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French prosecutor says alleged attacker in school stabbing declared allegiance to Islamic State

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s anti-terror prosecutor said Tuesday that a suspected Islamic extremist declared allegiance to the Islamic State group before fatally stabbing a teacher in a school attack last week. The prosecutor, Jean-François Ricard, said an audio recording in the suspect’s phone. In it, the alleged attacker declared allegiance to the Islamic State and expressed “his hatred for France, for the French, for democracy and the education he benefitted from in our country.”The alleged attacker was a former pupil of the school in the northern town of Arras. A teacher was fatally stabbed in the neck and three other people injured in the assault that prompted France to raise its terror alert level and deploy extra security.The prosecutor spoke at a press conference and took no questions.Ricard said that shortly before the stabbing, the alleged attacker also recorded a 30-second video of himself in front of a war memorial.In that video, the attacker “repeatedly attacked, in his own wo...

India’s Supreme Court refuses to legalize same-sex marriage, saying it’s up to Parliament

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court on Tuesday refused to legalize same-sex marriages, passing the responsibility back to Parliament in a ruling that disappointed campaigners for LGBTQ+ rights in the world’s most populous country. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also urged the government to uphold the rights of the queer community and end discrimination against them. Earlier this year, the five-judge bench heard 21 petitions that sought to legalize same-sex marriage. Chandrachud said there were degrees of agreement and disagreement among the justices “on how far we have to go” on same-sex marriages, but the judges unanimously agreed that the court can’t grant LGBTQ+ people the right to marry because that is a legislative function. “This court can’t make law. It can only interpret it and give effect to it,” the chief justice said, reiterating that it was up to Parliament to decide whether it could expand marriage laws to include queer unions.One of the petitioners, Mario da P...

The Commerce Department updates its policies to stop China from getting advanced computer chips

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Commerce Department on Tuesday updated and broadened its export controls to stop China from acquiring advanced computer chips and the equipment to manufacture them.The revisions come roughly a year after the export controls were first launched to counter the use of the chips for military applications that include the development of hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence.“These export controls are intended to protect technologies that have clear national security or human rights implications,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters. “The vast majority of semiconductors will remain unrestricted. But when we identify national security or human rights threats, we will act decisively and in concert with our allies.”The updates stemmed from consulting with industry and conducting technological analyses. There will now be a gray zone that will be monitored for chips that could still be used for military aims even if they might not meet...

Retail sales up a solid 0.7% in September as American consumers defy rising prices, interest rates

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans kept spending in September at a solid pace even as they grappled with higher prices and interest rates.Retail sales rose 0.7% in September, more than twice what economists had expected, and close to a a revised 0.8% bump in August, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Retail sales in August were inflated after gasoline prices spiked, however. That was not the case in September. since begun to decline. Excluding sales from gas and autos, retail sales rose 0.6%.September’s uptick in retail sales, the sixth consecutive monthly gain, reflects how the U.S. economy has remained resilient despite attempts by the Federal Reserve to cool spending and hiring. Yet spending has been volatile after surging nearly 3% in January. Sales tumbled in February and March before recovering in the spring and summer.Spending at restaurants were up 0.9%, while spending online rose 1.1% last month, according to the report. Sales at general merchandise stores rose 0.4%. An...

Pedestrian struck and killed on DuSable Lake Shore Drive; southbound lanes closed at North Avenue

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was struck and killed by a vehicle after attempting to cross all lanes of DuSable Lake Shore Drive Tuesday morning.Police said it happened around 5:25 a.m. in the 800 block of North Lake Shore Drive when two men attempted to cross Lake Shore Drive, not in a crosswalk.One of the men was struck by a BMW X-3 that was traveling southbound. He was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.According to police, the second male pedestrian was not injured.The 63-year-old male driver of the BMW remained on the scene. Police said the driver was not injured, but was transported to Northwestern Hospital for panic symptoms.The southbound lanes of DuSable Lake Shore Drive are closed and vehicles are being diverted off at North Avenue. Heavy traffic delays remain in the area.The crash is under investigation.

