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North Carolina gov pleads with storm evacuees to be patient

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WILMINGTON, N.C. — With Wilmington still mostly an island surrounded by Hurricane Florence’s floodwaters and people waiting for hours for handouts of necessities like food, North Carolina’s governor is pleading with thousands of evacuees to be patient and not return home just yet.

“I know it was hard to leave home, and it is even harder to wait and wonder whether you even have a home to go back to,” Gov. Roy Cooper said as officials began distributing supplies to residents of Wilmington, population 120,000.

The death toll rose to at least 37 in three states Tuesday, with 27 fatalities in North Carolina, as Florence’s remnants went in two directions: Water flowed downstream toward the Carolina coast, and storms raced through the Northeast, where flash floods hit New Hampshire and New York state .

Cooper warned that the flooding set off by as much as 3 feet (1 metre) of rain from Florence is far from over and will get worse in places.

“I know for many people this feels like a nightmare that just won’t end,” he said.

Addressing roughly 10,000 people who remain in shelters and “countless more” staying elsewhere, Cooper urged residents to stay put for now, particularly those from the hardest-hit coastal counties that include Wilmington, near where Florence blew ashore on Friday. A second shelter is opening in Carteret County.

Roads remain treacherous, he said, and some are still being closed for the first time as rivers swelled by torrential rains inland drain toward the Atlantic.

In South Carolina, two women died after a van was overtaken by rising flood waters near the Little Pee Dee River. Marion County Coroner Jerry Richardson told The Associated Press that the women, detainees being transported to a mental health facility, drowned at around 6 p.m. Tuesday when a van tried to cross a roadway and was overtaken by water. Their names have not been released. Two other people were sent to a hospital for observation.

The White House said President Donald Trump will visit North Carolina on Wednesday to see the damage. Beforehand he boasted on Twitter: “Right now, everybody is saying what a great job we are doing with Hurricane Florence — and they are 100% correct.” He warned that the Democrats will soon start criticizing the government response, and “this will be a total lie, but that’s what they do, and everybody knows it!”

In Wilmington, workers began handing out supplies using a system resembling a giant fast-food drive-thru: Drivers pulled up to a line of pallets, placed an order and left without having to get out. A woman blew a whistle each time drivers had to pull forward.

Todd Tremain needed tarps to cover up spots where Florence’s winds ripped shingles off his roof. Others got a case of bottled water or military MREs, or field rations. An olive-drab military forklift moved around huge pallets loaded with supplies.

Brandon Echavarrieta struggled to stay composed as he described life post-Florence: no power for days, rotted meat in the freezer, no water or food and just one bath in a week.

“It’s been pretty bad,” said Echavarrieta, 34, his voice breaking.

Nearby, about 200 people lined up to buy 40-pound (18-kilogram) bags of ice as quickly as a Rose Ice and Coal Co. could produce it.

Supplies have been brought into the city by big military trucks and helicopters, which also were used to pluck hundreds of desperate people from homes and other structures.

Mayor Bill Saffo said two routes were now open into Wilmington, which had been completely cut off by floodwaters, but those roads could close again as water swells the Cape Fear River on the city’s west side.

At Fayetteville, about 100 miles (160 kilometres) inland, near the Army’s sprawling Fort Bragg, the Cape Fear River had risen about 50 feet (15 metres) toward a crest predicted to be more than 25 feet (7 metres) above flood level. On Tuesday, logs and other debris became trapped under a rail bridge as rushing brown water pushed against the span.

The flooding got so bad that authorities closed a vehicle bridge in Fayetteville after the river began touching girders supporting the bridge’s top deck. Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin said it was unclear if the bridge was threatened. “We’ve never had it at those levels before so we don’t really know what the impact will be just yet,” he said.

The river swallowed trees, lamp posts and a parking lot near its banks. City officials warned still-rising water threatened some neighbourhoods and businesses that seemed safe, but said the worst was nearly over and life was beginning to return to normal downtown. Businesses were re-opening and owners removed sandbags and plywood from storefronts.

Human and animal waste is mixing with the swirling floodwaters, which have killed about 1.7 million chickens on poultry farms. More than 5 million gallons (18 million litres) of partially treated sewage spilled into the Cape Fear River after power went out at a treatment plant, officials said, and the earthen dam of a pond holding hog waste was breached, spilling its contents.

The governor said 16 rivers statewide were at major flood stage and more than 1,100 roads were closed. Emergency workers reported rescuing and evacuating more than 2,200 people and around 575 animals, he said.

In a bright spot, the Lumber River appeared to be falling in hard-hit Lumberton, about 70 miles (110 kilometres) inland. Power outages in the Southeast also were down, from a high of more than 910,000 to about 245,000, nearly all in North Carolina.

