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Parents, religious groups to protest Montgomery Co. schools’ use of some books

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:06:41 GMT

Protesting the lack of an opt-out policy for certain materials in Montgomery County, Maryland, public schools, several parental and religious rights groups say 500 people are expected to rally outside Tuesday’s school board meeting.The rally against Montgomery County Public Schools will mainly focus on the county’s use of certain books in schools.Coalition of Virtue, a Muslim parent’s group and one of the parties that has helped organize the rally, put out a news release that stated its reasoning for the protest:“MCPS recently introduced a new curriculum to indoctrinate students from pre k-eighth grade on a specific and highly opinionated view of sexual morality and gender ideology. The curriculum lesson plans attempt to eliminate dissent by correcting/silencing students with differing opinions, whether based on religion or science.”The group claims MCPS originally planned that parents would be able to opt out of such lessons but that hasn’t happened.Three families have ...

NFL running back Leonard Fournette says his car caught fire on the freeway

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:06:41 GMT

NFL running back Leonard Fournette appears to have avoided injury after his car caught fire while he was driving on a freeway.Fournette posted a video to Instagram on Tuesday where he showed his burned vehicle on the side of the highway. Fournette doesn’t speak in the video, which shows extensive damage to the SUV. It’s unclear from the video where he was.Fournette has spent the past three seasons playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He started 25 of 43 regular season games in his three years with the Bucs and scored 17 rushing touchdowns.Fournette, who was a first-round pick by Jacksonville in 2017, is currently a free agent after being released by the Bucs during the offseason in a salary cap move.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFLSource

IMF officials and Pakistan’s prime minister hint at deal on $6 billion bailout

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:06:41 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A senior official with the International Monetary Fund and Pakistan’s prime minister indicated Tuesday a deal could soon be reached on a much-needed $6 billon bailout package for the impoverished south Asian country. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF on Tuesday, according to a government statement. The two also met last week, on the sidelines of a global finance meeting in Paris.Later, the IMF’s mission chief to Islamabad suggested that the sides were close to reaching an agreement.Talks between Pakistan and the IMF stalled in December, after the global lender delayed the release of a crucial tranche of $1.1 billion from the bailout. The deal was originally signed in 2019 by Sharif’s predecessor, Imran Khan. The deal envisioned a deadline and if the IMF by Friday decides that Pakistan has not met the terms of the agreement, the fund could cancel the whole bailout package. Hours after Sharif sp...

Italian soccer players banned from wearing No. 88 on jerseys in campaign against antisemitism

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:06:41 GMT

ROME (AP) — Soccer players in Italy will be banned from wearing No. 88 on their shirts as part of an initiative combatting antisemitism announced Tuesday.The No. 88 is a numerical code for “Heil Hitler.”In March, a fan wearing a Lazio shirt with the name “Hitlerson” and the No. 88 on it was banned for life from attending matches of the Roman club.The initiative, which is being coordinated between the Italian government and the Italian soccer federation, includes the addition of a code of ethics in accordance with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.The initiative also calls for games to be suspended in case of antisemitic chants or acts — similar to the way cases of racism are supposed to be handled.Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the moves are “an adequate and efficient response to intolerable prejudice that too often arises in our stadiums.”Soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina adds, “Soccer’s credibility, which gets hurt and damaged by discriminatory ...

‘What’s a Uyghur?’: Miami mayor and 2024 GOP hopeful Suarez fumbles question on China

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:06:41 GMT

CNN (CNN) — Miami mayor and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Francis Suarez indicated in an interview on Tuesday that he was unfamiliar with the plight of Uyghur Muslims, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority in China whose treatment has been the subject of worldwide condemnation for years.In an interview on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show, the Republican presidential candidate was asked, “Will you be talking about the Uyghurs in your campaign?”Suarez responded, “The what?”“The Uyghurs,” Hewitt said, prompting Suarez to ask, “What’s a Uyghur?”At the end of the interview, Suarez told Hewitt, “You gave me homework, Hugh. I’ll look at – what was it? What’d you call it, a weeble?”In a statement to CNN Tuesday afternoon, Suarez denied that he was unaware of the Uyghur situation and the human rights abuses China is accused of committing.“Of course, I am well aware of the suffering of the Uyghurs in China. They are being enslaved because of their faith. China has a deplorable rec...

