thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Merkel: Governor’s election with far-right help inexcusable

BERLIN - Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned as “ inexcusable ” the election of a new German state governor with the help of the far-right as well as her own party , and said Thursday that the result must not stand .
Wednesday ’ s surprise election of Thomas Kemmerich , a member of the small pro-business Free Democrats , to lead the eastern state of Thuringia has turned into a major embarrassment for Germany ’ s mainstream centre-right parties and revived questions about the future of the country ’ s governing coalition .
Kemmerich narrowly defeated a left-wing incumbent after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AfD , voted for him instead of its own candidate in the state legislature .
Left-leaning parties and many on the centre-right said that accepting votes from AfD — whether or not they were solicited — broke a taboo and was unacceptable .
Kemmerich was holding out Thursday against mounting pressure to resign .
The state legislature elects the governor .
The Left Party finished first in the election , followed by AfD and Merkel ’ s centre-right Christian Democratic Union .
Kemmerich ’ s Free Democrats , who are traditional allies of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support to enter the legislature , with five of its 90 seats .
CDU leaders called for a new election in Thuringia .
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer , who succeeded Merkel as party leader in 2018 , said local CDU lawmakers acted against instructions from the national leadership in voting for Kemmerich .
Merkel vented her displeasure at a news conference during a visit to South Africa .
She said Kemmerich ’ s election “ broke with a fundamental conviction for the CDU , and for me too , that no majorities should be won @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s vote came long after an October state election in which outgoing governor Bodo Ramelow ’ s left-wing coalition lost its majority .
In a first for Germany , it produced no majority for any combination without either Ramelow ’ s Left Party — which the centre-right shuns as a descendant of East Germany ’ s ruling communists , though Ramelow is moderate — or AfD , which is particularly strong and radical in the east .
Merkel said in Pretoria that the outcome had been “ foreseeable ” — “ so one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inexcusable , and the result must be reversed.
” She said that the CDU must not participate in Kemmerich ’ s government .
“ It was a bad day for democracy , ” she said , adding that everything must now be done to show that what happened in Thuringia doesn ’ t reflect “ what the CDU thinks and does.
” Leaders of Merkel ’ s often-tense coalition with the centre-left Social Democrats are to meet on Saturday to discuss the Thuringia mess .
Social Democrat leaders have said it raises questions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , fueling renewed speculation over whether the coalition will last until its term ends late next year .
Merkel said her party has sent “ very clear ” signals after Wednesday ’ s events .
Martin Florack , a political scientist at the University of Duisburg , told ARD television that the fiasco weakens Kramp-Karrenbauer and leaves “ the impression that the CDU in Berlin has no influence in Thuringia.
” Merkel ’ s party has yet to decide who will run to succeed her as chancellor in the next election .
Kramp-Karrenbauer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rival in 2018 , has struggled to impose her authority on the party .


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Two Canadians among ten new confirmed coronavirus cases on isolated cruise ships

VANCOUVER—When Canadian-American couple Karey and Roger Maniscalco booked a two-week winter cruise in Japan last July , they thought they had found the perfect way to tour the region .
They were supposed to disembark Feb. 4 , but instead they ’ re stuck in their room on-board for another 14 days : with no outside human contact , food only delivered by ship staff and no Netflix available .
“ It turns out , it ’ s not perfect , ” Karey Maniscalco said .
“ It was supposed to be two weeks — a month is basically being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a cruise ship carrying 251 Canadians among 2,666 guests and 1,045 crew , has been quarantined off the coast of Japan following a confirmed outbreak of the new coronavirus .
As of Wednesday evening , 20 people had tested positive for the virus who were passengers on the ship , including two Canadians — not the Maniscalos .
The people who tested positive were taken off the ship to Japanese health-care facilities .
Having followed news about the novel coronavirus spreading in mainland China and other countries , Canadian Roger Maniscalco , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precautions throughout the cruise — wearing face masks in public , and carrying hand sanitizer with them .
“ It ’ s in the back of your mind , but no one ’ s acting concerned ; they ’ re not suggesting masks , ” Karey said .
“ I kept thinking : They ’ d have to update us if someone had a symptom.
” On Monday evening , the Maniscalcos and other passengers were told that Japanese authorities would come aboard to check passengers for the novel coronavirus .
Officials checked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a.m. By the time they woke up the following morning , they knew they would not be able to make their flight home to the U.S. and the businesses each of them runs .
The pandemic that began in China has so far infected more than 24,500 people globally with 490 deaths reported in the Hubei province and one in Hong Kong .
The couple have been watching the news closely for updates on the pandemic , including the Canadian government ’ s efforts to evacuate more than 300 Canadians from the epicentre @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ It ’ s scary for everyone .
We ’ re safe where we are right now , ” Roger said .
“ I feel like those people in Wuhan — the Canadians and everyone else — are the priority to look after and make sure they are 100 per cent taken care of.
” Covered from head-to-knee by large , white sheets , the positive cases were led by gloved and masked officials onto coast guard vessels , to be taken ashore and transported to local hospitals .
The ship will remain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to a statement from Princess Cruises .
Princess Cruises will continue to fully co-operate with and follow the instructions of global medical authorities and the Japanese government , the statement said .
It will also be cancelling the next two Diamond Princess cruises departing Yokohama on Feb. 4 and 12 , it said .
In the meantime , passengers such as the Maniscalcos are just waiting for the quarantine to be over .
“ Luckily we have a balcony so sometimes we ’ ll open it ; we ’ ll step @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Karey said .
“ We are safe , we don ’ t have any other symptoms , they are not letting us mix with people .
”

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thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Walter Reed prosthetics chief allegedly took sports tickets

GREENBELT , Md .
- A federal grand jury has indicted the former chief of prosthetics and orthotics at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center .
Court records show David Laufer pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to five counts of making a false statement .
The office of the U.S. Attorney in Maryland said Wednesday that the 63-year-old Pittsburgh resident failed to report financial benefits , including travel and tickets to sporting events , he received from an unidentified company that supplied prosthetics and orthotics materials to the hospital in Bethesda .
Authorities say Laufer was the facility ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ required to disclose to the government outside income sources greater than $ 200 , travel-related reimbursements or other gifts worth more than $ 350 .
The charging document alleges that the owner of the company based in Germantown regularly interacted with Laufer about its business with the hospital .
It also alleges Laufer falsely told federal agents that he had never received money or gifts from his department ’ s vendors .
Laufer ’ s public defender could not be reached for comment as the attorney ’ s name is not listed in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ faces up to five years in prison for each count of making a false statement .
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thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Report: Emirates pilots unaware engines idle in 2016 crash

DUBAI , United Arab Emirates - The pilots of an Emirates flight that crashed in 2016 and caught fire in Dubai did not realize the engines of their Boeing 777 remained idle as they tried to take off from a failed landing attempt , according to an investigative report released on Thursday .
Without power from the engines to lift the plane , Flight EK521 coming from Thiruvananthapuram , India , was doomed to crash on the runway at Dubai International Airport on Aug. 3 , 2016 .
But prior to its attempt to land , air-traffic controllers also failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flights before it couldn ’ t land due to windshear , a final report by the United Arab Emirates ’ General Civil Aviation Authority said .
The crash represents the most-serious incident ever to face the government-owned long-haul carrier in its 34-year history .
While the 300 passengers and crew onboard the Boeing 777-300 escaped with their lives even as high winds blew away some of plane ’ s evacuation slides , a subsequent explosion that engulfed the aircraft in flames killed a firefighter on the ground .
“ The flight crew reliance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flying go-arounds from close to the runway surface ... significantly affected the flight crew performance in a critical flight situation which was different to that experienced by them during their simulated training flights , ” the report said .
Emirates did not immediately respond to a request for comment .
Dubai Air Navigation Services , which runs the air-traffic control at the airport , also did not immediately respond to queries .
As pilots attempted to land the flight , they didn ’ t realize that the plane touched down for some six @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found .
Because of that , they didn ’ t realize the plane ’ s takeoff-go around switch had been turned off , investigators said .
That switch automatically pushes up the throttle of the airplane , providing more power to head back into the sky again .
Without that power , the plane tilted upward only to slam back down onto Runway 12L at the airport , the world ’ s busiest for international travel .
The plane skidded down the runway for 800 metres ( half a mile ) before coming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the flight ’ s cabin crew for their “ highest professional standard ” in getting all the passengers onboard off the aircraft , even when the wind blew slides away and some passengers pushed their way off with their carry-on luggage .
Among those onboard , 21 passengers , one of the pilots and six cabin crew members suffered minor injuries , while four cabin crew members suffered serious injuries , the report said .
Some suffered burns on their feet as the temperature of the airport ’ s runway was 68 degrees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to the report .
The overall temperature at the time of the crash was 48.9 degrees Celsius ( 120 degrees Fahrenheit ) .
The hotter the temperature , the more power is needed to get a plane airborne .
There also had been windshear reported at the airport .
That ’ s a sudden change in wind speed or direction which can affect planes .
The Emirates crash-landing came after another Dubai government-owned airline , discount carrier FlyDubai , suffered a March 2016 crash in Rostov-on-Don , Russia , that killed all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jetliners .
Russian investigators blamed pilot error for that crash .


