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Environmental groups increasingly using competition law to fight fossil fuel sector

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:00:39 GMT

CALGARY — Splashed across billboards and city buses, onnewspaper spreads and Facebook feeds, the “Let’s Clear the Air” ad campaign by the Pathways Alliance group of oilsands companies is a multi-million-dollar public relations blitz by an industry keen to show it’s committed to helping fight climate change.It’s also the target of the latest strategy by Canada’s environmental movement, which has expanded its war against the fossil fuel industry to a new battleground: the federal Competition Bureau.In the last year, Canadian green groups have lodged at least four formal complaints with the bureau, the independent law enforcement agency tasked with protecting consumers by fostering a competitive marketplace.The complaints allege false or misleading environmental claims by fossil fuel companies or — in the case of a complaint against RBC — those who finance them.Under Canada’s Competition Act, it only takes six signatories to a deceptive adverti...

The Supreme Court’s new term starts Monday. Here’s what you need to know

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:00:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seems a bit quieter than in recent years, as the justices begin a new term.Major cases await, as they always do, including several challenges to regulatory agencies and efforts to regulate social media platforms.But nothing yet seems on par with conservative-driven decisions overturning Roe v. Wade’s right to an abortion and expanding gun rights in June 2022, then ending affirmative action in higher education and killing the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan last June.That could change, especially if issues related to the prosecution of former President Donald Trump or efforts to keep him off the ballot in some states reach the justices.Ethical issues also are hovering over the court, with the possibility that the justices could adopt a first-ever code of conduct. But it’s unclear when that might happen.Some things to know about the Supreme Court’s new term:GUNS AND ABORTION, REDUXThe justices’ decision i...

Sunday Forecast: Sunny and warm, mid 80s

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:00:39 GMT

Sunday: Sunny & warm. Cooler by the lake.  SSE 0-5 mph. Air quality Good to Moderate around Chicagoland. High: 85Sunday Night: Clear skies & mild for the season. Patchy fog after midnight. SE 0-5 mph. Low near 60 in the city. 50s suburbs. Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)Monday: Sunny & continued warm. Cooler lakeside. SSW 5-10 mph. High mid 80s. Extended outlook calls for more sun & unseasonably warm weather to continue into Tues. Wednesday warm in the low 80s with increasing clouds and a chance of showers/thunderstorms later in the day. High temps back to normal on Thu with highs near 70 and some rain at times and iso. thunderstorms. A few showers on Friday and a high in the upper 60s.Next weekend looks to have some temps that feel a bit more like fall than summer. 

Man killed after hit and run in Logan Sqaure

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:00:39 GMT

CHICAGO -- A man is dead after he was killed in a hit and run crash in Logan Square overnight. Police said a 42-year-old man was riding motor scooter near the 3900 block of West Fullerton Avenue around 2:20 a.m. when the driver of a silver Honda struck a red light and struck the man near the intersection.According to police, the man was pronounced dead on the scene and the driver fled. There is no one in custody. Armed robbery attempt leads to shootout at River North gas station Police are investigating the incident and WGN will update as more information is available.

VOTE: Help us choose the best KXAN viewer photo of September 2023

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:00:39 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows the latest forecast from the KXAN First Warning Weather team.AUSTIN (KXAN) — Here at KXAN, we get hundreds of photos sent to us each month by viewers just like you.We want to showcase some of the best pictures we receive, so we narrowed them down to our 10 favorites for the month.Help us choose the best viewer photo of September 2023. Look through the 10 pictures below, then vote for your favorite. The winning photo will move on to represent September in the best viewer photos of the year competition once 2023 is said and done.If you'd like to submit a photo for October's competition, email it to [email protected]. Be on the lookout, as KXAN may contact you to send a permission form so we can use your photo on air and online. All submissions must be taken in October 2023.Here are the options for September, in no particular order.Lightning on the WaterSunrise Beach Village, Sept. 9. Courtesy Erin Mueller.Lightning over Lake Lyndon B. Johnson ...

First-of-its-kind nursing home staffing minimum proposed. Will it protect Texas residents?

