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High court to hear appeal of B.C. law slapping health care costs on opioid companies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear an appeal from four pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors or retailers trying to halt a proposed class-action lawsuit by the British Columbia government.Sanis Health, Sandoz Canada and McKeeson Canada, plus pharmacy retailer Shoppers Drug Mart, want the high court to examine two B.C. court decisions that confirmed the province’s right to pass legislation recovering opioid-related health care costs from companies making or handling opioid drugs.B.C. enacted the Opioid Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act in 2018, and Section 11 allows the province to file a class-action lawsuit against opioid providers itself or on behalf of the federal government or any province or territory that paid to treat patients who took the drugs.Since then, Sanis, Sandoz, McKeeson and Shoppers Drug Mart have lost cases in the B.C. Supreme Court and B.C. Court of Appeal as they argued Section 11 overstepped provincial authority and viol...

High rates, regulations have some rethinking short-term rental ownership: experts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

Higher interest rates combined with stricter regulations have some Canadians beginning to second-guess the wisdom of investing in a short-term rental property.Deana Steele says she has never seen as many condo and vacation homes for sale as there are in Kelowna, B.C. right now.The founder of Keys to Kelowna Properties Inc., a luxury vacation rental management agency, said the lake-front city’sreal estate market is currently “saturated” by properties zoned for short-term rental use. Some of the sellers are people who bought not that long ago and arealready trying to get out.“We had all these first-timers flood the market — they were late adopters,” said Steele.“They thought they were going to make a mint because they saw what was happening in the gold rush. And now they’re realizing, ‘Oh, big mistake.'”The “gold rush” Steele is referring to is the investor stampede to short-term rentals that Kelowna and many other Cana...

Ed Burke trial delayed for a week due to attorney with COVID-19

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

CHICAGO — The federal trial of Ed Burke has been delayed for a week due to an attorney testing positive for COVID-19.Potential jurors have been sent home as a result and two other attorneys are also not feeling well. “Stay healthy. Make sure you drink your orange juice and get your sleep because we have work to do,” the judge told the prosecutors and defense attorneys.They will reconvene on Thursday, Nov. 16.Wednesday was the third straight day potential jurors are faced questions in the 25th floor court room of Judge Virginia Kendall.The group is trying to whittle a pool of more than 50 potential jurors down to 12 and four alternates.Burke is on trial with two co-defendants: his longtime aide Peter Andrews and developer Charles Cui. Previous: Ed Burke jury selection continues Burke himself faces 14 counts of racketeering, bribery  and extortion.  Prosecutors say he abused his public office for private gain, but withholding permits unless business owners used his private...

Jason Benetti is leaving the White Sox television booth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

CHICAGO - The White Sox will be looking for a new play-by-play announcer for their television broadcasts starting in 2024. That's because Jason Benetti is going to be taking that role with one of the White Sox rivals in the American League Central division.Here is the White Sox statement after television play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti joined the Tigers today as their TV play-by-play announcer..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/w4jr6bVH8s— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) November 9, 2023The Homewood native is leaving the club to join the Detroit Tigers, where he will be the television play-by-play voice for that team's broadcast. This comes after an eight-year run with the White Sox where he called games for WGN-TV and NBC Sports Chicago from 2016-2023 while also continuing his national play-by-play duties with ESPN, NBC, and Fox.“I’m incredibly proud to join this historic and ascending Tigers franchise,” said Benetti in a statement released by the Tigers. “From every single person I...

Student at Nashville's Belmont University dies after being hit in head by stray bullet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A student at Belmont University in Nashville has died after being shot in the head while walking through one of the city's parks earlier this week, according to authorities.The Metro Nashville Police Department said the student, identified as 18-year-old Jillian Ludwig from New Jersey, was hit by a bullet while she was walking on the track in Edgehill Community Memorial Gardens Park.Officers were first called to the park just after 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday to respond to a report of a person lying on the track. Upon arrival, officers found the 18-year-old suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities said Ludwig was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she was in "extremely critical condition" through Wednesday.Authorities said Thursday that Ludwig had died overnight.Jillian Ludwig, 18, was struck in the head by a stray bullet in a Nashville park on Tuesday afternoon. (Nashville Metro Police Department)In a statement issued before h...

