Parliament heats up over Finance Minister’s absence to address crises

BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Small business owners and entrepreneurs: listen up! Walmart announced its 9th annual "Open Call" event, designed to help U.S. businesses and American-made products get on store shelves — and there are only a few days left to enter. "Small business owners and entrepreneurs with a dream of selling their U.S.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Less than two weeks after Universal Parks & Resorts revealed its plans to build rent-controlled apartments in Orlando – future efforts to help the housing crisis in the area -- Walt Disney World Resort on Wednesday announced its own plans to build an affordable housing community. (Walt Disney World Resort/artist rendering)Disney said the development was still "in the early planning stages and subject to appropriate approvals," but expected to include more than 1,300 apartments on 80-acres of land in Orlando, near Flamingo Crossings Town Center, according to a news release."We are invested in working together with our community to solve complex issues," said Jeff Vahle, president of Walt Disney World Resort in a prepared statement."The lack of affordable housing is affecting many people across our country, including right here in Central Florida.

A gym in the Phoenix area with a poster that was inspired by the Will Smith incident during the 2022 Oscars. PHOENIX - A gym in the Phoenix area has capitalized Will Smith's now-infamous slap of Chris Rock during the Academy Awards for a poster that appears to be aimed at those on their fitness journey.The poster was put up at a gym located near 24th Street and Osborn, and the gym is located near a fast food store in the area.

Arizona woman and her husband are in police custody and are accused of torturing and sexually assaulting a child.The alleged abuse happened in 2021, but the woman and her husband, 26-year-old Chloe Sergent and 39-year-old Keola Wimpish, were arrested on April 5 of 2022.26-year-old Chloe Sergent and 39-year-old Keola Wimpish The victim was placed into the custody of the Department of Child Safety in December 2021.Sergent told investigators about the alleged abuse, which included being hit with a machete and a crowbar. A family member says they never saw the two feed the child.Doctors at Phoenix Children's Hospital told police the child was extremely malnourished, had multiple severe injuries including 12 broken bones, multiple cuts that were infected, and that the victim required surgical intervention as part of the healing process, with permanent physical deformities possible.Childhelp, a nonprofit dedicated to intervention treatment, and prevention of child abuse says violence like this is becoming overwhelmingly more common."Our hotline saw a peak at 43% more calls during the pandemic in a similar month before the pandemic and these were kids trapped at home with abusers.

The message is clear that we all need to learn to the live with the virus as B.C. health officials prepare to lift remaining COVID-19 restrictions.

COVID-19 vaccine.Beginning Tuesday, those who are ages 70 and older as well as First Nations, Métis and Inuit people 65 and older can get the second booster shot.The province says all seniors in congregate care, regardless of age, can also receive the dose.Health Minister Jason Copping said in a release Wednesday that the number of COVID-19-positive patients in hospital remains stable. However, he said the Omicron subvariant BA.2 now makes up about 80 per cent of new cases in Alberta, bringing the potential for increased transmission and some increase in admissions.Copping said the province is well-positioned to manage any increase in hospital admissions but urged people to protect themselves.“Albertans have access to vaccines and antiviral treatments for protection against severe outcomes,” Copping said.“I encourage everyone to get vaccinated with every dose you’re eligible for and to stay home if you’re feeling unwell.”Eligible people can book their fourth dose provided at least five months have passed since their third.The United Conservative Party government’s announcement follows a recommendation from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.Earlier Wednesday, Manitoba expanded eligibility requirements for people to get a second booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.Those eligible include residents of personal care homes and in congregate settings, such as supportive housing and assisted living facilities.

Canada’s sixth COVID-19 wave is underway, as infections and hospitalizations creep up.

COVID-19 vaccine doses for those aged 60 and older, as well as some Indigenous groups aged 18 and older.The second boosters will be available to the eligible groups as of 8 a.m. on Thursday and the city’s top doc suggests pharmacies will be the major provider of this round of vaccinations.

Police vehicles block access to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021.

