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Biden tells US Air Force Academy graduates their leadership needed in increasingly confusing world

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:48 GMT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday thanked U.S. Air Force Academy graduates for choosing “service over self” but said they now have the “great privilege” of leading in a world that will only get more confusing in the years to come.“Graduates, you made a noble choice to lead a life of service,” Biden told more than 900 cadets in remarks on the sun-splashed field at Falcon Stadium in Colorado. “Now you also shoulder a great privilege and a mighty responsibility. Leadership, yeah leadership.”“In the years ahead, your airmen and guardians are going to look to you for guidance and inspiration because the world is going to get more confusing,” he added. “They’ll put their trust in you. You, in turn, must strive to always be worthy of their confidence.”Biden said they will need the qualities of resilience, creativity, endurance and commitment that they learned during their four years of training at the academy — learning that was interrupted by the C...

Jordan’s capital turns into open-air party for first major royal wedding in years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:48 GMT

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan’s capital turned into an open-air party on Thursday as crowds gathered to celebrate the desert kingdom’s first major royal wedding in years and bask in the event’s unmistakable demonstration of Jordan’s influence and importance.Jordanians from all walks of life shared an infectious excitement about the union between Crown Prince Hussein and Saudi architect Rajwa Alseif, momentarily forgetting their differences and troubles in a Mideast country regarded as a rare beacon of stability in a turbulent region.The wedding fever had been building for weeks. As the day began, Jordanians decked out in traditional red-and-white scarves and other elaborate get-ups — including T-shirts printed with pictures of the couple and body paint congratulating the prince — gathered around huge screens nationwide to watch the ceremony unfold. Royals and dignitaries from around the world descended on Amman for the occasion.The traditional Islamic wedding service lasted mere minut...

Trinidad’s Francis elected next leader of UN General Assembly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:48 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Trinidad and Tobago’s Ambassador Dennis Francis was elected Thursday as the next president of the U.N. General Assembly, the 193-member world body that has been at the forefront of the United Nations’ condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is a key venue for all countries to tackle urgent issues from growing global poverty and inequality to climate change.Francis, the longest-serving ambassador of his Caribbean nation, takes over the presidency at the start of the 78th session of the assembly in September and will preside over the annual gathering of world leaders later that month.Francis was elected by acclamation with a bang of the gavel and loud applause. He will succeed Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary, a diplomat for nearly 40 years who was highly praised by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said, “I will miss his advice and guidance.”The General Assembly, which is the U.N.’s most representative body, has taken the spotlight in reac...

Berlin police record jump in angry motorists attacking road-blocking climate activists

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:48 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Figures released Thursday by German police showed a sharp increase in the number of violent attacks on climate protesters in Berlin recorded this year compared with 2022.Police in the capital said they opened 66 investigations into motorists suspected of committing crimes against members of the activist group Last Generation during the first five months of 2023. Eighteen such investigations were launched during all of last year.Last Generation’s tactic of blocking streets has drawn ire from some drivers, who have used force to clear activists off the road.Some tabloid newspapers have suggested that doing so constitutes a form of self-defense. But Berlin daily Tagesspiegel, which first reported the new attack figures, quoted a police spokesperson as saying there was no indication motorists were becoming more radical; instead, an increasing number of blockades could be the reason for the rise in attacks, the spokesperson said.Berlin police said 17 cases of suspecte...

Music review: Foo Fighters’ new album ‘But Here We Are’ grapples with loss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:48 GMT

“But Here We Are,” by Foo Fighters (Roswell/RCA).There’s hardly a greater purpose for music than expression of feelings, and the Foo Fighters have brought quite a collection of them to their latest album. “But Here We Are” sounds like the most grown-up of the 11 studio records from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band, a vintage recipe of relentless guitar riffs, unsettled yet subtly sweet melodies, and the raging, raspy vocals of front man Dave Grohl. Their first release since the sudden death of beloved drummer Taylor Hawkins while on tour last year is essentially the album they needed to make — and probably the one their families, friends and fans needed to hear. Grohl’s grappling with loss — the album is dedicated to Hawkins and his mother, Virginia — is painfully palpable and artfully woven throughout the 10 songs. There’s no escaping each facet of grief in these characteristically uncomplicated lyrics that are about coping, reflecting and realizing life must...

