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He has denied any involvement in war crimes in the past. This week he repeatedly refused to discuss anything about himself — other than his passion: the honey bees.
“I have nothing to say,” Katriuk said of the accusations, after putting down a beekeeper’s smoker and replacing a mesh veil for a floppy ball cap.
The otherwise chatty Ukrainian-Canadian, who moved to Canada in 1951, claimed he wasn’t aware his name was added to the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s list.
Katriuk has faced accusations that he was a Nazi collaborator before, but this week Katriuk seemed fixated only on his bees, and their well-being.
Katriuk had an operation on his left knee three years ago and needs another one on his right, so he hobbles while moving between the close to 20 beehives that sit in rows on his land.
Despite the aches, he appears sturdy for his age.
“It’s thanks to the bees that I’m still alive and that I can still move around,” Katriuk said over the constant background hum of the insects.
Katriuk, who lives in a small house on the property with his wife, has been raising bees since 1959 and he insists he has only been stung a few times.
A neighbour described Katriuk as a quiet man who keeps to himself in the sparsely populated area, only a few kilometres from the U.S. border.
“He’s a quiet guy. I don’t think he mixes in the community ever,” said the man, who did not want to be named.
The neighbour acknowledged that locals are aware of the allegations about Katriuk, which have made many news headlines over the years.
The Federal Court ruled in 1999 that Katriuk lied about his voluntary service for German authorities during World War II in order to obtain Canadian citizenship.
The court concluded Katriuk had been a member of a Ukrainian battalion implicated in numerous atrocities in Ukraine — including the deaths of thousands of Jews in Belorussia between 1941 and 1944.
But in 2007 the Canadian government overturned an earlier decision to revoke Katriuk’s citizenship, due to a lack of evidence.
Groups that have long been calling on the government to strip Katriuk of his citizenship now hope that fresh details published in a recent journal article will help change Ottawa’s mind.
The article alleges Katriuk was directly involved in the March 1943 massacre that “annihilated” the German-occupied village of Khatyn in Belorussia, which is now Belarus.
“One witness stated that Volodymyr Katriuk was a particularly active participant in the atrocity: he reportedly lay behind the stationary machine gun, firing rounds on anyone attempting to escape the flames,” said the article, authored by Lund University historian Per Anders Rudling.
Rudling, whose research was published in the spring 2012 issue of Holocaust Genocide Studies, attributed these details to KGB interrogations released for the first time in 2008.
After these new allegations surfaced, B’nai Brith Canada urged the Canadian government in a letter to reconsider its position on Katriuk.
David Matas, the organization’s senior legal counsel, said Katriuk’s case could also be raised Thursday with Stephen Harper during a scheduled B’nai Brith meeting with the prime minister.
“It was easier after (World War II) to get into Canada if you were a Nazi war criminal, than if you were a Jewish refugee,” Matas said.
Ana Curic also said Kenney had “a fruitful discussion” with Holocaust survivors earlier this week, reassuring them that the government remains committed to the Katriuk case.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s so-called “Chief Nazi-Hunter” alleges the new “hard evidence” in Rudling’s article will change everything in Katriuk’s case.
Efraim Zuroff, co-ordinator of the organization’s Nazi war crimes research project, said the most-wanted list also includes another Canadian: Helmut Oberlander, who’s ranked at No. 10.
Oberlander’s case is also in limbo, the group says.
Zuroff said the biggest problem in bringing suspected Nazis to justice is not finding them or the evidence — but a lack of political will in many countries to see that they’re prosecuted.
“What’s the chance of a 90-year-old Nazi war criminal committing murder again? Zero,” Zuroff said in a phone interview from the Jerusalem area.
Katriuk thought his own time was up last fall, when an ulcer burst in his stomach.
“I was almost finished,” said Katriuk.
He added that he received five litres of blood during his two-week stay in hospital.
He hinted that one day he might tell his story — but he didn’t say when.
The Home Depot Inc. is buying Interline Brands Inc., which distributes maintenance and repair products, for just under $1.63 billion in cash.
