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Florida set to execute ‘ninja killer’ in couple’s 1989 death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:49 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida has ramped up executions under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, with a man known as the “ninja killer” set to die Wednesday for the 1989 slayings of a couple visiting the state from New Jersey.Louis Bernard Gaskin, 56, was scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m. by lethal injection for the deaths of Robert Sturmfels, 56, and Georgette Sturmfels, 55, on Dec. 20, 1989, in their Flagler County winter home on Florida’s northeastern coast. DeSantis has been signing death warrants at a rapid pace this year as he prepares his widely expected presidential campaign. He oversaw only two executions in his first four years in office, both in 2019. This execution comes six weeks after Donald Dillbeck, 59, was put to death for the 1990 murder of Faye Vann, 44, in Tallahassee, and three weeks before the scheduled execution of Darryl B. Barwick for slaying Rebecca Wendt, 24, in 1986 in Panama City. Barring any stays for Gaskin and Barwick, it will be the shortest period tha...

Stiff EPA emission limits to boost US electric vehicle sales

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is proposing strict new automobile pollution limits that would require up to two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2032, a nearly tenfold increase over current electric vehicle sales.The proposed regulation, announced Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency, would set tailpipe emissions limits for the 2027 through 2032 model years that are the strictest ever imposed — and call for far more new EV sales than the auto industry agreed to less than two years ago.If finalized next year as expected, the plan would represent the strongest push yet toward a once almost unthinkable shift from gasoline-powered cars and trucks to battery-powered vehicles.A look at what the EPA is proposing, how the plan serves President Joe Biden’s ambitious goal to cut America’s planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030, and whether the auto industry can meet the new EV targets:Q. What is the EPA proposing?A. The p...

Man stabbed onboard TTC bus after argument between two passengers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:49 GMT

Police are investigating after a man was stabbed onboard a TTC bus on Tuesday evening.The incident occurred on an Eglinton West bus travelling westbound near Black Creek Drive around 11:40 p.m.Police say two men on the bus got into an argument that turned physical. One man allegedly stabbed the other man.The victim called an ambulance and was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.The investigation is ongoing. No suspect description has been made available.STABBINGApril 11, 2023, 11:42 pm– 2 passengers in argument onboard westbound Eglinton West bus– physical altercation ensues– man stabs other man, deboards @ Black Creek Dr– victim calls emergency services– non-life threatening injuries– ongoing investigation#GO800493^vk— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) April 12, 2023

Duelling U.S. court rulings over abortion drug set stage for Supreme Court showdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:49 GMT

WASHINGTON — The debate over abortion rights in the United States is likely headed back to the Supreme Court — this time to settle a federal stalemate.Last week’s duelling court decisions over the drug mifepristone, one in Texas and another in Washington state, have put abortion issues back on centre stage in the U.S. A judge in Texas invalidated the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the so-called abortion pill less than an hour before a separate ruling in Washington effectively ordered the agency to stand its ground. The Supreme Court could be asked to intervene as early as Friday, less than a year after its June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that made abortion a federal right. Joyce Arthur of the Abortion Rights Council of Canada says that ruling did not trigger a flood of U.S. patients headed north, in part because the procedure is still legal in several states. Arthur says that even if the Supreme Court were to uphold the Texas...

Joe O’Biden? President in Ireland, eager to trace roots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:49 GMT

DUBLIN (AP) — President Joe Biden arrived in Dublin on Wednesday primed to trace his ancestral roots on a personal visit for a politician who cites his Irish heritage as a driving force in his life.Biden was headed first for County Louth on Ireland’s east coast, home of his Finnegan ancestors. He was expected to tour a castle and take a walk around downtown Dundalk. The president had also intended to visit a cemetery there, but that plan was scrapped because of uncooperative weather. During his three days in Ireland, Biden also plans to address the parliament in Dublin, attend a gala dinner and visit County Mayo, another ancestral area. Upon his arrival in Dublin, Biden was greeted by Ireland’s prime minister at the airport and then swung by a nearby fire station, where children of U.S. Embassy employees held American and Irish flags and signs that said “welcome home.”According to the Irish Family History Centre, Biden “is among the most ‘Irish’ of all U.S. Presidents.” Ten of...

