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Vatican prosecutor appeals verdict that largely dismantled his fraud case but convicted cardinal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:25 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s chief prosecutor has appealed a court verdict that largely dismantled his theory of a grand conspiracy to defraud the Holy See of millions of euros but found a cardinal guilty of embezzlement.Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi filed his appeal earlier this week, days after the three-judge tribunal issued its verdict in a complicated financial trial that aired the Vatican’s dirty laundry and tested the peculiar legal system in an absolute monarchy in the center of Europe.While the headline from Saturday’s verdict focused on Cardinal Angelo Becciu’s 5 1/2-year sentence for embezzlement, the meat of the ruling made clear that the judges rejected most of Diddi’s 487-page indictment. Diddi had accused Becciu and nine other people of dozens of counts of fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, extortion, corruption, abuse of office and witness tampering in connection with the Vatican’s bungled investment in a London property.He had sought prison terms of up ...

No snow in sight as temps surge into the 50s, with two rain systems ahead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:25 GMT

Weekly temps are to average more than 8 degrees above normal in Chicago by the end of this week—and will surge nearly 16 degrees ABOVE NORMAL next weekTemps are to turn colder (though STILL ABOVE NORMAL) later next week and heading into the following week. PROLONGED ARCTIC COLD isn't in sight at this point through the coming week, though we'll enter the New Year the week after next with daytime highs in the 30s and nighttime lows in the 20s.Next week's system will slow to a crawl locking clouds and sporadic rain in through Wed night and into Thursday, when colder (but STILL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS) will arrive and could introduce a few mixed snowflakes.

Clean energy initiatives advance at the EU Energy Council

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:25 GMT

On the margins of the Energy Council of 20 December, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson supported a series of energy transition initiatives for the EU and its regions.Following up on the European Wind Power Action Plant abled by the Commission in October, 26 member states and representatives of the EU wind sector agreed on a European Wind Charter setting out a series of voluntary commitments for the development of the sector. The signatories committed to ensure a predictable project pipeline, improve auction design, and scale up manufacturing capacity in the EU. They will also ensure that business processes, governance, products and services comply with high qualitative standards related to environment, innovation, cybersecurity and labour. 21 Member States also made voluntary pledges to boost wind power capacity in the next 3 years. More information is available on this webpage. Commissioner Simson's speech is available here.The Commission and member states also signed a Joint Declar...

Dear Abby: I want to have a talk with my wife’s co-worker, but she says she’s handling it

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:25 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I am a 42-year-old male, married for 19 years with three teenage children.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: Am I awful for living well while my daughter flounders? Advice | Dear Abby: My husband is desperate for women’s attention, and I don’t know what to do Advice | Dear Abby: I’m sure it’s the bride who made this hurtful decision Advice | Dear Abby: My sister doesn’t know it, but my husband’s demand is non-negotiable Advice | Dear Abby: I’m not sure I can spend the rest of my life with babyman in tow My wife recently decided to return to work after staying home with the kids as a full-time mom. She’s an elementary school teacher and has a male co-worker.For six months, this co-worker has been texting her constantly, sometimes every day for several weeks at a time. Along with work-related texts, he asks for advice regarding his recent breakup ...

Sale closed in Danville: $2.4 million for a five-bedroom home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:25 GMT

60 Shelterwood Drive – Google Street ViewA 3,596-square-foot house built in 1998 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the first block of Shelterwood Drive in Danville was sold on Nov. 28, 2023, for $2,425,000, or $674 per square foot. This two-story house offers a capacious living environment with its five bedrooms and four bathrooms. In addition, the house features an attached two-car garage. The property’s backyard additionally features a pool.Additional houses that have recently changed hands close by include:On Shelterwood Place, Danville, in October 2023, a 3,596-square-foot home was sold for $2,282,000, a price per square foot of $635. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.In November 2023, a 3,335-square-foot home on Shelterwood Court in Danville sold for $2,450,000, a price per square foot of $735. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.A 3,186-square-foot home on the 1400 block of Menton Street in Danville sold in August 2022, for $2,150,000, a price per s...

