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TIFF cuts 12 full-time staff members, cites pandemic and SAG-AFTRA strike as factors

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:24 GMT

TORONTO — The Toronto International Film Festival shed 12 full-time staff members across various departments in a restructuring on Thursday.Judy Lung, TIFF’s vice-president of public relations and communications, cites setbacks from the pandemic and this year’s Hollywood strikes as factors.The cuts come three months after TIFF hosted a diminished edition of its annual September film showcase that lacked its usual star power due to the actors’ strike.The non-profit is also set to lose Bell as its leading sponsor at the end of this year.TIFF says it is conducting a “strategic review” of its business model in order to enhance its year-round and festival operations, with restructuring part of the initiative.Lung says TIFF values the work of the individuals cut and thanks them for their contributions to the organization.“Like many in the arts and entertainment sector, we are continuing to recover from the pandemic as well as the setback of this year’s SAG-AF...

A St. Paul, Minnesota, police officer and a suspect were both injured in a shooting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:24 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A St. Paul police officer and a suspect were both injured in a shooting Thursday afternoon, authorities said.It happened near the intersection of Cretin and Marshall avenues around 2 p.m. the St. Paul Police Department said in a tweet on its official account on X, formerly known as Twitter.“The officer and suspect were both injured in this shooting,” the department said, without providing details on what happened or their conditions. “There is no threat to the public from this incident.”Sgt. Mike Ernster, the department spokesman, said they weren’t immediately sharing further information, but that they’re likely to release more at a news conference Thursday night.Helicopter video from KMSP-TV showed several squad cars near the intersection as well as a gray van with its driver door open near the pumps at a gas station. Metro Transit said it detoured two bus routes around the area because of the police activity. The nearby University of St. Th...

Lululemon earns US$248.7 million in third quarter, revenue rises to US$2.2 billion

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:24 GMT

VANCOUVER — Lululemon Athletica Inc. says its net income for the third quarter was US$248.7 million, compared with US$255.6 million a year earlier.The Vancouver-based apparel company says net revenue for the quarter was US$2.2 billion, up from US$1.9 billion last year. Diluted earnings per share were US$1.96, down from US$2.00. Lululemon says it expects net revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023 to be more than US$3.1 billion.Diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter are expected to be between US$4.85 and US$4.93. CEO Calvin McDonald says it was another strong quarter for the company, and as they enter the holiday season he’s pleased with their early performance. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2023.The Canadian Press

Former congressman tapped as Democratic candidate in special election to replace George Santos

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:24 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi will be the Democratic nominee in next year’s special election to replace ousted congressman George Santos, New York Democrats announced Thursday.Party leaders were tasked with choosing nominees for the Feb. 13 election, triggered when Santos’ fellow lawmakers voted to remove him from the U.S. House last week. In Suozzi, who previously held the congressional seat for six years, Democrats picked an experienced candidate with name recognition and an existing campaign footprint in the district.“I will work day and night with both parties to deliver for the people to make living here more affordable, safer, and better,” Suozzi said in a statement. “I delivered for this district before, and I will do it again by putting you ahead of partisanship. Let’s reject the nonsense and get back to work.”The race for the district, which includes parts of Long Island and a small section of the New York City borough of Queens, is expected to draw ...

Israel urges Gaza civilians to flee to ‘safe zone,’ where arrivals find little but muddy roads

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:24 GMT

MUWASI, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has designated a small slice of mostly undeveloped land along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast as a safe zone — a place where waves of people fleeing the war can find protection from airstrikes and receive humanitarian supplies for their families.The reality? The area of Muwasi is a makeshift tent camp where thousands of dazed Palestinians live in squalid conditions in scattered farm fields and waterlogged dirt roads. Their numbers have swelled in recent days as people flee an Israeli military offensive in nearby areas of the southern Gaza Strip.Roughly 20 square kilometers (8 square miles) in southwest Gaza, Muwasi lies at the heart of a heated battle between Israel and international humanitarian organizations over the safety of the territory’s civilians. Israel has offered Muwasi as a solution for protecting people uprooted from their homes and seeking safety from the heavy fighting between its troops and Hamas militants. The United Nations a...

