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Polish president seeks experts’ advice on contentious law targeting opposition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:59 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Aides to Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said Saturday that his experts have begun analyzing a highly contentious law on Russia’s alleged influence in Poland, ahead of his decision on whether to sign it. Parliament on Friday approved the law, proposed by the right-wing ruling party, that is seen as targeting the opposition. It may affect the outcome of fall parliamentary elections in which the ruling Law and Justice party is seeking a third term. The law would establish a state commission for investigating Russian influence in Poland and on national security. It is generally seen as targeting former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, now the leader of the main opposition Civic Coalition, at a time when early campaigning for the elections is underway.The law cannot take effect without Duda’s approval, due within 21 days. It had caused an outcry, and the left-wing opposition has appealed to Duda to reject it, describing it as “shameful” and saying it may lead to wide-ra...

Former US diplomat Henry Kissinger celebrates 100th birthday, still active in global affairs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:59 GMT

Former diplomat and presidential advisor Henry Kissinger marks his 100th birthday on Saturday, outlasting many of his political contemporaries who guided the United States through one of its most tumultuous periods including the presidency of Richard Nixon and the Vietnam War.Born in Germany on May 27, 1923, Kissinger remains known for his key role in American foreign policy of the 1960s and 1970s including eventual attempts to pull the U.S. out of Vietnam, but not before he became inextricably linked to many of the conflict’s most disputed actions.David Kissinger, writing in The Washington Post on Thursday, said his father’s centenary “might have an air of inevitability for anyone familiar with his force of character and love of historical symbolism. Not only has he outlived most of his peers, eminent detractors and students, but he has also remained indefatigably active throughout his 90s.”The elder Kissinger will celebrate this week with visits to New York, London and his h...

UK police free man involved in Downing Street collision – then arrest him on unrelated charge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:59 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A man who was taken into custody after his car crashed into the gates of the British prime minister’s residence in central London was released in that case — but then immediately rearrested on charges of making indecent images of children, police said Saturday.The 43-year-old suspect was arrested for the unrelated offense shortly after he was released pending further investigation into the crash, the Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement. The collision Thursday afternoon outside the prime minister’s official residence and offices at 10 Downing St. set off an intense security response.Authorities later said the incident wasn’t believed to be terror-related. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and criminal damage.It wasn’t immediately clear whether the crash was deliberate. Video posted on social media showed a silver hatchback car heading straight for the gates at low speed across Whitehall, the main thoroughfare in London’s government d...

Facing pushback from Lebanese officials, UN walks back plan to give aid to Syrian refugees in USD

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:59 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The United Nations announced Saturday that it will suspend a plan to begin making aid payments to Syrian refugees in crisis-wracked Lebanon in dollars, after pushback from Lebanese officials.Lebanon has been in the throes of a severe financial crisis since 2019, with triple-digit inflation and the domestic currency having lost more than 98% of its market value. An estimated three-quarters of the population is now living in poverty, with refugees having been hit particularly hard. Some 90% of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are below the extreme poverty line, according to a U.N. assessment.Since the collapse of Lebanon’s currency, U.N. agencies had been paying assistance to refugees in Lebanese pounds.However, on Wednesday, citing “the rapid depreciation of the pound, increased fluctuations of the exchange rate, and the strain on the financial provider in supplying large volumes of cash in Lebanese pounds” the U.N. refugee agency and the World Food Program, along with the U....

12 shot, 3 dead in overnight shootings in Chicago ahead of weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:59 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police reported 12 people shot, three fatally, in overnight shootings all over the Chicagoland area ahead of the holiday weekend.Police reported that a 33-year-old man was found unresponsive on the sidewalk near the 7800 block of South Seeley Avenue around 12:50 a.m. with a gunshot wound to the left armpit. He was pronounced dead on the scene. Around 1:18 a.m., police found a 25-year-old man near the 1400 block of West 49th Street inside a car with a gunshot wound to the head. he was transported to the hospital in critical condition.According to reports, a 34-year-old man was found on the sidewalk near the 500 block of West Surf Street with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after. Shots fired on Chicago’s North Avenue Beach hours after opening for the summer Two women were standing on a sidewalk near the 2300 block of West 18th Street around 2:55 a.m. when shots were fired.A 36-year-old woman was transported to the hosp...

