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Appeal heard in ex-College Street Bar gang rape

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:42 GMT

Two men sentenced to nine years each for the gang sexual assault of a young woman inside a downtown Toronto bar had their appeals heard Tuesday, more than six years after the assault took place.Gavin MacMillan, the owner of the now-shuttered College Street Bar, and his bar manager, Enzo De Jesus Carrasco, were convicted of sexually assaulting and administering a noxious substance to the 24-year-old victim in December 2016.The bar’s surveillance cameras captured most of the hours-long sexual assault that the trial judge described as “prolonged, violent and degrading.” The pair was found guilty in late 2019.While De Jesus Carrasco has remained behind bars throughout, MacMillan has rarely seen the inside of a jail cell.He had been on bail pending his sentence and was granted bail again pending his appeal. On Tuesday morning, he surrendered to a Toronto detention centre, but he is expected to be re-released while awaiting an appeal decision.“Our justice system lo...

New Mexico Attorney General has charged a police officer in the shooting death of a Black man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:42 GMT

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Tuesday announced that a police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black man during a confrontation at a gas station. Las Cruces Police Officer Brad Lunsford was booked on the single charge and released on Tuesday morning, a spokesperson for Torrez said. A voicemail left at the office of Lunsford’s attorney, Jess Lilley, was not immediately returned Tuesday afternoon.Lunsford shot Presley Eze, 36, on Aug. 2, 2022, at a Las Cruces gas station after an employee of the business called 911 to report he saw Eze leaving with beer he did not pay for, authorities say.Lunsford was the first officer to arrive. During a scuffle, Eze ended up on the ground on top of a second officer and he placed his hand on that officer’s Taser. Lunsford drew his handgun and shot Eze once on the back left side of his head at point-blank range. Torrez said his office consulted with use-of-...

Seattle to pay nearly $2M after man dies of a heart attack at address wrongly on 911 blacklist

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:42 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The city of Seattle will pay $1.86 million to the family of a man who died of a heart attack after a caution note attached to his address delayed medics’ response.William Yurek, 48, died in his town house in 2021 after his son called 911 and arriving Seattle Fire Department medics initially waited outside for law enforcement before entering, The Seattle Times reported.The family alleged Yurek was wrongly included on a blacklist of people known to be hostile to police and fire crews. Yurek lived in the unit a couple of years before his death and the previous tenant had been on the outdated list, according to the lawsuit filed last year.Medics were told to wait for a law enforcement escort, the lawsuit stated. As Yurek’s condition worsened, his then 13-year-old son called 911 again and was told help was on the way, even though medics had already arrived. Medics then decided to enter the home without police, but despite their treatment, Yurek died.“Once inside, med...

Politician faces fine for returning to Yellowknife during wildfire evacuation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:42 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — A member of the Northwest Territories legislature is facing a fine and a reprimand for returning to Yellowknife while it was evacuated during recent wildfires.David Phillip Jones, the legislature integrity commissioner, says Katrina Nokleby broke the legislature’s code of conduct by returning to the territorial capital while it was under an evacuation order.Jones says he investigated following two written complaints filed in late August. The final decision rests with the legislative assembly, which can act on or reject his recommendation of a fine and reprimand.Nokleby is the legislature member for Great Slave. Yellowknife’s 20,000 residents were allowed to return in early September after they were forced out for three weeks.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2023.The Canadian Press

Toronto Blue Jays bats fall silent as Minnesota Twins win Game 1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:42 GMT

Rookie Royce Lewis hit two home runs as the Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 in Game 1 of their American League wild-card series on Tuesday.It was quite the performance for the 24-year-old in his postseason debut against Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman, who surrendered both homers to Lewis in the first and third innings.Lewis is the 10th rookie with a multi-homer game in the playoffs and the 10th to go deep multiple times in his first career postseason game.Another homer Royce Lewis. ???? pic.twitter.com/baTnO2cHb9— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 3, 2023It’s Minnesota’s first postseason win since 2004, ending an 18-game drought.Twins hitters were patient against Gausman, letting his typically elusive splitter sail out of the zone and capitalizing on the fastball. The 32-year-old takes the loss after pitching four innings, allowing three earned runs while walking three and striking out five.Toronto relievers performed well out of the bullpen, with Erik...