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Waggoner reported from Raleigh, North Carolina. AP photographer Gerry Broome in Lumberton, North Carolina; Gary Robertson in Raleigh; Alex Derosier in Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Jay Reeves in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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Follow Martha Waggoner on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mjwaggonernc

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For the latest on Hurricane Florence, visit https://www.apnews.com/tag/Hurricanes

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This story has been corrected to show the death toll in North Carolina is 27, not 29.

Chuck Burton And Martha Waggoner, The Associated Press








































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Alleged Human Traffickers arrested in Red Deer, Montreal, and Edmonton

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Human trafficking suspect arrested in Red Deer, July 2024

From Alert, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team

Three human traffickers arrested in Project Endgame

Three men have been arrested and stand accused of running a human trafficking operation that stretched across Canada; operating throughout Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Quebec.

Project Endgame was a year-long investigation led by ALERT’s Human Trafficking unit, and also relied on the assistance of the Edmonton Police Service, RCMP, and the Quebec joint forces Anti-Pimping team known as EILP.

Arrests and search warrants had taken place in Edmonton, Montreal, and Red Deer. A total of 23 charges related to human trafficking offences have been laid against Clyde Elien-Abbot, 31, Kevin Dorcelus-Cetoute, 31, and Jean Rodnil Dubois, 31. Elien-Abbot was arrested on January 31, 2025 in Edmonton, while the other two accused were arrested on July 23, 2024.

“Project Endgame exhausted all resources and avenues to bring charges against the suspects and end this cycle of sexualized violence and degradation,” said Staff Sergeant Chris Hayes, ALERT.

A number of human trafficking victims were located and provided resources and assistance through ALERT’s Safety Network Coordinators. ALERT believes there are additional victims and encouraging them to contact police.

Project Endgame revealed a cross-Canada network of sex trafficking that has been in operation for over a decade by the accused and possibly others. ALERT’s investigation saw the perpetrators work in the communities of Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Lloydminster, Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Cold Lake, and Estevan, Sask.

The perpetrators allegedly controlled the victims through coercion by forcing them to perform multiple sex acts on multiple clients every day. If the victims question the traffickers or dispute the situation, they were often violently assaulted, degraded, and/or threatened of further loss, violence, and isolation.

Project Endgame began in May 2023 following a 911 call placed to police detailing a sex worker being violently assaulted. The investigation has connections to a 2021 ALERT human trafficking investigation in which Dorcelus-Cetoute was charged.

Clyde Elien-Abbot, 31-year-old from Montreal, is charged with:

  • Trafficking in persons;
  • Procuring;
  • Material benefit from sexual services;
  • Advertising sexual services;
  • Money laundering; and
  • Animal cruelty.
Kevin Dorcelus-Cetoute, 31-year-old from Montreal, is charged with:
  • Sexual assault;
  • Assault;
  • Trafficking in persons;
  • Procuring;
  • Material benefit from sexual services; and
  • Uttering threats.
Jean Rodnil Dubois, 31-year-old from Montreal, is charged with:
  • Sexual assault;
  • Assault;
  • Trafficking in persons;
  • Procuring;
  • Material benefit from sexual services; and
  • Uttering threats.
Elien-Abbot remains in custody and has a bail hearing scheduled for February 19, 2025. Dorcelus-Cetoute and Dubois were both released from custody and are scheduled to appear in court on March 7, 2025.

Project Endgame involved the assistance of a number of agencies from across the country, including: Edmonton Police Service, City of Edmonton Animal Bylaw, Service de Police de a Ville de Montreal (SPVM), RCMP ‘C’ Division, RCMP ‘K’ Division, and RCMP ‘D’ Division.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.

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All 6 people trying to replace Trudeau agree with him on almost everything

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

The Liberals are choosing a new face, but all six contenders seem likely to continue forcing Canadians down the same path as the PM they’re out to replace

With the Liberal leadership election just over a month away on March 9, Canadians are examining the six final contenders and questioning if they will bring change to the Liberal Party or carry on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s radical legacy. 

The six contenders for Liberal leader and consequently, the next prime minister, are: Mark Carney, Chrystia Freeland, Karina Gould, Jaime Battiste, Frank Baylis and Ruby Dhalla.  

While all the above candidates are promising to turn the Liberal Party around, their policies, both past and proposed, suggest little difference from the radical, anti-life and globalist agenda embraced by the Trudeau government.

Former Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney 

Carney appears to be the frontrunner for Liberal Party leader, with many mainstream outlets tacitly promoting him as a solution for Canadians, and numerous MPs having endorsed his campaign.

However, as LifeSiteNews has previously reported, Carney’s history suggests he would be an even more radical version of Trudeau.

