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Ticker: Gaming Commission seeks new director; US housing starts surge  

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:27 GMT

The Mass. Gaming Commission is gearing up to search for a new executive director, and whoever takes over for Karen Wells will walk into a job that has changed markedly since her tenure began about three and a half years ago.Wells, who was the commission’s chief investigator for about seven years before ascending to the executive director post in January 2020, will step down effective July 14, the commission said last week. Commissioners are expected to discuss the process they will use to identify and hire a new executive director at forthcoming public meetings, officials said.“Together this team created the infrastructure for a new state agency, opened three casinos, weathered a pandemic, and launched the new legal sports wagering industry,” Wells said. “Today the agency’s core responsibilities are operating smoothly, and I have every confidence our team will continue the great work we have done together over the years.”US housing starts surgeU.S...

DA, ethics panel back judge in Donald Trump hush-money case, finding no evidence of bias

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:27 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s tempestuous views aside, Manhattan prosecutors say neither the former president nor his lawyers have shown any evidence to support their claims that the judge in his hush-money criminal case has an anti-Trump bias. They urged him to reject defense demands that he step aside from the case.In court papers made public Tuesday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office defended Judge Juan Manuel Merchan against Trump’s claims that he’s a “Trump-hating judge,” amplifying a court ethics panel’s recent opinion that a judge in his situation wouldn’t have to recuse himself.The opinion, issued May 4 by the state’s Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics, suggests Merchan may have sought the panel’s input as he wrestled with the gravity of his role in the case and nagging concerns that he could be seen as having a bias or conflict of interest. The opinion doesn...

Highest-rated ice cream shops in San Diego, according to Yelp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:27 GMT

CanvaHighest-rated ice cream shops in San Diego, according to YelpIce cream is a treat all year round, although the frequency and volume consumed during the hotter months might eclipse the colder months. The range of flavors in ice cream shops has evolved since the olden days when flavors were mainly limited to vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.The best shops nowadays offer fresh combinations and ingredients you may never have imagined could be made into ice cream. Yes, you can find your classics, but also new concoctions like black sesame cookies and cream or honey lavender. Some shops boast flavors with even more unheard-of ingredients and combinations, like the savory herb tarragon or pineapple with pink peppercorns.Ice cream creators have also expanded into rethinking frozen yogurt, soft serve, and vegan options. The dairy-free folks no longer have to order the only sorbet on the menu. There are non-dairy milk ice creams made from plant-based milks like oat or almond and other ...

Guests displaced after fire at Oceanside motel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:27 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A North County motel caught fire Tuesday, displacing the occupants of the business.The fire began around 4 a.m. at the Oceanside Inn & Suites located at 1820 S Coast Highway, Oceanside Fire Department said in a news release.Upon arrival, firefighters found heavy smoke and flames coming from an end room of the single-story motel complex.Crews began work to extinguish the flames, while looking for any possible victims in the burning room. San Diego researcher who helped discover Titanic wreckage mystified by missing submersible After more engines arrived on scene firefighter began to evacuate the occupants of the adjoining rooms and check if the fire had spread, according to OFD.A 2nd alarm response was ordered due to the potential for fire spread and the limited amount of resources on scene.Crews turned off the gas and electricity to the building and went on the roof to perform trench cuts in order to stop the fire spread in an attic, officials said. Body ...

Yukon’s COVID vaccine rollout falls short for First Nations care, engagement: auditor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:27 GMT

A report from Canada’s auditor general found that Yukon’s COVID-19 immunization rollout hadshortcomings, including a lack of engagement with First Nations, some of whom worried they were test subjects for the new vaccine. The report, presented to the Yukon legislature on Tuesday, found “weaknesses,” ranging from some departments lacking an updated emergency plan for a pandemic to the use of manual inventory tracking that led to vaccine wastage.But the biggest fault identified by the report, said deputy auditor general Andrew Hayes, was the lack of collaboration with First Nations on the planning and delivery of vaccinations.“It’s a missed opportunity because every chance that you have to break down obstacles, to increase cultural sensitivity and inclusion, and frankly to build trust, every opportunity should be taken to do that, ” Hayes said, referring to the barriers faced by First Nations when they try to access health care.“Engaging...