The deal is expected to close by November and to add to Home Depot's earnings in the current financial year.
Jacksonville, Florida-based Interline is a national distributor and direct marketer of maintenance and repair products. The company serves more than 175,000 customer locations.
Atlanta-based Home Depot said the purchase will help address the needs of the home-improvement retailer's professional customers.
The Conjuring universe continues to grow. James Wan‘s horror hit has already spawned a sequel and two spinoff franchises (Annabelle and The Nun), and now the Annabelle films are getting a third installment with New Line favorite writer Gary Dauberman (Annabelle, IT) set to make his directorial debut on the project.
Last night, at San Diego Comic-Con’s ScareDiego event, New Line confirmed Annabelle 3, along with Dauberman’s role as director, and unveiled some new plot details about the project. According to Wan, who continues to produce the spinoff films, the new Annabelle movie will be something like a haunted Night at the Museum, wherein Annabelle targets the Warrens’ room full of creepy artifacts.
Dauberman further clarified that the film finds the creepy doll targeting the Warrens’ 10-year-old daughter Judy, who you may recall had a confrontation with Annabelle near the end of the first Conjuring film. Of course, that attack was at the behest of Bathsheba, but it sets the stage for some significantly creepy memories for the young girl. Dauberman explained he’s still finalizing the script, but the film essentially picks up with the Warrens bringing the killer doll to a place where she can’t wreak havoc (their room of artifacts) only to find she can wreak some major havoc there as well.
There’s a lot of fun to be milked out of the concept of the Warrens’ house of horrors gone wild, especially with The Conjuring serving as the basis for the shared universe of horror. Maybe we’ll see a little Valak cameo (after all, that demonic force will be riding off The Nun and is supposedly set to take center stage in a standalone Crooked Man movie), or maybe we’ll see a whole new host of horrific forces poised to face down the Warren lineage.
Per the announcement, “Annabelle arrives home next summer.” For more of our thoughts on the news, check out the video below and be sure to stay tuned for more of the latest from Comic-Con.
PCB exposure may interfere with a woman’s ability to get pregnant, a new study of women undergoing in vitro fertilization suggests. The study of 765 women found that those whose blood contained the highest levels of a particular form of polychlorinated biphenyl – one known as PCB 153 – were 41 percent less likely to give birth than women with the lowest levels.
One contributing factor: Fertilized eggs were half as likely to implant in women if blood concentrations of PCB-153 fell in the top 25 percent of those measured among all participants. The study appeared online Feb. 24 in Environmental Health Perspectives.
In women not undergoing IVF it would be difficult to know when to test for implantation, says John Meeker, who led the new study. So the new data may provide a window into a subtle fertility risk that would be almost impossible to find in the general population, explains Meeker, an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in Ann Arbor.
His team studied blood and urine that had been collected from 765 women treated at fertility clinics in the Boston area between 1994 and 2003. Together, the women had gone through a total of 827 cycles of attempted fertilization – processes that led to 297 live births, 229 implantation failures and 301 pregnancies that naturally terminated within 20 weeks of implantation.
The researchers went into the study suspecting that the risk of implantation failure might be elevated among the most highly exposed women, based on earlier studies by others showing a similar problem in PCB-exposed rodents. Two years ago, Meeker’s team also showed that in women, PCBs can enter follicles, structures that hold egg cells. So this “does suggest that these chemicals can make it to a place where they would be in contact with the maturing egg,” he says.
More than 200 related PCBs exist. Most people inadvertently encounter a broad mix of these, including traces of PCB-153, through food and the environment. Because some of these pollutants are difficult and costly to measure in blood, the researchers tested for the sum of all PCBs as well as for a narrow spectrum of specific ones or mixes of several with related functional attributes, such as binding to hormone receptors in cells or – in PCB-153’s case – an ability to turn on certain detoxifying enzymes.
The authors caution that although they found the strongest signs of potential fertility risks associated with PCB-153, there were hints that other PCBs might also impair fertility. The team notes that PCB-153 might even serve as a marker for one or more other reproductively toxic PCBs – or related pollutants – that co-occur in the environment.
