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Travel industry bouncing back after rough few years during COVID-19 pandemic

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:09 GMT

The travel industry which was the brink of failure during COVID-19 is now celebrating a big comeback with travel agencies saying it’s booming and “stronger than ever.”“It definitely hasn’t compensated for the hole that was done during the pandemic but we are going to come out of it,” said Teena Dowd, owner and travel agent with Vacations for Canadians. “People are eager and willing to travel right now and ready to go. So it’s going to take us a little bit of time to get through it, but we are definitely coming out of it.”Dowd said they have had to make some adjustments to accommodate the increase in interest. “We’ve had to make some adjustments to adapt to the growth we’ve experienced over the last two years.”Richard Skull, the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) President, said this comeback is consistent throughout the industry. “Sales through travel agencies and tour operators have been very strong this...

Paramedics told investigators that Elijah McClain had ‘excited delirium,’ a disputed condition

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:09 GMT

BRIGHTON, Colo. (AP) — Two paramedics on trial over the 2019 death of Elijah McClain told investigators in videotaped interviews previously unseen by the public that the 23-year-old Black man had ” excited delirium,” a disputed condition that some say is unscientific and rooted in racism.McClain died after being stopped by police while walking home from a convenience store, then forcibly restrained and injected with ketamine by the paramedics in the Denver suburb of Aurora. Initially no one was charged because the coroner’s office could not determine exactly how McClain died. But social justice protests over the 2020 murder of George Floyd drew renewed attention to McClain’s case — which led to the 2021 indictment of the paramedics and three officers.Starting in 2018, paramedics in Aurora were trained to use ketamine, a sedative, to treat “excited delirium” after approval from state regulators. Under their training, if they determined that an agitated person they were treating...

Boy Scout abuse claims fund shouldn’t pay $21 million in lawyers’ fees, judge says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:09 GMT

DOVER, Del. (AP) — The judge presiding over the Boys Scouts of America’s bankruptcy has rejected a $21 million fee request from attorneys hired by law firms representing survivors of child sexual abuse.A group of personal injury firms called the Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice wanted to have its legal fees and expenses paid by the Boy Scouts and by the trust fund established to compensate men who were abused as children by Boy Scout leaders and volunteers.Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein denied the fee request Tuesday, having earlier expressed concern that any payment to attorneys representing coalition law firms would come from the pockets of abuse claimants.Law firms are expected to take roughly 40% of any payments to clients from the $2.4 billion trust fund established for abuse survivors. Nevertheless, coalition attorneys argued that Silverstein should grant their “relatively modest” fee request because of the “extraordinary contribution” they made in developing a Boy Scou...

California inmate charged with attempted murder in attack on Kristin Smart’s killer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:09 GMT

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A twice-convicted killer has been charged with attempted murder for a prison yard attack on a fellow inmate convicted of the high-profile killing of California college student Kristin Smart, who vanished 27 years ago, prosecutors said Wednesday. A complaint filed Nov. 30 also charged Jason Richard Budrow, 43, with counts involving crimes by a prisoner and possessing a weapon as well as enhancements for great bodily injury, the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office said. Prosecutors allege that Budrow slashed the neck of inmate Paul Flores with a “manufactured weapon” Aug. 23 at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga. Flores was hospitalized but returned to the prison two days later.Flores was recently transferred to the prison to serve a sentence of 25 years to life for the murder of Smart, then 19, who disappeared from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo over Memorial Day weekend in 1996. Flores was arrested in 2021, convicted in 20...

Ex-Nashville mayor to run for GOP-held US House seat, seeking a political return years after scandal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:09 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry on Wednesday announced a Democratic run for the U.S. House seat held by Republican Rep. Mark Green, seeking a political comeback more than five years after the fallout from an extramarital affair cut her tenure short.In an announcement video, Barry cited several reasons for trying to return to elected office — a spate of mass shootings at schools, including earlier this year at a Nashville Christian elementary school; Tennessee’s abortion ban; the closure of rural hospitals; and the opioid epidemic. Barry is running in one of three congressional districts that carved up Nashville during Republican-led redistricting last year. Due to line-drawing efforts by Republican state lawmakers that favor their own party, the GOP last year won another seat that previously centered on Nashville and was long held by Democrats. Barry is running as a Democrat, campaign spokesperson Brian Córdova confirmed.“I look at the total dysfunct...

