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Bolivian Catholics unfazed by sex scandals as they gear up for massive festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:17 GMT

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Catholic devotees in Bolivia prepared for one of the country’s biggest religious celebrations this weekend at a time when the church in this Andean country has been rocked by an increasing number of sex abuse scandals.The faithful who were gearing up for the Jesus of the Great Power festival Saturday insisted that cases of abuse that have come to light in recent weeks would not affect the folk-religious festival in La Paz, which fuses together Catholic and local Indigenous traditions.Tens of thousands of people will descend on the capital Saturday wearing colorful garb to dance to the beat of thousands of musicians playing traditional Indigenous music in a demonstration of their faith. What started out as a small celebration in the Great Power neighborhood a century ago now takes over much of the capital.Leaders of the Catholic Church acknowledged this week that the church had been “deaf” to the suffering of victims of sexual abuse amid fallout from the case i...

Utah district bans Bible in elementary and middle schools ‘due to vulgarity or violence’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:17 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Good Book is being treated like a bad book in Utah after a parent frustrated by efforts to ban materials from schools convinced a suburban district that some Bible verses were too vulgar or violent for younger children.The 72,000-student Davis School District north of Salt Lake City removed the Bible from its elementary and middle schools while keeping it in high schools after a committee reviewed the scripture in response to a parental complaint. The district has removed other titles, including Sherman Alexie’s “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” and John Green’s “Looking for Alaska,” following a 2022 state law requiring districts to include parents in decisions over what constitutes “sensitive material.”A district spokesperson, Chris Williams, said it doesn’t differentiate between requests to review books. The reviews are handled by a committee of made up of teachers, parents and administrators in the predominantly conservative community whe...

Connecticut lawmakers vote to restrict marriage licenses for anyone under age 18

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:17 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut lawmakers voted Friday to tighten the state’s marriage laws, prohibiting anyone under age 18 from being issued a marriage license under any circumstance.The legislation cleared the Senate unanimously, following a 98-45 bipartisan vote last month in the House of Representatives. It updates a 2017 anti-child marriage law that advocates contend created a dangerous loophole, leaving young people at risk of coercion and sexual abuse.Currently in Connecticut, a 16- or 17-year-old may get a marriage license if their local probate court judge approves a petition filed on the minor’s behalf by their parent or guardian. Current state law also allows emancipated minors to marry at 16 or 17, something that will end under this new legislation as well.The bill moves to Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont’s desk. A spokesperson said Friday the governor plans to sign the legislation into law.Despite Friday’s unanimous Senate vote, there was criticis...

Protests erupted outside Los Angeles elementary school’s Pride month assembly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:17 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police officers separated groups of protesters and counterprotesters Friday outside a Los Angeles elementary school that has become a flashpoint for Pride month events across California.People protesting a planned Pride assembly outside the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Saticoy Elementary School wore T-shirts emblazoned with “Leave our kids alone” — and carried signs with slogans such as “Parental Choice Matters” and “No Pride in Grooming.” Tensions at the school have been rising since last month, when a social media page was created to urge parents to keep their children home Friday, the day of the planned assembly.Los Angeles police headquarters tweeted: “LAPD is at Saticoy Elementary School this morning. We are here to support our LAUSD partners and facilitate a peaceful and lawful exercise of constitutional rights.”Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Kelly Gonez said the assembly went on without issue. It included a reading of “The G...

Halifax-area residents board buses to view dozens of homes destroyed by wildfires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:17 GMT

HALIFAX — Scores of Halifax-area residents whose homes were destroyed by wildfires boarded buses Friday to get a look at what little remains of where they used to live.Katherine Tarateski, a local real estate agent who lost her home during the fire, said she had already seen images of her house in ruins. But she said she wanted to help a neighbour who would be seeing the remains of her home for the first time.“I’m going to support my friend because she was living alone, and she doesn’t want to be alone when she sees what’s left there,” Tarateski said. “It’s very emotional.”Before three transit buses left a parking lot in Upper Tantallon, N.S., Red Cross workers hovered nearby, providing bottles of water and hugs to some of the passengers. Local resident Jody Stuart, who also lost his home to the fire, said he didn’t want to be a part of the grim tour.“I need to physically go and do my thing with family and friends beside me,” said Stuart, whose nine-yea...

