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Head of UK’s biggest police force says sorry for past treatment of LGBTQ+ community

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:57:12 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The head of Britain’s biggest police department has apologized for the force’s past treatment of the LGBTQ+ community, a move that one human rights activist called a “groundbreaking” acknowledgement that would help build confidence in law enforcement.The statement Wednesday from Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley came after gay rights activist Peter Tatchell launched a campaign calling for all British police departments to apologize for “past homophobic witch hunts,” which continued even after Britain decriminalized private sexual acts between men in 1967.In a letter to Tatchell, Rowley acknowledged that the way in which police enforced the law “failed the community and persist(s) in the collective memory of LGBT+ Londoners of all ages.’’“Recent cases of appalling behavior by some officers have revealed that there are still racists, misogynists, homophobes and transphobes in the organization, and we have already doubled down on rooting out those who cor...

Power broker Jimmy Dunne with 9/11 history helped get PGA and Saudis to the table

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:57:12 GMT

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, sat beside each other during a CNBC interview wearing comfortable smiles of longtime friends.That was one of many surprises. They announced a blockbuster commercial partnership that seemed so unfathomable only a few months ago because they were adversaries in the bitter antitrust lawsuit initiated by Saudi-funded LIV Golf — and because two months ago, they had never even met.What brought them together in a roundabout way was Monahan appointing Jimmy Dunne — a power broker in golf and on Wall Street with a personal connection to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — to the PGA Tour board of directors last fall. It was Dunne and Ed Herlihy, chairman of the PGA Tour policy board, whom Monahan leaned on to set his first meeting with Al-Rumayyan a short time after the Masters. They were the only PGA Tour principals involved in the deal that joins the commercial business of the ...

Who's in charge when a pope is unconscious?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:57:12 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis' three-hour surgery Wednesday raised a question about what happens to papal power when a pope is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated and cannot lead the Catholic Church.The answer: nothing.While many countries regulate the transfer of power when a head of state becomes incapacitated, and the Vatican has governance norms when a pope resigns or dies, none of those regulations apply to a sick, unconscious or hospitalized pope.In other words, Pope Francis was still pope, fully in charge of running the Vatican and the 1.3-billion strong Catholic Church, even while under general anesthesia and undergoing surgery to repair a hernia in his abdominal wall. The Vatican said there were no complications and that he was expected to be hospitalized for several days. What kind of surgery did Pope Francis have, and why? No, the Vatican camerlengo, or chaimberlan, didn't take over. No, the Vatican No. 2 didn't step in.“A brief period of impediment doesn’t crea...

Resolution will look at homeless shelter capacity in Austin

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:57:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin City Council will vote on a resolution that would direct the city manager to identify the shortages in shelter bed capacity and navigation services. It is part of a list of items relating to homelessness in the city that council will discuss on Thursday. The resolution, if approved, would also direct the city manager to find cost scenarios to fix the shortage problem. Austin City Council: Homeless shelter capacity, building height changes What does the data show? Ending Homelessness in Austin and Travis County (ECHO), conducted its 2023 Point in Time (PIT) count and counted 2,374 people. Of the people that were counted, 1,108 were sleeping in shelters and 1,266 were unsheltered. ECHO estimates there are actually 4,652 people living unsheltered in Austin right now. According to the recent PIT count, homelessness was more dispersed throughout the city when compared to 2020. For example, district 9, which encompasses downtown, saw a 35% decrease in the unshel...

Late day storms amid heat, poor air quality

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:57:12 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Scattered storms will attempt to disrupt today's heat and air quality issues, but not everyone will be able to cash in on the rain.Another Ozone Action Day is in effect today due to elevated ground-level ozone. Consider limiting your pollution footprint by carpooling, turning up your thermostat 1-2 degrees, or waiting to fill up your gas tank until after sunset.Ozone Action Day in effect Thursday "The future is smoky": Northeast U.S. air quality problems linked to climate change A weak disturbance, in combination with leftover storm boundaries, daytime heating and plentiful moisture, will fire off another round of storms and showers later today. Some storms may be strong to severe, with a 1-out-of-5 threat of severe thunderstorms expected areawide.Thursday severe risk: 1 out of 5As a few isolated late-day storms continue through the weekend, heat becomes the dominant weather story. A building ridge of high pressure sends high temperatures to the upper 90s this wee...

