NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
1 Trump lawsuit: When Donald Trump on Wednesday says how he’ll separate himself from his vast family business empire, lawyer Mitchell Wine will greet it with a shrug. He’s leading a lawsuit against Trump in Canada on behalf of investors that threatens to follow the presidentelect into office. A Canadian court has allowed the lawsuit to proceed against Trump and his business partners in the failed Trump International Hotel & Tower in Toronto. Trump leased his name to Russian emigres in Canada, who built a luxury hotel and condo tower in Toronto. But the Russians’ company, Talon International Development Inc., which built the luxury tower, defaulted on its loans in mid-2015 and went into bankruptcy receivership last year. That made it hard for buyers to win compensation from Talon, and that turned buyers’ attention on the owners and partners.
2 Pipeline police cost: The cost of policing the Dakota Access pipeline protests in North Dakota is at least $22 million — more than $5 million more than the state set aside last year. The four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline is to carry North Dakota oil to Illinois. Opponents believe the project threatens drinking water and American Indian cultural sites, which Texas developer Energy Transfer Partners denies. There have been nearly 600 arrests since August.
3 Catholic records: Two of Boston’s most venerable institutions are teaming up to create an online database of hundreds of thousands of Roman Catholic Church documents to help people trace their family histories. The New England Historic Genealogical Society and the Archdiocese of Boston on Tuesday announced the project that was first talked about two years ago. It’s the first time a significant number of sacramental records from any U.S. diocese have been digitized on this scale, the organizations said.
4 Fisher’s death: Carrie Fisher’s death certificate confirms that the actress died of a heart attack, but it says more investigation is needed to determine the underlying cause. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued the death certificate in the name of Carrie Frances Fisher. Fisher had the heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles on Dec. 23. She died at age 60 on Dec. 27 at UCLA Medical Center.
5 Bank hostages freed: A group of hostages was freed, unharmed, and a man with a gun was arrested Tuesday at a credit union branch near the University of Alabama, police said. Lt. Teena Richardson, a Tuscaloosa police spokeswoman, said the incident ended peacefully when about eight hostages believed to be credit union workers were released after officers entered the building. Responding to a robbery report, officers arrived so quickly the man couldn’t get out of the building, prompting the standoff, officials said. Anderson said members of a SWAT team entered the building and arrested the suspect after determining the man was located in an area away from the hostages.
Chronicle News Services