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Lawyers to ICC: Free Ivory Coast’s Gbagbo unconditionally

THE HAGUE , Netherlands - Lawyers for former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo urged International Criminal Court judges Thursday to lift conditions they imposed on him last year when he was released following his acquittal on crimes against humanity charges .
Gbagbo and former youth minister Charles Ble Goude both were cleared early last year of involvement in deadly post-election violence in their West African nation .
Prosecutors have appealed the acquittals , urging judges to call a mistrial , but both men were allowed to leave the court ’ s custody pending the appeal ’ s outcome .
Judges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liberty including that they had to turn in their passports , not leave the country hosting them , report weekly to police or the court and not contact witnesses or talk to the media about their case .
Dozens of supporters attended Thursday ’ s hearing , waving to Gbagbo from the public gallery as the case opened .
Gbagbo smiled and waved back .
It wasn ’ t immediately clear when the court would decide on whether to free Gbagbo and Ble Goude .
Their supporters were hopeful judges would release them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that should have happened long ago .
We are not only expecting — we know that its going to happen today .
It ’ s a day for freedom .
It is a day to celebrate , “ Njoh Fabrice Frisson said outside court .
Speaking on behalf of Gbagbo , international law professor Dov Jacobs told judges they didn ’ t have the right to rein in the ex-president ’ s liberty .
He said that , “ in principle no restrictions can be placed on the freedom of a person who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be able to enjoy all his rights , including his civil and political rights.
” If judges agree to lift the conditions , it would clear the way for Gbagbo and Ble Goude to return home almost nine years after Gbagbo was ousted from power by force .
The possibility of Gbagbo ’ s return is already escalating political tensions in a presidential election year .
In written submissions to the court , Ivory Coast ’ s government argued that unconditionally freeing Gbagbo -- effectively clearing him to return home -- could rekindle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ being put on trial .
Ivory Coast ’ s incumbent leader , Alassane Ouattara , who ultimately prevailed back in 2011 , has signalled that he could attempt to serve a third term if Gbagbo were to try and run again .
Doing so would involve revising the constitution before October , and the opposition already has warned such a move could lead to widespread social unrest .
Gbagbo officially received nearly 46 % of the vote in 2010 and maintains a strong base of supporters who allege they have been left out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since his ouster .
Gbagbo ’ s party , the Ivorian Popular Front , splintered into two factions back in 2014 and has been beset by infighting in recent years .
One side has been led by ex-Prime Minister Pascal Affi N ’ Guessan , who distanced himself politically from Gbagbo after his ouster , while Gbagbo ’ s wife plays a prominent role in the other faction .
Media reports say those differences appear to be on the mend after an apparent meeting between the two men last month in Brussels .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 70 , was pardoned in August 2018 after serving three years of a 20-year sentence on charges of undermining state security in Ivory Coast .
She lives in Abidjan , where she serves as second vice-president of the party ’ s faction known as GOR ( the French acronym for Gbagbo or Nothing ) .
ICC judges acquitted Gbagbo and Ble Goude of involvement in violence that left more than 3,000 people dead in the aftermath of disputed 2010 presidential elections .
The judges halted their trial at the halfway stage , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Prosecution lawyer Reinhold Gallmetzer told the court that if their appeal is accepted and a mistrial declared , prosecutors will seek a retrial .
He said the judges shouldn ’ t reconsider the conditions because the circumstances that led judges to impose them last year haven ’ t changed .
Associated Press writer Krista Larson in Dakar , Senegal , contributed to this report .


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Police: 4 dead after shooting at Indianapolis apartment

INDIANAPOLIS - Four people have been found fatally shot inside an apartment in Indianapolis , authorities said .
Officers responded about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday to reports of shots being fired and found three men and one woman with apparent gunshot wounds , said Indianapolis police Assistant Chief Chris Bailey .
They were pronounced dead at the scene .
Names and details about the circumstances of the deaths weren ’ t immediately released .
Information about a possible suspect or suspects also wasn ’ t released .
The Indianapolis Star reported that Bailey , when asked what his message would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ d want to know why .
What gives you the right to take another person ’ s life in such a manner ?
“ Investigators were at the apartment complex early Thursday collecting evidence and conducting interviews .
“ Obviously , this is a tragedy for our community , one that we ’ ve seen played over and over again , and too many times , impacting too many families and too many communities , ” Bailey said .
“ We ’ re devastated.
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thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Impeachment loses its constitutional gravity in Trump case

WASHINGTON - Years from now , will you remember where you were and what you were doing when President Donald Trump was impeached ?
Have you forgotten already ?
The country has been on a constitutional bullet train that took off with a whistleblower ’ s highly detailed account of wrongdoing , roared ahead through a cascade of tweets and lurched to a halt after more than four months of inquiry , angst and debate with Trump ’ s acquittal on Wednesday .
So can you point to Ukraine on a map ?
American children learn almost by rote that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the constitutional means for removing a president from office who commits “ high crimes and misdemeanours.
“ The words of founders like Alexander Hamilton , James Madison and George Mason are invoked from more than two centuries ago to remind everyone why they thought the federal government needed to have a means to undo an election .
Long before anyone split an atom , the founders created the political equivalent of a nuclear weapon , with the fate of the nation in the balance .
This time , it just didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to history in a way few generations have been .
But it was a chapter of history laced with artifice .
The roughly half of the country that wanted Trump to be impeached and begone knew his acquittal was all but preordained in the Republican-controlled Senate .
Just as Trump loyalists thought the matter was a hoax inflicted by the Democratic-controlled House .
The Senate impeachment trial delivered eloquence without persuasiveness , a mystery without suspense .
It delivered argument without the anguish that accompanied the other impeachment episodes in anyone ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wept .
In 1974 , Republican Rep. M. Caldwell Butler of Virginia wept after he cast a committee vote to impeach fellow Republican Richard Nixon .
“ For years we Republicans have campaigned against corruption and misconduct , ” he said .
“ But Watergate is our shame.
” A quarter-century later , California Republican Rep. Tom Campbell verged on tears from the weight of the moment when he announced in favour of Clinton ’ s impeachment in a near whisper .
As partisan and poisonous as that era was , too , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remember before saving his presidency .
‘ ’ He ’ s not the best Democrat any of us have seen , “ snapped Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York .
Trump commanded fealty from his party like others also stained by impeachment or its threat never did .
Only one in Congress broke with the president , and for him the anguish was plain on his face and in his voice .
“ The president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust , ” Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would vote for conviction .
The founders were never big on specifics .
In essence , they told the House to handle impeachment and the Senate to manage conviction or acquittal as each chamber sees fit .
Their atomic bomb from the ages came without a detailed instruction manual or FAQ .
As the Senate sat as both judge and jury to assess the impeachment charges against Trump -- for only the third time in history and the first time for a president seeking reelection — the limits of the proceedings for addressing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ever more apparent .
It was a trial in name only .
Senators on both sides openly prejudged the case .
Questions were not spontaneous .
The lawyers knew them in advance and were prepared with answers that even included slideshows .
The senators , muzzled in the chamber for much of the time , rushed to TV cameras to deliver their opinions on what they had just heard , unlike a jury that would be sequestered and forbidden to discuss the case .
New facts or documents were not introduced into evidence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Andrew Johnson and Clinton impeachment trials .
Questions of fact and law were put to the prosecutors and defence lawyers , who gave self-serving answers , rather than to the person in the room most suited to the task , Chief Justice John Roberts .
Roberts had only limited say in the proceeding ’ s substantive matters and little appetite for more , in deference to the elected representatives .
Though not a supplicant , he was more of a moderator than a jurist .
The president chose his lawyers in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look on television , an acknowledgment that the audience that mattered to him — his base — was outside the room .
There was ringing rhetoric about the meaning of words on sepia-toned parchment from the 1700s and in 2019 text messages from the smartphones of all the president ’ s men .
The Federalist Papers and the contemporary record of a president pressing another country for a political favour were all part of this continuum .
Yet those arguments were in the realm of theatre rather than of justice .
In the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ everyone was “ playing a role.
” With Alexander Hamilton taking a star turn again , like on Broadway .

Calvin Woodward And Michael Tackett - The Associated Press


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--More Turkish reinforcements in Syria; Russian troops killed

BEIRUT - Turkey sent more reinforcements into northwestern Syria on Thursday , setting up new positions in an attempt to stop a Syrian government offensive on the last rebel stronghold in the war-tirn country , the media and opposition activists said .
The move came after a rare confrontation between Turkey and Syria on Monday that killed seven Turkish soldiers and a Turkish civilian member of the military , as well as 13 Syrian soldiers .
In Moscow , the Foreign Ministry announced that Russian soldiers have been killed in a northern Syrian province alongside Turkish servicemen , without saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blamed “ terrorists ” for the deaths , saying that the attacks in Idlib province intensified in January .
“ Russian and Turkish military specialists died tragically , ” the statement said , without specifying when and how many Russian soldiers were killed .
Moscow and Ankara are on opposite sides of the Syrian civil war — Russia is a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad ’ s forces while Turkey supports insurgents fighting his government .
Syrian troops have been advancing since December into the country ’ s last rebel stronghold @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and parts of nearby Aleppo region .
Turkish troops are deployed in some of those rebel-held areas to monitor an earlier cease-fire that has since collapsed .
Turkey has set up four military posts in northwestern Syria to prevent Syrian government forces from marching deeper into Idlib , Syria ’ s Foreign Ministry said , adding that Turkish troops have “ flagrantly violated ” Syria ’ s border and deployed in several areas , including the villages of Binnish , Taftanaz and Maaret Musreen .
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Syrian warplanes on Thursday attacked a military air base in the village of Taftanaz where Turkish troops deployed recently .
The Observatory and Syrian state TV said that government forces have laid a siege on the town of Saraqeb , which sits on the intersection of two major highways , one linking the Syrian capital of Damascus to the north , and the other connecting the country ’ a west and east .
Turkish leaders have repeatedly called on Russia to “ rein in ” Syrian government forces , a demand to which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ terrorist ” activity in Idlib .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated the notion on Thursday , saying that both Russia and Turkey each have “ their own sets of concerns.
“ The concentration of insurgent groups in Idlib and their “ continuing activity ” was Russia ’ s main issue , he said .
Peskov refused to say how many Russians were killed in Idlib , but said the Kremlin doesn ’ t rule out a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart , Recep Tayyip Erdogan , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ province is home to some 3 million people , many of them displaced from other parts of Syria in earlier bouts of violence .
Litvinova reported from Moscow .
Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara , Turkey , contributed to this report .

