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Serbian leader lashes out at the West over Kosovo vote

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:41 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — The Serbian president on Monday sharply criticized Western officials who are mediating talks on normalizing ties with Kosovo, calling them liars and fraudsters, and said the Serb minority in the former Serbian province will no longer tolerate foreign “occupation.”Aleksandar Vucic spoke a day after local elections in Serb-dominated northern Kosovo that were overwhelmingly boycotted by the Serb voters there. As a result, ethnic Albanians were elected.Vucic praised the vote boycott by the Kosovo Serbs, saying that it represented “a peaceful political uprising” against their “occupiers.” Serbs are claiming harassment by Pristina authorities and are demanding autonomy for their regions.“Our people in Kosovo have shown in which country they want to live,” said Vucic, the populist leader who is known for his frequent anti-Western outbursts. He is apparently angry at the European Union and the U.S. for allowing Pristina to hold the vote when the Serb boycott, called ...

No fines issued by hospitals under Ontario’s new long-term care law: province, OHA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:41 GMT

No one has been fined in Ontario so far under a new law that can require patients to pay a daily $400 penalty if they refuse to move from a hospital to a long-term care home not of their choosing, the province and its hospitals say.But families and advocates argue the threat posed by the law is pushing patients into nursing homes they wouldn’t otherwise choose.The law, which went into effect in September, can move discharged patients into nursing homes they didn’t consent to. Patients in southern Ontario can be moved to homes up to 70 kilometres away, while those in northern Ontario can be moved up to 150 kilometres away.The legislation is aimed at so-called “alternative level of care” patients who no longer need to be in hospital and are awaiting spots in long-term care. The government has said the law can free up much-needed hospital beds.Hospitals say they’ve been reticent to employ the law, but placement co-ordinators incorporate discussion of it in...

Which countries are evacuating citizens from Sudan?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:41 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — As continued fighting raises fears that Sudan could plunge deeper into chaos, foreign governments are scrambling to get their diplomats and other citizens safely out of the country. Most countries deployed military transport aircraft to fly people out, including France which used its airbase in neighboring Djibouti for the airlift. But not all is going smoothly – about 2,000 British nationals remain in Sudan, and many complain that their government isn’t giving them enough information about evacuation plans.Although some flights included people of various nationalities, here’s a country-by-country accounting of evacuation efforts based on information available so far:UNITED STATES:U.S. special operations forces used helicopters to ferry 70 U.S. embassy personnel out of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, early Sunday. The U.S. government has told some 16,000 US citizens in Sudan that they need to fend for themselves and that there won’t be mass evacuations. UNITED...

Spain exhumes fascist party founder from Madrid mausoleum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:41 GMT

MADRID (AP) — The body of José Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of Spain’s fascist Falange movement, was exhumed from a Madrid mausoleum on Monday and transferred to a city cemetery.The fascist political leader was executed by Spanish Republicans in November 1936, after Gen. Francisco Franco led an uprising of soldiers in July of that year to bring down Spain’s democratically elected government. The ensuing civil war ended in 1939 with hundreds of thousands dead and the country left in ruins. Primo de Rivera’s death was exploited by Franco. He was exhumed in line with updated legislation that bans the glorification of Spain’s dictatorship and fascist legacy. His body lay for six decades in a huge complex known as the Valley of the Fallen, which was built with forced prison labor to commemorate the fascist victory in the civil war.The leader of the Falange was disinterred in a private ceremony in presence of his family, away from public scrutiny. His casket was ...

Review: Laura Dern, mom Diane Ladd exchange intimate stories

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:41 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding),” by Laura Dern and Diane Ladd (Grand Central Publishing)When actor Diane Ladd was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and given six months to live, her only daughter and fellow actor, Laura Dern, set out to help Ladd rebuild her lung capacity through doctor-prescribed walks.Inspired to turn the difficult daily chore into a “creative challenge” for her storyteller mother, Dern decided to record their conversations and encouraged Ladd to share personal stories about anything and everything, from life in show business to intimate domestic details and even coveted family recipes.Those conversations form the basis for “Honey, Baby, Mine: A Mother and Daughter Talk Life, Death, Love (and Banana Pudding).”Though Ladd was apparently misdiagnosed and ultimately overcame the sickness that doctors thought would take her, she and Dern said the honesty the pair cultivated on those walk...