PHILADELPHIA - Authorities say a SEPTA police officer was shot during an ongoing standoff with an armed suspect Wednesday evening in Frankford.A massive police presence has converged outside a property on the 4700 block of Leiper Street where the suspect is believed to be held up. There is no information on the officer's condition.

TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - 2020/06/12: A Toyota sign on car dealer during the daytime. The sky is blue with some clouds. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images) DETROIT (AP) - Toyota customers soon won't be able to get U.S.

FILE-White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino speaks inside the empty Mellon Auditorium August 26, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) WASHINGTON - Former Trump advisers Peter Navarro and Dan Scavino were held in contempt of Congress on Wednesday for their monthlong refusal to comply with subpoenas rendered by the House committee's investigation into the Jan.

LAKE MARY, Fla. - A WWE Hall of Famer is accused of causing a car crash last month in Florida that claimed the life of a 75-year-old man.According to Ormond Beach police officers, Tamara Lynn Stych was believed to be under the influence at the time of the wreck.  Investigators said the three-car crash happened on the evening of March 25 on U.S.

PHILADELPHIA - A man has been acquitted of all charges in the shooting death of the son of a high-ranking police official during a brawl at a south Philadelphia park three years ago.A Common Pleas Court jury on Wednesday acquitted 22-year-old Tyquan Atkinson of murder, criminal conspiracy and weapons offenses in the March 2019 death of 20-year-old Nicholas Flacco at FDR park.Prosecutors said the victim was tailgating with friends after a Phillies game when several fights broke out among women from different groups and one threatened to "call her man." Officials said a man later fired twice and left but shortly afterward returned and shot Flacco, the son of an Internal Affairs commander who was home from college.Prosecutors showed a video of the brawl, called eyewitnesses and cited cell phone records they said put Atkinson in the park at the time of the shooting.But Atkinson took the stand and denied any role in the killing, saying he wasn't in the park and was elsewhere in south Philadelphia that night. He said he drove by the park at some point and saw police lights flashing, but did not go in.

FILE-The Amazon Lab126, a research and development company owned by Amazon.com, in Sunnyvale, California. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images WASHINGTON - The job market has been a rollercoaster during the pandemic, from employees leaving the workforce to the rise of remote and hybrid workplaces. While most companies have faced this type of adversity, some have found ways to stay afloat and thrive, and Linkedin is highlighting these organizations.Linkedin unveiled its 2022 top companies list that ranks the 50 best workplaces for professionals to grow their careers.

As Ontario begins the process of expanding its fourth dose vaccination program, calls are increasing to improve the distribution of Paxlovid. The antiviral medication can help a patient if it’s administered within the first five days of COVID-19 symptoms, but doctors say that’s not happening.

Ontario meets the sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of students and staff are calling in sick.While not all are because children are contracting the virus, a number of absences are tied to COVID-19.“We had very grave concerns after we came back from March Break,” says Nigel Barriffe with Elementary Teachers of Toronto.A couple of weeks out, Barriffe says many educators and students have fallen ill. It comes as the province recently made masking optional in schools.“I’m speaking to many of my colleagues who are catching COVID,” he said.

Empty storefronts along Yonge Street in downtown Toronto are serving as a canvas for the City of Toronto’s “HerStory” Campaign. It highlights the achievements and contributions of five women who have helped shape Toronto’s story.

University Hospital Network (UHN) says the network is experiencing staffing challenges amid the sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.In a tweet Wednesday afternoon, Dr. Kevin Smith said the UHN is “truly seeing a lot more cases of COVID” the past few days.“So much so that staffing is challenging once again,” he wrote. “Our input admissions have also gone up from 6 last week to 30 today.”We are truly seeing a lot more cases of COVID @uhn these past few days.

The Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield will today host a media briefing to provide updates on the response to the Omicron outbreak.

A dramatic scene in Brampton where a vehicle involved in a collision lays on its back in the backyard of a home. Caryn Lieberman reports.