Kentucky governor says state-run disaster relief funds can serve as model for getting aid to victims

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:24 GMT

State-run disaster relief funds that funneled millions in charitable donations to tornado- and flood-stricken Kentucky can serve as models for quickly getting aid to storm victims, Gov. Andy Beshear said Thursday in response to an auditor’s review of the programs.The Democratic governor portrayed the findings as a vindication of how the relief funds were managed, showing that millions could be quickly and accurately doled out without lengthy application processes. Beshear set up the funds following tornadoes that ravaged parts of western Kentucky in late 2021 and massive flooding that inundated the state’s Appalachian region in 2022.The special examination of the funds by state Auditor Mike Harmon’s office was released this week. It determined that inappropriate payments from the tornado relief fund amounted to a tiny fraction of the total spent through June 30 of this year. Those inappropriate payments included duplicate payments, overpayments and payments to peop...

Guyana military helicopter crash kills 5 officers and leaves 2 survivors

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:24 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana’s government said Thursday that five military officers aboard a helicopter that crashed near the border with Venezuela have died and two others survived.The military helicopter had vanished Wednesday about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of the Venezuelan border during bad weather while transporting officers carrying out a routine inspection of troops in the forested area. Searchers found the wreckage Thursday.“My heart pains and drowns in sorrow at the tragic (loss) of some of our finest men in uniform,” President Irfaan Ali said in a statement posted on social media, calling the loss “immeasurable.”Ali identified those who died as a retired brigadier general, a colonel and two lieutenant colonels. The two survivors include the co-pilot, and their conditions weren’t immediately known.Prime Minister Mark Phillips said authorities are still trying to determine what caused the helicopter to crash, with officials stressing during a news conference W...

Hundreds of Slovaks protest the new government’s plan to close prosecutors office for top crimes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:24 GMT

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Hundreds of people rallied Thursday in the Slovak capital to protest the new government’s plan to close the special prosecutors office that deals with major crimes, including high-profile murders, terrorism and graft. The demonstrators in Bratislava — a crowd of about 2,000 people — say the plan is a threat to the rule of law. The rally, which took place outside the government headquarters, was organized by the opposition Progressive Slovakia, Christian Democrats and Freedom and Solidarity parties.The organizers say the planned changes to the country’s penal code are designed to help people suspected of corruption who are close to the leftist Smer, or Direction, party of Prime Minister Robert Fico. The rally ended without any violence and the organizers promised more protests. The changes to legislative process will put the prosecution of major crimes back in the hands of regional prosecutors offices, which have not dealt with them for almost 20 years, is...

New AFN chief ‘absolutely’ supports Ontario chiefs in push for carbon price review

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:24 GMT

OTTAWA — The incoming leader of the Assembly of First Nations says she’ll back demands by chiefs in Ontario for a judicial review of Canada’s carbon price. Cindy Woodhouse, a former regional chief from Manitoba, was elected Thursday as the assembly’s national chief — leader of the largest First Nations advocacy organization in the country, representing more than 600 communities. The Chiefs of Ontario, which represents 133 First Nations, asked the Federal Court to undertake a judicial review of the federal government’s carbon pricing system.Shortly after taking the oath of office, Woodhouse told a news conference in Ottawa  that she’s “absolutely” willing to support the application, and wants the AFN to take a closer look of its own at the carbon regime. “From what I’m hearing, it’s going to hurt our people,” she said. “We should have a proper legal strategy on that, as well as a political lens on it.”The O...

What's next for the Mayor's migrant plan in Chicago? Lawmakers demand answers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:42:24 GMT

CHICAGO -- A Chicago alderman is demanding answers from the Mayor's office on what went wrong with the Brighton Park migrant camp.On Tuesday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said that Illinois will not proceed with the Bright Park migrant camp, citing concerns related to insufficient soil sampling and remediation.A nearly 800-page report released by the IEPA on Friday found elevated levels of mercury, lead, and arsenic. The city run migrant camp planned on housing around 2,000 migrants before the state said they would not fund the site. Faith, community leaders gather to discuss Chicago’s welcoming city ordinance “We still don’t know how much money was spent to even build up to what was at Brighton Park,” 40th ward Alderman Andre Vasquez said.Ald. Anthony Beale, Ald. Raymond Lopez, and Ald. Anthony Napolitano sent a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson's office on Wednesday demanding the resignations of the leaders responsible for the failed migrant camp site."Chicago taxpayers cannot afford...