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Pope meets relatives of Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Gaza and sets off firestorm over words

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:09 GMT

VATICAN CITY (By NICOLE WINFIELD)Associated Press (AP) — Pope Francis met separately Wednesday with relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinians living through the war and set off a firestorm by using words that Vatican diplomats usually avoid: “terrorism” and, according to the Palestinians, “genocide.”Francis spoke about the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians after his meetings, which were arranged before the Israeli-Hamas hostage deal and a temporary halt in fighting was announced. Francis didn’t refer to the deal, which marked the biggest diplomatic breakthrough since the war erupted following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel.Francis met at the Vatican with 12 relatives of some of the 240 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for about 20 minutes. Separately, he met for about the same amount of time with 10 Palestinians whose relatives have been killed or otherwise affected by the war in Gaza, along with priests who min...

Substitute teacher suspected of lewd acts with 13-year-old girl

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:09 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- A 27-year-old Vista Unified School District substitute teacher suspected of lewd acts with a 13-year-old girl was arrested over the weekend, authorities said.Conner Chanove, who is also a coach for the all-girls Seaside Water Polo Club in Carlsbad, was arrested Monday after the teen's mother allegedly found him with her daughter in a vehicle at Guajome Lake Park in Oceanside, Sgt. Josh Morris with the Oceanside Police Department said in a news release Tuesday."The mother noticed inappropriate activity was taking place and removed her daughter from the vehicle and confronted the suspect," Morris said. Encinitas removes benches at Swami’s beach, frustrating locals Authorities were unable to find the suspect when they received the report Saturday, but two days later found and arrested him. Police also conducted a search of Chanove's home in Carlsbad.Chanove was booked into the Vista Detention Facility on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under 1...

Suspected militants kill 5, including 2 soldiers, in pair of bombings in northwest Pakistan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:09 GMT

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Suspected militants killed five people on Wednesday, including two soldiers, in a pair of bomb attacks targeting security forces in northwest Pakistan, near the Afghan border, officials said.The first attack occurred in North Waziristan district, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where two soldiers were killed, the military said.In the second attack, a bomb exploded at a shop in a former stronghold of Pakistani Taliban in the northwestern city of Wana, killing a pro-government elder, Aslam Noor, and two others, according to local police chief Allah Wazir.Noor, the slain elder, was known for supporting the government against the Pakistani Taliban.The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the troops, but denied any role in the bombing that killed the three civilians.The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, is a separate group but also a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afgha...

Incoming Philadelphia mayor taps the city’s chief of school safety as next police commissioner

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:09 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker, who won her post by promising gun-violence-weary residents to get tough on crime, on Wednesday selected longtime police official Kevin J. Bethel to become the next police commissioner of the nation’s sixth most populous city.The move is Parker’s first major personnel decision in a heavily Black city where her campaign tried to connect with voters who are increasingly worried about public safety as well as quality-of-life issues, from faulty streetlights to trash collection. On the stump, Parker argued that her mayoral administration can both invest in policing and address broader societal problems at the same time.In an interview with ABC Philadelphia announcing the decision, Parker said Bethel is “a leader who is not afraid to make the tough decisions that we need to bring some order back to our city.” Bethel, 60, is a former deputy police commissioner in Philadelphia who since 2019 has served as the chief of...

Washington asks India about alleged assassination plot against US-Canadian activist

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:09 GMT

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government says it asked Indian authorities about allegations of a foiled assassination plot targeting a U.S.-Canadian citizen and it expects anyone deemed responsible to be “held accountable.”National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson says in a statement the U.S. government is “treating the issue with utmost seriousness” and raised it with the “senior-most” levels of India’s government.She was responding to a report in the Financial Times alleging U.S. authorities thwarted a plan to assassinate Sikhs for Justice general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, and raised concerns that India’s government was involved.Pannun, a dual citizen, is an organizer of a series of Sikh separatist votes in Canada and the United States. Watson says in a statement that Indian officials expressed “surprise and concern” and told the Americans that such activities were not their policy.India’...

