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Securities Commission alleges fraud committed by B.C. crypto firm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

VANCOUVER — The B.C. Securities Commission alleges a now-defunct cryptocurrency platform based in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island committed a multimillion-dollar securities fraud by diverting customer assets to online cryptocurrency gambling sites. In a notice of hearing issued last month, the commission says David Smillie and his numbered company, which did business as ezBtc, lied to customers about its crypto asset trading platform. The commission alleges Smillie and the company diverted about $13 million worth of bitcoin and ether, another cryptocurrency, to two online gambling sites without authorization from customers.  The regulator says the company was dissolved in October 2022, but between 2016 and 2019 customers transferred 2,300 bitcoin and 600 ether tokens into wallets hosted by the platform. Smillie and the firm allegedly told customers their digital assets were mostly held off-line in so-called “cold storage,” but they never truly maintained enough to cover user...

Judge rejects Zooey Zephyr effort to return to Montana House

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the transgender Montana lawmaker who was silenced after telling Republicans they would have blood on their hands for opposing gender-affirming health care for kids, cannot yet return to the statehouse House floor and participate in debate, a judge ruled Tuesday.The ruling came after attorneys for the state of Montana asked the judge to reject transgender Zephyr’s attempt to return after she was silenced and then banished for admonishing Republican lawmakers and encouraging a raucous statehouse protest.Lawyers working under Attorney General Austin Knudsen cautioned that any intervention by the courts on Zephyr’s behalf would be a blatant violation of the separation of powers. They wrote in a court filing that the Montana House of Representatives retains “exclusive constitutional authority” to discipline its own members.Attorneys for Zephyr and several of her Missoula constituents on Monday filed court papers seeking an emergency ord...

Texas man suing over abortion accused of abuse in court docs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — A man who filed a lawsuit in Texas against three women he said helped his now-ex-wife obtain medication for an abortion is accused in a new court filing of using the lawsuit as an extension of the manipulative, controlling and emotionally abusive behavior he displayed toward her during their marriage.Marcus Silva had found the first pill that begins a medication abortion while secretly going through his then-wife’s purse last summer but instead of talking to her about it or throwing it away, he took photos of text messages on her phone between her and two of her friends, according to a document filed Monday on behalf of those friends, who are two of the defendants in Silva’s lawsuit.The filing, which asks for Silva’s claims to be dismissed, says Silva broke the law by accessing his wife’s phone without her consent, and invaded her friends’ privacy by reading her text exchanges with them.“He wasn’t interested in stopping her from terminating ...

California hotline to provide legal help related to abortion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California has joined with law firms and advocacy groups to create a hotline that provides access to information and pro bono services for people who need legal help related to abortion, as the state seeks to become a safe haven for reproductive rights since Roe v. Wade was overturned.State Attorney General Rob Bonta and officials with the Southern California Legal Alliance for Reproductive Justice made the announcement Tuesday, one year since the U.S. Supreme Court draft decision reversing Roe was leaked. Calling it a “dark anniversary,” Bonta said that in the ensuing year the national legal landscape surrounding abortion has become “confusing, and frankly, scary.” He said the new coalition seeks to put patients and care providers at ease by providing a wide range of legal services to people in places where abortion is restricted — including pro bono representation for anyone facing civil or criminal penalties for seeking, providing or assisting in re...

Man arrested outside Buckingham Palace with suspected weapon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

LONDON (AP) — London police said a controlled explosion was carried out as a precaution outside Buckingham Palace late Tuesday after a man was arrested there on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon.The Metropolitan Police said officers arrested the man after he approached the palace gates and threw items suspected to be shotgun cartridges into the palace grounds. A bag that police deemed suspicious was found in the suspect’s possession, the police force said.Police said the incident was not being treated as terrorism-related. “Officers worked immediately to detain the man and he has been taken into police custody,” Chief Superintendent Joseph McDonald said in a statement. “There have been no reports of any shots fired, or any injuries to officers or members of the public.”King Charles III and Camilla, the queen consort, were not at Buckingham Palace at the time of the arrest. Palace officials declined to comment, saying the incident was a police matter. Cord...

