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Denys Arcand on lampooning political correctness with ‘Testament’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:54:27 GMT

Veteran filmmaker Denys Arcand is having a change of heart.“My energy comes from the public, which is absolutely wonderful,” the 82-year-old Québécois director says in a video call from Montreal. His latest film, “Testament,” expands theatrically in Canada on Friday after proving a hit in Quebec.“It makes me softer and more at ease with mankind.”The public is giving Arcand lots of energy, as “Testament” earned an impressive $400,000 during its opening weekend in Quebec last month and has already crossed the $1.5 million mark. It’s the strongest opening for a Quebecois film since the pandemic began.“Testament” marks another satire from Arcand after 1986’s “The Decline of the American Empire” and 2003’s “The Barbarian Invasions,” which represents Canada’s only Oscar win in the best international film category.Arcand’s latest film roasts political correctness as septuagenarian archivist Jean-Michel, played by Rémy Girard, sees a group of protesters rally outside his retirement home. As...

As Hollywood scrambles to get back to work, stars and politicians alike react to strike ending

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:54:27 GMT

Hollywood jumped into planning mode Thursday at the news of a tentative agreement between striking actors and the major entertainment companies. After 118 days of most productions shut down and most stars unable to promote projects, publicists, studios and awards strategists went into hyperdrive plotting out how to best use their newly available talent for what’s left of the year — and awards season.Just hours after the tentative agreement was announced, “The Marvels” star Iman Vellani was already being offered to press for interviews. The Walt Disney Co. movie, which cost over $200 million to produce, opens this weekend with showtimes starting as early as Thursday afternoon. Searchlight Pictures also started actively planning things for Michael Fassbender, who stars in Taika Waititi’s “Next Goal Wins,” out next week. One of the top priorities for the industry is getting actors back on set, whether for major blockbusters like “Gladiator 2” or “Deadpool 3″ to try to...

Biden’s team says progress on big public works projects may hinge on the outcome of the 2024 vote

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:54:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has started 40,000 construction projects since the passage of major infrastructure legislation two years ago and is seeking to make the case that continued progress could depend on keeping Joe Biden in the White House after 2024. Biden has long emphasized the bipartisan appeal of the $1 trillion investment, with governors, mayors and county officials from both parties keen to build roads, bridges, ports, rail, internet and other projects. His administration says getting that money out the door has required the hiring of 6,100 federal officials and meant a new degree of cooperation across governments that the outcome of next year’s presidential election could put at risk.White House infrastructure coordinator Mitch Landrieu said the occupant of the Oval Office increasingly matters. Some leading Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, opposed the law or now want to cut money for infrastructure services.“For cities, towns, ...

NY is developing education program on harms of medically unnecessary surgery on intersex children

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:54:27 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York is requiring state health officials to develop an outreach program to educate parents and doctors about the harmful impacts of medically unnecessary treatments performed on young children born intersex.The measure, which was signed into law on Tuesday by Governor Kathy Hochul, aims to bring awareness to people born with genitalia, chromosomes or reproductive organs that don’t fit typical definitions of male or female. New York City Council implemented a similar measure in 2021. Advocates for the statewide legislation say the medically unnecessary operations on infants and young children born intersex come with a slew of potential negative impacts that parents and doctors must be aware of.“This education will be key to helping parents understand that surgery is permanent and can cause irreversible physical and psychological effects,” State Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright said in a statement. Various health and human rights organizations, including the Ph...

Jury rejects insanity defense for man convicted of wedding shooting

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:54:27 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A jury on Thursday rejected an insanity defense for a man convicted of shooting and wounding a bishop and assaulting the bride and groom at a church wedding ceremony in New Hampshire. Dale Holloway, 41, who acted as his own attorney, had pleaded not guilty to the charges stemming from the October 2019 shootings. He said he was mentally unstable at the time.“I’ve been insane before this even happened,” Holloway told the jury. The shootings happened nearly two weeks after Holloway’s stepfather, a pastor at the church, was killed by the son of the groom. The son was later sentenced to prison. A separate celebration of life ceremony for the pastor had been planned at the church for later that day.The jury in Nashua had already found Holloway guilty on Tuesday of one of two attempted murder charges and several assault charges. After deliberating for about an hour Thursday, the foreperson answered “no” when asked if the panel had found clear and convincing evidence th...

