robenson said he could not provide further details.Haiti’s military was disbanded in 1995 after it participated in multip...

Crash fugitive returned to Michigan, held on $1m bail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:51 GMT

A woman accused of fleeing to Thailand after killing a Michigan State University student in a hit-and-run crash has been returned to Michigan and is being held on $1 million bail, authorities said Friday.I nvestigators believe Tubtim “Sue” Howson struck 22-year-old Benjamin Kable as he was walking on an Oakland County road before dawn on Jan 1. Kable was home for the holidays.Howson, 57, is a dual U.S. and Taiwanese citizen and left Michigan for Bangkok on Jan. 3. Authorities in Thailand took her into custody there. She was returned to the U.S. in February and held in San Francisco. The Oakland County Sheriff’s office said in a statement Friday that Howson was returned to Michigan on Wednesday. She was arraigned Friday in Oakland County on a charge of failing to stop at the scene of an accident and ordered held on $1 million bond. If she posts bond she would have to surrender her passport and driver’s license and would not be permitted to leave her home except for court appearances....

6 women who went missing in Mexico were killed, burned

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:51 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Prosecutors in Mexico confirmed Friday that six women who went missing on March 7 were killed and their bodies burned by a gang of armed men. It was one of the largest collective killings of a group of women in recent years in Mexico.The women disappeared earlier this month on a road near the city of Celaya in the farming and industrial state of Guanajuato. Relatives had held out hope they might be found alive. But state prosecutor Carlos Zamarripa said Friday that experts had found skeletal remains “almostly completely burned” in raids on several properties Thursday. The amount of bone fragments found — Zamarripa said they were “hundreds” — suggests the women’s bodies were burned and the bones were ground up and scattered, a common drug cartel tactic.“They took the six women to Juventino Rosas, where they later killed them,” Zamarripa said. He said the motive for the killings was still under investigation.DNA tests matched five of the missing women, and mor...

'The Wire' star Lance Reddick dies at 60

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:51 GMT

Actor Lance Reddick, best known for his roles in "The Wire" and "John Wick" has died at the age of 60.Reddick died “suddenly” Friday morning, his publicist Mia Hansen said in a statement, attributing his death to natural causes. His death was first reported by TMZ.com.Reddick played the well-regarded police executive Cedric Daniels from 2002 to 2008 in the hit HBO show "The Wire." Ticketmaster gives partial refund, lower fees to Cure fans after Robert Smith’s crusade He also played Charon in the John Wick movie franchise in addition to several film and television roles. Reddick was currently on a press tour for the fourth installment of the movie, TMZ said.Other notable roles Reddick had were Detective Johnny Basil in "Oz", Phillip Broyles in "Fringe" and he was in four episodes of "Lost."He earned a SAG Award nomination in 2021 as part of the ensemble for Regina King’s film “One Night in Miami.”Reddick attended the prestigious Eastman School of Music, where he studied classical...

Bill passes House vote to make drivers on rideshare apps 'common carriers'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:51 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) -- A new change in the way Illinois views drivers for rideshare apps may be coming soon, even though both Uber and Lyft are strongly opposed. A bill in the state capitol would remove the exemption of drivers of rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft to be classified as "common carriers". Under a 2014 law, drivers working for companies like Uber and Lyft were exempt from the law. Companies that provide service with common carriers, such as bus drivers, train conductors, airline pilots and taxi drivers, have "vicarious liability": if a bus rider for an unsafe ride sues the driver, the bus company can also be found liable for employing an unsafe driver under Illinois law. The bill follows a recent high-profile Illinois court case. In Doe v. Lyft, a woman in Chicago was allegedly sexually assaulted by her Lyft driver. The woman sued the driver, Lyft, and the company used by Lyft for background checks, but Lyft argued since their drivers were defined by Illinois law n...

Florida textbook altered to remove references to Rosa Parks's race: report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:51 GMT

(The Hill) - A Florida textbook publisher removed all references of race from a lesson about civil rights icon Rosa Parks in order to get a Florida committee’s approval, according to The New York Times. Parks helped spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott after she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., bus in 1955. In the current lesson by Studies Weekly, which is used in 45,000 elementary schools, the event is described: “The law said African Americans had to give up their seats on the bus if a white person wanted to sit down.” But in an early version created for Florida’s review by Studies Weekly, the lesson changed to: “She was told to move to a different seat because of the color of her skin.” In the group’s second updated version, race is removed completely from the lesson: “She was told to move to a different seat.”Studies Weekly also made changes to their fourth-grade lesson about segregation laws. DeSantis defends rejection of African Am...

Chance of snow for some to start the weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Despite afternoon sunshine, temperatures were mainly only in the 50s today after being in the 80s on Thursday. Thanks to the cold front that brought severe storms overnight we'll be staying cold through early next week.Tonight clouds will thicken back up as a disturbance approaches from the southwest. This will introduce the chance for rain and even some snow to parts of Central Texas. We think rain chances will favor areas south of Austin late tonight through Saturday. North of Austin should stay dry.As rain helps to cool the air early Saturday morning, temperatures in parts of the Hill Country may cool enough to see the rain turn over to snow. The latest trends in our computer models have shifted the higher snowfall chances farther southwest, but it's still possible some grassy coatings or dustings fall in the coldest of spots Saturday morning.This map shows you where we think snow is most likely. Road accumulations and travel impacts are unlikely as the snow woul...

Why homebuyers won’t get a break in 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:25:51 GMT

Zillow Chief Economist Skylar Olsen gazes at her MacBook the way a soothsayer peers into a crystal ball. The picture is murky.Despite falling prices, homes are more unaffordable than ever. Mortgage rates are fluctuating but look to rise. Demand is down, but so are listings.Tea leaves are easier to read.“It’s a great pause,” Olsen says of the current housing market. “Holding one’s breath. Suspended animation.”Olsen joined the online real estate firm’s research team in 2012, returning last summer as chief economist after a two-year break working as a consultant and at a startup.We spoke with Olsen during a recent visit to Zillow’s Southern California office in Irvine. We asked her about the current housing slowdown and prospects for priced-out home shoppers to get a crack at homeownership this year.Skylar Olsen is the Chief Economist at Zillow talks about the housing market at the company’s offices in Irvine, CA on Thursday, March 9, 2023. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Regis...