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Paris City Hall plaza draws holiday visitors and migrant families seeking shelter as Olympics nears

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

PARIS (AP) — The forecourt of Paris City Hall buzzes with activity this holiday season: Children spinning on a sparkling carousel, shoppers browsing a Christmas market, tourists posing in front of huge signs advertising the 2024 Olympics — and dozens of migrant families searching for a roof over their heads.About 50 families with children between three months and 10 years old gathered on City Hall plaza on Christmas evening, to meet members of aid groups who distribute food, blankets and diapers and help find temporary lodging. A similar scene plays out most nights beneath the ornate facade of the Paris monument.Some sat on pieces of cardboard with their suitcases. A toddler who arrived in socks was given shoes, and an older child was given a gift in shiny wrapping.Many of the families are from French-speaking African countries, including Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Senegal.Aicha, 20, is among those seeking shelter. She arrived in Paris from Mali in 2020 and gave birth to a baby b...

New guest guidelines circulating after MPs applauded man who fought for Nazis

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

OTTAWA — Speaker Greg Fergus is looking to implement new guidelines for recognizing certain guests in the House of Commons, after MPs stood twice to applaud a man without knowing he had fought for a Nazi unit.Draft guidelines on the recognition of guests during a joint address of Parliament have been circulated to all House leaders and other officers of Parliament, said Mathieu Gravel, a spokesperson for Fergus. “Feedback will be incorporated before the Speaker shares these guidelines with members,” he said in a statement. House leaders did not provide details of the draft guidelines, and Gravel said he cannot say more at this time.Yaroslav Hunka, who fought for the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, a voluntary unit created by the Nazis to help fight the Soviet Union, was welcomed to the House of Commons in September to hear a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Liberal MP Anthony Rota, who invited the 98-year-old Hunka and introduced him as a hero, resigned as S...

The death toll rises to 18 in a furnace explosion at a Chinese-owned nickel plant in Indonesia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

PALU, Indonesia (AP) — The death toll following the explosion of a smelting furnace at a Chinese-owned nickel plant on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island rose to 18 on Tuesday, as police ordered the plant to stop operations until an investigation is completed.The blast, which occurred on Sunday, was the latest in a series of fatalities at nickel smelting plants in Indonesia that are part of China’s ambitious transnational development program known as the Belt and Road Initiative.Nickel is a key component in global battery production for electric vehicles.Four Chinese and nine Indonesian workers died instantly on Sunday when the furnace exploded while they were repairing it, Central Sulawesi police chief Agus Nugroho said. Three more victims died a day later while being treated at a local hospital.Two more workers died on Tuesday while hospitalized, bringing the total number of fatalities to 18, including eight workers from China, said Deddy Kurniawan, a spokesperson for PT Indonesia Morowa...

1 dead, 1 critical in scooter crash on Northwest Side

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

CHICAGO — One person is dead and another is injured after an overnight crash on the Northwest Side, police said.According to police, the deadly crash happened near the corner of Belden and Cicero in the Belmont Craigin neighborhood around 12:45 a.m.Authorities say a man driving a scooter, with another man sitting passenger, were headed northbound on Cicero when they collided with a gray sedan travelling westbound. Man shot after pulling knife during fight at Red Line station Both the driver of the scooter and passenger were injured and taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition. The Cook County medical examiner later confirmed that one person injured in the crash, identified as 28-year-old Ganchozo Jesus Rodriguez, succumbed to their injuries. Police said the driver of the vehicle was not injured and refused treatment from EMS.Citations are pending and police have not said who was at faith in the crash.

Bally's Chicago to begin 24-hour operations on Wednesday morning

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

CHICAGO — Starting Wednesday morning, gamblers at Bally's Chicago will be able to play all day, every day.After operating on a 20-hour day since opening in early September, the casino will begin operating for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on Wednesday at 8 a.m.Bally's Chicago is temporarily located inside River North's former Medinah Temple at 600 N. Wabash Ave. It's expected to move into the River West neighborhood sometime in 2026. The Illinois Gaming Board is allowing the temporary location to operate for up to three years after granting a 12-month extension in October. The Gaming Board also allowed for just a 20-hour schedule when Bally's Chicago first opened, but that changes to a 24-hour operation Wednesday morning.Just last month, Bally's Chicago generated $7.6 million in adjusted gross receipts and brought in more than 86,000 visitors.