As Ontario weathers a sixth wave, a growing number of students and staff are calling in sick. While not all are due to contracting the virus, a number are related to the pandemic. Brittany Rosen has more.

United States Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Wednesday several enforcement actions being taken against Russia, including the opening of an indictment against a Russian oligarch, charging Konstantin Malofeev for sanctions violations. He also announced the disruption of a global botnet he says is controlled by the Russian intelligence agency, known as the GRU.

WEST OAK LANE - The latest and greatest technology can be challenging to learn, especially as people age. But, some local students have been working to make it easier through a pilot program."She told me them things that be on tv. Them little brackets.

Mindy Kaling is opening up about how she dropped the baby weight after welcoming two kids, revealing she wasn’t super focused on a specific diet to achieve results.The former Mindy Project star recently spoke to Entertainment Tonight about her approach to postpartum after welcoming daughter Katherine, 4, and son Spencer, 18 months.A post shared by Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling)“I had my son in the first year of the pandemic in September 2020,” the actress told the outletl “It was this almost extended maternity leave. I wasn’t going to be on camera, the studios were shut down.”She continued, “After I had my daughter I had to shoot a movie, like, two months later, so I was very much like, ‘Just give me grilled salmon and sautéed spinach. I’m going to eat that for three months.’”Mindy Kaling’s smoking hot look has fans saying, ‘excuse me?’What Mindy Kaling had to say about one of Kate Middleton’s recent royal tour looksMindy Kaling’s new role honors her late mother’s memoryBecause Kaling “didn’t have those pressures” of slimming down to get back on camera, the former Office star didn’t feel rushed to lose the baby weight right away when she had her son.

A female firefighter with Leduc Fire Services resigned in front of city council on Monday, alleging harassment and a lack of action in response. Breanna Karstens-Smith reports.

Fans saw upsetting scenes on Coronation Street as a pale Faye Windass emerged from the bathroom and told her friend Emma Brooker she feared she was losing her baby. At the hospital Faye and her partner Craig Tinker waited for the scan results but were shocked by what they were told.

Yesterday President Joe Biden issued a presidential memorandum directing the secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a national action plan on long COVID.

HOUSTON - Not only are automated telemarketing robocalls calls to your cell phone bothersome, if you haven’t given your permission, they are illegal.More consumers are forcing illegal robocallers to pay up, including one man from Texas.RELATED: You may soon get fewer illegal robocalls thanks to new lawDan Graham, a CPA who works in Austin and Dallas, says he’s turning annoying telemarketing robocalls into cash."The gross is over $105,000 at this point," said Graham.He started when the calls just kept coming, spoofing local numbers.Graham recalled having to work away from his family and receiving robocalls that made him worry about his wife and baby.  "I've had calls from hospitals, spoofing hospital phone numbers. I haven’t seen my wife or my kid in days," said Dan.

This is an artist's illustration of a massive, newly forming exoplanet called AB Aurigae b (Credit: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)) NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has made a new discovery — directly photographing evidence of a Jupiter-like protoplanet forming through what researchers describe as an "unconventional" and "intense and violent process." According to the space agency, this discovery supports a long-debated theory for how planets like Jupiter form — a process called "disk instability." "In this method, instead of having a planet that grows and builds up from a small core accumulating matter and gas, the protoplanetary disk around a star cools, and gravity causes it to break up into one or more planet-mass fragments," NASA wrote in a press release Monday. The newly forming planet, called AB Aurigae b, is probably about nine times more massive than Jupiter and orbits its host star at a distance of 8.6 billion miles – over two times farther than Pluto is from the Sun, according to NASA. NASA announced an extraordinary new benchmark: the detection of the farthest individual star to date.

