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Venezuela’s government wins vote on claiming part of Guyana, but turnout seems lackluster

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:24 GMT

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro got the victory he sought in a weekend referendum on whether to claim sovereignty over an oil-rich area of neighboring Guyana. But lackluster turnout suggested his government is losing influence and is tone deaf to people’s needs.Maduro’s government had promoted the referendum for weeks as a unifying act of patriotism, including with theater performances and reggaeton music.Venezuela’s National Electoral Council on Monday reported participation in the referendum of about 10.5 million voters, which would have been just over half of the 20.6 million eligible people. But those figures defied what people witnessed at voting centers, where long lines typical of Venezuelan elections never formed.The vote centered around a vast territory known as Essequibo, which Venezuelans have long argued was stolen from them when the border with present-day Guyana was drawn more than a century ago. Maduro’s government still had not exp...

CBC says it is cutting 600 jobs, some programming

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:24 GMT

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and Radio-Canada will eliminate about 600 jobs and an additional 200 vacancies will go unfilled as it contends with $125 million in budget pressures.The public broadcaster says CBC and Radio-Canada will each cut about 250 jobs, with the balance of the layoffs coming from its corporate divisions like technology and infrastructure.It has also identified about 200 currently vacant positions that will be eliminated.Along with the job cuts, CBC will be reducing its English and French programming budgets, resulting in fewer renewals and acquisitions, new television series, episodes of existing shows and digital original series.It attributed the cuts to rising production costs, declining television advertising revenue and fierce competition from the digital giants. At the end of March, CBC had some 6,500 permanent employees, about 2,000 temporary workers and roughly 760 contract staff.The cuts at CBC come days after the Liberal government suggested it m...

Ohio Republicans propose nixing home grow, increasing taxes in sweeping changes to legal marijuana

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:24 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Banning marijuana growing at home, increasing the substance’s tax rate and altering how those taxes get distributed are among vast changes Ohio Senate Republicans proposed Monday to a marijuana legalization measure approved by voters last month. The changes emerged suddenly in committee just days before the new law is set to take effect, though their fate in the full Senate and the GOP-led House is still unclear.The ballot measure, dubbed Issue 2, passed on the Nov. 7 election with 57% of the vote and it set to become law this Thursday, making Ohio the 24th state to legalize marijuana for adult recreational use. But as a citizen-initiated statute, the Legislature is free to make tweaks on it, of which they’re attempting plenty. “The goal of this committee is to provide the people’s wishes with a safe product,” Sen. Michael Rulli, a Columbiana County Republican, said during a meeting of the Senate General Government Committee, where the changes were ...

Remains found in Indiana in 1982 identified as those of Wisconsin woman who vanished at age 20

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:24 GMT

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — Human remains found in rural Indiana in 1982 have been identified as those of a Wisconsin woman who was 20 when she vanished more than four decades ago, authorities said.The remains are those of Connie Lorraine Christensen, who was from the Madison, Wisconsin-area community of Oregon, said Lauren Ogden, chief deputy coroner of the Wayne County Coroner’s Office. Hunters discovered Christensen’s then-unidentified remains in December 1982 near Jacksonburg, a rural community about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Indianapolis, Ogden said. She had died from a gunshot wound and her homicide case remains unsolved.Christensen was last seen in Nashville, Tennessee, in April 1982, when she was believed to have been three to four months pregnant, Ogden said. She had left her 1-year-old daughter with relatives while she was away and they reported her missing after she failed to return as planned to Wisconsin.Christensen’s remains were stored at the University o...

Gloria Allred representing family involved with Josh Giddey case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:24 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Attorney Gloria Allred has confirmed that she is representing the family of the girl Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey has been accused of having an improper relationship with.Allred has been a famous advocate for women in cases against powerful men and celebrities for decades. She did not elaborate in an e-mail response, saying: “We have no comment.”Last week, the Newport Beach, California, police department said its detectives are conducting an investigation. Before that, the NBA announced it was investigating.In a since-deleted post, an anonymous social media user last month said a girl who is seen with Giddey in videos and photographs was a high school junior at the time. The social media account has since been deactivated.Giddey, an Australian, turned 21 in October. He and the Thunder have declined to comment on the situation so far.Giddey is averaging 12 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for an Oklahoma City team that is off to a 13-6 sta...

