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Former Austrian Chancellor Kurz stands trial for allegedly making false statements to an inquiry

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

VIENNA (AP) — Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz went on trial Wednesday on a charge of having made false statements to a parliamentary inquiry into alleged corruption in his first government.Once a rising star among conservatives in Europe, Kurz resigned in 2021 amid a separate corruption probe and has since left politics. Kurz, who denies the charge, could face up to three years in prison if convicted. The case, which opened in Vienna’s criminal court, centers on his testimony to an inquiry that focused on the coalition he led from 2017, when his conservative People’s Party formed a government with the far-right Freedom Party, until its collapse in 2019. Prosecutors accuse Kurz of having given false evidence in June 2020 regarding his role in the setting up of a holding company, OeBAG, which administers the state’s role in some companies, and the appointment of his former close confidant Thomas Schmid to its leadership.In their indictment, which wasn’t released ...

Criminal trial of ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers rewinds to discuss start of protest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

OTTAWA — A police liaison officer who communicated with “Freedom Convoy” organizers says she was working with organizers of several convoys before the protest rolled into the capital last year.Const. Isabelle Cyr had begun her testimony on the second day of the trial of Tamara Lich and Chris Barber in September, but the cross-examination was halted after the defence requested a copy of police chat messages and emails.She is on the stand again today, and says she was the police point-person for another organizer associated with Lich and Barber’s group. She says the organizer told her that truckers with their group were expected to register in order to receive funds, and that they had to sign a code of conduct, though she never saw a copy of it. About a week before the convoy arrived in Ottawa, Cyr says she was told at a police intelligence meeting that there was some concern that various additional groups had joined the cause, and that the crowds could be difficult ...

RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear and mistrust of vaccines. Here’s who gets hurt by Kennedy’s work

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

When 12-year-old Braden Fahey collapsed during football practice and died, it was just the beginning of his parents’ nightmare.Deep in their grief a few months later, Gina and Padrig Fahey received news that shocked them to their core: A favorite photo of their beloved son was plastered on the cover of a book that falsely argues COVID-19 vaccines caused a spike of sudden deaths among healthy young people.The book, called “Cause Unknown,” was co-published by an anti-vaccine group led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President John F. Kennedy’s nephew, who is now running for president. Kennedy wrote the foreword and promoted the book, tweeting that it details data showing “ COVID shots are a crime against humanity.”The Faheys couldn’t understand how Braden’s face appeared on the book’s cover, or why his name appeared inside it. Braden never received the vaccine. His death in August 2022 was due to a malformed blood vessel in his brain. No one ever contacted them to ask about their son’s deat...

MNP consumer debt index improves, but consumer outlook worsens

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

CALGARY — A report by insolvency firm MNP Ltd. says its consumer debt index improved slightly in its latest quarter as Canadians felt marginally better about their ability to pay their debts. The quarterly index rose to 86 points, up from 83 points in July.However, the report noted that when asked to look into the future, Canadians’ debt outlook worsened.The report says 18 per cent said they believe their debt situation will be worse a year from now, up from 15 per cent in the previous quarter. Looking five years out, 16 per cent said they believed their debt situation will be worse, up from 14 per cent.Meanwhile, the report said 51 per cent of Canadians reported that they were $200 away or less from not being able to meet all their financial obligations, down from 52 per cent in the July report.It also said 31 per cent of those questioned said they already don’t make enough to cover their bills and debt payments, down from 35 per cent in the previous report.This report by The...

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice fights order to appear in court over impeachment advice

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice is fighting a subpoena ordering her to appear in court in a lawsuit related to advice she gave about possible impeachment of a current liberal justice, calling it “unreasonable and oppressive.”Republican lawmakers have threatened possible impeachment of current Justice Janet Protasiewicz related to comments she made during the campaign calling GOP-drawn legislative maps “rigged” and “unfair.” She joined with the liberal majority of the court in agreeing to hear a lawsuit supported by Democrats that seeks to overturn the GOP maps and enact new ones.Wisconsin Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos asked three former conservative Supreme Court justices for advice on impeachment. Two of the three told him that impeaching Protasiewicz was not warranted. The third, former Chief Justice Patience Roggensack, has not said what her advice was and Vos has repeatedly refused to disclose it.The liberal watchdog group American Oversight...