Missouri officer fatally shoots man who allegedly pulled gun

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:41 GMT

WELDON SPRING, Mo. (AP) — A man was shot to death by a police officer in suburban St. Louis early Monday after allegedly pulling a gun while being arrested.The shooting happened just after 12:30 a.m. in the St. Charles County town of Weldon Spring. Names of the man shot and the officer who shot him have not been released.The St. Charles County Police Department said officers pulled over a vehicle for a traffic stop and a passenger in the vehicle tried to run. He was caught after a brief foot chase and resisted arrest, a news release from the department said.The man pulled a gun “and one of the officers then discharged his service weapon, striking the suspect,” police said. The man died at a hospital.The officers were unhurt.The St. Charles County Incident Response Team, a multijurisdictional policing group, is investigating the shooting.The Associated Press

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 23-29

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:41 GMT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 23-29April 23: Actor Lee Majors (“Six Million Dollar Man”) is 84. Actor Blair Brown is 76. Actor Joyce DeWitt (“Three’s Company”) is 74. Actor James Russo is 70. Director Michael Moore is 69. Actor Judy Davis is 68. Actor Valerie Bertinelli is 63. Actor Craig Sheffer (“One Tree Hill,” ″Into the West”) is 63. Comedian George Lopez is 62. Actor Melina Kanakaredes (“The Resident,” “Providence”) is 56. Drummer Stan Frazier of Sugar Ray is 55. Guitarist Tim Womack of Sons of the Desert is 55. Actor Scott Bairstow (“Party of Five”) is 53. Actor John Lutz (“30 Rock”) is 50. Musicians Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National are 47. Wrestler-turned-actor John Cena (“The Marine”) is 46. Actor-comedian John Oliver is 46. Actor Kal Penn (“House M.D.,” “Harold and Kumar”) is 46. Singer Taio Cruz is 40. Actor Jesse Lee Soffer (“Chicago P.D.,” “Chicago Fire”) is 39. Guitarist Anthony LaMarca of The War on Drugs is 36. Actor Dev Patel (“Slumdog Millionaire”...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 30-May 6

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:41 GMT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 30-May 6April 30: Singer Willie Nelson is 90. Actor Burt Young is 83. Actor Perry King (“Riptide”) is 75. Singer-guitarist Wayne Kramer of the MC5 is 75. Singer Merrill Osmond of The Osmonds is 70. Director Jane Campion is 69. Actor-director Paul Gross (“Due South”) is 64. Bassist Robert Reynolds of The Mavericks is 61. Actor Adrian Pasdar (“Heroes”) is 58. Singer J.R. Richards (Dishwalla) is 56. Rapper Turbo B of Snap is 56. Guitarist Clark Vogeler of The Toadies is 54. Singer Chris “Choc” Dalyrimple of Soul for Real is 52. Guitarist Chris Henderson of 3 Doors Down is 52. Country singer Carolyn Dawn Johnson is 52. Actor Lisa Dean Ryan (“Doogie Howser, M.D.”) is 51. Singer Akon (AY’-kon) is 50. Singer Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees is 50. Actor Johnny Galecki (“The Big Bang Theory,” ″Roseanne”) is 48. Actor Sam Heughan (“Outlander”) is 43. Actor Kunal Nayyar (“The Big Bang Theory”) is 42. Rapper Lloyd Banks is 41. Actor Kirsten Dunst is 41. Coun...

A Black mom in Kansas City: Always watching, always worrying

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:41 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — On April 13, the nightmare that I’d worried about ever since we moved into our neighborhood came true.That was the day that I learned 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot after mistakenly ringing a doorbell at the wrong house while trying to pick up his younger brothers from a playdate. And even as I anguished over what happened to him, one thing kept echoing in my mind: It could have been my child. John, my older son, is 17 and attends the same high school as Ralph. It’s common for me to ask John to pick up his 14-year-old brother Jaden from various extracurricular activities. I’ve been cautious about what I ask John to do and where I ask him to go. I don’t know what might happen if he crosses paths with someone who feels threatened by the color of his skin.That’s because the suburbs of Kansas City north of the Missouri River have long held a reputation of not being the most welcoming to Black families. While I’ve adjusted to the awkward stares and su...

Moose caught snacking on popcorn at Alaska movie theater

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:41 GMT

KENAI, Ala. (WJW) – A moose was caught on security camera heading into a movie theater and helping itself to some popcorn Wednesday.In Kenai, Alaska, the moose is seen on video released by Kenai Cinemas walking inside and shocking the employee working behind the snack counter. Facebook notifies users who may be eligible for $725M privacy settlement In the video, the moose then eats from a container of popcorn before leaving the movie theater with its nose stuck in a McDonald’s Happy Meal box.Nick Fowler, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told the Anchorage Daily News that human food isn’t always good for moose.“I do not know if a Happy Meal is good for a moose or not. However, I can confidently say that it’s not in its natural diet,” Fowler said.Moose actually consume large quantities of willow, birch, and aspen twigs for their diet, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. In the summer months, moose feed on vegetation in shallow ponds,...