'Oh my God, you're my brother': Man in his 70s discovers 6 unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Jamaica's prime minister declared a widespread state of emergency on Tuesday to fight a surge in gang violence on an island with one of the highest murder rates in the region.
The measure applies to certain communities in the capital of Kingston as well as six of Jamaica's 14 parishes, including those where popular tourist spots like Montego Bay are located.
The state of emergency allows authorities to arrest people and search buildings without a warrant, drawing heavy criticism from political opponents and activists who have warned against a repeat of the police abuse and mass detentions that happened under previous states of emergency.
Similar measures have been imposed in El Salvador and Honduras recently.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness dismissed critics, saying in a televised address that his priority is to save lives.
"That is all the government is trying to do," he said, adding that Jamaicans "have to hide under their beds, hide their daughters, can't go to church, and they see their sons and their boyfriends and husbands killed. That's the reality."
The island of 2.8 million people reported 1,421 killings so far this year, outpacing the 1,375 killings in the same period last year, a spokesman with Jamaica's Constabulary Force told The Associated Press.
Jamaica has a similar population to the U.S. city of Chicago, which reported 643 killings so far this year.
"We have some really serious criminal threats facing us, and we have to use all the powers at our disposal," Holness said.
The vast majority of killings in Jamaica are blamed on gangs known as "posses" that have been linked to major political parties and rely on extortion, drug trafficking and lottery scams to finance their activities.
In response, Jamaica has implemented several states of emergency in recent years that have been scrutinized by human rights activists. The nation's Supreme Court has ruled several times -- most recently in June -- that detaining Jamaicans for months without a trial, let alone more than a year, is unconstitutional.
States of emergency deliver only marginal results and have worrying consequences, according to Jermaine Young, an expert on emergency powers and former professor at Howard University.
"Jamaica has a sordid reputation for abusing emergency powers," Young wrote in an essay this month. The police and military "have engaged in practices that include arbitrary and unlawful mass extended detentions, extrajudicial killings and internal renditions."
Authorities in Jamaica are defending the measure. Police Chief Maj. Gen. Anthony Johnson noted a 64% decline in killings during a smaller, two-week state of public emergency last month.
The prime minister said he is aware of the concerns.
"It is not the intention of the government to abuse these powers," Holness said. "As long as it is needed, this government will use states of public emergency."
Holness left the press conference early, saying he was traveling to the U.S. to meet with top security officials and talk about new ways to reduce violent crime.
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks hung on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.