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Struggling Sergio Perez of Red Bull says return to Mexico his most important race of the season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:35 GMT

Sergio Perez was still in Texas when he called the Mexico City Grand Prix his most important race weekend of the season.He needs the feel of home soil and a warm embrace from a national fan base that adores him.For a driver who sits second in the standings while racing for a Red Bull team that has already won the constructor’s championship, Perez has had a difficult year: No wins since April, constant criticism that he can’t keep up with teammate Max Verstappen, insensitive remarks about his heritage from a team official, and speculation of a pending retirement or split from the team after this season.It’s no wonder Perez could use some love right now.“I am massively looking forward to my home grand prix,” said Perez, who is also known as “Checo.” The 33-year-old’s season started well enough with two wins in the first four races. There was even talk of a title chase. Verstappen shut that down by winning 10 races in a row. The Dutch driver now has a record-tyi...

At least 22 people dead, gunman at large after shootings in Lewiston, Maine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:35 GMT

At least 22 people are dead and dozens of others are injured after a series of shootings in Lewiston, Maine Wednesday, according to a Lewiston city councilor. Police were still searching for a gunman as of around 11:30 p.m.Maine State Police in a post on X shortly after 8 p.m. said residents should stay inside with their doors locked.“There is an active shooter in Lewiston,” police said. “We ask people to shelter in place.”State police said law enforcement was investigating “at multiple locations.” Officials in a later update said shootings happened shortly before 7 p.m., resulting in “multiple casualties.”Commissioner Mike Sauschuck of the Maine Department of Public Safety confirmed authorities had identified a man named Robert Card as a person of interest. Lewiston police previously shared photos of Card, who officials have described as “armed and dangerous.” Sauschuck said members of the public should not approach Card or make contact with him.A shelter-in-place status remained i...

Chicago Bulls players voice frustration in a team meeting after season-opening loss: ‘It’s unacceptable’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:35 GMT

When coach Billy Donovan walked into the locker room after the Chicago Bulls dropped a miserable 124-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their home opener, the air was already buzzing with frustration.Donovan asked the team if they needed a moment alone. Players responded in agreement.Game 1 might seem early for a players’ meeting after a loss. But Donovan emphasized conversations weren’t disrespectful and never spiraled out of control: “It’s not like they were screaming at each other.” And the fervent desire to hash out the mistakes that led to the loss felt like a necessity for the players in the locker room.“I think it’s good that we had those,” center Nikola Vučević said. “It was needed. It was just regular discussions of what needed to be done. It wasn’t nothing crazy, no fighting, none of that. Just really constructive. It’s maybe one of the first times since I’ve been here that it was like ...

In the news today: Israeli troops launch brief ground raid into Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:35 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Israeli troops launch brief ground raid into Gaza ahead of expected wider incursionIsraeli troops and tanks launched a brief ground raid into northern Gaza overnight into Thursday, the military said, striking several militant targets in order to “prepare the battlefield” ahead of a widely expected ground invasion after more than two weeks of devastating air raids.The raid came after the U.N. warned it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the territory, which has also been under a complete siege since Hamas’ bloody rampage across southern Israel ignited the war earlier this month.The war is the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Hamas-run Health Ministry said Wednesday that at least 6,546 Palestinians have been killed and 17,439 others wounded following Hamas’ sur...

Stock market today: World shares slide after Wall St rout driven by high yields, mixed earnings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:35 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares skidded Thursday in Europe and Asia after Wall Street tumbled as bond yields tightened their chokehold. Germany’s DAX fell 1.1% to 14,722.60 and the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.8% to 6,860.72. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.7% at 7,361.04. The future for the S&P 500 dropped 0.7% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2%. On Wednesday, On Wednesday, the S&P 500 tumbled 1.4%, back back to where it was in May. Some of the heaviest losses hit Big Tech stocks, which dragged the Nasdaq composite to its second-worst drop of the year. It gave up 2.4%. The Dow industrials fell 0.3%.The yield on the 10-year Treasury has nudged back up toward 5%. It was at 4.95% early Thursday after dipping to 4.82% late Tuesday. In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 sank 2.1% to 30,601.78 and the Kospi in Seoul declined 2.7% to 2,309.14. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.8% to 16,942.93, while the Shanghai Composite index bounced back from early losses, ga...