Bassem Mroue And Daria Litvinova - The Associated Press


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Tokyo tries to quell fear of Olympic-Paralympic cancellation

Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizers again tried on Thursday to allay fears that the 2020 Games could be postponed or cancelled by the fast-spreading virus from China .
Tokyo Olympic CEO Toshiro Muto , who on Wednesday said he was “ seriously worried ” the virus could disrupt the Olympic and Paralympics , backtracked a day later and was more cautious in a news conference with officials from the International Paralympic Committee .
“ In order to avoid any misunderstanding , I would like to say that the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be held as scheduled , ” Muto @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ cool headed.
” Craig Spence , the spokesman for the IPC , was even more direct with the Olympics opening in just under six months — and the Paralympics in just under seven .
“ One thing I am noticing at the moment is fear is spreading quicker than the virus , and it is important that we quell that fear , ” Spence said .
On Thursday , Japan confirmed 45 cases of the virus but no deaths have been reported .
Tokyo Olympic officials said they have established a task @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been repeating for a week that the games will go ahead as planned .
Despite the assurances , questions keep coming with organizers saying they are deferring to the World Health Organization for advice .
“ We need to put things into perspective , and until the World Health Organization tells us otherwise , we will proceed with business as usual , “ Spence said .
The Olympics open on July 24 , and the Paralympics follow on Aug. 25 .
Both events are experiencing record ticket demand , which could begin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spawns uncertainty .
It ’ s a similar story with hotel demand .
Toshiaki Endo , a vice-president of the organizing committee , earlier in the week said organizers “ are facing all sorts of problems including coronavirus infections , cyber security and transportation systems.
” Some Olympic and Paralympic qualifying events around the globe have been cancelled or postponed by the virus outbreak .
Travel restrictions also complicate matters , particularly for China ’ s large Olympic and Paralympic delegations .
There is also the question of housing 11,000 Olympic athletes safely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is smaller for the Paralympics , but still in the thousands .
The Olympics have been cancelled during wartime , and faced boycotts in 1980 and 1984 .
The event has grown rapidly in the decades since , driven by multi-billion dollar television contracts and billions more from sponsors .


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Israeli troops hurt, 3 Palestinians killed in new violence

JERUSALEM - A spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence on Thursday left at least three Palestinians killed and a dozen Israeli troops wounded in a rash of attacks and clashes a week after the Trump administration released its long-anticipated Mideast plan .
The new spate of attacks places the plan — which was already considered a long-shot because it greatly favours Israel and was rejected outright by the Palestinians — on even shakier ground , and sparked fears of a return to deadly rounds of violence of the past .
The plan has sparked calls by Israeli nationalists for Israel to annex @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Palestinians want for their hoped-for state — and has set off tensions in the region .
But they erupted more fiercely Thursday , in the deadliest day of violence in months .
Early in the day , a Palestinian motorist slammed his car into a group of Israeli soldiers , wounding 12 before fleeing the scene , the Israeli military said .
In the West Bank , two Palestinians died after clashes broke out with Israeli troops , according to Palestinian hospital officials .
And later , Israeli police said they shot and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces in Jerusalem ’ s Old City , lightly wounding an officer .
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said one of the 12 injured soldiers in Jerusalem was seriously hurt , the others were lightly injured .
Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the incident was being treated as a “ terror attack , “ and said Israeli forces were searching for the assailant .
Palestinian hospital officials said a 19-year-old was killed in clashes in the West Bank city of Jenin .
Six others were wounded in the confrontation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a member of the Palestinian security forces who was shot by Israeli troops later died .
That violence came just hours after Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian during clashes with demonstrators elsewhere in the West Bank on Wednesday .
“ Attacks from Gaza , an attack in Jerusalem , signs of a rise in hostile activity in Jenin .
Yesterday friction in Hebron .
We are not trying to escalate the situation while understanding the complexity and sensitivity of the situation , ” Conricus said , stopping short of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump ’ s plan .
In the first Jerusalem incident , the troops were out on a late-night “ educational heritage tour , ” walking near a popular entertainment district in Jerusalem when the motorist rammed his car into them and fled .
While it did not claim responsibility for the attack , the Islamic Jihad militant group praised the car ramming as “ the beginning of a new confrontation over Trump ’ s plan.
” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to have the assailant apprehended .
“ It ’ s just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much time , ” he said in a statement .
Such acts of violence were common in Jerusalem during a low-level wave of near-daily attacks over the last decade , but they tapered off and car rammings have become infrequent in recent years .
Conricus said troops were carrying out the demolition of a home in the West Bank belonging to a militant allegedly involved in a deadly attack .
He said there was a “ sizable riot ” at the scene by Palestinians who threw Molotov cocktails at troops , who then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces responded to the violence with their own sniper fire , saying a Palestinian shooter was killed .
Jenin governor Akram Rajoub said the 19-year-old casualty was a student at an academy that trains budding police officers , and was throwing stones at the troops .
Also Thursday , Israel struck Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip after three mortar shells were fired at Israel .
There was no immediate report of injuries on either side .
Unveiled last week at the White House with much fanfare , Trump ’ s plan envisions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ key parts of the West Bank to Israel .
It sides with Israel on key contentious issues that have bedeviled past peace efforts , including borders and the status of Jerusalem and Jewish West Bank settlements , and attaches nearly impossible conditions for granting the Palestinians their hoped-for state .
The plan was greeted ecstatically in Israel , with Netanyahu vowing to speed ahead with annexing parts of the West Bank .
But under pressure from the U.S. administration he appears to be scaling back on that promise .
The Palestinians dismissed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ promised to resist it .
The Palestinians , as well as much of the international community , view the settlements in the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem — territories seized by Israel in the 1967 war — as illegal and a major obstacle to peace .
Associated Press writer Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah , West Bank , contributed to this report .


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Man dies in snow-trapped car in Serbia amid bad weather

BELGRADE , Serbia - An elderly man has died in his snow-trapped car in Serbia , while blizzards and strong winds left villages and roads blocked during a spate of bad weather in central and eastern Europe .
Serbian police said Thursday they found the man ’ s body while rescuing around 20 people , including five children , from their blocked cars on a road in southwestern Serbia .
In southern Serbia , the remote Crna Trava municipality declared emergency measures after the snow left around 800 people cut off , authorities said .
High snow drifts caused by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the area .
In neighbouring Bosnia , villages in the east of the country were left without electricity on Thursday , while water supplies were cut in the town of Sokolac .
Local roads also have been blocked .
The problems on Thursday came after two people died on Wednesday .
A child was killed in Slovakia after a traffic sign fell on it , while a man died in the Czech Republic when a tree hit his car .
Croatian police said Thursday they had more than 100 interventions throughout the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roofs , cars or power supplies .
Gust winds in the country overturned trucks on the roads and blocked sea traffic along the Adriatic Coast .
Croatian seismologists also reported a 4.2-magnitude earthquake early Thursday north of the southeastern town of Knin .
No injuries or damage were reported .
Romania also reported a night of strong winds and blizzards : an eastbound highway remained closed on Thursday , around 30 trains were cancelled , a number of villages have been left without electricity while numerous trees fell down .
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thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Sanders says he raised $25M in January, will bolster ad buys

MANCHESTER , N.H. - Bernie Sanders says he raised a whopping $ 25 million in January and will use his presidential campaign ’ s flush bank account to increase television and digital advertising in 10 states .
The Vermont senator spent $ 50 million during the final three months of 2019 and finished the year with $ 18.2 million in cash on hand , putting him in a stronger position than many of his rival candidates even before his latest bonanza last month .
Partial results show Sanders in a near tie for first with Pete Buttigieg , the former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Monday ’ s leadoff Iowa caucuses .
New Hampshire hold its primary next Tuesday .
Sanders ’ campaign manager , Faiz Shakir , announced Thursday that his candidate will immediately increase staffing in states that vote during the Democratic primary ’ s Super Tuesday , on March 3 .
The campaign also plans to spend $ 5.5 million on television and digital ads in eight new states voting then : Arkansas , Colorado , Massachusetts , Minnesota , North Carolina , South Carolina , Tennessee and Utah .
And Sanders will expand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California and Texas , the two largest states voting on Super Tuesday .
“ Bernie ’ s multiracial , multigenerational , people-driven movement for change is fueling 2020 ’ s most aggressive campaign for president , ” Shakir said in a statement , saying the campaign is ” in a strong position to compete in states all over the map.
“ January was the Sanders campaign ’ s best fundraising month to date , featuring donations from 648,000 people , including 219,000 new donors , the statement said .
Since announcing his presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raised more than $ 121 million , built on donations from more than 1.5 million people .
That total doesn ’ t include an additional $ 12.7 million in transfers all made in 2019 from Sanders ’ other federal accounts , the campaign said .
Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast , “ Ground Game.
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thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Earthquake strikes central Greece, no damage or injuries

