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The twists and turns in discovering Orlando Museum of Art’s ‘Basquiats’ were fakes

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:22:36 GMT

Matthew J. Palm | Orlando SentinelHow the now-discredited “Basquiat” artwork came to hang in Orlando Museum of Art is a story of lies, eBay, ticket stubs, catalog clues and shipping labels.The 22-page plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, in which Los Angeles auctioneer Michael Barzman admits he’s guilty of making false statements to a government agency about the art he helped counterfeit, paints a picture of the origins of the scandal that began more than a decade before the FBI raided the Orlando museum last June.And though for more than a year speculation on the art’s authenticity has revolved around a FedEx shipping label found on the works — a label with a logo that was not used until after Basquiat’s death in 1988 — agents found something much more incriminating involving a label.Barzman’s conversations with FBI agents provide a different take on the art’s origin story as presented in the museum’s “Heroes & Monsters: Jean-Mi...

San Francisco district attorney condemns Elon Musk over Cash App murder comments

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:22:36 GMT

Jessica Schladebeck | New York Daily NewsThe San Francisco district attorney blasted comments tweeted by Elon Musk after Cash App founder Bob Lee was stabbed to death in the street earlier this month.Lee, 43, was killed in the Rincon Hill neighborhood of San Francisco around 2:30 a.m. on April 4. A day later, Musk took to Twitter to lament how violent repeat offenders continue to get away with crime in San Francisco, one of the biggest tech hubs in the country. He was quickly joined by other high-profile figures and tech executives.“Many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately. Is the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders @BrookeJenkinsSF?” Musk wrote, tagging DA Brooke Jenkins.On Thursday, Nima Momeni, a tech consultant and owner of a company called Expand IT, was taken into custody in the San Francisco suburb of Emeryville. He was charged with mur...

Varsity Stadium: A location steeped in history

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:22:36 GMT

What do the late John Lennon, The Toronto Argonauts and Olympian Usain Bolt have in common? They all performed at Varsity Stadium. The location has been a home for sports since 1898, but the stadium itself was built in 1911. Currently, it is home to the University of Toronto’s Varsity Blues. “It’s been a civic stadium and really the longest continuously used civic stadium that we have in Toronto,” says Bruce Kidd, a professor at the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at U of T. Kidd, who ran track at the stadium and is a former Olympian, says it is a big part of the city’s history. A number of sporting events have taken place at the stadium’s location, including 35 Grey Cups, track and field races and some soccer matches for the 1976 Summer Olympics.“My father brought me down here to watch the Argos at U of T play football in the 1950s and I then came down here to run as a high school student with the University of Toronto track team and basically I’ve never ...

In China, Lula seeks help to build back Brazilian industry

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:22:36 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The trip by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to Beijing has made clear he is counting on China to help reinvigorate the South American nation’s ailing industrial sector — particularly by picking up the slack of exiting U.S. companies.After Lula met Friday with China’s President Xi Jinping, Brazilian finance minister Fernando Haddad told reporters the nations are planning a “leap forward” in their relationship.“President Lula wants a policy of reindustrialization. This visit starts a new challenge for Brazil: bringing direct investments from China,” Haddad said. He added that Brazil wants strong bonds with the U.S. as well, but noted with regret that recently “some American companies made the decision to leave Brazil.”Industrial policy is near and dear to Lula, a former steelworker who became a union leader. Decades later, he launched his bid for a third presidential term on the gritty outskirts of Sao Paulo outside a car factory. Th...

S&P/TSX composite ekes out small Friday gain, U.S. markets down

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:22:36 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index eked out a small gain thanks to strength in battery metals, while U.S. markets were down even as the country’s biggest banks beat earnings expectations.  All eyes were on some of the U.S.’ biggest banks Friday as they released their earnings for the first quarter of the year, said Angelo Kourkafas, an investment strategist at Edward Jones.“The banks kicked off the earnings season,” he said. “It was better than expected.” This lent some support to the market even as it contracted a little following Thursday’s rally, he said.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 15.42 points at 20,579.91.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 143.22 points at 33,886.47. The S&P 500 index was down 8.58 points at 4,137.64, while the Nasdaq composite was down 42.81 points at 12,123.47.The bank earnings were encouraging, said Kourkafas.“Today we had JP Morgan, Citibank, Wells Fargo and PNC, all beating expectations,” he said. He noted th...

