Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
The brother of a British socialite charged with helping Jeffrey Epstein exploit underage girls says her prosecution is “the most over-hyped trial of the century,” designed to break a woman targeted by authorities desperate to blame someone for the late financier's crimes.
Ghislaine Maxwell continues to have the backing of her family, and a family member will be in court at all times to show support, Ian Maxwell said in an interview ahead of the trial, which is set to begin Monday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
This is “the most over-hyped trial of the century without a doubt,” Ian Maxwell told the Associated Press. “This is designed to break her; I can't see any other way to read it. And she will not be broken because she believes completely in her innocence and she is going to give the best account she can.”
Prosecutors allege Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, groomed girls as young as 14 to have sex with Epstein and lied about her knowledge of his crimes when she testified in an earlier case. She has been in custody for almost 17 months, after Judge Alison J. Nathan repeatedly denied requests for bail.
Prosecutors held a press conference when they announced the charges against Maxwell, saying she lured young girls into a trap that she and Epstein had set for them.
“Ms. Maxwell chose to blatantly disregard the law and her responsibility as an adult, using whatever means she had at her disposal to lure vulnerable youth into behavior they should never have been exposed to, creating the potential for lasting harm,” FBI Assistant Director William Sweeney said at the time.
But Ian Maxwell says his sister is being blamed by U.S. authorities who are intent on holding someone responsible for Epstein's crimes.
Epstein killed himself in jail in 2019 before he could face trial.
“This is not quite a put-up job, but nonetheless has been cobbled together so that Ghislaine is made to face the charges that Epstein never faced,” Ian Maxwell said.
Ghislaine Maxwell is the youngest of the late media mogul Robert Maxwell's nine children. The tycoon was once one of the richest men in Britain, but that wealth evaporated after he drowned in 1991 and investors discovered he had siphoned hundreds of millions of pounds from employee pension funds to prop up his empire.
The children supported each other after Robert Maxwell died and Ian and his brother were charged with financial crimes related to their father's actions. Both were acquitted.
Now they are rallying around Ghislaine, who dated Epstein and was his frequent companion on trips around the world.
The family continues to demand that Maxwell be released on bail, arguing that the conditions of her detention are tantamount to torture and prevent her from assisting her defense attorneys. The six remaining siblings this week asked the United Nations to investigate Ghislaine Maxwell's “inhumane” treatment.
Ian Maxwell says his sister is in “effective isolation” at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where she is being held in a 6- by 9-foot (1.8- by 2.7-meter) cell that has no natural light and is equipped with a toilet and a concrete bed. She is unable to sleep because she is watched around the clock by four guards and 10 cameras due to unwarranted concerns that she is a suicide risk, he said.
Earlier this month, a judge again refused to let Epstein's former girlfriend trade her jail cell for home detention, citing the serious nature of the charges and her risk of flight.
“The denial of bail is wholly inappropriate,” Ian Maxwell said. “Some very famous, infamous people were granted bail as most recently the killer of George Floyd, a murderer. John Gotti, another murderer, a mobster. Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Bernie Madoff. These are all men, of course, who got bail. Ghislaine is a woman who somehow doesn't get bail.”
Americans who are interested in justice should be worried, because anyone could be accused of a crime and be held under the same conditions, he said.
“The authorities are feeling under pressure because they lost (Epstein) and they're feeling under the public's pressure, and that combination of pressure is keeping Ghislaine inside,” her brother said. “But it still doesn't make it right.”
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
As the month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores wears on, small independent food retailers and alternative grocery options say they're seeing a boost in traffic and sales.
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
Four Indian nationals accused in the murder of British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are all due in court Tuesday.
As we enter another wildfire season, Environment and Climate Change Canada is advising people to pay attention to air pollution levels and check the Air Quality Health Index – especially on smoky days.
The Vatican has announced that the investigation it commissioned into allegations of sexual touching against Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix did not confirm any act constituting misconduct or abuse on the part of the Vatican.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Philadelphia today, on his first trip south of the border since his government launched a new 'Team Canada' charm offensive in the United States.
For those who go to their local libraries often, they know there’s much more to their library than just borrowing books. Local libraries in Atlantic Canada are now renting out a broader range of items for people.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.