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Boy Scouts’ $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan upheld by judge

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:11 GMT

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A federal district court judge has upheld the approval of a $2.4 billion bankruptcy reorganization plan aimed at resolving tens of thousands of child sexual abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America.The ruling docketed Tuesday rejects arguments by non-settling insurance companies and attorneys representing dissenting abuse survivors that the reorganization plan was not proposed in good faith and improperly strips the insurers and survivors of their rights.The ruling follows a September decision in which U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein approved the plan. The plan would allow the Irving, Texas-based Boy Scouts of America to continue operating while compensating tens of thousands of men who say they were sexually abused as children while involved in Scouting.More than 80,000 men have filed claims saying they were abused as children by troop leaders around the country. Plan opponents say the staggering number of claims, when combined with other fa...

What the Mets prospects can work on in Triple-A

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:11 GMT

PORT ST. LUCIE — Mets general manager Billy Eppler gave some insight into the club’s decision-making process Monday when he said owner Steve Cohen told him to make the best baseball decision when it came to keeping scuffling DH Darin Ruf.Fans had a hard time reconciling this with the baseball decision made over the weekend to option third baseman Brett Baty and third baseman/first baseman Mark Vientos to Triple-A Syracuse. Based on numbers alone, the duo had outperformed some veterans in Grapefruit League play. But it’s spring training, so the numbers don’t tell the whole story.Baty, Vientos, catcher Francisco Alvarez and shortstop Ronny Mauricio all made great strides this spring and will continue to make them in Triple-A, where they do still have things to prove. They can become leaders on the field and off, build confidence and they can help Syracuse win.They can also develop some consistency in their at-bats, their routines and especially defensively. Con...

Heat’s Lowry taking cautious approach; Heat’s Zeller throwing caution to the wind

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:11 GMT

Kyle Lowry confirmed Tuesday that he remains on a minutes restriction in his third week back from a month off due to knee pain, which is expected to have the veteran Miami Heat point guard out for Wednesday night’s conference-seeding showdown against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.Speaking ahead of Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena, Lowry said the decision was not his.“No, doctor’s recommendation,” he said.Having turned 37 Saturday, Lowry said it is a case of having to put aside his strong-willed approach.“Strong willing has kind of gotten me into the situation I’ve been in right now,” he said, having logged heavy early-season minutes before succumbing to the pain in his left knee. “So I’ve got to be smart about this one and with the organization. I think we’ve been on a great page and we’ve been on the same page with everything I’ve been doing, coming off t...

Bruins notebook: Pavel Zacha looks like a good fit at center

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:11 GMT

For the Bruins, there are benefits to securing a playoff spot and home ice so early. One has been the ability to rest some of their older players the last couple of weekends on the second half of back-to-backs. The other has been he ability to take a peek into the future beyond this magical season.Two Sunday’s ago, the B’s sat David Krejci in Buffalo and last Sunday in Carolina, it was Patrice Bergeron’s turn to rest the aching body.Both times, Pavel Zacha, expected to be moved to the middle whenever Krejci and Bergeron retire, has jumped into the center spot and played well in the two victories.Coach Jim Montgomery has liked what he’s seen.“I think it’s been very encouraging. The Carolina game is probably the best 200-foot game he’s had,” said Montgomery after Tuesday’s morning skate. “He’s had a lot of games where he’s helped us at center. It’s pretty amazing how seamlessly he’s gone from left wing to right wing to ...

Covenant school shooting: Nashville shooter didn't target specific people, police say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:11 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN/NEXSTAR) — Police in Nashville are still searching for answers after six people were killed in a shooting at the Covenant School on Monday.On Tuesday afternoon, the Metro Nashville Police Department addressed "rumors" that have circulated in the wake of the tragedy. One such rumor, according to Mayor John Cooper includes misinformation that the shooter — identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, of Nashville — targeted specific individuals."We have no evidence that specific individuals were targeted by the shooter," Cooper said. "The school was targeted, but we have no indication that individuals were targeted." Bodycam video shows moments police killed active shooter at Nashville school Hale, who was also killed during the shooting, was reportedly armed with two assault-style rifles and one handgun. On Tuesday, MNPD Chief John Drake explained that Hale had obtained the three weapons used in the shooting legally and that they were among seven total she'd purcha...