Could 'Killer Clown' tattoo solve mystery in 23-year-old NYC subway death?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

NEW YORK CITY (WPIX) -- It's been more than 23 years since a young man was found dead in a subway station on New York City's Lower East Side on Aug. 8, 2000. He was 5'11' with dark hair that was slicked back, a thin mustache and a goatee.  A large "killer clown" tattoo on his upper right arm, with the name Elizabeth added underneath it and the NCMEC reconstruction of the decedent when alive. (Credit: NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner)Aside from two vertical scars on his torso, what stood out most about the unidentified individual was a large "killer clown" tattoo on his upper right arm with the name Elizabeth underneath it.   "It definitely looked like a 1990s-style tattoo to me," Michelle Myles, owner of Daredevil Tattoos in New York City, told Nexstar's WPIX. "When I was tattooing on the Lower East Side in the 1990s, that was a very popular tattoo to get. All the gangsters basically wanted these mean, killer clowns."The forensic anthropologists at the Office of Chief Medical Ex...

Weekend Watch: Creek Show, Wurstfest, Seismic Dance Event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you're wanting to find something fun to do this weekend, here are a few ideas of events to check out throughout Central Texas. Meteorologist Sean Kelly took a look at what's happening around the area and shared these ideas: FORECAST: Temperatures tumble as rain spreads out Creek Show 2023 kicks off Friday evening. The Waterloo Greenway is inviting people to experience nine nights of illuminated art along Waller Creek. The event runs from 6 to 10 p.m. from Nov. 10 through Nov. 18. The first night will cost visitors $25 as part of a fundraiser for Waterloo Greenway, then admission is free for the rest of the evenings. Seismic Dance Event 6.0 lasts from Friday to Sunday. It's billed as a boutique house and techno music festival at The Concourse Project, located at 8509 Burleson Road Building One. Single-day passes are still available. Wurstfest in New Braunfels runs through the weekend and ends Sunday. It's an annual celebration rich in German culture. According t...

Officials investigating 'hazardous materials' incident at downtown state office building

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Several agencies are investigating after potentially hazardous materials were found at a state office building in downtown Austin. The Austin Fire Department said on social media at 9:20 a.m. that special operations crews and Austin Travis County EMS were investigating the William P. Clements building on West 15th Street in downtown Austin. The Department of Public Safety told KXAN there was an "envelope with substance" being investigated. ATCEMS said three ambulances and two district commanders are on the scene, and three patients have been decontaminated. Medics are evaluating them for potential symptoms. Officials investigating 'hazardous materials' incident at downtown state office building (KXAN Photo/Todd Bynum) Officials investigating 'hazardous materials' incident at downtown state office building (KXAN Photo/Todd Bynum) Officials investigating 'hazardous materials' incident at downtown state office building (KXAN Photo/Todd Bynum) AFD warned that drivers sh...

Man found dead in garage fire in St. Paul’s Payne-Phalen

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

Firefighters found a man dead when they extinguished a garage fire early Thursday in St. Paul’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood.Officers responded to the 700 block of Jenks Avenue just after 4:30 a.m., said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a police spokesman.“The preliminary investigation has not revealed any obvious signs of criminal activity, but we are early on in this investigation and it is still ongoing,” Ernster said.Investigators will be looking into the circumstances of the fire and the Ramsey County medical examiner’s office will work to determine the cause of death of the man, whose name has not been released.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Washington County jury convicts man of tax crimes, swindling short-term renters Crime & Public Safety | Funeral home stored bodies for 4 years, deceived families about loved ones’ ashes, prosecutors say Crime & Public Safety | St. Paul man sentenced for drive-by shootin...

Other voices: Federal government wastes billions on empty offices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:06 GMT

“Office Space” may be a comedy classic, but the government’s version is no laughing matter.Last month, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report on how federal agencies use — or don’t use — their headquarters. It examined 24 agencies, including the departments of Justice, Education and Transportation.It found that 17 of the 24 agency headquarters buildings “were at 25 percent capacity or less in the first three months of 2023.” Among the bottom quartile of agencies, the usage was a mere 9 percent. Even among the agencies that used their headquarters’ space the most, none topped 50 percent occupancy.This is an issue with a large footprint. The federal government owns more than 460 million square feet of office space. Maintaining it costs taxpayers billions every year. It’s wasteful to have so much unused space.One might assume this is a new problem. Perhaps the federal government has been slow to adjust to ...