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Nebraska governor to sign 12-week abortion ban, limits on gender-affirming care for minors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:58 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen is scheduled to sign a bill Monday that bans abortion at 12 weeks of pregnancy and restricts gender-affirming medical care for people younger than 19. The abortion ban would take effect immediately after the governor’s signature, while the ban on gender-affirming care would take on Oct. 1.Nebraska’s conservative-led, unicameral Legislature passed the bill with the two contentious issues on Friday after hours of heated debate. Conservative lawmakers wrangled just enough votes to end a filibuster and approve it. Bill opponents have promised to sue to try and block the law.The proposal restricting gender-affirming care was the flashpoint of an epic filibuster led by Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh. She and a handful of progressive allies slowed the business of passing laws to a crawl by introducing amendment after amendment to every bill that made it to the Senate floor. That sent leadership scrambling to prioritize which bil...

Colombia suspends cease-fire with holdout rebel group accused of killing 4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:58 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s government said Monday it is suspending a cease-fire with rebels accused of recently killing four Indigenous people — at least three of them minors — who tried to avoid forced recruitment in the south of the country.President Gustavo Petro’s administration said in a statement that the military will resume attacks on factions of the FARC-EMC group operating in the provinces of Caqueta, Putumayo, Guaviare and Meta, due to the group’s lack of commitment to the cease-fire.“If a bilateral ceasefire is not effective in protecting the life and integrity of the entire population in certain territories, then there is no point in persisting,” the statement said.The government said, however, that it will continue to maintain a cease-fire with FARC-EMC in other parts of the country where attacks on civilians have decreased, and said that it will soon appoint delegates who will lead peace talks with the rebel group.Indigenous organizations accused FARC-EM...

Book Review: Brandon Taylor is back with a new campus novel, ‘The Late Americans’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:58 GMT

“The Late Americans,” by Brandon Taylor (Riverhead Books)Brandon Taylor burst onto the literary scene three years ago, publishing two widely acclaimed books in quick succession. Critics marveled at the way he seemed to have pivoted so effortlessly from a budding career as a scientist to someone almost incapable of bad writing, as one admirer put it.Taylor himself spoke about approaching the messy business of creative writing in the systematic way of a scientist, setting a goal for himself of writing 10,000 words a day — an extraordinary amount. Many writers, including famous ones, are thrilled if they eke out 500. Clearly, his method paid off because this week Riverhead brings out “The Late Americans,” his third book in as many years.The novel follows the lives and loves of a group of graduate students and townies in Iowa City, home of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where Taylor earned an MFA after getting a master’s degree in biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.In the ...

Montreal police investigate second arson in 16 days at business in St-Laurent borough

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:58 GMT

Montreal police say they’re investigating the second arson attack in just over two weeks at a business in the city’s St-Laurent borough.Police spokeswoman Const. Caroline Chèvrefils says multiple windows were broken at the business and it appears that more than one incendiary device was thrown inside.Chèvrefils says police have recovered one of the incendiary devices.She alleges the business was also targeted by an arson attack on May 7.No one was injured in the fire, but the business suffered serious damage, mostly from the sprinkler system. It’s the second arson in the St-Laurent borough in three days and comes amid a wave of arson attacks in Montreal that police believe are often linked to extortion attempts. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2023. The Canadian Press

After abuse against Vinícius Júnior, Spanish soccer acknowledges it has a racism problem

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:58 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spanish soccer is again embroiled in a racism debate after yet another case of abuse against Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior, with the president of Spain’s soccer federation acknowledging that the country has a racism problem and the player’s club asking authorities to investigate the latest incident as a hate crime.Officials, players and former players showed solidarity with Vinícius, who on Sunday considered leaving the field after facing racist taunts from fans during Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss at Valencia in the Spanish league.“We have a problem of behavior, of education, of racism,” Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales said Monday. “And as long as there is one fan or one group of fans making insults based on someone’s sexual orientation or skin color or belief, then we have a serious problem. A serious problem that stains an entire team, an entire fan base and an entire country.”Valencia said it banned one of its fans for life ...

