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New agreement ratified for almost 26,000 workers at Loblaw-owned stores in Ontario

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:59 GMT

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. — The United Food & Commercial Workers union says workers have ratified a collective agreement with Loblaw Cos. Ltd. covering almost 26,000 grocery store workers across Ontario.The agreement with two UFCW locals covers workers at 121 stores under the Loblaw Great Food, Real Canadian Superstore and Zehrs Great Food banners. The union says the agreement is historic and industry-leading, with full-time workers receiving a $4.60 an hour raise over five years. The union says the deal also protects full-time and part-time members’ pay gains as the minimum wage increases. The agreement is the latest in a string of collective agreements that have seen grocery store workers achieve major gains at the bargaining table in the wake of the pandemic and inflation. UFCW 1006A president Wayne Hanley says negotiations were “intense and difficult,” but the deal is “the best in decades.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 22, ...

Former Kenyan minister and 2 others charged with fraud over hospitality college project

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:59 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s anti-corruption commission Friday charged the country’s former tourism minister and two others with economic crimes for the alleged fraud of tens of millions of dollars in inflated costs for the construction of a hospitality college.Najib Balala, former principal secretary Leah Addah Gwiyo, and the managing partner of West Consults, John Odero, appeared before Principal Magistrate James Mwaniki in the coastal town of Malindi, where they denied the charges.Balala is the first high profile person to be charged with corruption under President William Ruto’s administration. The three were released after posting bail.Thirteen other suspects are expected to be charged with corruption offenses and economic crimes for the alleged malfeasance that took place 16 years ago. Balala was then serving in the government of late President Mwai Kibaki.The original cost of the Ronald Ngala Utalii College on the East African coast approved by the minister of finance ...

‘Out of their lane’: Minister to overrule Ontario Energy Board

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:59 GMT

The Ontario Energy Board strayed “out of their lane” with a decision that would increase costs for new homes heated with natural gas, the province’s energy minister said Friday as he promised to overturn it.But environmental groups said the OEB’s decision was a huge win for the environment and Ontarians, as it would have encouraged the uptake of greener home heating and cooling, such as with heat pumps, and the reversal would be just a gift to Enbridge Gas.The OEB decision relates to a rate application from Enbridge, which serves the majority of natural gas customers in the province. The energy board said the utility’s long-term plan is unreasonable because it assumes that every new housing development will include gas servicing and that homebuyers will remain on gas for 40 years, despite an energy transition toward electrification.Despite this trend, Enbridge’s forecasts show continued growth in natural gas peak demand, with $14 billion in capita...

Toronto family finds multiple donor siblings through DNA kits

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:59 GMT

It was on Father’s Day weekend in 2018, when Andrew Fleming was 32 years old that he learned a shocking secret from his parents.“My dad, who I believed [was my dad], who raised me, was not actually my biological father,” shared Andrew.Andrew and his sister, Sarah, were conceived through an anonymous sperm donor. They were from the same donor, making them full siblings. Sarah found out only a couple of months before her brother“I was actually starting to look at my own fertility journey and building a family and it was the first time I started asking some questions about how I was conceived,” explained Sarah.“To be a full grown adult and to have that entirely turned upside down was very upsetting at first but … I said this that night that ‘You’re still my dad. I still love you’,” Andrew said.  The revelation began a new journey. They ordered DNA kits from several companies. First, to learn more about their own genetic backgr...

Moneris service outage affects card payments on busy shopping, travel day

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:59 GMT

If you were having trouble using your debit or credit card to make in-person payments, you’re not alone — one of Canada’s largest payment processors went down Friday.Moneris says the issue behind the “network outage affecting customers ability to process transactions” has been identified and resolved. However, it notes businesses may still “experience some slowness while systems catch-up.” “…Everything should return to normal shortly and teams are monitoring,” the financial tech company, which specializes in payment processing and terminals, said just after 1:30 p.m. PST.Moneris experienced a network outage affecting customers ability to process transactions. The issue has been identified and resolved. Merchants will continue to experience some slowness while systems catch-up but everything should return to normal shortly and teams are monitoring— Moneris (@Moneris) December 22, 2023The outage came on a busy day, with...