TDSB student trustees: Discovering root cause of school violence is key to prevention

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:22:36 GMT

Student trustees at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) are highlighting what they believe to be the root cause of violence in Toronto schools, calling for holistic solutions to prevent further incidents in the communities.Trustees Jeffrey Osaro, a Grade 12 student at North York’s Northview Heights Secondary School, Naomi Musa, a Grade 12 student at Central Toronto Academy and Indigenous trustee Isaiah Shafqat, who attends Kapapamahchakwew (Elem) Wandering Spirit School, have been speaking with students about how to improve educational environments.The three student trustees say the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent isolation that ensued is being glossed over when addressing what has led to an upsurge in violence.“[Students] lack the social skills they were supposed to learn before they came to high school or during school, and we missed out on that because of the pandemic,” explained Musa.“So with the increase in violence, people don...

Macron’s new pension age overcomes last hurdle amid protests

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:22:36 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s Constitutional Council on Friday approved an unpopular plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 in a victory for President Emmanuel Macron after months of mass protests that have damaged his leadership.The decision dismayed or enraged critics of the pension plan. Hundreds of union activists and others gathered peacefully in Paris Friday evening before some groups broke off in marches toward the historic Bastille plaza and beyond, setting fires to garbage bins and scooters as police fired tear gas or pushed them back.Unions and Macron’s political opponents vowed to maintain pressure on the government to withdraw the bill, and activists threatened scattered new protests Saturday.Macron’s office said he would enact the law in coming days, and he has said he wants it implemented by the end of the year. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said Friday’s decision “marks the end of the institutional and democratic path of this reform,” adding that th...

CP Rail, Kansas City Southern merger clears path for more cargo, but hitches remain

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:22:36 GMT

MONTREAL — Under the banner of Canadian Pacific Kansas City, the merger of North America’s two smallest Class 1 railways became official Friday morning as CEO Keith Creel drove home a platinum spike at a ceremony in Kansas City, Mo.Combining Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. with Kansas City Southern Railway Co., the fusion creates the only railway stretching from Canada through to the U.S. and Mexico and marks the continent’s first major rail merger in more than two decades after a U.S. regulator approved the US$31-billion deal last month.It also opens the gate to higher cargo volumes and faster transport, despite several hitches on the network.“We can control our own destiny for our customers, as opposed to being tied to interchanges or being cut out of markets for the lack of a stronger network,” Creel said, in a phone interview from Kansas City.He pointed to grain, lumber and shipping containers as key areas for growth, including a stronger competitive positi...

Source: Chase with possible armed robbery suspect in stolen car ends in Elmhurst crash

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:22:36 GMT

ELMHURST, Ill. — A chase with a possible armed robbery suspect in a stolen car that started in Oak Brook ended in a crash in Elmhurst, a source told WGN-TV.The chase started around 2:45 p.m. near 22nd Street and Midwest Road in Oak Brook. Driver dies after falling out of Jeep, being struck by 2 vehicles on Dan Ryan Expressway The pursuit continued north on Route 83 to St. Charles Road and went by York High School. It ended in Elmhurst on St. Charles Road just east of the high school.A suspect was taken into custody after a brief foot chase, the source said.Video from Skycam showed at least one person being treated by paramedics at the scene. The extent of their injuries hasn't been confirmed.

Court docs: Fake baby cries used as ruse after Ana Marie Townsend killed in arson fire

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:22:36 GMT

MARKHAM, Ill. — Fake baby cries were used as a ruse to throw off Ana Marie Townsend's grandparents after the toddler was already dead from an arson fire, prosecutors said in court Friday.Melody Townsend, 40, was arrested last month in California, south suburban authorities announced Thursday. She's been charged with two counts of child endangerment and concealing/aiding a fugitive.Her daughter, Ana Marie Townsend, 2, was found dead July 3, 2017 at the scene of a vacant house fire at 155th and Hamlin in Markham.In bond court Friday, prosecutors outlined what they think happened before Townsend was discovered in the fire.At the end of June 2017, prosecutors said Melody Townsend was living with her daughter's father at a hotel. According to court documents, one day Townsend left Ana with the father, who has not been identified or charged at this time, and went to work.When she returned from work, Ana Marie appeared to be not breathing on the bed. Prosecutors allege Townsend t...