One-quarter of Air Canada flights delayed Friday as schedule recovers from IT issue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:17 GMT

More than one-quarter of Air Canada flights experienced delays on Friday as the airline worked to return service to normal following a technical malfunction the previous day.Air Canada had warned travellers early Friday morning they should be prepared for further flight disruptions. In its daily travel outlook, the carrier said that while its IT system was stable, flights may be affected at nine of Canada’s busiest airports, including Toronto’s Pearson, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.Thursday’s outage led to more than 500 flights — over three quarters of its trips — to be delayed or cancelled on the day, creating what the airline said were “rollover effects” just prior to the weekend.A total of 144 Air Canada flights, or 27 per cent of the airline’s scheduled load, had been delayed Friday as of around 4:30 p.m. EDT, along with 33 cancellations, according to tracking service FlightAware.com.An additional 56 flights with Air Canada Rouge saw delays...

Stock market today: Wall Street leaps, nearly escapes its bear market after strong jobs report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:17 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rushed higher Friday after a strong report on the U.S. job market suggested a recession may not be as close as Wall Street had feared. The S&P 500 leaped 1.5% for the latest surge in a rally that’s vaulted it nearly 20% since mid-October. That put Wall Street’s main measure of health on the edge of entering what’s called a “bull market” despite a long list of challenges. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 701 points, or 2.1%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1.1%.They got a boost after a report showed employers unexpectedly accelerated their hiring last month. It’s the latest signal that the job market remains remarkably solid despite much higher interest rates, and it offers a hefty pillar of support for an economy that’s begun to slow.Areas of the market that do best when the economy is healthy led a widespread rally, including stocks of industrial companies, energy producers and banks. Exxon Mobil rose 2.3% as prices for crude o...

Boy, 12, shot inside Chatham home: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:17 GMT

CHICAGO —  A 12-year-old boy is recovering after being shot in the hip inside a home on Chicago's South Side, Chicago police said Friday.According to police, the shooting occurred around 2 p.m. in the 7900 block of S. Ingleside Ave., in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood.The 12-year-old was inside the home when police he was shot by an "unknown offender." ‘He wanted better:’ 14-year-old killed, 4 wounded after shooting involving police on South Side; 1 in custody The shooting victim was taken to Comer Children's Hospital in good condition. Anyone with information may leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.Area Two Detectives are investigating.

Man found dead at shelter for migrants in Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:17 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are conducting a death investigation after a man was found dead at a shelter designated to house migrants.Officers responded to the building that was formerly the Wasdworth Elementary School located at 6420 South University Avenue around 6 a.m. Friday.Police said the 27-year-old man was found unresponsive and pronounced dead on the scene.Detectives are conducting a death investigation pending autopsy results.In January, the City of Chicago moved migrants into the building. Previous Coverage: City to move migrants into Wadsworth Elementary School in coming weeks No other information on the man or his death has been provided at this time.

Chicago falls from top 10 park systems among U.S. cities, report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:17 GMT

CHICAGO — An annual ranking of public park systems across the U.S. has dropped Chicago from #6 to #12 after knocking the city for a reduction in its average spending on parks and available amenities.The Trust for Public Land (TPL) scores and ranks the park systems of the 100 most populous U.S. cities each year by comparing five park categories: acreage, access, equity, investment, and amenities. All five categories are scored on a 100 point scale and weighted equally into the final average, which becomes TPL's ParkScore® for that city. Bears say Arlington Park no longer ‘singular focus’ for new stadium Chicago's 2022 ParkScore was 76.8 out of 100 while its 2023 ParkScore is 72.6.Of the 3.6 overall points lost, 2.2 came from a reduction in the amount of money spent on parks per resident, which dropped from $182 in 2022 to $178, according to TPL's data. The other 1.6 lost points primarily came from a reduction in available park amenities per capita; namely restrooms and basketball h...