Alanis Morissette on the rules she set for ‘Jagged Little Pill’ to become a musical

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:35 GMT

TORONTO — It’s been almost three decades since her seminal album “Jagged Little Pill” and Alanis Morissette still finds the words she jotted down as a teenager deeply relatable.Now 49 years old, the Ottawa native considers herself “fortunate” that she can perform “You Oughta Know,” “Ironic” and most of the album’s other songs with a conviction similar to that of her youth.“They’re basically value systems,” she explained in a recent phone interview from her northern California home.“And fortunately these values, on my part, have been unwavering.”Morissette has spent ample time reflecting on “Jagged Little Pill” in recent years, discussing and dissecting how “Hand in My Pocket,” “Right Through You” and “You Learn” became anthems for a generation of independent young women.Anniversaries passed, an HBO documentary on the legacy of “Jagged Little Pill” was m...

Defence to argue for more information in ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers’ trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:35 GMT

OTTAWA — The criminal trial of two “Freedom Convoy” organizers is expected to resume with legal sparring between the defence and Ottawa police in an attempt to gain access to internal police communications. The trial was stalled last week when the lawyers for Tamara Lich and Chris Barber asked for internal emails about the evidence that police disclosed in the case.The defence teams received heavily redacted copies of the emails, the details of which the Ottawa Police Service says are protected by solicitor-client privilege. The defence also wants to see what the police IT team told officers about a software upgrade for their cellphones, which appears to have wiped the data from the phones of at least two officers shortly after the protest ended.So far, they have received only a completely blacked-out document about the software upgrade, which may have deleted messages between Barber and police liaison officer Const. Nicole Bach.Lich and Barber are accused of mischief an...

Montreal’s social intervention squad contends with rising need, lack of shelter space

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:35 GMT

MONTREAL — Equipped with a case of naloxone and a backpack of warm socks, two members of Montreal’s social intervention team peer around the side of a dumpster behind a downtown McDonald’s, looking to see if someone needs their help. Wolf and Rosalie — who can only be identified by their first names at the insistence of their employer due to the sensitive nature of their work — are members of the city’s mobile mediation and social intervention team, or EMMIS. The team was created in 2021 to respond to situations involving vulnerable clientele such as those who are homeless, intoxicated or in crisis in public areas, often as an alternative to calling police. The squad now has 32 members patrolling four boroughs, and the city hopes to expand it.However, as the need for their services grows, members of the team say it’s getting harder to fulfil a key part of their mandate — helping people find space in a shelter or get specialized health care. Often there aren’t any places ...

Major drink brands launch more non-alcoholic drinks as “sober curious” trend grows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:35 GMT

As interest in non-alcoholic drinks grows, major alcohol brands are making moves with sober versions of well-known products like Guinness and Tanqueray gin. Experts say it’s a sign there’s still plenty of room for growth in the industry. “If I was running an alcoholic beverage company … this is not a space that I would ignore,” said Joel Gregoire, associate director for food and drink at market research company Mintel. Surveys in the U.S. and Canada show consumers, especially younger generations, are increasingly cutting back on alcohol consumption. With demand on the rise, the market is expected to keep growing. While Mintel research shows around 15 per cent of Canadians 20 and older don’t drink at all, there’s another, likely much larger group of consumers that aren’t cutting out alcohol entirely, but cutting back — known as the “sober curious,” said Gregoire. “When you’re trying to grow your brand with younger consumers, who are the...

Search for answers underway in Sault Ste. Marie shooting rampage that left five dead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:35 GMT

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. — Investigators are working to piece together what led a man to kill four people – including three children – before turning a gun on himself in the northern Ontario city of Sault Ste. Marie. Police have called what happened a case of intimate partner violence and have not released the identities of those involved. Chief Hugh Stevenson has said police got a domestic violence call from one of two homes involved in the gunman’s rampage a day before the shootings took place. Stevenson has not released further details but has said the shooter was involved in intimate partner investigations in the past. Police have said the shooter first broke into a home on Monday night and killed a 41-year-old woman before heading to a second home and killing three children – aged six, seven and 12 – and shooting another woman, aged 45, who survived.   The 44-year-old shooter was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot.Residents in Sault Ste. Marie have said they are devasta...