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Fighter or optimist? Iowa Republicans eye Trump alternatives

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:04:25 GMT

CLIVE, Iowa (AP) — Many loyal Republicans in the state that kicks off the presidential nominating season are searching for a White House hopeful other than Donald Trump. There’s less consensus on what that alternative should look like. Should a potential successor to Trump be just as pugnacious as the former president, but without the constant turmoil? Should that candidate be a next-generation inspiration with an upbeat message aimed at uniting a deeply divided country? These questions hung over the first marquee event of the 2024 Iowa caucus campaign this past weekend, as nearly 1,000 GOP activists, party officials, volunteers and Christian conservatives crowded the floor of a suburban Des Moines event center for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual spring fundraiser. Trump remained a hero to many in the crowd though interviews with nearly two dozen attendees demonstrated the opportunity — and obstacles — for those seeking to challenge him. “There’s got to be ...

Mass killing of civilians by security forces in Burkina Faso

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:04:25 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The accounts are horrific. Women killed while carrying babies on their backs, the wounded hunted down and villagers watching the execution of their neighbors, fearing they’d be next. These are some of the atrocities allegedly perpetrated by Burkina Faso’s security forces in the north of the country, according to a statement Tuesday by locals from the town of Karma where the violence took place.It was early morning last Thursday, when people in the small town in Yatenga province, awoke to a large group of armed men in military fatigues, driving motorcycles and armored pickup trucks. “Some villagers, happy to see ‘our soldiers’, came out of their houses to welcome them. Unfortunately, this joy was cut short when the first shots rang out, also causing the first casualties,” said the statement from the villagers.At least 150 civilians may have been killed and many others injured in the violence, said the United Nations High Commissioner for ...

Syria condemns EU sanctions over amphetamine business

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:04:25 GMT

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria on Tuesday condemned the European Union’s new sanctions on Damascus over making and trafficking an amphetamine saying the move was based on lies.The Syrian Foreign Ministry statement came a day after the EU imposed sanctions on several Syrians, including members of President Bashar Assad’s family, blaming them for the production and trafficking of narcotics, notably the amphetamine Captagon.“The European Union is repeating its lies,” the foreign ministry said, adding that such sanctions help block the flow of aid, medical equipment and food products into Syria. It called the sanctions “unilateral and illegitimate.” The EU asset freezes and travel bans were imposed on 25 people and eight “entities” — most of them companies — at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday.Syria has denied accusations that it produces and markets Captagon, but the ministry did not provide evidence refuting the EU’s allegations.Experts say Captagon is primarily...

Chita Rivera introduces us to her alter ego in new memoir

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:04:25 GMT

It’s hard to imagine Anita, Rose Alvarez and Velma Kelly without Chita Rivera, who first breathed life into these beloved Broadway characters.At a time when there was limited Latino representation on stage, this young woman of Puerto Rican, Scottish and Irish descent was taking Broadway by storm and ensuring everyone knew her name.The dancer-turned-Broadway legend reminisces in her new book, “Chita: A Memoir.” Written with arts journalist Patrick Pacheco, it’s an inside look at Rivera’s journey from a spunky girl jumping on furniture in her family’s Washington, D.C., home to a professional dancer and then a three-time Tony Award-winning performer.Each chapter feels like a personal diary entry as Rivera, now 90, also talks about motherhood, and loves lost and found.“It was the next stage for me to write it down. And it was God’s way of reminding me this is the life I had or have. I got so busy that I didn’t remember that I had a wonderful, wonderful life,” she told the Associat...

UN warns of lab risk, more displacement amid Sudan conflict

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:04:25 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — U.N. officials said Tuesday that one side in the Sudan conflict has seized control of a national health lab in the capital of Khartoum that holds biological material, calling it an “extremely dangerous” development.The announcement came as officials warned that more refugees could flee Sudan despite a cease-fire between rival forces.The fighting has plunged Sudan into chaos, pushing the already heavily aid-dependent African nation to the brink of collapse. Before the clashes, the U.N. estimated that a third of Sudan’s population — or about 16 million people — needed assistance, a figure that is likely to increase.Dr. Nima Saeed Abid, the World Health Organization’s representative in Sudan, expressed concerns that “one of the fighting parties” — he did not identify which one — had seized control of the central public health laboratory in Khartoum and “kicked out all of the technicians.”“That is extremely, extremely dangerous because we have polio isola...

