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Missed opportunity or dodged bullet? What Ohtani’s L.A. pick means for Rogers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:12:24 GMT

TORONTO — While baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s decision not to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend has left fans wondering what might have been, one sports economist says team owner Rogers Communications Inc. is better off for having struck out.Ohtani said Saturday he’d be signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers, with reports indicating his deal is worth a record US$700 million over 10 years, after a courtship process in which the Blue Jays were among the final suitors.Off the field, some who study the business of sport were bullish on the potential payoff of such a deal for Rogers, saying the increased sales of tickets and merchandise could justify his salary.But Concordia University’s Moshe Lander says that despite all the hype, Rogers dodged a bullet and that some of the potential boons for the company were overplayed.While the company could have raked in added revenue through advertising, especially given Ohtani’s significant following in his nat...

Young Thug trial delayed at least a day after co-defendant is stabbed in jail

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:12:24 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — One of the five co-defendants on trial with rapper Young Thug has been stabbed at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, delaying the proceedings for at least a day, authorities said.Fulton County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Natalie Ammons confirmed that Shannon Stillwell had been stabbed and said her office would provide further details later.The racketeering conspiracy trial for Stillwell, Young Thug and four others began last month after about 10 months of jury selection. Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville dismissed the jury for the day Monday morning, saying one of the defendants had “a medical issue.” Glanville told the jurors they should return Tuesday “and we’ll just see how things go at that point in time, and we’ll take the week as it comes.”The jail has long been plagued by violence and other problems, and a lawyer for the sheriff’s office last month told state lawmakers that inmates had fashioned weapons from broke...

Multiple security failures led to the Air Force classified documents leak, inspector general finds

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:12:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The massive classified documents leak by an Air Force service member earlier this year was made worse by the intentional failure of multiple officials to take required action on his suspicious behavior, the Air Force inspector general reported Monday. Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira is accused of leaking highly classified military documents on a social media platform. In its investigation of the leaks, the Air Force inspector general found both security gaps where personnel had access to classified documents without supervision and instances in which Airman 1st Class Teixeira was caught violating security policies but none of the personnel who caught him took the actions necessary in response. “Based on the preponderance of the evidence gathered during the investigation, three individuals in the unit who understood their duty to report specific information regarding A1C Teixeira’s intelligence-seeking and insider threat indicators to security ...

Prince Harry ordered to pay Daily Mail publisher legal fees for failed court challenge

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:12:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A judge ordered Prince Harry on Monday to pay nearly 50,000 pounds (more than $60,000) in legal fees to the publisher of the Daily Mail tabloid for his failed court challenge in a libel lawsuit.The Duke of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers Ltd. over an article that said Harry tried to hide his efforts to retain publicly funded protection in the U.K. after leaving his role as a working member of the royal family. Justice Matthew Nicklin ruled Friday in the High Court in London that the publisher has a “real prospect” of showing that statements issued on Harry’s behalf were misleading and that the February 2022 article reflected an “honest opinion” and wasn’t libelous. “The defendant may well submit that this was a masterclass in the art of ‘spinning,’” Nicklin wrote, in refusing to strike the honest opinion defense.Harry has claimed the article was “fundamentally inaccurate” and the newspaper defamed him when it suggested he lied in his initial public statemen...

Grocer profits set to exceed record in 2023, expert says, ahead of committee meeting

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:12:24 GMT

VANCOUVER — The Centre for Future Work says profits in the Canadian grocery sector will likely exceed $6 billion in 2023, setting a new record as they rise eight per cent from last year. New research by the centre found that food retailers are now earning more than twice as much profit as they did pre-pandemic. Jim Stanford, economist and director of the Centre for Future Work, is set to present the report’s findings later today to a House of Commons agriculture committee meeting on stabilizing food prices. Eric La Flèche, president and CEO of grocer Metro Inc., is scheduled to present during the first half of the committee meeting.Last week, executives from Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Walmart Canada and Empire Co. Ltd. presented before the committee.The major grocers have been under pressure from the government to enact plans that will help stabilize food prices for Canadians. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:MRU)The Cana...

