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75% of Canadians had COVID-19 immunity in March: Study

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:15:53 GMT

In the latest study on COVID-19 by the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force (CITF), it is believed that as of March 2023, three-quarters of Canadians had immunity against SARS-CoV-2.The CITF team collected data using blood samples to estimate trends around the virus.Using three time periods: pre-vaccination (March 2020 to November 2020); vaccine roll-out (December 2020 to November 2021); and the Omicron waves (December 2021 to March 2023), they were able to determine during the first two phases of the pandemic that very few Canadians had SARS-CoV-2 in their blood.In May 2020, when COVID-19 was relatively new in Canada, less than 0.3 per cent of Canadians were showing a previous infection. By November 2021, that percentage rose to 9 per cent.RELATED: StatsCan finds 98% of Canadians have COVID-19 antibodies“Despite high vaccine coverage in Canada, the rate of infection rose rapidly with the highly contagious Omicron variant,” explains Dr. Bruce Mazer, study co-lead, Associate Scientific Direc...

Biden administration urges colleges to pursue racial diversity without affirmative action

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:15:53 GMT

New guidance from the Biden administration on Monday urges colleges to use a range of strategies to promote racial diversity on campus after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in admissions.Colleges can focus their recruiting in high minority areas, for example, and take steps to retain students of color who are already on campus, including by offering affinity clubs geared toward students of a certain race. Colleges can also consider how an applicant’s race has shaped personal experience, as detailed in students’ application essays or letters of recommendation, according to the new guidance.It also encourages them to consider ending policies known to stint racial diversity, including preferences for legacy students and the children of donors.“Ensuring access to higher education for students from different backgrounds is one of the most powerful tools we have to prepare graduates to lead an increasingly diverse nation and make real our country’s promise of opportunity ...

Hunter Biden’s lawyers say gun portion of plea deal remains valid after special counsel announcement

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:15:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorneys for Hunter Biden are pushing to keep part of a plea deal they reached with the prosecutor whose new status as special counsel intensified the tax investigation into the president’s son ahead of the 2024 election.Biden’s attorney argued in court documents late Sunday that an agreement sparing him prosecution on a felony gun charge still is in place even though the plea agreement on misdemeanor tax offenses largely unraveled during a court appearance last month.His lawyer argues the Justice Department decided to “renege” on its end of the deal on tax charges. The agreement on the gun charge also contains an immunity clause against federal prosecutions for some other potential crimes. Biden plans to abide by the terms of that agreement, including not using drugs or alcohol, attorney Christopher Clark said in court filings. He said prosecutors invited them to begin plea negotiations in May, “largely dictated” the language of the agreement and signed it,...

Ethiopian airstrike on a town square in the restive Amhara region kills 26, health official says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:15:53 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A senior health official says an airstrike on a crowded town square in Ethiopia’s restive Amhara region has killed at least 26 people and wounded more than 55 others. Sunday’s airstrike came days after federal authorities asserted that calm had been restored in the region. Militia members in Amhara have been clashing with Ethiopia’s military over efforts to disband them, and last week the military retook key regional towns by force. Lawyers and witnesses say authorities are carrying out mass arrests of hundreds, even thousands, of people in the capital because of the deadly unrest.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Authorities in Ethiopia are carrying out mass arrests of hundreds, even thousands, of people in the capital after deadly unrest in the country’s Amhara region, lawyers and witnesses said.Ethiopia’s Cabinet declared a state of emergency earlier this month in Amhara after local militia fighters known ...

Russia targets city of Odesa with missiles and drones but Ukraine says it shot them all down

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:15:53 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched three waves of drones and missiles against the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa, officials said Monday, though the Ukrainian air force said it intercepted all the airborne weapons fired during the nighttime attacks.Falling debris from the interceptions of 15 Shahed drones and eight Kalibr missiles damaged a residential building, a supermarket and a dormitory of an educational facility in the city, Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said.Two employees of the supermarket were hospitalized, Kiper said. Video showed a huge blaze at the store during the night and, the next day, the large building’s charred and mangled wreckage.Meanwhile, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, rebuked critics who say Kyiv’s counteroffensive aimed at shoving back the Kremlin’s forces should be advancing more quickly.The Ukrainian army has no intention of engaging in a series of conspicuous “large-scale battles” against the Russians a...