11 people have died in rip currents in less than two weeks along Gulf Coast

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:06:41 GMT

(CNN) — Rip currents have claimed the lives of 11 people within two weeks along the Gulf Coast, amid warnings from officials about the hazardous water conditions, according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service.The deaths have spanned the Gulf of Mexico between Fort Morgan, Alabama, and Panama City Beach, Florida, the weather service said.A rip current is “a relatively small-scale surf-zone current,” according to the weather service. It forms as waves disperse across the beach, “causing water to become trapped between the beach and a sandbar or other underwater feature” so, “the water converges into a narrow, river-like channel moving away from the shore at high speed.”Contrary to popular belief, a rip current won’t pull you under water, but they can pull even the strongest swimmer away from the beach beyond breaking waves, the weather service said. Rip currents often form at breaks in sandbars and close to piers and rock groins.In the United States, the 10-year...

US imposes new sanctions related to gold dealing to fund Wagner Group

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:06:41 GMT

(CNN) — The US Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on four companies involved in “gold dealing” and one person they say made “weapons deals” tied to the Wagner Group.The announcement of the sanctions comes days after the short-lived mutiny led by the head of the mercenary group’s leader, Yevegny Prigozhin.They target companies in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Central African Republic that “have engaged in illicit gold dealings to fund the Wagner Group to sustain and expand its armed forces, including in Ukraine and Africa.”The targeted individual, Andrey Nikolayevich Ivanov (Ivanov), is a Russian executive in the Wagner Group who “worked closely with Prigozhin’s entity Africa Politology and senior Malian government officials on weapons deals, mining concerns, and other Wagner Group activities in Mali,” according to a Treasury Department release.“The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries l...

Recipe: Take advantage of apricot season by making this dessert

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:06:41 GMT

If I was granted the ability to change life spans, I’d start with dogs and apricots. In my book, dogs have far too few years. Most dog lovers would agree that 10 to 13 years is not enough. And as for apricots, perhaps my favorite stone fruit, the season is way too short. OK, maybe not a life span, but they disappear too soon. Each year,  I make the most of them in the short time they are available.Apricot’s juicy flesh looks like deep-pile velvet. The taste, enhanced by flowery perfume, is a perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors. They are delicious paired with blueberries in a delectable galette.Galettes are much easier and faster to prepare than pies. The dough, quickly prepared in a food processor, is rolled out and roughly folded over the sides of the sugar-coated fruit. Easy peasy.Easy Apricot and Blueberry GaletteYield: 6 servingsINGREDIENTS1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more flour for rolling dough1/2 teaspoon salt10 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch ...

Europe dealing with flight disruptions as strikes impact air travel

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:06:41 GMT

Donald Wood | TravelPulse (TNS)Europe remains one of the most popular summer travel destinations for 2023, but potential strikes among security officers, air traffic controllers and pilots could impact travel through July and August.According to Reuters.com, the United Kingdom avoided potential issues early in the summer season as the Unite union postponed a strike at Heathrow Airport in London after a more lucrative contract was offered.In addition, around 100 security officers and terminal technicians at Birmingham Airport were considering strike action, a move that could “severely impact the airport’s operations.”In France, strikes by air traffic controllers led to delays and limited flights, including airlines canceling a third of their scheduled services on a day early in June due to a planned strike. As a result of the uncertainty, the number of flights to top French destinations like Lyon, Marseille and Nice have been reduced by as much as 20%.The Italian aviation sector is d...

Trump aide unable to make Miami court appearance on documents due to flight delays

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:06:41 GMT

By David Lyons, South Florida Sun SentinelWaltine Nauta, the only co-defendant of Donald Trump in the federal government’s classified documents case against the former president, missed his scheduled arraignment in Miami on Tuesday because bad weather caused cancellation of his flight to Miami, his lawyer said before a magistrate.Washington, D.C.-based attorney Stanley Woodward also informed the judge that his client has yet to hire a local lawyer, which will allow him to proceed in the Florida case, and the judge set a new arraignment date of July 6.Woodward told the court that he himself had a difficult time booking a flight back to Washington, where he is based. The short hearing unfolded before an audience mostly of news media.Nauta, 40, had appeared in a Miami federal court June 13 with Trump, who pleaded not guilty to charges of improper handling of classified papers and obstruction of justice in a 37-count indictment. But Nauta did not enter a plea because he lacked a local l...