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:00:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Lori Mitchell remembers how she felt, after receiving a call one early morning in January and learning about her mother’s death.Her voice broke as she remembered the staff member at her mother’s Round Rock nursing facility encouraging her to contact a funeral home, where her mother’s body had apparently been moved.“I was confused because I had not given consent for anybody to pick her up,” she recalled.“An hour later, the nursing home called me back and said, ‘Your mother is back up here.’  And I said, ‘I don't understand what's going on.’ They said, ‘Well, there was a mistake. She's back here now.’” INVESTIGATION: Texas doesn’t penalize most senior living facilities with confirmed abuse. Why? Hours earlier, according to state records detailing the incident, the family of a different resident received a similar call from the facility, telling them their loved one passed away. That family started making arrangements to have the body transported from the facilit...

Favorite coffee shops in Austin, according to KXAN viewers

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:00:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Sunday is International Coffee Day. What better way to celebrate than grabbing a cup o' joe from a local shop? KXAN asked our viewers to share their favorite local coffee shops, and we've got some suggestions to share. Here are some viewers' favorite coffee spots in Austin:Austin GrindBlack Rock Coffee barCaptain Quackenbush's CoffeehouseCenizoCosmic SaltilloCuppa AustinDesnudo CoffeeDevil Dog Coffee CompanyEpoch CoffeeGenuine JoeHoundstooth CoffeeMaha Coffee AustinMozart's Coffee RoastersSpokesman CoffeeSummer Moon CoffeeTrianon CoffeeFind more coffee shop recommendations in the comments on our Facebook, Instagram and X posts.

Rain chances going up starting Tuesday

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:00:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Central Texas temperatures will return to the lower to middle 90s today and Monday. Slightly lower temperatures are forecast Tuesday and Wednesday because of more cloud cover and the increasing chance of showers and thunderstorms.The cold front will arrive Thursday morning delivering a north wind by Thursday afternoon and helping to significantly lower temperatures with many highs Friday and Saturday in the upper 70s to low 80s. A southwest flow in the upper atmosphere along with a surface flow from the Gulf will bring in plenty of moisture for the skies to open up with much-needed showers and thunderstorms beginning Tuesday afternoon. The chance of rain will be 40%. They'll be higher Wednesday and Thursday before lowering by Friday and Saturday. October is the 2nd wettest month of the year in Central Texas with 3.91". The European model is suggesting that at least 1.50" could be measured between Tuesday afternoon and Saturday evening. That's the more aggressive for...

Alex Kingsbury: Trump’s promise of lawlessness

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:00:39 GMT

Although it was lost in the four-year cyclone that was the presidency of Donald Trump, one of his most immoral acts was to pardon soldiers who were accused of committing war crimes by killing unarmed civilians or prisoners. Military leaders, including his own defense secretary and the secretary of the Army, objected, saying it would undermine good order and discipline. Lawlessness can easily beget lawlessness.But the American system is ill-prepared to deter leaders bent on undermining the rule of law. Checks and balances spread powers across the government, but that isn’t enough to temper or stop bad-faith actors looking to subvert the law. According to a new article in The Atlantic, Gen. Mark Milley, upon becoming the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2019, “found himself in a disconcerting situation: trying, and failing, to teach President Trump the difference between appropriate battlefield aggressiveness on the one hand, and war crimes on the other.”Trump, as Milley discover...

Twin Cities Marathon, 10-mile race canceled due to heat that won’t allow safe event, organizers say

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:00:39 GMT

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon organizers canceled today’s marathon and 10-mile due to the latest weather conditions, which they said would be dangerous for runners.“The latest weather forecast update projects record-setting heat conditions that do not allow a safe event for runners, supporters and volunteers,” Twin Cities In Motion, the nonprofit that organizes the event, said in a statement early Sunday.The statement continued: “It saddens Twin Cities In Motion and our partners to be unable to hold the races that runners have been pointing toward for months, but the safety of participants and the community will always be our primary concern. Extreme heat conditions can tax both runners and our emergency medical response systems. We ask the entire running community to come together for the safety of everyone involved.”Sunday’s forecast is hot and humid with temperatures near 90 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, which said record...