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B.C. man ordered to pay $450,000 over 2019 wildfire triggered by debris burn

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:21 GMT

VICTORIA — The B.C. Forest Appeals Commission says a man who lit a large debris pile on fire that eventually caused a wildfire should pay the provincial government nearly $450,000 for firefighting costs and lost timber resources.In an appeal decision released last week, the commission says Clarke Matthiesen tried to blame an arsonist for the blaze that investigators say started on his property west of Quesnel, B.C., in the province’s interior. The decision says Matthiesen lit the debris fire on a property he owns with his brother in February 2019, thinking snow around the blaze would work as a “fuel break.” But it says that more than two months later, Matthiesen and his brother came upon a grass fire nearby, which they couldn’t put out with shovels. It says Matthiesen then drove to a neighbouring property to report the fire, and the BC Wildfire Service responded that evening.The commission rejected Matthiesen’s claims that his neighbour’s grandson...

Suspicious mail prompts Kansas to evacuate secretary of state’s building

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:21 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The office of Kansas’ top elections official received suspicious mail Tuesday, prompting the evacuation of its building near the Statehouse for the rest of the day.The incident occurred less than a week after election offices in at least five states states received threatening mail, some containing the potentially dangerous opioid fentanyl. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, taking the lead in the case, did not provide further details about the mail sent to the Kansas secretary of state’s office.The KBI is working with the Kansas Highway Patrol, the state fire marshal’s office and the state Department of Health and Environment, spokesperson Melissa Underwood said in an emailed statement. She said authorities evacuated the building, which also houses the Kansas attorney general’s office, “out of an abundance of caution.”“The investigation is ongoing,” Underwood said, adding that it was the only such incident reported in Kansas so far.An of...

3 still critical a day after knife attack that shocked students at Louisiana Tech University

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:21 GMT

RUSTON, La. (AP) — Three women remained in critical condition Tuesday after what officials say was a random knife attack on a college campus in north Louisiana. The suspect in the case, Jacoby Johnson, was taken into custody soon after the Monday morning attack outside a recreation center at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. Johnson, a senior at the university, was being held on four charges of attempted second-degree murder. Neither the court clerk nor the district attorney’s office in Louisiana’s Lincoln Parish had information on whether Johnson had an attorney who could comment.Four people were wounded in Monday’s attack. Three were hospitalized in Shreveport. A fourth, Debby Hollimon of Ruston, was grazed by the attacker’s knife, according to The Ruston Daily Leader. She told the newspaper she heard screams and saw a man attacking another woman. “I just ran up screaming, ‘Get off her! Get away from her!’” Hollimon said. “He stands up and looks at me wi...

Jury convicts Wisconsin woman of fatally poisoning her friend’s water with eye drops

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:21 GMT

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — A jury on Tuesday convicted a Wisconsin woman of fatally poisoning her beautician friend ‘s water with eye drops and stealing nearly $300,000 from her.Jessy Kurczewski, 39, of Franklin, told investigators she gave Lynn Hernan a water bottle filled with six bottles of Visine in 2018, according to a criminal complaint. A Waukesha County jury found her guilty Tuesday of first-degree intentional homicide and two counts of theft in connection with Hernan’s death, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.Kurczewski’s attorneys did not speak with reporters following the verdict.Hernan was found dead in her Pewaukee condo in October 2018 with crushed medication on her chest. According to a criminal complaint, Kurczewski called police and said her friend wasn’t conscious or breathing. Kurczewski said she was a family friend and had been checking on Hernan daily. She had said there was a possibility Hernan was suicidal.The Waukesha County medical e...

New TTC Line 3 Scarborough RT bus replacement plan begins on Sunday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:21 GMT

It’s been three-and-a-half months since the TTC quickly rolled out a premature shuttle bus plan after a Line 3 Scarborough RT train derailment forced an early closure, but a previously approved long-term plan is about to be rolled out.Included in the new plan are changes to the express route alignments, frequency on routes, and rearranging bus route assignments at station platforms.Ever since the derailment on July 24, a combination of Line 3 replacement buses (eventually rebranded as 903 Kennedy-Scarborough Centre Express buses) have been operating on Progress Avenue, Midland Avenue, Eglinton Avenue East and Kennedy Road.RELATED: Goodbye party held for Scarborough RT two months after derailmentThroughout this period, City of Toronto and TTC staff have been scrambling to put in place dedicated traffic lanes, build a new bus platform at Kennedy station and renovate platforms at Scarborough Centre station.Beginning on Sunday, 903 shuttle buses will be taking on a new routing. In...