A Pride Q-and-A with owners of Urban Growler Brewing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:57:12 GMT

June is Pride month, and a lot of local businesses are offering specials or raising money for their favorite LGBTQ+ causes.But few have as much to celebrate as Urban Growler Brewing (2325 Endicott St., St. Paul; 651-340-5793) owners Deb Loch and Jill Pavlak, who are marking their ninth year in business and their 10th wedding anniversary this year.The brewery always has lots going on during Pride month, but they were generous enough to sit down with us for an interview recently. Here’s what they had to say.This Q-and-A has been edited for length and clarity.Q: How did you meet?Deb: We met through Match.com in 2006.Jill: We corresponded via email, but our first meeting was at The Happy Gnome (now The Gnome in St. Paul).Deb: So we thought that was really foreshadowing. (The bar is known for its craft beer selection.)Q: Did you drink beer on your first date?In unison: Yeah, of course, yeah.Deb: Jill was ready to give up on Match.com. She did the three-month free subscription and it was ...

98.3 TRY Social Dilemma: Is Car Detailing a Bad Gift For Your Wife for Mother's Day?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:57:12 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Today's 98.3 TRY Social Dilemma comes from Harrison and it's about appropriate gifts for your spouse! Hi Jaime. I have a problem. Let’s rewind back to Mother’s Day. I gave my wife what I thought was a very nice gift…a certificate good for a complete car detailing. She’s very busy, and her SUV has started to look like an “old” car, even though it’s a 2016. I thought it would be nice to get it back to looking brand new inside. It seems that I was wrong because even after the car was worked on, and now looks like a diamond, she says it was a gift more for me…and feels like I was calling her out on her dirty car. What’s more, she’s now saying things like she “promises to take better care of it,” like I was somehow guilting her about the condition of the car. I thought I was doing something nice, but apparently, I messed up. For future reference, was this the nice gift I intended it to be, or was there really something insensitive and insulting that I just didn’t...

Repair Cafe to be held in Albany on Saturday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:57:12 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Repair cafes are growing in popularity in the United States. The international movement that brings community members together to fix household items for free is leading to a repair revolution. Albany tool library growing in size and popularity This Saturday in Albany you can fix items for free at a local repair cafe hosted by the Historic Albany Foundation. The person who brings in the broken item will fix it right alongside the expert so they can learn the skills to do it themselves moving forward. While repair cafes have taken place in the Capital Region, this is the first one to be held in the city of Albany according to the group.“We're going to have people fixing clothes, electronics, lamps. Lamps are one of the huge things, people want to fix, vacuums cleaners,” said Kimberley Parker from the Historic Albany Foundation. The history of Albany’s oldest building The event will take place this Saturday, June 10 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Albany P...

Ask Amy: Woman wants to avoid parents’ skeevy friend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:57:12 GMT

Dear Amy: I am in my mid-20s and have a great relationship with my parents. I live nearby and see them multiple times a week.They have a large social network of other married couples as friends, many of whom I’ve known since childhood, as they were the parents of my own friends, classmates, neighborhood kids, etc.In the past couple of years, I’ve started to feel uncomfortable around one of their male friends, “Biff.”He has never done or said anything specific, but I can’t help but just feel this … icky vibe when I’m around him.It’s little things, like just leaning in too close when he talks to me, holding eye contact too long, and “teasing” in a way that if it was coming from a man my age I would perceive as definite flirting.My parents are planning a weekend vacation at the end of the summer at an Airbnb. They plan to invite several of their friend-couples, including this man and his wife.I really want to go, but I can’t shake this nagging feeling that I will be spending the weeken...

Ukraine's Zelenskyy discusses peace moves with Papal envoy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:57:12 GMT

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the Vatican on Tuesday (6 June) to contribute to the implementation of a Ukrainian peace plan during talks with a Papal envoy about Russia's war on Ukraine.Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, tasked by Pope Francis to carry out a peace mission to try to help end the war in Ukraine, visited Kyiv to sound out the Ukrainian authorities.Zelenskyy said they discussed the situation in Ukraine and humanitarian cooperation "in the framework of the Ukrainian Peace Formula.""Only united efforts, diplomatic isolation and pressure on Russia can influence the aggressor and bring a just peace to the Ukrainian land," Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app."I call on the Holy See to contribute to the implementation of the Ukrainian peace plan. Ukraine welcomes the readiness of other states and partners to find ways to peace, but since the war is on our territory, the algorithm for achieving peace can be Ukrainian only."Zelenskyy met the pope at the Vatican in M...