ATHENS , Greece - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.7 struck central Greece on Thursday , but there @ @ @ @ @ damage or injuries .
The Geodynamic Institute said the quake struck at 11:24 local time @ @ @ @ @ 240 kilometres ( 150 miles ) northwest of the capital , Athens , and nearly @ @ @ @ @ ) east of the western town of Arta .
The U.S. Geological Survey gave the @ @ @ @ @ the European Mediterranean Seismological Center gave a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 .
It is common @ @ @ @ @ have varying magnitudes for earthquakes , particularly in the early hours and days after they @ @ @ @ @ one of the world ’ s most seismically active areas and earthquakes are common , @ @ @ @ @ are rare .
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thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Israel hits Iran-backed posts in Syria, casualties reported

BEIRUT - Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes early on Thursday near Damascus , wounding eight soldiers , Syrian state media said , while an opposition war monitoring group said the strikes targeted army positions as well as Iran-backed fighters , killing 12 .
The state news agency SANA said the Syrian air defences shot down most of the missiles in the suburbs of the capital and the country ’ s south before they reached their targets .
It said the Israeli warplanes fired the missiles while flying over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and neighbouring Lebanon .
SANA quoted an unnamed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were wounded in the airstrikes , adding that they caused material damage as well .
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , which tracks the Syrian war through a network of activists on the ground , said the airstrikes that occurred after midnight on Wednesday .
They hit Syrian army positions and those of Iranian-backed militiamen west and south of the capital , as well as the Mazzeh military air base in Damascus .
the Observatory said .
A “ large number of missiles ” hit multiple positions in these areas , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Center in the Damascus suburb of Jamraya .
The Observatory said the strikes killed 12 Syrians and non-Syrian Iran-backed fighters , adding that the deaths occurred in the southern village of Izraa and the southern Damascus suburb of Kisweh .
There was no immediate comment from Israel .
Israel does not usually comment on reports concerning its airstrikes in neighbouring Syria , though it has recently acknowledged striking Iranian targets there .
Iranian-backed fighters , including those of Lebanon ’ s militant Hezbollah group , have joined Syria ’ s war and are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s government forces .
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thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Not guilty: Senate acquits Trump of impeachment charges

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump won impeachment acquittal in the U.S. Senate , bringing to a close only the third presidential trial in American history with votes that split the country , tested civic norms and fed the tumultuous 2020 race for the White House .
With Chief Justice John Roberts presiding , senators sworn to do “ impartial justice ” stood and stated their votes for the roll call — “ guilty ” or “ not guilty ” — in a swift tally almost exclusively along party lines .
Trump , the chief justice then declared , shall “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the charges.
” The outcome Wednesday followed months of remarkable impeachment proceedings , from Speaker Nancy Pelosi ’ s House to Mitch McConnell ’ s Senate , reflecting the nation ’ s unrelenting partisan divide three years into the Trump presidency .
What started as Trump ’ s request for Ukraine to “ do us a favour ” spun into a far-reaching , 28,000-page report compiled by House investigators accusing an American president of engaging in shadow diplomacy that threatened U.S. foreign relations for personal , political gain as he pressured the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ahead of the next election .
No president has ever been removed by the Senate .
A politically emboldened Trump had eagerly predicted vindication , deploying the verdict as a political anthem in his reelection bid .
The president claims he did nothing wrong , decrying the “ witch hunt ” as an extension of special counsel Robert Mueller ’ s probe into Russian 2016 campaign interference by those out to get him from the start of his presidency .
Trump ’ s political campaign tweeted videos , statements and a cartoon dance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tweeted that he would speak Thursday from the White House about “ our Country ’ s VICTORY on the Impeachment Hoax.
” However , the Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said there will always be “ a giant asterisk next to the president ’ s acquittal ” because of the Senate ’ s quick trial and Republicans ’ unprecedented rejection of witnesses .
A majority of senators expressed unease with Trump ’ s pressure campaign on Ukraine that resulted in the two articles of impeachment .
But two-thirds of them would have had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Constitution ’ s bar of high crimes and misdemeanours to convict and remove Trump from office .
The final tallies in the GOP-held Senate fell far short .
On the first article of impeachment , abuse of power , the vote was 52-48 favouring acquittal .
The second , obstruction of Congress , also produced a not guilty verdict , 53-47 .
Only one Republican , Mitt Romney of Utah , the party ’ s defeated 2012 presidential nominee , broke with the GOP .
Romney choked up as he said he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before God ” to vote guilty on the first charge , abuse of power .
He voted to acquit on the second .
All Democrats found the president guilty on the two charges .
Both Bill Clinton in 1999 and Andrew Johnson in 1868 drew cross-party support when they were left in office after impeachment trials .
Richard Nixon resigned rather than face sure impeachment , expecting members of his own party to vote to remove him .
Ahead of Wednesday ’ s voting , some of the most closely watched senators took @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constituents , and the nation , what they had decided .
Influential GOP Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee worried a guilty verdict would “ pour gasoline on the fire ” of the nation ’ s culture wars over Trump and “ rip the country apart.
’ ’ He said the House proved its case but it just didn ’ t rise to the level of impeachment .
Other Republicans siding with Trump said it was time to end what McConnell called the “ circus ” and move on .
Most Democrats , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Trump , if left unchecked , would continue to abuse the power of his office for personal political gain and try to cheat again ahead of the the 2020 election .
Even key Democrats from states where Trump is popular — Doug Jones in Alabama and Joe Manchin in West Virginia — risked backlash and voted to convict .
“ Senators are elected to make tough choices , ” Jones said .
Several senators trying to win the Democratic Party ’ s nomination to face Trump — Bernie Sanders , Elizabeth Warren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ early primary state New Hampshire to vote .
During the nearly three-week trial , House Democrats prosecuting the case argued that Trump abused power like no other president in history when he pressured Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son , Hunter Biden , ahead of the 2020 election .
They detailed an extraordinary effort by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani that set off alarms at the highest levels of government .
After Trump ’ s July 25 call with Ukraine , the White House temporarily halted U.S. aid to the struggling ally battling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money was eventually released in September as Congress intervened .
When the House probed Trump ’ s actions , the president instructed White House aides to defy congressional subpoenas , leading to the obstruction charge .
Questions from the Ukraine matter continue to swirl .
House Democrats may yet summon former national security adviser John Bolton to testify about revelations from his forthcoming book that offer a fresh account of Trump ’ s actions .
Other eyewitnesses and documents are almost sure to surface .
In closing arguments for the trial , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ D-Calif. , appealed to senators ’ sense of decency , insisting “ right matters ” and “ truth matters ” and Trump “ is not who you are.
’ ’ Schiff told The Associated Press he hoped the votes to convict “ will serve as a constraint on the president ’ s wrongdoing.
” “ But we ’ re going to have to be vigilant , “ he said .
Pelosi was initially reluctant to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump when she took control of the House after the 2018 election , warning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whistleblower complaint of his conversation with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy set off alarms .
The president ’ s call was placed the day after Mueller announced the findings of his Russia probe .
When Trump told Pelosi in September that the call was perfect , she was stunned .
Days later , the speaker announced the formal impeachment inquiry .
The result was the quickest , most partisan impeachment in U.S. history , with no Republicans joining the House Democrats to vote for the charges .
The Republican Senate kept up the pace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first with no witnesses .
Seventeen ambassadors , national security officials and others had testified in the House .
Trump ’ s star attorney Alan Dershowitz made the sweeping , if stunning , assertion that even if the president engaged in the quid pro quo as described , it is not impeachable , because politicians often equate their own political interest with the national interest .
McConnell braced for dissent , but with a 53-47 Republican majority he refuted efforts to prolong the trial with more witnesses , arguing the House should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as the rare court of impeachment came to a close , wished senators well in “ our common commitment to the Constitution , ” and hoped to meet again “ under happier circumstances.
” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo , who had been drawn into the Ukraine affair , signed off on the Senate judgment later Wednesday .
“ Tonight , it was my pleasure to sign President @ realDonaldTrump ’ s full acquittal , ” he tweeted .
Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman , Matthew Daly , Alan Fram , Andrew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contributed to this report .

Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick And Eric Tucker - The Associated Press


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Louisiana helping Puerto Rico with earthquake recovery

BATON ROUGE , La .
- More than 20 Louisiana state fire marshal employees are heading to Puerto Rico on Thursday to help with earthquake recovery efforts .
Gov .
John Bel Edwards announced the plans Wednesday after signing off on the deployment request from Puerto Rico ’ s governor .
“ We have our fair share of natural disasters in Louisiana , and because of our experience with destruction and devastation , our first responders are second to none , ” Edwards said in a statement .
The Democratic governor ’ s office said Louisiana is sending 23 people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including deputies , building inspectors , plan reviewers and specialists in urban search and rescue .
The group will help assess the thousands of damaged buildings for safety issues and is expected to be in Puerto Rico for 16 days .
Puerto Rico has been shaken by continuing earthquakes for more than a month .
Louisiana ’ s assistance will be reimbursed through a co-ordinated emergency assistance compact among U.S. states and territories .
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thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Philippine official defends US pact after Duterte threat

MANILA , Philippines - The Philippine foreign secretary warned Thursday that abrogating a security accord with Washington would undermine his country ’ s security and foster aggression in the disputed South China Sea .
The warning came after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened last month to give notice to the U.S. to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement , which allows American forces to train in the Philippines , if the reported cancellation of the visa of his political ally , Sen. Ronald dela Rosa , was not corrected within a month .
“ I ’ m warning you ... if you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this , I will terminate the ...
Visiting Forces Agreement .
I ’ ll end that son of a bitch , ” the brash-speaking Duterte said in a Jan. 23 speech .
Dela Rosa served as Duterte ’ s first national police chief and enforcer of the president ’ s deadly anti-drugs crackdown in 2016 .
Thousands of mostly poor suspects have been killed under the campaign , alarming the U.S. and other Western governments and human rights watchdogs .
Dela Rosa and later Duterte have said Dela Rosa ’ s visa was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ addressed the matter .
Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. used a televised Senate hearing to enumerate what he described as crucial security , trade and economic benefits the accord provides .
The U.S. is a longtime treaty ally , a major trading partner and the largest development aid provider to the Philippines .
“ While the Philippines has the prerogative to terminate the VFA anytime , the continuance of the agreement is deemed to be more beneficial to the Philippines compared to any predicates were it to be terminated , ” Locsin said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ acronym VFA , took effect in 1999 to provide legal cover for the entry of American forces to the Philippines for joint training with Filipino troops .
A separate defence pact subsequently signed by the allies in 2014 , the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement , allowed the extended stay of U.S. forces and authorized them to build and maintain barracks and warehouses and store defence equipment and weapons inside five designated Philippine military camps .
Terminating the VFA would affect more than 300 joint trainings and other activities this year with U.S. forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enforcement agencies need to enhance their capabilities in countering threats to national security , ” Locsin said .
The U.S. provided more than $ 550 million in security assistance to the Philippines from 2016 to 2019 , Locsin said , adding that there may be a “ chilling effect on our economic relations “ if the Philippines draws down its security alliance with Washington .
American forces have provided intelligence , training and aid that allowed the Philippines to deal with human trafficking , cyberattacks , illegal narcotics and terrorism , Locsin said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Filipino forces quell a disastrous siege by Islamic State group-aligned militants in southern Marawi city in 2017 .
U.S. military presence has also served as a deterrent to aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea , Locsin said .
China , the Philippines , Vietnam and three other governments have rival claims to the strategic waterway .
Duterte first threatened to abrogate the VFA in late 2016 after a U.S. aid agency put on hold funds for anti-poverty projects in the Philippines .
The 74-year-old leader , who has been harshly critical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Russia , has walked back on his public threats before .
Aside from threatening to take down the VFA , Duterte has said would ban some U.S. senators from entering the Philippines .
He apparently was referring to American senators who sought to ban unspecified Philippine officials from entering the U.S. for their role in the continued detention of Phillippines opposition Sen. Leila de Lima , a vocal critic of Duterte ’ s deadly campaign against illegal drugs .
Duterte has publicly accused de Lima of receiving money from drug traffickers and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has dismissed the allegations as fabricated charges designed to muzzle dissent under Duterte .
Duterte has also barred his Cabinet officials from travelling to the U.S. and turned down an invitation by President Donald Trump to join a special meeting the U.S. leader will host for leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in March in Las Vegas , according to presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo .


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--‘A floating prison’: Cruise of Asia ends in virus quarantine

YOKOHAMA , Japan - David Abel ’ s 50th wedding anniversary luxury cruise began with him eating his fill and enjoying the sights of East Asia .
It ’ s ending with him quarantined in his cabin aboard the Diamond Princess for two extra weeks , eating a “ lettuce sandwich with some chicken inside ” and watching 20 infected people escorted off the ship , heading for hospitals for treatment of a new virus .
Abel is among hundreds of passengers on two cruise ships — in Japan and Hong Kong — caught in the drama and fear about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ December .
Tests are still pending on some passengers and crew who have symptoms or had contact with infected people .
“ It ’ s not going to be a luxury cruise ; it ’ s going to be like a floating prison , ” Abel said on Facebook from the ship in the port of Yokohama , outside Tokyo .
As Japanese officials loaded the ship with supplies Thursday to make the quarantine as bearable as possible , passengers took to social media to highlight small kindnesses by the crew and to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the food and the inability to exercise or even leave their cabins .
Their photos and videos showed the vessel that once had 3,711 passengers and crew is now a ghost ship , deserted reception areas , swimming pools and hallways .
Babies on the Hong Kong ship were reportedly running out of diapers and milk .
“ I think for many passengers , it ’ s going to be absolute boredom , ” Abel said in a separate interview .
He considers himself lucky that he has a cabin with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really sorry for are those with inside cabins who ’ ve got no natural light , no fresh air .
It ’ s going to be pretty grim for them for two weeks.
” Grim is one way to describe the virus and the fear it ’ s created .
China counts more than 28,000 cases and it ’ s spread to more than 20 countries .
Still , fear has spread faster than the disease .
Masks and hand sanitizer are sold out in many areas of Seoul , Tokyo and Bangkok @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kong and anti-Chinese discrimination has been seen across Asia .
Taiwan has banned international cruise ships .
On the Diamond Princess , there were signs people were trying to make the best of a bad situation .
Yardley Wong , a passenger from Hong Kong travelling with her husband , son and her parents , said on Twitter that the crew gave her son playing cards , coloring pens and other gifts “ to kill off boredom.
“ Australians Paul and Coralie Williamson said their cabin was smaller than a motel room and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not having medication , or enough information .
But , after 34 years of marriage , Coralie Williamson said : “ If I ’ m going be stuck in a room with anyone , I would rather it be Paul than anyone else.
” “ So it ’ s OK. We will need to go for a long walk on the beach when we get home , ” she told Australian Broadcasting Corp. People posted photos of breakfast , a bowl of fruit salad , boiled eggs , juice and a croissant .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ got a “ happy anniversary ” card from the ship staff .
“ We ’ re here for a long haul .
I think it is going to get a little bit testing , obviously .
But I don ’ t know .
What do we do ?
We couldn ’ t jump out of the boat ; that ’ s a bit cold , ” Jacqui Fidrmuc from the city of Cairns told Australia ’ s Nine Network .
Japanese health officials told reporters that a medical team and supplies were being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ port where the ship dropped off infected patients and loaded up food and supplies , a person in a hazmat bodysuit entered the ship carrying two boxes labeled “ thermometers.
” On the ship quarantined in Hong Kong , its more than 3,600 passengers and crew were being screened because three passengers on a previous voyage had the virus .
Hong Kong officials said they would try to track down 5,000 people who took previous voyages on the World Dream .
Hong Kong lawmaker Jeremy Tan said a woman on board called him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other mothers were running out of milk powder and diapers for their babies .
He said he believed there were five or more babies on the ship , and that he delivered the essentials to authorities .
Life on the Diamond Princess in Yokohama , Abel said , “ has changed beyond recognition to what you would call a luxury cruise.
” One meal was just a glass of orange juice , a yogurt and a bit of melon .
Another was a “ lettuce sandwich with some chicken inside ” and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over and pick up the trays of food , he said , “ it ’ s very brief .
There ’ s no physical contact apart from touching the tray.
“ Even though the sick people have been taken off the boat , there was still unease .
“ We ’ ve been breathing the same air as those that have been removed , ” Abel said .
“ How do we cope with it ?
“ Abel asked on Facebook .
” We can either be creative and thinking positive things or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the gutter .
I certainly won ’ t be doing that.
” Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo .
Associated Press journalists Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia , and Rod McGuirk in Canberra , Australia , contributed to this report .

Foster Klug And Mari Yamaguchi - The Associated Press


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Authorities: Man shot in face during immigration operation

NEW YORK - Federal authorities are investigating the shooting of a man in Brooklyn that involved a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer , a case that is inflaming passions around New York City ’ s sanctuary policies .
The shooting happened around 8:15 a.m. Thursday in the Bensonhurst neighbourhood .
Federal authorities were trying to arrest Gaspar Avendano-Hernandez , a Mexican accused of being in the country unlawfully .
ICE said two of its officers were “ physically attacked ” during the arrest and taken to the hospital .
At least one of the officers opened fire during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interfering with Avendano-Hernandez ’ s arrest .
By Thursday evening , one of the officers had been treated and released , while the other was still in the hospital .
That man , whose name was not released , received injuries that were not considered life-threatening , authorities said .
It was not clear whether he was armed .
ICE released a statement saying New York City police arrested Avendano-Hernandez on Monday on a felony charge of possessing a forged instrument .
Federal authorities “ attempted to lodge an immigration detainer ” for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from custody , ICE said in its statement .
“ This forced ICE officers to locate him on the streets of New York rather than in the safe confines of a jail , ” ICE said .
The shooting comes amid an escalating dispute between the administration of President Donald Trump and New York City over its sanctuary policies .
ICE has expressed frustration in recent weeks that the city does not honour the vast majority of its detainer requests .
Mayor Bill de Blasio ’ s administration has said it complies with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are convicted of a violent or serious felony .
The city does not turn over defendants awaiting trial .
City Hall spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein said in email that “ an ICE official shot someone and minutes later they attempted to point the finger at the NYPD.
” “ If that ’ s not further proof that they ’ re simply a mouthpiece for a man who lies hundreds of times a day and has absolutely no regard for public safety , I don ’ t know what is , ” she said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Avendano-Hernandez ’ s first name is spelled Gaspar , not Gasper .


