Author: Press Room

A second judge late Thursday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate probationary workers who were let go in mass firings across multiple agencies.  In Baltimore, U.S. District Judge James Bredar, an Obama appointee, found that the administration ignored laws set out for large-scale layoffs. Bredar ordered the firings halted for at least two weeks and the workforce returned to the status quo before the layoffs began.He sided with nearly two dozen states that filed a lawsuit alleging the mass firings are illegal and already having an impact on state governments as they try to help those who are suddenly jobless.The…

The family of a man who died from an overdose in a Sacramento County jail after being left unattended for hours have agreed to a $3.5 million settlement.That man, David Kent Barefield Sr., 55, was dragged across a garage into the jail last May, not given a medical exam despite being visibly ill, handcuffed in a cart while awaiting booking and only offered medical aid in his final minutes, jail footage shows.Mr. Barefield’s relatives described the neglect in a civil case filed last December against the county’s Sheriff’s Office, its health department and the City of Sacramento police. The settlement…

As many Canadians worry about the cost of groceries amid looming tariff threats from the United States and China, some produce growers are looking to ease consumer uncertainty with grown in Canada solutions. “My joke is that bananas are now the easiest thing for me to grow in Saskatchewan, Canada,” said Dean Sopher.Sopher is the founder of Arkopia, an Aberdeen, Sask. business that creates freeze-dried smoothies, provides homesteading advice and fresh produce.The operation is run by Sopher and his wife, a journey he said was brought on the uncertainty of food prices.“I don’t trust anything anymore. So, to be resilient…

Endangered pygmy blue whales are diving deep to feed while migrating along the WA coast, new research has revealed, challenging long-held assumptions about their foraging habits.

PALM DESERT, Calif. — It’s a drizzly gray morning in the desert and Lance Davis, the country’s most famous bee catcher, is slightly cranky. He is sitting in his office on the backside of an industrial complex in the middle of the Coachella Valley, with no bees, no honey, no work and no money.There’s rain in the forecast all afternoon. Davis’ equipment, a “Ghostbusters”-style vacuum that hoovers up swarms of bees without killing them and allows him to relocate them to his apiary 35 miles east, can’t operate in the wet.He’s the guy that saved Indian Wells last year, when…

Observers have warned that markets are being wracked by uncertainty amid fears the increasing trade war between major global economies could reignite inflation, with many investors worrying about a possible recession in the United States. Wall Street has been hammered, with the S&P 500 slipping into a correction Thursday having fallen more than 10 per cent from its recent peak – a record high touched just last month. Gold, a haven in times of turmoil, hit a record of US$2,990.21 Friday owing to a rush into safety. However, Asian markets enjoyed a broadly positive Friday amid hopes Congress will pass…

Outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede says ‘disrespect’ for Greenland must stop as US president again says he wants Arctic island.Greenland’s outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede has called for a stronger rejection by local politicians of United States President Donald Trump’s promise to take over the strategically-located island, warning that “enough is enough”. “This time we need to toughen our rejection of Trump. People cannot continue to disrespect us,” Egede wrote on Facebook after Trump reiterated on Thursday his desire to annex the autonomous Danish territory. “The American president has once again evoked the idea of annexing us. I absolutely cannot…

Washington — A federal judge in California ordered six federal agencies to reinstate probationary employees who were fired last month, finding that their terminations by the Office of Personnel Management were unlawful.U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco handed down his order in a challenge brought by a group of unions against the Trump administration from the bench. He said that neither OPM nor its Acting Director Charles Ezell had the authority to direct the terminations across agencies.The order extends relief to fired workers at the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior and Treasury.”It is a sad,…

A young father allegedly in the U.S. illegally is in custody and accused of beating his 2-month-old daughter to death.Marlon Rabanales-Pretzantzin, 20, was arrested Wednesday and charged with second-degree murder in the death of his infant daughter, according to the Nassau County Police Department.According to detectives, officers responded to an Inwood home for a report of a choking 2-month-old girl, identified as Liseyda Rabanales Barrios, just after 10:30 a.m. March 7.The victim was transported to a hospital and later transferred to a different hospital, where she died.MIGRANT GANG MEMBER SUSPECTED OF MURDER, SEXUALLY ASSAULTING GIRLFRIEND IS ARRESTED  Marlon Rabanales-Pretzantzin, 20,…

A surcharge on energy exported from Ontario into the United States will continue to be suspended, according to the premier’s office, after a high-stakes meeting with President Donald Trump’s commerce secretary. Premier Doug Ford’s team confirmed Thursday afternoon the short-lived energy surcharge would not be reintroduced after a sit-down with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, which Ford described as “the best meeting I’ve ever had” in Washington.Despite the premier’s glowing appraisal of the talks, the United States has not offered any tariff exemptions or carveouts for either Canada or Ontario as a result of the discussions.Ford had previously said he would…