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Partygate reignites as UK police probe fresh claims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:44 GMT

LONDON — British police are investigating fresh claims of coronavirus lockdown-breaching gatherings in Westminster, in the latest twist in the Partygate scandal. The Metropolitan Police announced Tuesday that it is opening one new investigation — into a December 8, 2020 “gathering in Parliament” — and re-opening another, covering an “event in Matthew Parker Street on 14 December 2020.”The first date is the same as a gathering reportedly attended by senior Conservative MP — and Partygate inquisitor — Bernard Jenkin, according to the Guido Fawkes website.The second date matches with a controversial “jingle and mingle” event at Conservative HQ. That event, at which party aides were pictured dancing and laughing at a time social gatherings were tightly restricted, was the subject of an exposé by the Sunday Mirror.In June, Boris Johnson — who was fined for his own COVID-19 rule breaches and recently condemned by the Commons privileges committee fo...

European Commission cooks up GDPR steroids shot 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:44 GMT

The European Union executive on Tuesday presented a new law that would require European privacy regulators to share more information upfront in major privacy cases and more often settle such cases out of court — in an effort to speed up how its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is enforced.The European Commission suggested a set of new rules to speed up cross-border cases like the ones against Meta, Google, Amazon and others that the bloc’s privacy regulators have finished in past years as POLITICO previously reported Monday. The draft rules include sharing information earlier on to avoid last-minute haggling between authorities and nudging them to avoid litigation in court. Authorities are also asked to broadly keep investigations confidential to protect the process. “The GDPR is well enforced but we can do better,” Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said today. “We’ve seen many fines, but sometimes it’s complex and long,” he said, referring...

Vehicle smashes through single-family home in Chelmsford

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:44 GMT

A home in Chelmsford suffered some significant damage Tuesday morning after a car plowed through its garage and a back wall on Proctor Road.The Chelmsford Fire Department said the driver told them she had been in her vehicle when a pedal became stuck. From inside of the single-family home’s garage, the car then accelerated and plowed through a wall, ripping off siding and striking an electric meter on the other side.“As she went forward, went into drive, [it] kind of accelerated forward,” said Chelmsford Fire Captain Danielle Koutsoufis. “I’m just thankful no one was hurt – that’s the most important thing, always.”Due to the damaged meter, authorities cut both gas and electric service to the home as workers surveyed the damage and began to make repairs.Officials said that due to recent construction work done at the home, they believed the house was still structurally sound.Crews were able to safely remove the vehicle before noon.

Progressing Aaron Judge believes he’ll have to manage pain after he returns from toe injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:44 GMT

Aaron Judge in continuing to take steps in the right direction as he recovers from the ligament tear in his right big toe.The slugger began lightly hitting over the last few days, in addition to playing catch, which he started doing during the Yankees’ recent road trip. Judge, out since June 3 thanks to a fence-breaking catch at Dodger Stadium, has been hitting off the tee and soft toss flips.“It’s feeling good, but not great yet,” Judge said Tuesday when asked about hitting. “So we’re getting there.”Judge said he needs to be able to run and put all his weight on his back foot before he can play. Even then, he anticipates having discomfort for the foreseeable future.Judge noted that some injuries can make an impact for years. For example, he said his pinky still feels lingering effects after he dislocated it in 2021.“I kind of understand you’re going to deal with some pain coming back,” Judge said of his toe, “so it&#...

Shots fired into a crowd of hundreds after a holiday festival in Texas leaves 3 dead, 8 injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:44 GMT

By JAMIE STENGLE (Associated Press)DALLAS (AP) — Three people were killed and eight others injured when shots were fired into a crowd of hundreds following a festival in a Texas neighborhood, authorities said.The shooting in the Fort Worth neighborhood of Como happened at about 11:47 p.m. Monday, and police said a chaotic scene followed as people tried to flee on foot and in vehicles as shots rang out. The shooting happened just hours after the end of the Independence Day celebration called ComoFest in the historically Black neighborhood.Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker said she was “devastated” by the news of the shooting.“My heart breaks for the victims, their loved ones, and the entire Como community that works to build positivity and celebration in their community and our city,” Parker said on Twitter.Police said that responding officers found multiple victims in a parking lot, including one who was pronounced dead at the scene. Others were taken to h...