Germany arrest Syrian suspected of planning Islamist attack

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:04:25 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities have arrested a Syrian man on suspicion of planning to carry out an explosives attack motivated by Islamic extremism, officials said Tuesday.Federal police said officers arrested the 28-year-old man early Tuesday in the northern city of Hamburg based on a court-issued warrant for suspected terrorism financing offenses.Investigators say the man is suspected of trying to obtain substances online that would have allowed him to manufacturer an explosive belt “in order to carry out an attack against civilian targets.”Police say the man was encouraged and supported in his action by his 24-year-old brother, who lives in the southern town of Kempten. German news agency dpa reported that the younger man was also detained.The brothers, whose names weren’t immediately released, were described by federal police as being motivated by “radical Islamist and jihadist” views.Authorities said they had no information indicating a concrete target for the planned a...

Dutch leader pledges to repay debt to quake-hit region

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:04:25 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologized Tuesday to residents of the northern province of Groningen who have suffered for years from earthquakes caused by gas extraction that damaged thousands of homes and ruined lives.Rutte’s apology and a pledge to fund a generation-long program to revitalize the remote region came as his government published its official reaction to a damning parliamentary commission report issued in February that said the government owed the Groningen region a “debt of honor” after putting gas profits before people for decades.“We stand here, cap in hand,” Rutte told residents in the northern village of Garmerwolde. “We can’t take away all the suffering from the past. We can’t undo what has gone wrong since gas extraction started. But we are determined to do things differently, working closely with the people here. And that means a commitment of years, an approach for an entire generation.”The government pledged ...

Kim Foxx expected to make announcement on her political future

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:04:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx is expected to discuss her political future during an address to the City Club of Chicago Tuesday.Foxx won a second term as Cook County state’s attorney in 2020.Her tenure ushered in sweeping changes in how the Cook County prosecutor handles crime and punishment.For several years, amid a rise in crime in the City of Chicago, critics have labeled her social justice reform as failing the community.Foxx has faced criticism from the Chicago Police Department, and from Mayor Lori Lightfoot on charging decisions, home monitoring, as well as the handling of high profile cases like Jussie Smollett. Previous Coverage: Police: Officers called to Kim Foxx’s home for report of domestic dispute Those close to her also say that changes in her personal life may also be factoring into her announcement.More on this story as it develops.

1 dead, another injured after Lemont petroleum plant explosion

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:04:25 GMT

LEMONT, Ill. — One person died and another was injured following an explosion Tuesday morning at a petroleum plant in Lemont.At around 9:30 a.m., authorities issued an alert for the public to avoid the area of New Avenue and 127th Street as they responded to Seneca Petroleum.The Will County Sherriff's Office said initial reports indicated the explosion may have been from an asphalt tank and there is no active danger to the public. The fire has been controlled, authorities said.One person died as a result and another person was transported to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet. Their condition is not available at this time.OSHA and ComEd have been called to the scene. Authorities said the explosion caused from power lines to come down.WGN News has a crew at the scene and will update this story once more information becomes available.

Chance the Rapper celebrates 10th anniversary of 'Acid Rap' with concert at United Center

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:04:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Chance the Rapper is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his mixtape "Acid Rap" with a concert this summer at Chicago's United Center.The anniversary show is scheduled for August 19 at the arena located at 1901 West Madison Street. Tinley Park’s music venue gets a new name Presale tickets for the concert go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday at livenation.com. Tickets go on sale to the general public starting at 10 a.m. Friday.The concert will be Chance's first show at the United Center since 2019.