Biden orders strikes on an Iranian-aligned group after 3 US troops injured in drone attack in Iraq

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ordered the United States military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq.National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier Monday. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, under an umbrella of Iranian-backed militants, claimed credit for the attack that utilized a one-way attack drone.Iraqi officials said U.S. strikes targeting militia sites early Tuesday killed one militant and injured 18. They came at a time of heightened fears of a regional spillover of the Israel-Hamas war. Iran announced Monday that an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus killed one of its top generals, Razi Mousavi, who had been a close companion of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the former head of Iran’s elite Quds F...

Woman shot in head in Albany on Christmas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A woman is in critical condition after being shot in Albany on Christmas. According to the Albany Police Department, the shooting happened on the 700 block of State Street. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! When officers got to the scene, they found the woman with a gunshot wound to the head. She was treated on scene and then taken to Albany Medical Center.Stick with NEWS10 as this story develops.

Ask Amy: Annual charity column shows ways to give

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

Dear Readers: As I offer my 20th annual year-end “charity roundup,” I’d like to remind readers that while charity truly does begin at home, it need not stay there.Those who can afford to share their material wealth should give abundantly, donating locally to the local library, after-school program, hospice center, arts organizations, historical society and animal shelter.Acts of kindness and compassion are always worth their weight in gold: Shoveling a walk for a neighbor, writing a letter to an elder and volunteering at the local food bank are all ways to express your generosity.All of the organizations I recommend have the highest rating by Charity Navigator, a trusted source. Always do your own research before donating, and choose organizations that align with your own values.Supplying shelter:Habitat for Humanity: In 2023 Habitat for Humanity helped 13.4 million people build or improve a place to call home. You can honor the humanitarian generosity of President Jimmy Carter and ...

What We’re Reading

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

Nonfiction“The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota, and an American Inheritance,” Rebecca ClarrenThat Rebecca Clarren’s Jewish ancestors escaped antisemitic persecution in Russia, received free land from the U.S. government at the turn of the 20th century, and settled in South Dakota is a foundational part of her family lore. What went unquestioned over the years is whether they had any right to that land in the first place. In this timely and unflinching book, Clarren investigates how her family benefited from genocidal U.S. policies against the Lakota and other Indigenous peoples. Crucially, as a beneficiary of stolen land, Clarren also consults with her rabbi and Indigenous elders about how to begin to repair those harms. That yearslong process resulted in, among other things, a reparations project to help “return Indian lands in the Black Hills (He Sapa) to Indian ownership and control.” As Israel rains bombs on Gaza, it’s hard to read this book and...

Los lugares que no podrás visitar en 2024

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:31 GMT

(CNN) — Este año se trató de recuperar el tiempo perdido. Después de la pandemia, los visitantes inundaron las ciudades más grandes de Europa y los parques nacionales de Estados Unidos como una forma de “ viaje de venganza ”, yendo o regresando a algunos de los destinos que habían sido inaccesibles durante la pandemia de Covid-19.Sin embargo, el mundo ha cambiado mucho desde el inicio de la pandemia. Muchas empresas cerraron cuando la gente pasó a trabajar de forma remota y no todas las atracciones turísticas sobrevivieron ilesas a ese período.Ya sea que cierre permanente o temporalmente, aquí hay una lista de lugares que no podrá visitar en 2024.Centro Pompidou, ParísAunque el museo de París por dentro y por fuera todavía parece sorprendentemente moderno, el Centro Pompidou se encuentra en realidad en su sexta década. Después de los Juegos Olímpicos de verano en la capital de Francia este verano, el Pompidou se tomará un descanso para someterse a un programa de modernización ...