Five dead in Philadelphia-area shooting spree that’s nation’s worst violence yet around July 4

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:44 GMT

By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA (Associated Press)PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A 40-year-old man with a rifle, a pistol, extra magazines, a police scanner and a bulletproof vest fatally shot four men in a Philadelphia neighborhood and chased and killed a fifth man inside a house, police said. A 2-year-old boy and a 13-year-old were also wounded in the Monday night violence that made the working-class area of Kingsessing the site of the nation’s worst violence around the July 4 holiday. The gunman fired at police as they chased him for blocks, police said. When they caught up, he surrendered in an alley, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference. The shooter had no connection to the victims before the shooting, she said. “Thank God our officers were on the scene and responded as quickly as they did. I can’t even describe the level of bravery and courage that was shown, in addition to the restraint that was shown here,” Outlaw said.About four hours after...

Woman, 72, dies in hospital after assault in Oshawa; suspect charged with 2nd-degree murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:44 GMT

A 37-year-old man faces a murder charge in connection with a fatal assault on an elderly woman in Oshawa nearly two weeks ago.Officers with Durham Regional Police Service were called to a residence on Bermuda Court just before 11:30 p.m. on June 24 after receiving reports of an argument.When police arrived, they found a 72-year-old woman with “significant injuries.” She was rushed to a Toronto-area hospital where she died on July 1, investigators say.Police have identified the victim as Linda Carter.Police also located a man at the scene, who was taken into police custody. He was initially charged with aggravated assault and assaulting a peace officer.In an update on Tuesday, police say Sean Carter, of Oshawa, is now charged with second-degree murder. He has been held for a bail hearing.“The victim and the suspect are known to one another and there is no concern for public safety,” police say.During the arrest, two officers received minor injuries and were tr...

Folk singer lends name to a program to provide healthy food to rural N.S. children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:44 GMT

HALIFAX — A Nova Scotia folk singer is lending his name to a program that provides healthy food to rural schoolchildren in the province.Dave Gunning’s music has included tunes such “Coal From the Train,” with lyrics telling how his grandfather would shovel coal from his passing train onto the properties of people struggling to heat their homes in Pictou County.Now, the Pictou County resident is becoming the artistic sponsor of a drive to set up centres that will stock rural schools in Nova Scotia with nourishing food and other necessities for students.   The Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia, which operates the program, says child poverty in the province is most acute in rural areas.Statistics Canada data published in 2020 says the child poverty rate was 26 per cent in Annapolis county,  27 per cent in Digby county and 22 per cent in Cape Breton’s Victoria county.Gunning says he started to appreciate the problem when his school teacher wife told him...

Bodies of 4 men, 2 women found near northern Mexico city of Monterrey

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:44 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The bodies of four men and two women were found lying on the side of a street near the northern city of Monterrey early Tuesday, authorities said. Prosecutors for the border state of Nuevo Leon said the victims appeared to have been shot and had their hands tied. The bodies were discovered in Apodaca, a suburb of Monterrey. Local media reported the six might have been tortured before being shot in the head. Monterrey was hit by a wave of drug cartel violence in the 2010s, but had been somewhat more peaceful in recent years.The Associated Press

CBRE report says office vacancy rate in Q2 rose to highest level since 1994

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:44 GMT

TORONTO — The national office vacancy rate in Canada climbed in the second quarter to its highest level since 1994, according to a report by commercial real estate firm CBRE.The firm said Tuesday that the national office vacancy rate rose to 18.1 per cent in the second quarter, up from 17.8 per cent in the first quarter.It was the highest level since the first quarter of 1994 when it was 18.6 per cent.“Canadian office markets are grappling with a perfect storm of a recession threat, interest rate hikes, tech sector weakness, tenants rightsizing and new supply of office space,” CBRE said in a news release. “All of this is compounded by the continued uncertainty around remote work.”The increase in the overall rate came as the downtown office vacancy rate in the second quarter rose to 18.9 per cent compared with 18.5 per cent in the first quarter. The suburban office vacancy rate was 17.1 per cent, up from 16.9 per cent.CBRE said downtown vacancies in the second...