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Aid agency chief: Taliban say guidelines on female NGO staff resuming work close to finalization

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:34 GMT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The head of a major international aid agency said Tuesday that key Taliban officials told him in meetings that they are close to finalizing guidelines that will allow Afghan women to resume working for nongovernmental organizations. But they were unable to give a timeline or details when pressed.The Taliban last December barred Afghan women from working at NGOs, allegedly because they were not wearing the hijab — the Islamic headscarf — correctly and were not observing gender segregation rules. In April, they said this ban extended to U.N. offices and agencies in Afghanistan. There are exemptions in some sectors like health care and education.Days before the NGO order came into effect, the Taliban barred women from universities, having already stopped girls from going to school beyond sixth grade. Last November, women were banned from public spaces, including parks. In January, the Taliban said they were working on guidelines for women to return to work at ...

Pedro Almodóvar rides into the Western in a Cannes short about gay cowboys

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:34 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — “Pedro! Pedro!” shouted the Cannes crowd before Pedro Almodóvar unveiled his latest film, “Strange Way of Life,” a 31-minute Western starring Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke as cowboys and former lovers.There’s nothing quite like the fervor that greets a new film from Almodóvar, one of the world’s most beloved filmmakers. But that may have been doubly so for “Strange Way of Life” even though it’s a quarter the length of his usual output. So frenzied was the scene that many ticketholders never got in. When Almodóvar introduced his all-male cast on stage at the film’s Cannes Film Festival premiere, some in the audience had to cool themselves. John C. Reilly, president of this year’s Un Certain regard jury, kindly reached across the aisle with his hat to fan one excited moviegoer.“I was not sure that I’d make a Western in my life but at least I made a short,” Almodóvar said smiling the next day in an interview on a hotel terrace overlooking the Croi...

Recent shark attacks are worrying beach-goers, yet experts say they’re very rare

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:34 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Recent shark bites in Florida and Hawaii and a suspected case in New Jersey have piqued interest in an age-old summer question for beachgoers — is it safe to go in the water?Scientists and researchers who study sharks said the overwhelming answer to that question is yes, it is safe. Potentially dangerous interactions between humans and sharks are uncommon, and serious injuries and deaths from the bites are vanishingly rare, scientists said.Nonetheless, the dramatic nature of shark bites and the stories of survivors, such as Hawaii surfer Mike Morita’s tale of fighting off a shark in April, capture the imagination. It’s a good idea to remember just how rare shark bites truly are, scientists said.HOW OFTEN DO SHARK BITES OCCUR?There have been typically around 70 to 80 unprovoked shark bites annually, worldwide, over the past decade. And not only are shark bites rare, they’ve been especially rare recently.There were only 57 unprovoked bites last...

Lawyer who spat on anti-racism protester picks jail over probation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:34 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A white lawyer who spat on a Black high school student during an anti-racism march in suburban Milwaukee in 2020 has chosen jail over probation. Stephanie Rapkin, a 67-year-old Shorewood attorney, was convicted of misdemeanor disorderly conduct in April in connection with the incident. Milwaukee County Judge Laura Crivello on Tuesday offered Rapkin leniency, staying a 60-day jail sentence for a year of probation with the condition that she put in 100 hours of community service, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.But Rapkin said no one would ever accept her and she wanted to go to jail.“It’s not viable,” she said. “I’d rather go to jail right now and take care of it.”Crivello imposed the 60-day sentence and bailiffs led Rapkin out of the courtroom in handcuffs.It wasn’t immediately clear what exactly Rapkin meant by her comments. Her attorney, Anthony Cotton, told reporters the day she was convicted that her career has been ruined. Cotton didn’t immediately resp...

Ohio farmer behind viral ‘it’s honest work’ meme dies in Illinois crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:34 GMT

URBANA, Ill. (AP) — A prominent Ohio farmer whose image was used in a popular social media meme touting the value of “hard work” has died after he was injured in a vehicle crash in Illinois.David Brandt was a nationally known proponent of no-till farming who traveled around the country talking about sustainable agriculture techniques and soil health. But he became well-known for comments he made in 2012 at a Natural Resources Conservation Service event held on his farm.While discussing his occupation, Brandt said “it ain’t much but its honest work,” a statement that became a symbol of traditional values and work ethic after it was turned into a meme a few years later.Relatives have said Brandt enjoyed the meme, which showed him clad in overalls and standing in a field, even though he didn’t know what a meme was until he learned he was one from a bank teller who showed the image to him on her phone.A Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, Brandt and his wife, Kendra,...

