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At trial, man accused of assaulting woman at US research station in Antarctica denies hurting her

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — A man accused of assaulting a woman at a U.S. research station in Antarctica testified at his trial Wednesday that he never hurt her during a physical altercation in a dorm lounge last year. Stephen Tyler Bieneman has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault over the incident at McMurdo Station. Bieneman got on top of a woman who had taken his nametag from his coat as a joke, pinned her down and put his shin across he throat, preventing her from being able to breathe, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohammad Khatib told jurors at the start of trial this week in U.S. District Court in Honolulu.Bieneman, who worked as a field safety coordinator conducting searches and rescues, testified that the woman “kind of immediately got in my face” when he returned to the lounge after celebrating his birthday and Thanksgiving with a group. She cursed at him and was upset she wasn’t invited to the gathering, he said. At one point he left the lounge to return the key to the hut he u...

7 Nashville officers on ‘administrative assignment’ after Covenant school shooter’s writings leaked

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Seven Nashville police officers have been placed on “administrative assignment” amid an investigation into the unauthorized release of some writings by the shooter who killed six people, including three children, at a private elementary school in March, authorities said Wednesday. Earlier this week a conservative commentator released what he said were three images of Audrey Hale’s writings from the day of the March 27 shooting.The leak alarmed local authorities, who called for an investigation into the situation, and dismayed families closely connected to the Covenant school shooting who have opposed publishing the documents for months. Don Aaron, spokesperson for the Metro Nashville Police Department, said the officers were placed on administrative assignment to “protect the integrity of the active, progressing investigation.”The officers, whose names have not been released, still have “full police power” and the assignments are “absolutely non-punitiv...

Bridging an ocean, Angolan king visits Brazilian community descended from slaves

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Residents danced and chanted Wednesday in a community descended from runaway slaves in Rio de Janeiro as they welcomed the visiting monarch of the Bailundo kingdom in Angola where many of the residents trace their ancestry. King Tchongolola Tchongonga Ekuikui VI visited the community of Camorim as part of a trip to Brazil that began three weeks ago. Camorim dates back to 1614 when it would have been forested land and is Rio’s oldest “quilombo,” or community of escaped slaves. Nearly 100 people live there today, maintaining their traditional religion and medicinal plants. “This visit has been on the agenda for a long time,” the king told the crowd. “Our ancestors told us: ’Go, because there you will find your brothers.’”King Ekuikui VI arrived in a traditional black-and-white robe and hat, both featuring his kingdom’s emblematic eagle. He is his nation’s most important king, representing the largest Angolan ethnic group. While Bailundo is a non-sovereign k...

Suncor Energy reports third quarter profit of $1.54 billion

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. says it earned a profit of $1.54 billion in the third quarter of 2023, compared to a net loss of $609 million in the prior year’s quarter.The Calgary-based energy giant says its earnings work out to $1.19 per share, compared to a loss of 45 cents per common share in the same three months of 2022.On an adjusted basis, Suncor earned $1.98 billion or $1.52 per common share in the third quarter of 2023, compared to $2.57 billion or $1.88 per common share in the third quarter of 2022.The company attributed the decrease in adjusted earnings to lower crude prices year-over-year and a weaker business environment, as well as increased royalties and decreased sales volumes due to international asset divestments.Suncor’s total upstream production was 690,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down from 724,100 boe/d in the same period last year.Refinery throughput was 463,200 barrels per day and refinery utilization was 99 per cent in the third quarter ...

National Bank no longer offering new safety deposit boxes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

MONTREAL — National Bank won’t offer any more new safety deposit boxes, which allow customers to keep valuable items or important documents at bank branches. It’s the first large Canadian bank to stop offering this service. The bank stopped offering the service as of Nov. 1. The decision comes after the financial institution noted a decline in the popularity of safety deposit boxes, said spokeswoman Stéphanie Rousseau in an interview conducted in French. “That said, clients who already had boxes before that date will be able to keep them,” she said. National Bank is the first large Canadian bank to stop offering safety deposit boxes. The five other largest Canadian banks, and Desjardins Group, confirmed that they still offer the service and don’t currently intend to follow suit, though some institutions noted that safety deposit boxes aren’t necessarily available at all of their branches. The revenue generated by safety deposit boxes is “not large” for a bank, said Reena Atana...