Process underway for Han Dong’s possible return to the Liberal caucus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:48 GMT

OTTAWA — A senior government official says Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc is leading a process to determine Independent MP Han Dong’s possible return to the Liberal caucus. The Canadian Press is not naming the source because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the process. Han Dong, a Toronto-area MP, resigned from the government caucus in March saying he wanted to clear his name following allegations published in media reports. Global News reported, citing unnamed national security sources, that Dong told a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 that releasing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor would benefit the Conservatives. The claim was deemed “false” by Canada’s foreign interference watchdog. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has left the door open to Dong rejoining the Liberal caucus, and Dong has expressed that desire in recent media reports. Dong is suing Global News. The outlet said in a recent statement that it took painstaki...

Man fatally shot by police in Blue Island following well-being check; investigation underway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:48 GMT

BLUE ISLAND, Ill. — An investigation is underway after a man was fatally shot by police following a well-being check in Blue Island.Around 2 a.m. Thursday, police responded to the area of Broadway and Division for a suspicious vehicle and well-being check of a man who was unresponsive in the driver's seat.Upon arrival, police said officers observed an AR-15 pistol on the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Additional officers arrived to the scene as attempts were made to wake the man.According to police, the man finally woke up and saw the officers — then reached for the front passenger seat.Police said one officer then fired one round and shot the man in the torso area. He was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead. Off-duty Chicago police officer shot on city’s Near West Side Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services responded to the scene to process evidence and the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force has launched...

2nd male charged in connection to deadly shooting near Northwestern campus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:48 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — A second male has been charged in connection with an Apil triple shooting near Northwestern University that left one man dead. On April 12, just before 8:30 p.m., shots were fired at Clark Street Beach near the 1800 block of Sheridan Road. Evanston police found an 18-year-old, later identified as Jacquis Irby, and two 15-year-old boys suffering from gunshot wounds.Irby was pronounced dead at the scene. RELATED: Evanston man charged in connection to fatal shooting near Clark Street BeachThe other two victims, both male residents of Skokie, survived their injuries. Initial investigation by detectives showed two small groups of people got into an argument outside the entry to Clark Street Beach. The argument escalated, with two offenders firing a handgun into the group. After the shooting, police said the offenders fled the area.On Thrusdsay, police charged 19-year-old Tacorey Magitt, of Chicago, with one felony count of first-degree murder and two felony counts o...

Former 'Family Feud' contestant from Illinois found guilty in wife's slaying

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:48 GMT

QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A jury Wednesday convicted a former contestant on the television game show “Family Feud” of first-degree murder and home invasion in the slaying of his estranged wife in western Illinois.Timothy Bliefnick, 40, was found guilty in the Feb. 23 shooting death of Rebecca Bliefnick.The Adams County Circuit Court jury in Quincy deliberated about four hours after Timothy Bliefnick did not testify and the defense did not call any evidence. Adams County sheriff's deputies took Bliefnick into custody immediately after the verdict was read.Bliefnick is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 11The body of Rebecca Bliefnick, 41, was found by a family member inside her Quincy home after she failed to pick up her children from school. She had been shot multiple times. Video: Car launches over tow truck in Georgia Timothy Bliefnick was arrested on March 13, 12 days after his Quincy home was searched.The couple was separated and going through a divorce.In 2020, Timothy Bliefn...

The Great River Passage Conservancy names Katie Nyberg as executive director

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:12:48 GMT

Katie Nyberg has been named executive director of the Great River Passage Conservancy.Nyberg, a former founding executive director of the Mississippi Park Connection, has 20 years of experience and knowledge of the conservancy. She also has been an active partner on the Mississippi River Learning Center project.She begins her new post on July 5.“I am thrilled to be continuing the important work of engaging community and creating opportunity around our greatest natural asset – the Mississippi River,” Nyberg said in a statement. “I look forward to making our shared vision of how we reconnect with the river a reality through the many transformative projects and programs the Conservancy champions.”As executive director of the Mississippi Park Connection, Nyberg was involved with building the nonprofit which partners with the National Park Service to help connect young people to the river. The organization started in 2006, with only Nyberg on staff and a $100,000 budget. She left in 2022...