JUPITER, Fla. - Frightening video showed the moment when a boat ended up getting partially crushed by a rising South Florida drawbridge, with some on board jumping into the water to avoid being caught in the machinery.Jillian Pisciotta captured cell phone video from the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway in Jupiter last month, when a drawbridge operator began raising the bridge span.Rather than going under through the main channel, those aboard the pontoon boat had passed under a part of the bridge near the edge of the waterway that had signs posted reading, "Unauthorized personnel prohibited," "Danger: Moving Machinery," and "No Trespassing; Violators Will Be Prosecuted."RELATED: 'I killed a lady on the bridge': Florida drawbridge tender arrested after 79-year-old woman falls to her deathWhen the drawbridge began to rise, the machinery began pushing on part of the boat in the process, crushing the side.Pisciotta's video showed the boaters scrambling to the other side of the boat, with some jumping in the water to avoid injury.There was no word on how many passengers were on board the boat, or if anyone was injured in the incident.AdvertisementA Palm Beach County spokesperson told WSVN that the bridge tender was unaware that a boat was underneath the bridge. 

WESLACO, Texas - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has announced new directives as part of the state's border security efforts Wednesday afternoon.Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to instate a zero-tolerance policy for "unsafe" vehicles which may also possibly smuggling migrants. To enforce this, DPS will be conducting enhanced safety inspections of these vehicles as they cross the border into Texas starting at 4 p.m.

A study in Israel during the Omicron variant surge finds that rates of COVID-19 infection and severe illness were lower after a fourth dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine than after three doses, and while protection against infection waned quickly after 4 weeks, protection against severe disease was still strong at 6 weeks.The study, published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicin

A Duke University study shows that, amid COVID-19, US healthcare workers (HCWs) had similar rates of potential moral injury (PMI)—a type of trauma-induced wound to the psyche—as military combat veterans.

Toronto says it is “ready to deliver” fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and will begin booking appointments for those eligible on Thursday.In a press release Wednesday, the city said residents 60 and older and First Nation, Inuit and Métis individuals and their non-Indigenous household members 18 and over will be able to book an appointment to receive their fourth shot beginning April 7 at 8 a.m.#TeamToronto is ready to deliver fourth vaccine doses now that the province has opened up eligibility.Eligible residents:✅ 60+ (third dose 5 months ago)✅ First Nation, Inuit and Métis individualsAppointments will be available on

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - It’s the largest drug bust in Orange County in nearly 16 years. Charges have been filed against two alleged drug dealers from Buena Park who had enough fentanyl to kill 4.7 million people, the district attorney’s office stated. Officers say they recovered 20.5 pounds of fentanyl, 821 pounds of meth, 189.7 pounds of cocaine and 20.5 pounds of fentanyl pills after pulling over a minivan leaving a Buena Park home on March 17.  According to the district attorney’s office, a lethal dose of fentanyl is as little as 2 milligrams; the two suspects had enough fentanyl to kill an estimated 4.7 million people. RELATED: Fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills prompt DEA warning'Always be cautious': Fentanyl, cocaine pills disguised as Tylenol seized by Ohio policeFOX 11 Investigates: Going undercover on the fight against fentanyl crisis"Millions of unsuspecting people have the grim reaper looking over their shoulder and they have no idea how close they actually are to dying from taking a single pill," said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer."With fentanyl in an estimated 40 percent of street drugs, it’s not a matter of if but when someone you know and love dies from fentanyl," the DA added.Edgar Alfonso Lamas, 36, and Carlos Raygozaparedes, 53, have been charged with one felony count of possession of sale of a controlled substance, three felony counts of sale or transportation for sale of a controlled substance, and two felony counts of possession of sale of a controlled substance. They both face a maximum sentence of 37 years if convicted on all counts.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa - Terrill Haigler wasted no time when he started working for the Philadelphia Sanitation Department. After a short three months, Haigler’s title as a sanitation laborer was quickly changed to, "Ya Fav Trashman" as he worked to incorporate the community in his everyday job.Our favorite trash man’s current initiative is to get Philadelphia clean by 2025.

Tiger Woods of the United States plays a shot on the 18th hole during a practice round prior to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 6, 2022, in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) AUGUSTA, Ga. - Tiger Woods, a little over a year after almost losing a leg in a catastrophic car crash, is planning to play this week in the Masters in an improbable sports comeback. The five-time champion at Augusta National made the announcement on Tuesday.

