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Handmade blankets welcome refugees, immigrants to U.S.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:30 GMT

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — “Welcome to the USA,” says a note attached to a hand-crocheted blanket of purple, white and gray stripes. Hollie Shaner-McRae, of Burlington, who made the blanket as a gift for a refugee, wrote of her great grandparents coming to the United States from Ukraine, Russia and Poland. One great grandfather was a tailor and the other was a barrel maker, she wrote. “Both were so brave and came to America as teenagers,” she wrote in the note. “I hope you make friends and feel safe here,” Shaner-McRae wrote to whomever would receive the blanket. “Vermont is blessed to have new families arrive and enrich our world.”The quilt was one of at least 86 artistic blankets that crafters sewed, crocheted and knitted as gifts for refugees and immigrants to make them feel welcomed in their new community in Vermont. The handmade creations were on display at the Heritage Mill Museum in Winooski, Vermont, before they were given away to refugees last week. The effort...

Anti-government protests in Kenya hit Nairobi for 2nd week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:30 GMT

Nairobi, Kenya (AP) — Thousands of anti-government protesters marched on the streets of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, on Monday despite the government’s declaration that the protests are illegal.Opposition leader Raila Odinga joined protesters on the western side of the capital where his convoy attracted thousands of supporters and he addressed them at various stops calling for electoral justice and reduced prices for food items.Police used a water cannon and teargas to disperse supporters. Police chief Japheth Koome insists that the protests are illegal but Odinga says Kenyans have a right to demonstrate.Odinga and his party, Azimio la Umoja–One Kenya Coalition, are leading the protests against the rising cost of living and calling for President William Ruto’s resignation saying he wasn’t validly elected in last year’s election.The protests occurred last week and Odinga has urged his followers to take to the streets twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. ...

High tornado death toll in Mississippi like losing family

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:30 GMT

ROLLING FORK, Miss. (AP) — Lonnie and Melissa Pierce lived a quiet, peaceful life in the Mississippi Delta before a powerful tornado swept up a neighbor’s semi-truck and dropped it onto their brick home like a bomb, killing the married couple.A retired welder, Lonnie Pierce was fond of hunting and bass fishing, friends and neighbors said. Melissa Pierce volunteered for a local Christian charity that operates a small thrift store.“They were good. About the best, I can tell you that,” said neighbor Harvey Cockrell, 76, a fellow welder who worked with Lonnie Pierce for decades.A mound of broken rubble was all that remained of the couple’s home after a devastating twister packing winds of up to 200 mph (320 kph) tore through the rural town of Rolling Fork late Friday. The 18-wheeler that had been parked next door before the storm hit remained perched atop the debris Monday, and deer antlers that had been among Lonnie Pierce’s hunting trophies covered the couple’s yard....

Georgia bill is latest GOP effort targeting prosecutors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:30 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A new Georgia commission to discipline and remove wayward prosecutors would be the latest move nationwide to ratchet up oversight on what Republicans see as “woke prosecutors” who aren’t doing enough to fight crime.The Georgia House voted 97-77 on Monday for Senate Bill 92 to create the commission. The Senate later sent the measure to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto. Kemp has previously voiced support for the concept.The Georgia bill parallels efforts to remove prosecutors in Florida, Missouri, Indiana and Pennsylvania, as well as broader disputes nationwide over how certain criminal offenses should be charged. All continue anti-crime campaigns that Republicans ran nationwide last year, accusing Democrats of coddling criminals and acting improperly by refusing to prosecute whole categories of crimes including marijuana possession. All the efforts raise the question of prosecutorial discretion — a prosecutor’s decision of what cases to ...

Nashville shooter was ex-student with detailed plan to kill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:30 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The former student who shot through the doors of a Christian elementary school in Nashville and killed three children and three adults had drawn a detailed map of the school, including potential entry points, and conducted surveillance of the building before carrying out the massacre.Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake did not say exactly what drove the shooter to open fire Monday morning at The Covenant School before being killed by police. But he provided chilling examples of the shooter’s elaborate planning for the targeted attack, the latest in a series of mass shootings in a country that has grown increasingly unnerved by bloodshed in schools.“We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we’re going over that pertain to this date, the actual incident,” he told reporters. “We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.”He said in an interview with NBC News that investigators believe the shooter had “some resentment for havi...

Gwyneth Paltrow’s experts to testify in Utah ski crash case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:30 GMT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow’s attorneys are expected to call a series of experts and read depositions from her two teenage children on Tuesday in the first full day of the movie star ‘s trial that they have to call witnesses to make their case.Due to the trial’s judge-imposed eight-day clock, Paltrow’s defense team is expected to face tough time management decisions much like Sanderson’s did throughout last week as they attempt to juggle family members, ski instructors and experts in skiing and brain science.Paltrow is in court fighting a lawsuit from Terry Sanderson, the 76-year-old retired optometrist suing her for more than $300,000 over a 2016 ski collision that he says left him with broken ribs and years of lasting concussion symptoms. The actor and Goop founder-CEO has denied Sanderson’s claims that she crashed into him, countersuing for $1 and contending that he, in fact, skied into her.Her defense attorneys will likely use their witnesses t...

In The Month Of Ramadan, We Honour Abed Abdi

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:30 GMT

Politicians, Keep Your Thoughts And Prayers, Protect The Children

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:30 GMT

Fence around Echo Park Lake to come down 2 years after it was erected

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:30 GMT

Two years after it was first erected, a fence surrounding Echo Park Lake, which triggered protests and demonstrations, is coming down.  Initially touted as a temporary barrier that would let the city clear out the park’s homeless encampments and conduct much needed repairs, the fence quickly became a symbol of the city’s homelessness crisis.  Two years ago this week, hundreds of protesters clashed with police over the closure of the sprawling homeless encampment at the park. Since then, the city has spent $600,000 to clear tons of trash, repair lighting and bathrooms and restrict entry points to the park.  Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez says the barrier will be completely removed by the end of the week. “He said that when the fence comes down, there’s going to be 24/7 security,” Emily Lee, who lives nearby, said. “So, we just want to make sure he keeps his word and there’s security here once the fence is down...the way it was when the fence was up.”  Lee, ...

Median home price climbs in Southern California for 1st time since last May

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:30 GMT

Home prices edged higher in Southern California last month, marking the first increase since the spring of last year, according to new data from the California Association of Realtors.The median sale price of existing homes in the region was $745,000 in February, a month-over-month increase of 0.9%. The increase can largely be attributed to higher prices in San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties were down month-over-month, data showed.Southern California Median Home PricesCountyFebruary 2023January 2023February 2022Month-over-month price changeYear-over-year price changeLos Angeles$726,870$778,540$773,490-6.6%-6.0%Orange$1,159,000$1,194,500$1,260,000-3.0%-8.0%Riverside$595,000$585,000$605,0301.7%-1.7%San Bernardino$466,500$446,900$450,0004.4%3.7%San Diego$875,000$824,950$888,0006.1%-1.5%Ventura$805,000$815,000$887,500-1.2%-9.3%California Association of RealtorsHome prices in Southern California had been in a freefall for eight stra...