Second teen sentenced in death of Kenneth Lee gets 21 months probation

OTTAWA – As war in the Middle East spread Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly “unequivocally” condemned Iran’s move to fire dozens of missiles into Israel but asked the Jewish state not to respond in a bid to avoid further escalation.

Joly also begged Canadians in Lebanon to leave immediately as Israel began what it is calling a limited ground operation against Hezbollah targets in the south of that country.

“These attacks from Iran will only serve to further destabilize the region, and it must stop,” Joly said on Parliament Hill. The latest moves by Israel and Iran are risking an “all-out war” in the Middle East she said.

In the House of Commons, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre demanded the government say unequivocally that Israel has the right to defend itself.

Joly said in response that she had been in contact with her Israeli counterparts earlier in the day. In an earlier scrum with reporters, Joly said Israel does have the right to defend itself but that further escalation of the war is not going to help.

Last week Canada joined G7 nations and several Middle East allies in demanding a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah as the intensity of fighting between the two intensified.

Both Defence Minister Bill Blair and Joly insisted they still believe a diplomatic solution is possible.

“I believe that it is possible to get to peace,” Joly said. “I believe that we’re in a moment where we need to save lives.”

On Friday, Canada began helping reserve hundreds of seats for Canadian citizens on the few commercial flights still available out of Beirut to Istanbul, after many carriers cancelled their service in and out Lebanon.

Joly made a desperate plea to people to take up the offer, saying 200 people had taken advantage of the seats over the weekend, and 200 more were on a flight to Istanbul Tuesday.

She said 4,000 people had inquired with her department about the offer of help leaving Lebanon, but of the 1,700 who had so far been called back, only half accepted one of the seats.

“If you are offered a seat, please take it. It is time to leave now,” she said. “I know it’s a tough choice. I know that the situation is extremely difficult, but my priority is your security.”

Officials from Global Affairs Canada were set to brief Canadian media about the efforts later Tuesday.

Blair said Canada does not believe Israel’s incursion into southern Lebanon amounts to a “full-scale invasion” yet, but such an invasion remains a possibility.

“We have to remain hopeful that there’s a possibility of a ceasefire and a diplomatic resolution of the current conflict,” he said. “But we’re watching with increasing concern about the escalation of violence.”

The latest escalation comes almost a year after a deadly Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and abducting another 250. Israel responded with attacks in Gaza, that have left more than 41,000 dead, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since Oct. 8, 2023, with communities in northern Israel evacuated as a result.

An airstrike last week killed Hezbollah’s longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah. Two Canadians were killed in Lebanon in Israeli airstrikes, also last week.

On Tuesday night, Canadian MPs will hold an emergency debate on Canada’s response to the Middle East crisis and its evacuation measures. NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson requested the debate first thing Tuesday and House Speaker Greg Fergus agreed to it.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2024.

— With files from The Associated Press

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office says her recent comment about chemtrails doesn’t mean she believes the United States government is spraying them in the province.

Spokeswoman Savannah Johannsen says Smith was simply sharing what she has heard from Albertans.

Smith has come under criticism after she spoke about chemtrails at a weekend United Conservative Party town hall.

The premier said she has not found evidence chemtrails are being sprayed over Edmonton, but someone told her if it’s happening it’s being done by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Smith told the audience if it is the U.S, her powers as premier of Alberta to stop it are limited.

The debate surrounds the white streaks of condensation visible in the sky after planes fly by.

Some people have claimed the streaks are chemicals purposely sprayed by unknown entities for nefarious purposes.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — John Amos, who starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom “Good Times” and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries “Roots,” has died. He was 84.

He died Aug. 21 of natural causes in Los Angeles. Amos’ publicist, Belinda Foster, confirmed the news of his death Tuesday.

He played James Evans Sr. on “Good Times,” which featured one of television’s first Black two-parent families. Produced by Norman Lear and co-created by actor Mike Evans, who co-starred on “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” it ran from 1974-79 on CBS.

“That show was the closest depiction in reality to life as an African American family living in those circumstances as it could be,” Amos told Time magazine in 2021.

