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A key figure in a trucker protest that jammed Canada's capital and sparked a global movement against Covid mandates was found guilty Friday for his role in the blockade. The self-styled "Freedom Convoy" of big rig drivers and protesters rolled into Ottawa in early 2022 from across Canada to express anger at government protocols imposed to contain Covid-19. After three weeks of turmoil, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked rarely used emergency powers to dislodge the protesters. Pat King was among hundreds of people arrested, and the first of the protest leaders to be convicted. Two other organizers, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber faced a separate criminal trial but those verdicts are not expected until 2025. King faces up to 10 years in prison after being convicted on five charges, including mischief, counselling others to commit mischief and disobeying a court order. Acquitted of more serious charges, he smiled at a packed courtroom of supporters as the judge read the verdict. "Mr King was not merely engaging in political speech," Justice Charles Hackland said. "Rather, he was inciting the protesters to continue their ongoing blockade of downtown Ottawa." King led hundreds of big rigs and thousands of protestors to Ottawa, bringing the capital to a standstill for more than three weeks. Residents and business owners complained of incessant honking and harassment. As the demonstrators' demands expanded to a broader anti-establishment agenda, solidarity rallies popped up at Canada-US trade corridors and various places abroad. Most of the evidence at trial consisted of videos King posted on social media in which he urged his nearly 300,000 followers to rail against government overreach. "Hold the line," he said in video posts, appearing also to delight in the gridlock and misery of locals: "Pretty hilarious that people haven't been able to sleep for 10 days." Trudeau faced strong criticisms from civil liberties groups and the opposition Conservatives for invoking the Emergencies Act to dislodge the protestors. But a commission of inquiry ruled it had been "appropriate," calling it "a drastic move, but... not a dictatorial one." amc/bs/bfmAngel Reese Responds to 'Irritated' Fan's Cereals Complaint
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Assad exit puts US at perilous crossroads in SyriaShares of C3.ai ( AI 2.29% ) were surging last month as investors cheered a new partnership with Microsoft , a sign that the AI software company may finally be turning the corner after years of wide losses. Additionally, the company benefited from a strong report from Palantir , the software company that has best proven the market for AI services thus far. According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence , the stock finished the month up 51%. As you can see from the chart below, the stock popped after the Microsoft news came out on Nov. 19. ^SPX data by YCharts C3.ai is having a moment C3.ai first scored gains on Nov. 5, tracking with Palantir, which posted strong results in its third quarter. C3.ai is much smaller than Palantir, but the two companies do have some things in common, including a focus on AI software and the fact that they derive a significant percentage of their business from the federal government. C3.ai stock rose 7% on Nov. 5 and jumped another 5% on Nov. 6 in response to the U.S. election results. However, the real surge in the stock came on Nov. 19 when the expanded Microsoft partnership was announced. The stock jumped 24.2% on the news and continued to gain from there. At the Microsoft Ignite conference, the two companies announced a strategic alliance to accelerate the adoption of C3.ai's Enterprise AI platform on Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure service. The alliance includes technical integration that will make C3's software like C3 Generative AI available on the Microsoft Commercial Cloud Portal, and include joint sales and marketing for C3's Enterprise AI applications. The two companies already had a partnership, but they called it a "significant milestone" in their relationship. What's next for C3.ai The AI for the enterprise company is bringing a lot of momentum into its second-quarter earnings report, a sign that expectations are high after strong reports from Palantir and other software titans like Salesforce , and thanks to the expanded partnership with Microsoft. C3.ai's revenue growth has been improving, but the company is still significantly unprofitable. For its second-quarter report, which is due out on Monday, analysts expect revenue to increase 24.3% to $91 million and for its adjusted loss per share to widen from $0.13 to $0.16. Given the recent surge, the stock is likely to have a big move one way or the other. Keep an eye out for commentary about the Microsoft partnership as well.
