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Church: Israel limiting rights of ‘Holy Fire’ worshippers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:29 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Greek Orthodox Church on Wednesday accused Israeli police of infringing on the freedom of worshippers with “heavy-handed” restrictions on how many pilgrims can attend the “Holy Fire” ceremony amid soaring tensions. Israeli police said the limits are needed for safety during Saturday’s celebration at the ancient Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the 12th-century holy site where Jesus is believed to have been crucified, buried and resurrected. Saturday’s “Holy Fire” celebration comes during an unusual spate of violence in the Old City, touched off by an Israeli police raid on Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, the compound that’s home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The tensions spiraled into a regional confrontation between Israel and Hamas, and were punctuated Friday when two British-Israeli sisters and their mother were killed after their car came under fire near a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank. The mother succumbed to her wounds on Monday.Israe...

Nebraska lawmakers taking up debate on abortion restrictions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:29 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska lawmakers planned to begin debate Wednesday on a bill that would ban abortion once cardiac activity can be detected in an embryo, which is generally around the sixth week of pregnancy and before most women even know they are pregnant. But the effort in the Republican-controlled state remains in question, as a Republican co-signer of the bill has introduced an amendment to adjust the proposal to banning abortion at 12 weeks, signaling that a ban set very early in pregnancy could face pushback even from those who want further restrictions on abortion.Sen. Merv Riepe, of Ralston, introduced the amendment last month, saying he was concerned that the six-week proposal, introduced by Thurston Sen. Joni Albrecht, might not give women enough time to know that they’re pregnant. But he later made clear that he would vote to advance Albrecht’s bill on Wednesday if the vote is close.“I wanted to have some dialogue,” Riepe said at a committee hearing the...

Wall Street futures tick up with inflation data on the way

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:29 GMT

TOKYO — Wall Street inched slightly higher early Wednesday ahead of the release of key inflation data likely to influence the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates. Futures for the Dow industrials picked up nearly 0.2% and futures for the S&P 500 ticked up 0.1%“Broader markets remain laser-focused on this week’s critical inflation data as market participants attempt to tease out the state of the economy and the course the Fed might take from here,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said in a report.The biggest immediate question for Wall Street has been whether the Federal Reserve will keep hiking interest rates in its attempt to get high inflation under control. It’s already raised rates at a furious pace over the last year, enough to slow some areas of the economy and for strains to appear in the banking system.Economists expect Wednesday’s report on consumer inflation to show it slowed to 5.2% in March from 6% in February. That’s continued pr...

How 24 Sussex Drive became a rodent-infested unliveable dump

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:29 GMT

In today’s Big Story podcast, this week’s report about dead rodents and their droppings in the walls at 24 Sussex Drive was gross, but it’s far from the first tale of how awful things are at the home that is meant to be the Prime Minister’s residence. The house has been in a state of disrepair, to put it mildly, for a decade or more, and almost nothing has been done to fix it.David Moscrop is a writer, political commentator, and the author of Too Dumb For Democracy. He joins us to discuss what the sorry state of 24 Sussex Drive says about the state of our country and its politics.“Talking about 24 Sussex is talking about the history of a petty, vindictive, small minded nation,” he said, “it really is the country in miniature.”So how did the PM’s official residence go from a stately mansion to a national embarrassment? And will we ever see the bipartisan agreement necessary to actually fix it?You can subscribe to The Big Story podcast on Appl...