Among Amos’ film credits were “Let’s Do It Again” with Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier, “Coming to America” with Eddie Murphy and its 2021 sequel, “Die Hard 2,” “Madea’s Witness Protection” and “Uncut Gems” with Adam Sandler. He was in Ice Cube and Dr. Dre’s 1994 video “Natural Born Killaz.”

Amos’ “Good Times” character, along with wife Florida, played by Esther Rolle, originated on another Lear show, “Maude.” James Evans often worked two manual labor jobs to support his family that included three children, with Jimmie Walker becoming a breakout star as oldest son J.J.

Such was the show’s impact that Alicia Keys, Rick Ross, the Wu-Tang Clan are among the musicians who name-checked Amos or his character in their lyrics.

“Many fans consider him their TV father,” his son Kelly Christopher Amos said in a statement. “He lived a good life. His legacy will live on in his outstanding works in television and film as an actor. My father loved working as an actor throughout his entire life He was my dad, my best friend, and my hero.”

The elder Amos and Rolle were eager to portray a positive image of a Black family, struggling against the odds in a public housing project in Chicago. But they grew frustrated at seeing Walker’s character being made foolish and his role expanded.

“The fact is that Esther’s criticism, and also that of John and others — some of it very pointed and personal — seriously damaged my appeal in the Black community,” Walker wrote in his 2012 memoir “Dyn-O-Mite! Good Times, Bad Times, Our Times.”

After three seasons of critical acclaim and high ratings, Amos was fired. He had become critical of the show’s white writing staff creating storylines that he felt were inauthentic to the Black characters.

“There were several examples where I said, ‘No, you don’t do these things. It’s anathema to Black society. I’ll be the expert on that, if you don’t mind,‘” he told Time magazine. “And it got confrontational and heated enough that ultimately my being killed off the show was the best solution for everybody concerned, myself included.”

Amos’ character was killed in a car accident. Walker lamented the situation. “If the decision had been up to me, I would have preferred that John stay and the show remain more of an ensemble,” he wrote in his memoir. “Nobody wanted me up front all the time, including me.”

Amos and Lear later reconciled and they shared a hug at a “Good Times” live TV reunion special in 2019.

Amos quickly bounced back, landing the role of an adult Kunta Kinte, the centerpiece of “Roots,” based on Alex Haley’s novel set during and after the era of slavery in the U.S. The miniseries was a critical and ratings blockbuster, and Amos earned one of its 37 Emmy nominations.

“I knew that it was a life-changing role for me, as an actor and just from a humanistic standpoint,” he told Time magazine. “It was the culmination of all of the misconceptions and stereotypical roles that I had lived and seen being offered to me. It was like a reward for having suffered those indignities.”

Born John Allen Amos Jr. on Dec. 27, 1939, in Newark, New Jersey, he was the son of an auto mechanic. He graduated from Colorado State University with a sociology degree and played on the school’s football team.

Before pursuing acting, he moved to New York and was a social worker at the Vera Institute of Justice, working with defendants at the Brooklyn House of Detention.

He had a brief professional football career, playing in various minor leagues. He signed a free-agent contract in 1967 with the Kansas City Chiefs, but coach Hank Stram encouraged Amos to pursue his interest in writing instead. He had jobs as an advertising and comedy writer before moving in front of the camera.

Amos’ first major TV role was as Gordy Howard, the weatherman on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” from 1970-73. As the show’s only Black character, he played straight man to bombastic anchor Ted Baxter.

He was a frequent guest star on “The West Wing,” and his other TV appearances included “Hunter,” “The District,” “Men in Trees,” “All About the Andersons,” “Two and a Half Men,” and “The Ranch.”

In 2020, Amos was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. He served in the New Jersey National Guard.

He is survived by daughter Shannon, a former entertainment executive, and and Kelly Christopher, a Grammy-nominated video music director and editor. They were from his first marriage to Noel Mickelson, whom he met in college. His second marriage to actor Lillian Lehman also ended in divorce.

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Associated Press Writer Kaitlyn Huamani contributed to this report.