Covid-19 infection rates have fallen in all ten boroughs of Greater Manchester. Trafford now has the highest coronavirus infection rate in Greater Manchester, replacing Stockport.

recently published their study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Dogs were shaped during the course of domestication both in their behavior and in their anatomical features," the study’s authors said. Scientists said they noticed that the muscle responsible for raising the inner eyebrow is present in dogs but not as much as in wolves, which they descended from, according to the study. RELATED: Help needed: Ukrainian zoo continues evacuations after shelling amid Russian invasionThat movement produces what many call "puppy dog eyes." Scientists said humans produce the same movement when sad, which can trigger a similar response in dogs to show empathy. As part of the study, scientists compared and contrasted the facial features of gray wolves and domestic dogs. They found a difference in the levator anguli oculi medialis muscle immediately surrounding the eye.

Six people were killed in Sacramento in a shooting on April 3, 2022. SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sacramento police on Wednesday said at least five shooters fired guns during the weekend shooting in downtown Sacramento that killed six people and injured 12 others. There were two groups involved in the violence, Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt.

CINCINNATI - An Ohio man has given up food for lent to sustain a liquid diet consisting only of beer. According to local news outlet WCPO, this is Dell Hall’s fourth consecutive year sustaining a beer-only diet, but he said it’s not about getting drunk. "You can, you know, use a beer in a very healthy way and not vilify it as this, you know, evil alcohol," Hall said. He also keeps hydrated and healthy with water and by taking a vitamin. This year, Lent ends next week on April 14, and according to WCPO, the Cincinnati resident has already lost 25 pounds with the "diet." Del Hall enjoys beer at Cincy Winter BeerFest (Credit: FOX News/WCPO) Hall’s beer-only diet is also raising money for the Ken Anderson Alliance, an organization that helps adults with physical disabilities.

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - A Maryland man has been sentenced to 39 years in prison for breaking into multiple homes in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of D.C., binding and gagging male victims and raping them, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and DC Police on Wednesday.Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and WeatherBryant Webster, 38, of Suitland, Maryland, pleaded guilty in July 2019 for a series of home invasions carried out over a 50-day period in 2016 in which he sexually assaulted three men.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two U.S. lawmakers are proposing a new bill that would place violent flight passengers on a lifetime commercial no-fly list managed by the Transportation Security Administration. The "Protection from Abusive Passengers Act," proposed by U.S.

The world reported about 9 million COVID-19 cases last week, with cases dropping across all regions for the second week in a row, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday in its latest weekly update.

Ontario’s privacy commissioner says the University of Guelph‘s COVID-19 vaccine mandate did not violate the privacy of its students.Three complaints were filed by the parents of students who had been accepted to live on campus for the 2021-22 school year.They argued that the school’s vaccine mandate, which involved everyone on campus providing proof of vaccination and other information, breached their child’s privacy under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Canada’s privacy watchdog probing health officials’ use of cellphone location data “To prove their COVID-19 vaccination status, the complainants advised that the students had to fill out and submit a questionnaire to the university.

COVID-19 vaccine.Those eligible include residents of personal care homes and in congregate settings, such as supportive housing and assisted living facilities.

Hong Kong as authorities scramble to add mortuary space in the global financial hub’s battle on COVID-19, which is swamping funeral parlours.“I have never seen so many bodies piled up together,” said funeral director Lok Chung, 37, who has been working round the clock, with about 40 funerals organised in March, up from roughly 15 in an average month.“I have never seen family members so upset, so disappointed, so helpless,” Chung, wearing a sober grey suit with a black polo T-shirt, told Reuters.Since the fifth wave of coronavirus hit the former British colony this year, it has reported more than a million infections and more than 8,000 deaths.Scenes of bodies stacked in emergency rooms next to patients have shocked many as places in mortuaries have filled up.