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Storms sweep over Southeast with rain, wind, floods; 2 dead

BIRMINGHAM , Ala. - A powerful winter storm raked the Southeast on Thursday with high winds , rain and floods that killed two people and injured several more across a dozen states .
Rescue crews repeatedly pulled people from cars that got stuck in high water , but couldn ’ t reach a person whose vehicle disappeared into a rain-swollen creek .
The storm front destroyed mobile homes in Mississippi and Alabama , caused mudslides in Tennessee and Kentucky and flooded communities that shoulder waterways across the Appalachian region .
In Florida , high winds prompted the closure of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Florida Highway Patrol said .
Tornado watches were in effect Thursday evening from northern Florida up through North Carolina .
In Harlan County , Kentucky , two mobile homes floated away as dozens of families were evacuated amid rising water , authorities said .
“ Its a very bad situation that continues to worsen by the hour , ” said Harlan County Judge Executive Dan Mosley .
He said about 20 people were sheltering in a church , after being taken from their homes .
The rain kept falling over a path @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that stretched from Louisiana into Virginia .
School districts cancelled classes in state after state as the weather rolled through .
One person was killed and another was injured as high winds destroyed two mobile homes near the town of Demopolis , Alabama , the Storm Prediction Center reported .
The victim , Anita Rembert , was in one of the homes with her husband , her child and two grandchildren , said Kevin McKinney , emergency management director for Marengo County .
The man was injured but the children were OK , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in that area strewn with pieces of plywood and insulation , broken trees and twisted metal .
The National Weather Service was checking the site for signs of a tornado .
A driver died in South Carolina when a tree fell on an SUV near the town of Fort Mill , authorities said .
The driver was the only person in the vehicle , and no other cars were involved , Highway Patrol Master Trooper Gary Miller said .
The York County Coroner ’ s Office did not immediately release the driver ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the ceiling caved in and furniture flew around 64-year-old Emma Carter ’ s mobile home , but she considers herself lucky after surviving another apparent tornado .
Carter , her two daughters and two grandsons were inside the home when the strongest winds hit Wednesday afternoon .
Her grandson , DeMarkus Sly , 19 , told everyone to lie flat and cover their heads as aluminum sheeting from nearby structures slammed into their home .
“ We are blessed that nobody got hurt , that nobody got killed , ” Carter said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to suspend their search for a vehicle that disappeared with a person inside it in north Alabama ’ s Buck ’ s Pocket State Park .
“ As the car started shifting because of the water we noticed what appeared to be an arm reaching out , ” witness Kirkland Follis , who called 911 , told WHNT-TV .
Eight agencies responded , but the vehicle quickly disappeared Wednesday and the water was too dangerous for divers to search , the station reported .
Authorities in many places pleaded with motorists to avoid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pavement .
Even in places where the heavy rain had slowed , the danger remained , officials in northern South Carolina said .
“ That scares me when people think just because it has stopped raining it is all clear .
We have 64 roads closed .
We have several bridges that we ’ re not going to be able to look at until daylight , “ Pickens County Emergency Management Director Denise Kwiatek said at a Thursday afternoon news conference .
In neighbouring Greenville County , firefighters in high-wheeled vehicles rescued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ makes colour additives after a rising creek spilled over the only road to the plant , authorities said .
Tree limbs and fences were toppled when a confirmed tornado hit the Birmingham suburb of Helena , officials said , and some roads and parking lots were covered by floodwaters .
Downtown streets also flooded near the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa .
A yellow taxi was abandoned in high water early Thursday on an interstate ramp in Birmingham .
Anyone who lives near rivers and lakes in the Tennessee Valley should prepare for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Everett , senior manager of the TVA ’ s river forecast centre in Knoxville , Tennessee .
He said the TVA is managing water levels behind 49 dams to avert major flooding , but with 6 inches ( 15 centimetres ) of rain falling already and more expected next week , the agency may have to release water downstream .
In Kentucky , Harlan , Bell and Knox counties declared states of emergency .
Bell Judge-Executive Albey Brock said the heavy rains washed out roads and led to rock slides and water rescues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ onto the interstate in Dunwoody , north of Atlanta , crunching a car but causing no serious injuries , authorities said .
Huge trees toppled and snapped in the state ’ s northwestern Gordon County , smashing a home and blowing roofs off outbuildings .
Students were told to shelter in place while tornado warnings were in effect in the Atlanta suburbs and at the University of Georgia in Athens .
Children in the Lawrenceville area huddled in school hallways as the weather moved through .
In southern West Virginia , residents at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inside after a road leading directly into the facility buckled during heavy rains .
The airport in North Carolina ’ s largest city evacuated a control tower and advised people to shelter in place because of a tornado warning .
Charlotte-Douglas International Airport later tweeted that an inspection of its airfield showed no damage .
More than 400 flights into and out of the airport were cancelled Thursday .
More than 172,000 homes and businesses were without power across the South , according to poweroutage.us , and the rain was forecast to continue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Associated Press staffers Rogelio Solis in Pickens , Mississippi ; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia , S.C. ; Bobby Calvan in Tallahassee , Fla. ; Jeff Martin and Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta ; Adrian Sainz in Memphis , Tenn. ; Becky Yonker in Louisville , Ky. ; John Raby in Charleston , W.Va. ; Kevin McGill in New Orleans ; and Jonathan Drew in Raleigh , N.C. ; contributed to this report .


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Weinstein trial: Prosecution rests on 6 women’s accounts

NEW YORK - Some were aspiring actresses .
One was a star on the rise .
Another was looking to get more involved in behind-the-scenes aspects of the film and TV business .
Six women out of the many who have accused Harvey Weinstein of vile sexual behaviour have testified over the last two weeks at his New York City rape trial .
Their harrowing accounts , the centerpiece of a prosecution case that rested Thursday after two weeks of testimony , could help convict the disgraced film producer and put him in prison for the rest of his life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be weighing involve just two allegations : that Weinstein , 67 , raped a woman in March 2013 and he forced oral sex on another woman in 2006 .
Other accusers were allowed to testify because prosecutors allege there was a practiced method to Weinstein ’ s attacks .
He maintains that any sexual encounters were consensual .
The women testified that he feigned interest in their careers , sometimes dangling auditions and starring roles as a guise to get them into a hotel room or an apartment , or barging in on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he attacked .
These are their stories .
The woman , 34 , alleges Weinstein trapped her in a Manhattan hotel room , angrily ordered her to undress as he loomed over her , and then raped her before they were to meet her friends for breakfast on the eve of his 61st birthday .
She alleges Weinstein raped her again several months later at a Beverly Hills , California , hotel .
She said she isn ’ t sure if she ’ ll pursue charges there .
The woman testified for three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and broke down crying in the middle of an exhaustive cross-examination that focused on the complex nature of her relationship with Weinstein , including consensual sexual encounters .
That prompted the judge to send jurors home for the day .
When she returned , the woman defiantly declared : “ He is my rapist.
” The Associated Press has a policy of not publishing the names of people who allege sexual assault without their consent .
It is withholding name of the rape accuser because it isn ’ t clear if she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , now 42 , alleges Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her at his SoHo apartment after he got her a job as a production assistant on the Weinstein-produced “ Project Runway.
” “ I was kicking , I was pushing , I was trying to get away from his grip , “ she testified .
” He held me down and kept pushing me down to the bed.
” She told jurors she thought she was being raped and wondered “ If I scream rape , will someone hear me ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a hotel two weeks later .
She said she didn ’ t want to be intimate , but didn ’ t think Weinstein forced her to have sex .
Those episodes followed a May 2006 encounter at the Cannes Film Festival where Haleyi says he asked her to give him a massage .
She said he also insisted she go with him to the Paris fashion shows , which she repeatedly declined .
Complicating matters , prosecutors have charged that those encounters were predatory sexual assaults .
Under New York law , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guilty of that crime is if he or she committed rape or certain other sex offences in the past , even if that conduct didn ’ t result in criminal charges at the time .
In Weinstein ’ s case , prosecutors allege that before he assaulted Haleyi in 2006 and raped the woman in his hotel room in 2013 , he raped actress Annabella Sciorra in late 1993 or early 1994 — an accusation that is too old to be the basis for criminal charges on its own .
Sciorra , 59 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In a quivering voice , she told the jury that the burly Weinstein barged into her apartment after they attended a dinner with actress Uma Thurman and others industry figures , threw her on a bed and forced himself on her as she futilely kicked and punched him .
She said about a month later , she ran into him and confronted him .
She said he replied , “ that ’ s what all the nice Catholic girls say ” and then leaned toward her and added menacingly : “ This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tarale Wulff , now 43 and a model , testified that Weinstein raped her at his SoHo apartment between May 2005 and July 2005 after luring her there with a ruse of reading a script for a movie .
She said she froze as he attacked her , thinking that would make it “ easier to get through , to get past it.
” Wulff also said that before the alleged rape , he accosted her at a night club where she was waitressing , led her to a hallway and started masturbating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , told jurors that Weinstein put his hand up her skirt and fondled her genitals during what was supposed to be a meeting about her fledgling career in his hotel suite in 2004 , when she was 23 .
She says he later tried trading movie roles for three-way sex with him and his assistant .
Dunning said that when she laughed off that proposition , Weinstein told her , “ you ’ ll never make it in this business , this is how this industry works.
” — Lauren Marie Young , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take the witness stand .
She testified that Weinstein stripped naked groped her breast and masturbated in the bathroom of his Beverly Hills hotel room days before the Oscars in February 2013 .
She said went to the room with Weinstein and his friend , a Mexican model , to continue a conversation they ’ d been having about her career .
Her allegations are the subject of a criminal charge filed against Weinstein in California on Jan. 6 , just as his New York trial was getting underway .