Is Highway 401 really North America’s busiest highway?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:11 GMT

It has often been said that Highway 401 is North America’s busiest highway, but is that actually true and if so, what does it mean?CityNews had a look through the data to try and find out how the 401 stacks up against other highways in the United States and Mexico.How are traffic volumes determined?To determine how ‘busy’ a specific highway is, many transportation agencies use a measure known as Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT), which is the number of vehicles that travel a highway each day averaged over 365 days.Traffic volumes are typically collected through the use of electronic traffic counters and many agencies publish the data online every few years with some publishing their data annually.CityNews chose only to include data from prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as lockdowns had a significant impact on traffic patterns and some agencies have not released any data since the pandemic began.Highways in CanadaThe Toronto section of Highway 401 is, without question, the busiest st...

Israel’s Netanyahu may have tough time saving judicial plan

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:11 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put his contentious judicial overhaul plan on hold this week, he vowed to pass the package through parliament “one way or another.” But he may have a hard time keeping that promise.This week’s about-face has left him weakened and coming up against a wall of opposition he has never before faced in a three-decade political career. For nearly three months, hundreds of thousands of people have repeatedly taken to the streets week after week to demonstrate against the plan, crippling major highways and city streets as they accused him of pushing the country toward dictatorship. Influential business leaders and security men came out against him. The country’s main trade union declared a general strike. Perhaps most worrying for Israel, key military reservists, first and foremost Israeli fighter pilots, threatened to stop reporting for duty. Key international allies voiced concerns and objections.While Netanyahu has the support in parli...

Harris, in Africa, confronts painful past, envisions future

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:11 GMT

CAPE COAST, Ghana (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday stepped through the black doors of a colonial-era seaside fort and down into the dungeons, touring a site where millions of enslaved Africans were held captive before they were loaded onto ships bound for the Americas. With her visit to Cape Coast Castle, Harris was insisting on remembering the painful past even as she stood earlier Tuesday before a monument commemorating Ghana’s independence, envisioning a grand future between the U.S. and Africa propelled by innovation on the continent. “The horror of what happened here must always be remembered,” she said from the fort as the sun set over the water. “It cannot be denied. It must be taught. History must be learned.” The nation’s first Black and South Asian vice president is the most high-profile member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit Africa as the U.S. escalates its outreach to the continent. The events on her second day in Gh...

Man charged in fatal Toronto subway stabbing wanted in Newfoundland: court documents

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:11 GMT

Court documents suggest the man accused in the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old at a Toronto station was wanted on an outstanding warrant in Newfoundland at the time.Toronto police say Jordan O’Brien-Tobin, 22, was arrested Saturday and charged with first-degree murder in the weekend stabbing.Court documents from Newfoundland and Labrador provincial court show a man with the same name and date of birth is wanted on an outstanding warrant for breaching probation conditions.The warrant was issued on April 15, 2021, in St. John’s, remains active, and says O’Brien-Tobin’s last known address was in east Toronto.Toronto police allege O’Brien-Tobin stabbed Gabriel Magalhaes in an unprovoked attack while the teen was sitting on a bench at a subway station on Saturday night.Police said the teen died in the hospital after the stabbing.RELATED: TTC increases outreach as expert call for guaranteed income in response to violenceThe teen’s death came as the TTC ...

AP Sources: Judge rules Pence must testify before grand jury

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:09:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that former Vice President Mike Pence will have to testify before a grand jury in the Justice Department’s investigation into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election.That’s according to two people familiar with the ruling, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it remains under seal.The people said, however, that Pence would not have to answer questions about his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump’s supporters violently stormed the building as Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the vote. Pence and his attorneys had cited constitutional grounds in challenging the subpoena. They argued that, because he was serving in his capacity as president of the Senate that day, he was protected from being forced to testify under the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, which is intended to protect members of Congress from...