Naperville man sentenced to 10 years for attempted murder of wife

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:59 GMT

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — A Naperville man will spend nearly a decade in prison for the attempted murder of his wife in late 2019.Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announced Friday that 62-year-old Patrick O’Brien has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was found guilty of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated domestic battery on Aug. 29.The stabbing, which left O’Brien and his wife injured, happened on Dec. 21, 2019, in the 2200 block of Popple Court in Naperville and it was all caught on a neighbor's home surveillance camera. Ed Burke found guilty on 13 of 14 counts in federal corruption trial Glasgow said O’Brien, who was separated from his wife at the time of the stabbing, returned to their home to gather his things, but while they were in the kitchen of the home, he grabbed a large kitchen knife and said a statement to the effect of “If we’re done, then we’re done.”The victim fled from the home and ran to a neighbor's rear patio door where she began pleadin...

Wisconsin Supreme Court orders new legislative maps in redistricting case

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:59 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the latest drawn legislative maps on Friday and ordered that new district boundary lines be drawn.The ruling comes less than a year before the 2024 election in a battleground state where four of the six past presidential elections have been decided by fewer than 23,000 votes, and Republicans have built large majorities in the Legislature under maps they drew over a decade ago.The court ruled 4-3 in favor of Democrats who argued that the legislative maps are unconstitutional because districts drawn aren't contiguous. They also argued that the Supreme Court violated the separation of powers doctrine. Proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin is coming soon “Because the current state legislative districts contain separate, detached territory and therefore violate the constitution’s contiguity requirements, we enjoin the Wisconsin Elections Commission from using the current legislative maps in future elect...

Proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin is coming soon

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:59 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans plan to unveil a proposal soon to legalize medical marijuana in the state and could vote on it sometime in 2024, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said.Republicans have been working behind closed doors for years on a medical marijuana bill. Along the way, they have rejected calls from Gov. Tony Evers and other Democrats to legalize all uses of marijuana, including medical and recreational.Vos, in an interview Wednesday, said the proposal will be limited and modeled after the medical marijuana law that had been in place in neighboring Minnesota before it moved to full legalization. Chicago officer helps deliver baby girl in Albany Park “It is not going to be widespread,” he said. “We are not going to have dispensaries on every corner in every city.”He said Assembly Republicans are on board in concept, but no one has seen the actual proposal yet. He expected to unveil it in January. Vos had said in April that he hoped to have t...

2 boys killed, 4 others injured after car fleeing police crashed in Wisconsin

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:59 GMT

DELAFIELD, Wis. (AP) — Two 10-year-old boys were killed and four other people were injured when a car fleeing a traffic stop crashed in southern Wisconsin, police said.The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department said a deputy stopped the car for speeding and driving without license plates just before midnight Wednesday, but the driver sped away with five passengers in the vehicle.A police pursuit involving two deputies began in Pewaukee and ended miles away when the car was involved in a rollover crash in Delafield, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Milwaukee, police said. Wisconsin man sentenced for causing creation and distribution of video showing monkey being tortured “The driver fled at such a high rate of speed that my deputies weren’t even in visual contact during the crash,” Sheriff Eric Severson said Thursday.Two 10-year-old boys died in the one-car crash, while two girls, ages 14 and 6, were hospitalized in critical condition, police said. A 29-year-old man who was the...

Trump rails after poll shows Haley within 4 points in New Hampshire

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:35:59 GMT

A poll released this week found Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley trails former President Trump by 4 points in New Hampshire, prompting online outrage from the former president.According to a December survey by American Research Group Inc. asking voters who their preference was in the Republican presidential primary, Trump earned 33 percent support.Haley earned 29 percent, a significant milestone for the former U.N. ambassador, who appears to have been gaining ground on Trump’s steady lead in the state; the gap between her and the former president was well within the poll's margin of error of 4 points. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie earned 13 percent in the survey, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis received 6 percent support and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy brought in 5 percent.Haley showed confidence this week, saying Trump is “getting nervous” about her rising support in the polls, citing a new ad that targets her.A spokesperson for Haley said it is clear that “th...