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Vatican is moving ahead with plan to reunite Ukrainian children taken to Russia with their families

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:09 GMT

ROME (AP) — The Vatican is pressing ahead with a plan to try to reunite Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war with their families, a senior Vatican official said. The effort follows an explicit request by Ukraine and Russia has expressed an apparent willingness to engage in the process. The Vatican official spoke to reporters about the plan late Thursday, after Pope Francis’ peace envoy, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, returned to the Vatican from Washington. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, according to Vatican protocol.Zuppi, a veteran of the Catholic Church’s peace initiatives, had met with President Joe Biden on Tuesday, following earlier missions to Kyiv and Moscow. In the Russian capital, Zuppi met with one of President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisers, Yuri Ushakov, as well as Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights. Zuppi is next headed to Beijing, the Vatican official said.A White House official, speaking on condition of anony...

Myanmar’s generals unveil giant Buddha statue as they seek to win hearts and minds during civil war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:09 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The military-controlled government of strife-torn Myanmar on Friday showed off a new giant statue of a sitting Buddha that is scheduled to be consecrated on Aug. 1, a powerful symbol of nationalism in a very devout nation. Journalists were given a preview of the 228-acre (92-hectare) site in the capital, Naypyitaw, which includes small pagodas, ordination halls, rest houses, water fountains, lakes and a park. The military government’s head, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who is also the project’s patron, supervised installation of various parts of the project, even as a civil war has raged, killing thousands, uprooting millions and causing vast destruction, including to Buddhist monasteries, Christian churches and Islamic mosques.Min Aung Hlaing has been repeatedly quoted in state media as saying it will be tallest sitting marble Buddha statue in the world, a claim that is difficult to verify. He also said the building of the Buddha image aimed “to show the flourishing ...

Low levels of radioactive tritium may be near the Mississippi River after an energy company’s leak

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:09 GMT

MONTICELLO, Minn. (AP) — Groundwater containing low levels of radioactive material may have reached the edge of the Mississippi River, the energy company responsible for the leak from its nuclear power plant in Monticello, Minnesota, announced on Thursday.Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, has not been detected in the river water itself, Xcel Energy said in a statement. “The closest sample to detect tritium is about 30 feet from the river, and detected about 1,000 picocuries per liter, far below Safe Drinking Water Act standards, or below 20,000 picocuries per liter,” the statement said. “Any presence of tritium in the river would be well below the Safe Drinking Water standard and likely at levels indistinguishable from what occurs naturally in the environment.” The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the state Department of Health released a joint statement saying the latest development does not present a threat to public health, and there are no immediate impacts...

Rapper Quando Rondo crashes car while awaiting trial. Prosecutors want him back in jail.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:09 GMT

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Prosecutors want the rapper Quando Rondo sent back to jail after he crashed a car while free on bond pending trial on gang and drug charges. The 24-year-old rapper, whose given name Tyquian Terrel Bowman, was indicted last month in his hometown of Savannah. He was released from jail June 26 on a $100,000 bond. Now prosecutors are asking a Chatham County Superior Court judge to revoke his bond.Their court filing says Bowman crashed a car while driving at high speed Wednesday, and that emergency responders “administered Narcan as he was exhibiting signs of an overdose.”Narcan is a drug used to treat opioid overdoses. Bowman was ordered to refrain from using illegal drugs as a condition of his bond, according to court records.Bowman’s attorney, Jonah Pine, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Friday.Bowman and 18 others were indicted last month by a Chatham County grand jury. Bowman was charged with four counts, including being a manager...

Man who shot Fargo officers searched internet for ‘kill fast’ and for crowded area events, AG says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:09 GMT

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The man who shot three Fargo, North Dakota, police officers and a civilian, killing one of the officers before an officer killed him, searched internet for terms including “explosive ammo” and “kill fast,” as well as for what crowded area events might be happening, authorities said Friday.Mohamad Barakat also used a “binary trigger” that allowed him to fire rapidly during the July 14 attack, state Attorney General Drew Wrigley said at a news conference. Wrigley said the .223-caliber rifle that Barakat used during the ambush sounded like an automatic weapon because of how quickly it fired.Barakat killed one officer and wounded two others and a civilian before the fourth officer at the scene shot and killed him. Wrigley says the wounded officers fell in quick succession. Police were investigating a routine collision on a busy Fargo street when the heavily armed Barakat opened fire on them before they could react.Wrigley said he believes the violence could have been ...