Man, 18, charged with killing CPD Officer Andres Vásquez Lasso faces arraignment Wednesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:29 GMT

CHICAGO — The man accused of killing a Chicago cop last month faces arraignment Wednesday.Steve Montano, 18, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of police Officer Andres Vásquez Lasso. He is also facing a number of additional felony charges.Montano is being held without bond.On March 1, Vásquez Lasso was investigating a domestic-related call in the 5200 block of South Spaulding and saw Montano running from the scene with a gun.Court records say Officer Vásquez Lasso started chasing him, and the two men exchanged gunfire. The officer was shot several times and was killed. Bodycam video released from Louisville bank shooting Montano was shot and transported to a hospital in critical condition, but has since been released and is currently in Cook County Jail.Court is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

12-year-old in custody after loaded handgun found at East Chicago school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:29 GMT

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — A 12-year-old was taken into custody after a loaded handgun was found at an East Chicago school Tuesday morning.At around 8 a.m., officers were dispatched to the Light House Charter School, located in the 3900 block of Pulaski Street, on the report of a student with a firearm.At the school, police were directed to the principal's office where a 12-year-old was taken into custody. A loaded .40 semi-automatic handgun was recovered, police said.The student was transported to the Lake County Juvenile Jail and charged with dangerous possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm on school property.After a preliminary investigation, police believe a student overheard other students talking about having a gun in the school. That student reported the incident to a teacher and the student with the gun was located. Employee critical after steel pipe beating at Indiana State Prison in Michigan City The school was then placed on a soft lockdown as officers responded....

Ukraine to probe video allegedly showing soldier's beheading

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:29 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine promised Wednesday to investigate a gruesome video circulating on social media that purportedly shows the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier.The video spread quickly online and sparked outrage from Ukrainian officials. The Kremlin called the footage “horrible” but said it needed to be verified. The Associated Press was not able to verify the authenticity of the video or the circumstances of where and when it was shot.The video appears to show a man in green fatigues wearing a yellow armband, typically donned by Ukrainian fighters. He is heard screeching before another man in camouflage uses a knife to decapitate him.A third man holds up a flak jacket apparently belonging to the man being beheaded. All three men speak in Russian.Since Russia's forces invaded Ukraine more than a year ago, they have committed widespread abuses and alleged war crimes, according to the United Nations, rights groups and reporting by The Associated Press. The International Crimin...

Wednesday Forecast: Temps in low 80s with warm and windy conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:29 GMT

CHICAGO — Another day of summer-like temperatures Wednesday with sunny conditions. Windy, SW 15-20 G35. High: 82.Clear conditions tonight. Winds: SW 10-15 G25. Low: 56.Thursday Forecast: Mostly sunny, SW 10-15 G25. High: 82.Full forecast details at the WGN Weather Center

'Wizard of Oz' park to reopen in North Carolina

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:29 GMT

BEECH MOUNTAIN, N.C. (WJZY) - Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high ... on a North Carolina mountain. The Autumn at Oz Festival is kicking off in North Carolina's Avery County this September.The "Wizard of Oz"-themed amusement park drops visitors in the center of the Land of Oz – yellow brick road included. There are craft and food vendors, an "immersive theatrical experience," plus lots of photo opportunities. The park originally opened in June 1970 and was fully operational for about a decade before a fire destroyed two of the Emerald City buildings in 1975. New management was able to get the park up and running again by 1976 – but not for long. The amusement park shut down again in 1980. Forever stamps, First-Class Mail could become more expensive this summer: Here’s why In the late '80s, parts of the park had to be demolished because of "excessive vandalism and decay," Land of Oz North Carolina explains. "However, much of the park was saved including the Gale farmhous...

2 million people fled America's big cities from 2020 to 2022. But why?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:31:29 GMT

(The Hill) -- Two million people fled America’s largest cities from 2020 to 2022, new research shows, signaling that a retreat from urban centers to suburbs, exurbs and smaller cities in the early months of the pandemic has hardened into an enduring and potentially worrisome trend. More than 1.2 million people left the nation’s large urban counties between July 2020 and July 2021, according to a report published this month by the Economic Innovation Group, a bipartisan public policy organization. Another 860,000 people departed between July 2021 and July 2022. Only a fresh influx of immigrants saved big cities from dramatic population declines. Even with the immigrants, 17 of the nation’s 25 largest counties suffered population losses between April 2020 and July 2022, according to census data tabulated by The Hill.  “The metros, as a group, lost population for the first time since at least 1990, and probably for decades before that,” said William Frey, a demographer a...