25 killed when truck overloaded with food items and people crashes in Nigeria’s north

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:09 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A truck overloaded with food items and more than 200 people crashed in north-central Nigeria’s Niger state, killing 25 passengers and injuring dozens of others, authorities said Wednesday.The truck was on its way to Nigeria’s economic hub of Lagos on Tuesday when it crashed in Takalafia village in Niger’s Magama district on Tuesday, according to Nigeria’s road safety agency.Niger Gov. Mohammed Umaru Bago said in a statement that the 25 victims have been taken to a nearby mortuary while other passengers were being treated for their injuries.Kumar Tsukwam, sector commander of Nigeria’s Federal Road Safety Corps in Niger, told The Associated Press that it’s believed some of the passengers wanted to travel with the trailer through Tuesday night to avoid unsafe roads during the day.“The passengers were not mindful of the (nature of the) road and the goods it was conveying,” Tsukwam said.Overloading and speeding are common causes of crashes along major roads in...

Democrats who swept Moms For Liberty off school board fight superintendent’s $700,000 exit deal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:09 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Pennsylvania school board that banned books, Pride flags and transgender athletes slipped a last-minute item into their final meeting before leaving office, hastily awarding a $700,000 exit package to the superintendent who supported their agenda.But the Democratic majority that swept the conservative Moms For Liberty slate out of office hopes to block the unusual — they say illegal — payout and bring calm to the Central Bucks School District, whose affluent suburbs and bucolic farms near Philadelphia have been roiled by infighting since the 2020 pandemic.“People are really sick of the embarrassing meetings, the vitriol, they’re tired of our district being in the news for all the wrong reasons. And … the students are aware of what’s been going on, particularly our LGBTQ students and their friends and allies,” said Karen Smith, a Democrat who won a third term on the board.The district, with about 17,000 students in 23 schools, has spent $1.5 million on legal and...

Non-binary Montrealer on hunger strike to get ‘X’ gender marker on Quebec health card

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:09 GMT

QUEBEC — Non-binary Montrealer Alexe Frédéric Migneault is on Day 3 of a hunger strike to pressure Quebec’s public health insurance board to add a third gender option to health cards.Migneault, whose pronouns are they/them, is camping near the board’s office in Quebec City and says they won’t give up their strike until the cards carry an alternative to the traditional “M” or “F” identifiers.Migneault, whose strike involves only consuming vegetable broth, sports drinks and water, says they’ve been trying to get an “X” gender marker on their card since 2021 and that the board has been too slow to accommodate non-binary Quebecers.The board won’t comment on individual cases but says the Health Department is analyzing how such a change would impact the province’s health and social services network.Quebec’s secretariat for the condition of women says the health board is participating in an interdepartmental comm...

The average long-term US mortgage rate falls to 7.29% in fourth-straight weekly drop

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:09 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate fell for the fourth time in as many weeks, more positive news for prospective homebuyers who have been held back by sharply higher borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.The latest decline brought the average rate on a 30-year mortgage down to 7.29% from 7.44% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.58%.Despite the recent pullback, the average rate on a 30-year home loan is still sharply higher than just two years ago, when it was around 3%. Higher rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting how much they can afford in a market already out of reach for many Americans. They also discourage homeowners who locked in far lower rates two years ago from selling.The elevated mortgage rates and a near-historic-low supply of homes on the market have stymied sales of previously occupied U.S. homes, which slumped in Octob...

Debate begins on replacement workers bill, as Poilievre stays mum on Tory position

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:26:09 GMT

OTTAWA — A government bill banning the use of replacement workers in federally regulated workplaces is putting a spotlight on the federal Conservatives, who have yet to state their position in a debate that pits labour groups against business.The House of Commons is set to begin debating the recently tabled legislation later today, which would apply to workplaces including transportation hubs and the telecommunications sector.Labour leaders have long called for the measure, as have the federal New Democrats, who used their supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals to expand the proposal to cover strikes in addition to lockouts.The Bloc Québécois is challenging the Liberals to scrap a clause in the bill that stipulates the law take effect after an 18-month waiting period, a delay that Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan says was requested by two agencies involved in ending labour disputes.Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre would not tell reporters this morning whether his MPs will...