Bus carrying crew for Shania Twain concert crashes on icy highway in Saskatchewan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

WOLSELEY, Sask. — Members of Shania Twain’s concert production crew were on a bus that crashed today on an icy highway in southeast Saskatchewan.The music star’s management company, Maverick, says in a statement that the bus and a truck from her “Queen of Me” tour were in the crash on the Trans-Canada Highway near Wolseley.It says the vehicles had been driving between Winnipeg, where Twain had a show Tuesday night, and Saskatoon.Twain was not on the bus.Dwayne Stone, the fire chief for the nearby town of Grenfell, says firefighters were called out to the scene, where the bus had rolled onto its side.Stone says they used an emergency hatch in the roof of the bus and took out windows in order to get to the 13 people stuck inside.Stone says the people were taken to a nearby hospital and none of their injuries were life-threatening.The Canadian Press

Linamar reports net income of $146.7 million in third quarter

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

GUELPH, Ont. — Linamar Corp. says it sales and income got a boost in the third quarter thanks in part to its diversification efforts away from contracts reliant on gasoline-powered vehicles.Sales were $2.43 billion in the third quarter, up from $2.1 billion in the same quarter last year, as the industrial segment of the manufacturer grew faster than its automotive division.Linamar says it earned $146.7 million, or $2.38 per share, in the quarter ending Sept. 30, up from $133.2 million, or $2.10 per share, last year.Adjusted earnings were $2.21 per share, up from $1.91 last year, while analyst had expected earnings of $2.07 per share according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.The company says it continues to set itself up for the electric vehicle transition, including with its recent acquisition of the Mobex chassis and suspension business.It says 57 per cent of new business contracts for its mobility division are for EVs, while 74 per cent of new business wins in the segment...

Florida wraps up special session to support Israel as DeSantis campaigns for president

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Legislature wrapped up a special session Wednesday in a largely symbolic effort to support Israel in its war with Hamas while Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis runs for president.The Senate unanimously approved a resolution condemning Hamas for the Oct. 7 attacks on Israeli citizens and expressing support for Israel’s right to defend itself. Also approved with no opposition were bills to provide $45 million in grants to secure Jewish institutions and other places that could be a target of hate crimes.The Senate also voted to strengthen sanctions already in place against businesses that do business with Iranian companies, as well as measures to provide hurricane recovery money and expand a program to allow developmentally disabled students attend private school with taxpayer money.DeSantis has campaigned on his support for Israel. The Legislature passed the measures hours before he was to participate in a GOP presidential debate in Miami, in whic...

Disney reports sharp profit growth in the fourth quarter; shares rise

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Walt Disney Co. reported sharp profit growth for its fiscal fourth quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and sending its shares up more than 3% in after-hours trading. Disney said diluted net income attributable to the company jumped 63% to $264 million in the quarter that ended September 30, up from $162 million a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share, which excludes items largely related to the amortization of Disney’s acquisitions of 21st Century Fox and Hulu, more than doubled to 82 cents in the quarter from 30 cents a year earlier. That exceeded analyst expectations of 71 cents, according to FactSet.Disney shares rose more than 3% in after hours trading to $87.23.Revenue for the quarter rose 5.4% to $21.24 billion, up from $20.15 billion. The company credited cost-cutting and other efficiencies from restructuring as well as continued subscription growth in its streaming business and a 30% increase in operating income from its parks and similar “e...

Mount St. Helens records more than 400 earthquakes since mid-July, but no signs of imminent eruption

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:26 GMT

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — More than 400 earthquakes have been detected beneath Washington’s Mount St. Helens in recent months, though there are no signs of an imminent eruption, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.Most of the quakes over a three-month span beginning in mid-July were less than magnitude 1.0 and too small to be felt at the surface, the agency reported last week. Small magnitude earthquakes detected with sensitive equipment signal a volcano is “recharging” as magma flows through chambers and cracks deep underground, Wes Thelen, a volcano seismologist with the agency’s Cascade Volcano Observatory told The Columbian newspaper.From late August to early September, scientists observed about 40 to 50 earthquakes a week, a number that has fallen to around 30 a week. Since 2008, the volcano has averaged about 11 earthquakes per month.While swarms of earthquakes occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s, none directly led to volcanic eruptions.In 1980, 57 people ...