“I find the data intriguing – and think they have something here,” says David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany in New York. “I’m also underwhelmed,” he adds.
The researchers probed for a number of different reproductive endpoints, he says, including miscarriage, and what are known as chemical pregnancies – where a fertilized egg dies before a fetal heartbeat can be detected. Only implantation failures appeared at rates greater than would be expected by chance. And only for PCB-153, he adds, not for any of several different PCBs or PCB combinations.
The data would be more convincing, Carpenter says, if the authors could point to some mechanism by which PCBs might impair reproduction – such as changing the permeability of the outer membrane of egg cells.
Several years ago, Carpenter’s team showed that some cells – nerve cells and immature immune cells – can incorporate PCBs, including PCB-153, altering the fluidity of the cells’ membranes. “Something as fundamental as changing the fluidity of the membrane in the oocyte [egg cell] or uterus could, in fact, have dramatic effects on implantation,” Carpenter says.
Until their U.S. production was banned in 1979, most PCBs were used as insulating liquids in electrical transformers. Over the years, PCBs also have found use in other applications, including as an ingredient of exterior building caulk and in some floor finishes. Because many PCB-containing materials are still in use and because any PCBs that enter the environment do not readily break down, people continue to encounter exposure to these potentially toxic compounds, most often through contaminated food.
He gained world fame in 1972, during the Cold War, when he beat the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky.
Also known for his eccentric behaviour, Fischer refused to defend his title in 1975 when the World Chess Federation did not accept all his conditions for a title defence. So, the title was awarded to another Soviet, Anatoly Karpov.
In 1992, Fischer won an exhibition match against his old rival Spassky at Sveti Stefan in Yugoslavia. But he violated an international sanctions imposed on then Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.
He became wanted in the U.S. for violation of the sanctions, renounced his U.S. citizenship and was naturalized by Iceland in 2005 to avoid deportation to America.
Bobby Fischer died in Reykjavik's hospital on Thursday. The cause of death was not immediately available.
Should firefighters respond to all medical emergencies?
GRAND RAPIDS - Setting criteria for what constitutes a true medical emergency was among the recommendations included in a report issued Thursday on the status of Kent County’s emergency medical response system.
Mic Gunderson, executive director of Kent County Emergency Medical Services Inc., told the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council on Thursday that the county’s emergency medical response system is working well but could improve in ways that cost little while benefiting taxpayers.
Gunderson told officials the nearly $20 million it costs annually to operate the system that ranges from ambulance services to medical care is money well spent. He questioned if area fire departments need to respond to all medical emergencies as is common practice now.
A fire truck response along with an ambulance doesn’t make economic sense and offers no advantages, he said.
The idea is similar to a 2009 suggestion from Grand Rapids City Manager Greg Sundstrum, who drew criticism from firefighters who said their services are highly recommended as lower priority medical calls can quickly become more urgent. Kentwood city leaders have stopped responding to lesser medical calls.
The report comes as Grand Rapids, Wyoming and Kentwood continue discussions about a possible merger.
Metro Council Executive Director Don Stypula said the report was commissioned by officials wanting a benchmark for what savings might be achieved by merging various fire departments.
Because local units are looking at combining or sharing emergency response service, community leaders have asked for more detail on the cost of the system from 911 call to hospital discharge.
“The managers and mayors from the urban core communities wanted more detail in terms of establishing the cost of the system in order to further evaluate the possibilities,” Stypula said.
Gunderson’s report pegs the 2010 cost of operating Kent County’s emergency medical response services at nearly $20 million, or about $33.08 per resident. It also shows the county faring rather well, at least in terms of surviving a cardiac arrest, the one measure tracked system-wide.
Kent County’s hospital discharge rate for cardiac arrest was 37.3 percent compared to national rate of 30 percent as tracked through a national cardiac arrest registry. The 46 agencies voluntarily report their numbers and fare better than most.
