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Olivia Chow names chief of staff, sets priorities ahead of taking office

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:34 GMT

Mayor-elect Olivia Chow has appointed a chief of staff and established three immediate priorities as she prepares to take the reigns at City Hall in less than two weeks’ time.City Hall veteran Michal Hay, who spearheaded Chow’s election campaign, has been named her chief advisor. He previously served as chief of staff for councillor Mike Layton and was recently the executive director of Progress Toronto. “Michal’s dedication to this city, to bringing people together to drive change, is unmatched. Her leadership style and experience at City Hall is a perfect fit with my own approach to governing. I’m proud to have her as my chief of staff, building and leading an exceptional Mayor’s Office team,” Chow said in a statement. Chow also outlined her plans for a “people-focused” approach to transition by bringing in front-line experts, community leaders and the civil service to define possible solutions to the three immediate priorities she plans to focu...

Deadly germ behind infant formula shortage joins CDC watchlist of bad bugs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:34 GMT

U.S. health officials will start formally tracking infections caused by the rare but potentially deadly germ that sickened babies and triggered a nationwide shortage of infant formula last year.A group that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed Thursday to add infections caused by cronobacter to the list of serious conditions reported to the agency. There are about 120 infections and diseases on the national watchlist. States will be asked, but not required, to notify the CDC about cronobacter infections, although they usually comply. Such infections are required to be reported now in only two states, Minnesota and Michigan. The change will take effect next year, though states may begin reporting earlier. The action by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, a nonprofit group, caps months of demands from experts and food safety advocates who called for better surveillance of the deadly infections that typically strike the most vulnerable babies....

Missouri ordered to pay $242K for open records law violations while Josh Hawley was attorney general

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:34 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri attorney general’s office has been ordered to pay $242,000 in legal fees for violations of the state’s open records law that occurred when U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley held the office.Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled in November 2022 that the attorney general’s office violated the open records law when documents were withheld from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the Republican Hawley’s successful Senate campaign in 2018. Beetem ruled Wednesday that the office must pay $242,000 in legal fees, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. “A big win for transparency, election fairness, and the rule of law,” Mark Pedroli, who represented the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said on Twitter. Pedroli suggested that Hawley should apologize and pay the bill with proceeds from his book, “Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs.” Hawley’s spokesman, Kyle Plotkin, responded that Democrats should retur...

Gatherings combining Pride and Juneteenth give Black LGBTQ+ people a refuge where they can celebrate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:34 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — From speaking at a health equity forum to striking a pose to the beats of a DJ set at a party on a pedestrian bridge, Naomi Green spent one weekend this month jumping from one event in Dallas to another that celebrated Juneteenth and Pride together.“Sometimes I think the Black community forgets that LGBTQ people are still Black as well,” Green said. “And so we have the opportunity to really celebrate both of those at the same time because just because we’re LGBTQ doesn’t remove our Blackness. We’re both.”As the lives of LGBTQ+ people are celebrated in June during Pride month, groups have found ways to merge those festivities with America’s newest federal holiday, Juneteenth, which marks the day in 1865 — over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation — that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were told they’d been freed. Such gatherings help highlight the struggles against discrimination Black and LGBTQ+ people have faced while celebrating those whose ...

Turkmenistan opens elaborate ‘smart city’ development

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:34 GMT

The president of Turkmenistan on Thursday officially inaugurated a vast, multibillion-dollar development hailed as the country’s first “smart city” and named after the president’s father, who established a pervasive cult of personality when he was the longtime ruler.The city designed for 70,000 is named Arkadag (Protector), a title used by former president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who led the country for 15 years before being succeeded last year by his son Serdar.The opening ceremony, led by Serdar Berdymukhamedov, featured a theatrical procession of local workers singing patriotic songs in honor of the city’s namesake. The city includes a monument of his father’s favorite horse, which established the Guinness world record for running 10 meters on its hind legs.Located about 30 kilometers (about 18 miles) south of the capital Ashgabat, the “smart city” is being presented as a prototype for other Turkmen cities, featuring electric buses and automobiles, solar pow...