Authorities in El Salvador dismantle smuggling ring, arrest 10 including 2 police officers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:21 GMT

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Police in El Salvador on Tuesday arrested 10 people accused of operating a migrant smuggling ring that charged migrants up to $15,000 for the promise of safe travel to the U.S.Two of the alleged smugglers, or “coyotes,” arrested were active members of the Salvadoran national police, the Attorney General’s Office said. Another was an ex-officer.The raid was coordinated between police in the capital, San Salvador, and two other cities, Santa Ana in the west and San Miguel in the east of the country, respectively. Police also seized four vehicles and more than a dozen cellphones.According to an investigation opened in July 2022, the smugglers trafficked migrants through blind spots on the Guatemalan border, then through Mexico and the U.S., charging between $12,000 and $15,000 per person.The attorney general’s office said they began investigating after at least 33 migrants reported they had paid for transport, but were not taken to the U.S.E...

Ohio business owner sues Norfolk Southern for February derailment that closed his companies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:21 GMT

A business owner with companies near where a Norfolk Southern train derailed and caught fire in February has sued the railroad for $500 million, saying most of his eastern Ohio companies have remained closed and he hasn’t been able to reach a financial settlement with the railroad.Edwin Wang filed his federal lawsuit Tuesday. It comes amid government lawsuits against Norfolk Southern and a class action case on behalf of residents who have complained about the derailment’s impact on East Palestine, Ohio.Wang’s companies make specialized ceramic fiber insulation products for steel mills. The wholesale part of his business, CeramSource, was able to reopen last month in a new location just over the nearby Pennsylvania border. But contamination concerns and the costly equipment Wang can’t afford to replace have kept his other companies closed. Before the derailment spilled chemicals on his property, Wang’s companies employed close to 50 people and had plans to expand.No...

Toronto woman devastated after sexual assault case thrown out due to court delays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:21 GMT

WARNING: Some of the details in this story may be disturbing to some readers.It’s been a devastating outcome for a Toronto woman who tells CityNews the sexual assault case against her alleged rapist was unexpectedly thrown out because of a lack of available courtrooms and staffing shortages. Judge Brock Jones, who was residing over the case, called it “an inexcusable state of affairs.”Emily Ager said she did everything right after she was allegedly raped in her own home 18 months ago. She reported the incident to police immediately and pressed charges. She never expected court scheduling issues to be the reason her alleged assailant would walk free.“The man who raped me will now walk the streets while I continue to pick up the pieces of glass that the broken system left behind,” Ager told CityNews. “I did everything that was encouraged and everything that was suggested … How did I get here? There has to be another option.”She said the incide...

Trudeau, Eby announce $1-billion battery plant in Maple Ridge, B.C.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:21 GMT

MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. — A lithium-ion battery cell production plant costing more than $1 billion will be built in Maple Ridge, B.C.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby jointly announced Tuesday that the new E-One Moli facility will bolster Canada’s role as a global leader in clean technology.A statement says the province is contributing up to $80 million, with $970 million coming from the federal government, E-One Moli and private sources. Trudeau told a crowd gathered for the announcement that B.C. has long been known for its innovation in the clean-technology sector, and securing the clean battery manufacturing project will build on that expertise. “The world is looking to Canada. When we support projects like E-One Moli’s new facility in Maple Ridge, we bolster Canada’s role as a global cleantech leader, create good jobs and help keep our air clean,” he said. “This is the future we are building together, every single day. Climate policy is econo...

Emergency crews battle semi-truck fire along I-294

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:21 GMT

WILLOW SPRINGS, Ill. — Emergency crews are on the scene of a semi-truck fire that broke out on the Tri-State Tollway on Tuesday.Currently, it is unclear what led to the fire, but the semi was in flames when SkyCam 9 was over the scene along I-294 in Willow Springs around 4:45 p.m. Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines It appears some sort of crash may have ignited the blaze as at least two overturned vehicle could bee seen near the fully engulfed truck as fire crews worked to control the blaze.Crews have shut down a portion of I-294 while they work to control the blaze, but the specific lanes that are impacted is currently unclear. This is a developing story, stay with WGN News for the latest updates.