National Business Book Award finalists include top Bay Street names, ex-BoC governor

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

TORONTO — The former governor of the Bank of Canada and several top Bay Street names are among the three finalists for the National Business Book Award 2023.Stephen Poloz, who served as a governor of the central bank from 2013 to 2020, has been nominated for a book called “The Next Age of Uncertainty: How the World Can Adapt to a Riskier Future,” which talks about how the Bank of Canada works and why it does what it does.A compilation of first-person essays on leadership during the pandemic also garnered a position among the finalists. The book, “Unprecedented — Canada’s Top CEOs on Leadership During COVID-19,” was edited by Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Willis and Greenhill Canada investment banker Steve Mayer. A memoir by Wes Hall, who is the founder of BlackNorth Initiative, is also among the top three contenders for the prize. The winner of the annual literary award, which is scheduled to be announced on Nov. 8, will receive a $30,000 prize for Ca...

Biden’s pick to be ambassador to Israel tells senators he’ll ensure the US ally ‘has what it needs’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to be ambassador to Israel told senators Wednesday that he would “ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself” and would work with the U.S. ally to end the attacks by Hamas if he were confirmed. Jacob Lew, a treasury secretary under President Barack Obama, promised to coordinate with the international community and address the humanitarian crisis facing civilians in Gaza amid Israeli military strikes. His hearing came as Biden visited Israel to reinforce U.S. support and try to ease tensions in the latest war with Hamas. “At this moment, there is no greater mission than to be asked to strengthen the ties between the United States and the State of Israel and to work toward peace in a region that has known so much war and destruction,” Lew said in his opening statement. The Senate is moving quickly to confirm Lew, who was nominated by Biden last month after Tom Nides left as ambassador in July. Democrats say Lew’s wealth of go...

To speed up boarding, United Airlines starts seating passengers with window seats first in economy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

United Airlines says that it will start boarding passengers in economy class with window seats first starting next week, a move that will speed up boarding times for flights.The airline said in an internal memo that it will implement the plan on Oct. 26. The plan, known as WILMA, for window, middle and aisle, was tested at four domestic locations and one hub. United said that it’s shown to save up to two minutes of boarding time. The change will begin with passengers in Group 4. Those with window seats will board first, followed by those with middle seats and then those with aisle seats. United said that multiple customers on the same economy reservation, such as families, will be allowed to board their flight together. The plan will be implemented on domestic flights and some international flights. Individuals in first class and business class will see no change in their boarding process. There’s also no change for the pre-boarding group that includes travelers with disabilit...

Corrupt ex-Baltimore police officer asks for compassionate prison release, citing cancer diagnosis

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — A former Baltimore police officer convicted in 2018 as part of the department’s Gun Trace Task Force corruption scandal is asking a federal judge for compassionate release from prison, saying he’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer.Daniel Hersl, the oldest member of the deeply corrupt and now-disbanded Baltimore police unit, was sentenced to 18 years behind bars after a jury found him guilty of racketeering and robbery.In a court filing Tuesday, the 53-year-old ex-detective said he was recently diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer that has spread to his lymph nodes, liver, lungs and more. He said a prison doctor concluded he has less than 18 months to live and asked for home detention.A ruling has not yet been issued on his request.Hersl was one of eight indicted members of the once-lauded Gun Trace Task Force, which was created to get illegal guns off the streets of a city plagued by violent crime. But instead, members robbed drug dealers, planted narcotics a...

S&P/TSX composite down 150 points, U.S. stock markets also lower

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:23 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down 150 points in late-morning trading as losses in the base metal stocks helped lead the way lower, while U.S. stock markets also fell. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 150.94 points at 19,541.86.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 165.61 points at 33,832.04. The S&P 500 index was down 29.96 points at 4,343.24, while the Nasdaq composite was down 110.70 points at 13,423.05.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.03 cents US compared with 73.28 cents US on Tuesday.The December crude contract was up US$1.74 at US$87.18 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up five cents at US$3.13 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was up US$24.00 at US$1,959.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up less than a penny at US$3.58 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) The Canadian Press