Minnesota judge sets aside murder conviction of man imprisoned as teen for 2004 flower shop killing

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:12:24 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota judge on Monday set aside the murder conviction of a man who was sent to prison for the 2004 killing of a man in a Minneapolis flower shop, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.Marvin Haynes, who was 16 at the time of the killing, was expected to be released from prison Monday. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says Haynes’ release comes after prosecutors agreed Haynes had recently proven in court that his constitutional rights were violated during his 2005 trial for the killing of Randy Sherer, 55.Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement that a “terrible injustice” occurred when the state prosecuted Haynes.“We inflicted harm on Mr. Haynes and his family, and also on Harry Sherer, the victim, his family, and the community. We cannot undo the trauma experienced by those impacted by this prosecution, but today we have taken a step toward righting this wrong.”The Associated Press

The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali ends after 10 years, following the junta’s pressure to go

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:12:24 GMT

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — The United Nations ended its 10-year peacekeeping mission in Mali on Monday following the government’s request that alleged the force was inadequate to respond to growing violent extremism in the West African nation.“The Malian terrain was vast and difficult,” the commander of the 13,000-strong force, Maj. Gen. Mamadou Gaye, told the closing ceremony in Bamako, the capital.The U.N. effort in Mali has been the deadliest peacekeeping mission in the world, with more than 300 personnel killed.Landlocked Mali has struggled to contain an Islamic extremist insurgency since 2012. Extremist rebels were forced from power in northern cities the following year with the help of a French-led military operation. But rebels regrouped in the desert and began launching attacks on the Malian army and its allies — which soon included the U.N. force.In June, however, Mali’s junta asked the U.N. mission to leave, claiming that its “future outlook doesn’t seem to respond to...

MUST-WATCH: Leaving the world behind for something hopefully better

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:12:24 GMT

An apocalyptic film starring some of Hollywood’s biggest box office draws has entered the MUST-WATCH Top 10! But will it rule the new world from the top spot, or could it go to a Christmastime Batman adventure? Perhaps the return of the sea creature with the catchiest song ever? You’ll have to keep reading to find out!My Life with the Walter BoysWhere to watch: NetflixFirst up, it’s time for some young romance!My Life with the Walter Boys. (L to R) Nikki Rodriguez as Jackie, Ashby Gentry as Alex and Noah LaLonde as Cole in episode 103 of My Life with the Walter Boys. Cr. Chris Large/© 2023 Netflix, Inc.My Life with the Walter Boys is a new show based on the book of the same name. It stars Nikki Rodriguez (from On My Block) as a 15 year old girl living in New York City who tragically loses her whole family in a car accident. She ends up getting adopted by the Walter family, who live in a small rural town in Colorado. That family has seven sons in total, and she find...

Waste Connections buying $1.08B in assets from Secure Energy Services

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:12:24 GMT

TORONTO — Waste Connections Inc. has signed a deal to buy a portfolio of 30 energy waste treatment and disposal facilities in Western Canada from Secure Energy Services Inc. for nearly $1.08 billion.The assets represent all of the required divestitures mandated by the Competition Tribunal following Secure’s 2021 merger with Tervita Corp.The deal includes 18 treatment, recovery and disposal facilities, six landfills, four saltwater disposal injection wells and two disposal caverns.Waste Connections chief executive Ronald Mittelstaedt says they are a rare combination of high-quality, well-situated disposal and treatment assets with significant internal capacity for growth.The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, including Competition Bureau approval. It is expected to close during the first quarter of 2024.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:WCN, TSX:SES)The Canadian Press

Imprisoned accomplice in shooting of then-NFL player’s girlfriend dies

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:12:24 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A man who had spent two decades in prison for firing the shots in a plot by then-Carolina Panthers player Rae Carruth to kill Carruth’s pregnant girlfriend has died.Van Brett Watkins died on Dec. 3 at age 63, according to online prisoner records from the state Department of Adult Correction. Watkins, who had been at Central Prison in Raleigh, died at a hospital from natural causes, department spokesperson Keith Acree said.Watkins, whose death was first reported by Charlotte television stations, received more than 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in Carruth’s effort to kill Cherica Adams in 1999. He was sentenced for second-degree murder, conspiracy and other charges. His projected prison release date had been in 2045, the correction records show.Watkins fired the shots and another man drove the car. They pleaded guilty in exchange for testimony that Carruth paid Watkins to kill Adams and her baby. Adams was shot in her car as she drov...