Tech and industrial stocks help boost S&P/TSX composite, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:49 GMT

TORONTO — Strength in technology and industrial stocks helped Canada’s main stock index climb higher in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 87.29 points at 20,509.14.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 10.19 points at 33,694.98. The S&P 500 index was down 4.71 points at 4,104.23, while the Nasdaq composite was down 46.81 points at 11,985.07.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.26 cents US compared with 74.17 cents US on Tuesday.The May crude contract was up US$1.08 at US$82.61 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.11 per mmBTU.The June gold contract was up US$4.20 at US$2,023.20 an ounce and the May copper contract was up two cents at US$4.04 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

Chicago's Daniel James will fight at Bellator 297

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:49 GMT

CHICAGO — A native of Chicago who is working his way up the ranks of Bellator MMA is going to get another chance to fight in his hometown this summer. Daniel James, a heavyweight fighter who is currently fourth in that division, will take on Gokhan Saricam at Bellator 297 on Friday, June 16 at Wintrust Arena, WGN News has learned. This comes after "The American Predator" defeated Marcelo Golm at Bellator 293 in Temecula, California with a third round knockout.That improved James' professional mixed martial arts record to 15-6-1 as he has now scored knockouts in his last five fights. Daniel James making most of return to the US with Bellator This will be the west side native's third fight in the Chicagoland area in his Bellator career, having won his first fight with the company against Erick Correa at Bellator 112 in Hammond, Indiana on March 14, 2014. On November 18, 2022, James made his return to Bellator at Wintrust Arena, scoring a second round knockout of Tyrell Fortune. Th...

Prince Harry will attend father's coronation. Meghan won't

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:49 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry will attend his father King Charles III’s Coronation next month, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday, ending lengthy speculation on whether he would be welcome after leveling charges of racism and media manipulation at the royal family.But Harry's wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain in California with the couple’s two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the palace said. The May 6 date of the coronation at Westminster Abbey coincides with their son’s birthday.Harry’s attendance comes despite the rift within the House of Windsor prompted by his decision to reveal family secrets in his bestselling book, “Spare.”The revelations included details of private conversations with his father, and his elder brother, Prince William. The disclosures fanned tensions between Harry and his family, which had become public when he and his wife moved to North America in 2020.Harry and Meghan, who is biracial, have alleged she faced racist attitudes from bot...

New inflation numbers released: What's getting more expensive?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:49 GMT

(The Hill) – Prices across the economy fell to an annual increase of 5 percent, down from 6 percent annually in February, according to data from the Labor Department.On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.1 percent after rising 0.4 percent in February and 0.5 percent in January.Economists had been expecting inflation to land at 5.1 percent annually and for it to have increased by 0.2 percentage points in March, so the numbers are better than expectations.Grocery prices dropped substantially to an 8.4 percent annual increase from 10.2 percent last month. Food prices, which are some of the inflation that consumers feed most acutely, are still running much hotter than inflation overall. Despite inflation, these things have gotten cheaper Fruits and vegetables dropped 1.3 percent on the month while meats declined by 1.4 percent.The "core" inflation, which removes the categories of food and energy, was up 5.6 percent annually and 0.4 percent since February, somewhat higher than the headline...

Trump tops DeSantis by 21 points in new South Carolina poll

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:49 GMT

(The Hill) – Former President Trump topped Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) by 21 points in a hypothetical new GOP primary poll in South Carolina, one of the first states to vote in the Republican primary. A poll from Winthrop University found Trump leading a potential Republican field with 41% of registered Republicans supporting him, followed by DeSantis with 20%. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who also served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, came in a close third with 18%, while Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) followed with 7%. The poll’s release comes amid Scott's Wednesday announcement that he is launching a presidential exploratory committee to allow him to raise money for a campaign and potentially move toward officially running. He is planning to visit the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina this week.But Scott and other Republicans still trailed behind Trump, sometimes by a wide margin. Almost three-quarters of Re...