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Democrat Biberaj concedes in hard-fought northern Virginia prosecutor race

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:28:23 GMT

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A high-profile Democratic prosecutor in northern Virginia who pursued progressive reforms and drew criticism from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin conceded defeat Wednesday in her reelection bid.Buta Biberaj’s narrow loss to Republican Bob Anderson in the race for Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney gave the Virginia GOP one of its most significant wins this election in an otherwise poor performance that saw Democrats win control of both houses of the state Legislature.Biberaj conceded a day after the Loudoun County Board of Elections finished counting all ballots. Late absentee and provisional ballots narrowed Biberaj’s deficit from roughly 1,000 votes to just 300 votes out of more than 135,000 ballots cast.Biberaj could have requested a recount under state law, but she said at a news conference Wednesday in Leesburg that she thought it was better to use the next two months to ensure a smooth transition.She said she was proud of her offic...

Netflix signs first-look film project deal with Montreal’s Attraction

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:28:23 GMT

Netflix plans to build up its library of Québécois programming under a new agreement with Montreal-based production house Attraction.The U.S. streaming giant says it’s struck a first-look deal for French-language film projects that will be developed and produced by the Canadian company.Attraction is a major film and TV producer in the Quebec market, creating numerous French-language TV series including “Mégantic,” a 2023 dramatization of the deadly Lac-Mégantic, Que., runaway train disaster which killed 47 people.Attraction’s president Richard Speer says the partnership with Netflix elevates Quebec content to the global stage and demonstrates the streaming company’s commitment to promoting local francophone talent.The announcement comes a day after the Liberal government released its final policy direction for the Online Streaming Act, setting the stage for new Canadian content requirements for digital entertainment giants such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple.The Cana...

Toronto couple charged in massive cross-border drug smuggling probe

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:28:23 GMT

A massive drug seizure at the Ambassador Bridge border crossing has led investigators to a Toronto couple accused of being the organizers of the illicit operation.A release by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and RCMP said a semi-truck coming into Canada at the border was pulled over for a secondary examination on March 4, 2023.During the inspection, border officers allegedly found around 300 kilograms of suspected methamphetamine.“The driver was arrested, handed over to the RCMP, and was subsequently released,” officials said.Windsor RCMP and CSBA officers then launched an investigation into where the drugs came from and who was ultimately behind the smuggling attempt.Police identified Marvin Watson, 31, of Toronto as the suspected organizer of the initial shipment.His partner, Maria Kguru, 33, of Toronto, was also suspected of being involved.“Since the incident, investigators gathered evidence that led them to believe that Watson and Kiguru were responsib...

Amtrak service north of NYC will resume after repairs to a parking garage over the tracks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:28:23 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Amtrak service north of New York City will be restored starting Thursday after it was disrupted for several days by structural issues with a parking garage over the tracks on Manhattan’s west side, the railroad announced Wednesday.Service between New York City and the Croton-Harmon station in Westchester County was halted Monday after cracks and deteriorated steel were discovered in the parking structure on West 51st Street that sits directly over Amtrak tracks. Officials with the city’s Department of Buildings said they worked with the parking structure’s owner, Lineage Ventures LLC, to develop a repair plan.Amtrak spokesperson Jason Abrams said railroad officials have been assured the repairs will be completed Wednesday night.Abrams said riders can expect minor delays until both tracks are restored on Saturday. “We appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers who were inconvenienced by the structural issue at the non-Amtrak-owned par...

Sweden opens state-of-the-art plant for sorting plastics for recycling

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:28:23 GMT

MOTALA, Sweden (AP) — A new plastics sorting facility inaugurated in Sweden on Wednesday is being billed as the largest of its kind, and one designed to double the amount of plastic packaging materials being recycled in the Nordic country.Thanks to cutting-edge technology, the Site Zero plant in the central city of Motala can sort up to 200,000 tons of plastic packaging a year, according to Sweden Plastic Recycling, a non-profit company co-owned by Swedish plastics, food and trade industry groups. The company says that’s more than any other sorting facility in the world.A unique feature of Site Zero is that it can separate up to 12 different types of plastic.An old plant at the same location could only sort 5 types of plastic, which meant that only 47% of the material was sent on for recycling and the rest was incinerated, said Mattias Philipsson, CEO of Sweden Plastic Recycling.The new plant will be able to send up to 95% of the packaging for recycling, minimizing the amount that i...