Whistleblower allegation: Harvard muzzled disinfo team after $500 million Zuckerberg donation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:24 GMT

A prominent disinformation scholar who left Harvard University in August has accused the school of muzzling her speech and stifling — then dismantling — her research team as it launched a deep dive in late 2021 into a trove of Facebook files she considers the most important documents in internet history.The actions impacting Joan Donovan’s work coincided with a $500 million donation by a foundation run by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. In a whistleblower disclosure made public Monday, Donovan seeks investigations into “inappropriate influence” by Harvard’s general counsel, the Massachusetts attorney general’s office and the U.S. Department of Education. The CEO of Whisteblower Aid, a legal nonprofit supporting Donovan, called the alleged behavior by Harvard’s Kennedy School and its dean a “shocking betrayal” of academic integrity at the elite school.“Whether Harvard acted at the company’s direction or took the initia...

MUST-WATCH: A silent holiday present for all action fans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:24 GMT

One of the greatest action filmmakers of all time has entered the MUST-WATCH! But will his silent adventure take the top spot, or could it go to a documentary about one of the most popular albums of all time? Perhaps a Christmas comedy about decorating the house? You’ll have to keep reading to find out!Thriller 40Where to watch: Paramount+First up, a documentary about one of the greatest albums of all time!Thriller 40 is a documentary created following the 40th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. It breaks down how the album was made track by track, as well as its long lasting legacy and how it has shaped various artists going forward. It features tons of interviews, including with Usher, Will.i.am, and Mary J. Blige, all who call it the most influential album ever made.You can watch this documentary on Paramount+ now!Candy Cane LaneWhere to watch: Prime VideoNext up, it’s time for some Christmas comedy!Eddie Murphy in Candy Cane Lane, courtesy of Prime Stud...

EPL sells domestic TV rights for record $8.45B in next 4-year cycle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The Premier League sold its domestic TV rights for 6.7 billion pounds ($8.4 billion) for the next four-year cycle, for what the competition said on Monday was the largest sports media rights deal ever concluded in Britain.The new contract covering the period from 2025-26 to 2028-29 underlined the league’s status as the richest in soccer, with the annual figure of 1.675 billion pounds ($2.12 billion) around double the value of domestic rights in each of Germany, Spain and Italy.Sky Sports will screen a minimum of 215 matches per season — up to 100 matches a season more than it currently does — while TNT Sports, formerly BT Sport, will get 52 games. Amazon Prime, which shows 20 matches per season in the current cycle up to 2024-25, reportedly did not bid for any matches in the next cycle.The current deal is worth a reported 1.66 billion pounds ($2.10 billion) a season.“The outcome of this process underlines the strength of the Premier League,” said Richard Ma...

16-year-old girl among 3 charged in firearm investigation east of Toronto

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:24 GMT

A 16-year-old girl is among three people facing charges in a firearm investigation after Toronto police allegedly discovered a loaded handgun during a recent search.Authorities say on Dec. 1, 2023, three people, including a man, a woman and a female teenager, were arrested in the Woodbine Avenue and Kingston Road area as part of the investigation.Police recovered a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun, and following a search warrant, items of evidentiary value were also located and seized.No injuries were reported.On Monday, police identified 18-year-old Kyle Taylor and 37-year-old Tammy Taylor of Toronto. The pair face numerous firearm-related offences, including unauthorized possession of a firearm, careless storage of a firearm and possession of a weapon dangerous to public peace.A 16-year-old girl was also charged with carrying a concealed weapon and other firearm-related offences. The teen was not identified by means of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Their relationship is unclear...

Rogers ordered to produce records in Competition Bureau’s probe of ‘Infinite’ plans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:19:24 GMT

GATINEAU, Que. — The Competition Bureau has been granted an order by the Federal Court of Canada requiring Rogers Communications Inc. to produce records related to an investigation into the company’s Infinite wireless phone plans.The bureau says it is probing claims in Rogers’ marketing campaigns that the plans have unlimited data, despite “allegedly significant reductions in data speed, known as throttling, after a subscriber reaches a certain data cap.”The competition regulator says it is seeking to determine if Rogers’ marketing practices surrounding those plans comply with the Competition Act’s advertising provisions that bar false or misleading claims to promote a service. It says there is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time.Rogers spokeswoman Sarah Schmidt says the company’s advertising of its Infinite plans is truthful and clear.She calls the introduction of these plans in 2019, which eliminated data overage charges, “a significa...