Florida man charged with throwing explosive at Capitol riot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Florida man accused of setting off an explosive and injuring several police officers during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was arrested Tuesday, officials said.Daniel Ball, 38, of Homosassa, Florida, was arrested in Inverness, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) west of Orlando, according to court documents. He is charged with multiple felonies, including assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon.According to court documents, Ball joined with others in objecting to Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over then-President Donald Trump. A mob stormed the Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying election results for Biden over Trump, a Republican, authorities have said. Five people died in the violence.According to the criminal complaint, Ball entered the Capitol through the Senate wing door and pried a piece of a wooden shutter from a window in the Senate connecting corridor before exiting t...

Aritzia earns $37.3 million in Q4 as sales continue to climb in U.S. and Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

VANCOUVER — Aritzia Inc. says its net income for the fourth quarter was $37.3 million, up 9.1 per cent from $34.2 million a year earlier.The Vancouver-based clothing retailer saw its net revenue climb 43.5 per cent in the quarter ended Feb. 26 to $637.6 million.Retail net revenue rose by 38.4 per cent to $363.1 million, while e-commerce net revenue rose by 50.8 per cent to $274.5 million. Earnings per diluted share were 32 cents, up from 29 cents the same quarter a year earlier. Net income for the full fiscal year was $187.6 million, up 19.5 per cent from the prior year, while net revenue rose by 46.9 per cent to $2.2 billion. Aritzia CEO Jennifer Wong said in a press release Tuesday that the company has seen exceptional growth in the U.S., which now represents more than half of its total net revenue.“In Fiscal 2024, our focus will be on scaling our infrastructure to match our recent tremendous growth and make strategic investments to fuel our future growth and achieve our lon...

Utah judge delays implementing statewide abortion clinic ban

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah judge ruled on Tuesday that a recently passed state law banning abortion clinics cannot take effect next week as scheduled while the court deliberates over a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood.Judge Andrew Stone’s decision to grant Planned Parenthood’s request will allow the four clinics that provide abortions in Utah to remain licensed to operate fully. The law would have stopped abortion clinics from getting licenses on May 3 and fazed out existing ones by next year.Planned Parenthood argued the law would have effectively ended access to abortion throughout Utah, where clinics provide 95% of abortions. Abortion remains legal up to 18 weeks in the state as the court weighs another challenge that, if implemented, would ban abortions regardless of trimester, with several exceptions including instances of risk to maternal health as well as rape or incest reported to the police.Sam Metz, The Associated Press

'ComEd Four' found guilty in bribery trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

CHICAGO -- Every member of the "ComEd Four" were found guilty Tuesday evening.The “ComEd Four” on trial are former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s confidant Michael McClain, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and former ComEd consultant Jay Doherty were found guilty on all counts Tuesday.The "ComEd Four" did plead not guilty to multiple charges, including bribery conspiracy.The federal prosecutors alleged the “ComEd Four” engaged in a criminal conspiracy to funnel $1.3 million to “ghost” subcontractors who did little to no work from 2011 to 2019. Pritzker, state health officials call attention to Medicaid change Potential jail time and fines for the “ComEd Four,” includes a guilty conspiracy verdict on Count 1 could lead to a maximum $250,000 fine or 5 years imprisonment or both, according to the US Attorney’s office.Also, a bribery conviction that could lead to a maximum of 10 years in prison with a $250,000...

Report: Former CPD chief expected to be named interim superintendent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:47 GMT

CHICAGO -- Chicago may have found the new interim police superintendent, according to a Chicago Tribune report.Fred Waller, the former Chief of Patrol for the Chicago Police Department, could be coming out of retirement after almost three and a half decades to serve as CPD interim police superintendent.The decision has yet to be finalized, but Waller does fit Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson's stated preference of putting a CPD veteran in the position. Police: Chicago carjacking suspect could be elementary student Waller was passed over for the CPD superintendent job that went to Eddie Johnson, which he said hurt him.Waller stepped away from the Chicago Police Department several years ago to take a job in private security. He grew up in the Englewood and Pullman neighborhoods, graduated of Luther South High School before attending both Augustana College and Chicago State University.Waller was intricately involved in responding to the unrest that followed the shooting death of Laquan Mc...