Independent media can help fill local news void as legacy media consolidate: experts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:34 GMT

TORONTO — As Canadians face a potential further decline in local news coverage by legacy media outlets, industry watchers hope independent and non-profit companies can fill the void.The Canadian media industry has suffered multiple blows this month, with BCE Inc. eliminating 1,300 positions, including a six per cent cut at Bell Media, as the company undergoes “a consolidation of news gathering.”Bell simultaneously asked the CRTC to waive local news and Canadian programming requirements for its television stations, saying its obligations are based on outdated market realities.Meanwhile, Postmedia Network Canada Corp. said Tuesday it’s in talks to merge with Nordstar Capital LP, the owner of Metroland Media Group and the Toronto Star, in a bid to create greater scale in response to the “existential threat” facing the media industry.Magda Konieczna, an associate journalism professor at Montreal’s Concordia University, said that as corporate media dec...

Alberta optimistic about this year’s budget forecast despite drop in oil prices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:34 GMT

Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner says the government may have to lower how much it expects to take in from oil this year, but the overall budget outlook remains optimistic.Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government introduced a spend-heavy budget in February that also promised a $2.4-billion surplus based on West Texas Intermediate — the North American benchmark price for oil — averaging US$79 a barrel.The West Texas price is well under that prediction, currently trading at just under US$70 barrel. Horner said while that is concerning, other factors are working in Alberta’s favour, including the Canada-U. S. exchange rate, the differential between Canadian and U.S. oil prices and the continued diversification of Alberta’s economy. “(The oil forecast) may have to come down,” Horner told reporters in Calgary on Thursday after releasing the final figures for the 2022-23 budget year, which ended March 31. “We’re not as worried as you ...

Thousands in North Macedonia join Church protest against proposed laws on gender equality, identity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:34 GMT

SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Thousands of people gathered outside the cathedral in North Macedonia’s capital on Thursday during a protest organized by the country’s Orthodox Church against proposed legislation on gender equality and identity which it says threatens family values.Church leader Archbishop Stefan said at the gathering in Skopje that the proposed bills would introduce “unacceptable and insulting new ideologies.”He said the message of Thursday’s protest was to ”say ‘yes’ to life, to emphasize the sanctity of the family formed by one man and one woman, (and) to say that we will we defend our dearest, the children.”The protest was also supported by North Macedonia’s leading Islamic officials, the Catholic Church and other religious communities.The left-wing government hasn’t officially released any details on either draft bill. Labor and Welfare Minister Jovanka Trenchevska has said the one on gender equality is aimed to “improve the p...

3 siblings missing from North Side; may be headed to Kentucky with older brother

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:34 GMT

CHICAGO — Three siblings are missing from a North Side residence. Police said they were removed from the home by their older brother and may be headed to Kentucky.Police believe Jama Adbi, 19, removed his siblings from their home in the 2200 block of Highland Avenue without his parents' consent.Basha Abdi, 12, Mohamed Abdi, 14, and Weliya Adbi, 15, and may be traveling in a black 2011 Kia sedan with Illinois license plate number MD57774 with Jama driving.L to R: Basha Abdi, Mohamed Abdi, Weliya Adbdi, Jama AbdiPolice said they may be headed to Kentucky.Anyone with information can call police at 312-744-8266.

Highest-rated barbecue restaurants in Chicago, according to Yelp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:23:34 GMT

Barbecue, also known as BBQ for short, has captivated the taste buds of millions of people across the world; its smell, a quintessential part of backyard parties and long, lazy holiday weekends. This cooking method involves slow cooking and smoking meat over an open flame or heat source. Beyond the slab of baby back ribs and brisket that we're probably familiar with, barbecue has a long history dating back centuries and is rooted in various cultures.The earliest origins of barbecue can be traced back to the Taino people, who were Indigenous to the Caribbean. By the 19th century, the technique became widespread in the American South, primarily using pork. Taino people didn't use the word barbecue. Instead, this method of cooking food over a raised wooden grate was referred to as barbacoa.As time passed, techniques and flavors evolved as a result of colonization, globalization, and advancements in technology. Today, barbecue has become a beloved food all over the world. In the United ...