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Alberta is flirting with separatism. But documents show the province isn’t planning for it
Separatism. Sovereignty. Statehood. Danielle Smith has repeatedly invoked the idea of Alberta independence during her time in office. But documents obtained by the Investigative Journalism Foundation suggest it is not an economic scenario the provincial government is seriously studying. In his decades with the public service, Lennie Kaplan, former senior manager for the Fiscal and…
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Businessman who blew the whistle on a South African government bribery scandal gets plea deal
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — A businessman who confessed to being a fixer who delivered bribes to South African government officials, lawmakers and others in a corruption scheme that enraged the nation avoided jail time in a plea deal announced Thursday by state prosecutors. Angelo Agrizzi, who provided dramatic testimony at an inquiry into…
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The Congressional Budget Office was hacked. It says it has implemented new security measures
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Congressional Budget Office on Thursday confirmed it had been hacked, potentially disclosing important government data to malicious actors. The small government office, with some 275 employees, provides objective, impartial analysis to support lawmakers during the budget process. It is required to produce a cost estimate for nearly every bill approved by…
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Musk team’s access to student loan systems raises alarm over borrowers’ personal information
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are pushing back against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as it turns its attention to the Education Department, with lawmakers raising concerns about DOGE’s access to internal systems containing personal information on tens of millions of Americans. In a letter to the acting education secretary, a group of Democrats is…
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Springfield, Ohio, sues neo-Nazi group that it says led Haitian intimidation
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio city that was racked with chaos and threats last year related to an influx of Haitian immigrants filed a lawsuit on Thursday against a neo-Nazi group that it alleges was at the heart of the onslaught. The city of Springfield, Mayor Rob Rue and several others sued the Blood…
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Federal judge blocks Elon Musk’s DOGE from accessing sensitive US Treasury Department material
A federal judge early Saturday blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans. U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the preliminary injunction after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump. The case,…
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Chinese firm DeepSeek’s AI chatbot restricted from some government phones
The federal government has restricted Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek’s chatbot from some of its mobile devices and is recommending other agencies and departments follow suit. The Treasury Board Secretariat’s chief information officer, Dominic Rochon, sent a memo Thursday to government departments detailing the moves he said are aimed at ensuring “networks and data remain…
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Federal prisons being used to detain people arrested in Trump’s immigration crackdown
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is using federal prisons to detain some people arrested in its immigration crackdown, the federal Bureau of Prisons said Friday, returning to a strategy that drew allegations of mistreatment during his first term. In a statement to The Associated Press, the prison agency said it is assisting…
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New receipts push Brant Catholic school board’s Italy fiasco costs close to $190K
The aftermath of a contentious art-buying trip to Italy cost taxpayers more than the trip itself. Parents, a Catholic teachers’ union and the provincial minister of education expressed shock after it was revealed four trustees with the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board spent around $120,000 for a summer trip to Europe to buy…
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13 states to sue over DOGE access to government payment systems containing personal data
Democratic attorneys general in several states vowed Thursday to file a lawsuit to stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing federal payment systems containing Americans’ sensitive personal information. Thirteen attorneys general, including New York’s Letitia James, said in a statement that they were taking action “in defense of our Constitution, our right to…
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How a wave of antisemitic attacks roiled Australia and provoked claims of foreign influence
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A wave of antisemitic attacks has roiled Australia, with a dozen arrests for vandalizing or setting homes, schools, and synagogues on fire since October and hundreds more charged in just over a year with crimes targeting Jews. The attacks in areas where Jewish people live have provoked an outpouring of…