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Belgium requires a controversial class program. Now schools are burning and the country is worried

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:39 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — A series of school arsons in Belgium believed to be connected to a controversial school program in some parts of the country is prompting authorities to strengthen their police response.Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden on Friday called for a halt to the attacks in the French-speaking Wallonia region hours after another school was set on fire, the sixth in the Charleroi area since the start of the week. “We don’t touch our schools,” the minister wrote on the X social network, formerly known as Twitter. “Arson attacks in Brussels and Wallonia must stop. I have therefore asked the federal police to provide support to local areas to avoid any escalation.”Signs protesting the so-called Evras project were discovered on some of the schools.The Evras program is described as a tool designed to help children and teenagers develop their relational and sexual lives. This school year, some 100,000 pupils in the Wallonia-Brussels federation ages 11-12 and 15-16 will have to at...

Alabama will mark the 60th anniversary of the 1963 church bombing that killed four Black girls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:39 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama on Friday will mark the 60th anniversary of one of the most heinous attacks during the Civil Rights Movement, the 1963 bombing of a church that killed four Black girls in 1963.U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court, will give the keynote address at the remembrance Friday morning at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.On the morning of Sept. 15, 1963, dynamite planted by Ku Klux Klan members exploded at the church, killing the girls and shocking the nation. The large, prominent church was targeted because it was a center of the African American community and the site of mass meetings during the Civil Rights Movement.The girls were gathered in a downstairs washroom to freshen up before Sunday services when the blast rocked the church. The explosion killed 11-year-old Denise McNair, and Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins, all 14. A fifth girl, Sarah Collins Rud...

Russia raises key interest rate again as inflation and exchange rate worries continue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:39 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — The Central Bank of Russia raised its key lending rate by one percentage point to 13% on Friday, a month after imposing an even larger hike, as concerns about inflation persist and the ruble continues to struggle against the dollar. The increase comes as annualized inflation rose in September to 5.5% and the bank said it expected it would reach 6%-7% by the end of the year.“Inflationary pressure in the Russian economy remains high. Significant pro-inflationary risks have crystallized, namely the domestic demand growth outpacing the output expansion capacity and the depreciation of the ruble in the summer months,” the bank’s board said in a statement. “Therefore, it is required to additionally tighten monetary conditions.”The bank in August increased the lending rate to 12% — a jump of 3.5 percentage points — as the ruble fell to 100 against the dollar. Although the ruble’s exchange rate improved mildly after the rate hike, it remains around 95 t...

The Justice Department says there’s no valid basis for the judge to step aside from Trump’s DC case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is challenging efforts by former President Donald Trump to disqualify the Washington judge presiding over the case charging him with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s team wrote in a court filing late Thursday that there was “no valid basis” for U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to recuse herself. Trump’s lawyers filed a long-shot motion earlier this week urging Chutkan to step aside, citing comments she made in separate sentencing hearings related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol that they say taint the Trump proceedings and call into question whether she has already prejudged the Republican former president’s guilt.In one such hearing, Chutkan told a defendant who was sentenced to more than five years in prison that he had “made a very good point” that the “people who exhorted” and encouraged him “to go and take action and to fight” had not been...

Weekend need to know: Last weekend of TIFF, Jurassic World Live, Mama Duck returns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:39 GMT

Film buffs in Toronto are still able to catch some buzzworthy screenings this weekend as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) wraps up on Sunday.Other events in the city include a live, immersive experience of Jurassic World, the world’s largest rubber duck returning to Toronto’s waterfront, and annual street festivals celebrating local Polish and Ukrainian culture.Plus, the Blue Jays look to rebound from a disappointing four-game sweep with a weekend series against the Boston Red Sox at Rogers Centre.There are some scheduled subway closures and late openings this weekend. Alongside ongoing road closures. Scroll below for details.Here’s what’s on for the final weekend of summer:Top eventsLast weekend of TIFFThe Toronto International Film Festivals continues to take over King West and select movie theatres until Sunday.There are still tons of screenings for film buffs to check out all weekend.Boil Alert is a documentary that follows Mohawk activist L...