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--New virus cases in UK, Germany, Italy put Europe total at 31

LONDON - Britain , Germany and Italy announced more cases of the new virus from China on Thursday , bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Europe to 31 .
In Germany , all but two cases are related to auto parts supplier Webasto , whose headquarters near Munich was visited by a Chinese colleague .
Germany ’ s 13th confirmed case of the new coronavirus , announced by Bavaria ’ s health ministry , was the wife of an employee previously diagnosed with virus .
Two of their children are among those infected .
Neither they nor their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s two other cases tested positive after arriving on an evacuation flight from China last weekend .
British authorities confirmed the country ’ s third case , saying the patient did not contract the virus in the U.K .
They did not elaborate .
The two other cases are a Chinese student studying at York University in England and a relative of that student .
Italy announced the first case of an Italian citizen confirmed to have the virus .
A government health institute official , Giovanni Rezza , said the 34-year-old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where he was living .
The man was one of 56 Italians who arrived in Italy on Monday via an Italian air force plane that evacuated them from Wuhan .
All the evacuees were put in quarantine at a military facility near Rome , but the man was moved to Rome ’ s Spallanzani infectious disease hospital after test results Thursday indicated “ a suspected case ” of the virus .
That is the same hospital where a Chinese couple in their 60s were admitted last week with confirmed virus cases .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In Geneva , the head of the World Health Organization said it is convening an international research conference next week to identify promising drug and vaccine candidates to be fast-tracked for development against the new virus .
At a news conference , Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.N. health agency will be inviting scientists from around the world , both in person and virtually , next Tuesday and Wednesday to identify research priorities and co-ordinate the effort to find effective drugs and vaccines .
On the travel front , Air France announced it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its suspension of flights to mainland China , which won ’ t now restart before March 16 at the earliest because of the new virus .
The company ’ s current suspension of all flights to Shanghai and Beijing was meant to last until this Sunday .
Air France and partner airline KLM plan to gradually resume services to China on March 16 , together offering one daily flight to both Shanghai and Beijing , either on Air France from Paris or on KLM from Amsterdam .
Air France says all of its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on March 29 , including to Wuhan , the epicenter of the epidemic .
Spain ’ s national airline Iberia says it has extended its suspension of flights between Madrid and Shanghai until the end of April .
Spain ’ s tourism department says there has been a significant slowdown in Chinese tourists visiting Spain and in Spanish travellers going to China .
Virgin Atlantic said Thursday it was suspending its London-Shanghai flights until March 28 because of the outbreak .
British Airways has also halted all flights to China , apart from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s ambassador to the U.K. said his country was “ fully confident in beating the virus , ” and urged other nations not to overreact .
“ It is of hope that governments of all countries , including the U.K. , should understand and support China ’ s efforts , avoid overreaction , avoid creating panic , and ensure normal co-operation and exchanges between countries , ” he told reporters .
As of Thursday , China had 563 virus deaths and 28,018 confirmed cases on the mainland .
Two other deaths occurred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Besides Germany , Britain and Italy , other European nations with cases of the virus include France , Russia , Belgium , Sweden , Finland and Spain .
This story has been corrected to show that two of the cases in Germany are not related to the auto parts company .
Follow AP ’ s full coverage of the China virus outbreak at : https : //www.apnews.com/VirusOutbreak


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Police: Man suspected of shooting 2 detectives arrested

BALTIMORE - A man believed to have shot and wounded two Maryland police detectives has been arrested , authorities said Thursday .
The Anne Arundel County Police Department tweeted that it does not “ believe there is any further threat ” to the community .
It did not immediately release additional information , including the man ’ s name .
The detectives were wounded Wednesday night while investigating a homicide .
Police said Detective Scott Ballard tried to make a traffic stop with a person of interest in the case but was shot and the vehicle drove away .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medical attention .
Police spokeswoman Sgt .
Jacklyn Davis said Detective Ian Preece then continued to pursue the suspect .
The chase entered a townhouse community where Preece was struck in a shootout with the suspect .
Preece crashed into the suspect ’ s vehicle and the suspect ran away .
Police said both detectives were taken to the hospital for treatment and were listed in stable condition .
The manhunt prompted officials to close some schools and advise residents to stay in their homes , news outlets reported .
The homicide investigation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ person was found fatally shot inside a home in Glen Burnie community .
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thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Hawaii helicopter crash pilot lost license for 2010 drug use

LIHUE , Hawaii - The pilot in the December crash of a Hawaii sightseeing helicopter that killed him and six passengers previously lost his professional license for a year because of drug use , officials said .
The Federal Aviation Administration revoked the medical , commercial pilot and flight instructor certificates of Safari Helicopters pilot Paul Matero in June 2010 , The Garden Island reported Wednesday .
Matero and the passengers died when the helicopter crashed Dec. 26 on a remote mountain ridge of Kauai island .
A hiker who was about 1.5 miles ( 2.4 kilometres ) away from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was only about 20 feet ( 6 metres ) at the time because of fog and rain , according to a preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board .
The commercial helicopter was owned by Safari Aviation Inc. , doing business as Safari Helicopters .
Matero was issued new temporary certifications in 2011 after a one-year waiting period , FAA spokesperson Ian Gregor said .
The FAA issued commercial and private pilots licenses to Matero , along with “ special-issuance ” medical certificates .
“ A special-issuance medical certificate enables ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the certificate to a shorter-than-normal time period , and to require the pilot to provide information showing that they are continuing to successfully address a medical condition , ” Gregor said in an email to The Associated Press Thursday .
“ Pilots who continue to demonstrate sobriety for an extended period can get regular medical certification.
” The FAA could not immediately provide details about what kind of drugs Matero tested positive for .
Tour helicopter companies must have FAA-approved drug-and-alcohol testing programs , Gregor said .
The pilot was rehired and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ substance abuse treatment program and receiving his renewed licenses , Matt Barkett , a Safari spokesperson , told The Garden Island newspaper .
Matero had flown about 5,000 hours since that time in compliance with federal regulations , Barkett told The Garden Island .
Barkett did not respond to questions from The Garden Island about the decision to reinstate a pilot after failing a drug test .
Safari owner Preston Myers declined to comment to The Garden Island .


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Former FedEx manager pleads guilty in package theft scheme

DOVER , Del .
- A former FedEx manager in Delaware is facing up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing and reselling merchandise being shipped by the company .
Joseph Kukta , 43 , of Laurel , Delaware , pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of interstate transportation of stolen goods and tax evasion .
A federal judge in Baltimore scheduled his sentencing for June 18 .
Kukta worked as a senior manager at the FedEx facility in Seaford , Delaware , from 2007 through July 2019 .
The facility handles all FedEx ground and home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Kukta admitted that from 2009 through June 2019 , he stole packages being shipped via FedEx and resold the items to a person currently living in Colorado at roughly half their retail price .
Prosecutors said Kukta then transported the stolen items , using his vehicles and trailers , to the Colorado resident ’ s father , living in Maryland .
From 2012 through 2019 , the Colorado resident made 275 payments to Kukta totalling more than $ 1.8 million for stolen merchandise worth about $ 3.6 million , authorities said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than $ 660,000 in income taxes on the proceeds of the scheme .
To conceal the income , he provided false information to two banks when questioned why he was receiving money from a company controlled by the Colorado resident , telling bank representatives he had been selling items from his father ’ s estate .
According to his plea agreement , Kukta stole packages containing bulk retail goods and merchandise shipped by suppliers including Sony , Panasonic , Apple and others , that were intended for delivery to a Walmart distribution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said Kukta selected specific packages that he believed contained high-end electronics or other merchandise of value that could be easily resold .
In 2018 , he also began to steal packages from FedEx trailers intended for delivery to a Nike store in Rehoboth Beach , Delaware .
Kukta would steal the packages on Sundays , holidays , or other times when employees were not at the Seaford facility , having previously identified which FedEx trailers to target , authorities said .
Kukta attempted to avoid detection by turning off the lights at the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ boxes and other objects .
Prosecutors said Kukta loaded the stolen packages into his SUV or into vehicles operated by FedEx contractors , then stashed them at a rented storage unit in Seaford .
After learning that authorities had subpoenaed surveillance footage from the Seaford facility , Kukta retrieved the remaining stolen items in his storage unit and sold them at an auction house in Lincoln , Delaware , authorities said .


