The mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, is facing accusations he received luxury gifts without properly reporting them and then blocked the city’s inspector general from entering the room where they were stored.
Chicago’s inspector general, Deborah Witzburg, has released a report accusing the mayor’s office of hiding information about gifts that should have otherwise been publicly reported.
International study permit data an ‘earthquake’ for Canadian university finances
A dramatic decline in international study permits issued last year is quickly becoming an existential threat to the finances of Canadian postsecondary schools, say organizations representing the institutions.
“The drop in international students is like an earthquake hitting an education system that’s already structurally weakened by years of underinvestment,” said Gabriel Miller, president and CEO of Universities Canada.
Background, Foreign Student Scam Origin – Canada’s International Student Boom Was A $148M Government Campaign
Canada’s international student boom went from success to liability over just a few years. Policymakers that promoted the growth are now suddenly passing blame, presenting it as an overwhelming surprise. It turns out the growth was the intended outcome of a $148 million plan, including a new brand jointly owned and operated by the Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Governments. Policymakers are now presenting new limits as a response to public outcry, coincidentally in the same year the strategy ended. What timing!
The Duke of York was in contact with the US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein longer than he had previously admitted, emails published in court documents appear to show.
“Keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!” said an email sent to Epstein from a “member of the British Royal Family”, believed to be Prince Andrew.
The court documents, from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), show the email as being sent in February 2011.
NDP MP Charlie Angus attacks U.S. President Trump, calling him a “convicted felon and known predator” and accuses him of using tariffs to “break us as a people.”
He also labels Elon Musk an “oligarch” whose “hate algorithms” threaten Canada. pic.twitter.com/6yEzGY2daK
— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) January 31, 2025
h/t XC
“Neither & are saying what the drug-border conflict is about out loud, so I guess I’ll do it.
This is about ’s trucking industry & Ontario’s truck driving schools that popped up overnight.”
You have to wonder how many palms are being greased.
h/t XC
Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney will abandon his party’s consumer carbon tax and replace the policy with an incentive program that rewards Canadians for making green choices.
The former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor made the announcement at an event in Halifax Friday morning.
“The consumer carbon tax isn’t working; it’s become too divisive. That’s why I’ll cancel it and replace it with incentives to reward people for greener choices”, Carney said in a statement released to the media.
Trump administration officials are pressing federal agencies to dig deeper to find diversity workers to push out of the government, according to current and former officials familiar with internal conversations.
President Trump’s Office of Personnel Management last week required federal agencies to close offices that focus exclusively on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility and place employees of those divisions on paid administrative leave by Jan. 22. Agency leaders were required to submit a list of all DEI employees the following day.
BREAKING: Ibram X. Kendi's "Center for Antiracist Research" is permanently shutting down and laying off its staff. Kendi's center hoovered up tens of millions of dollars in grants, but produced virtually no work. Another BLM-era grift comes to a close. pic.twitter.com/LLpqP5KHFg
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) January 30, 2025
British Columbia’s education minister has fired the entire Victoria School Board in a dispute over a safety plan where the board barred police from schools except in emergencies.
Minister Lisa Beare says student safety is at risk in the district and she has appointed a lone trustee to oversee the district.
“Students are at the centre of every decision I make, and ultimately their safety in this school district is at risk. Our government has given this board multiple opportunities to act, and they have not delivered,” Beare said in a release.
Knife crime has hit a record high in multiple police force areas across England and Wales, official data show.
Knife offences have reached their highest level since records began in 2011 in seven areas, accounting for 27 per cent of the population or 16 million out of 65 million people, according to the data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
These include the Metropolitan Police, Britain’s biggest force, where knife crime offences increased by 18 per cent to 16,521 incidents in the year to September, more than 2,000 more than the previous record of 14,025 in 2019.
LONDON, Ont.—Doug Ford is taking a veiled shot at federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, saying whoever is the next prime minister must continue Canada’s supports for the auto industry — particularly in electric vehicles.
On the second day of Ontario’s Feb. 27 election campaign, the Progressive Conservative leader, who is seeking a third term in office, said Ontario would maintain its share of funding for EV battery production subsidies to automakers even if U.S. President Donald Trump tears up the Inflation Reduction Act.
That silent scream is Ford realizing the massive amounts of tax dollars poured into the EV industry will never be a viable investment.
Trudeau, Carney, Guilbeault (and Butts) don't want Canadians to see this.
NASA has determined CANADA REMOVES MORE CO2 from the Atmosphere than it EMITS.
This is mostly due to Forest preservation by Canada's Provinces.
The Trudeau Liberals do nothing for Canada to get credit… pic.twitter.com/tv0CupVqhx
— Andrew Haynes (@AndrewJWHaynes) January 31, 2025
h/t Mauser
Sweden is considering transferring convicted criminals to foreign prisons as a response to its escalating crime crisis. A government-commissioned investigation, launched in December 2023, concluded that there are no legal barriers preventing Sweden from leasing prison spaces abroad. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer announced the findings on Wednesday, emphasising that negotiations with potential host countries are already underway.
The proposal follows a surge in violent crime, particularly linked to gang activity, which has pushed Sweden’s prisons to capacity. The number of prison sentences issued in 2023 increased by 25% compared to the previous year, with a total of nearly 200,000 months of incarceration. By 2033, Swedish authorities estimate they will need 27,000 prison beds—more than double the current 11,000.
Nine in 10 academic job postings from some of the largest universities in Canada incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles in their hiring processes, a new study suggests.
The analysis, published by the Calgary-based think tank Aristotle Foundation, says that 98 percent of active job postings at 10 of Canada’s largest public universities include DEI requirements or strategies for filling vacancies.
9 out of 10? Good to know nearly everyone is getting a crappy education and not just you!
EXCLUSIVE: Jagmeet Singh’s Father Lost His Medical License Twice—But Regulators ERASED It from Public Records
Dr. Jagtaran Singh Dhaliwal, father of NDP leader @theJagmeetSingh, had his medical license suspended twice, yet his disciplinary record was erased by the College of… pic.twitter.com/zfTQ6tA6MO— Mocha Bezirgan (@BezirganMocha) January 30, 2025
I say Huh?
President Trump’s advisers are considering several offramps to avoid enacting the universal tariffs on Mexico and Canada that he had pledged, according to people familiar with the matter, even as he reiterated Thursday that the tariffs are coming.
The situation is fluid and Trump still may go through with his vow to slap 25%, across-the-board levies on imports from America’s two largest trading partners. The president has consistently said he would do so by Saturday.
But amid ongoing negotiations with Canada and Mexico, the administration appears undecided on whether to impose tariffs on all imports from those countries, the people familiar with the matter said, adding that administration officials are preparing to opt for more targeted measures instead.
Trump announces he is going ahead with placing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
In response, Canada plans pandemic-scale relief program to plunge the country further into debt and push it to the brink of default.
Buckle up! pic.twitter.com/0BEsBK2bvf
— Pasquale Sasso (@PasqualeSasso) January 30, 2025
