DEVELOPING 120 active fires burning across Canada, 30 are 'out of control'
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
The U.S. Department of Justice began a civil inquiry in August into sexual harassment claims made against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York officials disclosed Thursday.
The exact nature of the inquiry and its current status was unclear.
The office of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who took office when Cuomo resigned in August, said it hired a law firm in October to handle "matters relating to ongoing investigations inherited from the previous administration," and that one of those matters was an investigation by the Justice Department's civil rights division and the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn.
"As this is an ongoing investigation, we will not comment further at this time," said Hochul's press secretary, Hazel Crampton-Hays.
The law firm's hiring was initially disclosed in a contract made public Thursday as a result of public records requests by several news organizations.
The contract said the firm, Willkie Farr and Gallagher, is representing the governor's office in several investigations related to the previous administration, including a Justice Department inquiry "related to sexual harassment claims made against the then-governor."
Cuomo announced he would resign Aug. 10, one week after an investigative report commissioned by New York Attorney General Letitia James concluded he had sexually harassed 11 women. His last day in office was Aug. 23.
Cuomo's spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, said the former governor had been made aware of the inquiry.
"Our understanding is that the civil division opened an inquiry in August based upon the AG's politically motivated sham report and we have heard nothing since," he said.
Justice Department spokespeople declined to comment.
The department's civil rights division has some enforcement powers under federal anti-discrimination law. It launched an initiative in 2018 to fight sexual harassment of government employees and handles complaints made under the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Cuomo has acknowledged making comments to some women that made them uncomfortable, including jokes interpreted as unwanted flirtation, but he has denied sexually harassing anyone or touching anyone inappropriately.
The Albany County sheriff filed a criminal complaint against Cuomo this fall accusing him of groping a female aide at the governor's mansion in late 2020. His arraignment on the charge has been postponed until at least January while the county district attorney investigates the allegations.
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge has sentenced the mother and stepfather of a six-year-old boy who died from blunt-force trauma in 2018 to 15 years in prison.
The Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature Randy Weekes has severed ties with the Sask. Party after accusing some members of harassment and intimidation tactics, including a situation he claimed saw the Government House Leader bring a hunting rifle to the legislative building.
Kevin Spacey is pushing back on the 'rush to judgment' against him and is being backed by some big names as he seeks to reclaim his acting career.
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.
Canada's new $10-a-day child care program is expanding, but there's growing evidence that demand for the program is rising even faster, leaving many parents on the outside looking in.
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.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.