Bears make an addition to their coaching staff

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Bears will indeed have an addition to their coaching staff for the rest of the season.Matt Eberflus is adding someone with both National Football League and college football experience in hopes of improving the team's defense. During his news conference on Monday, the head coach announced that Phil Snow has joined the staff as a senior defensive analyst for the remainder of the 2023 season. This comes a few weeks after Eberflus announced that he would make an addition to his staff, which is down a person after the resignation of Alan Williams in September.Snow was last the defensive coordinator with the Panthers under head coach Matt Rhule, serving in that position from 2020 through 2022. While never working together on staff at the college or pro level, Eberflus got to know him through Rod Marinelli, whom he worked with in Dallas for a number of years.Snow will be doing advance scouting for the defensive staff and will be at Halas Hall with the team during t...

'Brutal heat': South Carolina expert who set world's hottest pepper record does it again

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

FORT MILL, S.C. (AP) — Ed Currie, the South Carolina hot pepper expert who crossbred and grew the Carolina Reaper that’s hotter than most pepper sprays police use to subdue unruly criminals, has broken his own world record with a pepper that’s three times hotter.Pepper X was publicly named the hottest pepper in the world on Oct. 9 by the Guinness Book of World Records, beating out the Reaper in Currie’s decadelong hunt to perfect a pepper that he says provides “immediate, brutal heat.”Currie said when he first tried Pepper X, it did more than warm his heart.“I was feeling the heat for three-and-a-half hours. Then the cramps came,” said Currie, one of only five people so far to eat an entire Pepper X. “Those cramps are horrible. I was laid out flat on a marble wall for approximately an hour in the rain, groaning in pain.”Heat in peppers is measured in Scoville Heat Units. Zero is bland, and a regular jalapeno pepper registers about 5,000 units. A habanero, the record-holder about 25 ...

Queensbury man pleads guilty in knifepoint robbery

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

QUEENSBURY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Queensbury man pleaded guilty in relation to a knifepoint robbery that happened on the fourth of July. Justin Cabral, 36, pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Police say Cabral entered the Speedway on Aviation Road in Queensbury, brandished a knife, and demanded money. Police also say Garrett Murray (25, Greenwich), an accomplice in the crime, also pleaded guilty to third-degree burglary and drove the getaway car. Law enforcement said Cabral tried to flee after police caught the getaway car on foot across the Northway but was quickly tracked down.Cabral was sentenced to 13 years in prison with five years of post-release supervision. Warren County District Attorney Jason Carusone commended the clerk's calm demeanor and response by law enforcement, which led to the arrest of both men.

Crews responding to 3-vehicle crash on I-170 at Ladue

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Crews are responding to a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 170 on Tuesday. The crash happened around a bit before 7:00 a.m. on I-170 at Ladue, where a box truck, a sedan, and another truck were involved. DoorDash driver caught on doorbell camera swiping delivery The cause of the crash has not yet been reported, and so far, no injuries have been revealed. Drivers are urged to take Lindbergh and I-270 as alternate routes. FOX 2 will update this story with more information as it becomes available.

“Tom Lake,” by Ann Patchett, and more short reviews from readers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:53 GMT

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. Sure, you could read advertising blurbs on Amazon, but wouldn’t you be more likely to believe a neighbor with no skin in the game over a corporation being fed words by publishers? So in this series, we are sharing these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email [email protected].“Tom Lake,” by Ann Patchett (Harper, 2023)TOM LAKEBy Ann PatchettI thought this book would be about a guy with a laughable short name, but, no, Tom Lake is the name of an actual lake in this novel that excavates layers of family history and reveals family dynamics, Patchett’s forte. Set in Michigan’s rural cherry orchard country, the mother’s stories about her early life and relationships unwind during long days of harvesting cherries. The daughters, whose sibling mannerisms likely will resonate with many women who h...