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NGO rescue ship saves 258 migrants off Libya in two operations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:45 GMT

ABOARD THE GEO BARENTS (AP) — A nonprofit rescue ship operating off the coast of Libya saved 258 migrants in two separate operations in the early hours of Friday morning.The first of the two rescues involved a a 7-meter (23-foot) -long wooden boat filled with 162 migrants, including 17 women and 29 minors, many of them in a cramped area below the deck.The boat had an engine but no system of navigation on it, according to Flavia Conte, rescue coordinator for the Doctors Without Borders rescue ship Geo Barents.The group had spent hours at sea with the boat low in the water. The migrants on board were Syrians and Egyptians.“Many of them were below deck, in the belly of the boat, a place that is even more unsafe as far as ventilation is concerned and the Geo Barents has found people who have died in this part of boats,” Conte told The Associated Press.The second rescue involved 96 people on a similar wooden boat, including nine children, mainly Syrians.The Italian Maritime Authority has...

An aid group says artillery fire killed 11 and injured 90 in a Sudanese city

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:45 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Heavy artillery fire in a conflict-stricken Sudanese city killed at least 11 people and injured 90 others, aid group Doctors Without Borders said. In a post Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter, the aid group — known by its French initials MSF — said the attack took place in the Karari neighborhood of Omdurman city Thursday but did not say which of the country’s warring parties were responsible. Children were among the dead, it said.Sudan has been rocked by violence since mid-April, when tensions between the country’s military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamden Dagalo, burst into open fighting.The fighting has since spread to several parts of the country, reducing the capital, Khartoum, and neighboring Omdurman to an urban battlefield. The conflict also fueled ethnic violence in Sudan’s western Darfur region.MSF said those injured in Thursday’s attack were treated at Al Nao hospital...

Indonesia denies its fires are causing blankets of haze in neighboring Malaysia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:45 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia denied Friday that forest and peat fires on Sumatra and Borneo islands were causing the haze in Malaysia, after the neighboring government sent a letter complaining about the air quality and asking to work together to deal with the fires.Forest and peat fires are an annual problem in Indonesia that strains relations with neighboring countries. In recent years, smoke from the fires has blanketed parts of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand. Some parts of Malaysia said they experienced smoke from the Indonesian fires since last week, but the Indonesian government denied its fires are the cause.“Until now there is no transboundary haze. No cross-border smoke. I don’t know what basis Malaysia uses to make these statements,” Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Indonesian Environment and Forestry minister, told The Associated Press.Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, and Kuching, one of its cities on Borneo island, were recently ranked as among the world...

Icy flood that killed at least 41 in India’s northeast was feared for years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:45 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of rescuers dug through slushy debris and fast-flowing, icy water Friday in a search for survivors after a glacial lake overflowed and burst through a dam in India’s Himalayan north, a disaster that many had warned was possible for years.The flood began in the early hours of Wednesday, when water overflowed a mountain lake. It smashed through a major hydroelectric dam downstream and then poured into the valley below, where it killed at least 41 people, carrying bodies miles downstream, and forced thousands to flee their homes. It wasn’t clear what triggered the deadly flood, the latest to hit northeast India in a year of unusually heavy monsoon rains. Experts pointed to intense rain, and a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that struck nearby Nepal on Tuesday afternoon, as possible contributors.But the disaster also underscores a climate dilemma that pits local environmental activists who say dams in the Himalayas are too dangerous against authorities pursuing ...

Chicagoland's Halloween Houses: Gloomy Oaks Manor in Orland Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:45 GMT

ORLAND PARK, Ill. — It's time to kick off our annual series where we visit some of the best Halloween decorated homes in the area. We are starting the festivities in Orlando Park at the Gloomy Oaks Manor!Homeowner Brandon Lopez says he has been creating home haunts for the past five years. He really kicked things up a notch in 2018. This year, he has gone all-in on a "Gothic Royalty" theme. The home features a medieval castle, dragons and an evil king. As you walk through the yard, you'll also encounter a "rotten pumpkin patch" full of all kinds of creepy features. Brandon says the vast majority of his props are homemade, including the giant castle, a horse-drawn hearse, multiple facades and plenty of gravestones. He also likes to modify the store-bought creatures and decorations to make sure they fit into his haunt's theme. Gloomy Oaks is also looking to raise some money for a good cause. They will be accept donations toward the TLC Animal Shelter in Homer Glen, which will help pro...

Friday Forecast: Cool temp with temps in low 60s, PM scattered showers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:45 GMT

CHICAGO —

CMT Music Awards return to Austin in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:45 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The CMT Music Awards will return to Austin in 2024 for a second year, organizers revealed on Thursday. The show will again be held at the Moody Center on Sunday April 7, starting at 7 p.m. “As the ‘Live Music Capital of the World,’ Austin is no stranger to celebrating its vibrant music community and showcasing an eclectic array of musical talents. We’re proud that the CMT Music Awards are returning to Austin, and we can’t wait to welcome artists and visitors to our city,” said Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. "We are excited Austin will once again play host to the CMT Music Awards at the Moody Center. Last year’s event featured some amazing artists, brought thousands of visitors to our city and had all eyes on the Live Music Capital of the World," said Visit Austin President & CEO Tom Noonan. Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini co-hosted the 2023 show and also performed. Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson and Jelly Roll also perfor...

Leander ISD Board votes to oppose vouchers ahead of special session

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:45 GMT

LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) – Days before the Texas Legislature meets to consider Gov. Greg Abbott's call for education savings accounts (ESA), the Leander Independent School District Board of Trustees voted Thursday night to oppose any type of voucher, including ESAs."We want to make sure we are focusing all of our attention on meeting the needs of each students that is living in our boundaries that wants to come to public school. I don't mind school choice but I do mind when public dollars are taken away to pay for that choice," said Leander ISD Superintendent Bruce Gearing. Related: Border security, ‘education freedom’ top Abbott’s special session call; teacher pay absent The district also called for updates to the Texas school finance system, including funding based on enrollment and an increase to special education funding to account for was actual spending by school districts. For example, Leander ISD said it spent $33 million more special education in 2022-2023 than was allocate...

Hays County lifts burn ban

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:45 GMT

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – Hays County authorities lifted a burn ban in the county Thursday. According to a social media post Thursday night, authorities asked everyone to use caution with any outdoor burning and to have a water source nearby. Hays was the latest county to lift its ban. Williamson County lifted the burn ban for unincorporated areas within the county's jurisdiction on Monday.KXAN has a map of burn bans statewide.

Madison Ingram: Don’t think it can happen here? The U.S. government once burned books it didn’t like

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:45 GMT

This year is on pace to set the record for the highest number of attempted book bans since the American Library Association began compiling data on library censorship more than 20 years ago. Last year, there were demands to censor more than 2,500 library books.In several states, legislatures have enacted censorship into law. In 2022, lawmakers in Florida passed HB 1467, which requires books to be approved by a media specialist trained by Florida’s Department of Education. Educators and librarians found in violation of the law could be charged with a third-degree felony. Other states, such as Missouri and Utah, have since enacted similar laws that punish librarians for “explicit” content.Librarians and other educators in those states are fighting to defend the public’s right to intellectual freedom, but libraries have always been on the front lines of the conflict between censorship and free speech in the U.S. since the first public libraries were established ...