Quebec police identify killer in 1975 cold case murder of Sharron Prior

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:34 GMT

LONGUEUIL, Que. — Montreal-area police say they have solved one of the highest-profile cold cases in Quebec history.Police in Longueuil, Que., said today that DNA evidence allows them to be 100 per cent certain that Franklin Maywood Romine murdered 16-year-old Sharron Prior in 1975.The body of Romine, who died in 1982 at the age of 36, was exhumed from a West Virginia cemetery in early May for DNA testing intended to confirm his link to the crime.Longueuil police says the DNA of Romine — who had a long criminal history — matches a sample found at the murder scene, and he also matched a witness’s physical description of the suspect.The rape and killing of Prior had gone unsolved since she disappeared on March 29, 1975, after setting out to meet friends at a pizza parlour near her home in Montreal’s Pointe-St-Charles neighbourhood.Her body was found three days later in a wooded area in Longueuil, on Montreal’s South Shore.This report by The Canadian Press was first p...

White House unveils new efforts to guide federal research of AI

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Tuesday announced new efforts to guide federally backed research on artificial intelligence as the Biden administration looks to get a firmer grip on understanding the risks and opportunities of the rapidly evolving technology.Among the moves unveiled by the administration was a tweak to the United States’ strategic plan on artificial intelligence research, which was last updated in 2019, to add greater emphasis on international collaboration with allies.White House officials on Tuesday were also hosting a listening session with workers on their firsthand experiences with employers’ use of automated technologies for surveillance, monitoring, evaluation, and management. And the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology issued a report focused on the risks and opportunities related to AI in education.“The report recognizes that AI can enable new forms of interaction between educators and students, help educators ad...

Court acquits German coronavirus denier of incitement over Israel remarks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:34 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A prominent critic of Germany’s pandemic restrictions who repeatedly spread false information about the coronavirus has been acquitted of incitement to hatred for comments about Jews and Israel.A regional court in the northern town of Ploen ruled Tuesday that Thai-German microbiologist Sucharit Bhakdi didn’t break the law when he described Israel as worse than Nazi Germany.In a video published online in 2021, Bhakdi also said that “the terrible thing about Jews is: they learn well” and described the country of Israel as a “living hell.”The court concluded that it couldn’t be determined without reasonable doubt that Bhakdi had been spreading antisemitic hatred toward Jews rather than criticizing the Israeli government and its policies, German news agency dpa reported.Prosecutors had argued that such comments could lead to Jews in Germany becoming the targets of hatred.Judges also said that Bhakdi’s claims about the COVID vaccine being part of a s...

Democrats sue for West Virginia GOP Gov. Jim Justice’s calendar amid Senate run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:34 GMT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The Democratic party’s U.S. Senate campaign arm is asking a Charleston-based judge to order the release of the calendar of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican running to take over the seat held by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in 2024. The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee filed a lawsuit against Justice’s office Tuesday in Charleston-based Kanawha County Circuit Court in response to an April 13 rejection of public records pertaining to the state leader’s schedule, according to court records.“Jim Justice cannot hide his work schedule — or lack thereof — from West Virginians, and this is an area which is sure to receive further scrutiny in his nasty primary and in a court of law,” committee spokesperson David Bergstein said in a press release announcing the suit.Justice, whose family owns dozens of companies and The Greenbrier luxury resort near the Virginia border, was the most wealthy man in all of West Virginia when elected gove...

Winning $1 million Lucky Day Lotto ticket sold in Romeoville

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:34 GMT

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. — An Illinois lottery player has matched all five numbers in the Lucky Day Lotto draw, earning them a jackpot prize of $1,050,000.The winning ticket was purchased at the Sunshine Food Mart at 5369 S. Budler Rd. in Romeoville for the May 18 midday drawing. The winning numbers were: 4 - 8 - 22 - 27 - 37. Illinois’ Lotto jackpot nears record amount According to the Illinois Lottery, this is the second million-dollar prize won this month and the sixth lottery player this year to win one-million dollars or more playing Lucky Day Lotto.While a winner has not come forward as of this article's writing, the food mart could also be considered a winner as they will receive a $10,500 bonus for selling the ticket.