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Michael Cohen can’t hold Donald Trump liable for retaliatory imprisonment, appeals court says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:12 GMT

By LARRY NEUMEISTER (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Cohen can’t hold his former boss, ex-president Donald Trump, liable because he was jailed for what he claimed was retaliation for writing a tell-all memoir, an appeals court said Tuesday.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said in an order that it would not revive a lawsuit that a lower-court judge had tossed out because the law did not seem to provide a damages remedy for most claims that someone was jailed in retaliation for their criticisms of a president.A three-judge panel concluded Cohen already obtained relief by getting a judge to order his release from imprisonment to home confinement several weeks after he was abruptly put behind bars when the government claimed he violated severe restrictions on his public communications. It said the law did not provide an outlet for more relief than that.Cohen served over a year of a three-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty in 2018...

Democrat Dylan Fernandes raises $83K in bid for Plymouth and Barnstable Senate seat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:12 GMT

Falmouth Democrat Rep. Dylan Fernandes said Tuesday he raised a whopping $83,664 in December, the first month of his campaign for a South Shore and Cape Cod Senate seat where the incumbent is not running for reelection.Fernandes said he received the cash from 350 donors in four weeks after he announced his bid for the Plymouth and Barnstable District, which Sen. Susan Moran, a Democrat, said she will not seek reelection to as she pursues an elected county post.Fernandes said he is “deeply humbled” by the support he received.“It shows early support for our campaign to bring new energy and experienced leadership to make our communities a more affordable and vibrant place to live,” he said in a statement.Details of Fernandes’ December fundraising haul were not immediately available on the state’s campaign finance website.The fourth-term state representative drew the endorsement of Gov. Maura Healey last month, who touted Fernandes as a politician focused on affordable...

Man shot in back in Little Italy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:12 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A man was shot in the back early Tuesday morning in Little Italy, according to San Diego police.Around 2:30 a.m., SDPD received a report of the shooting near the intersection of W Grape Street and W State Street.Upon arrival at the scene, officers found the victim awake and breathing. According to SDPD, he was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment of his injuries, which are not considered to be life-threatening. One injured after stabbing in Gaslamp Quarter The suspect is believed to have fled the scene. No description has been gathered by authorities.The circumstances that led to the shooting are under investigation. SDPD told FOX 5 that investigators believed this incident could have stemmed from another one a few weeks ago, although it remains unclear at this time.Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact SDPD or to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

Proposed merger of New Mexico, Connecticut energy companies ends; deal valued at more than $4.3B

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:12 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Officials with New Mexico’s largest electric utility said Tuesday that a proposed multibillion-dollar merger with a U.S. subsidiary of global energy giant Iberdrola has ended.Under the proposal, Connecticut-based Avangrid would have acquired PNM Resources and its two utilities — Public Service Co. of New Mexico and Texas New Mexico Power.The all-cash transaction was valued at more than $4.3 billion and would have opened the door for Iberdrola and Avangrid in a state where more wind and solar power could be generated and exported to larger markets.“We are greatly disappointed with Avangrid’s decision to terminate the merger agreement and its proposed benefits to our customers and communities,” PNM president and CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn said in a statement.PNM officials previously said the proposed multimillion-dollar merger with Avangrid would have helped create jobs, serve utility customers and boost energy efficiency projects in New Mexico.They said being ba...

North Carolina presidential primary candidates have been finalized; a Trump challenge is on appeal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:12 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s election board finalized on Tuesday the candidates for the state’s March 5 presidential primaries, leaving President Joe Biden as the lone Democrat for the job on ballots and former President Donald Trump among the Republican competitors. The five-member State Board of Elections voted unanimously to stick with the candidate lists provided by the state’s Democratic, Republican and Libertarian parties last month. The board had given initial approval to those names at its Dec. 19 meeting, when members also agreed to reconvene Tuesday to consider additional names before ballots are printed.Board officials said that five additional people had unsuccessfully asked to join the presidential primaries. They included U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, author Marianne Williamson and media personality Cenk Uygur for the Democrats and Jill Stein for the Green Party. A board attorney said Tuesday it was unclear which primary another person, Luis Lavin...