ATCEMS: Motorcyclist dies after collision in northwestern Travis County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A motorcyclist died early Saturday morning after a collision in northwest Travis County near Lago Visa. Travis County STAR Flight and the Austin-Travis County EMS both responded to the crash.ATCEMS said it responded to a single motorcycle crash at 4:12 a.m. in the 19900 block of Boggy Ford.According to officials, ATCEMS performed CPR on an adult patient, but the person was later pronounced dead on the scene.

During the pandemic, one St. Paul family took on a very big project: They bought a resort.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:59 GMT

Remember those pandemic projects of 2020?We spruced up our back yards to create outdoor living spaces … we painted after noticing all those scuff marks during lockdown … we learned how to make sourdough bread.Anne and James Dougherty of St. Paul took it a bit further: They purchased, renovated and reopened a vintage lake resort for seasonal vacationers to northern Minnesota.Jeni Anderson enjoys the quiet morning at the end of the dock at Wambolts Cabins, near Park Rapids, Minn. on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Anderson and her family were visiting to help the owners with getting the resort ready for the tourist season. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)Cabins and trees are silhouetted against the darkening sky at Wambolts Cabins, on Upper Bottle Lake near Park Rapids, Minn., on Friday evening, May 19, 2023. The Dougherty family of St. Paul bought the vintage fishing camp in 2021 and are refurbishing and updating it to give vacationers that classic Minnesota "vacation at the lake" exp...

Teen shot multiple times in Carondelet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:59 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- A 15-year-old boy is seriously injured after being shot several times in South City. This happened around seven last night. Near Michigan and Mott in the city's Carondelet Neighborhood.  We will update you on any possible suspect or suspects and that boy's condition.

Colorado’s overdose rates stabilized in 2022 but remain near record levels

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:59 GMT

Fatal overdoses declined slightly in Colorado in 2022, newly finalized state data shows, after two years of surging deaths. But public health officials and addiction experts drew little comfort from last year’s totals, which remain near record highs amid fentanyl’s growing dominance of the illicit drug supply.“(Overdoses) evened themselves out a little bit. We have a new normal, which is terrible,” said Dr. Josh Blum, an addiction medicine physician at Denver Health. “Now we have a stable, unacceptably high death rate.”In 2022, 1,799 people fatally overdosed in Colorado, a 4% drop from 2021’s total of 1,881, according to data from the state Department of Public Health and Environment. The figures represent a bittersweet stabilization: A slight, one-year decline is still a reprieve after rates nearly doubled in recent years. The number of fentanyl-related deaths — which quadrupled between 2019 and 2021 — plateaued, and methampheta...

For Gen Z, playing an influencer on TikTok comes naturally

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:59 GMT

Rachel Aaron, a 24-year-old who works in public relations in New York, recently dressed up for a work event at Bloomingdale’s. In the era of “get ready with me” videos on TikTok, it was a golden opportunity to create content.Aaron, who has just 3,300 followers on TikTok, filmed herself chatting to the camera while selecting a black Skims dress, a blazer and a belt. Her post garnered a few hundred views and some favorable comments like “Slay mamas.”Aaron is not a major social media star, nor is she a celebrity. At least not yet. But she is part of a generation that is increasingly posting on social media in the manner of professional influencers: sharing daily routines, pitching or unboxing products, modeling clothing and advertising personal Amazon storefronts. These videos are often viewed as cool and entrepreneurial by peers (and sometimes by bemused parents). They can also lead to free stuff and extra cash.Aaron lists an email for brand inquiries on her TikTok profile and a link ...