Leonardo DiCaprio criticizes Ottawa over B.C. salmon farms
Salmon farms have long been a point of contention between environmentalists and fish farmers in British Columbia, but a much bigger net is now being cast on the topic.
An unreleased Wu-Tang Clan album forfeited by Martin Shkreli after his securities fraud conviction was sold Tuesday for an undisclosed sum, though prosecutors say it was enough to fully satisfy the rest of what he owed on a US$7.4 million forfeiture order he faced after his 2018 sentencing.
The entrepreneur known as "Pharma Bro" once boasted that he paid $2 million in 2015 at auction for "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," the 31-track double album the multiplatinum rap group spent six years creating.
"With today's sale of this one-of-a-kind album, his payment of the forfeiture is now complete," Acting U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn M. Kasulis in Brooklyn said in a release.
Authorities said the sales contract for the album contained a confidentiality provision that protects information relating to the buyer and price.
In a civil case in Manhattan federal court, lawyers wrote in an April document that Shkreli had already reduced his forfeiture debt by about $5 million.
Shkreli's lawyer, Brianne E. Murphy, said she spoke to Shkreli late Tuesday and he said he is "pleased with the sale price and RIP ODB," a reference to Russell Tyrone Jones, known as Ol' Dirty Bastard, a founding member of the nine-man Clan who died of an accidental drug overdose in 2004.
Shkreli, 38, is scheduled for release in October 2022 after serving a seven-year prison sentence.
He was prosecuted after he gained fame in 2015 after he boosted by 5,000% the price of Daraprim, a previously cheap drug used to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that can be fatal to people with the AIDS virus or other immune-system disorders.
Shkreli's purchase of the Wu-Tang Clan album came as group member RZA said he wanted the album -- packaged in a hand-crafted silver and nickel case which includes a 174-page book wrapped in leather -- to be viewed as a piece of contemporary art.
At sentencing, Shkreli also claimed to own an unreleased Lil Wayne album, "Tha Carter V."
In its debut week in 2008, the rapper's "Tha Carter III" sold more than 1 million copies and helped launch Lil Wayne to superstar status.
In 2017, Shkreli was convicted of lying to investors and cheating them out of millions of dollars in two failed hedge funds he operated. Brafman described Shkreli at sentencing as a misunderstood eccentric who used unconventional means to make his defrauded investors even wealthier.
Salmon farms have long been a point of contention between environmentalists and fish farmers in British Columbia, but a much bigger net is now being cast on the topic.
High winds and turbulence have forced a United Airlines flight from Israel to be diverted from its destination of Newark Airport in New Jersey to Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, N.Y..
The Vancouver Canucks weren’t the only ones who stumbled during Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Stars.
Two men from Senegal froze to death were found in the snow of a wooded area close to the Canadian border, New York state police said.
An historic downtown Toronto bar is closing its doors next week after nearly 200 years in business.
Austin Hunter Turner died in 2017, on a night that his mother has rewound and replayed again and again, trying to make sense of what happened.
Not getting enough sleep may cause you to feel five to 10 years older than you really are, according to two new studies.
Manhattan prosecutors suggested Friday that Donald Trump violated a gag order in his hush-money criminal case this week by assailing the judge's daughter and making a false claim about her on social media.
Niagara Region says it has declared a state of emergency 'out of an abundance of caution' as it prepares for an influx of visitors for next month’s total solar eclipse.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.