Free prescription discount cards from GoodRx – What’s the catch?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:39 GMT

NerdWalletBytitle: NerdWalletAmericans spend more than $420 billion per year at pharmacies for prescription drugs, according to a 2022 report from the Department of Health and Human Services.Prescription discount cards help people save money on prescription drugs by offering savings at participating pharmacies. One popular company, GoodRx, offers discounts of up to 80% on prescription drugs at over 70,000 U.S. pharmacies with its prescription savings program. And according to the company’s website, “there’s absolutely no cost and no catch.”But earlier this year, GoodRx was penalized by the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, for disclosing patients’ personal health information without their consent. And using GoodRx’s discounts isn’t always easy or predictable.Here are four potential catches the federal government, pharmacists, researchers and the company itself say you should know about before using GoodRx.1. DEDUCTIBLES“Keep in mind you cannot use GoodRx and insurance at the same ti...

Migrants move into Greek Town Hostel Friday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:39 GMT

CHICAGO -- Asylum seekers will move into the Chicago Parthenon Hostel in Greek Town Friday -- the second time the hostel has been used to shelter migrants. Around 200 people are expected to make their way to the temporary housing located on South Halsted near Jackson.Alderman Bill Conway said there were no problems the last time the hostel was used as a shelter in the fall of 2022 when migrants were first sent to Chicago from Texas. Workers are on strike at all 3 Detroit auto makers for the first time in their union’s history The city has been trying to find more places to house the more than 13,000 asylum seekers which 2,000 of are spread out over several police stations. Migrants have been reportedly seen sleeping on floors and hundreds more have been staying at O'Hare. There are currently more than 15 city-run shelters.Conway says they had about a week heads up but however the initial move in date was pushed back until Friday morning.

Lin-Manuel Miranda discusses the return of 'Hamilton' on 'Dean's A-List Interview'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:39 GMT

CHICAGO — One of the most popular musicals in recent memory in Chicago is making its return to the city - and it's a great moment for its creator. That's a great thing for Lin-Manuel Miranda.He'll get the chance to see a new group of people see "Hamilton" for the first time as it makes its return to Chicago with a run at the James M. Nederlander Theatre downtown. It will start on Friday with shows scheduled through the end of the year. This follows an incredibly successful run for "Hamilton" at the CIBC Theatre from September 2016 through January 2020. Before the start of this most recent run of the musical, Miranda sat down to talk about the show, what he's working on now, and his future plans with Dean Richards on "Dean's A-List Interview."You can watch that entire discussion in the video above.Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!

Why is there scaffolding on the Texas Capitol building? 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – If you’ve been to the Texas Capitol in the last year, your visitor photos may include some unsightly scaffolding. So what’s happening at the state capitol building? Well, it involves 200 bags of pigeon poop and trash. How Austin became the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’ A two-year project to replace the Texas Capitol’s copper roof began in fall 2022 with scaffolding added during the first several months of the project. This is the first time the entire roof has been replaced in 75 years after roof leaks have increased, according to the Texas State Preservation Board, which is in charge of preserving, maintaining and restoring the capitol building and grounds.  Planned project work also includes replacing three skylights, updating roof-mounted lighting and improving lightning strike prevention, according to a 2022 update. In a project update, the board said the dome was cleared and cleaned. This included removing...

AG's office releases report on 2021 death of Dolgeville man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:57:39 GMT

DOLGEVILLE, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) -- New York State Attorney General Letita James' Office of Special Investigation released its report on the death of a Dolgeville man in 2021 on Thursday, September 14. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! According to New York State law, shootings that involve police officers are investigated by the New York State Attorney General's office.According to the OSI's investigation, New York State Police and the Dolgeville Police Department responded to a report of a stabbing at a house in the Village of Dolgeville on the afternoon of December 24, 2021. Once at the scene, officers learned that the suspect -- Carson Dobson of Dolgeville -- had allegedly stabbed his mother in her home and fled to a camping trailer he was living in a few hundred yards from the scene.Officers unsuccessfully attempted to engage Dobson, who refused to come outside. Dobson then allegedly asked officers to bring him his generator,...