In report on police killing, Quebec coroner says officers need ‘less-lethal’ weapons

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:27 GMT

MONTREAL — A coroner’s report into the death of a Black man shot and killed by police in a city northeast of Montreal says officers showed restraint during the intervention.Jean René Junior Olivier, 37, was killed by police on Aug. 1, 2021, in Repentigny, Que., as he was experiencing a mental health crisis.Earlier this year, lawyers for the deceased man’s mother, Marie-Mireille Bence, said they felt race may have played a role in his death, as they announced a lawsuit against the city and the local police for$430,000.But coroner Karine Spénard pushed back against that claim in an eight-page report released Tuesday, saying officers did not provoke Olivier’s actions. “Relatives of Mr. Olivier said they were convinced that the police had gone to him with the intention of killing him,” Spénard said. “With respect, I do not subscribe to this opinion, particularly because the police attempted a de-escalation while remaining at a distance.”The coro...

Canada’s oil output would plummet by 2050 in a net-zero world, new modelling shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:27 GMT

CALGARY — New modelling from the Canada Energy Regulator suggests Canadian oil production will plummet by 2050 — and large portions of Alberta’s oilsands facilities will be shut down — if the world is successful in reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions within that time.The scenario is one of three laid out in a report released Tuesday, and marks the first time the regulator has presented a long-term outlook for Canadian energy using net-zero as a baseline. In an interview, federal natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson cautioned against focusing too much on the most dramatic scenario, adding that the regulator’s report also paints a picture of an alternate future in which progress to net-zero occurs at a slower pace.But he said the report makes it very clear that in order for Canada’s energy sector to remain competitive on the world stage, it will need to act quickly to reduce emissions.“This report helps us in the context of the argument I have b...

Ottawa aims to shed more light on how well airports are working, as travel ramps up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:27 GMT

The federal government moved this week to bolster accountability at airports, introducing new legislation that would compel them and other operators to cough up more information on their performance.Tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday, the bill paves the way for new rules requiring airports and an array of industry players to create service standards and publish data that can be compared against those benchmarks.The standards could track outcomes ranging from security screening wait times to how long it takes luggage to reach the carousel. They would apply to parties including Canada’s air transport security agency, airlines, navigation service and baggage handling firms.“As we’ve seen over the last few years, a disruption in one part of the system can have wide effects across the entire network,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said at a news conference in Ottawa.“The idea is that once you set a service standard, then airports will be accountabl...

West Virginia cash-for-worker program adds 5th destination

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:27 GMT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A program offering cash and free outdoor adventures to remote workers to move to West Virginia with the hope of offsetting population losses has added a fifth destination where out-of-state workers can apply to live.The public-private program Ascend West Virginia said Tuesday that applications are being accepted for the scenic New River Gorge region in the southern part of the state that encompasses the nation’s newest national park. The New River Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville is the site of a festival every October where thrillseekers parachute off the 876-foot-high (267-meter) span.Under the remote worker program, successful applicants will receive $12,000 along with free passes to indulge in whitewater rafting, golf, rock climbing, horseback riding, skiing and ziplining. The full relocation package is valued at more than $20,000.Applications also are being accepted to four areas previously announced since the program launched in April 2021: the nor...

Cuban officials conclude Russia trip with agreements on oil, wheat, and renewed tourism

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:27 GMT

HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — Cuba said Tuesday it is reaffirming its alliance with Russia through a series of agreements considered key for the island nation, including on the supply of oil, the sale of wheat and the resumption of flights between both countries that were halted by the war in Ukraine.The agreements between two longtime allies facing economic sanctions from the United States were the result of a recent visit by Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero to Russia and were disclosed Tuesday by Gerardo Peñalver, Cuba’s vice minister of foreign affairs, in an interview with state-run Cubadebate website.“There was progress in the high-level political dialogue, taking into account that both nations are strategic allies and are under the effect of unilateral coercive measures,” said Peñalver, who was in Russia with Marrero and other high-level officials from June 6-17. It was the most recent in a series of meetings between Russian and Cuban officials seeking to reinforce their strate...