Greece faces new election in weeks, after center right triumphs but falls short of majority

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:58 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece faces new national elections as early as June 25, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirming Monday he would not try to build a coalition government — despite having dominated the ballot hours earlier by the most decisive margin in half a century.It was a tantalizing result for the center-right leader: although Mitsotakis slightly expanded his New Democracy party’s standing, getting double the votes of leftwing Syriza and nearly four times those of third-place Socialist Pasok, the one-off electoral law in place Sunday denied him a governing majority.He’ll now pin his hopes on a second vote — expected no later than July 2 — where the electoral system will revert to boosting the first party with a bonus of up to 50 of Parliament’s 300 seats. That system would have secured ND more than 170 seats Sunday.With 99.70% of the votes counted, New Democracy has 40.79% and 146 seats, five short of a majority, winning in 58 of the country...

Scooter rider seriously injures pedestrian in Bucktown hit-and-run: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:58 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are searching for the driver of a motorized scooter who struck and seriously injured a pedestrian on the city's North Side.The incident happened on April 4 around 7:30 a.m. in the 1600 block of West Webster in Bucktown. A 53-year-old man was jogging on the roadway and was struck by a person driving a scooter, according to police.The rider was knocked off the black motorized scooter and was last seen walking while pushing the scooter northbound on the west sidewalk of Ashland Avenue from Webster Avenue, police said. Several shot after dispute at Menards parking lot carries over to The Patio Restaurant in Bridgeview According to police, the driver was seen wearing a black helmet, dark colored jacket, light colored pants and white shoes.Anyone with information about this incident is urged to call the Major Accident Investigation Unit at (312) 745-4521.

Now retired Carmelo Anthony's brief time as a member of the Bulls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:58 GMT

CHICAGO — One of the biggest names in professional basketball over the past two decades - and a former Bulls player - is calling it a career.Yes, Carmelo Anthony was a member of Chicago's NBA team for a very brief time. The ten-time All-Star and 2013 league scoring champion announced his retirement on Twitter on Monday morning after not playing in the league the past season. Anthony spent the majority of his career with the Nuggets (8 years) and Knicks (7 seasons), making the All-Star team eight-straight years from 2010-2017. He'd spent one year with the Thunder, one with the Rockets, two with the Blazers, and the 2021-2022 season with the Lakers. So when was Anthony a Bull? It's OK if you might have missed it because it was only a matter of days.The Bulls-Carmelo Anthony deal is officially done. @WGNNews https://t.co/cR99Z0xUIf— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) January 22, 2019After signing a one-year deal with Houston before the 2018-2019 season, Anthony quickly fell out of the ...

Carmelo Anthony, star forward, Olympic gold medalist, retiring from NBA after 19 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:58 GMT

Carmelo Anthony, the star forward who led Syracuse to an NCAA championship in his lone college season and went on to spend 19 years in the NBA, announced his retirement on Monday.Anthony, who was not in the NBA this season, retires as the No. 9 scorer in league history.Only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal scored more than Anthony — who finishes his career with 28,289 points.“Now the time has come for me to say good-bye ... to the game that gave me purpose and pride,” Anthony said in a videotaped message announcing his decision — one he called “bittersweet.”Anthony's legacy has long been secure: He ends his playing days after being selected as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history, a 10-time All-Star, a past scoring champion and a six-time All-NBA selection. Brittney Griner gets rousing welcome in Phoenix home game after release from Russian prison And while he neve...

Dog hospitalized after getting caught in swarm of bees in California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:58 GMT

LAKE MATTHEWS, Calif. (KTLA) - A dog in California is in a veterinarian hospital after it was caught in a bee swarm earlier this week. While doing some yard work, a homeowner in Lake Matthews, a community in Riverside County, discovered the hive and attempted to remove it himself. However, after a short time, the situation got out of hand.  Part of the swarm headed for the house where Chance, a pit bull and mastiff mix, lives. The dog was stung more than 700 times and had to receive a blood transfusion after being rushed to the vet.  A pit bull and mastiff mix named Chance was stung more than 700 times after getting caught in a swarm of bees. (Tommy Baker)Just last week in Encino, a volunteer with the Los Angeles Police Department, who was directing traffic after a swarm of bees prompted road closures in the neighborhood, was stung 50-100 times. During the attack, the volunteer took a hard fall in the street and broke several bones in his face.   Does God exist...