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Trump says U.S. operation killed al-Qaida leader in Yemen

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. at his direction has conducted a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen that killed Qassim al-Rimi , an al-Qaida leader who claimed responsibility for last year ’ s deadly shooting at the Naval Air Station Pensacola where a Saudi aviation trainee killed three American sailors .
Al-Rimi is a founder of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula .
The affiliate has long been considered the global network ’ s most dangerous branch for its attempts to carry out attacks on the U.S. mainland .
Trump said the U.S. and its allies are safer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm , “ Trump said .
While Trump confirmed reports that al-Rimi had been killed , he did not say when the U.S. operation was conducted or offer any details about how it was carried out .
Al-Rimi had said in an 18-minute video that his group was responsible for the Dec. 6 shooting at the base .
He called the shooter , Saudi Air Force officer Mohammed Alshamrani , a “ courageous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The shooter opened fire inside a classroom at the base , killing three people and wounding two sheriff ’ s deputies before one of the deputies killed him .
Eight others were also hurt .
The shooting focused public attention on the presence of foreign students in American military training programs and exposed shortcomings in the screening of cadets .
In January , the U.S. sent home 21 Saudi military students , saying the trainees had jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had “ contact with child pornography , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s announcement confirmed earlier indications that al-Rimi had been killed .
In late January , a suspected U.S. drone strike destroyed a building housing al-Qaida militants in eastern Yemen .
Also , on Feb. 1 , Trump retweeted several other tweets and media reports that seemed to offer confirmation that the strike had killed al-Rimi .
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thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Man charged with shutting off oxygen to Minnesota hospital

MINNEAPOLIS - A Minnesota man is charged with shutting off oxygen to a Minneapolis area hospital in December , an act that authorities say could have hurt or killed many people .
Hennepin County prosecutors on Wednesday charged Larry Raduenz Jr. , 39 , of Robbinsdale with first-degree damage to property , a felony .
Raduenz was arrested at a homeless shelter in St. Paul and appeared in court Thursday , where he requested a public defender .
Bail was set at $ 20,000 , and Raduenz remained in jail pending his next court appearance March 5 .
“ It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a step like this to endanger the lives and well-being of innocent and hospitalized people , ” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement .
Freeman said his office is still investigating “ and we will pursue other charges if evidence supports us doing so.
” Raduenz is accused of shutting off oxygen to North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale on Dec. 27 .
According to the complaint , Raduenz climbed a fence near the oxygen tanks , broke cable ties and metal clasps and shut off the oxygen .
Engineers detected @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
An engineer said they were happy to find the problem fast .
“ If it would have taken much longer , the oxygen would have depleted and could have caused injury or death to multiple patients , ” the complaint said .
A hospital spokeswoman has said no patients were harmed .
According to the complaint , video surveillance showed Raduenz walking into the hospital atrium , approaching a television that had video of his face and unplugging it .
When investigators questioned Raduenz , he said he was angry with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Raduenz also is suspected in Stearns County , in central Minnesota , of tampering with Xcel Energy meters 250 times , the Star Tribune reported .
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thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Trump shows no qualms about using presidency to court voters

WASHINGTON - Dispatching Cabinet secretaries across the country to woo Iowa voters .
Using private cash to finance an official made-for-TV moment .
Delivering a State of the Union address that doubled as a campaign kickoff speech .
Holding an impeachment acquittal victory rally in the White House East Room .
President Donald Trump made clear this week that he has no qualms about using the powers of his office to court voters in an election year .
As he emerges from the impeachment drama , claiming vindication , Trump appears all the more emboldened to blur the lines between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was on full display Thursday as he used the White House as the setting for a scorched-earth victory speech celebrating his acquittal by the Senate following his impeachment by the House .
Just days earlier , Trump delivered a speech in front of a joint session of Congress that could have been mistaken for a low-key Trump rally , complete with partisan incantations from Republicans in the chamber of “ Four more years !
” Similar chants have rung out through various rooms of the White House as Trump has hosted events that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic lawmakers expressed frustration following the State of the Union that Trump went overboard on the politics in what is supposed to be a constitutionally proscribed opportunity to “ give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.
” “ I get it — presidents use their last SOTU to make the case for re-election , “ Sen. Chris Murphy , D-Conn. , wrote on Twitter .
” But that crossed a line.
” At one point in his address , Trump announced with an Oprah Winfrey-level of drama that Philadelphia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a scholarship , allowing her to bypass her local public school .
Addressing himself directly to the little girl , seated near first lady Melania Trump in the gallery , Trump said he could “ proudly announce tonight that an Opportunity Scholarship has become available , it is going to you and you will soon be heading to the school of your choice !
” It turns out the money wasn ’ t coming from any pot of state or federal dollars .
Instead , it came from the personal accounts of Education @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Department of Education spokeswoman , told The Associated Press that DeVos , who donates her annual salary to charity , would be “ directly providing the scholarship for Janiyah “ and that the money would go directly to the school of her family ’ s choosing .
Hill declined to say how Davis had come to the department ’ s attention .
Donald Sherman , deputy director of the non-profit government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington , said the arrangement “ certainly could be unethical ” and was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president made it sound like this young woman was benefiting from some government program when in fact when she was benefiting from the personal benevolence of Secretary DeVos , which has a political upside for her boss , ” Sherman said .
It wasn ’ t the only time this week that Trump ’ s Cabinet secretaries took a detour into political efforts .
In the lead-up to the kickoff Iowa presidential caucuses Feb. 3 , Trump ’ s campaign flooded the state with more than 80 surrogates , including a long list @ @ @ @ @ @ @ participating : DeVos , as well as the secretaries of commerce , interior , and housing and urban development , and the acting White House chief of staff .
The campaign chartered a 737 to ferry the governmental pep squad to and from Washington .
Under federal law , civilian employees in the executive branch can not use their titles when doing political work , so announcements about the events referred to Cabinet officials without their titles .
They are also prohibited from taking part in any partisan activity while on the clock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the rules .
Next week , the campaign will again be deploying top surrogates — this time to polling locations across New Hampshire , which votes Tuesday .
President Barack Obama , for instance , allowed five members of his Cabinet to address the party ’ s 2012 convention in Charlotte , North Carolina , as he sought reelection .
But four years later , as his former secretary of state , Hillary Clinton , sought the White House , Obama decided to prohibit Cabinet members from taking part as he sought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the moment .
Obama was also accused of using other levers of the federal government to bolster his 2012 reelection chances when he took executive action to protect “ Dreamer ” immigrants who came to the country illegally as children .
In 2012 , Kathleen Sebelius , Obama ’ s health and human services secretary , was also cited for violating federal law prohibiting Cabinet members from engaging in politics on the clock when she called for the president ’ s reelection and touted the candidacy of another Democrat at an event @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump , for his part , has repeatedly stepped over the line .
The independent government watchdog Office of Special Counsel has cited the president ’ s top advisers on multiple occasions for violating the Hatch Act , which bars federal employees from engaging in certain political activities , including playing “ any active part ” in a campaign .
In November 2018 , the watchdog found six White House officials in violation for tweeting or retweeting the president ’ s 2016 campaign slogan “ Make America Great Again ” from their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the office recommended in June 2019 that White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway be fired .
Trump refused to take action against Conway , suggesting that the office was trying to take away her right to free speech .
Trump ’ s policy actions that further his political aims also have raised eyebrows , though it ’ s a murky area , and all presidents advance causes that are in sync with their political aims .
In the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections , as Trump was trying to energize his base voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issued dire warnings from the Oval Office about an “ invasion ” of migrants and deployed the U.S. military to the southern border in what many saw as a political stunt .
More than a year ago , his administration recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the nation ’ s legitimate president and called on socialist leader Nicolás Maduro to resign .
Trump invited Guaidó to attend the State of the Union as a special guest and dedicated a moment in the address to pledging solidarity with the leader .
Susan MacManus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of South Florida , saw Trump ’ s shout-out to Guaidó as one of several carefully calibrated moments in the speech aimed at courting a specific voting bloc .
While all presidents pepper the annual address with lines that highlight groups or individuals who are important to their electoral chances , MacManus said , Trump took it to another level with a speech full of moments aimed at various blocs of voters , including African Americans , military families and conservatives .
“ This was a classic example of micro-targeting of people that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Follow Madhani and Colvin on Twitter and https : //twitter.com/AamerISmad and https : //twitter.com/colvinj Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast , “ Ground Game .
”

Aamer Madhani And Jill Colvin - The Associated Press


thetorontostar--2020-02-06--Arizona company CEO fired after calling driver racial slur

TEMPE , Ariz. - The CEO and founder of an organic fertilizer company says he was fired after he was caught on camera using a racial slur against an African-American driver of a ride-hailing service .
AgroPlasma Inc. founder Hans Berglund was caught on video Friday cursing at 25-year-old Uber driver Randy Clarke in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale .
Clarke , who is also a student at Arizona State University , asked Berglund to sit in the back seat and offered to refund him if he didn ’ t want to sit there , he said .
A camera @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The video shows Berglund started to curse at Clarke , local news outlets said .
Clarke said he assumed Berglund read the statement on his driver profile telling passengers about his policy that states the “ front seat is reserved to parties of three or more.
” Clarke started the policy after he was assaulted during a ride in 2018 , he told KNXV-TV .
“ It ’ s so blown out of proportion , and it ’ s ruined my life .
It ’ s ruined my company .
It ruins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Berglund said .
Clarke and civil-rights activist the Rev .
Jarrett Maupin held a news conference outside Tempe City Hall , near one of ASU ’ s Phoenix-area campuses , on Wednesday to “ demand justice.
” “ It ’ s shocking when you see anyone use that word or engage in that kind of racism in any circumstance , ” Maupin said .
“ There ’ s really no excuse for why Hans Berglund engaged in the activity and used the language that he did with Mr. Clark.
” Clarke , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state attorney general ’ s office and city of Tempe , where the company is located , to investigate possible civil and human rights violations .
Grant Klinzman , a spokesman for Uber , said in a statement Thursday that “ discrimination has no place on the Uber app or anywhere .
“ What ’ s been described is a clear violation of our community guidelines and we launched an investigation as soon as we learned of it , “ Klinzman added .
Clarke said Uber reached out to him Monday to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was temporarily placed on hold during the investigation .
A statement from Agroplasma said the incident does not reflect its values and ethics .
“ Our relationships with our employees , customers and the community are the cornerstones of our success , and we are doing everything in our power to rebuild their trust and repair the harm that has resulted from this incident.
” Company General Manager Jeffrey Ziehmer was named Interim CEO , the statement said .