While his impressive work experience certainly raises him in the estimation of Canadians, especially compared with Trudeau’s pre-political career as a drama teacher, the former Governor of the Bank of England, like Trudeau, openly supports abortion, the LGBT agenda and many of the tax and fiscal policies of the Trudeau government, such as the carbon tax.

Carney’s endorsement of energy regulations go even further than Trudeau’s, with the candidate having previously blasted the prime minister for exempting home heating oil from the carbon tax. 

Carney has also been a longtime supporter of the globalist World Economic Forum, attending their infamous annual conference in Davos, Switzerland as recently as January 2023.

Carney routinely uses social media to advocate for achieving so-called “net-zero” energy goals, and even had his team bar multiple independent journalists from attending the press conference he held to announce his bid for Liberal leader.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland  

Freeland is perhaps best known internationally for her heavy-handed response to anti-mandate Freedom Convoy protesters, which saw the then-finance minister direct financial institutions to freeze the bank accounts of Canadians who participated in or donated to the protest. 

Freeland, like Carney, also has extensive ties to the WEF, with her receiving a personal commendation  from former WEF leader Klaus Schwab.   

Interestingly, at the same time as Freeland announced her Liberal bid, the WEF’s profile on Freeland was taken down from their website. Additionally, the majority of Freeland’s Instagram posts have been removed from public view. 

Many have speculated online as to the reason why these actions were taken, with some suggesting that Freeland desires to distance herself from the massively criticized group.  

Critics often pointed to Freeland’s association with the group during her tenure as finance minister and deputy prime minister, as she was known for pushing policies endorsed by the globalist organization, such as the carbon tax and online censorship.  

Former House Leader MP Karina Gould 

Gould, an avid abortion activist, is perhaps best known for telling American women that they can have their abortions in Canada following the Supreme Court of the United States’ overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022.  

Gould is also known for continually advocating in favor of state-funded media, which critics have warned causes supposedly unbiased news outlets into de facto propaganda arms for the state.

In one example from September, Gould directed mainstream media reporters to “scrutinize” Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, who has repeatedly accused government-funded media as being an arm of the Liberals. 

Gould also claimed that Poilievre’s promise to defund outlets like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation would deny Canadians access to important information, ignoring the fact that the Liberals’ own legislation, which she voted for, blocked all access to news content on Facebook and Instagram.   

MP Jaime Battiste 

Voting records show that in 2021 Battiste opposed a bill aiming to protect unborn children from sex-selective abortions. Later that same month, he voted to pass Bill C-6, which allows parents to be jailed for up to five years for refusing to deny the biological sex of their gender-confused children.

Furthermore, Battiste struck down a motion to condemn incidents of arson and vandalism of churches across Canada. In October 2023, a Conservative MP put forward a motion to denounce the arson and vandalism of 83 Canadian churches, especially those within Indigenous communities.    

However, Battiste moved to adjourn the meeting rather than discuss the motion, saying, “I would like to call to adjourn debate on this if that’s what we can do, so we can hear the rest of the study, but if we have to, then I would rather discuss it in camera because it does have a way of triggering a lot of people who went through residential schools and the things they are going through.”  

The Liberal government is known to be extremely lenient in their rhetoric when it comes to attacks on Catholic churches, with Trudeau even saying such behavior was “understandable” even if it is “unacceptable and wrong.”  

Former MP Frank Baylis  

Baylis served as a Liberal MP in 2015 but chose not to seek re-election in 2019. Now, he has thrown his hat in the ring as Liberal leader. 

During his time as MP, Baylis was a staunch supporter of abortion. In 2016, he voted against a Conservative bill to provide protection to unborn children and pregnant mothers from violence.  

Interestingly, Baylis is the former owner of the Baylis Medical Company of Montréal which was awarded a $282.5 million government contract for now “useless” ventilators during the COVID “pandemic.” 

Former MP Ruby Dhalla 

Dhalla served in the House of Commons from 2004 to 2011. Interestingly, Dhalla, born to Indian immigrant parents, has promised to deport illegal immigrants and “clamp down on human traffickers.” Dhalla’s stance sets her apart from the other Liberal candidates on the issue.  

While Dhalla styles herself as an “outsider,” during her time as an MP, she worked to further abortion in Canada, voting against legislation to protect babies from violence in the womb.  

In conclusion

It seems that no matter who is selected as the next leader of the Liberals, the party will remain one which prides itself on being pro-abortion, pro-LGBT, pro-euthanasia  and globalist in vision.

While Trudeau may be taking the blame for the current state of the Liberal Party, with these 6 candidates it would appear that the party remains intent on pushing the same policies.

Although it is true that Trudeau’s political blunders, such as his repeated historical use of black-face or his inviting a Nazi-aligned World War II veteran into Parliament, have contributed to his popularity decline, it seems the policies behind the blunders are not his, but the Liberal Party’s itself.

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