Tony Buzbee , the lawyer representing over 120 alleged victims of Sean "Diddy" Combs , denies a claim from Jay-Z's lawyer that his firm pressured a woman to lie about being assaulted by the rappers. In a court filing Tuesday, Jay-Z's lawyer, Alex Spiro , said his law office received a call from a woman on December 9 who had previously reached out to the Buzbee Law Firm with allegations of trafficking and abuse but unrelated to Combs or Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter. The woman allegedly described her experiences to an attorney at Buzbee's firm, who then asked her, "At what point did you meet Diddy?" even though her case did not involve him. Still, Spiro wrote, Buzbee's firm allegedly encouraged her to pursue a civil case against Combs. When she expressed interest in bringing her allegations to law enforcement, she said members of Buzbee's firm allegedly told her that reporting her experiences to law enforcement was "not encouraged." Compounding her frustration, the woman alleged that after weeks of unresponsiveness from the firm—during which she repeatedly attempted to follow up—a representative finally contacted her but allegedly pressed her to confirm false details about her case. She claimed the firm directed her to say she had been drugged, physically restrained, and assaulted, even though these elements were not part of her experience. Feeling pressured to lie, she refused to comply. When she made it clear that she would only share her unaltered truth and was unwilling to conform to the narrative the firm seemed to want, the woman said she was dropped as a client. According to her, she felt dismissed once it became apparent that she was not a "coachable victim." Tony Buzbee Denies Jay-Z Lawyer's Accusations Buzbee denied these allegations Tuesday in a lengthy statement to Newsweek. "This allegation is patently ridiculous. If someone calls our intake group and has a viable case that we believe has merit and we can pursue we will pursue it. We are currently pursuing hundreds of cases against individuals and entities other than PDiddy. What we won't do is pursue a case that we don't believe has merit." "Without telling me the woman's name I can't speak specifically to what she told the intake folks to even tell you what this woman claimed if and when she called. I can tell you we haven't "dropped" any person like this. We don't pressure people nor do we need to. What we have done is reject potential cases from people we find to not be credible." He continued, "Understand we get a lot of prank calls. And we get a lot of calls from people who claim they are aggrieved but we just can't help them. We certainly don't need to "pressure" anyone to pursue a case. We have plenty of cases. What we can't and won't do is pursue a case we perceive to be weak or insupportable." "I'm growing weary of responding to this kind of trash. Jay Z's team is desperate and seemingly out of control. Their investigators have recently been caught on tape offering current clients of our firm one thousand dollars to sue our firm. This conduct is reprehensible and illegal. There will be consequences coming soon," Buzbee concluded. This latest filing comes as Jay-Z denied any wrongdoing after a Jane Doe accused him of raping her at a VMAs afterparty in 2000 while Combs and another celebrity watched. The accuser originally filed the suit against Combs in October but refiled it on Sunday to name Jay-Z. In court documents filed Monday, Spiro asked the judge to require Doe to identify herself using her real name or dismiss the case. In a statement released through his Roc Nation social media account and representative Jana Fleishman, Carter called the lawsuit a "blackmail attempt" and criticized Buzbee directly. "My lawyer received a blackmail attempt, called a demand letter, from a 'lawyer' named Tony Buzbee. What he had calculated was the nature of these allegations and the public scrutiny would make me want to settle," Carter stated. "I have no idea how you have come to be such a deplorable human Mr. Buzbee, but I promise you I have seen your kind many times over. My heart and support goes out to true victims in the world, who have to watch how their life story is dressed in costume for profitability by this ambulance chaser in a cheap suit." In response to the statement, Buzbee told Newsweek , "Mr. Carter previously denied being the one who sued me and my firm. He even filed his frivolous case under a pseudonym. What he fails to say in his recent statement is my firm sent his lawyer a demand letter on behalf of an alleged victim and that victim never demanded a penny from him. Instead, she only sought a confidential mediation." Buzbee added, "Since I sent the letter on her behalf, Mr. Carter has not only sued me, but he has tried to bully and harass me and this plaintiff. His conduct has had the opposite impact. She is emboldened. I'm very proud of her resolve. As far as the allegations in the complaint filed today, we will let the filing speak for itself and will litigate the facts in court, not in the media." Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com