“The fact that we’re performing above that very elite group is something the community should be very proud of,” Gundserson said.
The report recommends placing GPS systems in all ambulances and fire trucks to assure the closest available help answers medical calls, and to include community leaders on the Emergency Medical Service’s board of directors.
The agency charged with overseeing the system and making policy recommendations is governed by a group of hospital officials, medical providers and ambulance services.
Iain Stewart fought off a fierce challenge from Labour candidate Hannah O'Neill to retain his MK South seat.
The Scot took the seat back in 2010, but after a majority of 8,672 in 2015, he took it by just 1,725 votes today.
The remarkably reduced majority was announced just minutes ago, with a total of 30,652 votes for Mr Stewart and 28,927 votes for Labour candidate Hannah O'Neill.
The Liberal Democrat candidate Tahir Maher received 1,895 votes, Green candidate Graham Findlay received 1,179 votes and UKIP candidate Vince Peddle received 1,833 votes.
He said: "I'm delighted to have been reelected for the third time in Milton Keynes South. It is the largest vote I've ever recorded and the largest share of the vote I've ever recorded. I look forward to being the representative in the Houses of Parliament."
A weather alert has been issued as Sussex will be hit by strong gusting winds again later this week.
The Met Office yellow (be aware) warning is from 9pm Wednesday (January 17) until 1pm on Thursday.
The Met Office says: “Very strong winds will affect parts of the UK during Wednesday night and into Thursday.
“The strongest winds are expected to transfer eastwards across the warning area before clearing by early afternoon.
“Road, rail and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations.
“There is also a possibility that some bridges may close.
“Injuries and danger to life from flying debris are possible, along with some damage to buildings.
The Chief Forecaster’s assessment is: “During Wednesday night and into Thursday there is the potential for gusts of 60-70mph quite widely and a small chance of winds reaching 80mph in places.
Her family says Jill Messick, battling depression, killed herself after getting caught in toxic struggle between Rose McGowan and Harvey Weinstein.
Jill Messick, the ex-manager of Rose McGowan who got caught up in McGowan's toxic struggle with accused sexual predator Harvey Weinstein, killed herself Wednesday. Her family blames McGowan, Weinstein and "sensationalistic" media, in a statement issued Thursday.
Messick, 50, was a veteran studio executive and producer and the mother of two children. She also had battled bipolar disorder and depression — her "nemesis," according to her family — for years.
She was McGowan's manager in 1997 when McGowan claimed she was raped by Weinstein during the Sundance Film Festival. In October, McGowan became one of the first women to publicly accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct, thus setting off an avalanche of accusations against Weinstein and other powerful figures in Hollywood.
Messick's name was dragged into the scandal headlines on Jan. 30, when Weinstein's attorney, Ben Brafman, released an email attributed to Messick — but without her consent — in which she seemed to defend Weinstein's argument that his encounter with McGowan was consensual.
In Messick's family's statement, they describe her as a supporter of the Me Too movement, who was "broken" by seeing her name in the headlines surrounding the McGowan/Weinstein battle.
The family said Messick believed she had been slandered by McGowan, but chose not to come forward and defend herself for fear of undermining other women from coming forward on the issue.
"She opted not to add to the feeding frenzy, allowing her name and her reputation to be sullied despite having done nothing wrong," the statement said, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which published it in full.
It was especially painful, the family's statement said, that the headlines came just as Messick was rebounding after a manic episode five years earlier.
"It broke Jill, who was just starting to get her life back on track."
Her family believes Messick also was victimized by a new media culture focused on speed, unlimited information sharing and "a willingness to accept a statement as fact" without further checking.
As a result, "mistruths" about Messick were spread and she was unable and unwilling to challenge them, the family said.
Messick was an executive producer at Miramax from 1997 to 2003, and worked on films including Masterminds and Frida and the TV series Bad Judge. Her most recent film project is the upcoming adaptation of Minecraft with Steve Carell.
Representatives for Weinstein and McGowan did not return requests for comment from USA TODAY.
It was the last stop for this subway creep.

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