3 men, including 2 from Ontario, charged in 2022 B.C. murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:42 GMT

Two men from Ontario and a third from B.C. have been charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a man in Surrey last year.The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) announced the charges on Tuesday, following an 11-month-long investigation.Read More: IHIT called in after second Surrey shooting in 24 hours, man not expected to survivePolice say on Nov. 3, 2022, the Surrey RCMP was notified of a man who was admitted to Surrey Memorial Hospital with gunshot wounds. Pawandeep Chopra, 24, is said to have died of his injuries in the hospital three days later.Pawandeep Chopra, 24, died in the hospital after a shooting in Surrey in November 2022. Three men have been charged in connection, homicide investigators have announced. (Supplied)Homicide investigators say 24-year-old Lascel Tyndale and 22-year-old Segovia-Sanhueza, both from Ontario, along with 25-year-old Terry McDonald from Abbotsford, have all been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.IHIT...

Arizona to cancel leases allowing Saudi-owned farm access to state’s groundwater

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona governor Katie Hobbs said this week her administration is terminating state land leases that for years have given a Saudi-owned farm nearly unfettered access to pump groundwater in the dry southwestern state. On Monday, Hobbs, a Democrat, said the state had canceled Fondomonte Arizona’s lease in western Arizona’s Butler Valley and would not renew three other leases up for renewal there next year.An investigation by the governor’s office found that the foreign-owned farm had violated some of its lease terms. Hobbs called it unacceptable that the farm “continued to pump unchecked amounts of groundwater out of our state while in clear default on their lease.” Fondomonte Arizona, a subsidiary of Saudi dairy giant Almarai Co., grows alfalfa in Arizona that feeds livestock in the water-stressed Gulf kingdom. Through a spokesperson, Fondomonte said it would appeal the governor’s decision to terminate its 640-acre (259-hectare) lease in Butl...

Antisemitic acts, hate crimes increasing in Illinois: ADL report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:42 GMT

CHICAGO — The Anti-Defamation League reports antisemitic acts, hate crimes and white supremacist activities are increasing in Illinois.The new report, titled Hate in the Prairie State, shows that while Illinois is ahead of the curve when it comes to lessening hate crimes, more is needed to address the issue. "Hate has been mainstreamed," said David Goldenberg with the Anti-Defamation League. Chicago Migrant Crisis: 17K asylum seekers transported since August 2022 A deep dive into hate speech, attacks and extremism shows an 80% increase in Illinois since 2021, pointing to high-profile incidents such as the anti-LGBTQ vandalism at a now-closed Lake in the Hills bakery last year. Another incident referenced was the firebombing of a women’s clinic downstate.Locally, authorities probed a member of the Chicago Police Department with ties to the Proud Boys. Lee Zoldan with the Chicago Loop Synagogue worries about the ramifications of hate. "This should not be happening in the United Sta...

Tiny box mimics the body to help test drugs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:42 GMT

CHICAGO — New drug development starts in a lab, then moves to animal and ultimately human models. Now scientists thinking outside the box want to add an extra safety step — inside a box designed to mimic the human organ system.The box is not much bigger than a shoe box and is thought of as a tiny human body.Hannes Campo, PhD is a researcher with Northwestern Medicine.“This is the closest thing we can do to recreate the human body outside of the human body,” Campo said.Called the “lattice,” Campo and other Northwestern Medicine researchers developed the system to test experimental drugs on a variety of organs after animal studies and ahead of human clinical trials.Julie Kim, PhD also worked on the project.“Many of the drugs tested in animals that have succeeded move onto clinical phase one trials to look at toxicity,” she said. “But an animal is an animal and what we need is representation of human tissues.”  More from Med Watch: What is an inverse vaccine and how can it rever...

Pritzker contacts White House, local officials worried about migrant crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:42 GMT

CHICAGO — As Chicago's humanitarian crisis escalates, Governor JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson warned the White House the situation is becoming untenable.According to Pritzker, he received correspondence from the White House Tuesday, 24 hours after delivering a message to the White House on the migrant situation in Chicago, where City officials are expecting as many as 25 busloads of asylum seekers to arrive each day."I have spoken to the White House since even over the weekend and the letter to make sure that they heard us and that they want to be responsive," Pritzker said. "And they’ve said that they want to be responsive to those things."Pritzker is asking for a point person to coordinate federal help for migrants, temporary protected status application fees to be waived, and employment authorization for Venezuelans. He said he is also seeking Medicaid waivers and housing vouchers for new arrivals in the City.As of Tuesday morning, 9,827 migrants were in Chicago shelters, ...