Business group urges Ottawa to start charm offensive on trade ahead of U.S. election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:12 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is calling on Ottawa to conduct another NAFTA-style charm offensive to defend Canada’s trade interests in the U.S. ahead of November’s presidential election.The group represents businesses of various sizes across Canada, and says now is the time for a co-ordinated outreach campaign by the federal, provincial and municipal governments to protect cross-border trade.That campaign would involve private businesses and aim to convince Americans that Canada is a boon to the U.S. economy, ahead of the scheduled review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement in 2026.The chamber says that Washington has been treating its relationship with Canada as transactional, and it argues the looming election will only encourage politicians to propose more protectionist policies that would sideline Canada.When former president Donald Trump threatened to end the NAFTA agreement that had governed U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico since 1994, Ottawa...

Calgary home sales outpace long-term trends in 2023 as migration fuels demand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:12 GMT

CALGARY — The Calgary Real Estate Board says the city saw 1,366 home sales in December, a 13.8 per cent increase compared with the same month a year earlier as the number of homes that changed hands in 2023 outpaced long-term trends and activity prior to the pandemic.There were 1,248 newly listed units last month, up 21 per cent compared with December 2022, but the board says housing demand remained relatively high thanks to strong migration levels as inventory declined 2.5 per cent.CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie says supply levels were low compared to demand throughout 2023, resulting in stronger than expected price growth.The unadjusted home benchmark price at the end of the year stood at $570,100, down around $2,600 from the previous month, but 10.4 per cent higher than December 2022.The board says the detached market saw the most significant decline in sales activity in 2023 at nearly 20 per cent.Apartment-style properties were the only type to report an annual sales gain,...

Montreal organization may have to stop feeding homeless for first time since 1877

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:12 GMT

Montreal’s oldest organization serving people without housing says it can no longer afford to serve meals on weekends.Accueil Bonneau, which operates a soup kitchen and provides other services in Old Montreal, says it will stop its weekend meals this Saturday.It says that if an agreement isn’t reached with the province to increase funding, it will have to stop serving meals completely in February.The organization, which was founded in 1877, says it provides meals to around 400 people every day.Lionel Carmant, Quebec’s minister responsible for social services, is scheduled to meet with the organization Wednesday. A spokesman for Carmant says that the minister has been communicating with Accueil Bonneau about the situation and that $50,000 in emergency funding has already been provided.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2024.The Canadian Press

Amber Alert for baby girl believed abducted by mother in Montreal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:12 GMT

Montreal police have triggered an Amber Alert for a baby girl gone missing from a home in the city earlier today.Police say one-year-old Zeynab Cherrabi El Alaoui was allegedly abducted by her 18-year-old mother, Miryanna Monterrosa-Laberge.The child was reported missing from a home in the Montreal borough of Lachine at about 9:25 a.m.Monterrosa-Laberge is described as 5 feet 3 inches tall and 120 pounds, with a scar on her left lip and her forehead, while the baby girl was wearing a light pink neck warmer with a pink and white unicorn on it.Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant says police don’t have any information about a vehicle in this case.Police are asking anyone with information to call 911.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2024.The Canadian Press

Gunman breaks into Colorado Supreme Court building, holds guard at gunpoint

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:12 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A man leaving the scene of a car wreck early Tuesday morning shot his way into the Colorado Supreme Court building and inflicted “extensive damage” to the building before being arrested by police, authorities said, adding the incident seems unrelated to the court's recent ruling banning former President Donald Trump from the ballot.Colorado's justices have received threats ever since they ruled 4-3 last month that a rarely-used constitutional provision barring from office those who “engaged in insurrection” applies to Trump. Authorities, however, said Tuesday's incident appears unrelated to that case. Trump is expected to appeal that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court later Tuesday.“The CSP and DPD are treating this incident seriously, but at this time, it is believed that this is not associated with previous threats to the Colorado Supreme Court Justices,” the Colorado State Patrol said in a statement said, using the acronyms for the state patrol a...