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U.S. director Barry Jenkins to head Platform prize jury at Toronto film festival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

TORONTO — Acclaimed filmmaker Barry Jenkins has been selected as the jury chair for the competitive Platform program at the Toronto International Film Festival.The “Moonlight” director heads a three-member panel that will select the winner of a $20,000 award. The jury includes Canadian filmmaker Anthony Shim, whose film “Riceboy Sleeps” won last year’s prize, and Nadine Labaki whose Oscar-nominated film “Capernaum” won the 2018 jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival.The 10-film program opens with “Dream Scenario” from U.S. filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli and includes Canadian drama “The King Tide,” directed by Christian Sparkes.The program is meant to showcase “films with unique directorial perspectives.” All titles will have their world premieres at TIFF, including “Dear Jassi,” from Indian director Tarsem Singh Dhandwar.TIFF takes place Sept. 7 to 17.Here’s a look at the rest of the Platform lineup:-“Great Absence,” directed by Kei Chika-ura, Japan;...

‘I got bad news’: Toronto Blue Jays’ Kiermaier says bike was stolen from garage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier is quickly getting acclimated to his new team and city, sharing a rather upsetting but perhaps unsurprising update regarding his new life in the 6ix.Kiermaier, who joined the Blue Jays as a free agent after spending his entire baseball career with the Tampa Bay Rays, told CityNews ahead of Tuesday’s game that his bike was stolen from his Toronto home.“I got some bad news,” Kiermaier told CityNews sports reporter Lindsay Dunn. “My garage door was malfunctioning during a road trip, and it was going up and down. The neighbour said it was left open for maybe more than a day, and it was real enticing for someone, and they yanked it.”The 33-year-old was using his bike to get around the city, including to the Rogers Centre, for home games.“It’s alright, though. It got me to and from the park. I am thankful for my bike rides.”Kiermaier is everything Blue Jays could have hoped forKiermaier has been a...

American fugitive who faked death can be extradited to Utah to face rape charge, UK judge says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

LONDON (AP) — An American fugitive accused of faking his own death to avoid a rape charge in Utah can be extradited to the U.S., a judge in Scotland ruled Wednesday, calling the man “as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative.” The wanted man known in Scotland as Nicholas Rossi fought his return since being arrested in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital, where he was being treated for COVID-19. He repeatedly appeared in court — and in several television interviews — in a wheelchair using an oxygen mask and insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who had never set foot on American soil. But judge Norman McFadyen of Edinburgh Sheriff Court had previously dismissed the fugitive’s claims of mistaken identity as “implausible” and “fanciful” after the man claimed he had been framed by authorities who had tattooed him and surreptitiously taken his fingerprints while he was in a coma to connect him to Rossi.“I concluded that the evidence of the requested...

Russian drone strikes hit a Ukrainian port on Romania’s border that is key to grain exports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones on Wednesday hit a Ukrainian port city along the border with Romania, causing significant damage and a huge fire at facilities that are key to Ukrainian grain exports. Ukrainian infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said that about 40,000 metric tons (44,000 tons) of grain, “which was expected by the countries of Africa, China, Israel,” was damaged in the attack.The attacks followed the end of a deal with Russia that had allowed Ukrainian shipments to world markets from the Black Sea port of Odesa. Since scrapping the deal, Russia has hammered the country’s ports with strikes, compounding the blow to the key industry. In the past two weeks, dozens of drones and missile attacks have targeted the port of Odesa and the region’s river ports, which are being used as alternative routes.The head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, said the city of Izmail was hit in the strikes. Izmail is on the Danube River that for...

Bangladesh court sentences exiled opposition leader to 9 years in jail on corruption charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A court in Bangladesh sentenced former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia’s son and heir apparent on Wednesday to nine years in prison after finding the opposition leader guilty in a corruption case filed by the government in 2007.Judge Mohammed Asaduzzaman of Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court delivered the sentence in absentia to Tarique Rahman. He also gave a three-year sentence in absentia to Rahman’s wife, Zubaida Rahman, who also lives abroad. Rahman is the acting chairman of the country’s main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which has been holding anti-government protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The judge also fined Rahman more than $273,000. If unpaid, he will be subject to an additional three months in jail.Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the secretary general of Zia’s party, rejected the verdict, saying it was politically motivated to keep Rahman from politics.The government’s An...