S&P/TSX composite down nearly 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:15:53 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down nearly 100 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the energy and base metal sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 90.99 points at 20,316.58.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 2.11 points at 35,279.29. The S&P 500 index was up 14.26 points at 4,478.31, while the Nasdaq composite was up 75.09 points at 13,719.94.The Canadian dollar traded for 74.25 cents US compared with 74.39 cents US on Friday.The September crude contract was down 59 cents at US$82.60 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was down a penny at US$2.76 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down US$5.70 at US$1,940.90 an ounce and the September copper contract was down a penny at US$3.71 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)The Canadian Press

UK government rejects claims it was slow to evacuate asylum-seekers after bacteria detected on barge

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:15:53 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government Monday rejected claims that it was slow to evacuate asylum-seekers from a barge moored off the south coast of England once traces of the bacteria that causes Legionnaire’s disease were found in the ship’s water system.In the latest critique of the government’s ballyhooed efforts to control migration and reduce the cost of housing a rising number of asylum-seekers, local health officials said over the weekend that the barge operator was told about the bacteria last Monday — the day before asylum-seekers were moved onto the Bibby Stockholm.But Health Secretary Steve Barclay said ministers weren’t informed about the bacteria until Thursday and they took “very quick action.” The Home Office, the central government department that oversees migration, moved all 39 men who were being housed on the ship into other accommodation on Friday.Questions about the government’s response to the bacteria issue came after immigration dominated the weekend news, with ...

Neymar set for Saudi move after Al Hilal agree near-$100M transfer fee with PSG

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:15:53 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Neymar is set to complete a move to the Saudi Pro League after Al Hilal agreed a reported 90 million euros ($98 million) transfer fee with Paris Saint-Germain on Monday.The fee would be a record for the league, backed by the oil-rich state, in its spending spree on high-end soccer talent.Al Hilal could finally seal a statement signing to match Al Nassr, its city rival in Riyadh, which lured Cristiano Ronaldo in January. Recent offers to Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé, teammates of Neymar last season at French champion PSG, were not accepted.Neymar has reportedly been offered a two-year contract expected to pay the 31-year-old Brazil star an annual salary of about $100 million. That would be around half of the 38-year-old Ronaldo’s reported salary.Neymar and PSG agreed last week he could leave although his widely reported preference, like Messi several weeks ago, was on returning to their former club Barcelona.Barcelona’s troubled finances make such ...

IIHF rules in favor of the Flyers, saying Russian goalie Ivan Fedotov has a valid NHL contract

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:15:53 GMT

The International Ice Hockey Federation has ruled in favor of the Philadelphia Flyers by agreeing that Russian goaltender Ivan Fedotov had a valid NHL contract for the upcoming season when he signed with CSKA Moscow in the KHL.The decision rendered Monday paves the way for Fedotov to play in North America, like he planned to do a year ago before being conscripted into the Russian military.It was not immediately clear if he’d seek to leave Russia to play in North America. Relations between Russia and the U.S. are strained over the war in Ukraine, the NHL cut ties in Russia last year and no transfer agreement exists between the league and the KHL.Fedotov, drafted by the Flyers in 2015, signed a one-year contract with them in May 2022. He said during the Beijing Olympics earlier that year and he was expecting to go to the NHL.Instead, last summer his NHL agent, J.P. Barry, said Fedotov was taken to a remote military base in northern Russia. The Flyers as a result tolled his contr...

2 former baseball coaches, director of ops file lawsuit against Northwestern

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:15:53 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — Two former assistant baseball coaches and the director of baseball operations at Northwestern University have filed a lawsuit against the school and several additional parties Monday.Just after that occurred, the school came out with a stern rebuttal.The complaint was filed on Monday on behalf of Dusty Napoleon, Jon Strauss and Chris Beacom against Northwestern University, former head baseball coach Jim Foster, and several other members of the athletics administration — alleges retaliatory discharge, harassment, bullying and abuse that led to Napoleon, Strauss and Beacom's contracts being discharged.Attorney Christopher J. Esbrook of Chicago-based law firm Esbrook P.C. along with Beacom spoke at a news conference concerning the lawsuit. (See the news conference in the video above)The complaint also alleges charges of racism, sexism and egregious tortious conduct, including unwarranted retaliation against these coaches after they reported NCAA violations by Foster to...