Texas A&M University president resigns after Black journalist’s hiring at campus unravels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:09 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M University announced Friday that its president has resigned after a Black journalist’s celebrated hiring at one of the nation’s largest campuses unraveled following pushback over her diversity and inclusion work.President Katherine Banks said in a resignation letter that she would retire immediately, because “negative press has become a distraction” at the nearly 70,000-student campus in College Station.Her exit comes as Republican lawmakers across the U.S. are targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs on college campus. That includes Texas, where Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill in June that dismantles program offices at public colleges. The A&M System said in a statement that Banks told faculty leaders this week that she took responsibility for the “flawed hiring process” of Kathleen McElroy, a former New York Times editor who had been selected to revive the school’s journalism department. The statement sai...

RCMP officer charged with foreign interference

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:09 GMT

A retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer was charged on Friday with obtaining information for China and other foreign-interference related charges.Sixty-year-old William Majcher of Hong Kong, appeared by videoconference at the Longueuil courthouse on Friday. He faces two charges: preparatory acts on behalf of a foreign entity and conspiracy.“According to the investigation, Mr. Majcher used his knowledge and vast network of contacts in Canada to obtain information or services that would have benefited the People’s Republic of China,” reads a press release issued by the RCMP.The man “would have contributed to the Chinese government’s efforts to identify and intimidate an individual outside the framework of Canadian law”, according to the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) investigation, which had begun in 2021.

Retired RCMP officer charged with helping Beijing intimidation campaign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:09 GMT

OTTAWA — The RCMP says it has charged one of its former members in a case of alleged foreign interference. William Majcher is accused of helping the Chinese government identify and intimidate a person. Police say he is from Hong Kong and used his network of Canadian contacts to get intelligence or services that benefited the People’s Republic of China. They say a national security investigation into Majcher’s suspicious activities began in the fall of 2021.The 60-year-old retired officer is charged with conspiracy and preparatory acts for the benefit of a foreign entity. Police have not said who was the target of Beijing’s alleged intimidation campaign. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2023.The Canadian Press

Harris targets Florida rules on Black history pushed by DeSantis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:09 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris is making a last-minute trip to Florida on Friday to tackle changes to the state’s education standards that critics say play down the horror of slavery. It’s the latest example of how Harris has been the White House point person for addressing cultural issues such as race, schooling and abortion that are championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate. The Florida Board of Education voted Wednesday to approve a revised Black history curriculum that matches legislation that DeSantis said is necessary to prevent liberal indoctrination.The new curriculum includes instruction on how slaves benefited from skills that they learned. It also focuses more in early grades on achievements of African Americans rather than the injustices they faced through slavery and segregation.Harris already addressed the decision on Thursday in Indianapolis, where she spoke at the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority national convention.Sh...

Lawn-free front yards are in — here's why

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:09 GMT

BestReviews is reader-supported and may earn an affiliate commission. Details.Benefits of having a lawn-free front yardLawn-free front yards are becoming increasingly popular, especially as a means of combating drought. They’re environmentally friendly, requiring less water and resources such as lawn mowers and pesticides to keep them going. A well-designed, lawn-free front yard can boost curb appeal while saving you the time, money and stress of maintaining real grass.Shop this article: Midwest Hearth Decorative Polished White Stones, Emsco Group Landscape Rock and Pet Grow PG1-4 Artificial Grass RugLawn-free front yard ideasGrow ground cover plantsGround cover plants creep and spread attractively; they can act as a colorful statement or soften the appearance of a lawn-free yard. They grow no more than 3 feet above the ground and are easy to care for, hindering weed growth and even improving the health of garden soil. Add garden plo...