Satellite photos analyzed by AP show an axis of Israeli push earlier this week into the Gaza Strip

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:54:27 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israeli troops have pushed into Gaza City along a key coastal road on the Mediterranean Sea as part of their war on Hamas, according to satellite images from earlier this week analyzed on Thursday by The Associated Press. Monday’s images from Planet Labs PBC show a moonscape of impact craters from missile strikes and smoke rising over the northern reaches of Gaza City, the besieged territory’s largest urban zone. The images also show previous positions of Israeli tanks and armored personnel carriers on one of three axes of attack used to cut the city off from the rest of the Gaza Strip. The city has seen hundreds of thousands of people flee it after a month of war since Hamas’ unprecedented Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel that killed some 1,400 people. That assault sparked a punishing campaign of airstrikes and the Israeli military offensive into the Gaza Strip that has so far killed over 10,500 people — two-thirds of them w...

Feds, mayors don’t want to ‘slow things down’ after premiers criticize housing deals

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:54:27 GMT

OTTAWA — The mayor of Halifax, which recently secured a deal with Ottawa to fast-track the building of thousands of new homes, says he was caught off guard by recent complaints from premiers over being left out of funding agreements between the federal government and cities.Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser, who has been travelling across Canada to highlight such agreements made directly with cities, says he was also surprised by the backlash — but is not planning to back down.The mayor of Winnipeg, which still hoping for its own request to be approved, says he is more focused on getting the money quickly, rather than which level of government pays the bills.The latest irritant in the relationship between Ottawa and the premiers came Monday. After their meeting in Halifax, provincial and territorial leaders released a communiqué that called for federal funding “that flows exclusively through provinces and territories” to address housing needs and support long-term cap...

CP NewsAlert: 11 people sent to hospital in school bus crash in Burnaby, B.C.,

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:54:27 GMT

BURNABY, B.C. — Eleven people have been sent to hospital after a school bus crashed into a home in Burnaby, B.C.BC Emergency Health Services says in a statement that all 11 patients are in stable condition. Health services says the call came in just before 8 a.m. today about the accident. Police have asked drivers to avoid a busy stretch of Canada Way.Photos on social media show the bus wedged into the front of a home at the corner of Canada Way and 16th Avenue. The 24-seat bus appears to have smashed through a low brick wall then through the front wall and windows of the home.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2023. The Canadian Press

From Hollywood to auto work, organized labor is flexing its muscles. Where do unions stand today?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:54:27 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Once again, U.S. labor unions are flexing their muscles in the national spotlight.In Hollywood, the actors union reached a tentative deal with major studios late Wednesday to end a months-long strike. Las Vegas hotel workers also scored breakthough agreements with Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International this week — and last month, United Auto Workers celebrated victories on many of key demands that led to its six-week waves of walkouts against the Detroit Three.But despite historic strikes and record contract deals seen this year, there’s a lot stacked against labor organizers today — particularly for those who aren’t part of larger, more established unions in sectors with stronger organizing roots. Union membership rates in the U.S. have also been falling for decades due to changes in the economy, employer opposition, growing political partisanship and persiting legal challenges.“Even though we’re seeing stronger support for unions, (with) th...

Federal government will spend $900M to build housing in Quebec, matched by province

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:54:27 GMT

LONGUEUIL, Que. — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is announcing a $900-million federal contribution over the next four years to accelerate housing construction in Quebec. He made the announcement today near Montreal alongside Premier François Legault, who said the province has agreed to match the federal funds.The two politicians say the investment will directly create 8,000 social and affordable housing units, including 500 that will be earmarked for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.They say that in the longer term, the combined $1.8-billion commitment will contribute to helping to build tens of thousands of additional homes, at a time when Canada is grappling with a housing crisis that has seen many people struggling to afford a place to live. Legault says the federal contribution comes without conditions and will help the province build more affordable homes more quickly.Quebec Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau says the province will also work on regulatory...