Shortage of Ozempic, 2 other diabetes drugs expected to last into 2024: Health Canada

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:09 GMT

Health Canada says it is working with manufacturers to make diabetes drugs, including Ozempic, more available during a worldwide shortage fuelled by high demand that’s expected to last into the new year.  It says Novo Nordisk, which markets Ozempic, is expecting a shortage in Canada of the 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg and 1 mg injection pens until early2024.Eli Lilly, which markets Trulicity and Mounjaro, is also expecting lower supplies of both drugs throughout early 2024.Health Canada says efforts are being made to increase manufacturing capacity but it will take time to build up supply levels.In the meantime, it is recommending that prescribers do not start new patients on the drugs, unless there are no suitable alternatives and there’s a clinical reason to do so.The regulator says the drugs, often used for weight loss, should be conserved for people who have no other treatment choices as both drug companies are asking pharmacists to limit refill prescriptions to a 30-day supply.T...

Charge laid after pedestrian struck and killed by SUV while sleeping on sidewalk

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:09 GMT

A 63-year-old Mississauga resident has been charged after a man who was sleeping on a downtown Toronto sidewalk was struck and killed by an SUV that later left the scene.It happened on Tuesday, November 14, at around 6:38 a.m. at Wellington Street East and Scott Street.Investigators say a black SUV mounted the curb on Scott Street, striking a 57-year-old man who was sleeping at the time. The driver did not remain on scene. The man who was struck was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.Later the same day police were able to locate the driver and the vehicle and an investigation commenced.On Wednesday, December 6, police charged Olateju Ogunwomoju with failing to stop at an accident causing death.Ogunwomoju is scheduled to appear in court on February 1, 2024.

Man wanted in suspected hate-motivated incident

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:09 GMT

Police are searching for a man wanted in a suspected hate-motivated incident in the downtown core in late October.Investigators say on Oct. 27, a woman who was wearing a hijab was in the area of Bay Street and Front Street West when she was approached by a man who allegedly made derogatory remarks before uttering threats.Police say the woman was not physically injured in the incident.The man is described as having an average build with a beard. He was last seen wearing beige pants with a dark hooded jacket.“This investigation is being treated as a suspected hate-motivated offence,” police said in a statement released Wednesday.Investigators point out that if a person is charged and convicted of an offence which is believed to be motivated by bias, prejudice or hate, the judge in the case will take into consideration hate as an aggravating factor when imposing a sentence.

Alberta bill mandating referendum before CPP exit enters homestretch in legislature

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:09 GMT

EDMONTON — The bill relating to Alberta’s proposal to quit the Canada Pension Plan entered the homestretch Wednesday, with the Opposition NDP demanding changes and Premier Danielle Smith’s government putting a time limit on debate.The proposed Alberta Pension Protection Act mandates that a referendum be held before Alberta could split off from the CPP and run its own program.Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley told Finance Minister Nate Horner the bill needs to be amended to spell out that the government be bound by the results of such a vote to avoid the public saying one thing and government doing something else.“Having a referendum and being bound by the results of the referendum are two separate concepts, but (Horner) has been conflating the two,” Notley told the house during question period.“Will he accept our amendments that make the results of the referendum binding?”Horner declined to answer but instead accused Notley’s caucus of hypocrisy.“They have members on the record sa...

Toronto tenants calling for provincial moratorium on demovictions

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:02:09 GMT

Tenants at risk of being ‘demovicted’ from their rent-controlled units in Toronto are calling for a provincial moratorium on the practice at a time when many are struggling to find an affordable place to live.Megan Kee, an organizer with the group No Demovictions, advocates for the renters of more than a dozen buildings across the city that have been approved for demolition and redevelopment. “A lot of the buildings are purpose-built affordable rental buildings so the tenants that live in them feel very safe and secure as they see rising rents and low vacancy rates,” Kee told CityNews. “And so to get a notice that the building you’ve lived in, for some people for 10 to 50 years, is being demolished is heartbreaking.”Kee herself faces demoviction from the midtown apartment she once considered herself lucky for having. “It wasn’t until I received my notice a year ago that that illusion of safety was shattered,” said Kee.More than 3,000 units c...