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China shows off a Tibetan boarding school that’s part of a system some see as forced assimilation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:12 GMT

SHANGRI-LA TOWN, China (AP) — First-grade students, hands folded on their desks, watch a teacher write a brush-like stroke on a blackboard in their Tibetan alphabet. Outside, craggy mountains climb toward the brightest of blue skies. The air is clean and crisp at 2,800 meters (9,100 feet), if a bit thin. The Shangri-La Key Boarding School is an example of bilingual education, Chinese-style. Tibetan activists have a different term for it: forced assimilation. The issue is getting official attention this year, with U.N. human rights experts and representatives from the U.S. and a handful of other Western governments condemning the system.China has shuttered village schools across Tibet and replaced them with centralized boarding schools over the last dozen years. Many students come from remote farming villages and live at the schools. The practice is not limited to the region but appears to be much more widespread in Tibetan areas.Activists estimate 1 million Tibetan children study at...

Former President George W. Bush to throw out ceremonial first pitch before World Series opener

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:12 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Former President George W. Bush, the former Rangers owner, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Texas plays the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series opener on Friday night.This will be Bush’s fourth World Series ceremonial first pitch but his first before an opener.Bush, 77. headed the group that bought the Rangers from Eddie Chiles in 1998 and was general partner through November 1994, when he stepped down as he prepared to become Texas governor. Bush was U.S. president from 2001-09 and threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium between New York and Arizona. With heavy security following the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Bush wore a bullet-proof vest.As Bush warmed up beneath the stands of old Yankee Stadium, the Yankees’ Derek Jeter told him “Don’t bounce it, they will boo you,” Bush later recalled.Bush threw out ceremonial first pitches with his father, former President George H...

Former Premier Li Keqiang, China’s top economic official for a decade, dies at 68

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:12 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Former Premier Li Keqiang, China’s top economic official for a decade, died Friday of a heart attack. He was 68. Li was China’s No. 2 leader from 2013-23 and an advocate for private business but was left with little authority after President Xi Jinping made himself the most powerful Chinese leader in decades and tightened control over the economy and society.CCTV said Li had been resting in Shanghai recently and had a heart attack on Thursday. He died at 12:10 a.m. Friday.Li, an English-speaking economist, was considered a contender to succeed then-Communist Party leader Hu Jintao in 2013 but was passed over in favor of Xi. Reversing the Hu era’s consensus-oriented leadership, Xi centralized powers in his own hands, leaving Li and others on the party’s ruling seven-member Standing Committee with little influence.As the top economic official, Li promised to improve conditions for entrepreneurs who generate jobs and wealth. But the ruling party under Xi increased the do...

Trump Jr. calls RJK Jr. a 'Democrat plant'

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:12 GMT

(The Hill) — Donald Trump Jr. dubbed presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a “Democrat plant” after the candidate left the Democratic primary to pursue a presidential bid as an independent, potentially hurting former President Trump’s election chances.“It legitimately always felt like it was a Democrat plant to hurt the Trump thing,” Trump Jr. said to Trump campaign volunteers in Iowa on Thursday, NBC News reported. “He wouldn’t be there if the Democrats didn’t want him.”The Democratic establishment essentially ignored Kennedy’s longshot primary bid against President Biden. Now, early polls show that Kennedy may actually pull more voters from Trump than Biden in a three-man race, turning a former primary opponent into a boon for the president.Kennedy centered his campaign on a rejection of the two-party system, distrust in government and skepticism of COVID-19, including the COVID vaccine.Those positions could appeal to voters who otherwise would vote for Trump, political ana...

State boys soccer: St. Paul Academy gets step closer to repeat with Class A quarterfinal win over Washington

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:12 GMT

St. Paul Academy can still go back to back.Rusheek Kolan and Rowan McLean scored in the first half and the defending Class A boys soccer champion beat Washington 2-1 in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday.With the win at a wet Irondale High School, the third-seeded Spartans will face No. 2 seed Holy Family in a Nov. 1 semifinal. That match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at climate-controlled U.S. Bank Stadium.“Our coach Max (Lipset) tells us that we kind of always have a chip on our shoulder, like people want a piece of us because we are the defending champions. But at the end of the day, I don’t think we feel that pressure and take every game as it goes,” said goalkeeper Cooper Olson, recently named Mr. Soccer in Class A.Now 12-4-3, St. Paul Academy has won seven of eight.A light rain falling, Awal Wako scored on a penalty kick for Washington 36 seconds into the second half to get within 2-1. The unseeded Eagles thought they had a penalty-kick opportunity in the first half, but an initial ...

