Senate to mull probe into Bush-era policies

A key US senator has taken a first step towards forming a commission of inquiry to probe potential abuses committed under the secret counter-terrorism policies pursued by former president George W Bush.
Senator Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he has called a March 4 hearing to explore how to establish an inquiry to get to the truth about "one of the most secretive administrations in American history."
"We need an independent inquiry that is beyond reproach and outside of partisan politics to pursue and find the truth," said Leahy in a statement.
"Such a commission would focus primarily on the subjects of national security and executive power in the government's counterterrorism effort," he said.
He said formation of such a commission should not close the door to criminal investigations into potential misdeeds.
But he said it would serve as a "middle ground," aimed at assembling the facts of how the previous administration polices were formed and exercised.
"We do not yet know the full extent of our government's actions in these areas, and we must be sure that an independent review goes beyond the question of whether crimes were committed, to the equally important assessment of whether mistakes were made so we may endeavor not to repeat them," he said.
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Man dies in jet-propelled truck crash at US air show
Video taken at the Battle Creek Executive Airport by apparent air show attendees and posted on social media showed the truck losing control, bursting into flames and crashing, flipping over multiple times as horrified spectators looked on.
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3 dead after shooting at shopping mall in Copenhagen; one arrested
The Royal House said on its website late on Sunday that an event in southern Denmark to commemorate the end of the first three stages of the Tour de France cycling race, hosted by the Danish Crown Prince and with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in attendance, had been cancelled.
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Texas clinics halt abortions after state high court ruling
The Friday night ruling stopped a three-day-old order by a Houston judge who said clinics could resume abortions up to six weeks into pregnancy. The following day, the American Civil Liberties Union said it doubted that any abortions were now being provided in a state of nearly 30 million people.
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Google to delete user location history on US abortion clinic visits
"If our systems identify that someone has visited one of these places, we will delete these entries from Location History soon after they visit," Jen Fitzpatrick, a senior vice president at Google, wrote in a blog post. "This change will take effect in the coming weeks."
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Two Indo-Canadian academics honoured with Order of Canada
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