Tracking the Tropics: Hurricane season enters its busiest stretch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — While much of the east coast was sparred from any major tropical storm threats during the month of July, things could begin to change.The Atlantic hurricane season is known for its slow starts, but things begin to pick up when we flip our calendars to August."Climatologically speaking, the busiest time of the season is August and September, where 60% of all storms form,” Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Amanda Holly said.Since 1995, only five hurricane seasons have escaped the month without an Atlantic hurricane. The 2022 hurricane season was one of them.(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service)The ‘campfire’ chart above shows the number of hurricanes (yellow area), and combined named storms and hurricanes (red area) that occur on each calendar day over a 100-year period. The chart shows the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season on Sept. 10, with most activity occurring between mid-August and mid-October.So why are hurricanes more l...

Photos: Wildfire burns near Bastrop State Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

BASTROP COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — A wildfire in Bastrop County has burned around 100 acres as of Wednesday morning. The fire started Tuesday afternoon in the area of Highway 71 and Harmon Road. The Bastrop County Office of Emergency said fire progression had stopped overnight, and as of an 8:45 a.m. Wednesday update, no evacuation orders were in effect. Powder Keg Pine Fire burns in Bastrop County August 1, 2023 (Viewer-submitted photo) Powder Keg Pine Fire burns in Bastrop County August 1, 2023 (Viewer-submitted photo) Powder Keg Pine Fire burns in Bastrop County August 1, 2023 (Photo courtesy: Bobby Stewart) Traffic is backed up amid the Powder Keg Pine Fire burning in Bastrop County on August 1, 2023 (Photo Courtesy: Grady Gray) Some nearby homes were initially evacuated as a "precautionary measure," but evacuees were later allowed to return home. KXAN viewers sent photos and videos of the fire and the emergency response. Airtanker drops retardant on Powder Keg Pine fire i...

Video: Texas police wrongly stop, hold family at gunpoint

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

(NewsNation) — An Arkansas family says they are traumatized after being wrongly stopped and held at gunpoint by police in Frisco, Texas, after a mistake by an officer. Frisco police said in a news release that they observed a black Dodge Charger with an out-of-state license plate leaving a hotel on Sunday, July 23. Because of recent vehicle thefts in the area, where Chargers are "frequently stolen," police said the officer conducted a check on their computer of the vehicle's Arkansas license plate. The officer, however, mistakenly entered the plate as being from Arizona. An incorrect registration return led the officer to believe the vehicle was possibly stolen, Frisco police said. Afterward, the officer initiated a high-risk traffic stop on the Dallas North Tollway, which the news release said is standard procedure for stolen vehicles. Backup officers arrived and closed down southbound lanes.Body camera footage from the Frisco police shows two officers pulling over the Charger. In ...

WATCH: Whitney Draw at Saratoga Race Course

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Watch the Whitney Draw live from the Saratoga Race Course, slated to start at 11 a.m. The Whitney Stakes will be run on August 5 at the Saratoga Race Course. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! According to NYRA, the Whitney Stakes were first run in 1928, and are named for the Whitney family. NYRA states that Whitney-owned horses have won every major race in the United States, including multiple wins at the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes. Last year, "Life is Good" was the winner with a time of 1:48.97, with trainer Todd A. Pletcher, and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.

NYSP arrests Rensselaer man for assault

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:27 GMT

BALLSTON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- James A. Marrott Jr., 33, of Rensselaer, was arrested on July 31. Marrott Jr. was charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief in the fourth degree. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Police determined that Marrott Jr. damaged a vehicle on Amsterdam Road and struck the victim multiple times in the face. He left the scene but was located at a residence in Troy. Marrott Jr. was initially uncooperative. He was arraigned at the Malta Town Court and released on his own recognizance.