Bill introduced to restrict drone use around schools

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:12 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- New York State lawmakers have introduced a bill meant to restrict drone use around schools. The bill would ban anyone from operating a drone over school grounds without first getting permission from school administrators.It was introduced in response to concerns from the Bethlehem Central School District after a real estate company flew a drone over three of its schools earlier in the month. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! "We are responsible for protecting student privacy. The use of drones in aerial photography without authorization is an invasion of that privacy," Bethlehem Superintendent Jody Monroe said. "The fact that there are no laws to prevent this counters everything we strive to do in the name of safety."The company did have a license to use the drone and has agreed to alert school officials in the future. The bill would cover other sensitive locations, and there would be exceptions for gover...

Maine manhunt continues for shootings suspect

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:12 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (NewsNation) —  A manhunt remains underway Thursday for a gunman who opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston on Wednesday, killing 18 people and injuring 13 more, according to Maine Gov. Janet Mills.As investigators work to find suspect Robert Card, law enforcement officers swarmed a home Thursday night in Bowdoin. NewsNation crews on the scene said investigators announced demands over a speaker like “Robert Card, come outside with your hands up!” and “Robert, you are under arrest. Come out of the house. Hands in the air!”The Maine Department of Public Safety said law enforcement is at a home on Meadow Road in Bowdoin as part of the shootings investigation and that officials are executing “several search warrants.”“The announcements that are being heard over a loud speaker are standard search warrant announcements when executing a warrant to ensure the safety of all involved,” a public information officer with the Maine Department of Public Safety s...

Colorado high school football scoreboard: Week 10

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:12 GMT

Thursday night scoresFruita Monument 2, Adams City 0Thomas Jefferson 21, Denver South 12Platte Valley 55, Prospect Ridge Academy 7Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

East 104th Avenue in Thornton closed for three-car crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:12 GMT

East 104th Avenue in Thornton is closed from Riverdale Road to McKay Road for a three-car crash, according to the Thornton Police Department.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Driver dies after crashing into building in Greeley Crime and Public Safety | ‘Superfog’ near New Orleans blamed for highway crashes that killed at least 7 Crime and Public Safety | One person dies in late-night crash on I-70, police investigating Crime and Public Safety | Eastbound Colfax reopens after seven-vehicle crash, five people injured Crime and Public Safety | DUI, vehicular homicide suspected in Interstate 25 crash in Broomfield Multiple people were transported to a local hospital with unknown injuries, according to the department. Thornton police reported the crash on X at approximately 7:30 p.m. Thursday.Drivers can use 100th and 112th avenues as alternate routes.E 104th Ave is closed in both directio...

Avalanche’s perfect start ends with a dud against Sidney Crosby, Penguins

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:52:12 GMT

PITTSBURGH — There were plenty of individual moments Thursday night that could accurately sum up the Colorado Avalanche’s first dud of the 2023-24 season, but let’s go with the Pittsburgh Penguins’ third goal of the night.The Avalanche, uncharacteristically sloppy with the puck and sluggish from the opening puck drop, turned it over in the neutral zone, which ignited one of several odd-man rushes for the home team. Defenseman Josh Manson hustled back to deftly break up a cross-ice pass and temporarily disarm the threat.But then he tried to handle the puck instead of just sweeping it out of danger, Radim Zahorna knocked it away from him into the slot and Lars Eller was there for a tap-in and one of the easier goals he’s ever going to score with a goaltender on the ice.That was Pittsburgh’s third goal en route to a 4-0 victory at PPG Paints Arena, ending Colorado’s perfect start to the season and its NHL-record 15-game regular-season road winn...