Lo que sabemos sobre el tiroteo en una universidad de Praga, República Checa, que dejó al menos 14 muertos y 25 heridos

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:25 GMT

(CNN) — Al menos 14 personas murieron y otras 25 resultaron heridas en un ataque con armas de fuego en Praga, según informaron los servicios de emergencia de la capital checa. Se trata del tiroteo masivo más mortífero que la República Checa haya visto en décadas.Las autoridades creen que el atacante, un hombre de 24 años, se suicidó, dijo el jueves por la noche el jefe de la policía checa, Martin Vondrášek, pero añadió que aún no se había confirmado. El atacante, que según la policía era un estudiante de la Facultad de Artes de la Universidad Charles, no ha sido identificado formalmente debido a la gravedad de sus heridas, dijo el jefe. Las autoridades no lo han nombrado.Las autoridades todavía están investigando el motivo del ataque, que tuvo lugar en el edificio de la Facultad de Artes de la Universidad Carolina, en el centro de la capital. La zona es popular entre los turistas y está cerca de las principales atracciones, justo al otro lado del río Moldava desde el Castillo ...

Howie Carr: Bad echo in the Harvard president’s office

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:25 GMT

I have so many reactions to the current plight of anti-Semitic uber-plagiarist Harvard president Claudine Gay.My heart feels like an alligator.It would take a heart of stone not to laugh.After all, it is not enough to succeed, others must fail.Of course those above three comments aren’t mine. In fact, they are quotes, or paraphrases, from, respectively, Hunter S. Thompson, Oscar Wilde and Gore Vidal.You see, Dr. Gay, is it really that hard to credit people who do the grunt work?But for her, it apparently is. And now she is hoist with her own petard (Shakespeare), twisting slowly, slowly in the wind (John Ehrlichman).Maybe she’ll still be able to ride this out. Probably not, but you’ve heard of the old phrase, “Too Big to Fail.”Claudine Gay may be Too Black to Fail.To quote Gore Vidal again, “No talent is not enough.” For Claudine Gay, though, it may indeed be more than enough.At first Harvard said Gay’s research problems only amounted to a few cases of “inadequate citation.”Now it’s...

DeSantis spread false information while pushing trans health care ban and restrictions, a judge says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:25 GMT

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON (Associated Press)TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge hearing a challenge to a transgender health care ban for minors and restrictions for adults noted Thursday that Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly spread false information about doctors mutilating children’s genitals even though there’s been no such documented cases.The law was sold as defending children from mutilation when it is actually about preventing trans children from getting health care, Judge Robert Hinkle said to Mohammad Jazil, a lawyer for the state.“When I’m analyzing the governor’s motivation, what should I make of these statements?” Hinkle asked. “This seems to be more than just hyperbole.”Hinkle said he will rule sometime in the new year on whether the Legislature, the Department of Health and presidential candidate DeSantis deliberately targeted transgender people through the new law. He raised some skepticism about the...

A storm in Europe disrupts German trains. A woman was killed by a falling Christmas tree in Belgium

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:25 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Pre-Christmas rail travelers in parts of Germany faced disruption on Friday as a storm swept across northern Europe, bringing down trees and prompting warnings of flooding on the North Sea coast. In neighboring Belgium, a woman was killed by a falling Christmas tree.National railway operator Deutsche Bahn said there were cancellations on routes from Hamburg and Hannover to Frankfurt and Munich, while long-distance services from Hamburg northward to Kiel and Flensburg weren’t running, among other disruptions.The company said that falling trees damaged overhead electric wires or blocked tracks largely in northern Germany, but also in the central state of Hesse.There were some delays late Thursday evening at Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s busiest, though there were no cancellations as a result of the storm, and the airport operator said that it was business as usual on Friday morning, German news agency dpa reported.In Hamburg, the Elbe River flooded streets aro...

In the news today: Temporary visas offered to people in Gaza with Canadian relatives

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:43:25 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…People in Gaza with Canadian relatives offered visas, but no guarantee of escapeCanadians desperate to bring extended family members in the Gaza Strip to safety will soon be able to apply for temporary visas for their loved ones, but the government can’t guarantee they’ll be able to escape.Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced the new temporary immigration program Thursday for people in the Gaza Strip who have Canadian relatives, but he underscored the challenges of getting out of the besieged Palestinian territory.The Rafah border crossing is tightly controlled by Israel and Egypt as part of negotiations mediated by Qatar, and Canada has no say about who crosses the border on a given day. Instead, Canada has provided a list of names for the consideration of foreign authorities.Canada at growing odds with Global South: expertsForeign Affairs Mi...