UN agency report says Iran has further increased its uranium stockpile

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:28:23 GMT

VIENNA (AP) — Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to nearly weapons-grade levels, according to a report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog seen by The Associated Press on Wednesday. The International Atomic Energy Agency also said that Iran has pushed back against the agency’s objections to Tehran’s ban on some of its inspectors designated to monitor the country’s nuclear program.In its confidential quarterly report distributed to member states, the International Atomic Energy Agency said that according to its assessment, as of Oct. 28, Iran has an estimated 128.3 kilograms (282.9 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity, which represents an increase of 6.7 kilograms since its September report. The IAEA report also estimated that as of Oct. 28, Iran’s total enriched uranium stockpile was at 4,486.8 kilograms, an increase of 691.3 kilograms since the last quarterly report in September 2023.In an effort to ensure Iran could not devel...

Notorious clubhouse owned by Nanaimo, B.C., Hells Angels being demolished: Farnworth

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:28:23 GMT

NANAIMO, B.C. — A clubhouse that once belonged to a Vancouver Island chapter of the Hells Angels is being demolished, just weeks after a court ruling confirmed the B.C. government has the right to seize the property.Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and solicitor general, says in a statement that the clubhouse in Nanaimo is coming down immediately.He says the demolition is “only the beginning,” and “puts organized crime on notice” that criminals cannot profit from their activities.A Supreme Court of Canada ruling issued last month upheld a B.C. court’s decision finding an “inescapable” inference that the Nanaimo clubhouse and other Hells Angels properties in Kelowna and east Vancouver were used for criminal activity.The ruling ended a legal battle that stretched more than a decade and confirmed B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Office could seize the clubhouses as proceeds of crime.The east Vancouver club house is valued at $1.52 million...

Judges free police officer suspected in killing of teen in suburban Paris that set off French riots

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:28:23 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A police officer being investigated in the killing last summer of a 17-year-old of North African origin that touched off riots around France was freed from jail Wednesday while the investigation continues. The prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Nanterre, where 17-year-old Nahel Marzouk was fatally shot, said that magistrates concluded that continued detention of the motorcycle officer “no longer fulfills the legal criteria” for which he was held.The officer, who has been identified only as Floran M., was jailed June 29, two days after Nahel was killed. The teenager was fatally shot during a traffic stop in Nanterre. Video showed two officers at the window of the Mercedes the youth was driving, one with his gun pointed at the teenager. As the car pulled forward, the officer fired once through the windshield. The officer was handed a preliminary charge of voluntary homicide, which means there must be further investigation before an eventual decision to put him on ...

Black and Latino students lack access to certified teachers and advanced classes, US data shows

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:28:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s Black and Latino students are at a disadvantage in nearly every measure of educational opportunity, with less access to advanced classes, counselors and even certified teachers, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Education Department.The findings reflect inequities that have lasting implications for students’ ability to learn effectively, go on to college and earn degrees.“In America, talent and creativity can come from anywhere, but only if we provide equitable educational opportunities to students everywhere,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said. The data was released as part of the Civil Rights Data Collection, a federal survey of nearly every public school in the nation. It was gathered during the 2020-2021 school year, when many schools remained at least partially closed for the COVID-19 pandemic. America’s education system has long had deep educational disparities. Nearly seven decades after the Supreme Court ordered sc...

Moms for Liberty removes two Kentucky chapter leaders who posed with far-right Proud Boys

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:28:23 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Moms for Liberty says it has removed two Kentucky chapter chairs from leadership positions after the women posed in photos with members of the far-right group the Proud Boys, one of several controversies that the conservative “parental rights” nonprofit has fended off in its rise to national prominence in public education.The two women, who had led local chapters in Boone and Campbell counties near the Ohio border, appeared in photos with several men dressed in yellow and black Proud Boys clothing at a Nov. 4 rally in Frankfort, the Kentucky capital. The photos, posted on Facebook by another attendee, show the women smiling in Moms for Liberty clothing, as one helps to hold up a flag that reads, “Appalachian Proud Boys Kentucky.” The former chapter chairs were removed because they “demonstrated a lack of judgement and misalignment with our core values,” the national Moms for Liberty organization posted Tuesday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter...