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Biden’s initial confidence on Israel gives way to the complexities and casualties of a brutal war

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:23:59 GMT

By ZEKE MILLER (AP White House Correspondent)WASHINGTON (AP) — In the early days and hours after the horrific Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, President Joe Biden spoke with stark declarations and unqualified support for the longtime U.S. ally.Now, a month on, that unambiguous backing has given way to the complexities and haunting casualties of the war, and the Biden administration is imploring Israel to rein in some of its tactics to ease civilian suffering in Gaza.As condemnation of the conflict has grown around the world, stoking anti-Israel sentiment, the Democratic president is also confronting the limits of the U.S. ability to direct the outcome — not only about the war, but what comes after it.“There’s no going back to the status quo as it stood on October the 6th,” Biden said three weeks after the attack. But even if Israel is successful in crippling or eradicating Hamas, there will also need to be a shift in Washington, where successive U.S. administrations have...

Donald Trump Jr. returns to the stand as defense looks to undercut New York civil fraud claims

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:23:59 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump Jr. returned to the stand Monday as defense lawyers started calling witnesses in the New York civil fraud trial that threatens his father’s real estate empire.Donald Trump’s eldest son returned two weeks after state lawyers quizzed him during a longstretch of the trial that also featured testimony from the former president and Don Jr.’s siblings Eric and Ivanka Trump.“You thought you were rid of me, your honor,” he quipped as he took the stand.Trump Jr., a Trump Organization executive vice president, originally testified on Nov. 1 and 2. He said he never worked on the annual financial statements at the heart of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit. He said he relied on the company’s longtime finance chief and outside accountants to verify their accuracy.James alleges that Donald Trump, his company and executives including his sons exaggerated his wealth by b...

San Diego State head football coach Brady Hoke to retire

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:23:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO — San Diego State Football Head Coach Brady Hoke will retire at the end of the 2023 season after six years with the team, the university announced on Monday.Hoke, who won the Maxwell Football Club Collegiate Coach of the year award in 2011, will lead the Aztecs in the final two regular-season games in 2023.The announcement comes as the Aztecs have struggled to rise in the Mountain West standings, dropping to 1-5 within the conference — a record that is tied for last place with University of New Mexico. It is also the first year since 2009 that the team is not bowl eligible. Megan Rapinoe hobbles off field after injury at Snapdragon Stadium Hoke began coaching the team in 2009, taking over a program that had not had a winning season or bowl appearance since 1998. In two seasons, SDSU became a Mountain West "power," going 9-4 in the 2010 season and beating Navy in the Pointsettia Bowl. He also started the 13-year-long streak of SDSU being bowl eligible, tied for the sixth-...

Sumeru Equity Partners signs agreement to buy Q4 in deal valued at $257 million

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:23:59 GMT

TORONTO — Q4 Inc. has agreed to be taken private by a private equity firm in a deal valued at $257 million.Sumeru Equity Partners has agreed to pay $6.05 per share for Q4, which helps companies communicate with shareholders and hold virtual events.Q4 shares were up $1.52 at $5.96 in trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday morning.Q4 founder and chief executive Darrell Heaps says the Sumeru team has a deep understanding of the company’s business and that their support will help it grow.The agreement includes a go-shop provision which allows Q4 to solicit, evaluate and enter into talks regarding potentially superior bids.The deal, which requires shareholder approval, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:QFOR)The Canadian Press

Group posed as luxury vehicle retailers to steal Lamborghinis, Porsches and Ferraris: Halton police

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:23:59 GMT

Halton Regional Police allege a sophisticated group of fraudsters posed as representatives of a legitimate retailer of luxury vehicles to steal Lamborghinis, Porsches, Ferraris and other vehicles valued at more than $1.6 million.Police began “Project Luxe” in the summer of 2023 after the suspects attended several dealerships throughout the Greater Toronto Area where police say “they fraudulently obtained several high-end vehicles.”Police say they were able to drive off with the vehicles after duping the dealerships with fake documents.“The sophistication of this particular scam and exceptional quality of the documents they produced enabled the group to carry out similar frauds at other GTA and southern Ontario area dealerships,” investigators said in a release Monday.Police say they were soon able to identify suspects and also establish their connection to a broader distribution group.With the help of U.S. Homeland Security as well as Toronto Poli...

Energy and tech stocks help lift S&P/TSX composite, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:23:59 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was up in late-morning trading as strength in the energy and technology stocks helped lead the way higher and U.S. stock markets put in a mixed showing. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 84.47 points at 19,738.94.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 32.21 points at 34,315.31. The S&P 500 index was down 2.06 points at 4,413.18, while the Nasdaq composite was down 18.01 points at 13,780.10.The Canadian dollar traded for 72.51 cents US compared with 72.36 cents US on Friday.The December crude contract was up 78 cents at US$77.95 per barrel and the December natural gas contract was up 10 cents at US$3.13 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was up US$5.90 at US$1,943.60 an ounce and the December copper contract was up seven cents at US$3.65 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) The Canadian Press

Police and protesters clash at Atlanta training center site derided by opponents as ‘Cop City’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:23:59 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Police are using tear gas and flash-bang grenades to break up a march seeking to halt construction of a police and firefighter training center in Atlanta.Several hundred people on Monday marched about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from a park to the site, which is just outside the Atlanta city limits in suburban DeKalb County.A wedge of marchers pushed into a line of officers in riot gear on a road outside the training center site and tried to keep going. Officers pushed back and then responded with tear gas, with one protester throwing a canister back at officers.Protests against the proposed training center — dubbed “Cop City” by opponents — have been going on for more than two years. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr obtained a sweeping indictment in August, using the state’s anti-racketeering law to target 61 protesters, characterizing them as “militant anarchists.”Some marchers on Monday retreated from the clash while others tried to cleanse themselves of the ...

Man suffers serious injuries when hit by dump truck in northwest Toronto

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:23:59 GMT

A man is in hospital with serious injuries after he was struck by a dump truck in Toronto’s northwest end.Emergency crews responded to the scene at Dufferin Street and Eglinton Avenue West just after 10:30 a.m. on Monday.Paramedics say the man’s injuries are potentially life-threatening.The intersection is closed to traffic as police investigate.Police have not said if the driver involved remained at the scene.

Russia jails an associate of imprisoned Kremlin foe Navalny as crackdown on dissent continues

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:23:59 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in the Siberian city of Tomsk on Monday jailed an associate of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny pending trial on extremism charges, according to an ally, part of an unrelenting crackdown on Russian political activists, independent journalists and rights workers. Ksenia Fadeyeva, who used to run Navalny’s office in Tomsk and had a seat in a local legislature, was placed in pre-trial detention several months after her trial began.According to her ally Andrei Fateyev, who reported the development on his Telegram channel, Fadeyeva was placed under house arrest three weeks ago over an alleged violation of restrictions imposed on her earlier. The prosecutor later contested that ruling and demanded she be put in custody, a move the judge supported, Fateyev said. The activist has been charged with running an extremist group and promoting “activities of an organization that infringes on people’s rights.” Fateyev argued that Fadeyeva was ...

Average Canadian rent price hits new high for sixth consecutive month: report

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:23:59 GMT

A new report says the average asking price for a rental unit in Canada reached $2,178 last month, a 9.9 per cent year-over-year increase and continuing a trend that has seen asking rents hit new highs for six months in a row.The data released by Rentals.ca and Urbanation, which analyzes monthly listings from the former’s network, shows that while October’s annual rate of rent growth in Canada was down from the 11.1 per cent jump in September, it still marked the second fastest annual increase of the past seven months.The average cost of a one-bedroom unit in October was $1,906, up 14 per cent from the same month in 2022, while the average asking price for a two-bedroom was $2,255, up 11.8 per cent annually.Vancouver still leads the way as Canada’s most expensive city for renters, with the average one-bedroom unit listed at $2,872 and a two-bedroom at $3,777 — both down from September’s asking prices, but up 6.7 per cent and 5.5 per cent, respectively, on an a...